Browning M1917 & M1917A1, original
Official wording
U.S. Browning machineguns (original), cal. .30, M1917 and M1917A1, mfd. by Colt's Patent Firearms Company, New England Westinghouse Company, Remington Arms Union Metallic Cartridge Company, Rock Island Arsenal, High Standard Company, Savage Arms Corporation, Buffalo Arms Corporation, Frigidaire, AC Spark Plug, Brown-Lipe-Chappin, Saginaw Steering Gear Division, and Kelsey Hayes Wheel Company.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “mfd. by Colt's Patent Firearms Company”
- ATF REQUIRESOriginal as the ATF wording requires: “U.S. Browning machineguns (original)”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1917–1945.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: the ATF wording - Manufacturer
- Colt; New England Westinghouse; Remington; Rock Island & othersBasis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- .30-06Basis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1917–1945production; ATF states no dateBasis: outside reference ²
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 88 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “M1917 Browning machine gun” ↗, maker: WWI makers Westinghouse, Remington and Colt (by the Armistice 30,150, 12,000 and 600); Rock Island Arsenal led the M1917A1 conversions
- 2. Wikipedia, “M1917 Browning machine gun” ↗, years: infobox production date 1917–45
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Browning Heavy Machine Gun, water cooled, M1917, 1918, WWI (32916860696).jpg” by National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “M1917 Browning machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled machine gun that served alongside the much lighter air-cooled Browning M1919. It was used at the battalion level, and often mounted on vehicles. There were two main iterations: the M1917, which was used in World War I and the M1917A1, which was used thereafter. The M1917, which was used on some aircraft as well as in a ground role, had a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. The M1917A1 had a cyclic rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute.