THE BROWNING
AUTOMATIC RIFLE
GALE & POLDEN LTD, Aldershot, c.1940
An original Browning Automatic Rifle handbook, published by Gale & Polden c.1940. This fold-out format booklet is a concise guide to the handling and mechanism of the Browning Automatic Rifle as used by the allied armies during WW1 and WW2. The booklet includes diagrams of the parts and mechanism of the B.A.R.
The Browning Automatic rifle was used by the US Army and many other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR was the M1918, designed by John Browning in 1917 for the US Expeditionary Forces in Europe, and intended as a replacement for the unreliable French-made Chauchat and M1909 Benet-Mercie machine guns. The BAR was designed to be carried by advancing infantrymen, fired from the shoulder or hip, but it was generally used a light machine gun and fired from a bipod. The limited capacity of its magazine and relative complexity meant that it was never as effective as the Lewis or Bren guns. The BAR did however prove to be a very useful weapon in the Meuse-Argonne offensive of 1918, and again with the US Marines in the Pacific campaign during WW2.
Condition:
In very good condition. The card cover is in very good condition with minor signs of use. The stapled binding is secure, although the original staples are rusty. The text and illustrations are in very good condition.
Published: c.1940
Dimensions: 80mm x 175mm
Orange card covers with black titling
Pages: 16 (arranged in a fold-out format)
Illustrated with line drawings & diagrams
