M1941 Johnson machine gun
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2013) |
Johnson M1941 LMG | |
---|---|
Type | Light machine gun |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1940–1961 |
Used by | See Users |
Wars | |
Production history | |
Designed | 1940 |
Unit cost | Short recoil |
Rate of fire | 300–900 round/min variable |
Muzzle velocity | 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s) |
Effective firing range | 600 m (660 yd) |
Feed system | 20-round, single stack-column detachable box magazine |
The M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun, also known as the Johnson and the Johnny gun,[1] was an American recoil-operated light machine gun designed in the late 1930s by Melvin Johnson. It shared the same operating principle and many parts with the M1941 Johnson rifle and the M1947 Johnson auto carbine.
Design
The M1941 Johnson light machine gun was designed by a
Johnson's curved, single-column
The design intended the recoil forces to travel, along with the mass of the weapon's moving parts, in a direct line to the shoulder of the gunner. While this design minimized muzzle climb, the sights had to be placed higher above the bore.
The weapon has many parallels with the German FG 42. Both feed from the left side, and both fire from an open bolt while in automatic, and a closed bolt while in semi-auto. Both weapons were awkward to carry loaded, with a side-mounted magazine; the Johnson had an especially lengthy single-column magazine, and this feature tended to unbalance the weapon. Despite these similarities, there is no evidence that either weapon had any effect on the design of the other. Both weapons attempted to solve similar problems, and adopted similar solutions.
Prototypes of semi-automatic rifles, 20-round magazine-fed,[citation needed] based on the Johnson LMG were also produced. The M1947 Johnson auto carbine is an example. A belt fed variant also existed.[2]
Deployment
Johnson sold small quantities of the Johnson LMG to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.[3][page needed]
During the Second World War,
The Johnson LMG was used by the Philippine Army and Philippine Constabulary during World War II under the Japanese Military Occupation from 1942 to 1945 and post-war from 1945 to 1960s including during the Hukbalahap Rebellion (1946-1954) and by the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) from 1950-1955.
Shortly after the
Aftermath
Melvin Johnson continued to develop small arms. In 1955, he was asked to assist Fairchild/ArmaLite in (unsuccessfully) promoting
Liquid propellant prototype
A prototype using hydrazine for a caseless firearm was also developed. The firearms would have been very effective and pretty equivalent in performance to conventional propellants, while offering improved supply lines. The main concern was in the durability of pressure seals in field conditions as well as toxicity of the substance to the user.[5]
Users
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2019) |
- Canada: Known to be used by Canadian soldiers in the Special Service Force[6]
- Malaysia: Formerly used by the Royal Malaysian Police, now on display at the Police Museum.[7]
- Philippines
- United Kingdom[citation needed]
- United States
Non-state actors
See also
- Sturmgewehr 52
- Kg m/40 automatic rifle
- FG 42
- Furrer M25
- List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
- M60 machine gun
- Model 45A
- Sieg automatic rifle
- MG 30
- TRW Low Maintenance Rifle
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-313-31906-8– via Google Books.
- ^ "Belt-Fed Johnson LMGs". 7 February 2014.
- ^ Pikula, Sam (Maj.), The Armalite AR-10, 1998
- ^ Barnes, Frank C., Cartridges of the World, DBI Books, 1989
- ^ "PROPOSED LIQUID-PROPELLANT CALIBER .30 AUTOMATIC RIFLE UTILIZING PRELOADED, CASELESS, HYDRAZINE, MONOPROPELLANT BALLISTIC SYSTEM" (PDF). dtic.mil. 14 May 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2019.
- ^ "James D. Julia: Johnson LMG History & Disassembly". 29 February 2016.
- ^ "Royal Malaysia Police Museum – Small Arms Defense Journal".
References
- Johnson Jr., Melvin, Rifles and Machine Guns of the World's Armies, Fighting Forces, 1944.
- Smith, Joseph E., Small Arms of the World, Stackpole Books, 1969.
- Weeks, John, WWII Small Arms, Galahad Books, 1980.
- Barnes, Frank C., Cartridges of the World, DBI Books, 1989.
- Pikula, Sam (Maj.), The Armalite AR-10, 1998.
- Canfield, Bruce N., Johnson Rifles and Machine Guns, Mowbray Publishing, 2002.