Original Item: Only One Set Available. This is an impressive U.S. Browning M1917A1 water cooled machine gun display grouping built around a completely inert custom fabricated replica gun mounted on an original and difficult to find Model 1918 “Cygnet” tripod. The grouping is completed by a WWII type M1917 round water can, M1A1 steam condensing can, M1917 wooden ammunition box, short section of cloth ammunition belt with inert .30-06 cartridges, and a WWII type carrying bag for the steam condensing hose. The display gun itself is believed to be constructed almost entirely from fabricated components, with the possible exception of the water jacket, while the Model 1918 tripod and listed accessories are period pieces.

The machine gun in this grouping is a completely inert non-firing display replica. The receiver is fabricated and welded closed, the installed barrel is not a functional firearm barrel, the trigger is immobile, and the top cover cannot be opened. It has no ability to function as a firearm and is being sold solely as a historical display piece. The inert cartridges included with the display are non-functional.

The Browning M1917 was John M. Browning’s water cooled, belt fed heavy machine gun design adopted by the United States during WWI and later improved into the M1917A1 configuration used extensively during WWII. The water jacket surrounding the barrel allowed the weapon to sustain prolonged fire, making it especially effective from prepared defensive positions. During WWII the M1917A1 saw extensive U.S. Army and Marine Corps service, including in the Pacific. Marine Sergeant John Basilone became particularly associated with the M1917A1 after his actions on Guadalcanal in October 1942, for which he received the Medal of Honor.

The display gun is a well executed custom fabricated representation of the Browning water cooled machine gun. The entire receiver is fabricated rather than an original firearm component and is permanently inert. A trigger is installed but does not move, while the top cover has been welded closed and cannot be opened. No rear sight is currently present, although the mounting area suggests that one may have been installed previously.

The cylindrical water jacket may possibly be an original component, although this cannot be confirmed from the available observations. The barrel within it is definitely not an original functional machine gun barrel. The condensation tube fitting normally found at the top of the water jacket is absent, as are most of the associated plugs. Several additional holes have also been drilled through the underside of the jacket. These details are important when evaluating the display gun and clearly distinguish it from an original complete M1917 or M1917A1 firearm.

The major period component of the grouping is the original Browning Model of 1918 tripod, commonly known as the “Cygnet” tripod because the shape of its cradle and supporting structure was thought to resemble the neck of a young swan. The tripod was developed rapidly in 1918 to address the shortage of Model of 1917 tripods available for the approximately 72,500 Browning Model of 1917 machine guns manufactured during and immediately after WWI. Only approximately 20,000 Model of 1917 tripods had been available, and even Vickers tripods were pressed into service to help meet demand.

The Model of 1918 Cygnet was an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful design. Its complicated arrangement required five leg adjustment clamps to secure its three legs, making it relatively slow to deploy. The cradle system also lacked the rigidity desired for sustained fire, while aluminum and brass components within the crosshead and adjustment mechanism were more vulnerable to damage than the heavier construction of the earlier tripod. The design was eventually withdrawn from general service and classified Limited Standard, with the Model of 1917 tripod returning to use until the improved M1917A1 tripod was developed during the 1930s. Approximately 31,700 Model of 1918 tripods were manufactured, making surviving examples an interesting and distinctive part of Browning machine gun development. Small Arms review has a detailed article on this type of tripod, which can be viewed here: Browning Model of 1918 (Cygnet) Tripod.

This Cygnet tripod remains in good display condition but is incomplete and has suffered several mechanical losses. A section of the aluminum housing surrounding the adjustment mechanism is broken away, although the detached piece is included. The adjustment worm gear and its associated control knobs are missing, leaving the brass housing empty. One original pin has also been replaced with a modern bolt. The surviving portions remain partially functional, and the tripod securely supports the replica gun for display.

The grouping also includes a selection of period accessories associated with the Browning water cooled machine gun system:

- WWII type M1917 round water can with upper carrying strap and original cap. It shows service denting and wear.

- WWII type CHEST, WATER, M1A1 steam condensing can with carrying handle.

- M1917 wooden ammunition box.

- Short section of cloth machine gun belt fitted with inert .30-06 cartridges.

- WWII type carrying bag for the M1917 steam condensing hose. The bag bears postwar MRT markings.

The combination of the fabricated M1917A1 style display gun with an original Model 1918 Cygnet tripod is particularly visually effective, while the water can, steam condensing chest, ammunition box, cloth belt with inert cartridges, and hose bag allow the Browning water cooled gun system to be represented much more completely than with the gun alone.

With its completely inert Browning water cooled display gun, scarce original Model 1918 Cygnet tripod, WWII type water cooling equipment, ammunition box, cloth belt with inert cartridges, and associated carrying bag, this is an unusually complete display grouping covering both WWI Browning tripod development and the familiar WWII M1917A1 heavy machine gun configuration. The fabricated receiver and barrel, uncertain originality of the water jacket, missing condensation fitting and plugs, drilled jacket holes, immobile trigger, welded top cover, missing rear sight, incomplete and damaged tripod adjustment mechanism, modern replacement bolt, and postwar MRT markings on the hose bag are all fully disclosed. It would make an impressive centerpiece in a U.S. machine gun, Browning firearms development, WWI heavy weapons, WWII infantry weapons, Pacific War, or advanced military display collection.

More on Sergeant John Basilone
Basilone was a United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant who received the nation's highest military award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for heroism during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. He was the only enlisted Marine to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross in World War II.

During the Battle for Henderson Field, his unit came under attack by a regiment of approximately 3,000 soldiers from the Japanese Sendai Division. On October 24, 1942, Japanese forces began a frontal attack using machine guns, grenades, and mortars against the American heavy machine guns. Basilone commanded two sections of machine guns that fought for the next two days until only Basilone and two other Marines were left standing. Basilone moved an extra gun into position and maintained continual fire against the incoming Japanese forces. He then repaired and manned another machine gun, holding the defensive line until replacements arrived. As the battle went on, ammunition became critically low. Despite their supply lines having been cut off by enemies in the rear, Basilone fought through hostile ground to resupply his heavy machine gunners with urgently needed ammunition. When the last of it ran out shortly before dawn on the second day, Basilone held off the Japanese soldiers attacking his position using his pistol. By the end of the engagement, Japanese forces opposite their section of the line were virtually annihilated. For his actions during the battle, he received the United States military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.

Afterwards, Private First Class Nash W. Phillips, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, recalled from the battle for Guadalcanal:

Basilone had a machine gun (M1917) on the go for three days and nights without sleep, rest, or food. He was in a good emplacement, and causing the Japanese lots of trouble, not only firing his machine gun, but also using his pistol.

History of the Browning M1917:

The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, Korea, and to a limited extent in Vietnam; 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 (such as a jeep). There were two main iterations of it: 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 firing rate of 450 rounds per minute; the M1917A1 had a firing rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute.

The Model 1917A1 was again used in the Second World War, and was primarily used with the M2 ball, tracer, and armor-piercing ammunition introduced just prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Some were supplied to the UK for use by the Home Guard since all production of the .303 Vickers were needed to resupply the equipment abandoned during the Fall of France. The M1917's weight and bulk meant that it was generally employed as a fixed defense or as a battalion or regimental support weapon. At the fierce battle of Momote Airstrip in the Admiralties, the US Army's 5th Cavalry machinegunners killed several hundred Japanese in one night using their M1917 Brownings; one gun was left in position after the battle as a memorial to the desperate struggle.