History of WWI Primer 126: US Browning 1917 Part 2 Documentary

[@jonrolfson1686]

‘A bi-polar neighbor with an electric hedge trimmer: He can hurt you, but he’ll eventually reach the end of his power-cord. ’ That’s a wonderful description that deserves to be brought into the modern age and repurposed.

[@SuperCrazf]

Mexican here, I would change bi-polar with multiple personality disorder

[@Candrsenal]

fair

[@jonrolfson1686]

​@@SuperCrazf Well said: A diagnosis of multiple personality disorder could be appropriate for any number of modern 21st century polities, not excluding the United States. A short power cord is not, yet, a constraint that affects the U.S. It should be noted that, based on important demographic and economic convergences and increasingly acknowledged good-will, the U.S. and Mexico seem to be fated to become close partners.

[@panzerabwerkanone]

Sounds like my lawn guy Manuel. Honduran not Mexican though.

[@Strawberry92fs]

I have loved ones diagnosed with bipolar disorder. How about we not perpetuate harmful stereotypes that make people feel like they have to lie about their mental disorders in order to not be looked at like a dangerous monster incapable of rational thought?

[@MarkiusFox]

"However, by the middle of 1915, it was absolutely evident that the machine gun was the king of the battlefield..." _Artilleryman rage increases_ "...in terms of small arms technology." _Artilleryman rage decreases_

[@Chris_Garman]

The amount of artillery shells fired in WWI is truly remarkable.

[@Pugiron]

Queens and Kings are different. Ask your parents to explain how boys and girls are different.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

In some encounters, like July 1, 1916 on the Somme, machine-guns, specifically Germans, probably inflicted the great majority of the very heavy British casualties. In other WW1 battles artillery might have been more important. I would say it was No. 1, machine-guns No.2 overall.

[@MarkiusFox]

@@Pugiron The Queen of battle and the King of battle are different. Ask your Army to explain how Artillery and Infantry are different.

[@presidentmerkinmuffley6769]

*Angry Redleg Noises*

[@briantayler1230]

Gidday, my Uncle Fred was a Vickers machine gunner in WW2. He was at Egypt, Libya, Tobruk and then Syria and eventually Papua New Guinea. It was amazing to listen to him explain how to lay a beaten area with the guns and how you did not see where the bullets fell. They had the operation so refined in WW1, so by the time of WW2 it was a totally perfected science.

[@cameronking5231]

Oh boy, that edit at the beginning even had sound. Talk about a full immersion experience!

[@maewinchester2030]

We spared no expense when creating that illusion.

[@donnkelley6823]

@@maewinchester2030 And well worth it as well....

[@davidbrennan660]

Them pinkies got crushed.

[@arya31ful]

wym?, it's a real 1917.

[@ward1476]

In terms of HMG's, only the Swartzlose left? This series is an incredible achievement and a great educational piece. Much love.

[@eazy8579]

1895 and 95/14

[@gasperpoklukar8372]

And the Fiat Revelli at least.

[@eazy8579]

Can we just appreciate that line at 4:25? That's just fantastic

[@SuperCrazf]

Mexican here, that’s accurate

[@arya31ful]

"And then John Browning saves the day." - basically every US weapon procurement project in late 19th-early 20th century.

[@watchface6836]

I died laughing when Othias lifted the 1917 onto the table.

[@davidbrennan660]

The whole show is green screen wonder now...... .

[@FiveTwoSevenTHR]

Why? Because it's so heavy?

[@mikaelrabb1876]

So glad your family could type this last massage for you. Love to them, So sorry for thier loss. Peace

[@zorkk2000]

@@mikaelrabb1876 oh shuddup you dumb twat

[@mazkact]

R.I.P

[@planescaped]

"All of this was fine because no one in US Ordinance was psychic" Yeah, Crozier made all his decisions via scrying and chicken bone reading, ya know, science!

[@grumpyoldman-21]

yay science

[@Taistelukalkkuna]

What? Not with blueberries and rasberries? Oh...? sorry, wrong Crozier.

[@anthonyhayes1267]

Crozier is the Conrad Von Hotzendorf of this series

[@mattdickson2]

David Fakename he absolutely did nothing of the sort he was a disgrace

[@quinncyquinnquinn]

@@mattdickson2 he's talking about stuff like the M14 and mk14 torpedo

[@TheNinjaGumball]

Lets all take a min to appreciate the sound effects at 6:45

[@maewinchester2030]

We go to great lengths to give you all the best product possible.

[@gavindavies793]

according to the subtitles, that noise was in-fact music!

[@BNRmatt]

I love the photo of all the different US machine guns together. What a find!

[@johnkilcer]

"Mae what strong arms you have!" "All the better to lift brownings with!!!!"

[@GendanoGungakusha]

And she just fired it with one hand only!!!

[@britishmuzzleloaders]

Just settling down for a much anticipated episode. Thanks team.... BUT, will there be an assault goat......?

[@britishmuzzleloaders]

OK,... so no assault goat, but a great looking set of tonsils, evidently....

[@Fragaut]

Apparently, " bipolar neighbor with an electric hedge clipper " is now a valid category in geopolitical thinking. Interesting...

[@iamnolegend483]

.... and the chord eventually runs out

[@jamespfp]

That's the wonderful thing about analogies. They're not meant to be perfect representations, merely a means that can reliably provide a necessary understanding. The Bipolar part refers to Mexico's hot and cold political relations with the United States prior to and indeed through part of the 20th century; the famous telegram which drew the U.S. into WW1, the Zimmerman Telegram, was a proposed alliance between Germany and Mexico. The electric hedge clipper part, though, is truly inspired. He could have used any electric tool, perhaps a lawn mower, but the hedge clipper is something which has been designed to operate along the border regions of a piece of property, versus the lawn mower, which covers the area denoted by the boundaries.

[@Tunkkis]

@@jamespfp An electric lawnmower with a cord?

[@patriot17764th]

Lol I mean. Hay it works. (jokes)

[@RheaGotGreened]

Is it weird that I mainly listen to these videos to sleep. They're long, and not too loud or exciting. It's perfect. Love the videos while I'm fully awake too

[@nemilyk]

Nah, same here. Same with Forgotten Weapons.

[@captainvladmir7535]

I saw that ya'll had put this up last night too late for me to watch, but this turned out to be a good thing because it was waiting for me when I got home after a spectacularly busy day. I don't know if the C&Rsenal crew knows that their videos give people anticipatory smiles after crap days, but in at least one case, you did.

[@jdrumgoole]

Thanks

[@jdrumgoole]

Now this double episode was awesome

[@Candrsenal]

it's cheaper to join us on Patreon!

[@egrith2127]

I love that these videos come out just before payday, and on a day I usually have off, makes every other Tuesday the best ay of the fortnight.

[@Odin029]

I would have been here earlier, but I was watching a Massad Ayoob video and once he starts talking you can't click away

[@TerryDowne]

"Mae's Mime Lessons." I can't wait for this new spinoff, I'd subscribe.

[@trekaddict]

I'm rewatching my favourites, and during the Krag episode, one thought came to me: Imagine this in the days of KZbin being limited to 12 mins per video.

[@sharkinahat]

Why do I feel the need to grab a sharpie and paint angry eyebrowns every time I see a Crozier photo?

[@toastpuppy3491]

“War were declared” followed by random battlefield/training footage followed by “AAAAAAWWWWAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH-“

[@davidbrennan660]

That is the sound track to the Model 17 “trapping the hands” scene on the intro.

[@terrysmith7751]

There can't be many people who have fired more WW1 weapons than Mae has. I'm always interested in her opinions.

[@Pest789]

The feed system in the browning machine guns is ridiculously reliable. I've put 20,000 rounds through my 1919 over the past five years and had zero stoppages that I couldn't directly attribute to poorly loaded belts or trying to use ammunition that's not long enough. Because it has to pull ammo out the back of the belt, the ammo absolutely has to be long enough to ensure the extractor reaches the rim of the case. Each cartridge also has to be uniformly seated into the belt at the same depth as its neighbors so that a round sticking out can't prevent the one before it from going into the gun.

[@randyc750]

My Grandpa ran one of these in the Phillipines in WW2. He loved his. At rest it was like a super accurate 30-06 sniper rifle. He said he made a lot of shots on targets with just a single flick of the trigger lever after dialing the gun in on the carriage. While the gun is running, though, it makes a cone and is not point accurate in the same way. He loved his. He said it just worked and worked.

[@JustMe-um8zp]

Another thanks to Michael for being a Big Damn Hero! Shiny

[@Zmanmodelrailroads]

That mount is rock steady! Awesome group. Love the digital Browning, should have done military presses with that bad boy 😅

[@daveross3226]

As always, a wonderful educational testament to your enthusiasm and grasp of the subject. Thinking back to my days on the British L7A2, GPMG, we used tracer. Would the US Expeditionary Force have used tracer with it? If yes, that makes battle acquisition a lot easier.

[@earlyriser8998]

Excellent 2 part video .... and explained about the gun....without going all OTT on the best machine gun ever

[@mediamattersismycockholste562]

Just swinging by to give you guys a thumbs up.. been busy moving the business, hope you guys got past whatever censorship issues were going on. Keep up the good work!

[@chriserickson4417]

I really like your channel. Thank you for all the great videos and info.

[@theotherwaldo]

I live just down the road from Harlingen, Texas. I've fired on some of the ranges created for the machine gun schools. One of the local gun stores has some of the oversized training models of the Browning machine gun and other military weapons. It's nice to know that South Texas contributed to the First World War!

[@nathanblackwell3359]

Yall have been doing great. Mae is awesome. Great work on the history keep it up. Drivetanks has multiple types of military firearms and a range for them. Try getting with them for future episodes.

[@embreeja]

Mathias: I really appreciate your channel. You give a great history and a great demonstration of the gun at hand. I used to visit another gun channel, but for some reason I have 'forgotten' the name. Not nearly as good. And his voice was squealy --- difficult to listen to. I realize this vid on the 1917 is now two years old --- but that makes it all the more special since I feel that I have now found a really good Arms channel and look forward to checking out all your vids. AND, the historical information IS important and appreciated.

[@lefr33man]

You know, the more I watch your videos, the more I think someone could make a prequel to The Pentagon Wars set in that era.

[@owenhess6562]

switching to .303, thats like accepting a British engine into a american design....oh wait.

[@allangibson8494]

Worked for the Japanese...

[@zoperxplex]

@@allangibson8494 The Merlin engine that made the P-52 Mustang into the top American fighter plane of WWII.

[@CheshireTomcat68]

@@zoperxplex P51 ! Collect your P45 on the way out ;-) (UK joke)

[@31terikennedy]

@@zoperxplex After it was refined by Packard.

[@zoperxplex]

@@31terikennedy The Packard V-1650 engine was essentially the same Merlin engine modified to fit American specifications

[@stevekaczynski3793]

14:40 - 15:30 - Mae placing the bullets as though by hand.

[@cannonfodder4376]

Oh boy, the edit in the beginning even had the sound effect. 😂😂 And Mae holding both the Vickers and Browning at the same time.😂😂 Mae did not skip arm day.

[@trekaddict]

I find my self looking forward more to the Ma Deuce episode than the M1911. EDIT: Because I love me some MGs.

[@Hybris51129]

But that is outside of WWI being the M1921 Browning unless there is a version before that one that Othais managed to unearth.

[@felixstieger9039]

Hybris51129 yeah. But they will eventually get out of ww1. And I’m pretty sure may wouldn’t say no to a fully automatic.50 cal

[@tokinsloff312]

M1911? What's that? :P

[@Edax_Royeaux]

I hope to see a Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP, something used in the war and mounted on the first US tanks.

[@trekaddict]

@@Hybris51129 Given that a version of that thing is still in use with just about every vaguely western-oriented Army in the world and .50 BMG has reached ultimate meme status, that episode almost has to exist at some point. (Note: Not demanding that it does, but I love the M2.)

[@jackdina5353]

Mae shooting the 1917 is the first time I think i've seen Mae look bored while firing a gun.

[@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz]

It damn near shoots itself, really.lol

[@nirfz]

Those tripod mounted belt fed guns look a bit like a "non-event" for the shooter, compared to shoulderfired ones...

[@zoperxplex]

Who would have thunk it?

[@Reepicheep-1]

Mae zenning out on the experience.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

"I want a girl from a yankee doodle town." **Mae lighting up a target with a belt fed HMG**

[@yermanoh]

love mae's lockdown hair, its something ive only just noticed on wednesdy when talking to a buddy i hadnt seen in a 2 months she had lots of grey hair and shes never "had" grey hair before and since then ive been more aware of all the women walking about with grey hair that wouldn't normally have grey hair. the upside of being bald is no grey hair to worry about

[@left-handedtexan2658]

These videos always make my day.

[@heyfitzpablum]

Amazing design. Kudos to John M. Browning.

[@vectorvitale]

'Which is very real and actually here' OH my God I love you guys

[@jeffreyroot6300]

I agree with the direct fire battle sights issue, ideally should have used P14/M1917 rifle sights, in an emergency with the issue sights I would have pointed the front sight hood like a shotgun bead and corrected by walking fire.

[@XKCDism]

that photo at the start was awesome

[@thegoldencaulk2742]

20:07 Yeah, I'm gonna need that for a wallpaper

[@scottsnider5135]

For quick sight alinement, it looked to me as center the rear notch in the sight hood and blaze away. Like a reverse peep sight.

[@randymagnum143]

I'd wager some folks were a lot more troubled by dropping rounds over the heads of friendlies. And some institutions accepted a certian amout of loss in that regard.

[@victorlacas6649]

I'm no longer sure which character has the most screentime: Browning or Crozier?

[@arya31ful]

I think it's Crozier, at least until M1911 vid got released.

[@donaldlindgren6817]

At the end of WW 1 my grandfather was training in the Central Machine Gun Officer Training School at Camp Hancock near Augusta, Georgia. He was discharged by the end of November as a corporal and was never commissioned. He had enlisted in April 1917 right after the US had declared war. He was sent to the 12th Infantry in San Francisco. The 12th was never sent to France. At some point every regiment was told to designate NCOs for officer training. I do not know what he did in the 12th infantry but, as a corporal he could have been a machine gun squad leader.

[@fasdaVT]

You know who we need to run the long range tests? 9 hole review.

[@maewinchester2030]

Agreed.

[@niklasaskham4208]

COVID-19 put a stop to that

[@jeffreyroot6300]

They don’t seem to be running a 2500 yard range...

[@colemanmoore9871]

@@jeffreyroot6300 1100 is better than 50

[@fasdaVT]

@ it should be a 500 inch drop at that range. So not what you would call flat.

[@reddevilparatrooper]

May is having such a great time!!! Woooohoooo!!!!

[@thomasa5619]

Ahh yeah, the c&rsenal comedy show I enjoyed it

[@Strawberry92fs]

The last time I was this early the U.S. had a frontier Army.

[@FrostyShock349]

Last time I was this late, another company took the contract

[@Yance_000]

Hey guys, I know it's not really what you're going through but I would absolutely love to see an episode on the various grenade launchers of WW1. I would like to know a bit more about their basic design as well as the variations of tactics and equipment between the various countries. Do you think this is a possibility and do you have any resources you'd recommend for finding more information?

[@MTLB85]

Last time I was this early America was all about neutrality.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

You might like right now?

[@rodrigodepierola]

"We can only occupy one space in time at a time" is such a lame excuse. Great video, as usual.

[@darkkinggaming7988]

I love that smile after every shot

[@patrickduis]

I especially like the picture at 25:24 of the aircraft version (that was not adopted). There was a .30AN/M2 version (for aircraft) but that was developed during WW2. Any idea of what timeframe this picture is?

[@papaD40]

i was trained on the browning 1917 machine gun many-many years ago . it shoots very well if set properly. training is needed to learn how to change barrels and set the timing with two special gauges. no mention was made of this. when assembling the barrel has to be unscrewed a bit(maybe 3 and a half turns?) to let a part in the mechanism fall into place (the block?) - every gun is slightly different and you have to know your weapon for exact setup and timing. i used modern type belts made from metal bits. the only other thing that comes to mind is that the trigger is not 'pulled', rather 'lifted' www.gunpartscorp.com/products/170340 ...this shows the gauges

[@brentkeller3826]

17:25 "Combat trout" Now I want to see the development of the Combat Trout, US M-1 and it's application on the battlefield.

[@lefr33man]

4:21 I must congratulate you in your exquisite taste in map locale.

[@tonlito22]

Yay, Mae got to play!

[@andrewstoll4548]

That Browning has such a nice sound.

[@garygenerous8982]

Mae, M1917 or Lewis Gun for favourite MG of the war?

[@Lugi515]

When will the Schwarzlose M07/12 come?

[@FredCheckers]

So America only listened to Crozier when was wrong. Damn that 20/20 hindsight.

[@danielwalker8142]

that sight protector looks like it would make a decent gost ring

[@09stoneheart]

Othias & Mae. So you have pretty much covered most of the small arms the US would have had after catching up with development and war production. In your opinion, how formidable would a US infantry unit have been had they been equipped with 1903/1917 rifles, BARs for light machine guns, 1897 Trench guns, and 1917 Browning heavy machine guns like US command had wanted them to be? Basically, would they have stacked up against the Germans as well as we would all like to think, as compared to British and the French units, if the 1919 spring offensive had actually taken place?

[@jamespfp]

22:30 -- Hey! If you're looking for a comparison for the trainees who became teachers at the troop level, you could consider them as analogous to a Roman centurion, who, among other duties, would be expected to keep his legionaries well trained.

[@richardmeyeroff7397]

Have you done a video or series on the M2 50 cal family and history?

[@Otokichi786]

C&Rsenal is using Hollyweird DFX...about time.

[@gijake1989]

Why does Mae only look slightly content hunched behind the gun performing short bursts.

[@walterbigsby6380]

When are y'all going to an episode on the Colt 1895?

[@CheshireTomcat68]

25:36 A similar fix worked on the Early Lotus Esprit. An extra bar across the bottom of the rear suspension Colin Chapman thought wasn't required!

[@automojo9656]

Does anyone know when c&resnal will do the 1911. Almost everyone would like to see it but he hasn’t done a video about it yet.

[@anarchyandempires5452]

I feel this was a missed opportunity to talk about the m2 .50 cal, it's literally just this gun but bigger and reinforced.

[@marko11kram]

Mexico as a guy with a hedge trimmer---- SNORKS

[@MrTmocherman]

And eventually the cord would run out...

[@coldandaloof7166]

What I don't understand about the US aversion to the machine guns and tactics and thier possible effectiveness is that we understood the concept of machine guns but in a different form...we used the gattling gun to great effect in the Spanish American war. Probably the reason Teddy Roosevelt succeeded in his charge up a certain hill. (Not San Juan lol).

[@jeffreyroot6300]

Not just that, Teddy had two privately purchased Colt 1895 Potato Digger Medium Machine guns with him. In 7mm Mauser no less!

[@tenofprime]

It is important to remember 2 things: 1. the US at the time was still a small army focused on mobility, a large heavy machine gun is hard to move around so not the top of the list on stuff to buy. 2. as Othias commented the machine gun in the US got the same treatment as it did in the UK, it was the dumping ground for guys who were not good at other stuff.

[@TheMCD1989]

Will there be an episode on the Marlin potato digger? A gun that really never gets any coverage, I don't know much of anything about it.

[@dutchplanderlinde4845]

Maybe you could do an April Fools episode with a Tippmann M1917, but I think that episode wouldn’t have been as good since we already got the “not-as-miniature” version.

[@nirfz]

49:06 too gentle? 😁 My first time handling a MG in basic training lead to the instructor telling me „MG heißt: Mit Gewalt!“. Really hoping for a Schwarzlose MG episode!

[@rttakezo2000]

it always boils down to $$. did congress provide sufficient funds to the war department? doesn't matter how much the army might have wanted something....it's mute if there is no funds to back it up

[@RyTrapp0]

*moot "mute" is something different entirely

[@jeffreyroot6300]

Absolutely correct! The same restrictions applied to the US interwar period.

[@tenofprime]

Indeed, that is why the full historical context is important. What looks stupid to us 100+ years later is often either acceptable or excusable based on the info at hand.

[@sskuk1095]

Could you please do an episode about the Colt M1911 or the Schwarzlose MG? I'm so hyped for these two.

[@tenofprime]

the 1911 is coming at some point but he is hoping to make it as impressive as the gun deserves given its history and impact.

[@sskuk1095]

@@tenofprime Yeah, it is probably one of the guns at that time that had the biggest impact on future developments. However I also wonder when will we move on into the interwar period? There's so much waiting to be tought!

[@tenofprime]

@@sskuk1095 they talked about it in a Q&A a while back. After WW1 the plan was to just wander time wise instead of doing a set war or time frame. Granted plans change (covid did a real number on the plans travel wise so things had to be moved) but I am looking forward to seeing the C&R treatment for non WW1 guns as well.

[@okonkwojones]

Legit blurt laugh when Othais grunts lifting that *AN ACTUAL 1917* onto the table.

[@crisandm1016]

Dakka dakka dakka dakka! *Mae grinning Yeah that's awesome.

[@iliap1217]

Othias, do one on the Swedish 8x63

[@GunFunZS]

The posture at the 42:00 minute mark, immediately made me think of the sort body language that you would see in a Gorillaz music video.

[@Tidebo1]

Hey Othais, I notice there is still a certain Austrian machinegun you need to cover!

[@kimj2570]

2 Austrian MGs, 2 Italian, one French, one borderline case US....Thou, becoming really hard to gain access...

[@goetzliedtke]

The one you fired has, presumably, been shot for 100 years. Even if it only had an average of 300 rounds a year, that's 30,000 rounds. If this gun hasn't experienced the receiver breakdown, it may not have been as common as feared.

[@MisterOcclusion]

Great CGI. If you hadn’t said the gun wasn’t there I’d have never known. ;)

[@mlhus]

Why don't you make a show about the swedish version, the ksp M 36? I saw a video with Lee Emery where he stated it was his absolut favorite machine gun

[@Nick-rs5if]

14:30 - Listen to that Browning sing!

[@M.M.83-U]

Wonderful! Now I hope you can find a Fiat 14 and a Schwarzlose.

[@demomanchaos]

Who has the best job, Mae or Ian?

[@junglesairsoftblog6311]

Ian, he gets to play with a wider range of toys, from 1600-2021!

[@robbytheremin2443]

If Browning is your number one guest star, Crozier is number two. (Pun intended. 😉)

[@timewave02012]

If the miscalculated ballistics tables caused the sights to be marked incorrectly, I would consider that a problem with the gun. If the tables were distributed in manuals accompanying the gun, then I would agree it's a support (documentation) problem. This doesn't mean I disagree with the conclusions, but as an engineer involved in product design (not guns), I consider the distinction important.

[@jeffreyroot6300]

This is application beyond the use of sights. The indirect fire tables were for using MGs as light artillery, illustrated by the image of that Vickers crew with the gun elevated to point up into the sky to rain bullets down beyond line of sight. Rifles with volley fire sights were the same application.

[@timewave02012]

@@jeffreyroot6300 Okay, indirect fire is pretty extreme. Interestingly, I remember seeing somewhere (can't find a source now), that by WWII, the US enjoyed an advantage over the Japanese by being able to calculate naval artillery trajectories more precisely.