Operating the Browning Automatic Rifle "The BAR" - 1943

The BAR is one of the legendary weapons of the Twentieth Century.! Zeno, Zeno's Warbird Video Drive-In zenoswarbirdvideos.com Don't miss our this video & a lot more on our "German and American Automatic Weapons in World War 2" DVD bit.ly/N3JHxa Includes a BAR manual!
First introduced at the end of World War I, it served in all theaters of World War II, was widely used in Korea and was not fully phased out of the US arsenal until the 1970s. Used as both an automatic rifle and light machine gun, it added extra punch down to the squad level, where every man was trained in its use just in case "the BAR man" was put out of action. This film gives a through introduction to the operation of the BAR, including operational features, magazines and tripods, and a detailed strip down using live action and animated illustrations.

[@johnzhang2378]

When a video from the 1940s is more informative and detailed than the highly animated ones we see today...

[@lonewolf604]

John Browning was a genius. Its amazing how he started with Winchester rifles, then creating the 30. cal, 50. cal machine guns, and the BAR.

[@stevenward2644]

My father was issued a BAR carried it during WW2 Battle of Bulge and more. He was a Sergeant. He told me the "old man" issued it to me and I never let go of it. If somebody offered to help carry the BAR he would pointed to one of three ammo cans "thanks" . He also kept the bipod attached many removed it because it swung when marching/walking/running. Had his pants pockets reinforced to carry 4 / 5 roundclips or twenty rounds in his pockets. The one thing he did not like was the gun was loaded from top, dirt could could fall in when loading durring battle conditions. Some other stories he told me make me appreciate his generation. He never got to see the WW2 monument at DC but I described it to him. He was pleased. Great gun Greater citizens

[@RubyBandUSA]

I admire your dad Steven, even though I never met him.

[@starscreamsdkfz475]

What a man! Cheers from Spain

[@FPSBurg]

I’m getting my great grandfathers BAR in a few weeks and this is actually helpful

[@bubblegumbabeface6629]

This is awesome. I would have forgotten all of that once we got back from class/theater and went to the barracks

[@sovietbottle-cap1649]

You have a nice face

[@pkre707]

Glad I came here. Understood how the full/semi-auto worked from forgotten weapons, but I had no idea about the actuator spring for the half speed. Amazing!

[@eogg25]

It was a good weapon, you could fire single shots or bursts but it was heavy. every squad had one BAR.

[@Roddy556]

Was being the key word. It was a first generation automatic that stuck around for too long.

[@hangfried9429]

Something to be said for a fully automatic 30-06.

[@stanotattoo]

Thanks for showing us this super complete video!

[@urrisumskas4372]

Фильмик очень понравился-чёткий и наглядный! Умели американцы снимать отличные учебные фильмы! Система замедления темпа автоматической стрельбы замечательно функционирует. Конечно, сконструирован этот образец с учётом господствовавшей тогда "технологии швейных машин"-тотальной механической обработки деталей из цельных стальных заготовок, с большой трудоёмкостью и малым коэффициентом использования металла. Узел запирания, накол капсюля патрона и первоначальное страгивание стреляной гильзы были решены замечательно-у гениального Мозеса Браунинга мозги были правильно поставлены! Всё продумано, даже амортизация шептала, предохраняющая его боевой взвод от ударного срезания и наклёпа затвором при длительной интенсивной автоматической стрельбе. Направляющие затворной рамы с затвором тоже интересно приделаны к внутренностям ствольной коробки. Отличная, очень продуманная, конструкция, хотя и очень трудоёмкая в изготовлении и массивная по современным меркам, да и ёмкость магазина маловата. С таким умеренным темпом стрельбы и частой сменой магазинов, видимо, и ствол в бою не очень-то перегревался?!

[@sergeantmarcusstackerM1903]

Seeing how the slow fire mode works, it’s almost like the BAR is bump firing itself

[@Treblaine]

It's a machine gun that effectively has "primary extraction" where there's leverage advantage to initially dislodge a case stuck in the chamber which is really unusual for a machine gun. This explains how the BAR could be such a reliable machine gun even without an adjustable gas-port, the energy of the bolt is less likely to be robbed by an unusually sticky case. Feeding from magazines the ammunition would generally be protected from the elements and while a top-feed may be quicker loading the magazine from the bottom meant any dirt on the outside of the magazine or the hands would drop down away from the open magazine well rather than into the magazine well. The BAR was only expected to fire the ammunition held by the BAR-gunner and his assistant, about 500 rounds total, firing in 5-shot burst (average 100shots/min) this wouldn't overheat the barrel before all the ammunition was expended (source: books.google.co.uk/books?id=i-wsAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA37&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false ) Light machine guns like BREN could achieve double the fire rate by swapping out an overheated barrel but this was less than ideal and twice the fire rate meant twice the weight of ammo needed to be carried, so much that the BREN gunner now had to go to 8 different soldiers to get ammo while BAR gunner only needed to go to one ammo bearer. The US increased the firepower by having more pairs of BAR gunner + ammo bearer which allowed it to be very flexible

[@I000V000I]

Hmm... Very educational.

[@julianlopez320]

wanna hear a joke? so 3 Germans walk into a BAR

[@autisticSurvivalist]

Was perfect 😂

[@ma.luisadestreza2392]

Julian Lopez we heard that already lol

[@gabrieldiasdasilable]

LOL

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

BANGBANGBANG What Germans?

[@BlitzvogelMobius]

Excellent video. Plain and simple.

[@kennebecsmitty]

Seriously love your page!

[@philchristmas6818]

Just damn amazing!

[@NoahDiamond-Firearms-LLC]

The 1911 of automatic rifles. From the top it even looks like the 1911 grip safety leaf spring.

[@peghead]

Considering the BAR was designed earlier than the M1 Rifle, I always wondered why John Garand originally settled for various concepts of using the power of the cartridge to cycle the bolt such as "primer actuation" and later the "gas trap" system when, even after the U.S. officially adopted the M1, all rifles would soon be converted and produced to use a barrel gas port to bleed gas to a piston, it worked well in the BAR from the 'git-go'. Was it a patent infringement issue?

[@JimmySailor]

The selector markings could’ve been made a little more intuitive: S for Safe, A for Full rate automatic, and F for slow rate automatic. The slow rate is just a semi-auto disconnect with its own auto-trip. Never knew how that worked. I guess if you assembled the gun without the buffer F would fire semi.

[@ZenosWarbirds]

Like what you see? Your DVD purchases at our store make this channel possible. www.zenosflightshop.com Get this video & a lot more on our "German and American Automatic Weapons in World War 2" DVD bit.ly/N3JHxa Includes a BAR manual! We need your support! Zeno

[@MrUhwoody]

Makes me think about 'Kirby' from "Combat".

[@RubyBandUSA]

yeah, he was the scrawniest guy but carried the heaviest gun. Why didn't Little John get the BAR ??

[@sku32956]

30.06 great deer round on auto that must sound like a man beating on a drum from a distance when fired .

[@gokublack4211]

A B.A.R with a M1911 ... Grim Reaper of the battlefield

[@kenns9]

so if you removed the buffer, the "A" postion would be come semiauto?

[@WAQWBrentwood]

I would think the "F" (Slow rate) position would be Semiautomatic if the actuator wasn't there.

[@jameshay7247]

That is correct. The slow rate was a modification of semi-automatic on the WWI-era BAR

[@Ar-Telcontar]

I wish I could get my hands on a BAR without breaking the bank to much

[@jehovahuponyou]

THE ATF IS LISTENING, BE CAREFUL! ROFL!

[@barnabywylde2224]

Seems like if you cobbled together certain concepts from a BAR and a Remington Model 8 rifle you would end up with something that looked suspiciously like an AK47

[@jameshay7247]

FN combined the inner workings of the BAR, the riveted receiver construction of the M1919, the belt-feed assembly of the MG-42, and the quick-change barrel system of the BREN to create the M240 7.62 mm machine gun our military uses today!

[@oron61]

I wonder if Schmeisser's Machine Carbine (Stg-44) took most of his inspiration from Browning.

[@urrisumskas4372]

@@oron61 У затрофеенной советской СВТ-38(40) немцы фирмы Хенеля вдохновлялись системой запирания канала ствола и газоотвода через поперечное отверстие в стволе при создании своей Мkb42( Н)-хенелевской части прототипа будущей Stg-44. А курковый ударно-спусковой механизм для вальтеровской части прототипа будущей Stg44-Мkb42(W) был вдохновлён браунинговским анкерным УСМ из Auto5, развитым чехами в их Zb.26. Когда после сравнительных испытаний Mkb42(H) и Mkb42(W) их конструкции скомпиллировали в единое целое на переконструированной базе хенелевского прототипа Mkb42(H) с добавлением куркового УСМ Mkb42(W), то получилась Мkb43-будущая Stg44. Шмайссеровского в компиллятивной конструкции германской Stg44 только не слишком удачный узел газоотвода на стволе-остальное авторство за другими немецкими конструкторами-оружейниками!)))

[@tatejordan385]

1:17 damn, this guy's ear is inches away from the muzzle

[@giantpune]

WHAAAAT!?!?!!

[@chacedelaney7282]

It seems BARs are rare. Was there not alot issued or does the gov hold on to them? Maybe they're all bought up and hidden in plain sight.

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

Wonder if they ever tired to improve on the weapon? Like put a semi auto option of it?

[@grimsurvivor]

Semi auto was a feature of the original BARs used in WW1

[@DeepPlane]

While not 100% an improvement, Ohio Ordinance Works took a bunch of flawed BAR receivers and made them into the HCAR, but in semi-auto only. They did, however, reduce the weight by cutting away some unnecessary metal. Still supposedly heavy compared to modern firearms.

[@bill3641]

Wonder if the animations were done by Disney Studios ? Got hooked on the B.A.R. watching " Combat " as a kid .

[@colinhowell2967]

Could well be. During the war almost all of Disney's animation output was for the war effort, often for technical training films like this one.

[@GhanyNurisAlhakim]

* the Automatic Rifle mode of M1911... hihihi

[@426superbee4]

To many moving parts> A miracle it even shoots

[@426superbee4]

@@chipsawdust5816 what really surprising Is? . Very little gas is doing so much and so fast a plug up vent hole and your screwed he hee i think i'll stick with the m 14 or Thompson 1927-A1

[@nipplecream3099]

@@426superbee4 since when is dirt stronger than steel dumbass, this thing was in service from WW1 to Korea

[@rockypower5168]

Why is the first round from gas but the second from striking the bullet

[@SofaKingWeTodEd666]

if those 6 holes for the gas were accidentally plugged during combat, I wonder if there was a danger of the rifle exploding?

[@bloodgamer1312]

trust me if dirt or any grime did get in there, the gas would be powerful enough to blow it straight out.

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

It can still escape through the gas port and out the end of the barrel. (If the gas port itself is blocked, the gun won't cycle.)

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

I wonder why they never made a belt-fed version of the BAR.

[@grimsurvivor]

M240 is basically a belt fed BAR

[@oron61]

TBH, If I were a recruit watching this video, I'd be staring at the screen, info in one ear, out the other, film reels of Pearl Harbor going through my head, and begging to ask just how to load, oil, and shoot the damned thing...

[@dwizzleusa4202]

Learn the full functionality of the B.A.R..from the 1940s very understanding nowadays...lol the people explaining doesn't understand fully.

[@sgtboz9730]

Two Germans walk into a BAR....

[@movetherunner]

The 8 thumbs down must be from descendants of Nazi's that were mowed down by BAR's

[@Rick-hc5nz]

Alien technologiazzz

[@drit97]

Feels like a fallout video

[@bobbyharper8710]

Essentially how an AR 15 works.

[@HiVoltish]

Kinda feel like I've been put on a "list" just for watching....

[@BigboiiTone]

You have no idea lol. You're fine

[@absoluteinfinity1197]

If the STG44 is the gun most ahead of its time in WW2, then the BAR is definately what I say the most ahead of its time in WW1. without John Browning firearms even till now would have been very different and thausands of more lives would have been lost fighitng the Nazi's and 2nd German reich.

[@ohwell6422]

@MichaelKingsfordGray Were you high while writing this or something?