John Browning is
perhaps one person who has left an indelible mark etched throughout the history
of mankind which will never be forgotten. Browning was an American gun designer
who was responsible for developing a variety of civilian and military firearms,
ammunition, cartridges, and other gun mechanisms still used throughout the
world today. He is an icon in the development of modern semi-automatic and
automatic firearms. There are at least 128 firearms patents that can be
credited to him. He started making firearms at 13 and had his first patent at
the age of 24.
Browning has his
influence marked in almost all gun categories ever designed. He has made
significant changes to most single-shot, slide action, and lever-action
shotguns and rifles. But his most important contribution is perhaps on the
category of auto-loading guns. He was the first to develop the most reliable
auto-loading pistols. They were operated by integrated telescoping bolt and
barrel shroud. Every modern-day fully-automatic firearms and semi-automatic pistols
have been influenced by Browning’s integrated telescoping bolt.
The first
gas-operated machine gun known as the Colt-Browning Model 1895 was also the handiwork
of Browning. Its design has become the benchmark for most of the high-powered,
self-loading guns today. Browning also has his own mark in the development of automatic cannon.
The most
significant designs made by Browning include the Browning .50 caliber machine
gun, the M1911 pistol, the Browning Automatic Rifle, and the semi-automatic
shotgun which is considered a ground-breaking invention. The modern-day
versions of these guns are still identical to those developed by Browning
except for the minor changes in some of their intricate details and their
cosmetics. Browning’s guns are arguably the world’s most copied guns.
Browning was
born on January 23, 1855 in Ogden, Utah. He was a devout member of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He died on November 26, 1926.
No comments:
Post a Comment