Monday, Jun. 18, 1923

A New " Browning "

An automatic, rapid-firing cannon, of 1.5 inch caliber, capable of firing

120 1.25 pound shells a minute, has been perfected by John M. Browning, inventor of the Browning Machine-gun, and is under test at the Aberdeen proving grounds, Maryland. The cannon is designed for use in airplanes as well as on land or sea, and has a range of seven miles. It weighs 160 pounds mounted on a tripod, and can be aimed accurately from any position.

Mr. Browning's home is in Ogden, Utah. He was born in 1855, and his genius runs in the family, for Jonathan Browning, his father, was a gunsmith in the Civil War period. John M. made his first gun at 13, of scrap iron in his father's shop. He patented his breech-loading rifle in 1879, a repeating rifle in 1884, and a box magazine in 1895. He holds in all 132 patents on rapid-fire weapons of all sizes, many of which are manufactured by the Winchester and Colt companies. His automatic guns have been adopted by several European governments, and both his heavy and light machine-guns were officially adopted by the U. S. ordinance department in 1918. The heavy gun weighs 34 1/2pounds, is water-cooled, gas-actuated, and belt-fed. It can be mounted on aircraft with a weight of only 22 1/2 pounds. The "light Browning " weighs but 15 pounds, is air-cooled, and looks like, and can be fired like an ordinary rifle, either from shoulder or hip.