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Title:	GUN, MACHINE -  U.S. MACHINE GUN JOHNSON MODEL 1941 .30 SN# 0107
Maker/Manufacturer:	JOHNSON, MELVIN
Date of Manufacture:	1941
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 919
Measurements:	OL:106.6CM 42" BL: 55.8CM 22" 14.3 lbs.

Object Description:

U.S. MACHINE GUN JOHNSON MODEL 1941 .30 SN# 0107
Manufactured by Cranston Arms Co., Cranston, R.I. in 1941 - Standard, short recoil, rotating bolt, selective-fire, M1941 Johnson machine gun. 20-round detachable box magazine feed. Fires semi-auto from closed bolt and full-auto from open bolt. 4-groove rifling; right hand twist. Muzzle velocity 2800 fps. Cyclic rate of fire: 550 to 600 rpm. Wood butt, forearm and pistol grip. Weapon weighs approximately 14.3 lbs. Equipped with sling and bipod.

Markings:
Receiver: Patent numbers/LIGHT MACHINE GUN/"JOHNSON AUTOMATICS"/ CAL..30-06 MODEL OF 1941/MADE IN PROVIDENCE, R.I./0107. Side: CRANSTON ARMS CO.
Barrel: 30.06/41.
Magazine: 9-NE-45 (Magazine removed.)

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 29 November 1951.

Notes: "Johnson, Light Machine Gun, Model 1941 - In the summer of 1942, a light machine gun, Model 1941, was submitted by Johnson Automatics, Inc. of Boston, Mass. Following minor modifications and preliminary test firing at Aberdeen Proving Ground, five of these guns were sent to Fort Benning, Ga. for further test by the Infantry Board. When fired semiautomatically, the bolt was closed and locked prior to discharge, but in full-automatic operation this was an open bolt gun. It weighed 15,88 pounds with bipod and loaded magazine. Rate of fire was 600 rounds a minute.
This gun was issued to a battalion of United States Marines in the South Pacific, and 125 more went to the First Special Service Force - mountain troops organized somewhat on the order of Ranger units - in Italy. Nearly all reports received from the field on these weapons were favourable, though their use was limited." - Lewis

"Record from Johnson Automatic, Inc. reflect that the United States Marine Corps purchased 515 light machine guns. The first contract was awarded on January 11, 1942 for 15 guns at a unit price of $265.00. The contract was billed on May 13, 1942. The production date of these weapons was probably May 7, 1942. A second contract was awarded on April 23, 1942 for 500 light machine guns at a unit price of $266.00. The first billing for the second contract was June 9, 1942 with a final billing on November 17, 1942. The records note that the guns fulfilling the second contract were shipped prior to November 17, 1942. The difference in cost (one dollar) between the first and second contract prices probably reflects the inclusion of a bipod with the second contract machine guns. The cost of the bipod, according to Johnson Automatics, Inc. records, being $1.00.
In determining the production dates for the Marine Corps guns, the both the records referred to above and other material were used. By letter dated May 3, 1945, Marine Corps Plt. Sgt. H.W. Emree notified Johnson that he carried a M1941 through the Pacific campaign. This weapon was acquired from a Marine Corps paratrooper and bore the serial number 0242. By referring to the Tables, it can be ascertained that this particular gun was transferred on September 12, 1942. Other Johnson light machine guns associated with a particular individual include 0145, used by Gy. Sgt. W.D. Irving for two years, and 0375 carried by Lt. Col. George O. VanOrden (the 'Beast of Bougainville') during combat on both Bougainville and Guam. This was the only Johnson light machine gun used on Guam. The Tables show that 0145 was transferred on July 22, 1942 and that 0375 was transferred on October 10, 1942.
On June 26, 1943, a shipment of 124 Johnson light machine guns was transferred tot he First Special Service Force ('The Devil's Brigade'), a joint United States-Canada unit operating under U.S. Army command. This lot has been identified by referring to copies of 1SSF ordnance repair records which contain the serial numbers of the weapons repaired as well as the nature of the repair....." - Robert L. Lamoreaux

"The firearms designs of Melvin Johnson remains, even today, the finest in their field. I would rather carry a M1944 Johnson Light Machine Gun into combat than any other weapon. Johnson's designs were relatively cheap and easy to manThe guns set new standards of reliability that probably never will be surpassed. Their accuracy in the field was excellent, but more important, they were easy to use effectively in combat. Well balanced and lively in the hand, every feature was based on combat experiences. Input was from World War I combat veterans, not theoretical engineers majors fresh out of school. Practicality and what works in combat were the only criteria. Melvin Johnson was most successful in this.
Why was the gun not greeted with open arms by the Army Ordnance Board? First and most damming, it was not invented by an inside member of the then elite Army Ordnance clique. Instead, it was invented by - Gasp! Horrors! et cetera - a Marine Captain. Interservice rivalry then was such that to adopt a Marine officer's rifle was unthinkable.
There is a darker untold side to this as well. Not only did the reputations of Ordnance Corps toppers ride on the Garand M1, but I have it on good authority from one in a position to know that the Army had virtually misappropriated a million dollars for development of the Garand rifle. Should the Garand fail to be adopted, this would come out and mean dishonorable discharge and jail for top officers. They even went so far as to make multiple Garand M1 prototypes bearing the same serial number so that when one started failing the test, another could be substituted quietly.
The Garand never did meet the specifications requiring successful use of the powerful .30-06 M1 cartridge. Ordnance had to revert quickly to the .30-06 load which they renamed the M2, so people wouldn't question the backtracking.
The Johnson operated with either cartridge. Indeed, a set of spare barrel converted it to 7mm or .35 Whelen - and it continued to work perfectly. No other automatic firearm ever has been so carefree in ammunition acceptance. I have even seen Johnsons fired with black power-loaded .30/06 cartridges and function perfectly. With a recoil-operated system instead of a gas cylinder, the rifle was immune to powder fouling.
In contract, a black powder revolver froze up after thirty-six rounds and required oil to soften the fouling. You never will find a gas-operated firearm that will work with black powder for very loing.
Big deal, you say. Who uses black powder for military ammo? In WWII, the U.S. issued one lot of ammunition that had the same fouling characteristics of black powder. The Garand simply shut down when faced with the ammo. The Johnson guns and the Browning belt-fed machine guns worked with it. In wartime, you never know when you will get bad powder. In Vietnam, the wrong type of powder jammed the M16.
Finally, any gas-operated weapon can fire only so many rounds before powder fouling stops it cold. Since recoil-operated rounds are affected in the same manner as gas-operated arms, why doesn't everyone use recoil-operation, like the Johnson or the German G3?
Simple. A working recoil system takes more work for the designer. With a gas-operated system, all you do is adjust the gas flow to the prototype, until it starts working. To develop a recoil system and fine tune it takes more work and engineering skills.
One more advantage to the Johnson recoil system will be appreciated by anyone who has had to clean an M16. The Johnson rifle doesn't deposit fouling all over the inside of the gun.
The Johnson series of arms all feature a quick-detachable barrel. This makes for ease of cleaning as well as allowing instant barrel changes. Marine paratroopers were especially happy with the Johnson's quick take-down feature. Rapid aimed fire was a strong point of all these weapons and the M1941 Johnson rifle is a perfectly balanced, fast handling rifle.
Denied the use of a detachable magazine by Ordnance Board requirements, Johnson used a rotary Mannlicher style magazine that could be The Model 1941 Johnson light machine gun basically followed the rifle concept but added selective-fire capability and a detachable magazine. It was intended for rapid aimed fire, switching to full-auto for emergencies. The gun fired full-auto from an open bolt and semi-auto from a closed bolt. Accuracy was good for single-shot sniping at ranges up to 1000 yards against the Japanese in WWII.
Controllability in full-auto fire was good, but the M1944 model was the real champ. The M1944 absorbs almost all of the recoil of the .30/06 cartridge. On full-auto, it transmits only 1.33 foot-pounds per shot. This is one light machine gun that really is controllable on offhand full-auto fire. At 14.7 pounds, it is none too heavy for rifle use.
In the opinion of many, this is the weapon the soldier should carry, not an assault rifle firing a weaker cartridge, not a semi-auto with a selector switch pretending to be a real machine gun, but a real machine gun that can - and has - doubled as a sniper rifle out to 1000 yards in actual combat. The M1944 Johnson was - and is - the ultimate weapon for the expert." - Jim Dickson

"The Johnson light machine gun was developed between 1936 and 1938 from the rifle of the same designer. The US Marine Corps tried it without adoption, and the only sizeable order the company ever received was from the Dutch Army in the Dutch East Indies. Before this could be completed the Japanese invaded and the supply stopped, although use by US Army Rangers and Special Services ensured that a small continuous production was kept up for the rest of World War Two. The Johnson was one of the few light machine-guns to operate on recoil principles, and, although an elegant design manufactured to a high standard, it was too flimsy and too prone to jamming for prolonged use. An interesting milestone in the history of firearms development, it perhaps deserved a better fate, but it appeared at a time when the US Army had made up its mind regarding light machine-gun policy and had settled on the BAR and the Browning M1919A4.
The Johnson possessed a number of unusual features, including firing from an open bolt in the automatic mode and from a closed bolt in single-shot mode. The box magazine was on the left side of the receiver, but it was possible to reload the magazine with rifle chargers through the right side without removing the magazine; this was Melvin Johnson's way of overcoming the Army's demand for a belt-fed gun. The cyclic rate could be altered by changing the tension in the buffer spring and was theoretically variable between 300 and 900rds./min. The basic models were made by the Cranston Arms Company, the M1941 and M1944. The earlier pattern was provided with a bipod and a wooden butt, while the M1944 had a light tubular monopod and a butt made from two parallel pieces of tubing closed by a butt-plate." - Hogg & Weeks

"While most of the M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun in U.S. military service were fielded by the Marine Corps, a limited number were procured by one of the most elite, and most unusual, U.S. Army of the Second World War. The First Special Service Force (FSSF) was a joint American-Canadian outfit that was formed in early 1942 for the purpose of conducting winter warfare operations in German-occupied Scandinavia. The unit received intensive training in airborne operations, winter combat (including fighting as ski troops) and demolition. The FSSF was able to obtain several items of non-standard weaponry, including the unique V-42 stiletto.
The M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun was viewed by the First Special FOrce as an ideal arms for its purposes as outlined in a 'Confidential Memo' dated February 15, 1943, from Lt. Col. O.J. Baldwin, executive offic2. It is requested, therefore, that action be taken to secure the 1st Special Service Force, by transfer from the Marine Corps, 125 Johnson Light Machine Gun, complete with accessories, spare parts, and instruction manuals, as are now furnished to the Marine Corps.
3. The advantages of the Johnson Light Machine Gun, which are the basis for this request, are:
a. The weight with full magazine is approximately 14 lbs. in contrast to approximately 23 lbs. for the Browning Automatic Rifle.
b. The gun can be broken down into three pieces of a maximum length of approximately 22". This permits it to be parachuted in the same manner as the M-1 rifle. The lightness in weight and ease of assembly (from 20 to 50 seconds) makes it an extremely valuable parachutist weapons.'
The Marine Corps approved the request for the 125 Johnson Light Machine Guns on April 20, 1943, and they were delivered to the First Special Force on June 29, 1943, with Johnson Automatics, Inc., handling the transfer from the Netherlands Purchasing Commission to the FSSF.
Before the First Special Service Force was fully trained and ready for deployment, the Scandinavian operation was cancelled, and the unit was eventually deployed to Italy where it played a key role in the pivotal Anzio campaign. The Forcemen (as they called themselves) and their Johnson Light Machine Guns, were credited with helping to break out of the Anzio beach head and securing the hard-won victory. The FSSF troops were every bit as enamored with the Johnson light machine gun as were the Marines paratroopers and Raiders who used them in the Pacific. It is reported that many of the Forcemen were reluctant to turn in their Johnson light machine guns when the First Special Service Force was deactivated in the South of France in early 1945.
The conclusion of the Second World War spelled an end to active combat use of the M1941 Johnson Light Machine Guns by the American military. A few turned up in the hands of the Chinese Communists during the Korean War, and some were used by Castro's rebels in Cuba in the late 1950s. Melvin M. Johnson, Jr., developed improved versions of his machine gun design, but the subsequent guns were only manufactured in limited prototype numbers.
The M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun incorporated several design features which are still used on front lines military arms today. Although its use was relatively limited, the Johnson was clearly ahead of its time in many ways, and it gained an enviable reputation with the majority of its users. If the Johnson Light Machine Gun had been developed as fully as the BAR and standardized by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps, it would have played a much larger role in World War II and would undoubtedly be viewed today as one of the best Allied infantry arms of the war. Instead, the M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun, along with the Model 1941 Johnson semiautomatic rifle counterpart, is but a footnote to U.S ordnance history.
Surviving examples of the former that have been properly registered with the BATFE, and eligible for civilian ownership, are quite rare and are among the most valuable, and elusive, fully automatic arms on the market today. The Model 1941 Light Machine Gun remains one of the least known, but one of the most innovative and effective, American arms of the Second World War." - Bruce Canfield, July, 2005

"...pound for pound it was the most valuable armament the Force possesed." - Army's First Special Service Force

"Undoubtedly the Johnson light machine gun was an excellent weapon with many attrac
"Castro forces used a wide variety of small arms, including some Johnson rifles and light machine guns, in their successful guerrilla war against the Batista Government. After Fidel Castro's regime turned into a more savage dictatorship then its predecessor, anti-Castro Cubans purchased Johnson rifles and other types of available small arms in an attempt to oust the Communist-dominated Castro government." - Johnson & Lockhoven.

LOAN HISTORY:
ARMY #6603 - WEAPON LOANED TO U.S. NAVAL AND MARINE CORPS RESERVE TRAINING CENTER, 211 CASE ST., SPRINGFIELD, MA. 4/8/57 TO 4/15/57.

References:
Chinn, George M. THE MACHINE GUN. Vol. I. Department of the Navy. Washington, D.C. 1951.
Hogg, Ian V. & John Weeks. MILITARY SMALL ARMS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. 6th Ed. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il.
Johnson, George B. & Hans Bert Lockhoven. INTERNATIONAL ARMAMENT. Vol. II. International Small Arms Publishers, Cologne, Germany. 1965.
Lewis, Col. B.R. MACHINE GUNS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1895-1944. The American Ordnance Association. Washington, D.C.
Lewis, Jack. Ed. THE GUN DIGEST BOOK OF ASSAULT WEAPONS. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1993.

Notes on Materiel, Tentative Manual (Subject to Revision) for the Light Machine Gun, Caliber .30, T40 (Johnson), Contract W-19-020-0RD-5700.

Notes on Materiel, Tentative Manual (Subject to Revision) for the Light Machine Gun T53, Caliber .30 T65, Contract W-19-02006467.