Johnson Automatics Light Machine Gun

The M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun, also known as the Johnson and the Johnny gun, was an American recoil-operated light machine gun. It was designed in the late 1930s by a Boston lawyer and Captain in the Marine Corps Reserve named Melvin Johnson and then manufactured from 1940 until 1945. It was made in two variants: M1941 and M1944. Johnson's light machine gun was one of the few to operate on recoil operation and was manufactured to a high standard. It shared the same operating principle and many parts with the M1941 Johnson rifle and the M1947 Johnson auto carbine. The Johnson Light Machine Gun can be, and usually has been, fired full-automatically from the offhand position. without any supports, without climbing or undue dispersion. The Johnson Light Machine Gun fired the .30-06 cartridge, the same as the M1 Garand, the .30 Cal Browning Machineguns, and the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle). It can use three types of magazines: box magazine, charger-loaded 20, 30, or 40-round rotary feed or belt feed of any belt capacity specified. The Johnson LMG's Sten SMG-style side magazine attachment is also a clever way to avoid the ground clearance problem without adding to your silhouette by a top-attached magazine like the British Bren LMG had. The Johnson LMG was also built with the same receiver as the M1941 Johnson SAR; with the bolt and trigger group differing to allow for selectable semi-auto or full auto firing. Parts interchangeable with Johnson Semi-Automatic Rifles: barrel assemblies, extractors, ejectors, operating handles. barrel recoil spring and latch assemblies, hammer struts, hammer pins, hammer springs, and a number of miscellaneous pins in the various part groups.