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LOT 481
Very Scarce World War II U.S. Johnson Automatics M1941 Light Machine Gun, Class III/NFA C&R Fully Transferable Machine Gun - Serial no. 0776, 30-06 Springfield cal., 22 inch round bbl., parkerized finish, walnut stock. Developed to act as a squad automatic counterpart for the Johnson semi-automatic rifle, the 1941 machine gun shares a number of the rifle’s distinctive features, particularly the short-recoiling barrel assembly installed inside a ventilated heat shield. The rotary magazine has been changed out for a side-mounted magazine well, with the loading door and clip guide retained to preserve the ability to “top off” the detachable magazines from clips. The front handguard has been shortened to make room for a quick detach metal bipod (bipod included), with the quick
release barrel catch/accelerator still in place. The action has been changed from a pure closed bolt semi-auto to a dual function mechanism, firing from closed bolt in semi-auto mode and switching to open bolt operation in full auto mode; in operation, this permits controlled and accurate aimed semi-automatic fire while also providing improved cooling and reduced risk of “cook off” during strings
of heavy automatic fire. Finally, the stock and grip assembly are reconfigured to accept the new fire control mechanism and provide increased comfort when firing prone off the bipod. Taken as a whole, the Johnson machine gun shows a number of virtues as a squad automatic weapon; light weight, good maneuverability, provision for barrel swapping, and (especially in conjunction with the Johnson rifle) the ability to share ammo supplies with squad mates.