Browning Automatic Rifle Compilation in Movies, TV & Animation

The Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR (sometimes incorrectly known as the "Browning BAR," which is actually the name of a later semi-automatic rifle which shares no parts with the original BAR) traces its origins back to a First World War French concept of a "walking fire" gun that could be used from the hip by soldiers crossing No Man's Land to suppress the enemy trench line. Ultimately the 16-pound weapon was not suited to this role, but was adopted as a light machine gun by the United States military and was used extensively during the Second World War (as the improved M1918A2) and Korean War, ultimately seeing its last action in US service in Vietnam where it was replaced by the M60 machine gun. BARs remained in National Guard armories until the mid-70s, and was still in use by other countries as late as the 90s.

While heavy, it had a relatively low capacity for a support weapon (most period LMGs using a 30-round magazine compared to the BAR's 20; an experimental 40-round magazine was created, but for infantry use it was turned up too cumbersome, and it was only limited used in anti-aircraft roles) and a fixed barrel which could not be easily changed out, making it unsuited for protracted fire. It was often employed in a capacity more similar to a modern Designated Marksman Rifle, with the BAR gunner being tasked with extending the squad's range of fire and suppressing enemy snipers.

The BAR was also sold to civilians in the interwar years, and proved a popular weapon among gangsters; the civilian variant, the Colt Monitor, was acquired by US law enforcement to combat the threat. Clyde Barrow and his girlfriend Bonnie Parker were particularly notorious for their use of a cut-down M1918 BAR.