Collector Grade Publications

The Browning Machine Gun Volume 1-Rifle Caliber Brownings in U.S. Service by Dolf L Goldsmith

This is the first volume of a 4-volume series on Browning machine guns, written by an ex-U.S. Army armorer who studied and maintained these guns and has since owned and shot a number of them in civilian life.

This profusely illustrated history covers all models of the U.S. Browning, from the first "gas hammer" Model 1895 and the initial recoil-operated Models of 1901 and 1910, through the adoption and manufacture of the famous water-cooled heavy Model 1917 during World War I and the numerous Interwar experimental tank and aircraft guns, most of which were built up on surplus M1917 receivers.

Tank and cavalry experiments led to the development of the air-cooled M1919A4 infantry gun, while Colt's heavy investment in the Browning system paid off handsomely in the lightweight, fast-firing, dual-feed M2 aircraft machine gun, which was sold commercially and made in large numbers during World War II.

Existing stocks of the M1917 water-cooled gun were meanwhile retrofitted to the improved M1917A specification, and the failed Ordnance Department light machine gun competition, discussed in detail, resulted in the compromise M1916A6.

The history of Browning manufacture by Rock Island Arsenal, Saginaw Steering Gear and other contractors is followed by chapters recounting the heroic use of the Browning in WWII and Korea, and all subsequent variations, such as the M1919A4E1, the T151, T152, T153 and M37 tank gun, until these fine guns were phased out after the adoption of the general-purpose M60 in 1957.

Hardcover, large format (9"x12"), 552 pages, 568 illustrations. Price: $80 USD / $85 CAD/INT

The Browning Machine Gun Volume II -Rifle Caliber Brownings Abroad by Dolf L. Goldsmith
 

This second volume on Browning machine guns proves beyond doubt that the rifle-caliber Browning was simply the most popular and most-used machine gun ever designed.

In some ways this book is even more engrossing than Volume I, as it describes and illustrates in considerable detail the many variations on the basic Browning which were manufactured and/or used by over twenty countries, in virtually every corner of the world, in both World Wars, in Korea and in Vietnam.

Of particular interest is the focus on the aircraft Browning, beginning in the Interwar years, in Britain and particularly in Belgium, where Dieudonné Saive, John Browning's erstwhile chief assistant, twice increased the rate of fire of the FN Browning aircraft machine gun, first in 1932 to 1,200 rpm and again in 1938 to 1,500 rpm, in order to keep pace with the ever-faster airspeeds of the best new fighters and pursuit aircraft.

It may seem strange to feature an aircraft, even one so famous as the British Spitfire, one of the best all-round fighters of World War II, on the cover of a book about Browning machine guns. However there are really eight Browning machine guns in this picture!

As discussed in Chapter Two of this book, the crucial decision to equip each British fighter with eight Brownings was of no less than monumental importance. On this subject the late Col. George M. Chinn USMC (ret.), the author of the authoritative five-volume series of books titled The Machine Gun, commented decisively,

"Students of warfare are generally in agreement that the most far-reaching single military decision made in the 20th century was when a small group of British officers, shortly before World War II, decided to mount eight caliber .303 Brownings on their Hurricane and Spitfire fighters. This single act undoubtedly brought about a turning point of the war".

Hardcover, large format (9"x12"), 392 pages, 486 illustrations. Price: $70 USD / $75 CAD/INT

The Browning Machine Gun Volume III-Supporting the Rifle Caliber Brownings by Dolf L. Goldsmith

This is the third volume in author Dolf Goldsmith's monumental series on the Browning machine gun. Volume I, subtitled Rifle Caliber Brownings in U.S. Service, published in 2005, covers the invention, development and manufacturing history of all models of rifle caliber Brownings in the United States, and their use by U.S. forces in two World Wars and Korea. Volume II, Rifle Caliber Brownings Abroad, published in 2006, covers the offshore production and use of rifle caliber Brownings in 35 other countries.

However, the gun itself was only a part of the total picture, as a great deal of auxiliary equipment was needed to keep it in action. The development work that went into these many accessories and ancillaries, here meticulously researched by a well-known machine gun collector, lifelong shooter and ex-U.S. Army armorer, is as interesting as that of the gun, and in some cases even more so, yet up to now it has scarcely been documented anywhere, except for basic descriptions found in military manuals.

Volume III contains in-depth coverage on component nomenclature and theory of operation; ground, vehicle and aircraft mounts; sights and sighting equipment; flash hiders; ammunition; ammunition boxes, belts and links; belt filling machines and link loaders; cooling equipment; transport equipment; canvas accessories; training devices (including .22 caliber guns and conversion kits); tools and gauges; caliber conversions; manuals, handbooks and other instructions.

Hardcover, large format (9"x12"), 488 pages, 766 illustrations. Price: $80 USD / $85 CAD/INT

The Browning Machine Gun Volume IV - Semper Fi FIFTY! by Frank Iannamico and Dolf L. Goldsmith

This is the fourth and final volume in Collector Grade's monumental series on the Browning machine gun.

Volume Four covers the same basic topics as the three previous volumes, but from the exclusive standpoint of the .50 caliber Browning, which has been in continuous service longer than any other weapon in the U.S. arsenal, and is still in use today in the inventories of 86 countries worldwide.

2008 marks the 90th anniversary of John Browning's first .50 caliber prototype, which, after a shaky start, came into its own with the introduction of the M2 "universal receiver" in 1933. A total of eight prime contractors - three of them divisions of the General Motors Corporation which had never produced a firearm of any kind before - manufactured nearly two million .50 caliber Brownings, of six basic types, during WWII.

By the late 1970s U.S. Army requirements had exceeded available stocks, and today a number of modern contractors are again producing standard and enhanced versions of the venerable M2 in the U.S., Britain and elsewhere.

Hardcover, large format (9"x12"), 448 pages, 510 illustrations. Price: $75 USD / $80 CAD/INT

Desperate Measures: The Last-Ditch Weapons of the Nazi Volkssturm (Collectors Grade Publications/W. Weaver) First Edition. Hard cover, large format, English text, 424 pages and 558 illustrations. Price $70 USD/ $81 CDN/INT. 

Sturmgewehr! From Firepower to Striking Power (Collectors Grade Publications/H. Handrich) First Edition. Hard cover, large format, English text, 600 pages and 392 illustrations. This is the tactical and technical history of the world's first mass-produced assault rifles. Price $80 USD/ $92 CDN/INT. 

Backbone of the Wehrmacht-The German K98K Rifle (Collectors Grade Publications/R. Law) Revised Edition. Hard cover, large format, English text, 384 pages and 478 illustrations. for markings and data sheets on more than 100 contractor/year variations plus virtually all K98K accessory ever produced is illustrated and described. Price $70 USD/ $81 CDN/INT.

Backbone of the Wehrmacht Volume II-Sniper Variations of the German K98K Rifle (Collectors Grade Publications/R. Law) First Edition. Hard cover, large format, English text, 240 pages and 291 illustrations. Focuses on the telescopic-sighted K98Ks. Includes previously unpublished wartime documents and photographs. Price $47.50 USD/ $55 CDN/INT.

Hitler's Garands-German Self-Loading Rifles of World War II (Collectors Grade Publications/W. Weaver) First Edition. Hard cover, large format, English text, 392 pages and 590 illustrations. Focuses on the Mauser G41(M), Walther G41(W) and the Walther G43. Price $70 USD/ $81 CDN/INT.

MG-34/MG-42-German Universal Machine Guns (Collectors Grade Publications/F. Myrvang) First Edition. Hard cover, large format, English text, 496 pages and 646 illustrations. Price $80 USD/ $92 CDN/INT.

The Gas Trap Garand (Collectors Grade Publications/B. Pyle) Hard cover, large format, English text, 316 pages and 383 illustrations. Tells the story of the rarest M1 Garand-the 80 initial rifles manufactured at the Springfield Armory in 1934 and 1935 plus the 50,000+ production "gas trap" M1s manufactured between August 1937 and August 1940. Price $60 USD/ $69 CDN/INT.

The Bren Gun Saga (Collectors Grade Publications/B. Dugelby) Revised and expanded edition. Hard cover, large format, English text, 406 pages and 442 illustrations. Price $70 USD/ $81 CDN/INT.