The Browning that won the Battle of Britain? The aircraft mounted .303
Royal Armouries
•
21m
In the 1930s, Britain sought to replace the ageing Vickers and Lewis guns in its aircraft arsenal. The trials winner was the Browning .303 but the War Office wanted a number of changes to the off-the-shelf weapon, including a substantial increase in the rate of fire. Famously mounted in the Hurricane, Spitfire and Lancaster bomber, here's the story of Britain's primary air weapon in the Second World War.
Up Next in Royal Armouries
-
The *really* weird legal loophole pis...
Why would you want a pair of pistols joined by a single barrel? The answer is a nuanced legal workaround to avoid restrictions on concealed weapons in 19th century Italy.
-
Britain's top secret assassination Lu...
Instantly recognisable to weaponry enthusiasts, the Luger is a mainstay of war movies and video games alike. This suppressed example is an extremely rare variant, as it was designed for covert operations by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. Join Jonathan ...
-
The world's longest serving machine g...
Our Christmas special this year sees Jonathan delve into a weapon with a fascinatingly extensive service life. Copied from a Finnish design from the Winter War, this Russian/Soviet Maxim variant saw extensive service in both world wars and continues to crop up in the illegal Russian invasion of U...