First adopted in 1917, the rugged and reliable Browning .30-calibre machine gun remained in US service into the Vietnam era, and is still occasionally found in use elsewhere even today. Produced in both water-cooled and air-cooled versions, it has been employed in every imaginable role for a machine gun - antipersonnel, antiaircraft, mounted on aircraft as both defensive and offensive armament, defensive armament aboard vehicles (armoured and soft-skin), mounted on watercraft, and others.

Employing gripping first-hand testimony and featuring specially commissioned illustrations and detailed photographs, many in colour, this lively study of the Browning .30-calibre machine gun reveals the origins, combat history and legacy of this versatile and dependable weapon.