Fatfox9's Blog

Some time back I had a rather spirited conversation with an individual over the idea of mounting twin 7,62 mm x 51 mm Browning machine guns atop the cab of a Hippo (converted Bedford RL), with the trigger mechanisms activated by push-bike (bicycle) handle-bar brake levers. The handle-bars were located in a convenient position for the co-driver of the Hippo to be able to fire the guns without sticking his head outside of the vehicle – thus avoiding a third-eye. All he had to do was pull the brake levers from inside the cab and the cables that led to the gun triggers, fired the weapons.

The Rhodesians thought that this was a brilliant idea, and in theory it probably was considering we were forced into using all kinds of solutions to problems that we had to overcome due to international sanctions and the arms embargo. Rhodesia used South African (Armscor) built Hippos. To the best of my knowledge Rhodesia never produced any of their own. Those that we used were former South African Police vehicles, donated to Rhodesia after their withdrawal.

In this episode I am going to relate my own personal experience firing these guns from a Hippo in a live contact with the enemy.

Firstly it would be remiss of me not to first give a bit of background to the two main actors of this episode – the Browning Machine Gun, or to use its correct nomenclature, the M1919A4 Browning Medium Machine Gun, and the Hippo personnel carrier (Bedford RL variant designed to protect against landmines and small arms fire).

M1919 Browning Medium Machine Gun

Lets start with a quick look at the weapon specifications:

• Weight: 14 kg
• Caliber: 7,62 mm x 51 mm (Springfield .30-06)
• Length: 964 mm (includes barrel of 610 mm)
• Action: Recoil operated
• Rate of fire: 400-600 rounds per minute
• Muzzle velocity: 853 meters/second
• Maximum firing range: 1,500 meters
• Ammunition feed: Belt-fed

The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun which saw widespread service during WW2, The Korean war, and The Vietnam war. It was used by most NATO countries until the 1990s and is still in use today in some theatres.

Similar in design to the larger Browning .50 caliber M2, it is a recoil operated machine gun, highly versatile and was used widely as a light infantry weapon or mounted in some way on armoured vehicles. It was fitted to aircraft and also used in an anti-aircraft role, making it truly a weapon for all theatres of war.

Above – The air-cooled, belt-fed M1919A4 machine gun with its M2 tripod weighed only about 48 lbs., compared to more than 100 lbs. for the water-cooled M1917A1 machine gun. (National Rifle Association of America).

Above – In this original color photo from 1944, U.S. Army paratroopers train with the M1919A4 machine gun. (National Rifle Association of America).

Above – The Browning .30-cal. M1919A4 light machine gun was used to great effect in all theaters during World War II. A U.S. Army soldier (above) crews an M1919A4 during operations on Jan. 16, 1945, in northwest Europe. (National Rifle Association of America).

When used in the Infantry role the gun required at least a two man team but more usually four men were used; the gunner, the assistant gunner and two ammunition carriers. We never used them like this in the Rhodesian Corps of Engineers – and I definitely never saw them being lugged about by Infantry patrols.

Originally introduced as the M1919A1 the concept was of a light and easy to transport weapon featuring a bipod and light barrel. However, it soon became apparent that it was too heavy to be carried and also too light to withstand sustained rates of fire (the barrel would overheat causing a runaway gun), and so with the addition of a tripod and a heavier barrel, the M1919A4 had, at least addressed the sustained fire problem. It just needed more men to get it to where it was needed.

Usually mounted on a lightweight, low-slung tripod for use by the infantry the M1919A4 weighed in at 14 kg’s. Using fixed vehicle mounts it could be mounted on a variety of vehicles including Jeeps, tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers, and of course – our Hippo’s.

The Hippo Armoured Personnel Carrier

Again, lets first have a look at the specifications of this beast:

• Weight: 8.8 tonnes
• Length: 6.53 meters
• Width: 2.46 meters
• Height: 3.3 meters
• Crew: 2
• Passengers: 10
• Main Armament: 2 x 7,62 mm Browning manchine guns, front mounted
• Chassis: Bedford RL
• Engine: 2.5 liter in-line 6 cylinder water-cooled, petrol
• Transmission: 4-speed manual synchromesh
• Ground clearance: 32 cm
• Fuel capacity: 240 liters
• Maximum operational range: 640 kilometers
• Maximum speed: 73 km/h

The Hippo is a South African designed Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). Specially designed to be mine-resistant, it can carry ten infantrymen and a crew of two. The vehicle’s remote-operated turret mounts dual 7.62mm Browning machine guns, but like other improvised fighting vehicles, it is only lightly protected. An interim solution adopted to deal with the threat of landmines deployed by the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) in northern Ovamboland, the Hippo was simply a blast-proof hull fitted to a Bedford RL chassis. Similar to the BTR-152, it offered a staggered troop compartment with seating facing inwards. Vision was restricted to narrow plate glass windows. This layout was universally unpopular and later corrected with subsequent vehicle development.  There were firing ports for the occupants and a powered machine gun turret could be braced on the open top, though these were seldom fitted. Passengers and crew debussed from the rear. The Hippo Mk1R was based on a M1961 Bedford truck chassis, which was being phased from South African service in 1974. Some 150 were shipped to the South African Police that year, another 5 being donated to the South-West African authorities. South African Police units left several behind when they withdrew from Rhodesia in 1976, and these were retained by Rhodesian Security Forces. 

Sadly most, if not all of these grand old ladies of the bush, that probably saved countless lives, have now ended up as rusted hulks, waiting to be cut up and sold for scrap. The photographs above, whilst giving the reader excellent examples of what the Hippo was, are at the same time bringing me a personal sense of nostalgia and sadness – I have travelled in them, driven them and fought the enemy with them- they are therefore part of me, and I a part of them. We are inseparable in this sense.

In Part 2 of Browning’s on the Bridge, I will describe how one of these beautiful (to me at least) vehicles and my crew done what we were paid to do – make contact with the enemy.

And it was in such an unusual way – sort of a meant-to-be-moment.