Chauchat M1918 CSRG
Societe des Cycles Clement-Gladiator · Machine Gun · Discontinued · 1918
Also known as: M1918 Chauchat, American Chauchat, Gladiator Model 1918 CSRG, Automatic Rifle Model 1918, Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1918
Overview
The Chauchat M1918 CSRG is the United States .30-06 Springfield rechambered version of the French Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1915 Chauchat light machine gun, produced by the Gladiator factory in Le Pre-Saint-Gervais for the American Expeditionary Forces in the final year of the First World War. Rather than rebarreling the existing 8mm Lebel design, the M1918 was a purpose-built variant: it abandoned the distinctive semicircular curved magazine of the original in favor of a near-straight 16-round box magazine suited to the rimless .30-06 cartridge, and it featured a modified magazine well and a relocated foregrip. Like the parent weapon it operated on the unusual long-recoil principle - shared with John Browning's Remington Model 8 from which the action was derived - in which the entire barrel and bolt recoil rearward together before separating and returning independently, producing a heavy reciprocating sensation and a slow cyclic rate of roughly 240 rounds per minute. Weighing approximately 9 kg with an overall length of 1,143 mm and a 470 mm finned barrel inside a perforated cooling jacket, it was fired from an integral bipod using a pistol grip and wooden shoulder stock, with a selector for semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. The M1918 became notorious as one of the worst-functioning weapons fielded by American forces: its chambers were reamed too short for the higher-pressure .30-06 cartridge, causing chronic extraction failures and stuck cases once the gun heated up, and the AEF withdrew most examples from service within months in favor of the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle. Over 19,000 M1918 Chauchats were manufactured.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 9070 g (319.9 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 9450 g (333.3 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1143 mm (45.00") |
| Barrel Length | 470 mm (18.50") |
| Height | 254 mm (10.00") |
| Action Type | Long Recoil |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Select Fire |
| Magazine Capacity | 16 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 853 m/s (2799 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3894 J (2872 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 2000 m (2187 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 240 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 254 mm (10.00") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .30-06 Springfield · primary — also known as 7.62x63mm, .30 Cal, .30 Gov't '06
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine 16 Round Us Variant
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety Selector, Open Bolt System
- Features: Long Recoil Operation, Straight Box Magazine, Finned Barrel Aluminum Jacket, Integral Bipod, Pistol Grip, Shoulder Stock, Barrel Cooling Shroud, Relocated Foregrip, Select Fire Trigger, Low Cyclic Rate, Reciprocating Barrel
Variants
- Chauchat M1918 CSRG — Us 30-06 Variant
Base model
Service history
Operators
- American Expeditionary Forces · adopted 1918 · as Automatic Rifle, Model of 1918 (Chauchat)
- United States Army · adopted 1918 · as M1918 Chauchat
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
Production
Estimated total produced: 19,000 · Production years: 1918-1919
Over 19,000 M1918 CSRG automatic rifles chambered in .30-06 Springfield were manufactured by the Gladiator factory for the American Expeditionary Forces. The figure is sometimes cited as roughly 16,000 actually delivered, with around 19,000 produced. The bulk were withdrawn from front-line service within months due to chronic extraction failures and replaced by the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle.
Origin
Country of origin: France
Designer: Louis Chauchat, Charles Sutter, Paul Ribeyrolles (with Gladiator factory engineers)
Discontinued: 1920
Notes
The M1918's reliability problems are extensively documented and have been traced primarily to chambers that were not reamed deeply enough for the .30-06 cartridge, producing stuck cases and failures to extract that worsened as the gun got hot. Twentieth-century testing of surviving examples found that loading the magazine with only eleven or twelve rounds rather than the full sixteen, and using carefully prepared ammunition, produced acceptable functioning - suggesting the design was viable but crippled by wartime quality control and a dimensional mismatch between the French-cut chamber and the American cartridge. Quality varied by producer, with Gladiator examples generally considered inferior to those assembled by the SIDARME consortium. Many AEF units discarded their M1918 Chauchats entirely, in some cases throwing them away before an assault, and the variant was rapidly replaced by the BAR. The straight 16-round magazine and relocated foregrip are the easiest visual cues distinguishing the .30-06 M1918 from the curved-magazine 8mm Mle 1915.
Background
The .30-06 M1918 Chauchat is widely regarded as the single most unreliable weapon issued to American troops in the First World War. Its reputation was so poor that AEF doughboys of the 79th Division reportedly threw their Chauchats into the Argonne mud before a charge and picked up captured German MG 08/15s from the casualties instead. The irony is that the action was based on a John Browning design, the same engineer whose BAR would replace it - the failure lay not in the operating principle but in chambers cut too short for the powerful American cartridge.