WWI M1917 Browning Machine Gun Wooden Dovetailed Wood Ammunition Ammo Box WW1 for Sale

On eBay Now...

WWI M1917 Browning Machine Gun Wooden Dovetailed Wood Ammunition Ammo Box WW1 For Sale

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

WWI M1917 Browning Machine Gun Wooden Dovetailed Wood Ammunition Ammo Box WW1:
$69.95

This sale is for an original late WWI-Interwar-early WWII, M1917A1 machine gun belted wooden .30 caliber ammunition box.

This M1917A1 wood ammunition box is totally original with working cast closure clasp and no cracks or breaks. It does not have the angled bottom of the early production models from WWI, and has the fully circular cutout for the handle on top. It also features a web canvas carry strap, only used on the later WWI, Inter-War Period, and WWII produced examples. The hardware is forged iron, compared to the earlier folded sheet steel components. The joints are also dovetailed instead of the earlier finger joints.

This box has been stripped of any exterior paint and appears to have been repurposed in the field or garrison use for housing some kind or regulator (filed phone/radio/electrical), as it is lightly marked "Regulator," on one side. Condition is good, but it does show service and storage wear- see images. This is a beautiful example of an early ammunition box for the famed Browning M1917 Machine Gun and comes ready to display or restore.

Dimensions: about 12-7/8” x 4-1/2” x 8”

Depth: about 6 3/4”

FROM IMA's site: When the .30 Cal. M1917 Browning machine gun was developed for the U.S. military during World War I, the ammunition was packed in wooden boxes suitable for direct feeding of the gun. Wooden packing crates were used for bulk shipping of ammunition. The design was simple and robust, and these boxes continued to be used during WWII as well.

Key construction for the wood .30 caliber ammo boxes consisted of oak or ash wood material, dovetail or finger joints, a leather or webbing strap on top fitted into a rectangular groove with a centered circular pick-up area, open-lid feed, spring-loaded lid latch to gun-side panel, and far-end hinge. A slot in the gun-side panel made a firm attachment to the gun. The bottom panel and gun-side panel of the box were shortened to avoid contact with the mount.

If painted at all, flat olive drab paint was used for the box. The bottom of the interior of the box was stenciled with the orientation of the ammunition contents.