The genius of John Moses Browning.

G

g.willikers

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After watching a video on the disassembly and reassembly of a Beretta 92, it's easy to greater appreciate the genius of John Moses Browning.
 
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While there is no doubt that Browning was a great designer, I think that people who admire the genius of the 1911 design fail to give enough credit to the Army officers of the several boards who reviewed the pistols JMB and Colt submitted. They saw the defects and problems clearly and demanded the changes they felt were needed, often over the objections of Browning who, like most designers, though his latest creation was perfect. It is due to the Army folks that we have the single link rather than the double link (with a slide that could come off backward), the manual safety, the grip safety, the internal extractor, the better grip angle, the grip screw bushings, the removable mainspring housing and, of course, a pistol that can be easily disassembled for repair or parts replacement. While JMB showed his genius in amalgamating all those requirements and "suggestions" into a smoothly working pistol, the Army guys deserve a lot of credit, too.

Jim
 
The 1911 was but one of his contributions and perhaps not the best. When you figure many of the Winchesters and most of the Colt automatics, the browning 1917 .30 & M2 .50 caliber machine guns, FN's line up of autoloading pistols and shotguns for the first half of the last century... the countless copies... the numerous inventive patents and design elements he created which survive nearly unimproved in some form in many auto loading design today... and then there's the cartridge development...

128 patents in all.
 
Jim K. you will incur the wrath of the masses who worship JMB, next you will say that the only contribution Carbine Williams made too the M 1 Carbine was the short stroke piston , that Winchester engineers did the rest. I can see it now, the villagers will be coming up the mountain with pitchforks and torches to find your day time sleeping coffin. Woe is me, woe is me, the horror, the horror.:p
 
I'm sorry but what does the 92 Beretta have to do with John Browning's genius? Not trying to offend anyone, just curious.
 
As an aficionado of the 1911, I remain always fascinated by the deceptive simplicity of the pistol especially the split-second harmony among the barrel, slide and extraction.

And to think that JMB designed this without the aid of a computer!
 
James K said:
While there is no doubt that Browning was a great designer, I think that people who admire the genius of the 1911 design fail to give enough credit to the Army officers of the several boards who reviewed the pistols JMB and Colt submitted. ... While JMB showed his genius in amalgamating all those requirements and "suggestions" into a smoothly working pistol, the Army guys deserve a lot of credit, too.
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I agree ... and I disagree. Certainly, the Ordnance Department reviewers added their thoughts and sent all the competing companies back to the drawing board but, aside from contributing a bit of "inside baseball" knowledge of how a handgun might be used in a military context, I don't think they added all that much or deserve any particular credit.

I'm a licensed design professional. If the future owner of a building tells me what he or she wants to building to do, and based on the parameters set down by the owner I design a fantastic building -- does the owner deserve credit for the design? As someone who works in the field, I would say no -- and I think the world largely agrees.

Does anyone credit Mr. Kaufman for the design of Falling Water in Bear Run, PA? Nope -- they credit Frank Lloyd Wright. Do we credit the National Park Service for the Arch in St. Louis? Of course not, we credit Eero Saarinen. Do we credit the Pope for the creation of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome? Only for paying for it -- we credit Michelangelo for painting it.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEh78IRqIw8

This might have been required by the Ordnance Department but executed by JMB and at the time by no one else.

While there is no doubt that Browning was a great designer, I think that people who admire the genius of the 1911 design fail to give enough credit to the Army officers of the several boards who reviewed the pistols JMB and Colt submitted. They saw the defects and problems clearly and demanded the changes they felt were needed, often over the objections of Browning who, like most designers, though his latest creation was perfect. It is due to the Army folks that we have the single link rather than the double link (with a slide that could come off backward), the manual safety, the grip safety, the internal extractor, the better grip angle, the grip screw bushings, the removable mainspring housing and, of course, a pistol that can be easily disassembled for repair or parts replacement. While JMB showed his genius in amalgamating all those requirements and "suggestions" into a smoothly working pistol, the Army guys deserve a lot of credit, too.
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The 1911 was a contract gun. JMB made it to the spec that the Army required. If they had said it had to have pink grips it would have had pink grips. If it needed a "beavertail" the original would have had one. Need a thumb safety and a grip safety done!!! I think that is the amazing part of the 1911. Taking into consideration all of the "requirements" JMB presented the 1911 which not only meet all of them at the time but to this day is a viable pistol!
 
Browning made the 1911 possible to dismantle by hand because it was military. That seems not to have been his personal inclination.
Try taking a Pocket Hammerless apart and getting it back together. Or don't, it is a tough job.
Winchester lever actions are complicated to get into, also.
Generally, Mr Browning felt that if something needed to turn, he put in a pin, if it needed to be held, he put in a screw. My neighbor the gunsmith got in a lot of cigar box guns; a lot of them were Browning shotguns.
 
As I started reading this thread I had the same thought regarding the 1903...

JMB was a genius, but you have to admit sometimes his solutions took 7 parts , a 90 degree twist, several interrupted threads, a broach, link, left hand threads, etc etc etc.

Compare a Model 12 with an 870 sometimes. There can be easier ways to do things.

As a guy I once worked with said "Ya kinda got to get into John Browning's head for a moment before you plunge in."
 
I'm sorry but what does the 92 Beretta have to do with John Browning's genius? Not trying to offend anyone, just curious.
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Was wandering the same thing. As far as take down goes I think the 92's take down lever is something all pistols should have. It is almost a one hand take down. Many pistols just about need 3 hands.
 
Take time to watch a youtube dissection of a 92 and then one for the 1911.
Then imagine trying to do them in the field real quick.
Not just a simple field strip, but a total disassembly.
And trying to not lose any parts.
Both are/were chosen for our troops, hence the comparison.
Mostly for something to jaw over.
 
JMB was a genius, but you have to admit sometimes his solutions took 7 parts , a 90 degree twist, several interrupted threads, a broach, link, left hand threads, etc etc et
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Rather than etc.etc. I will offer as example the B.A.R. : 70 parts that can be disassembled and reassembled in less than a minute.
 
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