J. H. KEENEY & CO., CHICAGO, OVERSIZE CUTAWAY CLASSROOM MODEL OF THE BROWNING AUTOMATIC RIFLE, M1918A2

Note: This is a non-functioning model, not a firearm.

United States, c. 1942–45. Cast and machined metal with painted finishes and sectioned apertures, retaining numerous articulated parts to demonstrate the operating cycle; detachable enlarged box-magazine model; twin external tubes illustrating barrel and gas system; instructor’s sighting and trigger assemblies exposed. Overall length 94 1/2 in., 51 3/4 in. barrel. 

Conceived for wartime instruction, this monumental didactic model reproduces the U.S. M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle at roughly four times scale, with the mechanism sectioned and color-coded to reveal its internal architecture. Fabricated by J. H. Keeney & Co. of Chicago, an industrial contractor known for precision castings and wartime training aids, the piece was designed for armorer and troop classrooms to walk students through the BAR’s long-stroke gas operation, feed path, trigger/selector geometry, and bolt locking and unlocking sequence. The enlarged components and cutaway windows allow the instructor to illustrate each phase of the cycle of operations at a glance, from charging and feeding to firing and extraction, with many parts intentionally left mobile for demonstration.

The M1918A2 variant, standardized on the eve of the Second World War, remained the squad automatic workhorse of American infantry in Europe and the Pacific; large-scale models such as the present example were procured to accelerate familiarization and reduce classroom time with scarce service weapons. Surviving specimens are scarce on the market, particularly in this size and with such an intact suite of sectional views and original period paint.

The present example, at nearly eight feet in length, is among the largest BAR demonstrators encountered and an impressive artifact of the American war-training effort, suitable for institutional display or a collection focused on ordnance, industrial design, or WWII.

Shipping: Owing to its size and weight, special handling and crating or pick-up by a third-party will be required.