The Pattern 2-type Dror LMG on display at the Batey ha-Osef Museum.
In 1946, Ta'as studied plans to produce an indigenous light machine gun.[3] By the end of the year, the Haganah (precursor to the Israel Defense Forces) bought the manufacturing rights to the M1941 Johnson machine gun from the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and developed the Dror in its own clandestine workshops.[3] They were bought alongside manufacturing tools bought cheaply as scrap in the United States.[4]
Yisrael Galili was in charge of overseeing the Dror's production.[5]
Designedit
The Dror was air-cooled and recoil-operated.[6] The barrel uses a rotary bolt with multiple radial lugs mounted. The Drors is fired from an open-bolt in full auto for better cooling, or from a closed-bolt in semi-auto for better accuracy.
The Pattern 1 Drors had a physical resemblance to the Johnson, including the tall front sight and the barrel release.[7] The Pattern 2 Drors had many changes from the first one by adapting to a rimless round and the use of modified 20-round BAR LMG magazines to balance the weapon.[7][8]
The barrel release was now located at the front barrel bearing with a heat shield, which is colored orange/brown, that can be removed without the need of using protective gloves.[7] A folding cover is also mounted over the magazine well so that the gunner can close it to prevent dirt and other foul elements from going inside when the weapon is not used.[7]
A fire selector is located on the right side, above the pistol grip.[6] The LMG has a metal butt, made up of two parallel steel tubes with a sheet-steel buttplate.[6]
Production historyedit
Because large amounts of British rifle ammunition were available, the Pattern 1 Dror was initially chambered in .303 British.[3] Around 800–1000 were made before production was halted due to feeding problems the armourers could not handle.[7]
The Pattern 2 Dror was built by IMI and was chambered in 7.92×57 mm Mauser to take advantage of large quantities of recently imported Mauser ammunition.[7] In this pattern, the magazines were mounted vertically under the receiver.
Service historyedit
Because of its oversensitivity to dusty environments, the Dror did not see combat service in the 1947–1949 War of Independence.
^. Royalgunpowdermills.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-07. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
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November 18, 2023
dror, light, machine, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Dror light machine gun news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Dror light machine gun Hebrew for Sparrow was an Israeli light machine gun based on the M1941 Johnson light machine gun Dror Light Machine GunThe Pattern 1 Dror LMG on display at the Batey ha Osef museum TypeLight machine gunPlace of originIsraelService historyIn service1947 to 1950Used byHaganah 1948 IDF After 1948 WarsNot used in combatProduction historyDesignerWinchester Repeating Arms Co 1 Designed1946ManufacturerHaganah Pattern 1 Israel Military Industries Pattern 2 Produced1947 to 1952No built800 1000 Pattern 1 Only VariantsPattern 1 Dror Pattern 2 DrorSpecificationsMass10 kg 22 lb Length1 240 mm 48 8 in Barrel length680 mm 26 8 in Cartridge 303 British Pattern 1 7 92 57mm Mauser Pattern 2 ActionAir cooled short recoilRate of firevariable 250 950 rounds minuteMuzzle velocity2 600 fpsFeed system20 round magazine based on M1941 Johnson magazine Pattern 1 20 round magazine based on BAR magazine Pattern 2 Some Drors are on display at the IDF History Museum 2 Contents 1 Development 1 1 Design 1 2 Production history 2 Service history 3 ReferencesDevelopment edit nbsp The Pattern 2 type Dror LMG on display at the Batey ha Osef Museum In 1946 Ta as studied plans to produce an indigenous light machine gun 3 By the end of the year the Haganah precursor to the Israel Defense Forces bought the manufacturing rights to the M1941 Johnson machine gun from the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and developed the Dror in its own clandestine workshops 3 They were bought alongside manufacturing tools bought cheaply as scrap in the United States 4 Yisrael Galili was in charge of overseeing the Dror s production 5 Design edit The Dror was air cooled and recoil operated 6 The barrel uses a rotary bolt with multiple radial lugs mounted The Drors is fired from an open bolt in full auto for better cooling or from a closed bolt in semi auto for better accuracy The Pattern 1 Drors had a physical resemblance to the Johnson including the tall front sight and the barrel release 7 The Pattern 2 Drors had many changes from the first one by adapting to a rimless round and the use of modified 20 round BAR LMG magazines to balance the weapon 7 8 The barrel release was now located at the front barrel bearing with a heat shield which is colored orange brown that can be removed without the need of using protective gloves 7 A folding cover is also mounted over the magazine well so that the gunner can close it to prevent dirt and other foul elements from going inside when the weapon is not used 7 A fire selector is located on the right side above the pistol grip 6 The LMG has a metal butt made up of two parallel steel tubes with a sheet steel buttplate 6 Production history edit Because large amounts of British rifle ammunition were available the Pattern 1 Dror was initially chambered in 303 British 3 Around 800 1000 were made before production was halted due to feeding problems the armourers could not handle 7 The Pattern 2 Dror was built by IMI and was chambered in 7 92 57 mm Mauser to take advantage of large quantities of recently imported Mauser ammunition 7 In this pattern the magazines were mounted vertically under the receiver Service history editBecause of its oversensitivity to dusty environments the Dror did not see combat service in the 1947 1949 War of Independence Following combat simulation testing the Israel Defense Forces selected the FN Model D a derivative of the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle to replace the Dror in 1952 6 References edit Being the designer of the Johnson LMG https smallarmsreview com idf history museum tel aviv israel a b c Dror Israeli weapons com Retrieved 2015 06 06 Israeli 303 Dror LMG Forgotten Weapons Forgottenweapons com 28 November 2012 Retrieved 2015 06 06 https sadefensejournal com the secret life of the dror part ii a b c d http modernfirearms net en machineguns israel machineguns dror eng a b c d e f Dror Forgotten Weapons Forgottenweapons com 2015 03 04 Retrieved 2015 06 06 Dror Light Machine Gun Royalgunpowdermills com Archived from the original on 2015 06 07 Retrieved 2015 06 06 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dror light machine gun Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dror light machine gun amp oldid 1182723828, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
