Draft:Burton Machine Rifle

The Winchester-Burton Machine Rifle or Burton M1917 LMR (also known as the Burton LMR) is an early automatic rifle designed by Frank Burton to destroy enemy observation balloons during World War I.

History
1917 Replaced by incendiary Vickers

Design
The most noticeable feature of the Burton LMR is the twin 20-round box magazines positioned 30° left and right from the rifle's line of sight. The magazines have two locking positions within the receiver used to employ one magazine whilst placing the other on standby.

The two locking positions used in combination with the Scarff ring allowed a gunner to reload without having to replace a loose magazine in a moving aircraft.

The only extant example of the LMR has two interchangeable barrels. Infantry and airborne. The infantry barrel is equipped with a bayonet lug, while the airborne barrel lacks this. Both barrels have cooling fins similar to later weapons such as the Thompson 1919.

Ammunition
The .345 Winchester Self-Loading is a rimless, center-fire cartridge created in 1917 by Frank Burton. The cartridge was created by modifying .351 Winchester Self-Loading shells and fitting an incendiary spitzer bullet.

In popular culture

 * The rifle was added to Battlefield 1 in 2018