The Colt–Browning M1895, nicknamed the potato digger for the swinging lever beneath its barrel that cycled its action, was the first successful gas operated machine gun to enter service. Designed by John Browning with Matthew Browning and Carl Gustave Swebilius between 1889 and 1895 and manufactured by Colt and later Marlin Rockwell, it was an air cooled, belt fed weapon firing from a closed bolt at roughly 450 rounds per minute. Adopted by the United States Navy and Marine Corps chambered for 6mm Lee Navy and later .30-40 Krag and .30-06 Springfield, it was also exported in cartridges such as 6.5mm Carcano, 7mm Mauser and .303 British to a long list of users including Canada, France, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Mexico and Spain.
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