Developed to act as a squad automatic counterpart for the Johnson semi-automatic rifle, the 1941 machine gun shares a number of the rifle's distinctive features, particularly the short-recoiling barrel assembly installed inside a ventilated heat shield. The rotary magazine has been changed out for a side-mounted magazine well, with the loading door and clip guide retained to preserve the ability to "top off" the detachable magazines from clips. The front handguard has been shortened to make room for a quick detach metal bipod (bipod included), with the quick release barrel catch/accelerator still in place. The action has been changed from a pure closed bolt semi-auto to a dual function mechanism, firing from closed bolt in semi-auto mode and switching to open bolt operation in full auto mode; in operation, this permits controlled and accurate aimed semi-automatic fire while also providing improved cooling and reduced risk of "cook off" during strings of heavy automatic fire. Finally, the stock and grip assembly are reconfigured to accept the new fire control mechanism and provide increased comfort when firing prone off the bipod. Taken as a whole, the Johnson machine gun shows a number of virtues as a squad automatic weapon; light weight, good maneuverability, provision for barrel swapping, and (especially in conjunction with the Johnson rifle) the ability to share ammo and parts with squad mates. Unfortunately, the Johnson never saw large-scale acceptance, as the 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle already had its foot in the door as America's automatic rifle. Much like the Johnson Rifle, the machine gun was accepted as a substitute weapon by the United States Marine Corps due to a shortage of BARs in the early days of the war, seeing use with the Marine Raiders and the Paramarines. The Johnson also found fans with the famous First Special Service Force, which found that the agile weapon was a good fit for their fast and aggressive tactics. The five-line, two-block address and patent marks are present on top of the receiver, with the Cranston Arms "triangle" marking on the right side near the buttstock. The walnut foregrip, grip panels and buttstock on this factory retained example are hand selected walnut. A rectangular metal tag marked "W 121" is affixed to the left side of the trigger group, an inventory tag for the Winchester Factory Collection, once used as a study piece for their engineers; an included copy of "Inventory of the Winchester Firearms Reference Collection" by Johnson, Burton, Pugsley, Hall, et. al., identifies this scarce Johnson LMG by its serial number "2881", along with its barrel number "8492K", as item number 2017 in the Winchester Collection (page 296). A prominent blade front sight is installed on the barrel with "30-06/'41" on the flange. The trigger housing is numbered to match the receiver, with a right side mounted selector switch with "AUTO", "SAFE", and "SEMI" markings. Internally, the housing contains both a hammer and a bolt sear, switching between them for semi-automatic and full automatic operation, respectively; switching from semi to full causes the bolt to lock back next time it is retracted, and switching from full to semi causes the bolt to immediately fall closed. Included with the lot are thirteen (total) stick magazines, tan canvas sling (proper length for the Johnson), instruction manual and an extra barrel.

Excellent, with 95% plus original parkerized finish, showing mild wear and spotting. The wood is also excellent, with some scattered dings and scuffs. The grip safety is absent, with a small filler piece in its place; otherwise, the item is mechanically excellent in both semi-automatic and full automatic modes. NOTE: This weapon is a National Firearms Act (NFA), fully transferable Class 3, which is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (BATFE) that is classified as a "Curios or Relic" as defined in 27 CFR, 478.11. These weapons are still subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 479.