Today, February 27, 1917, Congress Heights District of Columbia

John Moses Browning, with executives of Colt’s Patent Firearms,  demonstrated his working model of the ‘Automatic Rifle‘ to U.S. government leaders and high ranking military officers.

And off we went to the races.

The production version, the Model 1918 was manufactured in sufficient quantity to outfit the U.S. army’s 79th Division for World War 1 combat use in September of that year.