Military Wiki
Dror Light Machine Gun
Dror LMG in Yoav Fortress
Type Light machine gun
Place of origin Flag of Israel Israel
Service history
In service 1947 to 1950?
Used by Haganah, Israel Defense Forces
Wars Not used in combat
Production history
Designed 1946
Produced 1947 to 1952
No. built Not known
Variants Pattern 1 Dror, Pattern 2 Dror
Specifications
Mass 10 kg (22 lb)
Length 1,240 mm (48.8 in)
Barrel length 680 mm (26.8 in)

Cartridge .303 British, 7.92x57mm Mauser
Action Air-cooled, short recoil; firing mode: semi-automatic, full automatic
Rate of fire variable 250-950 rounds/minute
Muzzle velocity 2,600 fps
Feed system 20 round box magazine, based on Browning Automatic Rifle magazine

The Dror light machine gun was an Israeli squad automatic weapon based on the M1941 Johnson light machine gun. In the years immediately preceding the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Haganah (precursor to the Israel Defense Forces) bought the manufacturing rights to the M1941 Johnson from the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and developed the Dror in its own clandestine workshops. Because large amounts of British rifle ammunition were available, the Pattern 1 Dror was initially chambered in .303 British and had a side feeding tray magazine, similar to the original Johnson. The Pattern 2 Dror was built by Israel Military Industries (IMI) and was chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser to take advantage of large quantities of recently imported Mauser ammunition. In this pattern, the magazines were mounted vertically under the receiver.

The Dror was air-cooled and recoil-operated, and was fed by 20-round box magazines which were slightly modified versions of M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle magazines. It also had a quick interchangeable barrels capability. Because of its oversensitivity to dusty environments, the Dror did not see combat service in the 1948-49 Israel 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.

Dror-M1951-light-machine-gun-batey-haosef-1

Late model Dror gun.

External links[]

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