Colt M1895 Navy
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Weight, empty
- 16.00 kg
- Introduced
- 1895
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Colt M1895 Navy was the original US Navy variant of the Colt M1895, the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter service. Adopted as the "Colt Automatic Gun, Mark 1" and chambered for the small-bore, high-velocity 6mm Lee Navy cartridge to share ammunition with the Navy's Lee straight-pull rifle, it was an air-cooled, belt-fed weapon designed by John Moses Browning. Its swinging gas lever beneath the barrel pivoted downward on each shot, earning the gun its enduring "Potato Digger" nickname.
When the US Navy adopted the new 6mm Lee Navy smokeless cartridge for its straight-pull rifles, it logically chambered Browning's new automatic gun in the same round. The 6mm Colt Mark 1 thus became one of the very first small-bore, smokeless-powder machine guns in any navy's service, a brief experiment that vanished when the fleet returned to heavier .30-caliber ammunition.
The Navy procured roughly 200 examples in 6mm Lee Navy from 1895. Because the operating lever swung down beneath the barrel, the mount required several inches of ground clearance or the gun would 'dig' into the dirt. The obsolete 6mm chambering was abandoned after the Navy moved to .30-caliber service cartridges, and surviving 6mm guns were rebarreled or retired.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1895 to 1904
- Variant of
- Navy 6mm
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Overall length
- 1016 mm
- Weight, empty
- 16.00 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated long stroke
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Magazine
- Belt
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 777 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2152 J
- Effective range
- 700 m
- Maximum range
- 2000 m
- Rate of fire
- 450 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Gas lever operation
Air cooled
Tripod mounted
Closed bolt
Fabric belt feed
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 261 machine guns | 16.00 kg | 10.50 kg | Heavier than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 260 machine guns | 1016 mm | 1156 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 257 machine guns | 711 mm | 605 mm | Longer than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Colt M1895 Navy
How much does the Colt M1895 Navy weigh?
The Colt M1895 Navy weighs 16.00 kg (35.27 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Colt M1895 Navy?
The Colt M1895 Navy is chambered in 6mm Lee Navy.
How long is the Colt M1895 Navy?
The Colt M1895 Navy is 1016 mm (40.0 in) long overall, with a 711 mm (28.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Colt M1895 Navy?
The Colt M1895 Navy is made by Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (United States). It was designed by John Moses Browning.
When was the Colt M1895 Navy introduced?
The Colt M1895 Navy was introduced in 1895 and discontinued in 1904.
How does the Colt M1895 Navy operate?
The Colt M1895 Navy uses a gas operated long stroke action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Navy
- 1895
- United States Marine Corps
- 1898
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/colt-1895-navy' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "colt-1895-navy", "name": "Colt M1895 Navy", "manufacturer": { "id": "colt", "name": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1855, "website": "https://www.colt.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": "American firearms manufacturer headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1855 and now a subsidiary of Colt CZ Group, continuing production of iconic firearms including the 1911 pistol.", "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:38", "version": "7143c7ff3f7e156063a240f2df7b4746ee1c0394d7cd5f592d05bac43233d637" }, "category": { "id": "machine-gun", "name": "Machine Gun", "description": "Fully automatic firearms for sustained fire" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1895, "barrel_length_mm": 711, "weight_empty_g": 16000, "action_type": "gas_operated_long_stroke"}