U.S. Cavalry M1922 Machine Rifle Squad Graphic (1929)
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This was the organization of a U.S. Army Cavalry Machine Rifle Squad per its July 1929 reorganization. They served 2 M1922 Machine Rifles. Each squad had 7 men (6 in peace). They were led by a Corporal who was also a machine rifle gunner. There was a 2nd Machine Rifle Gunner who was a Private or PFC with a Specialist 6th Grade rating, which conferred an extra $3.00 pay per month. The graphic shows the unofficial rank insignia for a PFC with a Specialist 6th Grade rating. There were also two Ammo Carriers and 3 Pack Drivers. In addition to one riding horse per man, the squad had 2 gun packs (one per Machine Rifle with accessories and ammo box) and 1 ammunition pack.
The M1922 Machine Rifle was the cavalry’s variant of the M1918 BAR. The primary differences between the M1918 BAR used by infantry and the M1922 used by the Cavalry was the M1922 had a removable bipod, rear monopod, different sights, and heavier barrel with cooling fins. Each man was additionally armed with an M1911 cal .45 pistol, as the Pistol Attack was the sabre charge of the modern era. The pack drivers also had M1903 rifles, but the ammo carriers and machine rifle gunners did not. Unlike the Rifle Squads no one was authorized a sabre, although those were taken out of service in the mid-1930s anyway.
Each Rifle Troop (company) had 4 Rifle Platoons (3 in peace) and 1 Machine Rifle Platoon. The MR Platoon had 4 squads (3 in peace), enough to attach one MR Squad per Rifle Platoon, which otherwise had no automatic weapons. The Machine Rifles were the lowest level automatic weapon for cavalry units. The only others were in the regiment’s Machine Gun Troop with M1917A1 caliber .30 water-cooled heavy machine guns.
By the January 1928 issue of The Cavalry Journal (pages 108-109), the Chief of Cavalry stated that the army had received enough machine rifles with accompanying pack loads and accessories to outfit Regular Army cavalry at war strength. However, by the late 30s, the M1919A2 (converted from M1919 tank MGs) was in use at the troop-level and its squads were manned similarly. By the U.S.'s entry into WWII the M1919A2 squads were still organized similarly, although with some differences (like not having the Squad Leader be a gunner aswell):
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