The M1895 Colt-Browning Machinegun, nicknamed the "potato digger" for its downwards-facing reciprocating handle, was one of John Moses Browning's first automatic weapons. Produced by the Colt Manufacturing Company for the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as many other forces around the world, it was a lighter air-cooled and gas-operated alternative to the more common Maxim Gun, though more prone to failure from overheating. This weapon saw use during the late 19th and early 20th century, most infamously in the Spanish-American War, though it was also widely used during the Great War by American forces.