It fired a cartridge of intermediate power, cycled through a semi-automatic operating mechanism, fed from a 5, 10, or 15 round detachable box magazine located immediately forward of the trigger guard.

[5] For a long time, on the Internet, a photo of a similar rifle from the Cody Firearms Museum (USA), S/N 47357, manufactured in 1935, was presented as a "French order of the First World War", having nothing to do with it.

[9] According to a November 1, 1916 Winchester internal report, Great Britain's London Armory was sent 120 Model 1907 rifles and 78,000 rounds of .351SL ammunition between December 1914 and April 1916 for use by the Royal Flying Corps.

These rifles were specially modified for aerial use by increasing the size of the trigger guard and cocking piece to allow the use of heavy gloves and were intended to use 15-round magazines.

[8][12] During World War I, a shipment of 19 Model 1907 rifles and 9,000 cartridges of .351 Winchester Self-Loading ammunition was delivered to the 1st Aero Squadron of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps.

Several Model 1907's employed by the Dillinger Gang were modified by the gunsmith Hyman Lebman - known for converting Colt Government .38 Super handguns to machine pistols - to be capable of automatic fire.

The combination of an intermediate cartridge, automatic fire capability, and moderate recoil lead some historians to refer to these modified Winchester Model 07 carbines as a sort of proto-Assault Rifle.