Online Encyclopedia
Vickers machine gun
The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch Machine Gun produced by the Vickers company, originally for the British Army.
A modified form of Maxim gun, the British Army formally adopted it on 26 November 1912 and it remained in service until 30 March 1968. The weapon typically required a six to eight-man team to operate: one to fire, one to feed the ammunition, and the rest to help carry the weapon, its ammunition and spares.
The gun had a reputation for great solidity and reliability, and many of its gun crews became very devoted to the machine, spending off-hours lovingly maintaining each piece at highest efficiency.
The weight of the gun itself varied based on the gear attached, but was generally between 25 and 30 pounds (11 and 13 kilograms), with a 40- to 50-pound (18 to 23 kilograms) tripod. In addition, it required 7.5 pints (4.62 litres) of water in its cooling system to prevent overheating, and 22 pounds (10 kilograms) ammunition boxes for the 250-round cloth ammunition belts.
In British service, the Vickers gun fired the standard .303 inch (7.7 x 56mm) cartridges used in the Lee Enfield rifle, and generally had to be handloaded into the ammunition belts. There was also a 0.5 inch calibre version used as an anti-aircraft weapon and various other calibres produced for foreign buyers.
The gun was 3 feet 8 inches (110 centimeters) long and its cyclic rate of fire was between 450 and 600 rounds of ammunition per minute, with a range of 4,500 yards (4,115 metres).
The machine gun became standard weapons on all British and French military aircraft after 1916. Slots were cut in the water jacket so that it was cooled by air flow instead, and fitted with interrupter gear to allow it to fire through the propellers.