Guest oakrodent Posted 21 October , 2010 Share Posted 21 October , 2010 How often USA use the British Hotchkiss Portative? Does any one have any info and pics of the use of this machine gun with the US forces? I'm not talking about the Benet-Mercie machine rifle. I am getting into WW1 reenacting and am planning on using my British Hotchkiss Portative that I am building as a semi auto. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 21 October , 2010 Share Posted 21 October , 2010 This is not really my area of expertise but I do not believe I have seen any references to US use of the British Hotchkiss / Portative (in .303?) I believe that very early on in the autumn on 1917 and spring of 1918 some US units were supplied with French Hotchkiss machine guns (I assume in 8mm Lebel) - and indeed Ayres (The War with Germany a Statistical Summary 1919) mentions: "The earliest needs of our troops in France were met by French Hotchkiss manchine guns and Chauchat automatic rifles. A little later divisions going over were provided with Vickers heavy guns and Chauchat automatic rifles, After July 1st divisions embarking were equipped with light and heavy Brownings" (p66) Aside from the Vickers and the French Hotchkiss and Chauchat - the only other machine guns mentioned are Lewis and Vickers guns and the Marlin ( a version of the older colt) I'll have a look through my other references but I really don't recall seeing mention or pictures of US use of the Hotchkiss / Portative. Chris Edit: well aside form a couple of well known pictures of US troops using a French Hotchkiss in an Anti-Aircraft role - the only likely candidates I could find are these below. These look very much more like pre war photos to me and the sidecar set up looks like it might have been more likely to be used breaking strikes in the early teens and twenties than on the western front. They are however captioned as light Hotchkiss machine guns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 22 October , 2010 Share Posted 22 October , 2010 How often USA use the British Hotchkiss Portative? Does any one have any info and pics of the use of this machine gun with the US forces? I'm not talking about the Benet-Mercie machine rifle. I am getting into WW1 reenacting and am planning on using my British Hotchkiss Portative that I am building as a semi auto. Thanks for the info. There were at least two commercial postcards that showed the same image of American troops using the Hotchkiss Portative in training. You can find these postcards on eBay or other Web sites that sell vintage postcards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 22 October , 2010 Share Posted 22 October , 2010 But I would doubt that these were British Portatives (ie capable of firing the British 303) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W. Posted 23 October , 2010 Share Posted 23 October , 2010 But I would doubt that these were British Portatives (ie capable of firing the British 303) You're right. I realized too late that the postcards depict the M1909 Benét-Mercie machine rifle. D'oh! Looks exactly like the Hotchkiss Portative to me. Oh, well. Never mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmg17a1 Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 LMGs on the sidecar mounts above are Benet-Mercies, either Colt or Springfield made in 30-06. the pics are a bit too fuzzy to make out which manufacturer made them, but there are significant differences between the two makes. Giveaway that they are Benets is the ladder sight, which is in the up position in one pic and the hooded front sight in the other picture, both common to the Benets. Picture shows the two types of Benet-Mercie LMGs, which are the two at the bottom of the righthand row of MGs on the wall. Top one is Springfield and below it is a Colt. S Bob Naess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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