Machine gun transport & practise

[RobL]

Will do when on my laptop - also, if we're counting Gallipoli, most MG's out there used by army were Maxims

[RobL]

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205306268

"Two men of the machine gun section of the 4th Royal Berkshire Regiment firing a gun from the support line at Hebuterne. August 1915."

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205024550

"Instruction for new members of the machine gun section of the 1st Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) on No.1 gun at Grande Flamengrie, Bois Grenier, 11 February 1915."

[RobL]

"One of two Maxim machine guns lost by 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment 27th August 1914 and buried by Fernand Lecouf, a Communal Officer at ?ery Nord (can't read the first letter or two of place name owing to camera flash) on 28th August 1914. They were dug up in August 1921 and sent to the Depot at Winchester from where they were despatched to the 1st Battalion at Alexandria in September 1923"

One note for telling Maxims apart from Vickers - except for the smooth jacket, the grips on the rear are not as flush as the top of the body as the Vickers are, it's about an inch lower (presumably the rear body is taller on the Maxim), as well as the large piece of brass for guiding the ammunition in - the muzzle brakes differ on the Maxims, some look similar to the Vickers, as on this one here, but sometimes it is just the barrel poking out the end of the water jacket

[RobL]

Maxim mania

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205285230

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205285226

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205285399

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205026416

[Stoppage Drill]

One note for telling Maxims apart from Vickers - except for the smooth jacket, the grips on the rear are not as flush as the top of the body as the Vickers are, it's about an inch lower (presumably the rear body is taller on the Maxim), as well as the large piece of brass for guiding the ammunition in - the muzzle brakes differ on the Maxims, some look similar to the Vickers, as on this one here, but sometimes it is just the barrel poking out the end of the water jacket

The muzzle attachment on the Vickers is a recoil booster, not a muzzle brake. Very different. In fact, the lack of the recoil booster is one of the features which identifies the gun in use in the OP video clip.

WW1 Vickers all seem to have had fluted jackets, but smooth jackets were fitted in later years - don't know exactly when.

Lt Col Arthur Weston Jarvis, CO 3 County of London Yeomanry purchased two Maxims for the regiment after the outbreak of war, and these were taken to Egypt in April 1915. They were mounted on "Galloping Carriages" (wheeled). Major Hoel Llewellyn OC "A" Sqn may have had some say - he had used Maxims in their first combat use in Matabeleland in 1893 and had written to Maxim Nordenfelt to suggest an alteration to the galloping carriage which would allow the gun to be fired whilst the team were still traced up to the carriage. (A copy of his letter is in his papers at NAM, 9702-13) When 3 CoLY eventually got officially issued machine guns, they were Hotchkisses

[Andrew Upton]

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205306268

"Two men of the machine gun section of the 4th Royal Berkshire Regiment firing a gun from the support line at Hebuterne. August 1915."

That has to be the first and only time I have ever seen a Maxim fitted with the small Sangster emergency tripod and the forward mount for the same - if the date is correct it must be practically brand new as it had only been patented a few months earlier...

WW1 Vickers all seem to have had fluted jackets, but smooth jackets were fitted in later years - don't know exactly when.

The smooth jacket only came in in mid/late1918 to help speed up production, and was then basically dispensed with in 1919 when they returned to fluted jackets. But when wartime manufacture kicked in again at the start of WW2 they essentially went straight back to the simplified late WW1 style, including the smooth jacket. Hence the vast majority of WW2 made guns have the smooth jacket

[dycer]

But in any case none of this disproves the point that the clip is most likely to be pre war or a 2nd line unit in Britain.

Cent,

I cannot disagree with your assertion.

The film is in two segments.The first shows civilian workmen loading tripods on to a railway wagon.Can the painted "G" on the wagon be used to determine a possible location e.g.Great Western Railway?

Secondly,although,the gun is being brought into action,there is no evidence that the team are under enemy fire.This would suggest,therefore,that the clip was filmed during training probably in UK.Salisbury Plain?

Finally,thank you to Mike for finding the clip which has proved the basis for lively Forum discussion.

George