Hotchkiss guns in whippet tanks

[staffman]

Hi All,

Hi, Could anyone explain to me how many rounds in a Hotchkiss gun  Strip?

as used in a whippet tank in march 1918/ 

Thanks 

[Cpl Coleman]

From First World War.com... "Although the gun was generally well regarded Hotchkiss' metal magazine strip - which fired 8mm Lebel rounds - was considered a notable design flaw, holding a maximum of 30 cartridges.  This was corrected the following year when a 249-cartridge belt was introduced in 1915" 

[Lancashire Fusilier]

15 minutes ago, staffman said:

Hi, Could anyone explain to me how many rounds in a Hotchkiss gun  Strip?

as used in a whippet tank in march 1918/ 

 

30 round strips were used, with 5,400 rounds carried in the Whippet.

 

Regards,

LF

[Cpl Coleman]

Looks like the Saint-Chamond tank used belt fed Hotchkiss ...

 

Edited 29 June , 2016 by Cpl Coleman

[staffman]

HI,,

"A" company of the 3rd Battalion  mentions using strips...
These are some notes I made on the attack on Bouzincourt Ridge 31st March 1918 
 "2^nd Lieutenant Breen’s 269 Whippet fired on two strongpoints from which 30-50 German infantrymen bolted, around half of which were hit by the Whippet’s Hotchkiss guns. 

However, this initial success was short lived because after firing only three strips of bullets,  the first Hotchkiss gun became very hot and jammed and was quickly followed by two others, with the fourth and final gun damaged by enemy fire at 5.55am.  Within 10 minutes of arriving at the German lines, Whippet 269 was effectively out of action and although 2^nd Lieutenant Breen continued to manoeuvre to evade enemy fire, he was subsequently only able to fire an occasional round or two at the enemy from his overheating guns.

 

[staffman]

Thanks L.F. and CPL.

 

So there we have it,  
30 rounds per strip which equals 90 rounds fired by tank 269.      It does not sound a  lot to me,     I have read that the crews of the Mark A Whippet had atrocious conditions inside the Tank, Heat and fumes being the main causes.
 I have also read that the crews had to man the tank on alternate days because of these conditions.   

The conditions inside the  Saint-Chamond tank  look terrible too.

Thanks again,  Its another little step forward in my research into my grandfathers last day.  

Cpl John Thomas Ellis 14717,    7th East Yorkshires

Best Regards   John