Great War Manuals (was just Vickers MG Manuals)

[Richard Fisher]

Good Evening,

I just thought I would let people know, I have made it easier, and quicker, to acquire the Vickers MG related manuals from my website.

They are now available to download directly, rather than by email, as I am using a third-party file-hosting website called 'Badongo'.

However, at the moment, I am only a free-user so they will only remain online if they are downloaded at least once every 90 days. They can remain on permanently if they get enough use to warrant the expense.

Please access them via my website at http://www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk and go to the manuals page.

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

Good Evening,

Having corresponded with Chris, he has agreed that I can keep a thread on this site to regularly update the forum pals of the additions to my downloadable manuals related to the Vickers Machine Gun, and other such manuals as they are available.

Obviously, due to the nature of this forum, I will keep the list restricted to the Great War period manuals; however, I will include earlier manuals if they are likely to contain information pertinent to the Great War researcher.

To start off with, the list I have available as of today is:

Guide for the Vickers Machine Gun (Gale & Polden, UK, 1915)

The Machine Gunners' Handbook, 8th Edition (WH Smith, UK, 1915)

Motor Machine Gun Equipments, Mark IV (Vickers-Clyno, UK, 1915)

Machine Gun Training (.303 and .22 cartridges) (UK, 1916)

A.B.C. du Mitrailluer (France, 1917)

The Machine Gunners' Handbook, 11th Edition (WH Smith, UK, 1917)

Handbook of the Range-Finder Infantry, No. 2. (Barr & Stroud). 31.5 inches base. (HMSO, UK, 1916)

Handbook of the Vickers Machine Gun Model of 1915 With Pack Outfits & Accessories (War Department, US, 1917)

Handbook for the .303-in. Vickers Machine Gun Mounted on Tripod Mounting, Mark IV (HMSO, UK, 1918)

Handbook for the Vickers Gun (Royal Air Force) (HMSO, UK, 1919)

La Mitrailleuse anglaise "Vickers" (France, 1917)

These are all currently available via the 'Manuals' page on my website at http://www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk.

I hope they are of some use.

Richard

[bushfighter]

Richard

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thank you for providing a really useful resource.

Harry

[Richard Fisher]

Many thanks Harry.

Hopefully of use, I have uploaded a couple more manuals today:

The Machine Gunner's Handbook (5th Edition) (UK, 1914); and

Machine Gun Range Cards (UK, 1914).

I hope these are of use - particularly the range cards (I do have a whole book but all the pages are the same so just scanned one to keep it a small file).

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

I have just added:

Infantry Training 1914 (UK, 1914)

I am sure this will be of use to more than those interested in the Vickers as it contains all the drill of the period and the training for the rest of the Infantry Battalion.

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

Added:

The Machine Gunner's Handbook (10th Edition) (UK, 1916)

This manual contains information on the Maxim, Lewis and the Colt Machine Guns so not just of interest fo Vickers enthusiasts.

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

I have added:

Infantry Machine Gun Company Training (Provisional) (UK, 1917).

This is an absolutely superb manual with, in my opinion, some of the most comprehensive information on the use of the Vickers during the Great War; this is the manual to download if you are going to download any at all!

Rich

[Richard Fisher]

I have uploaded a number of manuals today, those Great War ones of which you may be of interest are:

Handbook for the .303-in. Vickers Machine Gun (Magazine Rifle Chamber) Mounted on Tripod Mounting, Mark IV (UK, 1914)

and, as a slight deviation from the norm, although it does cover use of the Machine Guns.

SS 135J - The Division in the Attack (UK, 1918).

They are both available through the manuals page of my website.

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

I've uploaded a few more manuals today; the relevant one for the Great War interest is:

Provisional Machine-Gun Firing Manual (USA, 1917). It also covers the Maxim, Lewis and other US machine guns of the period.

Hope it is of interest.

Go to my website for this manual and others related to the Vickers.

Rich

[Richard Fisher]

Although I have not been uploading many manuals recently, I have been busy scanning them in and getting them ready to upload. Having had a day off today, I have got around to uploading them and updating the webpage.

I am sure you will agree, some of these manuals are absolutely superb and an excellent primary source for any study of the Vickers MG or the Machine Gun Corps - many of them also include information on other MGs (i.e. the Maxim, Hotchkiss, Colt and Lewis).

Rather than just list them, as they are so interesting (well to me anyway), I shall give a quick brief of their content:

The Machine Gunner's Handbook - 6th Edition (UK, 1915):

Another additional of this excellent commercial manual published by WH Smith. This particular issue covers the Maxim, Vickers and Lewis Machine Guns. I find these commercial manuals have unmatched quality of photographs and diagrams, particularly when it comes to accessories.

The Machine Gunner's Handbook - 9th Edition (UK, 1916):

Details the same as for the 6th Edition; however, this edition covers the Vickers, Maxim, Lewis and Colt Automatic Machine Guns. Of interest to some, this manual is named to a member of the 3rd Yorks and Lancasters who was killed in July 1916.

The Machine Gunner's Pocket Book (UK, 1918):

This is an absolutely superb manual that covers all aspects of the use of the Machine Guns in the latter part of the war. Rather than a bound publication, it is pages held together in a folder - like the later Field Service Pocket Books - so updates could be changed page-by-page rather than the reissues of the whole book. It is held in a folder and includes a range table for the Vickers. Information on weights of equipment, emplacements and routine orders in the trenches are given, on machine guns as well as more generic subjects such as gas and first aid. These were issued to MG Officers on completion of their course at Grantham and updates were despatched in the mail.

Range Table A.39 (UK, 1916):

A small card one piece range table issued in 1916 and surely one of the earliest indirect fire accessories.

Supplement to Machine Gun Drill Regulations (Provisional) 1917 and Provisional Machine Gun Firing Manual 1917 (USA, 1918):

An American issued manual that is absolutely jam-packed full of information on fire control, emplacements. It covers all the MGs in US service in 1917 / 1918 so includes the Hotchkiss as well as the Vickers and the Browning. Very large file but worth it for any study of the American Expeditionary Force.

SS192 - The Employment of Machine Guns. Part I - Tactical:

This a really great find that I am very pleased with. The copy has a lot of pencil scribbles on it but this just adds to the ambience of it. Covering the tactical use of MGs in 1918, this manual is an excellent study for the use of MGs in the last year of the war; combined with the Machine Gunner's Pocket Book, there is not much more you would need to know.

As always, I hope these are of use. They are available on the manuals page of my website.

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

I have now upgraded my subscription to the downloads site so there should be a lot better service. I hope this is of use.

Regards

Richard

[Ken Lees]

I have just attempted to download one of your manuals and received an error message, as follows:

"You have exceeded your Download Quota!

Non-Members are allowed to download a maximum of 100 MB (6:00-10:00 CST GMT-6), 800MB (10:00-20:00 CST GMT-6), 600MB (20:00-6:00 CST GMT-6) every hour and Free Members are allowed to download a maximum of 125 MB (6:00-10:00 CST GMT-6), 1000 MB (10:00-20:00 CST GMT-6), 800 MB (20:00-6:00 CST GMT-6) every hour

YOU ARE CURRENTLY CONNECTED TO OUR SYSTEM WITH THE FOLLOWING IP ADDRESS: ***.**.9.25

THIS ADDRESS HAS DOWNLOADED A TOTAL OF 1243MB IN THE LAST HOUR ALREADY.

Here are your options :

1) Purchase a Premium Membership

2) Get a Freee Account and download 250Mb per hour.

3) Come back in 60 minutes and download the file. "

I would add that this is the first time I have visited your excellent website, so something's not quite right.

Regards,

Ken

[Ali Hollington]

Hi,

I've received the same message as above, it was triggered when I tried to download the 1918 version of SS 135.

Great site by the way.

Regards

Ali

[Richard Fisher]

Good Afternoon,

I've just tried myself, both logged in and as a 'normal' user and not had any problems.

However, having looked at the FAQs on the site, it does mention this specific problem and cites the reason as being shared IP addresses between service providers so it could be that you are both the same service provider or are the same as one that has been heavily using the site.

I have retained the email ordering system on the website so please feel free to email an order if you are having continual problems, or just try a little later.

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

I've just added:

The Machine Gunners' Pocket Book - UK, 1918.

This is an amended edition of the 1917 version with the latest updates through the end of the war (November 1918).

I have a lot of other WW1 manuals that I am trying to get scanned in as quickly as possible but the kittens just keep climbing on the scanner and getting in my way (it gets warm so they sit on it) - not an easy and efficient way of doing things!

Rich

[sjustice]

Many thanks again for providing such a terrific resource.

Kind Regards,

SMJ

[Richard Fisher]

Simon,

Following your PM request, I have uploaded some higher resolution versions of SS135J and SS192. I hope they are now sufficient for your needs.

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

After a while of not updating this resource, I've changed how it is hosted and am now able to offer online browsing of the manuals as well as downloading. This is using Google Docs. If you go to the manuals page, and click on the manuals, the links now take you to a view of the manual before you download it. This means you can quickly check it's got the right info before taking time to download completely.

Hope this is better,

Richard

[malch]

Excellent. That's terrifically useful !

Thanks.

[Richard Fisher]

After no new manuals being scanned for a while (although I have kept on buying them!), I have today added the following Great War manuals (and some other later ones):

Machine Gunners' Handbook - 7th Edition

Handbook for the Constantinesco Timing Gear (1918)

Text book of Aerial Gunnery (1917)

The last two should be of particular interest for any Royal Flying Corps researchers.

Regards,

Richard

[Ice Tiger]

Thanks Richard

Some great resources here

Andy

[Richard Fisher]

I have found two further Great War manuals which I had forgot to upload:

Handbook for the Vickers (.303-in) Machine Gun (USA, 1917)

Machine Gun Drill Regulations (USA, 1917)

[Neil Clark]

Super resource. Thank you very much.

[Richard Fisher]

Good Evening All,

After a period where I have been focussing on the 'offline' provision of manuals (through the DVDs and CDs on the website), I've finally started to the update the website with some more online PDF versions.

As a starter, while I get used to a new way of producing PDFs, I have uploaded one which will be of interest to many on here.

Field Service Pocket Book, 1914.

When you got to the website, and look at the online version of the manual hosted on Google Docs, it looks quite poor, however, if you then download it (using the 'FILE' function) it is readable. As always, I will be make available high-res images on DVD / CD in return for a donation to the running of the site.

As always, I hope these are of use to you.

Regards

Richard

[Richard Fisher]

I've changed the title of this topic so people realise it is not just Vickers MG manuals I'm now making available. I'll shortly have some other non-specific manuals to upload to the website that may be of interest to people.

Regards

Richard