The Vickers machine-gun, the standard
water-cooled weapon, remained in service for Great
Britain until 1968. It was the medium machine gun used
by all British Commonwealth forces in the Korean War,
although Australian forces occasionally used the US
.30 A4.
Continuous automatic fire generated
tremendous heat in the barrel and Maxim overcame this
problem by encasing the barrel in a water jacket,
containing about 7.5 pints. Heat from continuous firing
caused the water to boil, the steam indicating the
gun's position. Attaching a tube from a vent in the
jacket into a can of water condensed the steam and
helped conceal the gun's position. The water-can
also helped resupply the jacket, since there was an
evaporation rate of about 1.5 pints per 1,000 rounds
fired.
| Operation |
Fully automatic, recoil operated,
water-cooled |
| Caliber |
.303in |
| Ammunition |
Mk 8z ball; 174 gr
bullet, 36.5 gr charge |
| Muzzle velocity |
2400 fps |
| Capacity |
250-round fabric belt, 22 lb. with box |
| Weight |
Unloaded, 40 lb. |
| Overall length |
45.5 in |
| Rate of fire |
450 rounds per minute |
| Effective range |
4000m with Mk 8z, (2000m with Mk 7)
|
The Vickers machine-gun was an
inprovement on the original Maxim. The main difference
lies in the fact that the toggle locking action was
inverted, but the weight was also considerably reduced
by careful stress calculations and by the use of good
grade steel and aluminium. The gun was adopted by the
British Army in November 1912, and remained as the
standard support-fire machine gun until the middle
1960s, when it was replaced by the L7A1 GPMG. In its
time, the Vickers pattern went through twelve or more
modifications, mostly minor, and was substantially the
same gun after fifty years of service. It was heavy,
fairly slow-firing, prone to a number of stoppages from
the ammunition, but reliable in itself and well loved
by all but the enemy. It worked in the most adverse
conditions, and its water-cooled barrel ensured long
life for the bore by helping to maintain low
temperature. It was used in aircraft (for which it was
air-cooled), in ships, in tanks, as a ground AA gun, on
armoured trains, on armoured cars, and in a host of
other roles.
A Vickers gun crew lay down covering
fire for 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment during
the assault on Hill 317, the battle of Maryang
San.
Chipyong-ni, Korea, February 1951. A
Vickers .303 machine-gun in action against the Chinese,
manned by Sergeant Chaperlin, 3 RAR.
The two photos immediately above provided
courtesy of the Australian War Memorial
The machine gunner usually fired from a
sitting position, holding two wooden grips which were
fixed at the rear of the gun. Between the grips was a
thumb operated trigger with a safety catch. This catch
had to be lifted up before the thumb piece could be
pressed. The grips were hollow. One contained a brass
oil bottle, the other an oil brush.
Vickers component parts
