If you are a fan of the classic Vickers belt-fed machine gun, this book is for you.

Noted author Dolf Goldsmith has done it again. As the title page states, “This is an authorized, revised, and expanded edition of The Grand Old Lady of No Man’s Land, originally published by Collector Grade Publications, incorporated in 1994, which is now out of print.”

As often happens with high quality reference books, once they are out of print and unavailable from the publisher, the price rises dramatically. For quite some time, I have wanted to buy a copy of The Grand Old Lady but simply could not justify the inflated prices asked. (Asking prices of $500 and up are commonplace for several Collector Grade titles.)

With the closing of CGP following the passing away of owner R. Blake Stevens, it seemed as though we had few options. So, it was good news indeed, when Chipotle Publishing announced they were working with Dolf Goldsmith to produce an updated and enlarged edition entitled The Vickers Machine Gun: Pride of the Emma Gees.

Joining Goldsmith as contributing editors on this new edition are Dan Shea, Robert Segel, and Richard Fisher. Most unfortunately, Segel passed away just prior to the release of this book.

This new version follows the general layout of most Collector Grade titles, divided firstly into parts, then chapters, and then a series of short segments, often only a paragraph or two. While effective, this can give it a bit of a choppy effect. Where new material has been added, it’s noted by a vertical line adjacent to the addition. The new book has over 270 more pages than before. Most, if not all, Collector Grade books did not include an index at the back of the book. Presumably, this was thought not necessary due to the division into parts, chapters, and small segments. Fortunately, this Chipotle version does include a full index.

Parts

Part I: Early Days covers the history of the Vickers firm, a look at hand-cranked guns the early Maxim guns, and the adoption of the Vickers just prior to the start of World War I.

Part II: The Legend Is Born looks at the Vickers in WWI service from many angles. From manufacturing at Erith and Crayford, to the finer points of the various types of mechanical synchronisers that allow the guns on early aircraft to fire through the propeller arc… if it relates to the Vickers in WWI, it is likely here.

Part III: The Legend Continues covers the 1919 to 1968 period. (1968 saw the retirement of the Vickers in British service.)

Part IV: The Legend for Sale deals with various special models. The drum-fed Class “F” variant that fed from a 97 round Lewis drum mag is examined, as is the .5-inch (not the same case as the .50 BMG cartridge case) tank gun. In fact, there are several models of .5-inch Vickers for AFV, naval, and anti-aircraft use examined. Also covered are guns found in service around the world, literally from Abyssinia to Venezuela.

Part V: The Vickers in Depth is all about the inner workings. I suspect this will be the most interesting section for most readers. Theory of Operation, Accessories, Ammunition, and even a Troubleshooter’s Handbook make up the bulk of this section.  

The majority of the many photographs are black and white, as was the original version. However, starting with chapter 18, Parting Shot, there are many full color photos. Incidentally, Exercise Parting Shot was an event held in July, 2002 to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the disbanding of the British Army’s Machine Gun Corps, in 1922. Among those in attendance were Goldsmith, Shea, and Segel. Also taking part were three original WWI MGC veterans! More than 40,000 rounds of .303 British ammo were fired during the event.

Chapter 19, Vickers Memorabilia, features many items from Segel’s huge collection. The items range from badges and medals on up to fully complete guns and accessory carts. Just an amazing collection! And, of course there are the all-important accessories, such as clinometers (to measure incline when firing long distance), belt-filling machines, military manuals, etc. The chapter ends with a series of beautiful photographs of another privately owned Vickers. These studio-quality images would be suitable as large posters, with the light and shadows bringing out the stark beauty of the Vickers.

Chapter 21 is an extended interview of Goldsmith by Shea that was published in Small Arms Review magazine dating back to July 2006. He has lived an interesting life!

The book ends with Chapter 21, The Contributors.

Richard Fisher got interested in the Vickers by way of his grandfather, a WWII machine gunner. He bought a deactivated Vickers at the age of 12 and has been a fan ever since. He founded the Vickers MG Collection and Research Association and the website VickersMG.blog.

Robert G. Segel was the senior editor for Small Arms Review and Small Arms Defense Journal for many years.

Dan Shea is the owner of Chipotle Publishing and is the editor-in-chief and technical editor of both Small Arms Review and Small Arms Defense Journal.

This updated version of a classic title, by a much-respected author, is highly recommended.

Details

Regular readers of SAR will no doubt recognize the name Michael Heidler, as he has contributed numerous articles over the years. He has also authored several books on military topics in his native German language. His latest book, The Complete History of America’s Famed “Grease Gun” (entirely in English) does a splendid job of covering all aspects of the M3 and the later M3A1 variant. This is fortunate as the Thompson submachine gun tends to get the lion’s share of attention when discussing American SMGs.

The M3 “grease gun” was designed as a low-cost, simple to produce submachine gun, much like the German MP 40 and the British Sten SMGs. Made from simple stampings of sheet metal, rather than requiring many complex machining operations, these guns could be produced far faster than old-school guns such as the Thompson.

As noted in chapter one, Introduction, the U.S. Ordnance Department realized the need for such a design as early as 1939. The next two chapters build on this theme, with chapter two briefly describing the Model 1921 and 1928 Thompson guns, the Reising Model 50, and the very short-lived Hyde-Inland M2. This is followed by chapter three detailing the series of trials that led to the selection of the T-20 (Renamed the M3 upon formal adoption.) Nine designs are profiled as part of the first phase of the trials, and 12 types that took part in the second phase are discussed. Several of these were existing foreign designs included for comparison only. These include the Finnish Suomi M/31, the British Sten Mk. II and Mk. III, and the Australian Austen Mk. I.

Heidler covers the early development stage as the T-20 went through further testing, including photos of a wooden “dust test” box. Having passed the dust test and a mud test, the gun was officially named the U.S. Submachine Gun, Caliber .45, M3.

This book has a great blend of WWII era B&W photos, patent drawings, US Army illustrations (Mostly from Technical Manual TM 9-217 and Field Manual FM 23-41), and modern day color detail photos. There is also a nice collection of photos and artifacts from the Guide Lamp division of General Motors. The Guide Lamp plant in Anderson, Indiana produced 688,975 grease guns during WWII.

The Accessories chapter has a good selection of the bits and pieces that gun collectors love to collect. Items shown are: oiler, brush, extractor tool (to remove the extractor pin.), sling, magazines, magazine loader, magazine pouches, large and small pouches for spare parts, and the M9 flash hider.

Chapter 14, The Grease Gun in Combat, is almost entirely photographs and captions, with only about one page of text. Naturally, most photos are from WWII, but there are several from Korea, Vietnam, and even Afghanistan and Iraq.

This leads to the next chapter, Use in Foreign Countries. Some nations were supplied with the M3 by proper means, while other countries just managed to get them somehow. China is an interesting example. As Japan was at war with both USA and China, it was logical that the USA would assist China during WWII. After WWII ended, China went back to fighting with itself. (It had been involved in a civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists since 1927, pausing during the Japanese occupation.) Eventually, the Nationalist forces withdrew to the island of Taiwan in 1949. But before this withdrawal, in 1947, the Nationalists set up a factory to produce near exact copies of the M3A1. This was named the Model 36. Shortly afterwards, in 1948, a version in 9x19mm entered production. This was called the Model 37. Soon, the Nationalists evacuated to Taiwan. There, they set up a new arms factory to produce an updated version, also in 9x19mm, called the model 39. Meanwhile, the Communist forces took over the original factory and began building the model 36 in .45 ACP once again. Heidler goes into more detail on this subject, of course. Numerous photos of the different variants are featured, including close-ups of receiver markings.

Argentina also produced their own version of the grease gun, called the PAM 1, and later the PAM 2. The difference was the PAM 2 had a grip safety added, to prevent accidental firing if the gun was dropped. Both types were chambered in 9x19mm. Again, numerous color photos are shown.

This is a fine quality book from a respected author, covering a gun that has been overshadowed by a sibling. I hope that Heidler and Schiffer Publishing collaborate on more titles. I would love to see some of the Soviet SMGs covered in similar detail.

Specs

• Title: The Complete History of America’s Famed “Grease Gun”
• Author: Michael Heidler
• ISBN: 978-0-7643-6058-9
• Copyright: 2020
• Binding: Hardcover with matching dust jacket
• Dimensions: 8.5x11in
• Pages: 224 pages
• Photos: 551 B&W and color photos and illustrations
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
• Website: schifferbooks.com
• MSRP: $45