Belts Packings

The U.S. report dated January 1946 published by the Office of the Chief of Ordnance entitled The Record of Army Ordnance Research and Development contains the essential official information regarding the development of belt boxes during World War II.

Before the United States entered the war at the end of 1941, .50 caliber ammunitions were packed in metal lined wood crate M1917. Most of the ammunitions were packed in 10-round chipboard cartons, 35 boxes in the M1917 crate. During peacetime, most .50 belts were assembled by using units themselves both for ground, air or naval uses. Belts assembled just prior to use were placed in reusable containers considered as an accessory of the weapons.

For ground use, three main types of reusable belt chests were in service and considered as a weapon accessory: the aluminum Chest, Ammunition, Caliber .50, M3 with a theoretical capacity of a 120-round linked belt, the steel Chest, Ammunition, Caliber .50, M17 with a capacity of 100 cartridges and finally the large anti-aircraft Chest, Ammunition, Caliber .50, M2 with a capacity of 200 cartridges. For the feeding of .50 Browning machine guns mounted on tanks and armored vehicles, 50-round chests are also encountered.

For naval and airborne services, numerous belt containers were in use specifically designed for each weapon platform and mount.

For ground use, the development of an airtight disposable box for .50 linked belts only began in April 1942 after the development for the .30 cal. airtight disposable box was completed. Accordingly, difficulties encountered with the .30 disposable boxes had been avoided and developments of optimal solutions were considerably accelerated. The Armored Force Board at Fort Knox, Kentucky was charged with the evaluation of the prototypes proposed by three companies: model T12 by Owens-Illinois Can Co., Baltimore, Maryland, model T15 by C.E. Erickson Co., Des Moines, Iowa and the model by Modern Steel Equipment Co., Geneva, Illinois. Finally the model proposed by Modern Steel, incorporating some features of the other two competitors, was adopted as standard on 3 September 1942 as Box, Ammunition, Caliber .50, M2. The lid is secured by a lever system that is locked in place by means of a pin attached to a ring as found in hand grenades. On first models of boxes, this locking ring is permanently attached to the articulated lever in order not to loose it after first opening of the box. On later models, the locking ring is completely removable. The belt box M2 enables to simultaneously fulfill the requirements for storage in depots, for transport and finally for the direct feeding of the weapon during combat. The M2 boxes contain a 105-round linked belt pre-assembled in ammunition factories or more rarely in U.S. Ordnance plants.

Until end 1943, no markings were painted on the outer sides of the M2 boxes. Then all M2 boxes received markings in yellow stencils giving indication on the content. Different marking layouts were used to provide indications on the belting sequence, name and lot number of the organization having assembled the belt and sometimes year of repacking. Although the M2 boxes are in essence disposable, one might note the activities of U.S. Ordnance units deployed in combat theaters and referenced as “Ammunition Renovation Field Units.” These units were dedicated to renovate and repack munitions of all kinds in the field. They were also tasked to salvage, repair and refill with belts the disposable boxes both in .30 and .50 cal. This explains why some M2 boxes are observed bearing several layers of olive green paint over several different markings of successive contents.

At least 14 different WWII M2 box manufacturers are known from specimens: ACME, ARMSTRONG, ARTCRAFT, ASCO, BELMONT, BURROWES, GHW, H, J.B.S.CO, MODERN, NMPC, PALLEY, TBC, UNITED.

Since pre-filled ammunition belts could contain several types of ammunition, each one bearing its own production lot number, a unique repack lot number was assigned under the designation “Repacked Lot.” This operation of repacking consisted of assembling belts with different ammunition types delivered in 10-round cartons from the ammunition factories. This repacking operation was carried out directly in the ammunition factories or in U.S. Ordnance facilities. The repack lot number is painted on the outside of the wirebound crate containing two M2 disposable boxes and from the end 1943 on, also painted in yellow on the outside of the M2 boxes. A chipboard card named “Repack Reference Data Card” was also inserted inside each M2 box. This card bears indications on the content, the initials of the repacking facility, the repack lot number (with prefix “L” indicating metal link belts or prefix “B” indicating fabric belt), the lot number of each type of cartridges and sometimes the date of repacking. Surviving specimens of those Repack Reference Data Cards remain nowadays seldom seen.

At the beginning of the war, standard belting sequence for ground use was 4 Armor-Piercing (AP) M2 + 1 Tracer (TR) M1. In early 1943, another belting sequence was adopted with 2 Armor-Piercing (AP) M2 + 2 Incendiary (INC) M1 + 1 Tracer (TR) M1. At the end 1943, with the introduction of the Armor Piercing Incendiary (API) M8, the belting sequence became 4 Armor-Piercing Incendiary M8 + 1 Tracer M1. Finally, from mid-1945 until present day, the standard ground use belting sequence is 4 Armor Piercing Incendiary M8 + 1 Armor Piercing Incendiary Tracer M20.

Two metallic M2 boxes were are grouped for storage and transport in a lightweight wirebound crate.

The M7 fabric belts are exclusively intended to be delivered to using units pre-loaded with ammunition and shipped in the disposable M2 box. To the best of the author’s knowledge, the only industrial belting equipment dedicated to the loading of the M7 fabric belts was operated at the Curtis Bay Ordnance Depot, Baltimore.

A rare specimen of an M2 disposable box has been observed bearing the simplified stencils in yellow paint “REPACKED LOT CB-B76942”, the prefix letter “B” before the lot number indicating a fabric belt (the prefix letter “L” denoting metallic Links) and the loading facility is referenced to “CB” for Curtis Bay Ordnance Depot.

Like for pre-packed 105-round linked belts, a specific cardboard “Repack Reference Data Card” for the fabric belt is inserted into each M2 box. This repack data card bears the designation of the repacking facility (so far on “CB” for Curtis Bay Ordnance Depot has been observed), the repack lot number with the prefix B-, the individual lot numbers of each types of ammunition, the belting sequence and finally in full text the indication of the use of fabric belt “110 RD. AMMUNITION WEB BELT.”

Only two standard belting sequences have been identified with the M7 fabric belts: 4 AP M2 + 1 TR M1 and 2 AP M2 + 2 Inc M1 + 1 TR M1. An M2 box and a “Repack Reference Data Card” corresponding to an original loading with M7 fabric belt remain today extremely scarce collector’s items.

For use with airborne Brownings, the ammunition was prominently issued pre-packed on metallic belts. Belts for Air Service were essentially shipped in metal lined M1917 wood chest containing one single 265-round belt. Another standard packing for aircraft belts was an unlined wood chest with a total capacity of 240 rounds containing four 60-round belts packed individually in a chipboard carton wrapped in waterproof paper. From the end 1943 on, the typical chests for aircraft ammunition were painted earth brown and bear in yellow stencils the designation of the content, the type of belting sequence and a symbol indicating disintegrating metallic links.

Although it was always possible in the field to assemble the belts with any specific belting sequences, a few official belting sequences for airborne use were defined. Early in 1942, the standard belting sequence for the U.S. Army Air Corps was 3 Armor Piercing M2 + 2 Incendiaries M1 + 1 Tracer M1. From early 1943 on, the belting sequence was standardized with that for ground use with 2 Armor Piercing M2 + 2 Incendiaries M1 + 1 Tracer M1. At the end of 1943, in an attempt to fight against more heavily armored German planes, the belting sequence was modified to incorporate Armor Piercing Incendiary M8 while still keeping some Incendiary M1, which was better suited against fuel tanks. Belting sequence was then 1 Armor Piercing Incendiary M8 + 1 Incendiary M1 + 1 Armor Piercing Incendiary M8 + 1 Tracer M1. Early in 1944, for the feeding of the numerous Brownings onboard heavy bombers, the proportion of Incendiary M1 was increased with 1 Armor Piercing Incendiary M8 + 1 Incendiary M1 + 1 Armor Piercing Incendiary M8 + 1 Incendiary M1 + 1 Tracer M10. In July 1944, a specific belting sequence was adopted for ground strafing with 4 Armor Piercing Incendiary M8 + 1 tracer M21.

Belt Loading and Linking Machines

The earliest water-cooled M1921 Brownings for ground use produced by Colt were fed with a 100-round fabric belt. The filling of these fabric belts was conducted with a hand cranked machine type B70T of similar design to that for the .30 Browning belts. To date, only a handful of such surviving machines are known in collections.

Air-cooled aircraft .50 Brownings were exclusively fed with metallic links. The earliest linking machines offered by Colt were manufactured by Sargent & Co., New Haven, Connecticut. The design of that .50 linker was inspired from the linker for .30 caliber links used with the Marlin aircraft guns during WWI. The patent for that linker was filed on 23 November 1918 by John H. Shaw on behalf of the Sargent & Co., and patent was finally granted on 22 May 1923 with number 1,456,154. Whereas the original Shaw linker accommodates ten .30 links, the .50 version only accommodates six links. This is the reason why the early M1 links are packed in 6-link chipboard cartons. The linking machine offered for commercial sale by Colt is referenced L-56 and bears, cast in the base plate, the inventor’s reference “SHAW LOADING MACHINE” as well as the manufacturer “SARGENT & Co.”

In 1935, a new linking machine was adopted as standard under the designation M2 with U.S. Ordnance drawing number D8794 for the complete machine. The basic operating principle remains the same as that of the Shaw machine with a sliding bar pushing the cartridges into the links. The key difference is the way the sliding bar is put into translation. The M2 linker is designed to accommodate simultaneously 10 links. The sliding bar (made of bronze for earliest productions then replaced by cast iron) bears cast on top the designation of the machine, namely “LINK LOADING MACHINE CAL. .50 M2.” The bottom side of the base plate bears casted the drawing number D8795, corresponding to the base plate only, followed by a revision index.

The U.S. report dated January 1946 published by the Office of the Chief of Ordnance entitled The Record of Army Ordnance Research and Development provides essential background information on the modification of the M2 linker as excerpted in the following.

Reports by Army Air Force units in early 1942 attributed malfunctioning of caliber .50 weapons to corrosion and excess link pull encountered with link-belted ammunition. To overcome this difficulty, field units were required to delink completely belts of ammunition, clean cartridges, and relink ammunition. As there existed no available machine to accomplish the delinking, the Headquarters, Army Air Force suggested an attachment to the Link Loading Machine M2 as the simplest and quickest solution to the problem. Springfield Armory was requested in September 1942 to manufacture a sample delinking attachment for use with the M2 machine similar to that designed by the 4th Air Force. The sample attachment was shipped to the Office, Chief of Ordnance in December 1942. In April 1943, Rock Island Arsenal was requested to manufacture three sets of the delinking attachments of similar design to the Springfield Armory type and assemble them to M2 machines for experimental use. The attachment was designated, “Attachment, Delinking, Caliber .50, T6.” The modified M2 machine consisted first on steel pins inserted into the machine base, the links being then fitted between the pins and the front link stop bar. Second, an extractor bar was hinged to the cartridge insertion bar; the extractor element of the bar was perpendicular to the head of the cartridge and the bar edge fitted into the extractor groove of the cartridge. Extraction was accomplished by pulling rounds by the extractor bar from the belt links which were held by the pins in the machine base.

The Headquarters, Army Ground Forces stated that there was no interest in a delinking attachment for the M2 machines in Ground Forces use. However, as the delinking assembly did not interfere with the operation of the modified M2 machine for linking purposes, there was no objection by the Ground Forces to the modified machine as an article of issue.

An Ordnance Committee Action dated August 1943 recommended that the Link Loading Machine M2 be modified in future production to incorporate the delinking assembly. The modified M2 machine was standardized as “Machine, Linking-Delinking, Caliber .50, M7.” Orders were also issued to modify in the field all M2 machines in Air Force use to incorporate the delinking assembly.

Original M2 linkers modified to the M7 pattern can be readily recognized by the markings cast in sliding bar which originally was “LINK LOADING MACHINE CAL. .50 M2” and where the “2” was grounded off and a “7” stamped in place. These modified machines of course embed the added pins on tray and delinking bar assembly.

After August 1943, all new machines were manufactured according to the M7 pattern and can be readily recognized by the markings cast in the sliding bar which reads “MACHINE LINKING-DELINKING CALIBER 50 M7.”

The Disintegrating Metallic Belt Links

During the Second World War, more than 9 billion metallic links were produced by U.S. companies to feed the various .50 cal. Browning machine guns used by U.S. Armed Forces on ground, on sea and in the air.

Two official U.S. documents represent the major sources of information for this study, namely the report published in 1945 by the Chief of Ordnance, Machine Guns – Development and production of metallic belt link and fabric ammunition belt and the minutes of the Metallic Belt Link Industry Integration Committee compiled up to September 1944.

In 1940, the different models of .50 cal. Browning machine guns used on ground, air and sea are fed with the disintegrating metallic link M1. It is a direct scaled up version of the .30 cal. disintegrating link that was designed at the end of the First World War to feed the Marlin aircraft machine guns.

These .50 cal. Links, M1, of standard issue in the U.S. Army were manufactured by Rock Island Arsenal and are protected against corrosion by an electro-plated zinc coating exhibiting a typical light grey appearance. These links produced before 1940 for the U.S. Army are devoid of markings. Specimens bearing the Colt logo are commercial export production; it remains unknown to the author whether these links were produced “in house” by Colt or were subcontracted.

The development of a new link to replace the M1 finds its origin by a requirement of the Chief of Air Corps hereafter excerpted from his memorandum addressed to the Chief of Ordnance on April 24 1940. “In recent developments on remote control mounts and power-driven mounts for aircraft machine guns, it has been found necessary to place the entire ammunition load for a given gun mission in one belt and in one ammunition container. In order to do this in the restricted space involved with some mounts, such as tail guns and engine nacelles, considerable flexibility in the metallic link belt is necessary. The present standard link belt does not give sufficient flexibility to afford utilizing space in the most efficient manner. It is therefore requested that immediate steps be taken to materially increase flexibility in both torsional direction and in the plane of the belt. This matter should be expedited as much as practicable as it vitally affects the machine gun mounts now being given a high priority of development in the Air Corps.”

As a result of the above memorandum, a new metallic link was adopted as standard in February 1941, which almost doubled the flexibility compared to that of the previous type M1. This was accomplished by the redesign of the sides of the center loop, which are tapered; the center loop is also slightly larger in diameter than standard and the connecting ears are more rounded.

A new rust-proofing coating made of iron phosphate saturated with oil was adopted as standard for all M2 links. As the minutes of the Belt Links Committee indicate, this change in rust-proofing coating was made to eliminate the difficulties arising from the electrolytic corrosion resulting from the contact of the zinc plating with the brass cartridge case.

During peacetime in the interwar period, Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) had the exclusive responsibility of the design and production of the metallic links for U.S. Ordnance. During the sole 1940 year, Rock Island Arsenal produced 14.876 million .50 cal. M1 links, most of which was delivered to the Air Force. During 1940, several U.S. companies were asked by the British Government for the production of metallic links and therefore began building new production capabilities.

As soon as mid-1940, bearing in mind the possibility that the United States could enter the war, U.S. Ordnance anticipated a considerable increase of requirements for metallic links, essentially for Air Force use, and therefore prepared for procurements from private companies. In June 1940, the Fort Pitt Bedding Co. of Pittsburg is the first private company to be notified of a contract by U.S. Ordnance for production of .50 metallic links. During 1941, another three private companies began delivery of .50 metallic links to U.S. Ordnance namely: the Barnard Aviation Co. (which later became the General Aviation Co.) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the Firestone Steel Products Co. in Fall River, Massachusetts and the National Stamping Co. in Detroit, Michigan.

In December 1941, following the entry of the United States in the War, the mobilization program scheduled a need for 3 billion .50 cal. links for 1942 and 5 billion for 1943. In order to fulfill those considerable requirements, six new private companies began production in 1942 followed by 12 others in 1943.

The salvaging of .50 M2 links was proposed and tried in early 1943 when the supply of links was acute, but because of the unknown factors in the previous history of the links necessitating a 100% inspection, and the cost involved in refinishing and packing, the project was abandoned. At that time, the suggestion for making Grade A and Grade B was also offered, but was not given serious consideration because of the number of complications it would have introduced in the supply program.

It was in September and October 1943 that the maximal full production output of all 22 factories involved in the production of .50 metallic links was reached. At that period, the cumulative monthly rate of all 22 factories reached 522 million links.

The coordinated production of the 22 factories, the organization of raw material deliveries, the development and procurement of machine tools, the harmonization of standards and quality control, all these key requirements have been possible through the Metallic Belt Link Industry Integration Committee. This committee, composed of representatives of U.S. Ordnance and the various manufacturers and sub-contractors, was created in July 1941.

In October 1943, according to the amount of links already in stocks and the actual consumption rate by combat units, the expected production requirement for 1944 was reduced down to a total yearly production of 2 billion only. This reduction in the production requirements drove early 1944 to the complete termination of production for 13 out of the 22 factories and a large reduction of monthly production rate for the remaining 9 factories. Mid-1945, after the close of the hostilities in Europe, 4 more factories stopped production. In August 1945 with the Victory over Japan, only 5 factories were still in activity. From January 1941 to August 1945, a total of more than 9.4 billion .50 cal. Browning links had been produced.

M2 links bear the manufacturer marking associated with a number or a letter, which indicates the machine tool used in order to precisely locate the faulty machine in case of non-standard production.

Experimental Links

The further development of experimental links is described in much detail in the Record of Army Ordnance Research and Development published in 1946 from which the following information is excerpted from.

Although the M2 link was officially adopted as standard on 20 February 1941, and was considered acceptable by the Army Air Force, the link development program was continued in order to keep abreast of the rapid development of combat planes by producing a still stronger and more flexible link.

The development was conducted along three general lines. The first deals with the modification of the M2 link and development of other one-piece designs in an attempt to minimize the modifications in existing manufacturing processes. The second approach deals with the development of a two-piece link in which the connecting loop was joined to the bridge of the body loop by a swivel joint, which accomplished greater strain flexibility than is practicable with a one-piece design without sacrifice of the required strength. Finally the third approach was the investigation of the feasibility of employing materials other than steel to determine whether the advantage of reduced weight and increased resistance to corrosion could be obtained whiteout sacrifice of strength and other characteristics of the steel links.

A considerable amount of study was given to the improvement of the M2 link that resulted in at least 28 experimental models that retained the essential characteristics of the standard link with simple modifications. The final result of the study on one-piece links was the development of the T43 design with increased resistance of the center loop obtained both with the addition of a tab at the end of the center loop to prevent it from opening up under load and also with the addition of stiffening ribs. This test model was the precursor of the model later adopted as M9, which is still nowadays the standard link for modern Browning weapons.

The third approach based on the use of non-steel materials involved both plastic and aluminum links. Experiments with plastic links that might generate a saving in weight of 60% or more and an entire freedom from corrosion had been conducted over a period of more than 4 years and were still in progress after the close of the Second World War. Several different companies dealing with plastic materials patented various plastic links designs. Among the plastic materials investigated, the most promising was determined to be DuPont FM-1 Nylon as used for the T37 series of links. The major drawback of plastic links at the time was the impossibility to find plastic materials that would stand the extreme climatic conditions specified (both low and high temperatures).

Aluminum was also considered in an attempt to reduce weight and improve resistance to corrosion. However, the lower mechanical properties compared to steel would require an increase in thickness of stock that would nullify any saving in weight. No surviving specimen of WW2 aluminum links has been observed so far by the author.

Packing of Links

During the early 1930s, the first M1 links were packed by 6 pieces in a chipboard carton according to the design of the manual linker type L-56 for which six cartridges are simultaneously inserted into links.

In 1935, the Link Loading Machine Cal. .50 M2 was adopted as standard. This linker enabled the simultaneous introduction of 10 cartridges into links. Therefore, a new 10-link chipboard carton was adopted also. These 10-link cartons bear printed on the chipboard the designation of the content as well the manufacturer (either in abridged or in full text); the cartons are undated.

As of 1942, the approved packing for .50 M2 links was 1,000 pieces in 10-link chipboard cartons. The 100 individual cartons are wrapped in two sheets of waterproof paper, and then packed in an exterior container made of either a fiberboard box or a wirebound wood box. An exterior container made of a nailed wood box was also approved at that time but not used by link manufacturers.

By end of 1942, the use of the two waterproof sheets was abandoned in favor of a unit waterproof envelope. The packing used at this time was not an overseas pack because 90% of the links were being used in this country to make up ammunition belts. In May 1943, after some experience in the handling, storing and reshipping of the links packed in fiberboard boxes, the use of this box was discontinued because of its poor stacking properties and low wet handling strength. Therefore for the last half of 1943 and first half of 1944, all the facilities were using wirebound boxes.

At a production rate approaching one half billion links per month during the last quarter of 1943, this meant that approximately one half-million wirebound boxes were needed monthly. Because of the critical supply of veneer and lumber at this time, and in view of the many other demands for the wirebound box industry, the shortage of wirebound boxes loomed large. A reuse program was set up whereby wirebound boxes were returned from the ammunition belt assembly plants to the link manufacturers.

In March 1944, the Navy Bureau of Ordnance requested that all links to be consigned to the Navy be packed in an approved overseas interior pack and a nailed wood exterior box. At this same time, the method of packing links for domestic shipping was also improved in anticipation of long term storage. A higher quality waterproof envelope was used and openings were properly sealed with waterproof adhesive.

The packing for the Navy consisted of 10 links per chipboard carton, 50 cartons per intermediate fiberboard carton that was then wrapped in a greaseproof paper and dipped in wax; then two of these intermediate packages were packed in an exterior nailed wooden box. This form of packing was both moisture and vapor proof and was designed to withstand the extreme conditions encountered in amphibious landings. From the middle of 1944 on, the total production of three facilities (Fort Pitt Bedding Co., Acme-Lees Division and Grand Rapids Hardware Co.) was packed this way for the Navy.

Fabric Belts

The earliest water-cooled M1921 Browning machine guns for ground use were fed with 100-round fabric belts. The belts are devoid of starter tang and are accommodated in a wood chest that can be fastened to the weapon mount. The design of the fabric is based on the contemporary .30 Browning fabric belts. With the adoption of the M2 Browning machine guns by U.S. Forces in the 1930s, metallic links became standard and fabric belts remained only offered for export.

At the end 1942, while several private contractors were tooling up for the mass production of M2 metallic links, the Metallic Belt Link Industry Integration Committee anticipated that the production objectives of metallic links M2 for 1943 could probably not be met according to delays in the procurement of certain machine tools and shortage of steel sheets. The Bureau of U.S. Ordnance then initiated a study in order to replace metallic links by fabric belts for all uses other than for the Air Force, which required exclusively metallic links. Experiments were very quickly conducted on the basis of a 100-round fabric belt manufactured by Russell Manufacturing Co. and already exported to Great Britain. This export 100-round fabric belt bears at both ends six fabric pockets stitched closed in order to play the role of starter tangs.

On 8 January 1943, a 100-round fabric belt was adopted as standard under the designation M7. This belt is completely made of fabric and is fitted at both ends with fabric connecting loops. These connecting loops, patented by The Russell Manufacturing Co. with U.S. Patent number 2,422,898, enable to assemble two fabric belts together. This feature fulfilled the specific requirement of the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Board that needed a 200-round belt assembly to be fitted into the large Chest, Ammunition, Caliber .50, M2.

The disposable box M2 with a nominal capacity of 105 rounds mounted on metallic links proved capable of accommodating without difficulty a fabric belt with up to 110 rounds. Accordingly, during the first months of 1943, the capacity of the M7 belt was increased from 100 to 110 rounds, while keeping the M7 designation unchanged. In September 1943, all metallic link factories reached nominal production rate therefore enabling to fulfill all requirements for air, ground and maritime uses. The M7 fabric belt was then reclassified as “Limited Standard” and the metallic links M2 became of standard issue for all U.S. .50 Browning weapons.

Unlike what is sometimes written, fabric belts were not reserved for training purposes only in the continental United States. Ammunition belted on M7 fabric belts were definitively used during combat in Europe. These fabric ammunition belts are sometimes seen in period photographs and are sometimes recovered still nowadays in combat areas of North-East of France on the border with Belgium (Battle of the Bulge) and with Germany (Battle of Alsace). No surviving specimen of the early 1943 M7 belt with the original capacity of 100 rounds has been observed so far by the author.

Most M7 belts were made out of green fabric and only a small quantity were manufactured out of white fabric. The belt pockets are numbered in black ink every 25 rounds with numbers ranging from 25 to 100, while the first pocket is numbered “1” and the last “110.” The belts also bear in black ink the designation of the manufacturer, the month and year of production and the reference to the U.S. patent No. 2,061,072 granted to The Russell Manufacturing Co. in 1936 corresponding to the fabric weave.

Production of 110-round M7 fabric belts was shared among 7 factories, which on the other hand were also involved in the production of .30 Browning fabric belts. From April to September 1943, a total of more than 8.6 million M7 belts were produced, which means that these fabric belts are by any means not scarce. It seems that only a small proportion of these millions belts was actually loaded with ammunition and nowadays the vast majority of the M7 found are still in new unissued condition, sometimes still rolled and fastened with a small piece of string, as out of the belt weaving factories. Sometimes the M7 fabric belts were recycled as trousers’ belt or sewn as reinforcement ribbons in sleeping bags.

(Look for Part 2 in the next issue of Small Arms Review that will be devoted to the .50 cal. belt boxes and belt assembling machines.)

Unusual crank operated belt loaders entirely made of cast aluminum are offered for sale from time to time on the collectors market. Some of the machines bear German WW2 inspection stamps and are described as an experimental WW2 German belt loader for the MG 42. The objective of this article is to provide the true identification of that loader and highlight the deliberately fake markings intended for the collectors market.

This belt-loader was adopted in the Austrian Army after 1966 as “Gurtfüller 66.” It is intended to load non-disintegrating belts either for the MG 42 in its original 7.92×57 caliber or for MG 42/59 in 7.62×51 NATO caliber. The key typical feature of that loader is it’s made of cast aluminum. The machine is composed of three main components that are transported in a metal can identical to that containing an ammunition belt. The three components are the main body, the cartridge hopper and the crank. In order to tell apart the content, the belt-loader can has the designation “GF 66” painted in white.

The machine is crank operated with the rotating motion of the crank transformed in a longitudinal movement of a pusher, which rams the cartridge into the belt pocket. Transport of the belt is achieved around a wheel-shaped drum. Cartridges are fed in bulk from a hopper which therefore does not enable it to achieve a defined belting sequence with different types of ammunition (ball, tracer, AP, etc.). Fastening the machine onto a bench is achieved with a vise design of an eccentric cam which is operated with the crank. The principles of operation somewhat recall those involved in the West-German .308 “Gurtfüller 57” or “DM1” commonly available on the surplus market today.

Both 7.92×57 and 7.62×51 ammunition can be loaded into the belts with that machine. When operated with the 7.62×51 cartridges, a spacer is assembled inside the feed hopper in order to compensate for the shorter overall length of the cartridge compared to that of the 7.92×57. The pusher that rams the cartridge into the belt pocket can be mounted in two different directions. One provides a short protrusion which pushes the cartridge base just flush into the belt pocket in order to achieve loading of the belt. For unloading operation, the pusher is mounted the other way around with a long protrusion in front. The loaded belt is driven into the machine and the pusher drives the cartridge out through the belt pocket. This loading or unloading operation works the same whichever caliber is involved.

The original markings on the machine are the serial number and the Austrian Federal Army property stamp composed of the letters “BH”= Bundesheer and the Republic of Austria Eagle (marking thereafter referred to as “BH/eagle”).

Any German WW2 WaA markings that could be found on these machines are deliberate fakes. Sometimes these fake WaA inspection marks are stamped over the original “BH eagle” marks. It is also observed that the “BH/eagle” stamp might be removed by drilling an approximate 8mm hole, a few mm deep, into the machine body at the position of the original marking. On the photographed example, a fake WaA 519 marking is observed which originally corresponded to an inspector based in Solingen and is usually seen on bayonets. It can be noted that among many others, fake WaA 519 bunters are regularly offered for sale on European Internet auction sites.

The Austrian machine guns MG 42 in caliber 7.92×57 and MG 42/59 in caliber 7.62×51 NATO were originally fed with standard German WW2-vintage 50-round belts Gurt 34 or Gurt 34/41. On July 25, 1960, an Austrian patent was issued to Stephanie Eigner of Vienna describing a new non-disintegrating belt for machine guns. Among other features, this new belt avoids the use of springs to connect the individual links with each other. Individual links are designed with the hook-and-eye principle embedding specific features which makes the links non-disintegrating and also provides enhanced lateral and torsion stability.

From the mid-1970s on, the Company Glock designed a new non-disintegrating belt which was adopted with the Austrian domestic produced MG 74. The starter piece is composed of a strip of brown-green plastic. This Glock belt exhibits greater torsion and lateral flexibility than the earlier belt patented by Stephanie Eigner.

This article is intended to complement Anthony Williams’ article published in last month’s SAR (Vol. 15, No. 4, January 2012) dedicated to .5-inch Vickers guns and ammunition in order to present some of the feed systems used with those weapons. Both fabric belts and metal disintegrating links are presented for four main types of .5-inch Vickers ammunition, namely the earliest belted .600/.500-inch, the rimless 12.7×81, the semi-rimmed 12.7x81SR and the high velocity semi-rimmed 12.7x120R.

Feeding the Early Vickers in .600/.500-inch

Early .5-inch aircraft Vickers machine guns used the belted .600/.500-inch cartridge. The feeding was achieved by means of a complex and over-engineered disintegrating metallic link using no less than 5 separate rings. The ammunition itself is nowadays an extremely sought after specimen and only available in the world’s most advanced collections. The known surviving links are only a handful nowadays and are probably among the scarcest British disintegrating link for collectors.

Feeding the British Service .5-inch Vickers for the Rimless 12.7×81

The rimless 12.7×81 Vickers ammunition was adopted for British Service in 1924 and is also referred to as the .5”V/580. This ammunition was used in British Service both on Land, Sea and in the Air.

Land Service .5-inch Vickers

On Land, the Mark II, IV and V water-cooled tank guns were fed with a 100-round fabric belt referenced as Mark I. The belt is composed of two strips of cotton fabrics assembled together with riveted brass spacers. Both ends of the belt are fitted with a brass starter tang intended to facilitate the introduction of the belt into the feed block. The starter tangs are marked with the caliber designation, the belt capacity and the manufacturer’s code. One starter tang only also bears inspection markings. The brass spacers are slightly chamfered at the top ends in order to positively seat the shoulder of the cartridge case in the belt. Before World War 2, belts are produced by the company Vickers-Armstrongs Limited and are not dated. During World War 2, belts are produced by the company Thomas French & Sons of Manchester. This company specialized in the production of a very wide range of belts and links in various calibers. These wartime belts by Thomas French are marked with month and date of production.

Naval Service .5-inch Vickers

The water-cooled naval Mark III .5-inch Vickers weapons, most frequently encountered on the quadruple Mark M anti-aircraft mount are fed with a 200-round belt assembled with metallic disintegrating links and wrapped around a spool.

Two types of links were in service. The standard link is of the model Mark II Navy and denoted II N. The link design is a direct scale-up version of the Prideaux links developed by the inventor during WW1 for the .303 Vickers aircraft weapon. The links are marked with the weapon designation .5VMG or .5MG, the model of link II N and the manufacturer’s code. According to the large amount of links used during WW2, at least nine different British manufacturers produced those Mark II N links. For example, the company British Pens Limited of Birmingham (marking BP) produced 14,198,000 Mark II N links during WW2.

With the standard Mark II N links, the connection of belt sections with one another usually requires that a loose cartridge be inserted into the trailing links of each belt. In order to enable the connection of two belt sections together without the need to remove and insert a cartridge, a dedicated connecting link was designed and referenced Connecting Link Mark I Navy and denoted I N. This link is fitted with a half-open central loop which can be directly snapped into the last cartridge of the adjacent belt. This connecting link is marked with the weapon designation .5MG, model of link I N and manufacturer’s code. According to their specific use, these connecting links were produced in a much smaller quantity than the standard Mark II N links. It is suspected that probably only very few manufacturers produced these joining links. So far, the author has only come across Mark I N Connecting Links manufactured by the company British Pens Limited (BP), but there are probably other productions.

Air Service .5-inch Vickers

The .5-inch Vickers was involved in British Air Service with the air-cooled Vickers Class B weapons. Only very few weapons were actually acquired by the British War Office for test purposes. These aircraft weapons were fed with simplified and lightened disintegrating links. These Class B links are nowadays rarely encountered.

Feeding Weapons for the Semi-Rimmed Export 12.7x81SR Vickers Ammunition

According to the British War Office requirements, the Vickers Company was only permitted to export .5-inch weapons using a slightly modified cartridge case to make it semi-rimmed which makes it 12.7x81SR. The Vickers designation of that ammunition was .5”V/565.

Vickers exported a few tens of aircraft weapons chambered for that caliber to Japan and Siam. The disintegrating links used with those exported weapons have not been definitively identified. It is however suspected that the links are the same as those used with the Class B aircraft weapons but this is only speculation pending documented evidence.

Feeding Italian Weapons in 12.7x81SR

Italy adopted the semi-rimmed cartridge 12.7x81SR for their aircraft weapons of domestic design.

The Breda-SAFAT aircraft weapons are fed with disintegrating links of the Prideaux design similar to those used with the British Mark III Naval weapons. Italian made links can be readily identified by the markings exhibiting the Italian manufacturers’ code and the month and year of production. No connecting link was used by Italy. It is not known to the author whether Hungary domestically produced any links to feed their Breda-SAFAT.

The other major Italian aircraft weapons chambered for 12.7x81SR is the Scotti-Isotta Fraschini, which also uses disintegrating links. This weapon uses a feed mechanism where the cartridge is pushed through the links that therefore requires belt links of specific design.

Specimens of Italian push-through links with “hook-and-eye” connection design are known from surviving specimens bearing the markings Mod. 42. It is currently unknown to the author whether these are a late variant of links for the standard Scotti weapons or specific links for another weapon. Any comments by readers would be most appreciated.

Feeding Japanese Weapons in 12.7x81SR

Japan adopted the semi-rimmed 12.7x81SR cartridge to feed the Ho-103 aircraft weapon that was derived from the U.S. .50 cal. Browning. The feeding is achieved with disintegrating links which, unsurprisingly, are derived from the U.S. Browning .50 cal. Links M1. Japanese links are either unmarked or marked with the manufacture’s logo.

Feeding the High Velocity Vickers Class D for Semi-Rimmed 12.7x120R

The water-cooled High Velocity Vickers Class D chambered for 12.7x120SR was fed with disintegrating links. This weapon was never adopted by Britain and only very few specimens were sold to Asian countries. Accordingly surviving specimens of the links are nowadays rarely encountered. Links observed so far are unmarked.

Packing

The Record of Army Ordnance Research and Development, Volume Two, Book Two, published by the Office of the Chief of Ordnance in January 1946, is a unique source of information providing thorough description of the numerous research and developments conducted all along the Second World War concerning, among many others, the containers for ammunition belts used with ground machine guns. The following descriptions of developments of ammunition boxes are based or excerpted from this Record of Army Ordnance.

Before World War II, .30 caliber ammunition was packaged in the M1917 wood box with steel metal liners. The majority of the cartridges were packed in bulk, in 20-round paperboard cartons, seventy-five cartons per M1917 metal lined wood box. Most of the belts were issued empty and the belting was to be accomplished by the troops using the crank operated M1918 Browning Belt Filling Machine. Merely for war reserve only, a comparatively small amount of .30 cal. ammunition was packed in 250-round Browning fabric belts, five belts per M1917 wood box.

The acceleration of the training program and defense preparations already indicated in 1940 that the separate issue of ammunition and empty machine gun belts, which required the belting be accomplished by troops using the M1918 crank operated belt filling machine, introduced a serious problem in field operation and made it difficult to keep machine guns in operation. Troops in the field had neither time nor facilities for repacking ammunition in functional assemblies. This reopened the question of supply of ammunition to the services in assemblies packaged for ready use.

In 1942 after the entry of the USA into World War II, the question of field belting of large quantities of ammunition for ground machine guns became an even more acute problem. The first result was to increase the procurement of pre-loaded belts packed by five in the M1917 wood box while still relying on manual belting in the field for a part of the requirements.

To assist in readily identifying types of ammunition, a system was devised that consists of painting different colored stripes: vertical stripes on the front and rear faces and horizontal stripes on the ends just above the handle cuts.

The colors used correspond to those found on the 20-round cardboard boxes: red = Ball, green & yellow = Tracer and blue & yellow = Armor-Piercing. Accordingly, M1917 crates filled with belts loaded with a mix of Ball and Tracer are painted with red-yellow-green stripes, whereas those with Armor-Piercing and Tracer are painted with blue-yellow-green stripes. For WW2 production, M1917 boxes containing belted ammunition are sometimes observed without the color stripes.

Early in 1942, the standard belt box to accommodate one 250-round belt for infantry weapons was the Chest, Ammunition Belt, Caliber 30, which was constructed of wood, was not expendable and was issued as an accessory to the weapon.

Both the WW1 design with the typical 45 degree angled cut in the bottom/side of the box and the 1930s square box (Ordnance Department Drawing 49-1-84) were in service. These wood boxes were to be repeatedly refilled with either pre-loaded belts or belts loaded in the field by the Troops. These wood boxes proved very durable and were still used as late as 1945 in Europe as many combat pictures show.

Because of the large quantities of ammunition required for use with ground machine guns, expendable small metal boxes were developed and adopted as containers for pre belted cartridges. Extensive development work was invested in this project of expendable containers and thorough description of the various prototypes and improvements are available in the relevant chapter in Dolf Goldsmith’s book. This type of box was suitable both as a shipping and storage container, and could be used as an ammunition ready box with the appropriate weapon. These boxes were packed initially at factory or depot and their content could be fed directly to the gun without the necessity of transferring the ammunition to special chests or feed boxes before firing.

The expendable airtight container adopted as Box, Ammunition, Caliber .30, M1, became the standard packing container for all 250-round fabric belts of ammunition for caliber .30 ground Browning machine guns. This item was in quantity production in the early fall of 1942 and underwent various improvements during the entire duration of the War. M1 boxes usually bear on their outer surfaces markings painted in yellow. These markings indicate the type of content (caliber, quantity, type of belt), the sequence of the different types of cartridges, and a repacked lot number. Four of these M1 boxes are assembled in a wirebound box for shipping.

Early in the war (1941-43) the official belting for ground machine guns involved ordinary M2 Ball and M1 tracers with either (9 Ball + 1 Tracer) or (4 Ball + 1 Tracer); early Armor-Piercing belting ratio was 9 Armor-Piercing M2+1 Tracer M1.

Standard belting was then changed officially in July 1943 for a ratio of 4 Armor-Piercing M2 + 1 tracer M1. This change did not start to be packed out at the plants until later in 1943. This is the type of belting sequence that was the most widely produced during WW2.

Since ammunition packed in preloaded belts may consist of more than one type of cartridge and hence would require two or more lot numbers marked on packing boxes and entered in records, a single “repacked lot” number is assigned by the repacker in order to replace the original ammunition lot numbers. The “repacking” operation consists in assembling belts with the various types of cartridges, those being removed from the original bulk packing as issued from the munition factory. Repacking operation was conducted either directly within the munition factory or in separate Ordnance depots. The repacked lot number is painted on the outside of the packing box and on a repacked reference data card inserted in the box. The repacked lot number consists of the words “REPACKED LOT,” the repacker’s initials; the letter “B” or “L” indicating Belted (fabric) or Linked (metallic) cartridges respectively; and the serial number assigned by the repacker.

Early in 1945, the repacking lot number was inked directly on the belt thereby avoiding the use of the cardboard Reference Data Card inserted inside the box. The corresponding marking inked on the belt is “REPACKED LOT” immediately followed by the lot number.

By mid-1945, the term “Repacked Lot” was generally replaced by “Functional Lot,” these being assigned a whole new series of lot numbers which were assigned in blocks of numbers to each plant. After this change, the term “Repacked Lot” was still used but only applied to lots repacked by plants or depots to upgrade packing or replace unserviceable components. Functional Lot reference inked on the belt is just “LOT” immediately followed by the lot number.

(The author is deeply indebted to Frank Hackley, Anaheim, CA-USA for the sharing of his knowledge on U.S. Small Arms Ammunition management system and to H.E. Wanting, Bedburg-Hau, Germany for his constant help in improving the manuscript and pinpointing the smallest inaccurate detail.)

During the Second World War, over 30 million 250-round fabric belts were procured for the U.S. Army to feed their different .30 cal. Browning machine guns used by the infantry.

The objective of this series of three articles is to describe the evolution and the many variants observed as a function of manufacturer, starter tang design, fabrics weave and color. Part 1 will be dedicated to design development and the different manufacturers; Part 2 will be dedicated to the numerous production variants and Part 3 will be dedicated to the various packings.

A first attempt to address this vast subject was provided by the author’s contribution in Dolf Goldsmith’s book The Browning Machine Gun – Volume III – Supporting the Rifle Caliber Brownings. Since that publication, much new information based on further surviving specimens and a key official U.S. report dated October 1945 shed further light on this subject. This latter report issued by the Chief of Ordnance/Industrial Service Office/Small Arms Division and entitled Machine Guns – Development and production of metallic belt link and fabric ammunition belt contains a wealth of extremely detailed data on production figures and historical background on development process. When applicable, some parts are literally excerpted from this report in the following article.

After the First World War, much of the development work on fabric machine gun belts was done by Russell Manufacturing Co. of Middletown, CT in cooperation with the Springfield Armory. The original M1917 machine gun belt was based on the U.S. Patent No. 1,168,876 by F. Frissell, assignor to the Russell Manufacturing Co., issued on January 18, 1916. This called for two distinct layers of fabric, each including a set of warp strands interwoven with a set of weft, or filling strands. Each set of warp strands was to be crossed at regular intervals from one face of the composite fabric to the other and back again to form pockets for the cartridges. However, it was found that only about one-half the warp strands could be crossed, for more would be so crowded as to make the edge objectionably wavy. Therefore, it was found necessary to cross only about half the warp strands and stitch the others in place at the point of crossing. This weaving feature is clearly illustrated in the patent drawings. As a result, the pockets were not as strong or rugged as desired and the cartridges were not firmly gripped.

These original M1917 belts are fitted with two tapered 4.5 inch long brass starter tangs riveted at each end of the belt to facilitate the insertion into the feed block. Cartridge pockets are numbered with ink markings every 25 rounds to indicate to the gunner the number of rounds that have been expelled from the belt. The fabric also bears an ink stamp referring to the Frissell Patent date which actually is January 18 1916. However, for an unknown reason, all belts observed are consistently wrongly inked “Pat. Jan. 18 ‘15” therefore showing 1915 instead of 1916. These original 250-round M1917 belts were still standard issue for the infantry until 1941.

Really intensive sampling and development work on fabric belts by Russell Manufacturing Co. was resumed in 1928. A new and more rugged belt was developed and accepted by 1933 and patented in November 17, 1936 by J. Hendley, assignor to the Russell Manufacturing Co., under number 2,061,072. It is a modification of the 1,168,876 patent in that it allows substantially all the warp strands to be crossed from one side to the other between pockets without undesirable distortion and without making the belt unduly wide at point of crossing. This is accomplished by a change in the weave which also permits the formation of a hollow pocket between the small ends of the cartridge pockets. This affords greater flexibility than is possible when this area is woven solid and achieves better alignment of the cartridges. The new design permits herringbone weave, twill weave or almost any manner of weave desirable. This new design of belt became standard for production of new belts by Russell from the late 1930s on.

It can be noted that the features of the 2,061,072 patent were not only incorporated in .30 cal belts but also in both .22 and .50 cal. Browning belts according to the patent number also inked on the latter two types of belts.

Since the stock of the early 250-round M1917 .30 belts on hand for the infantry was sufficient, the first contracts of .30 cal. belts produced following the 2,061,072 Patent were mostly intended for the Armored Force which required 100- and 150-round belts.

In October of 1941, it became apparent that the supply on hand of .30 cal. web belts for use by ground troops amounted to only about 25% of the total needed to meet requirements for M-Day (Mobilization Day). Furthermore, the need for belts loaded prior to packing and shipment, would generate a major increase in the number of 100- and 250-round belts needed, which in turn would necessitate a dramatic increase in manufacturing facilities.

In January 1942, Russell granted the government a non-exclusive, irrevocable, non-transferable royalty free license to manufacture, or to have manufactured, machine gun belts under their Patent No. 2,061,072 – this license to continue until one year after the cessation of the national emergency.

The very first war-time productions of 250-round belts were provided by the Russell Co. and the Schlegel Manufacturing Co. of Rochester, NY. For the first productions, Russell used the marking R.M.C. and then switched to THE RUSSELL MFG CO.

By June 1942, in addition to Russell and Schlegel, five more facilities had initiated production of the 250-round .30 caliber belt. In the next few months the remaining facilities who had received contracts initiated production. By end 1942, a total of 13 different U.S. manufacturers were involved in the production of 250-round cal. 30 fabric belts.

The first productions of George C. Moore Co. of Westerly, NY, were marked G.C.M. Co and then switched to GEO. C. MOORE CO.

To these must also be added the import by the Ordnance Department of a total of 489,700 belts from the British company Thomas French & Sons of Manchester from June through December 1942.

It can also be noted the existence of belts exhibiting standard features of U.S. belts but bearing the Canadian property mark “Arrow in C” with the manufacturer’s marking S.C.C. LTD. So far, such belts dated 1942 and 1943 have only been reported to the author bearing the Canadian Property Mark.

It remains unknown whether these are specific production by a U.S. manufacturer for export to Canada or Canadian domestic production. Some Canadian collectors suspect that SCC might stand for Syracuse Cordage Company of Syracuse, NY, but no real evidence to confirm that identification has come to light so far. Another educated guess is that SCC might stand for Samson Cordage Co corresponding to the Samson Cordage Works described in the U.S. Ordnance report of 1946. Here again, no real evidence to confirm this supposition is available. Pending reliable evidence, SCC remains as “unidentified.”

The following table summarizes the 14 different manufacturers as well as their production figures as provided in the 1945 report. Details on location of these companies were found in the Official American Textile Directory of 1923. So far, specimens manufactured by the Samson Cordage Works have not been definitively identified.

It can be noted that these production figures are different from those presented in Dolf Goldsmith’s book where only production figures between June 1942 and March 1943 are displayed.

From January 1942 until May 1944 a total of 28,283,433 belts were produced with monthly production rates rising and falling as a reflection of variation of demand for the material. The production output reached its peak monthly production in July 1942 when it reached 2,368,500 units. Then the output was diminished steadily to a low mark of 264,323 in July 1943 from whence it rose to 1,324,584 in December 1943. After this, production again fell off until it was terminated in May 1944.

The manufacture of these belts was begun again in 1945 when it was indicated that stocks were reaching a low level. In January 1945 a requirement of 3,000,000 belts was received. This was increased to 7,100,000 in February and to 11,200,000 in May. Steps were taken to secure production from six facilities. In June 1945, the requirement was reduced to only 4,250,000 belts. Production orders originally set up for the International Braid Co., Murdock Webbing Co., and the Oehrle Bros. Co. were cancelled and no production was realized from these companies in 1945. The Russell Manufacturing Co. realized first production in May, followed the next month by the George C. Moore Co. The Warren Featherbone Co. manufactured only 7,451 belts by V-J Day when all production was terminated, thus making Featherbone belts dated 1945 the scarcest WW2 U.S. cal. 30 Browning belt for collectors.

For 1945, the George C. Moore Co. produced 320,832 belts and the Russell Manufacturing Co had produced 1,703,372 belts when terminated.

All together, over thirty million 250-round .30 cal. ammunition fabric belts were manufactured during the war. The Link, Metallic Belt, Caliber .30, M1 was adopted by Ordnance Committee action in August 1945 for the belting all caliber .30 ammunition. This action reclassified the fabric belt as Limited Standard. (The author is deeply indebted to Frank Hackley, Anaheim, CA for the sharing of his knowledge on U.S. Small Arms Ammunition management system and to H.E. Wanting, Bedburg-Hau, Germany for his constant help in improving the manuscript and pinpointing the smallest inaccurate detail.)

Rigid feed-strips

The improvements and new features of the Hotchkiss machine gun were thoroughly described in US patent No. 564-043 granted on July 14 1896 to L. V. Benét and H. A. Mercié, assignors to the Hotchkiss Ordnance Company Limited, London. Among many other features, this patent fully describes the original designs of both rigid feed strips and articulated belt. All relevant features incorporated into the rigid feed-strip design are described in the patent. The following paragraph is fully excerpted from the patent:

“The feed strip S, figs 64 to 66, consists of a narrow sheet of brass, tin, or other elastic material and may be of any convenient length, containing in general from twenty to fifty cartridges. Longitudinal ribs s are formed to give it stiffness. Three rows of clips s’ s² s3 are formed, as shown, to hold the cartridges. The front row of clips s’ embraces the cartridges at the neck from the right, the middle row s² holds the body of the cartridges from the left, and the rear row s3 holds the cartridges near the heads from the right. Small projections s4 are thrown up in line with the cartridge-heads and prevent withdrawal of the cartridges to the rear. The opening S’, formed in the strip when the clips s² are thrown up, are so formed that the front sides are spaced to the pitch of the feed-wheel P5, the teeth of which engage therein, as shown in figure 60. Also the rear edges of the clips s² are rounded, as shown at s5, to aid in raising the head of the cartridge to the level of the chamber. To the rear, the strip is cut away at s6 to permit the lever arm r of the lock R, Fig. 15, to rise when the last cartridge in the strip is in the loading position. The abutment s7 is formed on the front of each strip to engage the feed-wheel on the introduction of the strip into the feed-table and the tail s8 on the rear to accomplish its ejection.”

The first Hotchkiss machine guns chambered for the French 8x50R Lebel cartridge were acquired by the French Army in 1899. By 1904, around 400 Hotchkiss machine guns, officially referenced to as Mitrailleuse Hotchkiss Model 1900, were fielded for testing within several Cavalry Regiments, Alpine Mountain Troops and Saharan Desert Units.

Hotchkiss machine guns contemporarily offered for export in various calibers (6.5×55 Swedish, 7×57 Mauser, 7.65×54 Mauser, .303 British, etc.) for many different customers were usually fed with 30-round rigid strips and sometimes with articulated belts. The standard pitch between 2 adjacent cartridges was chosen at ~13.5mm, which corresponds to the rim diameter of .303 British cartridges. Accordingly, the .303 cartridges can be seated with the rims exactly in contact with each other while any other rimless cartridges would then also be able to fit the same strip since they have a smaller cartridge base. The total length of the standard 30-round strips is ~418mm (16.46 in.). The ammunition chests intended to carry the feed-strips were designed accordingly with regards to the total length of the strip.

The French Hotchkiss Model 1900 was chambered for the rimmed 8x50R Lebel cartridges. The rim diameter of that cartridge is 16mm which, accordingly, is larger than the pitch of the standard 30-round feed strips and therefore cannot be accommodated in these. This feature necessitated the design of a dedicated strip for 8mm Lebel rounds with increased pitch. The pitch chosen for the new strip was 16mm that corresponds exactly to the rim diameter of the 8mm Lebel cartridges and therefore the rims are exactly in contact with each other when the strip is properly filled. Since the standard ammunition wrappers contained 8 rounds, the total capacity of the strip was set at 24 rounds so as to expend exactly three ammunition wrappers to fill one strip. These 24-round feed strips are ~395mm (15.55 in.) long. As they are slightly shorter than the standard 30-round strips they can also fit into the same standard ammunition chests. The 24-round Model 1900 strips are made of brass and bear a very tiny marking representing a shield with a letter inside. So far, no definitive identification of the meaning of this marking has been discovered though it is suspected that this might probably be an inspector’s mark rather than a manufacturer’s logo. Thus, a brass strip with a capacity of 24 rounds only can be clearly identified as for the Hotchkiss Model1900 in caliber 8mm Lebel.

After several important improvements, a modernized version of the Hotchkiss Model 1900 was subsequently adopted by the French Army as the Model 1914. It remained fed with 24-round rigid feed strips. However, in order to enable repetitive reloading and increase durability, the feed strips were made of steel with an improved design of the stamping pattern of the base of the clips holding the cartridge cases. The design of these strips remained unchanged until the very end of service life of the Hotchkiss Model 1914. The early strips were blued (dark black color) whereas those produced since the end of the mid 1930s were phosphated. The strips usually bear stamped manufacturer’s initials although some productions are unmarked.

During WW2, the Hotchkiss Model 1914 remained in service being used by the German Army to equip second line troops and units installed all along the French coast on the Atlantic wall. Whereas 8mm Lebel ammunition specifically intended for Hotchkiss machine guns were still produced for the use and under control of the German occupation forces, it remains unknown whether production of Hotchkiss feed strips was also resumed during the German occupation. So far, no original 24-round feed strips with German WaA inspection stamp or any out-of-pattern markings have been observed by the author.

The rigid feed-strips were carried in different types of ammunition field chests mainly made of wood with some steel reinforcing parts. These field chests accommodate 12 rigid strips, which represents a total of 288 rounds. The chests are divided into 6 compartments with each containing 2 strips arranged tail-to-toe. Three different models of chest are used: Model Puteaux, Model Hotchkiss and Model 1915. The same chests were also used simultaneously to accommodate 12 strips for the St-Etienne Model 1907 machine gun. The Hotchkiss and St-Etienne strips are totally different and cannot be used interchangeably.

The total number of cartridges contained in the chest is the clue to readily take apart the type of strips contained in the chests. The chests for the Hotchkiss guns are marked with paint “12 bandes 288 cartouches” (12 strips 288 cartridges) and sometimes also a large letter “H”. For the chests containing St-Etienne 1907 feed strips, the markings with paint is “12 bandes 300 cartouches” according to the capacity of the feed strips of 25 rounds.

When first issued to the troops, rigid feed strips were usually supplied pre-loaded from the ammunition depots or directly from the ammunition factories. After the original ammunition content was fired, the strips were repeatedly reloaded by the troops in the units. A total of 1,872 rounds fitted on 78 strips were shipped in wood ammunition crates “N°6 mle. 1908” and later “N°6 mle. 1908-1923” with zinc inner liner. Loaded strips were wrapped with paper either individually or by pair arranged tail-to-toe. Paper wrappers were sometimes printed with the content designation. Usually, standard practice was to provide in each ammunition shipping crate a stack of small loose labels describing all the details of the ammunition. When the strips were taken out of the ammunition shipping crate to be loaded into the field chests containing 12 strips, one of these labels was inserted in the field chest to keep track of the details of the ammunition content. Such small labels are today very scarce collector’s items.

Articulated Feed Belts

The design of articulated feed belts for Hotchkiss machine guns appeared as early as 1896 together with the rigid feed-strips as shown in the US patent No. 564-043 already described at the beginning of this article.

The most accurate description of the features of the articulated belt is excerpted from the patent as follows:

“In place of the elastic cartridge-strip S (shown in Figs 64 to 66,) we may employ a flexible band, as shown in Fig. 67 to 69, which consists in a series of links T, jointed together by hooks and eyes t and t’, formed in the links. Each link has formed upon it the clips t² and t3, which hold the cartridge at the neck and near the head, respectively, and the bearing t4, which prevents the cartridge from being withdrawn to the rear. The clip t3 is rounded at t5 to raise the head of the cartridge when it is forced into the chamber by the breech-block. The bearings T’ are formed to engage with the teeth of the feed-wheel P5 and are spaced to the pitch of this latter. The tongue t6 is formed on the first clip of each band to facilitate the introduction of the latter into the feed.”

It readily appears that rigid strips and articulated belts exhibit very different patterns of the clips holding the cartridges. Articulated belts were commercially offered for sale all around the world and a few customers (at least Belgium in caliber 7.65×54 or Sweden for caliber 6.5×55) adopted this accessory, sometimes for use in static positions like fortress mounts or in armored vehicles. So far, the author has not found any reference to a French Hotchkiss Model 1900 being fed with an articulated belt prior to WW1.

The first Hotchkiss articulated belt for 8mm Lebel ammunition identified so far was designed for the Model 1909 Light Machine Gun (Mitrailleuse Portative). A 100-round articulated belt was developed at the beginning of 1915 to feed this lightweight machine gun installed aboard early military aircraft. The belt was rolled around a spool attached to the weapon. The design of the individual links are similar to the commercial models exported to Belgium and Sweden for example but are only enlarged to cope with the wider 8mm Lebel cartridge. Extremely scarce surviving specimens of this articulated belt for airborne Hotchkiss Portatives show evidence of manual fittings rather than large scale industrial manufacture.

Soon after the outbreak of WW1, the need for articulated belts for sustained fire with the modernized Hotchkiss Model 1914 weapons in ground use also arose. The key requirement was for the weapon to be able to use either the rigid feed strip or the articulated belt. This was an issue since the force required to extract the cartridge out of the strip was very different between the rigid strip and the articulated belt. This comes from the pattern of the cartridges holding clips which are different between the two types of feed devices. For the articulated belt, the cartridges are retained by means of two pairs of clips whereas for the rigid strip the cartridges are retained by one clip on one side and two clips on the other. Adjusting the feed system of the gun to cope with a particular type of feed device was not a problem but readjusting in the field during combat was just not acceptable. This is why a new articulated belt for 8mm Lebel cartridge was developed in 1915 to deal with this requirement. A French patent for the corresponding design was applied for by the Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss & Cie on July 15, 1915 and published in May 1920 with reference No. 502-393.

This patent describes the belt as composed of rigid sections containing three or more cartridges being hinged together. The design of the short rigid sections is similar to that of the rigid strips, in particular with regards to the cartridge holding clips. Therefore, extraction force required to push the ammunition out of the strip into the gun chamber is the same as that needed with the rigid strip. Furthermore, the patent also claims a better guiding of the belt into the feed tray than could be achieved with the former 1-round articulated belt. Finally, the patent also describes a starter tang used to facilitate the introduction of the belt into the feed system. The new articulated belt adopted for the Hotchkiss Model 1914 was based on a variable number of 3-round sections hinged together.

Up to four different total lengths of belts are officially reported depending on the number of 3-round sections involved. These different lengths were meant to deal with all different uses, namely infantry, fortress, vehicle, aircraft and even boats.

The most common length can accommodate up to 252 rounds and is composed of 84 sections of 3 rounds each. Although an official 1918 regulation prescribed an allowance of three 252-round articulated belts per field machine gun, these belts saw only limited use in the trenches during WW1. In the latter situations, those long belts were mostly used for anti-aircraft sustained fire. After WW1, although the articulated belt remained standard equipment for field guns, the great majority of the weapons remained fed with rigid strips. WW1 and Interwar photographs showing field guns fed with articulated belts are seldom encountered.

Another important potential use of the articulated belt in 1915 was for aircraft guns. In the 1915-dated patent, such possible use for aircraft installation was described with a capacity of 102 rounds (34 sections of three rounds). These belts were intended to replace the 100-round belt articulated every single link. However, when this new articulated belt became an item of standard issue, the Hotchkiss Portative weapon had almost completely disappeared from air service and replaced with Colt and Vickers machine guns. It is therefore doubtful that the 102-round version of the articulated belt saw extensive airborne service.

Articulated belts were especially used since WW1 in tanks and armored vehicles where space was so limited that it was sometimes impossible to feed the rigid strips. Depending on the space available in the various vehicles, three lengths are reported. For heavy tanks, the longer belt for 252 rounds was standard, whereas for smaller vehicles both 96-round (32 sections of three rounds) and even 48-round (16 sections of three rounds) were used. The use of the articulated belts in armored vehicles continued until the middle of the 1930s when the Hotchkiss machine gun began to be progressively replaced by the drum-fed Chatellerault MAC Model 31 as vehicle armament.

After WW1, the 252-round articulated belt was fielded in fortress positions like in some Maginot Line installations. After the invasion of France in 1940, large quantities of Hotchkiss Model 1914 weapons were captured by the German Army and many were subsequently fielded for coastal defense along the Atlantic Wall. Whereas the use of the articulated belts by the French Army is only rarely observed, pictures are more common showing the Hotchkiss Model 1914 fed with the 252-round articulated belt in the hands of the German Army.

Since the mid 1920s, the Hotchkiss Model 1914 were also installed on ship decks for self-defense and anti-aircraft protection. The 252-round belts were used as standard for both single weapon mounts (CA mod. 1925) and twin weapons mounts (CAD mod. 1926). For some installations, the belts were fed from a spool attached to the side of the gun.

A complete 252-round articulated belt remains today a scarce collector’s item. WW1 and early post-war productions are blued (dark black color), whereas later productions are phosphated mat gray. The flat starter tang is marked with the manufacturer’s initials.

The chest to accommodate the 252-round belt is made of wood with steel reinforced corners and steel lid. The chest contains in its middle a triangular wooden axis around which the belt is reeled by means of a collapsible crank. This triangular wood axis is fitted with a prominent steel plug which is engaged into the very last cartridge pocket of the belt. This is the reason why, although the total capacity of the belt is theoretically 252-round (84 sections of three rounds), only 251 cartridges can be inserted in the belt since the last pocket must remain empty to engage the triangular reel axis.

Strip loaders

Among the numerous accessories provided with the early Model 1900 Hotchkiss, there was a very complex and cumbersome device intended to both load the strips with cartridges and resize the strips to their original shape. This latter operation was particularly important for the fragile brass strips were easily deformed or bent. This accessory was provided with every Model 1900 Hotchkiss machine gun acquired by the French Army. So far, the author has unfortunately not come across of any surviving specimen of such an early Hotchkiss loader.

The Hotchkiss Company also offered for export a much simpler and very effective strip loader specifically intended for rimless cartridges only where the loose cartridges were fed from an inclined ramp.

A variant of this machine was also designed for the rimmed .303 British cartridge by using a hopper to feed the loose cartridges. However, when the modernized Hotchkiss Model 1914 chambered for the 8mm Lebel cartridge was fielded by the French Army during WW1, no such strip loader for the 8mm Lebel caliber was either available nor even asked for by French Ordnance. Only the small roller tool used to recalibrate the strips was adopted as standard accessory with the French Hotchkiss Model 1914.

During WWI, filling the Hotchkiss strips was carried out by hand. Instructions were specifically issued to require very careful filling so as to ensure cartridges were evenly and properly seated otherwise feed jams would doubtlessly occur.

It is only after WWI that a new device was designed and officially adopted. This strip loader is referenced as Machine modèle 1924 à charger les bandes pour mitrailleuse Hotchkiss. This simple device was intended to be constructed directly within the regiment workshops and only the manufacturing plans were provided by the Ordnance Department.

This loader is simply composed of separate pieces of wood assembled together with screws and fitted with very few simple steel sheets and filed spacers. The assembly basically provides a tray on which the strip is laid and a lengthwise groove in which a wood lever-arm takes its support. Once the strip is laid on the tray and held in position by three V-shaped spacers, the operator inserts by hand as far as easily possible the cartridges into the strip. The wood lever arm with its lower part protected with a thick brass sheet is inserted into the groove and is simply rocked to push a little bit forward the cartridge base so that to overtake the cartridge stop on the strip. According to the width of this lever, two cartridges can be pushed at once. The lengthwise groove is covered with a protective steel sheet on the side where the lever-arm takes support. Both 24-round rigid strips and articulated belts can be loaded with this device. For the latter articulated belts, the small wood positioning wedge at the far right end is simply removed.

This rugged device is really very effective and strips can be easily evenly loaded. This loader is however seldom mentioned in very few official instruction manuals only and it is most probable that it did not see wide use during the interwar years.

Ammunition

Standard ammunition issued for the Hotchkiss Model 1914 were solid bronze ball Model 1886 D and later the jacketed heavy ball Model 1932 N. Armour-piercing Model P and tracer Model T saw only limited issue. The heavy jacketed ball Model 1932 N with a slightly larger projectile diameter required the chamber to be slightly reamed. The barrels, either reworked to the standard 1932 N or newly manufactured to those new dimensions, were marked with a large N.

It should be emphasized that special purpose ammunition like armour-piercing and tracer did not have their trajectories matching with that of the ordinary ball. Accordingly, no instruction for belting sequence was ever officially issued to fill strips or belts by mixing standard balls with armour-piercing or tracers. On the contrary, instructions clearly indicate that only cartridges of the same type should be filled in the same strip, even when using special purpose ammunition. Therefore, when action against vehicles was expected, homogeneous strips filled with armor-piercing cartridges only were to be used. For anti-aircraft operation, instructions were given that some of the weapons in the group should fire strips loaded with tracers only in an attempt to deter the enemy pilot from flying too low rather than really expecting to hit him.

Short-range ammunition is based on a standard Model 1886 D solid bronze projectile with two flat surfaces milled on the side in order to increase the projectile drag in air and thereby reducing the maximum range. Blank cartridges were originally of Model 1905 with uncolored wood projectile which design was slightly modified in 1927 and was subsequently adopted as model 1905-27 identified by a wood projectile dyed blue. Dummy cartridges for machine gun are of the model 1907 with nickeled case and projectile.

Frequently, 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition is encountered on odd, non-disintegrating belts. Here is the answer to why.

Continuous 50-Round Belts.

At the very beginning of the 1950s, the first belts used for developing the prototypes of the future AA-52’s were closely derived from the German belts for the MG34 & 42. They had a capacity of 50-rounds and could be connected to each other by means of male & female connecting links installed at both ends of the belt. The pitch between the cartridges is 17mm as for the German belts.

At least four main French variants of the 50-round continuous belts are observed from surviving specimens. The same belts were used for both 7.5×54 and 7.62×51.

The French belts show very close similarities to the German wartime Gurt 34/41 (see author’s article on German MG34 & 42 belts in SAR Vol. 8, No. 6, March 2005) with 3 lengthwise stiffening grooves, but unlike their German counterparts, the French belts are devoid of friction dimples.

The first and earliest French belts were manufactured by the Manufacture Nationale d’Armes de Saint-Etienne (MAS), probably using modified German wartime tooling.

In early 1953, the design was improved by the Manufacture Nationale d’Armes de Châtellerault (MAC) with an important modification of the female connecting link. The latter incorporates a re-curved lip which partly surrounds the connecting spring of the starter tab and also offers a rest to it. This was done in order to stiffen the junction between the belt and the starter tab. This one-of-a-kind shape of the female connecting link is the foremost evidence to readily identify a French 50-round belt.

The corresponding French starter tab is composed of an unmarked ribbed steel plate re-curved at one end and assembled with only the male connecting finger.

Early in 1954, the individual links were further modified by the addition of a 2mm hole in their center. This hole was added only in order to help exactly positioning the link in the tool during the stamping process and during the assembly with the coiled connecting springs. Unlike what could be sometimes read, this hole is absolutely not a means of any identification. The female connecting link remained unchanged.

Finally from the end of 1956 on when the AA-52 entered full production and were delivered in quantity to the Armed Forces, the final design of the 50-round belt was stabilized and officially approved. It is the same as the previous variant with the 2mm hole on the links but with the female connecting link cadmium-coated in order to give it a white outlook aimed at helping to readily locate the end of each 50-round section should a longer belt be assembled. The starter tab remained unchanged.

On all these 4 variants, the male connecting finger is unmarked and the links are phosphated. The continuous 50-round belts remained used with combat ammunition only for a short period of time until the end of 1959-60 when they were mostly replaced with belts assembled with disintegrating links.

The 50-round continuous belts remained however in service as an accessory for training at a ratio of 3 belts issued per blank-firing accessory pack. Belts were repeatedly reloaded manually with the plastic blank ammunition both in caliber 7.5×54 and 7.62×51. In February 1973, the continuous belts were officially removed from the blank-firing accessory pack since from that time on all plastic blanks were issued pre-belted in disposable disintegrating 50-round belts.

For AA-52s used in the Light Machine Gun configuration, several experiments were conducted in 1953-55 to design a container that could accommodate a 50-round continuous belt and which could be fastened to the left side of the feed-block. Unlike the German WW2 type of belt drum used with MG34 & 42 where the belt is rolled around itself, the French have chosen the principle of a cubic box with the belt folded on several layers. Both cardboard and metallic cubic boxes are known from test reports, but the author has been unable so far to examine any surviving specimens.

Disintegrating links

In 1954, a disintegrating link was also designed for the AA-52 in caliber 7.5×54. This disintegrating link is of the hook-and-eye pattern and shows very close similarities with the latest variant of wartime German Gurt 17/81 for the MG17 & 81 (see author’s article on German MG17 & 81 belts in SAR Vol. 8, No. 2, November 2004). The pitch between the cartridges is 17mm like that of the continuous 50-round used with the infantry weapons. The key design difference between the last variant of the German wartime Gurt 17/81 and the French link is the shape of the end of the tongue which fits into the cartridge case extracting groove. For the German link, positioning in the extracting groove is achieved by a small dimple stamped into the link whereas for the French link, the end of the tongue is simply re-curved in V-shape. Obviously the other difference readily visible is the markings on the links. The prototype disintegrating links for AA-52 were produced by the Manufacture Nationale d’Armes de Châtellerault (MAC) and are devoid of any marking.

In 1959, the disintegrating links were officially adopted for combat use with 7.5×54 ammunition. Mass production links are marked with the weapon designation, i.e., “AA52” as well as with the manufacturer’s code. At least six different disintegrating link manufacturers codes are observed from specimens: PV (Peugeot in Valentigney), RD (Raymond in Grenoble), GG (Georges Groslambert in Besançon), PRI and ROS (Philippe Rossi Industries in Marseilles) and SAV (Savigny). Different surface coatings for protection against corrosion were used: green or black phosphate, gloss dark green or gloss black lacquer and more rarely zinc-chromate. From the mid 1980s on, the marking pattern on the links was changed to display only the manufacturer code and lot number+year of production. It must be emphasized that the same link was used both with 7.5×54 and 7.62×51 ammunition.

Three different types of starter tabs were used. The earliest one is composed of an unmarked ribbed steel band fitted at one end with a small loop that fits into the hook of the first link of the belt and on the other side a bigger loop which can be grabbed by the fingers of the gunner. This 1st model of starter was used with pre-packed combat ammunition 50-round belts loaded with 7.5×54 rounds. This design basically required that a cartridge is extracted from the first link in order to install or remove the starter tab from the belt.

In order to avoid that, a 2nd starter variant appeared around 1963-64 that is composed of a flat steel band with a re-curved end to help grabbing by hand and on the other end is fitted with a piece with a slot which can be slipped in or out from the hook of the first link of the belt without removing the cartridge. This second type of starter remained unchanged until the latest productions and was used both with 7.5×54 and 7.62×51 pre-packed combat ammunition 50-round belts. These starters usually bear no marking. However, some pre-packed belts issued to the French Navy sometimes bear markings in white paint either with a wing-and-anchor logo to show issue to the Navy or with lot identification data for belts loaded with blank cartridges.

Finally a third type of starter saw only very limited use. It was officially adopted in August 1970 to enable the loading of the AA 7.62 N F1 fitted coaxial to the 75mm gun of the tank AMX 13/FL10E. The mounting of the machine gun was so cramped that the standard rigid starter could not be used. Accordingly, a dedicated starter was designed, composed of only a 2cm portion of a standard starter and then fitted to a 20-cm long fabric strip therefore enabling to fold it out of the feed block. According to the requirement of this starter in only a very limited number of tanks, instructions were provided to the unit armorers for the hand production of the starter by shortening standard issued starters and the riveting of a fabric strip. From 1959 on, most combat ammunition for the infantry was issued in prepacked disposable 50-round belts with disintegrating links. The typical packing encountered in the 1960s and 1970s corresponds to a single 50-round disintegrating linked belt, fitted with a starter tab, packed in three folds into a triangular shaped cardboard box contained in a transparent sealed plastic bag. Five of these sealed triangular boxes are stored in a cardboard box (total content 250 rounds) fitted with fabric carrying handles. Two of these 250-round cardboard boxes are installed in a steel can (total capacity of 500 rounds) and finally two of these steel cans are transported in a wire-bound wood frame (total capacity of 1,000 rounds).

From the early 1980s on, the length of the triangular cardboard box was slightly increased and the belt could accordingly be packed in 2 1/2 folds only in the box also contained inside a transparent sealed plastic bag. Six of these sealed triangular boxes are stored in a cardboard box (total content 300 rounds) fitted with fabric carrying handles. Finally two of these 300-round cardboard boxes are installed in a steel can with a removable lid (total capacity 600 rounds).

Both 7.5×54 and 7.62×51 ammunition were delivered in these pre-packed 50-round disposable belts. Standard belting sequence for both calibers was 1 tracer + 4 ordinary balls. More rarely pre-packed belts loaded with only ordinary balls are also observed.

The feeding of AA-52 in the Light Machine Gun configuration was achieved from one 50-round disposable belt carried in a rectangular green fabric pouch attached to the left side of the feed block. This configuration of feeding is the most commonly encountered on pictures taken during combat in Algeria around 1960.

The feeding of the AA-52 in vehicle mounts was usually achieved from 250-round capacity steel cans. These re-usable cans were filled prior to use with the pre-packed 50-round belts assembled together to the required length.

Although no official information could be found about that issue, the high-capacity belts with disintegrating links used by the Air Force onboard airborne platforms (aircraft or helicopter) were probably belted from loose ammunition within the flying unit armories.

Prior to the official adoption by France of the AA-52 chambered in 7.62×51 NATO, extensive experiments on interchangeable feed systems within the various NATO machine guns were undertaken between 1959-1962. Accordingly, different prototype links were specifically developed by the Manufacture Nationale d’Armes de Châtellerault for the 7.62×51 NATO cartridges and tested for interchangeability with the German MG3, U.S. M60 and Belgian MAG. Among the numerous prototypes, it is worth mentioning a close variant of the standard AA-52 links but bearing a reduced pitch of 14.7mm instead of the standard 17mm. This reduced pitch was meant to correspond to the pitch of the U.S. M13 links for the M60. Other variants have also been developed in cooperation with the Belgians with a pitch of 15.5 and 16mm; those links were commonly referred to as “Franco-Belgian links”.

.50 Caliber Belts and Links

The .50 caliber weapons designed by the Manufacture d’Armes de Châtellerault is a scaled-up version of the AA-52. Accordingly, it is not a big surprise that the feed systems used are also scaled-up versions of the 7.5/7.62 belts and links. The first type of belts are continuous 50-round belts that could be connected to each other by means of male finger and female link. The female link corresponds to a scaled-up version of that used for the Model of 1954 with the re-curved side. The starter tab is also of the same pattern with only the male connecting finger. Two types of stamping patterns are observed on the .50 links, both also bearing the small hole to help positioning during the manufacturing process. The male connecting finger is also unmarked. From 1957 on, disintegrating links were also investigated. The first model is exactly a scaled-up version of the 7.5/7.62 link, however also fitted with the small hole. In 1959, an enhanced prototype of disintegrating link was designed in order to increase the grip of the link on the .50 caliber cartridge. The hook-end-eye pattern was kept but the link encloses the cartridge case more tightly at two clamping positions. A .50 caliber starter tab for the disintegrating link has also been designed but no surviving specimen was observed so far by the author.

Belt Loading Machines

At the first stages of development of the AA-52 in the early 1950s, German wartime Gurtfüller 34 were used during the trial period. It is only around 1957-58 that a small batch of belt loading machines designed by the company Peugeot was put in production. The official designation of that machine was “Assembleuse de Bandes Peugeot Type 10” (Peugeot belt assembling machine type 10) and was dedicated to the 7.5×54 caliber. It remains still unclear for which precise application this machine was designed. It can be noted that, so far, reference to this belt loading machine has only been observed in French Air Force armament inventory files. It is possible that this machine was in use in Air Force base armories to assemble the long belts for use with aircraft guns. However, it must be emphasized that the cartridges are fed in bulk in a kind of hopper, which does not enable the organization of any belting sequence mixing different types of ammunition (tracer, incendiary, etc.). Both continuous belts and pre-assembled belts with disintegrating links could be loaded with that machine. A distinctive feature is that two links are filled simultaneously during one rotation of the handle. The latter could be assembled either on the side of the machine or on the front in order to cope with any configuration of the workbench on which the machine was affixed. This machine has an extremely smooth and reliable operation. The three different specimens of such loaders ever examined by the author are painted light grey and were manufactured at the end of 1957 through early 1958. This type of belt loading machine is now an extremely scarce collectors’ item in France.

While new flexible mounts were developed with the belt-fed weapons, it appeared that the early type of links did notprovide the required multi-directional flexibility of the belt. Accordingly, a second design of links was developed so as to enable a greater flexibility both fan-wise and helical. The single center loop was enlarged by 1mm (from 11 to 12mm) thus enabling a greater helical flexibility. The flat center portion of the link was chamfered both to the top and bottom edges thereby enabling a greater lateral flexibility in both orientations (base-fan with bullet pointing outside the circle and nosefan with the bullets pointing inside the circle). This 2nd model is also made of stainless steel sheet without surface protection. The 2nd model of link was used all through the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe in the Model 1930 weapons renamed MG 30 (t), predominantly used as ground anti-aircraft weapons.

During the Second World War, stocks of Czech links of pre-war production, being probably exhausted, and stainless steel sheets being probably spared for other more strategic production, a new production of links was started using carbon steel sheets.

The links produced during WW2 retained exactly the same design as the prewar links but since they were made of carbon steel, they had to be surface-protected by us of phosphate. These greenish links represent the 3rd and last variant for the Model 1930 machine gun. Although these phosphated links are unmarked, it is suspected that they were manufactured in the same factory in Strakonice where the weapons and links were also produced prewar. One might emphasize that since 1939,this very factory was situated in a region ruled by the German administration under the Bohemia-Moravia protectorate and was renamed Böhmische Waffenfabrik AG, Werk Strakonice. This factory also produced throughout WW2 different types of links for various machine guns using the code “fnh”.

The Link Loading Machine

Belt assembling is achieved with a crank operated machine fitted with a main rotating cylinder piece. The movement of the crank rotates the main cylinder and drives straight a rod that pushes the cartridges. The main rotating cylinder bears 10 longitudinal grooves that accommodates and indexes the link in front of the cartridge feed lane and then enables to drive out the loaded belt. The empty links are fed by gravity from a vertical feed guide. The cartridges are provided in bulk through a hopper, which does not allow any specific belting sequence with different types of cartridges (armor-piercing, tracer, incendiary, etc.).

An ingenious device fitted at the end of the center maneuver rod also enables the unloading of the belts. The end of the center maneuver rod, which is also the axis of the main cylinder, is fitted with a device that somewhat recalls a bolt head, with a hollow part in which the cartridge head is seated, as well as with an ejector and extractor.

The loaded belt, oriented with the projectile tip facing towards the machine, is inserted into the grooves of the main cylinder. When the crank is operated, the main cylinder drives the loaded belt along a fraction of turn and the main maneuver rod makes a longitudinal movement back and forth. During the back movement of the rod, the end “bolt-head piece” catches the cartridge head while during the forth movement of the maneuver rod extracts the cartridge out of the link. Finally at the end of the forth movement of the maneuver rod, the cartridge is ejected out of the “bolthead piece” by means of the ejector piece. The empty link remains in the main cylinder until it is evacuated out of the machine after a few turns of the crank.

The machine is transported disassembled in a steel chest containing 4 elements: the main machine body, the crank handle, the feed-guide for the empty links and a clamp. The inner side of the chest is fitted with a thick brass plate that enables it to fasten it to the machine on the side of the chest by means of the clamp.

This loader, which allows both the loading and unloading of belts assembled with Prideaux-type links, is particularly effective and reliable. It seems that the British company Vickers never developed any crank-operated loader for the various Prideaux links used with the numerous aircraft weapons sold worldwide.

The author Dolf Goldsmith presents in his authoritative study on Maxim machine guns The Devil’s Paintbrush: Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gun, the story of the early Maxim machine guns adopted for service in Italy. The earliest Maxims purchased by the Italian government were chambered for either 10.4x47R Vetterli or 6.5×52 Carcano. Trials span between 1887 and 1906 when finally the Italian Army officially adopted the Maxim machine gun under the designation Mitragliatrice Maxim M. 1906 calibro mm 6.5. A total of 220 Maxim machine guns chambered for the 6.5×52 Carcano cartridges were purchased from the Vickers Sons & Maxim company (VSM). Tripods were not purchased together with the weapon itself from VSM but rather from the Spanish company Gabolino y Cia in Eibar. Some ammunition belts might have probably been supplied from VSM but others were manufactured locally in Italy. So far, only one scarce Italian-made Maxim belt has been encountered by the author and it remains unknown if any other different Italian makers ever produced belts, or even if VSM ever provided ammunition belts on a large scale.

The Italian-made belt described here was made by the company Unione Elettrotecnica Bresciana in the city of Brescia. It is characterized by an odd capacity of 200 rounds, which reason might perhaps find its origin in the size of the ammunition box available.

As soon as 1914, the Italian Army adopted a new domestically designed machine gun, the Revelli Model of 1914, whose only major advantage was being of Italian origin. This new weapon soon caused the end of the Italian Maxim adventure.