Excluding the many Browning designed weapons, the Madsen machine gun holds the distinction of being one of the oldest and longest produced machine guns in history. Though used by thirty four different countries, it was never adopted officially by any major nation. It has been chambered in every military caliber used in the world, rimmed or rimless, from 6.5mm to 25mm. Little has been written about this remarkable weapon that introduced the concept of the light machine gun. From its conception in 1902, it remained in continuous production until 1970 when Madsen went out of business.

Both John Browning and Sir Hiram Maxim did what would be considered by today’s standards, virtually impossible: they converted a lever action Winchester 1873 rifle to full automatic. Browning utilized the gas from the muzzle blast to operate a flapper that worked the lever action of the Winchester Rifle and Maxim took the Winchester and made the recoil forces at the butt plate operate the same lever action. Somewhere along the line (approx. 1898) the concept of converting a single shot repeating rifle into a full auto landed in Denmark. Julius Rasmussen used as his inspiration the Peabody-Martini (British) falling block single shot rifle. On June 15th, 1899, he applied for the first patent employing this design. However, in 1902, Lt. Theodor Schouboe was granted a patent on the same principle. No one is clear how this occurred. The gun went on to be produced by Dansk Rekylriffel Syndikat under the patents supplied by Schouboe and, for some reason, the gun was named after W.O.H. Madsen, the Danish Minister of War. It was also manufactured in England and known as the Rexer or DRRS.

During its sixty eight years of production there were many minor variations of the Madsen – over one hundred are known. However, there were basically three primary models: the first, a magazine fed LMG, the second a belt feed tank or aircraft model, and the third proved the most fantastic adaptability of the design. In 1926, The Dansk Industries announced the development of a 20mm automatic aircraft cannon utilizing the same Madsen mechanism. Though not widely used, a hydraulic buffer allowed for a 23mm version used in German Fokker aircraft.

The first US testing was done at the Springfield Armory on September 9, 1903. A total of 7,163 rounds were fired, during which enough malfunctions occurred to justify the official conclusion that the Madsen weapon had not reached a state of reliability to warrant adoption. Though Lt. Schouboe himself had conducted the firing, he had to rise to a kneeling position to clear stoppages – a condition with which one can certainly sympathize but can be fatal in combat. US special order No. 86 dated August 5, 1921 provided for a further test of the Madsen in .30-06 at Fort Riley, Kansas. Supposedly redesigned, the Model 1919 included provision for both a bayonet and elaborate, detachable flash hider. It was still deemed unsatisfactory.

The Germans experimented with a variety of newly developed weaponry and, as a stopgap, the Germans used approximately 500 Madsens in World War I (referred to as a Muskette and given the designation Leichte Automatische Muskette M15) until they developed the Maxim 08/15 that then became their light weight machine gun of choice.

In 1923, the Dansk Syndicate assigned its chief engineer, Mr. Hambroe, to redesign the Madsen mechanism for more efficiency. All he did was to add a muzzle booster that greatly increased the cyclic rate to 1,000 rounds per minuet making it ideal for aircraft use. He also added a strong spring buffer to absorb the shock of the booster. The real beauty of the aircraft gun was its ability to use disintegrating links and could be synchronized to the propeller.

During WWII, America was equipping the Dutch East Indies with Johnson automatic rifles. Johnson Automatics, better known as Cranston Arms, supplied barrels for the Madsen LMG.

In 1950 the last evolution of the design featured a quick change barrel and a tripod soft mount with a remote firing devise.

By all concepts of logic, this gun should not work as it is a mechanical nightmare – but it does indeed work. The key to its operation is a cammed “switch plate” that allows recoil to perform the actions of loading, firing, extracting, and ejecting the spent rounds. The term “switch plate” is a 19th century expression of a device that caused a sequence of functions to be completed in rapid succession for a railroad train. In this case, a switch plate multi-tasks the functions for the machine gun and is the mechanical heart of the weapon. The Madsen is known as a long recoil system, i.e., the barrel and breach mechanism reciprocate together inside of a barrel shroud and receiver box. This action works the lever that, like the Martini Rifle, accomplishes the task of ramming the round into the chamber with such force that it often deforms the cartridge case. If the round does not fire it is difficult to clear the stoppage.

Test firing was conducted with Madsen Mle. 1950, serial number 1475. The gun did not function flawlessly. It soon became evident that great care had to be taken in placing the magazine into the top or it would spill rounds into the magazine well. When a shell got down into the mechanism it did not chamber or fire and it was a chore to remove the offending round.

As mentioned above, the power of the ramming arm often distorted the case making it a ramrod job to remove from the chamber. Then, one had to carefully work the case to the ejection port that is part of the reciprocating mechanism attached to the barrel. Nevertheless, when it did work, it was a joy to fire. Amazingly, it was found that the magazine was unnecessary to fire the weapon. Four rounds could be dropped into the magazine well and the gun would fire all four. Single shots were readily obtained as the cyclic rate was approx. 550 rpm. The bipod was not sturdy enough to prevent dumping the machine gun over into the dirt. The offset sights were sufficient and accurate. The magazine is a top feed double stacked 30 rounder until it enters the gun. It then becomes a single feed with the round being retained by a large spring that also acts as a magazine catch. There are several positive points about the Madsen design. First, its top magazine feed allowed gravity to enhance its entry into the mechanism; second, a bottom feed that was positive and powerful; and finally, the Madsen fires from an open chamber reducing the chance of a cook off.

When one carefully examines this design, there is a tendency to write off the Madsen as a “mechanical monstrosity” that like the Bumblebee should not fly. But, upon more careful examination, the designer, whoever he may be, took a tried and true Martini rifle and applied 19th century railroad technology, added robust parts, and designed a machine gun that is found in museums around the world. At the old MOD Pattern Room there was an entire long table devoted to Madsen LMGs, with more national crests than the fabled Roundtable. Many armies tried the weapon and modified strategies around it to apply the weapon. This is an unsung pivotal weapon in the small arms field. In the end, it was a versatile design that deserves a better niche in history.

Themed “Freedom’s 2nd Army,” the 135th National Rifle Association Annual Meetings & Exhibits will take place May 19-21, 2006 at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. More than 300 exhibitors representing every major firearm, ammunition and accessory manufacturer, as well as hunting outfitters from around the world, will be set up at the show. Seminars, business meetings, special interest sessions, fund-raising auctions and banquets will occur throughout the weekend. 45,000 people are expected to attend this major weekend event.

In addition to the huge array of commercial displays, an extremely popular show area are the exhibits of some of the finest and rarest firearms in the United States shown by NRA affiliated collectors associations. Collecting firearms of all types is an integral part of the National Rifle Association membership and the opportunity to see some of these rare and historic firearms is, in itself, worth the visit.

Collecting rare and historic automatic weapons has, unfortunately, been a stepchild to the larger collecting community for many years. The good news is that is finally changing and is beginning to be accepted as a legitimate collecting discipline.

In the last several years, the Thompson Collectors Association (TCA), an NRA affiliated organization, exhibited rare and historic Thompson submachine guns a number of times at the annual NRA shows. The exhibits were extremely popular and well received, winning a number of prestigious NRA Gun Collector Awards for their exceptionally professional presentations. But more importantly, they led the effort to break the “barrier” and underserved “stigma” of collecting Class III weapons. They were the leaders in helping to establish the legitimacy of historic Class III collecting within the arms collecting community and have demonstrated that collecting historic automatic weapons is just as reasonable, and important, as collecting Colt Single Action Armys, Winchester repeating rifles, Revolutionary War muskets, or anything else in the historic weapons collecting repertoire. They followed up on their mission of legitimizing the collecting of automatic weapons by putting together and sponsoring a Thompson exhibit at the William B. Ruger Gallery of the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia (see Small Arms Review Vol. 8, No. 1, October 2004). So popular was this exhibit, it was extended for another four months beyond its original run.

In their efforts to continue this legacy of promoting Class III collectibles, the Thompson Collectors Association board of directors have voted to sponsor, along with the Dallas Arms Collectors Association, an exhibit at this year’s NRA show in Milwaukee. The title of the exhibit will be The American Genius of Sir Hiram Maxim: Father of the Modern Machine Gun. The theme of the exhibit will be the brilliance of American Sir Hiram Maxim and his invention of the world’s first truly automatic weapon. This groundbreaking 10×20 exhibit will feature six different historic models of the Maxim gun, along with rare accessories, highlighting the genius of Hiram Maxim and the contribution he made to the arms world. The foresight and dedication of the Thompson Collectors Association and the Dallas Arms Collectors Association in their continuing efforts to make Class III collecting acceptable to the wide-spread firearms collecting community should be commended and applauded for their hard work that benefits all of us.

So modern and revolutionary in its design and operation, Maxims were used by many countries throughout the world at the turn of the twentieth century. Efficient and reliable, some models were made, under license, by manufacturers in other countries. To the layman, the words “German Maxim” are one and the same. In reality, Hiram Maxim was an American, living and producing his guns in England, and licensing manufacturing around the world, including Russia, Switzerland, the United States, and, of course, Germany.

A thumbnail history of the six featured Maxims that will be on display at the NRA show in Milwaukee follow.

Argentine Maxim Model 1895

Argentina was an early user of the Maxim and began by ordering 50 Maxims from the Maxim Nordenfelt Co. in England in 1895. In 1898, a second order of the Model 1895 was placed with Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken (DWM), a licensed Maxim manufacturer in Germany, for another 150 guns. Even though most South American countries adopted the French Hotchkiss machine gun, by 1902, Argentina had 200 of these early Maxims in their inventory. Beautifully made with its water jacket, feed block, fusee spring cover, receiver floor plate and rear grip plate made of brass, the Model 1895 was a stunning, and lethal, piece of the firearm maker’s craft. This model had the early straight style of crank handle, an 1889 style lock and wooden roller belt assist located within the brass feed block. The gun also has provisions for attaching a commercially made 2×12 optical sight made by Carl Zeiss of Jena, Germany and a shoulder brace made of steel and wood. The gun was mounted on an Ackland tripod that was manufactured by VSM (Vickers, Sons & Maxim) in England.

All 200 of Argentina’s Maxims were originally chambered in the 7.65x53mm 1891 Belgium Mauser caliber and the long sight bar affixed to the upper receiver was calibrated for this round-nosed, high trajectory bullet. Each gun was fitted with a brass data plate on the top cover over the feed block reading, “Cartoucho Mauser Argentino 1891” indicating the use of the 1891 Mauser cartridge. In 1909, Argentina adopted the new 7.65x53mm Spitzer round with the pointed bullet and flatter trajectory. All of Argentina’s Maxims were then rebarreled for the new cartridge and the long sight bar was shortened for the high-speed, flatter trajectory of the new cartridge. The brass cartridge data plate had the “1891” milled out and “1909” engraved in its place to reflect the change. Because of the restamped “1909”, the gun is often mistakenly identified as a Model 1909.

Though well equipped, Argentina did not participate in any major conflicts during the period that the Maxim was in their inventory. In the late 1950s, Argentina decided to sell some of their now obsolete weaponry and 91 Model 1895 Maxims were exported to the United States. Those that remained in Argentina were used to decorate various officers’ clubs, donated to museums or sold to Argentine collectors. Of the 91 guns imported into the US, 8 were exported, 28 ended up in government custody for museums, storage or destruction, and the remaining 55 are now mostly owned by collectors.

U.S. Maxim Model 1904

The US Maxim Model 1904 was the first rifle caliber heavy machine gun approved for use as the standard service type by the United States Army in 1904. The army was interested in the new Maxim gun as early as 1887 and procured examples of the “World Standard” Maxim Model 1889 and Model 1900 for testing. After sporadic testing, the Chief of Ordnance finally gave approval for adoption in 1904. The first order for 50 guns and tripods were manufactured by Vickers, Sons & Maxim (VSM) in England in the US caliber .30-03.

The Ordnance Department wanted the Maxim to be made in the United States and enlisted the Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Company to manufacture the gun. Problems arose and it was several years before Colt’s could begin production. In the meantime, the Ordnance Department ordered another 40 guns from VSM. When Colt finally began production in 1908, they continued with the serial number sequence for the model type. The first Colt produced Maxim Model 1904 began with serial number 91. By 1908, the service cartridge had changed from the .30-03 to the .30-06. The 90 guns produced by VSM were all converted to the new service cartridge while all the Colt guns were manufactured in .30-06.

In all, there were a total of 287 Model 1904 Maxims produced. The first 90 guns (serial number 1-90) were made by VSM in England. The remaining 197 guns (serial number 91-287) were made by Colt.

Colt had no desire to produce tripods or wheeled mounts for the gun. All of the tripods were made by VSM in England and wheeled carriage mounts were produced by Rock Island Arsenal (RIA). The tripods and wheeled mounts were ordered separately from the guns, and though serial numbered, they were thus not numbered to a specific gun. VSM produced 176 tripods and RIA produced 111 wheeled carriages.

The US Model 1904 Maxim was issued to US infantry companies and to cavalry troops. Mules were the primary means of transport. The gun was well made and reliable but was not popular in the field. The Model 1904 Maxim had the distinction of being the heaviest Maxim ever produced weighing in at a total of 145 pounds (gun with water – 65 pounds, tripod 80 pounds). Besides the normal heavy brass and steel make-up of the gun, the Model 1904 Maxim had an oversized water jacket holding 9.5 pints of water instead of the normal 7 pints. Nevertheless, the gun was widely used and saw service in such distant outposts as the Philippines, Hawaii, Mexico, Central and South America. Yet, it never saw active combat service, being relegated to training purposes. The gun was not used overseas in World War I but remained in the United States as a training weapon where it was ultimately replaced with the Colt Vickers Model 1915 and the Browning Model 1917.

Few of these historic US machine guns have survived. They saw a brief service life, quickly being declared obsolete and scrapped for their metal and brass components. Of the 287 guns made, there are less than 10 Model 1904 Maxims being registered as transferable to private individuals with another 4 or 5 in museums. Additionally, there are even fewer original 1904 tripods that have survived, again, being scrapped to salvage their large brass content, making the tripod even rarer than the gun.

Swiss Maxim MG11

In the interest of maintaining their peaceful neutrality, Switzerland has a long history of fielding the finest equipment available and was quick to realize the advantages of rapid fire weapons. They acquired Gatling guns in 11mm in the 1870s and Gardner guns (in the then prototype Swiss 7.5x55mm cartridge) in the 1880s.

In 1887, Hiram Maxim arrived in Thun, Switzerland to compete in the long-range shooting trials with his “World Standard” Model of 1887 machine gun in 11mm. The Model of 1887 “World Standard” was a massive weapon chambered in the rimmed .45 caliber/11mm black powder cartridge. The Swiss were impressed and placed an order but they wanted the gun chambered in the new and experimental 7.5mm Swiss cartridge. Maxim thought he could just “tweak” his large gun to accept the smaller, rimless round but encountered major reliability problems with many malfunctions. Ultimately, rather than convert the 11mm Maxim, he redesigned the gun specifically to accept the 7.5mm rimless cartridge. This resulted in Maxim’s first “Reduced Caliber” (approx. .30 caliber) machine gun. This gun was tested in 1889 and the decision was made to adopt the Maxim into the Swiss army.

The Swiss began by purchasing 72 Maxims from Maxim Nordenfelt in England in 1894 and designated as the MG94. Then, with some improvements, another 40 guns of the improved model were purchased from Maxim’s new company Vickers, Sons & Maxim (VSM), as well as Duetsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken (DWM) in Germany in 1900 and designated them as the MG00. When DWM introduced their new Commercial Model in 1909, which was substantially lighter than the previous Maxims, the Swiss tested it and adopted it in 1911, designated it as the Maschinengewehr 11 (MG11) and ordered 167 guns.

When World War I interrupted their source of supply in 1914, they began to produce their own Maxims, under license, at Waffenfabrik Bern in Switzerland. Production began in 1915 and continued to 1946 with 10,269 Maxim MG11s being produced.

The MG11 was mounted on the DWM designed Commercial Model 1909 tripod which was also produced at the Waffenfabrik Bern factory. This tripod was more stable than any other tripod in use at the time and was considered the finest mount available.

There were a number of optical sights used with the MG11 for both direct and indirect fire. The more common early style direct fire sight used with the MG11 was made in Germany by Carl Zeiss of Jena. There was also a specialized long-range telescopic sight used in mountain fortresses.

The Maxim MG11 as made by the Swiss at Waffenfabrik Bern is rightly considered the finest Maxim ever made. The quality of workmanship, fit and finish surpasses any other Maxim made and is worthy of the dependability inherent in all Maxim guns. Because of its neutrality, Switzerland has a stringent policy concerning the export of its military weapons and thus Swiss maxims are exceptionally rare outside of Switzerland. There are only six Swiss MG11s in the United States making it one of the rarest types of its kind in US collections.

German Maxim MG08

In 1892, the Maxim Nordenfelt Co. of England entered into an agreement with Ludwig Loewe & Co. of Berlin granting them the rights to produce Maxim guns in Germany for Germany, the entire German Empire and her allies. Maxims were produced by Ludwig Loewe under that name for several years until, because of a growing anti-Semitic movement, Loewe changed the name of his company to Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken (DWM) so that the name of Loewe would not be connected with it. DWM then became a public company owned by, but administratively separate from, the Loewe engineering firm.

The German army adopted the DWM Model 1901. After observations gained from the Russo-Japanese war, the German army suggested changes in the Maxim; particularly addressing the major problem of weight of the gun and mount. The government arsenal at Spandau, working alongside DWM, began to implement the suggested changes by redesigning the heavy parts of earlier guns with lightweight steel. Thus the water jacket, trunnion block, feed block, fusee spring cover and backplate assemblies became much thinner and lighter resulting in a 17 pound weight reduction from 57 pounds to 40 pounds. A bracket for mounting an optical sight was added to the receiver and the cocking handle knob was increased in diameter to provide a better grip. The sledmount was redesigned with lighter materials and the wheels were removed. This mount provided unequaled stability with resulting incredible accuracy, though it later proved difficult to set up on uneven terrain. The improvements were completed in 1908 and the new gun and mount became standardized and adopted by the German army as the Maschinengewehr 08 (MG08) and the Schlitten 08 (sled 08).

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Germany had approximately 5,000 Maxims and was the only country that truly recognized the value and importance of the machine gun on the battlefield in terms of firepower and strategic advantage in both attack and defense. This resulted in an aggressive armament of machine gun companies within regiments and battalions. Tens of thousands of MG08s were eventually produced by the government arsenal at Spandau and DWM to equip the German army. Training in operation and tactics was crucial to the operational success of the MG08 and machine gunners were all hand picked, particularly personnel for the “marksman” units. Woefully, hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers were slaughtered in the fields of France and Belgium in the futile old-world massed assaults against the well dug-in German machine guns. The ultimate defense to this onslaught was the inevitable trench network to shield the foot soldier from the fusillade of bullets.

Warfare of the past five thousand years abruptly changed with the new weapons of war as developed during the industrial revolution of the late 19th and early 20th century. No longer were the massed attacks with foot infantry or swift assault with cavalry capable of overwhelming an enemy equipped with the modern tools of war. As with all advancements, the eventual downfall of the emplaced heavy machine gun came about with the advent of mobile warfare, most notably with the development and advancement of the tank and airplane. But the heavy machine guns of the early twentieth century epitomized the state-of-the-art martial development of firearm design and function.

German Maxim MG08/15

The British were able to gain a small tactical advantage over the emplaced German heavy machine gun by issuing large numbers of lightweight, air-cooled Lewis and Hotchkiss machine guns. Man-portable and prized as the ultimate front-line weapon, these light machine guns in rifle caliber proved extremely valuable on the battlefield. So highly were they valued that the Germans went to great lengths to capture and use them. They even printed a field manual on the Lewis gun for their troops.

In 1915, Germany established a large group of engineers to develop a light machine gun to counter the Lewis gun. With a relatively large number of designs to work with, they ultimately decided to stick with the Maxim action as it would be the least disruptive to current production facilities and training. The result was a hybrid “light” machine gun called the Maschinengewehr 08/15 (MG08/15). The MG08/15 went into production in late 1916 and was first issued generally to troops fighting in the Verdun sector in early 1917.

The MG08/15 was a lightened MG08 fitted with a bipod, shoulder stock and pistol grip. The reduction in weight was achieved by making the receiver walls thinner and reducing the size, and thus capacity, of the water jacket. Further weight-saving changes included a smaller feedblock, cutouts on the top of the rear and bottom front of the receiver sideplates to eliminate enclosed “dead” space, and eliminating the use of the cartridge ejection tube and spring in favor of a simple hole in the lower front of the stepped receiver. The recoiling parts of the gun – barrel, barrel extension, crosshead, connecting link and lock – were kept the same as the MG08 except a muzzle sleeve was screwed on to the already threaded muzzle end of the barrel. The only other interchangeable parts were the feed slide and belt holding pawls, roller and pin. All otherMG08/15 components were somewhat smaller and lighter than their MG08 counterparts. Additionally, since this was now a portable “light” machine gun, the MG08/15 receiver was fitted with a bracket to accommodate the affixing of a special spooled 100-round ammunition drum. Two of these drums were fitted in a wooden transit box and accompanied each gun.

Wanting to quickly supply the German Army with light machine guns, seven factories produced about 130,000 MG08/15s – making it the most common German machine gun of World War I. Manufacturers included: Gewehrfabrik Erfurt; Rheinische Maschinen & Metallwaren Fabrik, Sommerda; Maschinen Fabrik Augsburg-Nurnberg (M.A.N.) Nurnberg; Siemens & Halske (S&H) Berlin; J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Suhl; Gewehrfabrik Spandau; and Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken (D.W.&M.F.) Berlin.

The MG08/15, like its big brother the MG08, was extremely reliable and fired at about the same rate of 500 rounds per minute. It is interesting to note that the steel used in both guns was very hard and designed to withstand denting from shell fragments and other small low velocity projectiles. Only a well placed rifle bullet or direct shell fragment to the receiver could be sure of putting it out of action. British snipers were instructed to shoot at the receiver casing of the gun, rather than at the gunner, as the theory being that the gun was harder to replace than the man behind it.

While the MG08/15 was a reliable weapon, it had the distinction of being the heaviest “light” machine gun ever made. It was big, bulky and not easily controllable on its small bipod; it was designed to be a “trench broom” by a walking operator equipped with a large leather sling for support. Fully loaded with water and the 100-round drum, the gun weighed 49 pounds. Not an easy load to carry “over the top” under fire and in the muddy fields of no-mans land.

Russian Maxim M1910

Since 1865, Russia purchased and used a large number of Colt Gatling guns; even later manufacturing their own version called the “Gorloff.” With his success with sales to Italy, Switzerland and Austria, Hiram Maxim traveled to Russia in 1889 to demonstrate his new invention in St. Petersburg. The Russians had no concept of what an automatic gun was and thought the crank handle on the side of the Maxim gun was manually operated. This “little” gun could never replace the Gatling. Maxim fired an entire belt in half a minute and the Russian officers were, indeed, truly impressed. The Russian army and navy began purchasing Maxims from Maxim Nordenfelt in 1889. In 1899, Russia purchased more Model 1899 Maxims from DWM in Germany.

The Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905) was the first major conflict in which both sides used machine guns. The Japanese used the French designed Hotchkiss and the Russians used their heavy brass Maxims. Though relegated defensively to the rear along with artillery firing over the heads of their advancing troops, the Russian Maxims performed exceptionally well; most notably at the battle of Mukden repelling seven strong Japanese attacks.

The heavy brass Maxims were mounted on high, wheeled artillery-type carriages exposing the gunners to concentrated fire. With exceptionally high loses sustained by Russian machine gun batteries at the Yalu River battle, Russian Maxims were then mounted on heavy tripods with armor shields.

The Model 1905 was the first Maxim actually manufactured in Russia and was produced at the Tula Arsenal. This was the basic Model 1899 that still had the heavy brass water jacket, feed block, trunnion block, etc., but incorporated a few of the improvements found it the “new pattern” 1901 commercial Vickers-Maxim that included the “S”-shaped crank handle and easily-stripped lock.

By 1908, VSM (Vickers, Sons & Maxim) and DWM were producing guns that were lighter in weight, replacing the brass parts with steel. The Russians acquired some samples of VSM’s “new light” Model 1906 with the steel fluted water jacket and adopted it as the Model 1910. The Model 1910, as produced in Russia, now weighed in at just 44 pounds, producing a weight savings of 16 pounds over the Model 1905.

Wheeled transport was popular due to the weight of the gun but a new distinctive low wheeled mount with a small armor shield was developed by Colonel Sokolov soon after the adoption of the Model 1910. It featured a cradle designed to slide forward and back on curved rails allowing large adjustments in elevation and depression. The early mounts were quite heavy at about 100 pounds and included two folding legs that could be swung down to form a tripod raising the wheels off the ground. Sine the entire platform was so robust, the legs were later eliminated.

Production of the Model 1910 continued through the World War I years until 1917 when production dropped of considerably due to the disruptive Russian Revolution in 1917. Production picked up again in late 1918 and all through the interwar years. During World War II, production went into high gear and it remained the standard heavy Russian machine gun. An interesting modification was made in 1943 by the addition of a large, distinctive “snow cap” incorporated to the top of the water jacket to allow the insertion of snow (water) into the water jacket. The Russians actually copied this feature from the Finns who used such a contrivance on their own Maxims during the Russo-Finnish War of 1941-1944.

The Russian Maxim soldiered on for over four decades and more Maxims were built in Russia than all the other countries in the world combined. Production estimates indicate that over 600,000 guns were produced, including those given to the North Koreans, Chinese and others who received assistance from Russian armament programs after World War II.

As early as 1889, Imperial Russia ordered for trial purpose 12 Maxim machine guns chambered for the black-powder “4.2-line” 10.6x58R Russian Service Berdan cartridge. These early weapons were imported from the British company Maxim Nordenfelt Gun & Ammunition Company Ltd (MNG&ACL). Following these trials, the first Maxim machine guns adopted for operational service were for the Imperial Russian Navy, and were still chambered for the 10.6x58R cartridges.

According to the other contemporary Maxim belts, the fabric belts for the Russian Navy should have had a total capacity of 334 rounds, although the author has so far not examined any complete specimens. The belt is composed of two strips of webbing fixed together by means of riveted brass spacers, thereafter generating the pockets to accommodate the cartridges. A long spacer is installed after every three pockets to insure maintaining a correct seat of the ammunition when the belt is stacked in its transport crate. Both ends of the belt are fitted with starters composed of two flat brass tabs riveted together and are intended to facilitate the introduction of the belt into the feed mechanism.

The very rare specimen observed is a 13-round sample belt kept for reference purposes by the Vickers Company and, hopefully, still survives today. Markings are “RUS V” suspected to mean “Russian Vickers” as well as an inspection mark of the Crayford facility (C/8).

The early Model 1895 machine guns in caliber 7.62x54R.

Immediately following the adoption in 1891 of the “3-line” 7.62x54R Russian cartridge loaded with smokeless powder, the first five Maxim machine guns chambered for that new caliber were tested as early as 1892. In May 1895, the Maxim machine gun chambered for the 7.62x54R cartridge was officially adopted for service as fortress armament bearing the designation of Model 1895. These early machine guns were fitted on a heavy wheeled carriage with large armor shield. In 1896, the Vickers Sons & Maxim Company (VSM) received an order for 174 Model 1895 machine guns chambered for 7.62x54R. This order probably corresponds to the entries in the Vickers Register of Guns for 1897 where 179 guns are referenced with the caliber denoted as “RSB”. Although it has been previously suspected among knowledgeable researchers that this should stand for “Russian Service Berdan” and therefore be in caliber 10.6x58R, Russian sources indicate these were in caliber 7.62x54R. In that case, it is supposed that the “RSB” reference could rather stand for “Russian Service Board.”

According to the size of the early standard wooden ammunition box that can accommodate a 334-round belt with 10.6mm cartridges, the new capacity of the belts for the smaller 7.62x54R rounds was extended to 450 rounds. Unfortunately, the author has never managed, so far, to come across any of these early British-imported 450-round belts of the Russian contract, and accordingly their particularities and markings remain unknown.

In 1897 a first batch of 224 additional machine guns were ordered from the German company Ludwig Loewe, which later became the Deutsches Waffen und Munition Fabrik (DWM). In total, approximately 1,500 weapons were imported from Germany between 1897 and at least 1903. It is supposed that the accompanying ammunition feed belts were probably the standard German capacity of 250 rounds only.

The Russian Model 1905 and 1910 machine guns in caliber 7.62x54R

The first Maxim weapons locally produced in Russia under Vickers (VSM) license are referenced as Model 1905. It is during that year that the first batch of 28 machine guns locally made in Russia came off of the production lines, followed in 1906 by another batch of 73 weapons. In March 1906, a comparative trial was conducted between 3 ammunition belts imported from England and the very first 4 prototype fabric belts assembled in Russia. These first tests showed that the Russian belts were woven too close, which led to misfires. Further investigations finally concluded that the best material suited for the manufacture of the belts was a braid from a Riga textile factory. It is suspected that the early Russian belts had a capacity of 250 rounds only according to that of the belts already imported with the weapons from Germany and also according to the length which became standard among other contemporary Maxim users. In the period 1905-1908, a total of 1,376 machines guns of Model 1905 were produced. While the improved and lightened version of the weapon was adopted under the designation of Model 1910, the accompanying ammunition belts are suspected to have remained unchanged. So far, the earliest belt of local Russian production examined is dated 1910 and the author would be grateful to any reader who might report any earlier date.

The belts of early Russian production are fitted with both starter tags and spacers made of brass. According to the size of the Russian 7.62x54R cartridge, the total length of the long spacers installed every three pockets is 58.5mm. The starter tags are marked with the year of production (expressed with 4 digits) and the Imperial Russian Coat of Arms. The numbering of the cartridge pockets every 10 rounds is printed in tens with usually purple ink (markings ranging from 1 to 25). This cartridge numbering feature is less systematically observed for belts manufactured after the revolution of 1917. The assembly of the two brass plates of the starter tags is made only with a single rivet situated at the end of the tag.

A scarce German DWM belt has been examined bearing most of these Russian unique features and is suspected of having been imported to Russia around 1906-1910 while complying with the official Russian patterns. Both spacers and starter tags are made of brass. The long spacers have a total length of 58.5mm and are assembled by a hollow rivet, which complies with the Russian patterns. This has never been observed on any other DWM production which always relied on solid steel rivets. The assembly of the starter tags fitted at both ends of the belt relies on the German pattern with three hollow rivets; whereas the Russian pattern only involves one rivet. The starter tags are marked with the manufacturer’s initials D.W.M. and are not dated. The cartridge pockets are numbered every 10 rounds, with only the value of the tens (numbers ranging from 1 to 25) being printed with black ink on the fabric. The style of the figures inked does exactly correspond to that found on contemporary DWM belts issued to the German Army. As a matter of summary, for belts with DWM marked starter tags, the total length of the long spacers, the hollow rivet assembling the end of the long spacers and the numbering of the cartridge pockets every 10 rounds are all key features that enable to tell apart these German belts intended for export to Russia. It is suspected that these DWM belts might have been part of an export contract to Russia which also involved the delivery of 7.62x54R Model 1891 round-nosed ammunition from Germany around 1906.

The geometric constitution of these 250-round fabric belts remained unchanged until the latest productions observed up to 1947. Only variants in markings or in the materials used have been examined.

After the revolution of 1917, the first productions of the Soviet era remain fitted with brass spacers and brass starters. The markings are obviously devoid of the Imperial Coat of Arms and only show the year of manufacture expressed with the last 3 digits only. The earliest post Imperial-era belt observed so far is dated 1920 (marking 920).

From the middle of the 1930’s on, the brass starters were replaced by zinc-coated steel ones, which proved mechanically more resilient. The spacers remained, however, usually made of brass. This standard pattern has been observed at least up to 1947 production.

Wartime production belts (1939-1945) are sometimes found with both starters and spacers made of gray phosphated steel. Starters are often undated and bear various small inspection stamps and sometimes a manufacturer’s logo. For example, a belt marked with a “3” in a triangle has been observed, which denotes production at the Tula arsenal. An unusual specimen which seems dated 1944 has been observed with brass spacers and copper plated steel starters, but its origin remains uncertain.

The career of the Model 1910 Maxims continued well after the end of the Second World War. From the end of the 1940’s on, continuous metal belts have been standardized for use with Maxims, SG-43 and RP-46 machine guns. These belts with a capacity of 250 rounds are composed of metallic pockets joined together with coiled steel springs. Each end of the belt is fitted with a long starter tag with curved end to facilitate the gripping. Although similar metallic belts were tested as early as 1940 for use with the DS-39 machine guns, and were also used in some combat with SG-43s since 1944, it seems that large scale production did not begin before the end of WW2. Russian sources indicate that although a modified feed-block for the Maxim Model 1910 was designed during WW2 to cope with both fabric and metal belts, the quantity of fabric belts available in stock was so huge that this modification was finally not made on wartime weapons. World War II dated photographs showing Model 1910 Maxims fed with metallic belts have not been observed so far by the author.

The air cooled Maxim-Tokarev Model 1925 light machine gun.

In the middle of the 1920’s an air cooled light machine gun in caliber 7.62x54R was designed at the Tula arsenal and was adopted as the Maxim-Tokarev machine gun Model 1925. Standard production of the weapon started at Tula in November 1925 and, by 1927, a total of 2,500 weapons had been manufactured. These light machine guns were designed to use the same 250-round fabric belt as those for the heavy water cooled Model 1910 Maxims. However, following the principle used by the German MG 08/15 during the First World War, the Russians also designed a belt drum which accommodates a 100-round belt for these Maxim-Tokarev guns. Only very few photographs depict these belt drums and it remains unclear as to how the drum is fastened to the gun itself. It also seems that these drums are fitted with an internal spool around which the belt is wound up and therefore took example on the design of the German Gurttrommel of MG 08/15. Photographs however state that both drums are externally different. Russian sources indicate that the 100-round belts used with those drums were simply shortened 250-round standard belts. Although very large quantities, if not all, of those Maxim-Tokarev light machine guns were exported to Spain during the Civil War in 1937-1938, it seems that the belt drums were not included in the shipments since no such item has ever been commonly reported from Spain so far.

The air cooled aircraft Maxim PV-1.

An air cooled fast-firing aircraft machine gun was investigated at Tula arsenal since 1923. This weapon was formally adopted by the air force in 1928 as PV-1 and a total of more than 17,800 weapons were produced between 1926 and 1940. This aircraft weapon was primarily designed to be fed with disintegrating metallic links. Although the design of the very first prototype links developed before 1930 is not known, in the later years the disintegrating metallic links used with the Maxim PV-1 were the same as those used with the ShKAS aircraft machine guns. Two major variants are identified: one seldom encountered which is completely smooth, and the most common bearing a set of ribs. Some of these aircraft Maxim PV-1s also found their way into the Spanish Civil War and some photographs show them heavily reworked and reissued for ground use fed either with metal disintegrating links or fabric belts.

Acknowledgements :

Special acknowledgments are due to the late Herb Woodend who spent hours searching through piles of Russian fabric belts to retrieve some of the variants presented in this article. The author is also very grateful to Mr. Kooger and Wanting (the Netherlands) and Bob Faris (USA) for their useful comments.

My mission at this shoot was to man “The Tower”. The Tower is a section of Baker staging erected in the center of the line allowing its occupants to view the event with a 7-foot height advantage over the shooters. Whoever is running the Tower is in radio contact with the line staff, and can keep an extra eye on everything happening the entire length of the firing line. Before every volley, there is a staff meeting at the Tower to address concerns and answer questions, and it is followed with a shooters safety meeting. The shooters safety meeting takes about five minutes and we go over the range rules each time. Any shooter who does not attend the meeting is not allowed to fire during that volley. While it takes time and sometimes seems monotonous, when the event is over we receive nothing but praise for running a good, safe shoot. Safety is absolutely the number one priority, and having fun follows second. As a matter of fact, the number one complaint I heard throughout the weekend last year was that the firing line was open too much. That is a problem I was pleased to hear.

The firing line was packed as usual with machine guns representing all eras of military arms development. Almost any firearm from the Gattling Gun, to the Maxim Gun (The first REAL machine gun), to the latest in modern military weaponry could be found there. Being almost in the back yard of where the very first machine gun was developed and test fired by Sir Hiram Maxim himself makes this event close to being a religious experience to the true Emma-Gee. Many of those who attend every year even refer to the trip as their annual pilgrimage.

Under the watchful (and helpful I might add) eye of the State Fire Marshal’s office, around 150 sticks of dynamite were placed on the targets for the shooters to train their fire on throughout the weekend. The charges were large enough to set off several car alarms each time the line opened up. The approving smiles and occasional applause of the spectators made it quite obvious everyone enjoyed the explosions. Cars and trucks that have found their way to area junkyards are the usual targets and are placed from 100 to 150 yards from the shooters.

Shotgun News was the sponsor of a special event last year that went over very well with the shooters as well as the spectators. During a special volley, a van with a dynamite charge was placed down-range. Inside the van was a hidden detonation button. Any caliber bullet that could penetrate the side of the van was able to set off the dynamite charge so the sub-gunners could compete as well as those firing belt-fed machineguns. Every shooter interested in competing paid an entry fee, and was allowed 20 rounds of ammo. The names were placed in a hat, and the participants were sent to the firing line in the order that their names were drawn. The shooter who hit the hidden detonation button and blew up the van would win $500.00 courtesy of Shotgun News. The winning shooter was Bob Ward and I believe he was the 6th shooter to the firing line. $500.00 is a pretty cool bonus for the pleasure of being able to shoot at a van loaded with a dynamite charge.

Those who attend the event have the opportunity so shoot many different machine guns. Machine gun rental with hands-on instruction is readily available and the rental lines never seem to end. This is another very popular reason so many people flock to this event. It is a good opportunity to either shoot a machine gun for the first time, or to just try one out that may not be commonly found at the local range. For those who don’t live in the Free States (or Countries for that matter) where they can own machine guns, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

The gun show portion of the exposition was larger than in years past, with more dealers, and more inventory available for sale. Items included machine guns, suppressors, ammo, parts, cutlery, clothing, and almost any related item you would expect or even hope to find. It is common to hear that many of those attending the event are as drawn to the show portion as they are to the shooting portion. It is a great opportunity to meet some of the larger dealers you often read about as well as being able to paw through an inventory of parts that may not be so common at your local gun shop.

The event is scheduled again this year and is being billed as the “Hiram Maxim Millennium, 2001 Machine Gun Shoot”. The dates are July 20-22, 2001 and will be held on the regular site in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. (I-95 to the Newport exit #39, and take Rt. 7 North to Dexter / Dover-Foxcroft. Follow signs to the shoot). Admission is $6.00 per day and a Shooting Pass to allow you on the firing line when shooting is $30.00 per day or $45.00 for the weekend. Dealer tables are $50.00 each and must be purchased in advance of the show.

If you have some time off this particular weekend, come to the Free State of Maine, shoot a machine gun into a car or at some dynamite, and introduce yourself to some of the best friends you have yet to meet.

For more information contact:
The Hiram Maxim
Historical Society
P.O. Box 1491
Waterville, Maine 04903
(207)465-2336
http://www.hirammaxim.com