When we finished the Vickers Machine Gun book last year (I was co-author with Dolf, Robert, and Richard Fisher from the Vickers MG Collection & Research Association in the UK), as part of the book’s promotion, I was asked to do some 3-day courses on the Vickers Machine Gun, geared towards collectors of all levels. The goal was to get them all to the same learning plane, teach gauging, construction, laying the guns, firing, etc. I ran the course six times, with full attendance in every class. There are still a couple of guys who were in line but couldn’t make it… so now, I’ve talked with them and scheduled it over a weekend.

We’ll start on Saturday morning in the classroom, and the live fire is just function checking the guns at the range, loading and a few bursts each. We’ll schedule the weekend around the weather. Even though these are water-cooled guns, the gunners aren’t so, we’ll choose the best morning for the range.

I have literally hundreds of rare accessories, mounts, parts, pieces, and all the lore, as well as gauges. If you have a registered Vickers and want to bring it so it gets the once-over in the classroom, that’s all good, too. 

This class is for novices, MG-curious people, up to expert collectors – I’ll strive to give everyone a great time, and a learning experience about the history and technology of these historic firearms.

Here’s the rough syllabus. There’s a lot more to it, but this is the basics:

Saturday

• History
• Technology
• Construction
• Gauging

Sunday

• Tripods
• Water Technology
• Sighting Systems
• Accessories

Monday

• Range Time
• Set up and fire
• Cleaning and Care

Join us for the class on the weekend of November 18-19-20 2023 at Phoenix Defence in Henderson, NV. The class tuition is $895. Please contact us at 702-208-9735 or info@phoenixdefence.com to register.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Parts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The book ends with Chapter 21, The Contributors.

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

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

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

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

Details

Collectors picked them, every one.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Apologies to Pete Seeger for that, but this 1926 Stokes catalog was too cool to not share with all you Rafficarians out there.

In W. Stokes Kirk’s 1926 catalog of military equipment, they’re offering 1915 Colt Vickers machine guns, operational on tripods, for $150-; a princely sum at the time, in 2022 dollars that’s about $2,500. Don’t bother getting your checkbooks out, there’s no time machines available.

We tend to think of Frances Bannerman & Sons as the only prominent military surplus seller in the post- American Civil War period through WWI, but Kirk’s started in the late 1870s and was prominent on the American West Coast all through the period. This was their 18^th catalog.

Please note how the guns were live for 30-06 ball, or blank use, and Kirk’s made a special black powder cartridge that produced “Lots of fire and smoke for motion pictures and plenty of noise for celebrations.”

Kirk’s was the source for many of the Colt Model of 1915 Vickers machine guns on the West Coast and certainly in the movie industry. I had 30 1934 registered fully transferable Colt Vickers guns out of California over the years, mostly from Hollywood.

Note: Back in the good old days of Class 3, I wrote columns about machine guns, the most prominent being “Raffica” in Machine Gun News. “Raffica” was the full auto or burst-fire marking on my beloved Beretta Modello 12 9x19mm submachine gun. So, I adopted the moniker for the column name, and a disturbing number of readers began referring to themselves as “Rafficarians.” I took to awarding them Certificates of RKI; the Reasonably Knowledgeable Individual. Heady days, with relatively cheap machine guns and piles of cheap parts and beaucoup surplus ammo. Piling up the brass was the competition, and as you can see from this 1926 catalog, it’s a long-time American tradition!

By Dean Roxby

Connections in History: Osprey Publishing’s Weapon Series

I have chosen to review these four books together, as the guns themselves are connected by history. The glorious old Vickers served Britain and other Commonwealth countries for over half a century until being replaced by the FN MAG. Likewise, the Maxim MG 08 and MG 08/15 served Germany through World War I and beyond, until the MG 34 and MG 42 introduced the General Purpose MG concept to modern warfare.

Each of these books is complete on its own; they certainly do not need to be purchased as a set. As is generally the way, each of these titles begins with a look back at the development of firearms for war. The book, German Machine Guns of World War I by Stephen Bull starts with a brief look at Sir Hiram S. Maxim, while the Vickers-Maxim Machine Gun title by Martin Pegler goes farther back in time, mentioning the Gatling, Agar, Nordenfelt and Gardner designs and even the goofy Puckle revolving gun (round shot for use against Christians, square bullets for others). These guns all had one thing in common; they were hand cranked.

The Maxim design was the first to harness some of the energy of the round firing to cycle the gun continuously. Maxim the man was a most interesting fellow. He patented many electrical products prior to starting on the gun he is best known for. Maxim was born in Maine, later moved to England, became a British citizen and began work on his machine gun. Most of the 1880s was spent on its design. Later, he was knighted (Sir Hiram) in recognition of the contribution his gun made to the British Empire.

Not only was he a genius at inventing a wide range of items, he was also wildly successful at marketing. Once the design was perfected, he traveled the world selling guns or license agreements to many countries, including Germany. It is interesting to note the short time between the adoption (1908) and the outbreak of WWI in 1914. With his adopted country using an improved version of his weapon, both sides faced off with very similar machine guns.

German Machine Guns of World War I
MG 08 AND MG 08/15
WPN 47
Stephen Bull
©2016 Osprey Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 978 1 4728 1516 3

German Machine Guns of World War I studies the development of the original MG 08 and the later attempt to make a lighter, portable version known as the MG 08/15. Although the idea was sound, the result was not so successful.

The MG 08/15 did away with the cumbersome sled mount, instead using a bipod. It was also reworked to move the trigger from the rear of the receiver box to the underneath. A pistol grip was added to the underneath as well, and a buttstock was attached to the rear of the receiver, thus allowing it to be fired like any other bipod mounted gun. However, it still remained a heavy, awkward, water-cooled gun. Having said that, I was surprised to learn that the MG 08/15 was made in much greater numbers than the MG 08 was—roughly 130,000 versus 72,000, according to the figures given.

The author, Dr. Stephen Bull, is Curator of Military History and Archaeology for the Museum of Lancashire. He credits belt-fed expert and author Dolf Goldsmith with sparking his interest in Maxim guns. Bull often quotes from Goldsmith’s book The Grand Old Lady of No Man’s Land. He also quotes heavily from both German and British manuals and reports from WWI. This gives this particular volume of the series a different “feel,” getting into gun placement technique, etc., during the war. There are also several old-style engravings from an early manual. A modern cutaway section view drawing by Alan Gilliland shows the inner workings of an MG 08/15. Two two-page battlescene paintings by Johnny Shumate are also featured. Many black and white photos from WWI are included, as well as a three-view (left, right and rear view) full-color studio photo with various parts labelled.

The Vickers-Maxim Machine Gun
WPN 25
Martin Pegler
©2013 Osprey Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 978 1 78096 382 2

The Vickers-Maxim Machine Gun, by Martin Pegler, covers the development of the British version of Maxim’s gun, the Vickers, Mk 1. After a brief look at the hand-cranked Gatling, and so on, Maxim’s early prototypes are discussed. A brief look at the company history is also covered. The Maxim Gun Company was formed in London, England in November 1884. In 1888, Maxim merged with Nordenfelt to create the Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company. One of the early investors in the original Maxim firm was Albert Vickers, co-owner of Vickers, Sons & Co. In 1896, the Vickers firm bought Maxim-Nordenfelt, which then became Vickers, Sons and Maxim, Ltd. During the 1880s and 1890s, the gun was continually improved upon, including making it suitable for use with the new smokeless powder becoming popular at the time. After a major upgrade in 1908, Britain officially adopted the Gun, Machine, Mark I, Vickers .303 inch in November 1912. Just in time for the Great War.

Following the “Development” chapter is “Use.” Surprisingly, the majority of this chapter is not centered on WWI. Rather, it mentions some of the colonial battles Great Britain fought throughout Africa. Early Maxims took part in horribly one-sided battles against poorly armed local tribes in places like the Sudan and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Of course, the updated Vickers gained its fame in the trenches of France in WWI, and many black and white photos from that period are shown. The Vickers continued to soldier on in WWII and finally into the Korean War.

The book has a wonderful set of three studio-quality photographs that feature a cutaway Vickers training gun. This allows a peek inside the guts of the thing. Artist Peter Dennis provided three color paintings of battlescenes. The first is of the First Matabele War in Rhodesia, October 1893. The British would have used early pattern Maxims then, and the illustration depicts four Maxims on wooden spoke-wheeled mounts.

As revolutionary as Sir Hiram’s device was at the time, the MG 08 and the Vickers were heavy, cumbersome guns. Against masses of troops running across a field, they were viciously effective. But with war becoming more mobile and fast-paced, something far lighter was needed. The German Army noticed the Lewis gun and tried to do similar with the MG 08/15. As noted above, it was still far too heavy to be truly portable. Enter the GPMG concept.

MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns
WPN 21
Chris McNab
©2012 Osprey Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 978 1 78096 008 1

The MG 34, and later the MG 42, defined the General-Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). They were air-cooled, belt-fed and had quick-change barrels. They could be fired from an attached bipod or a separate tripod, were light enough to carry while sprinting, yet stable when fired full-auto from the tripod. This effectively replaced heavy, medium and light machine guns (HMG, MMG, LMG) with one gun, along with various mounts, feed systems and sight systems. This Einheitsmachinengewehr (standard machine gun) concept has since been adopted worldwide.

Following a brief “Introduction” section, Chris McNab’s book discusses the origins of the GPMG in the “Development” chapter. The MG 08 HMG and the not-so-light MG 08/15 LMG are discussed, along with a brief mention of some lesser known designs (MG 13, MG 30s and LMG 32) that led to the famous MG 34.

As successful as the MG 34 was, it was tremendously time consuming to manufacture. The book covers the path that led to the MG 42. It also details the post-war versions that are still in use today. Following West Germany joining NATO, production of guns resumed in 1959. These are known as the MG 1, or MG 42/59, which were chambered for the original 8x57mm cartridge. Germany now uses the MG 3 in 7.62 NATO. Aside from the change of cartridge, the MG 3 is remarkably similar to the MG 42, first seen almost 80 years ago.

The FN MAG Machine Gun
M240, L7, AND OTHER VARIANTS
WPN 63
Chris McNab
©2018 Osprey Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 978 1 4728 1967 3

The FN MAG came far too late for WWII, so it did not face off against the German GPMGs. Instead, it was greatly influenced by them and followed the same design criteria. Fabrique Nationale (National Factory) of Belgium designed the Mitrailleuse d’Appui General (French for GPMG) in 1958, so it is also known as the MAG 58. The FN MAG Machine Gun book by Chris McNab describes the FN MAG 58, from design to global success story. Once again, in the “Development” chapter, a quick history lesson is given regarding early water-cooled HMGs, attempts to create a practical LMG and the MG 34 GPMG concept.

In the chapter “Impact,” it is noted that over 80 countries have now adopted the MAG, with more than 200,000 built. (It must be said that the author also notes that the Soviet PK and PKM family may exceed 1 million guns made.) Also of interest is that during the Falklands conflict, both UK and Argentina used variants of the MAG against each other, reminiscent of the Maxim designs facing off during WWI.
As with other titles from the Osprey Weapon Series, each book features many photographs, several well-done artwork battle scenes and usually a technical-style drawing cutaway of the gun’s internals. As is to be expected, the WWI books have mostly black and white photos, while the FN MAG title has mostly color photos.

All books in the Weapon series are:
Soft cover, 7 ¼” x 9 ¾”, 80 pages, many photographs, plus color battle scene art.
Available as paperback, eBook (ePub) or eBook (PDF) format.
ospreypublishing.com

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.

Many NFA owners are avid shooters as well as collectors. If they shoot their guns on a regular basis, they soon begin to tinker and modify their weapons while some even dream of building their own. After the 1986 FOPA, which included the infamous Hughes Amendment, building a new full auto cannot be done as an individual, but other items can still be made.

With the ever increasing prices on many of the NFA world’s most sought after items, there is a market that is increasing in size. This market is the semiautomatic versions of the original full auto weapons. An individual can purchase a semi auto version of the AK, 1919A4, MG34, and M16 to name a few. For those individuals that like to work with their hands, there is the option of building a semi auto version of the Vickers HMG.

In 1999, Curtis Debord with American Delta Arms received BATF approval to manufacture a semi auto version of the Vickers. The needed modifications included the right side plate, action arms, the lock, and of course the firing linkage. Several of these semi auto versions were made and still command a decent price when they become available. However, production of this model stopped several years ago. Enter the homebuilder.

Lonnie Ingram had wanted a semi Vickers for quite some time. After having a chance to examine several of them, he set out to build his own semi auto. He studied the BATF approval letter that clearly states the components that must be modified. He now offers the semi Vickers conversion set complete with instructions and parts.

Once a Vickers kit is located, make a complete inventory of the contents to ensure that all parts are included but the right side plate. On a Vickers, the right side plate is considered the firearm by BATF and will not be found in any of the Vickers kits on the market. The builder should use the left side plate that comes in the Vickers kit as a basis for building and locating the holes in the right side plate. It is important to note the denial islands that must be incorporated into the semi right plate to prevent unmodified action arms or locks being inserted into the weapon. Clearance cuts will need to be made on the right action arm to match the denial islands. In addition, the slots in the top of the arms that allow the lock to be inserted are also welded, moved, and then relocated. These changes will need to match the changes made to the bottom of the lock. These modifications ensure that an unmodified full auto lock and action arms cannot be inserted into the semi auto version of the weapon. With the action arms complete, the rest of the lock modifications can be performed.

The lock body is altered to allow for the installation of the new firing linkage. The firing pin, trigger, and main spring are altered as well. In addition, a landing pad will need to be built for the disconnector spring assembly. With the lock modifications now complete, the cams can be fitted and installed.

The receiver box is now ready to install the action arms and lock. Simple pop rivets were used to hold the box together while doing the cam install and fitting. The goal is to verify that all the parts move freely. The cuts must now be made to allow the disconnector/denial plate to be inserted. After final fitting and test firing, this plate will be TIG welded into place. The receiver box is now ready to assemble to the trunnion.

The jacket assembly is riveted and soldered to the receiver box. Please note that not all of the rivets are installed until after the trunnion has been prepped and soldered to the jacket assembly. Should a museum quality build be desired, the trunnion can be removed from the jacket and special bucking bars can be fabricated. For simplicity, four screws were installed on each side and the rest of the receiver was riveted. Several thousand rounds have been fired through Lonnie’s semi Vickers with no leaks. The remaining rivets can now be installed and the weapon is completely assembled minus the top cover.

The trigger bar is now modified and the disconnector/denial plate assembly (included in the kit) is ready to install. It is vital to ensure that the trigger reset every time before applying the final finish to the firearm and welding the plate into position. Make certain that the gun will mount securely in the tripod assembly before the final Parkerizing or hot bluing. Now set the spring tension to the fusee, add water, pack the barrel, and take the new semi auto Vickers out to the range for a firing session.

The semi kit that is available from Lonnie Ingram includes complete instructions, rivets, screws, disconnector/denial plate assembly, and the mill bits that are required to perform the project. Mr. Ingram will also modify the lock and action arms if the builder does not possess the means. A more detailed overview of the project is available at www.projectguns.com if desired. The author would also advise reading The Grand Old Lady of No Man’s Land by Dolf Goldsmith.

This is not a typical semi AK or 1919A4 build project. The author and his father invested over 50 hours in building each of their Vickers. It is not a particularly hard build, but it requires a great deal of patience and attention to detail. This is project is truly a labor of love that will provide a great deal of satisfaction. It may also lead to the need to acquire a vast amount of accessories and tools that have been made for the Vickers HMG.

The contact information for Lonnie Ingram and more detailed instructions and photos are available at Stan Szalkowski’s site www.projectguns.com Profiled right side plates with instructions for proper layout and measurements are available from several vendors on the www.1919a4.com site. A copy of the original approval letter is also available on that site.

Interested readers can also build a BATF approved semi 1910 Maxim, a semi MG42, or a PPSh41 that can be built as a SBR or as a title one firearm with a sixteen inch shroud.

A new modified Vickers lock is now available that addresses the two weakest breakage-prone lock parts and ensures reliable operation regardless of ammunition used.

Four friends and avid full-auto devotees from Nevada got together and created a company called SOG-LLC, Inc. Billy Conn, Bill Stojack, Robert Smith and Jon Word wanted to create a company that was not profit driven. They wanted to cater to the Class 3 community from an enthusiast’s point of view in terms of service and need while striving to keep the traditions of the original designs using modern materials and manufacturing techniques when possible. The four men combined their particular skills to form SOG-LLC. Billy Conn and Robert Smith act as business managers, Bill Stojack is the armorer and machinist, and Jon Word is a highly skilled mold maker.

Initially, they assembled four semiautomatic Vickers and had trouble with the ammunition, primarily due to light strikes on the primer – a condition common with Vickers. Surplus .303 ammunition, from many different manufacturers, is exasperatingly inconsistent with hard primers resulting in unpredictable reliability and consistently broken firing pins and leaf springs (firing pin springs). These two problem areas are the reason that so many extra leaf springs and firing pins were included in spare parts kits. Metallurgy of the time caused wide variations in performance of the lock spring and they are prone to weakness and breakage as confirmed in ensuing lock spring compression tests. The firing pin also did not have adequate mass to overcome hard primers resulting in breakage. Thus, a weak lock spring and an inherently light firing pin weight, combined with old ammunition with hard primers, equal an unacceptable reliability of function.

Frustrated by this quandary, Jon and Bill analyzed the problems and their causes and embarked upon a plan to research and diagnose the difficulty. They identified what the problems were but were not clear upon the solution. Their inspiration to solve the problem came from the Czech 30 (t) Vickers aircraft lock that used a coiled, rather than leaf, spring and had a reputation of being extremely reliable under many adverse conditions. They did not want to manufacture a completely new lock body. By studying Czech 30 (t) lock drawings, they devised a method whereby they took the mechanics of a Czech 30 (t) lock and applied it to the standard Vickers lock body.

They designed and manufactured a set of new parts to replace the original leaf spring, firing pin and safety sear. These new parts were the firing pin, firing pin coil spring, safety sear, safety sear axis pin, plunger, plunger coil spring, plunger plug, split keeper pin and two blocks to hold the firing pin coil spring and the lock trigger coil spring assemblies.

In trying to keep with the traditions of 19th century technology and manufacturing processes, in the first prototypes, both spring blocks were silver soldered and riveted into place on the modified original lock body. But it was felt that this caused too much heat to the lock body. The two spring blocks are now TIG welded and riveted to the lock body.

The steels selected were chosen for their ability to perform in the given applications. The trigger reset block is manufactured from O-1 steel as is the safety sear. The safety sear is heat treated and double drawn (tempered twice) to relieve stress and ensure long life.

The firing pin is manufactured from S-7 steel, heat treated and tempered. This steel is used because prior to heat treatment, it machines easily, and after heat treatment, it can still be machined with carbide tooling. S-7 steel takes impacts well and will give the firing pin a long service life. Each firing pin is made by hand and several steps have to be done with a file to achieve the proper contours and transitions. Approximately four hours is spent on each firing pin alone. Eventually, some of the process will be done on a CNC machine, but they will never get away from the “file to fit” work.

The firing pin spring is a silicone alloy die spring designed to give a 100,000 cycle service life. The trigger reset spring is a standard M16 spring, making it easy to find spares if that should become necessary.

Small Arms Review was given the opportunity to test the new lock using three different Vickers gun in two different calibers. This test was conducted in two phases with one of them using the new lock on the firing line at the April Knob Creek shoot using two different Vickers guns. In this first test at Knob Creek, using a variety of British, Greek and Indian .303, the new lock was simply dropped into two different Vickers and ran without a single problem digesting everything put through it. In total, 3,000 rounds of .303 were used.

In the second test at a different time and at a different location, the new lock was assessed using a different caliber; in this case, Yugoslav 7.62x54R ammunition was used. A 7.62x54R barrel and a modified feedblock were put in a standard British Vickers Mk I water-cooled machine gun and a modified 7.62x54R lifter was placed on the new lock. 1,500 rounds were consumed without a single malfunction. In all, using three different Vickers in two different calibers, the new coil spring Vickers lock fired 4,500 rounds without a single failure due to the lock and proved not to be caliber sensitive. A very admirable performance.

SOG-LLC also makes a stainless steel Lewis gun gas piston to replace the corroded gas pistons inherently found in Lewis guns. They also restore and re-wat full autos. For more information, they may be contacted at: SOG-LLC@earthlink.net.

As I walked down the line, the size and concentration of weapons became apparent. The total count for the shoot was 251 crew served weapons plus 12 antitank guns. Out of the 251 crew served weapons, 24 were .50 caliber Brownings. In one section alone, 10 of them were side-by-side, and were all fired on command at specific targets. This mass fire produced spectacular downrange results.

Another point of interest on the line, was the large assemblage of anti-aircraft mounting systems. This was due to the usage of remote controlled airplanes flown as aerial gunnery targets. Twenty-five such airplanes were flown throughout the shoot. Seeing the variety of anti-aircraft systems-from the big M3 .50 caliber to the twin .30 caliber Bell mounts to the twin MG42 AA mounts- and everything in between- was very impressive.

Upon close inspection, I saw that most of the crew served mounts were sand-bagged to provide the most stable and accurate platforms. The 1800-yard range allowed those weapons to be utilized as they were intended and to fulfill their capabilities. It was evident by the expanse of weapons secured that the shooters were very serious in accepting that challenge.

Dry Creek supplied a substantial number of targets throughout the shoot. These provided a real test for the shooters at this machine gunners mecca. Among the targets were 1100 reactive targets, placed from 300-yards out for both day and night fire. In addition, 50 steel gong targets of varied sizes were located throughout the range. Special 3”, 4” and 5” thick armor plates were set up from 800 yards to 1300-yards for the antitank guns. The remote controlled airplanes, flown throughout the shoot, kept the gunners on their toes. Hundreds and hundreds of chem lights attached to the reactive targets at night, created an eerie glow to a surreal scene.

Some of the automatic weapons represented were rare and exotic. The first to get my attention was a Spanish ALFA M-1944 that was producing a steady, sustained rate of fire. I was surprised to see an Italian Breda M-37 being put through its paces. This beautiful gun did everything but make pizzas. Another Italian gun was the odd looking Revelli model 35. I watched a steaming German 1892 MAXIM during a heavy firing session. There was a unique Schwarzlose 07/12 on the line. Enjoyable to watch was a 1914 Colt Potato Digger and a German MG 13. Also drawing attention was a Swedish M36 water-cooled Browning and a belt fed Aircraft Madsen. A rare baby (short) Argentine Vickers that was made to be mounted on the Presidential Guard motorcycle sidecars, was shooting off of an anti-aircraft mount. An unusual sight was the owner of a Japanese Type 100 sub gun challenging the shooter of a German MP 18 submachine gun on the range. After shooting, both carefully policed their rare type 100 Nambu brass.

Throughout the shoot, Dry Creek staged a number of informal shooting competitions. These were strictly fun events. No trophies or ribbons were involved, but the winners held the bragging rights for their weapons and shooting skills. Each competition centered around one type of firearm. Included were matches for Thompson submachine guns, M-3 grease guns, 40m/m grenade launchers, Browning Automatic rifles, suppressors and M-1 Garands. The most popular were those of the Thompson machine guns and the M-1 Garands. Both speed and accuracy were required in the matches. Considerable amounts of ammunition were needed, as rapid reloading was necessary to engage multiple targets. Each match ended with a mass volley fire by all participants. All of these matches were very popular and thoroughly enjoyed by non-participants as well as participants.

Dry Creek made safety a top priority. It was maintained in a very laid-back manner in order to make those attending feel comfortable. I have been to other shoots where the line officers were unbearable. However, this shoot was conducted in an atmosphere that was firm and efficient, but at the same time relaxed and friendly. Each morning, a compulsory shooters’ briefing was held to review regulations and safety. Emergency services were always on hand and available, with persons properly experienced in their use.

Saturday night was the zenith of the shoot. After shooting all day, a mandatory cease-fire was called in order to prepare for a spectacular night shoot. During the break, crews were busy setting out 450 reactive targets with chem lights attached to each, producing a sea of green dots. During this time, dinners were cooked and enjoyed and ammunition supplies were checked. As everyone waited for total darkness, anticipation built to frenzied pitch. Once the command was given to commence fire, the line erupted in a deafening roar as a sea of tracers searched the valley for the reactive targets. The constant “thump” of these targets being hit could be heard over the automatic weapons fire. Often I stopped firing and stepped back to watch the scene as heavy concentrations of tracer fire danced across the range with the ever-present parachute flares falling to the earth. Throughout the evening, flights of remote controlled planes added to the display. They were followed by heavy concentrations of anti-aircraft fire. Determined pilots struggled to make their planes as difficult as possible to hit, as the gunners were equally determined to destroy them. The scene resembled a Gulf War air raid on downtown Baghdad or a kamikaze raid in the Pacific in World War II. This onslaught continued for 3 1/2 hours until finally all targets were neutralized and gunners were exhausted. What a memorable night!

Due to the remoteness of the area, the majority opted to camp out for the duration of the shoot. It was a fantastic experience to be so removed from civilization in such a scenic setting. A certain spirit was generated as persons sat around campfires sharing food and experiences, knowledge and information. This camaraderie was one of the major elements of the entire weekend. The opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones was the highlight. The shoot officially ended after 3 days of excitement at noon Sunday. When departures began, it was evident that a special bond had been forged with everyone looking forward to the next shoot.

For further information contact:

Dry Creek, Inc.
P.O. Box 12403
Scottsdale, AZ 85267
(480) 948-0175/(602) 279-9150

• A) Maxim Gun Company, Ltd. (1884-1888) Hetton Gardens and Crayford
• B) Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company, Ltd. (1888-1897) Erith and Crayford
• C) Vickers Sons & Maxim, Ltd. (1897-1911) Erith and Crayford
• D) Vickers, Ltd. (1911-1928) Erith, Crayford and others
• E) Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd. (1928- ) Erith and various other locations

In 1927, Vickers, Ltd. began to introduce for commercial sales the Mark L tripod for the commercial version of the Mk I Vickers that was called the Class “C” Rifle Caliber Gun. The Mk I and Class “C” guns were virtually identical except for their name – Mk I being a British military designation and Class “C” being a commercial designation. In 1928, when Vickers became Vickers-Armstrongs, they continued with their development of commercial sales of guns, mounts, and accessories around the world.

The Mark L tripod was a top of the line, well constructed and expensive option to purchase. What made this tripod unique and differentiated it from the standard Mk IV tripod is the elongated cradle that could be realigned from its horizontal configuration by unlocking the cradle and rotating it upward and locking it in a vertical configuration. This significantly raised the overall height of the tripod allowing the mount to be used as an anti-aircraft extension. The cradle also had a special ammunition box bracket that could be unlocked, rotated and re-locked thus enabling the ammunition box to be kept aligned with the proper axis of the gun. The elevation gear is engaged and used only when the gun and tripod are set up in the horizontal ground configuration. When setting up in the anti-aircraft configuration, the gun must be dismounted before the change-over can be achieved. The elevation gear is folded forward and secured with a retaining clip that is located within the frame of the cradle. The rear of the cradle is swung up and locked in place to the bronze crosshead with a retaining pin. The gun is then remounted at the forward mounting holes only. The ammunition box holding bracket is unlocked by pulling out the spring loaded locking pin, rotating the entire bracket and releasing the locking pin into the new guide hole. Though it is advisable to remove the ammunition box from the bracket when changing positions, it is not mandatory to do so.

The ammunition box was specifically designed for this mount. It is made of wood with dove-tail construction with a leather carrying handle at the top. The front forward sides are cut with guide slots for securing to the ammunition bracket mount located on the cradle. As was typical and unique of Vickers designed ammunition boxes, the top lid was double hinged. This allowed partial opening to permit feeding yet keep the rest of the box covered to protect the belt from dirt and the elements or opened full length to allow reloading the box with a fresh belt of ammunition.

The Mark L tripod was made during an eight year period with 535 being made. A later modification, called the Mark LB had a slightly different front leg locking mechanism and was produced for only three years from 1934 to 1936 with 760 units being produced. By 1937 the commercial market was drying up because of world recession and military sales to the British Government were increasing with the resulting emphasis on the Mk IV tripod.

Following is a detailed order history of sales of the Mark L and Mark LB tripods. This information is taken from previously unpublished handwritten notes in the “Mountings” book from the Vickers archives. These seventy year old entries were in pen and pencil done by at least four different writers (variations in handwriting) with notations that at times seem most cryptic. It is interesting to note that some of the tripods ordered were not for use with the Vickers Class “C” gun but rather for the Colt MG38 water-cooled machine gun. (The Colt MG38 is the Colt commercial version of the Browning M1917A1 water-cooled machine gun.) However, this is not as odd as it may sound at first impression as both guns would fit on the Mark L and Mark LB tripods and Vickers-Armstrongs was the agent for Colt in England at this time. Remember too, that mounts were ordered as accessories separately from orders for guns. Customers used the guns they purchased on a variety of mounts – naval mounts, cone mounts, wheeled field carriage mounts, fortification mounts, fortress mounts and tripod mounts to name a few. Just because a customer ordered X number of guns doesn’t mean that they would order the same number of X tripods. They would order separately Y number of mounts to suit their individual needs. Since gun and mounts were ordered and produced separately, serial numbers for guns never matched serial numbers for mounts unless specifically requested by the customer for inventory purposes and then special numbers were assigned. The order/work numbers were internal tracking numbers but it seems safe to assume that the second set of two or three digit numbers after the first backslash would indicate a date. Two digits would indicate a year and three digits would indicate year and month. What can not be determined is if the date is the year of order, year of production or year of shipment.

Though the production records shed some new light on production orders, they at the same time raise new questions that can not be readily answered. For example, the Mountings book list a number of Mark L tripods with an asterisk without explanation and no one now knows what they mean. Could it mean the rear leg was supplied with or without a seat? Or the rear leg was extendable? Perhaps an SAR RKI might know.

Nevertheless, the commercial Mark L tripod mount is a very rare accessory for the Vickers gun that is seldom encountered on the collectors market today. It reflects on a time period when all things were designed and manufactured with care and precision to last the rigors of use for many years.

The image of the Maxim or Vickers has played a key part in many of South Africa’s insignia. From cap and collar badges to shirt and beret badges, arm flashes and patches and breast badges, it is an integral part of South Africa’s history.

In World War I, South Africa, as part of the British Empire, used a lot of Imperial British insignia as well as specific South African regimental badges. One interesting cap badge belonged to the South African Horse Machine Gun Section (1916-1919) which featured the Maxim gun on a flaming bomb. They operated in German East Africa during the war.

On April 1, 1934, under the First Nationalist Government of General J.B.M. Hertzog, the first five Citizen Force Regiments were formed in South Africa as part of the South African military modernization program. What made these units unique is that they were named after South African folk heroes rather than members of the Royal Family or their Colonel in chief as was typical in Commonwealth countries up to that time. This was quite a departure in terms of naming units and provided quite a bit of national pride to have these units reflect South African history. What is particularly interesting is the image and use of the venerable Vickers gun and Maxim gun as part of the design on three of the five units that were machine gun regiments.

The first unit formed, an infantry regiment, was Regiment Botha. Louis Botha was the Boer War Commander in Chief and was the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. He was also responsible for taking South Africa on the side of the Allies in World War I and defeated an Afrikaaner rebellion that then led to the campaign to eliminate the Germans from South West Africa. During World War II, the Regiment served in the East and North Africa campaigns where they suffered terrible casualties as well as in Italy.

The second unit formed, a machine gun regiment, was Regiment President Steyn at Bloemfontein. President Steyn was the President of the Orange Free State Republic from 1896 to 1902. This Regiment also served in North Africa and Italy during World War II. Because of the high number of casualties suffered by both Regiments Botha and President Steyn in the North Africa campaign, the two units were amalgamated during the Italian campaign. The Vickers machine gun is the central figure of their badges.

The third regiment formed, a machine gun regiment, was Regiment Louw Wepener. He was the Orange Free State Commandant who lost his life in 1859 during the second Basuto war while storming the hilltop fortress of Moshweshwe at Thaba Bosigo. (He also gave his name to a town, the battle at which resulted in the bar ‘Wepener’ on the Queens South Africa Medal.) The volunteers of this regiment were drafted to Regiment President Steyn during World War II. Their badge, with a central image of the Vickers, is a stylized view of the mountain fortress at Thaba Bosigo.

The fourth unit formed, also a machine gun regiment, was Regiment De Wet. De Wet was the Boer General who confounded the British in the Orange Free State. The volunteers of this regiment were also drafted into Regiment President Steyn during World War II. The old Maxim gun sits squarely in the center crest.

The fifth regiment formed was an infantry regiment named De la Rey after the Boer General known as the “Lion of the Western Transvaal”. In World War II its men served in the Union until 1943 when they were amalgamated with the Witwatersand Rifles, serving in Italy.

The next batch of “Named Units” occurred on January 1, 1954. While Afrikaaners of all sorts were honored, the only unit to use the image of the Vickers machine gun was Regiment South Western Districts (R.S.W.D.) which then changed its name to Regiment Langenhoven. Langenhoven was an Afrikaaner poet and author of the South African national anthem. The crossed Vickers can be seen on both of their badges behind the Protea, South Africa’s National Flower.

In the 1960s, the South West Africa Territory Force was formed and included Regiment Erongo whose badge was crossed Vickers behind a snarling leopard head. This unit was disbanded in 1989 when South West Africa became Namibia. In the late 1960s the Military Gymnasium was created. The Military Gymnasium is what South Africa calls their All Arms School for the three primary services. The insignia features a pair of upraised wings representing the Air Force, and in the center is a Vickers machine gun representing the Army superimposed over an anchor representing the Navy.

The old Vickers finally succumbed to its obsolescence and the image of the AK-47 and Armscor R4 and R5 replaced it as the machine gun image of modern times. (The Armscor R4 is the South African version of the Israeli Galil.) Nevertheless, South Africa’s long association with the value of automatic weaponry in its arsenal continues to this day.

(My sincere thanks to Steve Seargent who provided much of the historical background for this article.)