The machine gun played such a central role in the war that World War I is now sometimes referred to as the machine-gun war. The Gatling gun had been invented much earlier, but it was a toy compared to the 1870 invention of the British engineer Hiram Maxim. He devised a system that used the explosive gases set off by one bullet to propel the next one. The gun therefore ejected each spent cartridge and inserted a new one. Ammunition was fed into the firing chamber using a belt-fed system. A water-filled steel jacket surrounded the barrel; it kept the temperature cool enough so the barrel would not crack or melt as a result of the intense heat generated by the explosive gases.
The major problem with the Maxim gun was that it was relatively heavy and difficult to use. In particular, it needed several men to operate it, and it wasn't highly reliable. Because of this, it had seen limited use before the beginning of World War I. In 1896, however, the Maxim was improved quite significantly. The Vickers Company in England purchased the Maxim Company, and Vickers redesigned and improved the gun. First, Vickers decreased the gun's weight by using lighter metals in its construction, and then he simplified the action. Basically it was now a water-cooled gun that used .303 British shells, the same shells that were used in the standard British rifle, the Lee-Enfield.
Although it took six men to operate it—one to fire it, one to feed ammunition, and four to move it around and set it up—it was quite reliable once it was set up, and as a result it became a favorite weapon among British troops. It was three feet, eight inches long with a firing rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute, and it had maximum range of about 4,500 yards. It could be fired for twelve hours without overheating or breaking down, and about ten thousand rounds could be fired each hour. At the end of this time, however, the barrel had to be changed. It was particularly effective against troops in the open, and it was one of the major reasons for the stalemate in the war. Later in the war (after 1916) it was used in airplanes, both by the British and the French.
Another machine gun referred to as the Lewis gun was also used extensively. It was an American-designed gun that was much lighter than the Vickers. It was widely used by the British. Strangely, although it was designed by a US colonel named Isaac Lewis in 1911, it was not used extensively by American troops in the war. Lewis, in fact, became disillusioned with the US Army in 1913 because its leaders refused to adopt his gun, and he left the United States, went briefly to Belgium, and then went to the United Kingdom, where he worked with British manufacturers to build the gun. At twenty-eight pounds, it was only about half the weight of the Vickers, and its length was barely over four feet, so it could easily be carried by a single soldier. It used the British .303 bullet (although some models use the .30-06), and its rate of fire was about six hundred rounds per minute, with an effective range of about 880 yards and a maximum range of 3,500 yards.
The French 75 millimeter field gun also played an important role in several battles, particularly near the beginning of the war. It had a recoil mechanism that allowed the barrel to slide back and forth after it was fired before returning to its original firing position. Because it did this without moving the gun, no reaiming was required. It was tremendously accurate and could fire fifteen shots per minute. For anyone in the open it meant certain death, and in the Battle of Marne over two thousand German soldiers were mowed down in four minutes.
~~The Physics of War -by- Barry Parker
The major problem with the Maxim gun was that it was relatively heavy and difficult to use. In particular, it needed several men to operate it, and it wasn't highly reliable. Because of this, it had seen limited use before the beginning of World War I. In 1896, however, the Maxim was improved quite significantly. The Vickers Company in England purchased the Maxim Company, and Vickers redesigned and improved the gun. First, Vickers decreased the gun's weight by using lighter metals in its construction, and then he simplified the action. Basically it was now a water-cooled gun that used .303 British shells, the same shells that were used in the standard British rifle, the Lee-Enfield.
Although it took six men to operate it—one to fire it, one to feed ammunition, and four to move it around and set it up—it was quite reliable once it was set up, and as a result it became a favorite weapon among British troops. It was three feet, eight inches long with a firing rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute, and it had maximum range of about 4,500 yards. It could be fired for twelve hours without overheating or breaking down, and about ten thousand rounds could be fired each hour. At the end of this time, however, the barrel had to be changed. It was particularly effective against troops in the open, and it was one of the major reasons for the stalemate in the war. Later in the war (after 1916) it was used in airplanes, both by the British and the French.
Another machine gun referred to as the Lewis gun was also used extensively. It was an American-designed gun that was much lighter than the Vickers. It was widely used by the British. Strangely, although it was designed by a US colonel named Isaac Lewis in 1911, it was not used extensively by American troops in the war. Lewis, in fact, became disillusioned with the US Army in 1913 because its leaders refused to adopt his gun, and he left the United States, went briefly to Belgium, and then went to the United Kingdom, where he worked with British manufacturers to build the gun. At twenty-eight pounds, it was only about half the weight of the Vickers, and its length was barely over four feet, so it could easily be carried by a single soldier. It used the British .303 bullet (although some models use the .30-06), and its rate of fire was about six hundred rounds per minute, with an effective range of about 880 yards and a maximum range of 3,500 yards.
The French 75 millimeter field gun also played an important role in several battles, particularly near the beginning of the war. It had a recoil mechanism that allowed the barrel to slide back and forth after it was fired before returning to its original firing position. Because it did this without moving the gun, no reaiming was required. It was tremendously accurate and could fire fifteen shots per minute. For anyone in the open it meant certain death, and in the Battle of Marne over two thousand German soldiers were mowed down in four minutes.
~~The Physics of War -by- Barry Parker
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