Maxim M1895
Extra Light Rifle Calibre Maxim, designed in 1895, was an early medium machine gun.
Background
Maxim heavy machine gun
In 1884 American inventor Hiram Maxim designed the first the first fully automatic weapon in the world - Maxim machine gun. The perfected version of this weapon entered the mass production after 1888, when Hiram Maxim entered into a partnership with Vickers, a British arms manufacturer. Operating on the recoil principle, with water cooling, it was very fast, but somewhat heavy and cumbersome weapon. The weight of the Maxim M1889 gun was some 60 pounds (27 kg), but it had to be mounted on a heavy tripod (some 49 pounds-22 kg itself) to carry its weight and absorb the force of the recoil. With about 8 pounds (1.8 kg) of water that had to be loaded in the cylindrical brass reservoir around the gun barrel (for coolling the barrel), the total weight of an operating Maxim gun was about 117 pounds (53 kg). Such a heavy weapon required a crew of at least four men to carry and assemble on the battlefield, which limited it's mobility. In spite of this limitations, the Maxim gun soon became popular due to it's extreme firepower (600 rounds a minute, equal to 60 riflemen at the time) and by 1890 Maxim and Vickers company was supplying machine guns to British Empire, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, and Russia.[1]
Colt Model 1895 light machine gun
However, in 1890 another American inventor, John Browning, designed much lighter and more portable, gas operated machine gun and offered it to the Colt's Manufacturing Company. The gun itself weighted only 40 pounds (18 kg), but it also required a tripod of the similar weight to be fired. It entered the mass production as the Colt-Browning M1895, and was adopted by the US navy in 1895.[2][3]
Extra Light Maxim
In 1895, in response to the interest shown in the 40 pounds, air-cooled Colt-Browning M1895 (Potato Digger) in the U.S. machine gun trials, Hiram Maxim introduced his own air-cooled Extra Light gun weighing only 27 pounds (12,2 kg) alone and 44.5 pounds (20.2 kg) complete with tripod. It was the first air-cooled Maxim gun, and the first with the mainspring inside the receiver casing. [4]
Maxim hoped that cavalry units would appreciate the Extra Light gun for “hit and run” raids, for its light weight. Indeed, the U.S. trials Board commented quite favorably on the portability of the Extra Light Maxim. However, as the air-cooling mechanics was not very well understood at the time, the thick brass jacket that covered the barrel had only four cooling holes in its bottom,[4] and the gun overheated very quickly. Maxim himself estimated that no more than 400 rounds could be fied from it at one time, before a pause for cooling had to be made.[5]
Reception
However, despite an extensive promotional campaign conducted by Hiram Maxim himself, the 1895 Extra Light gun was a commercial failure and only 135 were built, many of these being sold out singly or in pairs for tests in various countries.[5]
References
- ^ Willbanks 2004, pp. 46–50
- ^ Willbanks 2004, p. 52
- ^ Willbanks 2004, p. 159
- ^ a b Goldsmith 2002, p. 62
- ^ a b Goldsmith 2002, p. 63
Literature
- Goldsmith, Dolf (2002). The Devil’s Paintbrushː Sir Hiram Maxim's Gun. Cobourg, Ontario, Canada: Collector Grade Publications. ISBN 0-88935-282-8.
- Willbanks, James H. (2004). Machine gunsː An illustrated history of their impact. Oxford, England: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-485-7.