Vickers Machine Gun
The Vickers Machine Gun was one of the longest serving weapons in British military history, with the Mk 1 being employed in virtually unaltered form from its adoption in 1912 until 1968.
The gun is a development of the Maxim system wherein the Maxim toggle action is turned upside down, allowing for the body of the gun to be significantly smaller and, therefore, lighter. The heavy brass water jacket of the Maxim was replaced by a lighter corrugated steel version. Various other changes were made which made the Vickers much easier to strip and service than the Maxim. It fired a 0.303 cartridge.
During the First World War the Vickers gun became central to British infantry tactics and, from October 1915, all the Army's Vickers Guns were put under the control of a specialist unit, the Machine Gun Corps. This gave impetus to the development of sophisticated tactics, that made full use of the Vickers guns range, accuracy and extraordinary reliability. These tactics were founded on pre-plotted fire, which could, when necessary, be conducted in multi-gun barrages, indirectly against unseen targets and over the heads of friendly troops.
Although the Machine Gun Corps was disbanded in 1922, similar tactics were employed during the Second World War, when use of the Vickers was deputed to specially trained battalions furnished from line infantry regiments. The Vickers was replaced in British service from 1962 onwards, by the L7 General Purpose Machine-Gun - a variant of the Belgian FN-MAG.
A larger calibre (0.5 inch) Mk. II version of the Vickers was used on armoured fighting vehicles and naval vessels. It entered service in 1933 and was obsolete in 1944.
The Mk. III was used as an anti-aircraft gun on British ships (also firing 0.5 calibre ammunition), typically as four guns mounted on a 360° rotating and (+80° to −10°) elevating housing. During the Second World War, the naval version was also mounted on power-operated turrets in smaller watercraft, such as Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats.
The Mark IV and V guns were improvements on the Mark II. Intended for British light tanks, some were used during the war on mounts on trucks by the Long Range Desert Group in the North Africa Campaign.