Maxim gun

Maxim gun
PM M1910, Russian Maxim gun, Georgian National Museum
Type	Machine gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1886–1959
Used by	British Empire United States Belgium German Empire French Third Republic Russian Empire Qing Dynasty Empire of Japan Iran Korean Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Italy First Philippine Republic Dervish State Kingdom of Serbia Paraguay Republic of China USSR Spain Soviet China Nazi Germany Vichy France Poland Finland North Korea Albanian Kingdom
Wars	Chaco War, Mahdist War, Dervish Resistance, First Sino-Japanese War, Second Boer War, Boxer Rebellion, Russo-Japanese War, Philippine Revolution, Finnish Civil War, Balkan Wars, World War I, Russian Civil War, Polish–Soviet War, Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II, Chinese Civil War, Korean War, others
Production history
Designer	Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim
Variants	Vickers machine gun, MG08, PM M1910, M32-33, M/09-21
Specifications
Weight	27.2 kg (60 lb)
Length	107.9 cm (42.5 in)
Barrel length	67.3 cm (26.5 in)
Crew	4
Cartridge	.303 British
Action	Recoil-operated
Rate of fire	550 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	744 m/s
Feed system	250-round canvas belt
Sights	Iron sights

The Maxim gun was a weapon invented by American-British inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1883: it was the first recoil-operated machine gun. It has been called "the weapon most associated with the British imperial conquest".

The mechanism of the Maxim gun employed one of the earliest recoil-operated firing systems in history. The idea is that the energy from recoil acting on the breech block is used to eject each spent cartridge and insert the next one, instead of a hand-operated mechanism. Maxim's earliest designs used a 360-degree rotating cam to reverse the movement of the block, but this was later simplified to a toggle lock. This made it vastly more efficient and less labor-intensive than previous rapid-firing guns, such as the Mitrailleuse, Gatling, Gardner, or Nordenfelt, that relied on actual mechanical cranking. It also decreased the gas buildup in the barrel, allowing the gun to fire more bullets over an extended period of time without overheating the barrel. The Maxim gun design required water cooling, giving it the ability to maintain its rate of fire for far longer than air-cooled guns. The disadvantage of this was that it made the gun less flexible in attack than the lighter air-cooled weapons.

Trials demonstrated that the Maxim could fire 600 rounds per minute. Compared to modern machine guns, the Maxim was heavy, bulky, and awkward. A lone soldier could fire the weapon, but it was usually operated by a team of men. Apart from the gunner, other crew were needed to speed reload, spot targets, and carry and ready ammunition and water. Several men were needed to move or mount the heavy weapon.

Maxim established the Maxim Gun Company with financing from Albert Vickers (), son of steel entrepreneur Edward Vickers. A blue plaque on the Factory where Maxim invented and produced the gun is to be found in Hatton Garden at the junction with Clerkenwell Road in London.

Albert Vickers became the company's chairman, and it later joined hands with a Swedish competitor, Nordenfelt, to become Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company. The Post Office Directory of trades in London of 1895 lists its office at 32 Victoria Street SW (London) on page 1579.