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Maxim machine gun

Maxim gun
Maxim gun, Georgian national museum.JPG
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.


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