.303-inch Vickers Machine Gun

.303-inch Vickers Machine Gun.

The water-cooled “Gun, Machine, Mark I, Vickers, .303-inch” or “Vickers gun” was the standard machine gun of the British Army during the First and Second World Wars. The Vickers machine gun weighed 11 to 13 kg depending on its configuration, the tripod 18 to 23 kg, and each ammunition box another 10 kg. In addition to the machine gunner No. 1 and his loader No. 2, the crew included four to six soldiers who carried ammunition and spare parts for the machine gun. The weapon was very popular with the troops because of its reliability and ease of use. In World War Two, the Vickers gun was moved on the battlefield in dedicated Universal Carriers, designated “Medium Machine Gun Carriers”.

The Vickers machine gun is based on the successful Maxim machine gun of the late 19th century. Vickers took over the Maxim company in 1896, improved the Maxim, reduced its weight and increased the muzzle velocity. On November 26, 1912, the British Army adopted the Vickers machine gun as its standard machine gun alongside the existing Maxim. Delivery was slow, however, which is why the British Expeditionary Force in France was still equipped with Maxim machine guns in 1914. As the number of available Vickers machine guns increased, and following the introduction of the Lewis light machine gun, they were designated heavy machine guns, withdrawn from the infantry and transferred to the newly formed Machine Gun Corps (MGC). Upon the dissolution of the Machine Gun Corps in 1922, the Vickers machine gun returned to the infantry units. The British Army last used the Vickers machine gun during the Aden Emergency; on 30 March 1968 it was officially replaced by the L7 GPMG (Gimpy).

Miniatures with Vickers Machine Guns

  • Vickers MMG Team, 1940, 1:72 Zvezda 6167
  • British Infantry Weapons, 1:72 Almark WD2
  • British Heavy Weapons 1916–1918, 1:72 HäT 8177
  • British Artillery of World War One, 1916–1918, 1:72 EMHAR 7202
  • Canadian Infantry 1916–1918, 1:72 HäT 8111
  • British Infantry, 1944–1956, 25 mm Valiant Miniatures VM001
  • British Infantry, 1:72 ESCI P-200, Italeri 6056
  • British Commandos, 1940–1945
  • British Paratroops, 1942–1945
  • № 1 Vickers, sitting, 20 mm Lamming MB/29
  • Vickers HMG, 20 mm Lamming BE/8
  • Vickers HMG Team (‘37 Pattern Webbing), 20 mm Britannia Miniatures BRIT.12
  • Vickers Machine Gun & 3 crew, 20 mm Reiver B05
  • Vickers Machine Gun Crew, 20 mm Platoon 20
  • Australian Vickers MMG and crew (helmet), 20 mm Eureka 200WWT15h
  • Australian Vickers MMG and crew (slouch hat), 20 mm Eureka 200WWT15s
  • Sikh Vickers Machine gun & 3 crew, 20 mm Reiver BIA5
  • Vickers .303 Mk.1 heavy MG on tripod, 20 mm Platoon 20 OR7
  • 8th Army, 1:76 Airfix 01709
  • British 8th Army, 1:76 Matchbox 5005 (40905)
  • 8th Army, H0/00 Airfix 01709
  • 8th Army, H0/00 Hong Kong
  • ANZAC Infantry, 1:72 Revell 02501
  • Australian Infantry, 1:76 Matchbox 5008 (40908)
  • Indian Infantry, 1:72 Atlantic 56
  • Jeep with twin Vickers & Crew, L.R.D.G., 1:76 Hinchliffe 20/146
  • Jeep with twin Vickers 50 cal MGs & Crew, S.A.S., 1:76 Hinchliffe 20/147

Technical Data

  • Designation: .303-inch Vickers Machine Gun
  • Type: Medium Machine Gun (MMG)
  • Developers: Hiram Maxim, Vickers
  • Action: closed bolt, recoil with gas boost
  • Length: 1100 mm
  • Barrel Length: 720 mm
  • Weight: 29 bis 36 kg on Tripod
  • Calibre: 7,7 mm
  • Cartridge: .303 British (7,7 mm × 56R)
  • Ammunition Feed: cloth ammunition belt
  • Muzzle Velocity: 740 m/s
  • Effective Range: 740 m
  • Maximum Range: 4000 m
  • Operation: sustained fire
  • Rate of Fire: 450 to 500 rounds per minute
  • Production: 1912–1968

World War One Miniatures

British Miniatures of World War Two