And again, two namesakes are friends, And call both Maxims.
The gunner is aiming again, Strikes with maximum force.
"Well, well, well!" - says the machine gunner, "Well, well, well!" - says the machine gun!
Music: Sigismund Katz. Words: V. Dykhovichny. 1941 g.
Already the first cases of the use of machine guns in Africa have shown what a powerful weapon it is. Naturally, even then, namely at the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century, European pacifists began to come out with demands to impose a ban on the use of machine guns as an openly inhumane weapon. The reason, of course, was not so much in their real peacefulness, but in the fact that Great Britain became the first colonial power to reveal the advantages of this type of weapon, began to actively use it in clashes with poorly armed indigenous tribes, and … as a result, its territory, and before it was not small, it began to grow literally by leaps and bounds.
British soldiers with a machine gun in the Boer War.
Collisions followed one after another, in which the machine gun proved its effectiveness. So, on September 2, 1898, during the battle of Omdurman, the Anglo-Egyptian army of 10 thousand people met with the 100-thousand-strong Mahdi army, which consisted of the irregular Sudanese cavalry. It was by massive machine-gun fire that all of its attacks were repulsed with huge losses, while the British units suffered insignificant losses.
Cecile Rhodes and his "gang" shoot "niggas".
The Russo-Japanese War was the first war in which machine guns were actively used by both belligerents. In the battles of Turenchen and Mukden, the Russian troops inflicted huge losses on the Japanese with the fire of their machine guns, and machine guns also played an important role in the defense of Port Arthur. Losses in machine guns were great, but the effect of their use was so significant that now they began to be purchased in hundreds, despite the price exceeding 3,000 rubles for a machine gun. At the same time, high wheeled carriages were dismantled, and the machine guns themselves were placed on more convenient and mobile machines.
Russian machine gunners on the hills of Manchuria.
The experience of the war showed the need to increase the flatness of shooting, which was also associated with the adoption in 1908 of a three-line rifle cartridge with a new pointed bullet. On all machine guns for the new bullet profile, the chamber immediately had to be altered, the diameter of the muzzle sleeve bore increased, and a new sight was installed. The machine gun itself was also decided to be lightened and created for it a single universal machine for both infantry and cavalry.
Legendary battle near Tyurenchen. Rice. artist Samokish.
In the summer of 1908 H. Maxim sent to Russia a new machine gun, which lightened in weight up to 18, 48 kg. Then, in July 1909, a model weighing 11.36 kg came from the Vickers firm. Its specialists were able to replace all the parts made of bronze and cast iron with steel ones, simplified the lock and changed its layout, which significantly reduced the size and weight of the machine gun box, made a new muzzle for it and added a number of other improvements. The new Vickers machine gun had a tripod machine and, together with a cartridge box, could be easily carried by a crew of three soldiers.
Machine gun and machine gunners of the Russian-Japanese war.
The lightweight Vickers was liked by the Russian military, but its trials in mid-1910 at the training ground in the Officer Rifle School ended in failure. The firm tried to improve the design, but nevertheless GAU liked the "lightweight" machine gun of the Tula plant more, although it was heavier than the English model.
And these are our machine guns, but Japanese trophies!
After testing the new Tula machine gun, it entered service with the Russian imperial army under the name “Maxim's easel machine gun arr. 1910 " with a wheeled field machine designed by Colonel A. A. Sokolov. It really was seriously improved in comparison with its prototype, primarily in terms of technology, so the statement that "Russian technicians have created, in fact, a new machine gun" is hardly correct. Not new, of course. However, the financial relationship with Vickers, Sons & Maxim was then prudently reconsidered by agreeing on a corresponding reduction in remuneration. Now, the regulation of the Military Council of March 4, 1910 read: “According to the contract concluded on March 9, 1904 by the Main Artillery Directorate with the Vickers, Sons and Maxim society, pay from January 1, 1910 until the end of the contract, February 23, 1915. 60 lb. Art. instead of 80 p. Art. for each ready machine gun. " At the same time, a new machine for filling machine-gun belts with cartridges was designed and adopted.
The famous English "Vickers" with a reduced box and extremely lightweight. York Castle Museum.
But the machine gun was really a completely new and original development, not built in any other country. Its development began immediately after the Russo-Japanese War and relied on its experience. Many officers who dealt with machine guns offered their own versions, among which was Captain Sokolov's machine, developed back in 1907. It was put into service under the designation "machine mod. 1908 ", but it is usually referred to in the literature as" Sokolov's machine. " Well, the serial production of the new Maxim model and the new machine began in 1911. Meanwhile, Sokolov also developed a machine-gun cart, which was absolutely necessary for transporting machine guns to the front line.
At the same time, machine guns on high wheeled machines of the early model remained in military schools as training and, for example, were used by cadets during the battles in Moscow, which took place in October - November 1917.
During the First World War, the Vickers also hit airplanes. The second machine gun (it is above the wing) very often became a Lewis without a stock and with a radiator removed, since in flight the barrel was well cooled by the flow of incoming air.
It was planned that when the entire program for the production of "lightweight" machine guns mod. 1910 will be completed, to engage in the alteration of the old "heavy" Maxim machine guns (model 1905 and English), which were in the army 2790, but they started this business only in 1914. By the beginning of the war, the old machine guns had not been converted to new cartridges. everything, so in the fall of 1914 from Tula they continued to demand "dull cartridges … for 100 heavy machine guns." However, the war showed that the level of production of 1000 machine guns per year achieved in the country is insufficient, although the Russian military saw the ultimate. Machine guns had to be ordered from England and the United States, however, these supplies did not meet the needs of the Russian army!
The modernized "maxim". The famous wide filler neck, which allowed filling the casing with both snow and ice, and pouring water into it directly from the bucket. I wonder why Maxim himself did not think of this simplest solution? Museum of the Penza State University.
During the First World War and then during the Great Patriotic War, "Maxim" became very widespread, primarily due to the fact that its design was carefully worked out. What could not be said, for example, about the new Soviet machine gun DS-39. They tried to raise the firepower of the "maxim" with the help of paired, and then quadruple installations, used on armored trains, ships and even on the roofs of buildings. On aircraft flying at an altitude of up to 1500 m and at a speed of up to 500 km / h, quad machine guns could conduct a fairly effective and dense fire. The same installations on armored trains and railway platforms were often used to directly support the infantry.
The box is noticeably wider than the Vickers box.
Whatever it was, but by the end of the 1930s, the "Maxim" machine gun was already morally obsolete. With a weight of about 65 kg without cartridges, it was very difficult to transport it across the battlefield. In the summer, there were difficulties in supplying it with water. The cloth tape was difficult to equip, it wore out quickly, often torn and absorbed moisture. At the same time, the single Wehrmacht MG-34 machine gun had a mass of 10, 5 kg without cartridges, it used a metal tape and did not need water. An overheated barrel could be replaced on it. It was possible to shoot from the MG-34 without a machine tool, which ensured the secrecy of the position of its machine-gun crew. The MG-42 was even more perfect, giving 1200 rounds per minute.
The machine gun was attached to the machine at two points and was therefore quite rigid.
On the other hand, “Maxim” also had many positive properties. So, due to the fact that the work of his automatics was unstressed, he was stable during firing, and had better accuracy than later models. In addition, it was quite convenient to manage. If the machine gun was properly serviced, then it could serve twice the required resource, which was already much more than that of all newer machine guns.
The sight was rack-mountable.
It was precisely because of the problems with reliability and the complexity of production at the beginning of the war that the production of the DS-39 and the Tokarev self-loading rifle had to be abandoned. The simple and proven "three-line" and the equally "brought to mind" "maxim" turned out to be a much more popular weapon in this difficult time.
Only in 1943, the SG-43 machine gun with an air barrel cooling system designed by Pyotr Goryunov entered service, surpassing the "maxim" in many respects. Nevertheless, the "maxim" was produced until the end of the war both at the Tula and Izhevsk arms factories, and until the end of the war it was in the ranks. It is known that the last case when the Soviet army used the "maxim" in battle took place in 1969 during the border incident on Damansky Island.
Machine guns "Maxim" in the Museum of Patriotic Military History in Padikovo.
Naturally, such a long, and most importantly, significant combat path of the Maxim machine gun in the Russian army led to the fact that he became a hero of both an impressive number of books and no less films. A classic example was the movie "Chapaev", in which in its very first shots the gallant orderly Vasily Ivanovich Petka scribbles from the "maxim" on the white Czechs from the carriage. And of course, this could very well be, in any case, no one was forbidden. Here is just one "but". The classic carriage had a suspension on soft springs, and the "maxims" of the Civil War weighed more than four pounds. So when firing from the back of the car, it began to vibrate noticeably, since it required a much more solid support than its seat.
Advertising poster for the film "Chapaev".
And, yes - in the Civil War, machine guns were transported on carts, this is a fact, but, according to the instruction adopted at the same time, they were placed on the ground for firing. Only after the end of the Civil War, so to speak, on the basis of her experience in the Red Army, a tachanka appeared with a stiffer suspension, not so shaking. At parades, these cars looked very good, but in the battles of the Great Patriotic War, they were practically not used. We must not forget that to ensure the reliable operation of the "maxim" he needed the second number of the machine-gun crew, which was supposed to direct the tape at right angles to the receiver. Without the help of this second number, the fire of the machine gun could stop at any moment due to the skew of the cartridge.
So them, Anka, belyakov, so! But without the second number, the tape can jam at the most inopportune moment.
And where this very second number could fit on a cart? However, bad examples are contagious as always, and subsequently Petka found many imitators among the heroes of our cinema, who sniped from the carts rushing at full speed with Maxim's fire both on foot and on horseback!
The disadvantage of the Maxim was its vulnerability … Bullet holes easily put it out of action due to the loss of water!
