The Vickers Machine Gun was based on the successful Maxim gun of the late 19th Century. Vickers brought the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company in1896, and began work on improving the Maxim gun design, by reducing its weight and adding a muzzle booster. Despite reducing the weight of the machine gun, it typically still required a team of six to eight men to operate it, one to fire, one to feed the ammunition, and the rest to help carry it, its ammunition and spare parts.
The Vickers Gun was accepted into British Army service on the 26th November 1912. However, there were still shortages of the gun two years later when the First World War began, forcing the British Expeditionary Force to continue operating their aging Maxim guns when they were sent to France. As production increased the Vickers machine gun became the British Army’s primary weapon. As newer designs were adopted by the Army so the role of the Vickers gun changed, however the gun was to remain in service until it was finally withdrawn on the 30th March 1968.
The Vickers machine gun also became the standard gun on all British and French military aircraft after 1916. It was fitted with a synchroniser gear, which allowed it to fire through the propeller. The gun was used right up to the start of the Second World War when guns were moved from the fuselage to the wings.
The Vickers gun was widely exported and saw service with many nations around the world.
