First World War Black and White Photograph of Two Soldiers and Machine Gun
1916 - 1918A small black and white photograph showing two (2) unnamed soldiers sitting with a machine gun. One soldier is looking directly at the camera and appears to be holding one leg of a tripod. The other is looking up through the guns sight in the direction of the barrel which is pointed into the air. The gun is positioned on a sand dune and has the water jacket on the barrel. The elevation wheel is clearly visible, as is a belt of ammunition. There is a box sitting on the sand by the gun which likely contains extra supplies.
The photograph has a small border and is in good condition back and front, although it has been folded at some point. There is a small number 2 written on the reverse top corner.
The Vickers medium machine gun was served by a crew of three and mounted on a tripod. It was not easily portable and was generally sited in a prepared fixed position. The Vickers had a distinctive appearance largely because of a cylindrical water jacket sleeve around the barrel which was designed to cool the barrel when firing at the rapid rate. The Vickers was mounted on a tripod and achieved continuous fire through the provision of ammunition in canvas belts. The Vickers was renowned for its reliability, and it could maintain blistering rates of fire for extended periods, thanks to its robust design and the fact that it was water-cooled. It holds about 7.5 pints of water. It is said that when there was insufficient water to hand, soldiers would urinate in the water jacket to keep the gun cool! These weapons were capable of firing at extended ranges, out to 3,000 yards. They would be sited to provide flanking fire across a defensive front, often covering belts of barbed wire or other obstacles forcing the enemy to attack through their line of fire with devastating results; a tactic known as "enfilade fire". They were often the ‘lynch-pin’ of defensive positions.
Details
Details
“2” written on back in pencil.
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