The Machine Gun
History, Evolution, and Development of Manual, Automatic, and
Airborne Repeating Weaponsby
George M. Chinn
Lieutenant Colonel, USMC
VOLUME I OF FIVE VOLUMES
Prepared for the Bureau of Ordnance
Department of the Navy1951
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D.C. -- Price $5.,00 Buckram)
With the belief that the next best thing to actual knowledge is knowing where to find it, this research has been compiled by the Bureau of Ordnance, Department of the Navy, in order to place in the hands of those rightfully interested in the art of automatic weapon design, the world's recorded progress in this field of endeavor. Preface
So great a period has been covered on a vast and controversial subject, with practically no precedent to use as a guide, that the sum total of this effort must be regarded somewhat in the nature of an experiment.
While nothing is claimed for this volume except that it is the result of tedious and laborious research, it is believed that in some manner it will help point the way to a better understanding of past development. In so doing, it should help to reduce pitfalls that beset the designer traveling an otherwise dimly lighted path.
A biography is included for each of the great masters of gun design, upon whose countless experiments and basic ideas the automatic armament of the world has been created; thus the reader may better determine the magnitude of their genius and its meaning to history past and future.
Excerpts from actual writings of the inventors, manufacturers and professional critics are given wherever possible. These statements, together with other authoritative matter, are assembled for the most part according to historical sequence.
It is not to be construed that this book is infallible, as it has the inevitable errors of all first editions. Sometimes an apparent digression was thought necessary to help clarify succeeding events, such as gunpowder experiments, ignition improvements, metallurgy formulas and even aviation progress. Without these kindred subjects, present-day ordnance design would not exist.
Great stress has been laid upon the inclusion of actual photographs of early inventors firing their prototype machine guns, to present pictorial proof that the automatic weapons we know today were of as humble origin as the mechanics who created them.
The unholy desire throughout the centuries for man to implement his belligerent impulses with superior tools for conflict, has provided the anvil upon which he has patiently forged the most lethal scourge of the modern world--the Machine Gun.
The help and encouragement received from many sources in the preparation of this work can never be fully acknowledged. The following individual are listed in at least partial recognition of such contributions. Acknowledgments
Captain Eugene Tatom, USN, formerly Chief, Re8, and Mr. James R. Norton, Head Engineer, Re8, Aviation Ordnance, Bureau of Ordnance.
Mr. M. Bigelow Browning, Vice President, Browning Arms Company; Colonel Leo A. Codd, Executive Vice President, American Ordnance Association; Dr. S. G. Green, Chief, Engineering Section, Small Arms Branch, Industrial Division, Ordnance Corps, Department of the Army; Major General Julian S. Hatcher, National Rifle Association; Colonel Allen L. Keyes, USA, Director, and Mr. Gerald C. Stowe, Curator, West Point Museum; Colonel G. B. Jarrett, Chief, Library and Museum Branch, Aberdeen Proving Ground; Colonel Willard Webb, Chief, Stack and Reader Division, Library of Congress.
Mr. John Casey, General Manager, North American Aviation Corporation; Mr. Louis Ehrman, Pocomoke, Maryland; Mr. Herman P. Dean, President, Standard Printing and Publishing Company, Huntington, West Virginia; Colonel George W. Hicks, Circulation Manager, Columbus (Ohio) Citizen; Colonel Melvin M. Johnson, Jr., Technical Director, Arms Department, Research and Development Division, Mr. Edwin Pugsley, former Vice President in Charge of Research, Mr. James C. Hartley, Director of Research, and Mr. Thomas Hall, Gun Museum Curator, all of Winchester Repeating Arms Company, Division of Olin Industries, Inc.; Mrs. Ruth H. Stoeger, Librarian, Stoeger Arms Co.; Mr. H. P. White, Chief Engineer, and Mr. Burt D. Munhall, Manager, H. P. White Ordnance Co.
Lieutenant Colonel Franklin S. Allen, Jr., Chief, Tactical Combat Branch, USAF; Lieutenant Colonel John J. Driscoll, Chief, Bomber Defense Branch, USAF.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew W. Hamilton, Chief, Technical Intelligence, Ordnance Research and Development Division, Department of the Army; Lieutenant Colonel Frank J. McMorrow, Officer in Charge of Museum, Springfield Armory; Mr. Joseph H. Church, Chief, Patent Section, Ordnance Corps, Department of the Army; Mr. H. G. Solberg, Technical Intelligence Branch, Ordnance Corps, Department of the Army; Mrs. Rosemary Darsa, Photo Branch, Army Intelligence.
Rear Admiral Malcolm F. Schoeffel, USN; Captain T. H. Ahroon, USN; Captain Devere L. Day, USN, Chief, Air Section, Intelligence Branch, ONI; Captain F. B. Miller, USN; Captain R. N. Sharp, USN; Commander William J. Lederer, USN; Commander Richard Matter, USN; Commander Dan W. Snively, USN; Lieutenant Commander Marvin Franger, USN; Lieutenant Commander Paul Pugh, USN; Aviation Ordnance Chief J. W. Cospers, USN.
Brigadier General Vernon E. Megee, USMC; Lieutenant Colonel Francis Kiernan, USMC; Major Ross Jordan, USMC; Captain Don Fenton, USMC; Chief Warrant Officer John Scarborough, USMC.
Dr. Remington Kellogg, Director, U. S. National Museum; Mr. M. L. Peterson, Acting Curator, Division of Military and Naval History, Smithsonian Institution; Mr. C. E. Haglund, Executive Officer, U. S. Patent Office; Mr. J. F. Nugent, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Mr. Harold L. Peterson, Historian, National Park Service.
Mr. Harry J. Baudu, Miss Josephine Cobb, Miss Elizabeth B. Drewry, Mr. Howard T. Gardner, Mr. Richard G. Giroux, Mrs. Emma B. Haas, Mr. John P. O'Brien, Mr. William F. Shonkwiler, Mr. Charles E. Wiseman and Mr. Richard G. Wood, of the National Archives.
Mr. Henry E. Marschalk, Miss Adele Miller and Mr. C. H. Grover, Publications Branch; Mr. Gerald D. O'Brien, Patent Counsel; Mr. William F. O'Keefe and Miss Lillian Martin, Administrative Division, of the Bureau of Ordnance.
Special thanks must be given for the excellent cooperation and service given by personnel of the U. S. Naval Photographic Center, Still Picture Library. The staffs of all libraries and museums visited were most helpful and accommodating. These institutions include the Library of Congress, Army Library, Army War College Library, Signal Corps Photographic Library, Main Navy Library, Bureau of Aeronautics Library, Bureau of Ordnance Technical Library, Bureau of Ships Library, U. S. National Museum. Aberdeen Proving Ground Library and Museum, Naval Ordnance Laboratory Ordnance Technical Museum. Naval Gun Factory Museum, and Bureau of Ordnance Museum.
Mrs. Jane Virginia Philbrick, Washington, D. C., aided greatly in the tedious research and editorial work involved in the early preparation of this volume.
Mr. Daniel D. Musgrave, Washington, D. G, deserves special thanks for many invaluable contributions based on his encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.
Three people were assigned directly to assist the author. Mr. Leo X. Abernethy, a young man well recognized for his designing skill on automatic firing mechanisms, was lent to the project by the Naval Gun Factory, Washington, D. C. His display of talent in classifying basic principles and interpreting patent drawings of all nations, coupled with his ability to evaluate accurately research material of each era, warrants a commendation of the highest order. Too much credit cannot be given to him for whatever measure of success the finished product may enjoy.
The second member was Master Sergeant John H. Moore, USMC, former instructor at the Marine Corps Aviation Ordnance School, Quantico, Virginia. His meticulous care in collecting historical and pictorial research will be gratefully recognized by students of automatic weapons for years to come. His thorough working knowledge of the intricate mechanics of foreign automatic weapons is outstanding and proved of inestimable value in hastening the conclusion of the project.
The Naval Ordnance Laboratory, White Oak, Maryland, made the last, but by no means the least, contribution in providing the editorial services of Mr. Franklin W. Clark. The others on the project felt his duties were the most difficult of all and agreed that the handling of his part of the work was responsible for the project being completed with speed and accuracy. His capability left them with not only admiration but envy.
/Signed/
George M. Chinn
Lieutenant Colonel, USMC.
CONTENTS
Preface v Acknowledgments vi Chapter Page PART I--FORERUNNERS OF THE MACHINE GUN 1. Weapon History Prior to Gunpowder 3 Primitive Beginnings 3 The First Projectile Throwers 4 Midieval Instruments of War 6 2. Firearm Development to Percussion Ignition 11 Origin of Gunpowder 11 Early Multibarrel Firearms 12 Improvements in Ignition 15 Beginnings of Revolving and Volley-Fire Guns 16 Application of the Detonating Principle to Firing 20 Pioneer American Gunsmiths 21 3. Background of Machine Gun Development 24 First Models of Percussion Multifiring Weapons 24 Development of Cartridges 25 Ripley Gun 26 Refinements in American Gunsmithing 28 Industrial By-Products of the Gun Trade 29 Colt Revolving Rifle, Model 1855 30 PART II--MANUALLY OPERATED MACHINE GUNS 1. Billinghurst Requa Battery 35 2. Ager "Coffee Mill" Gun 37 3. Claxton Firing Mechanism 41 4. Machine Guns Used by the Confederacy 42 Williams Machine Gun 42 Vandenberg Volley Gun 43 Confederate Cannon 46 Gorgas Machine Gun 46 5. Gatling Machine Gun 48 The Model 1862 Gun 48 Tests and Demonstrations 50 The Model 1865 Gatling 51 Adoption by the United States 54 International Acceptance of the Weapon 55 Performance and Improvement during the Nineteenth Century 57 6. Mitrailleuse Type Weapons 64 7. Farawell Machine Gun 69 8. Hotchkiss Machine Gun 71 9. Gardner Machine Gun 79 10. Lowell Machine Gun 89 11. Wilder Machine Gun 100 12. J. H. McLean's "Peace Makers" 104 13. Bailey Machine Gun 107 14. Nordenfelt Machine Gun 110 15. Taylor Machine Gun 117 16. End of Manually Operated Period 119 PART III--FULL AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN DEVELOPMENT 1. Maxim Machine Guns 123 Maxim's Early Years 123 The First Automatic Machine Gun 128 First Trials of the Maxim Gun 136 Other Maxim Weapons 143 Vickers-Maxim Machine Gun 144 2. Skoda Machine Gun 150 3. Browning Automatic Machine Guns 156 John M. Browning's Early Years 156 The Colt Model '95 Machine Gun 160 The Browning Model 1901 Machine Gun 169 Browning Guns in World War I: B.A.R. and Browning Machine Gun Model 1917 173 Browning Caliber .50 Machine Gun 181 4. Hotchkiss Automatic Machine Guns 187 Background 187 Hotchkiss Machine Gun 188 Puteaux and St. Etienne Machine Guns 194 Benét-Mercié Machine Rifle 195 Hotchkiss Machine Gun Model 1914 200 Hotchkiss 12-mm Machine Gun 202 5. Nordenfelt Automatic Machine Gun 204 6. De Knight Water-Cooled Machine Gun 207 7. Madsen Automatic Machine Gun 209 8. Bergmann and Dreyse Machine Guns 214 Bergmann Machine Gun 214 Dreyse Machine Gun 216 9. Perino Machine Gun 220 10. Carr Machine Gun 224 11. Schwarzlose Machine Gun 228 12. McClean Machine Gun 232 13. Chauchat Machine Gun 238 14. Berthier Machine Gun 243 15. Kjellman Machine Gun 248 16. Revelli Machine Gun 251 17. Laird-Menteyne Machine Gun 256 PART IV--AIRCRAFT AND AIRBORNE WEAPONS 1. Early Aircraft Developments 259 Aerial History Before Kitty Hawk 259 The Wright Brothers and other Early Pilots 262 Beginnings of Military Aviation 265 Pioneer Attempts at Aerial Armament 268 2. Lewis Aircraft Machine Gun 275 The First Aerial Machine Gun 275 Early Development of the Lewis Gun 278 The Lewis Gun in World War I 279 The Controversy over the Lewis Gun in America 285 Later Development and Production of the Lewis Gun 291 Use of the Lewis Gun by the Navy 293 The Routing of the Zeppelin Menace 295 Conclusion 297 Models of the Lewis Gun 299 3. Vickers Aircraft Machine Gun 301 4. German Maxim-Type Aircraft Weapons 309 Early Adaptations 309 Parabellum Machine Gun 310 The Fokker Synchronizer 312 Introduction of Armored Planes 314 T.u.F. Machine Gun 315 Models of Maxim Guns 317 5. Marlin Aircraft Machine Gun 320 6. Browning Aircraft Machine Guns 327 First Attempts at Air Firing 327 The Aircraft Armament Board Report 328 Browning Aircraft Machine Gun, Cal. 30 332 Browning Cal. 50 Aircraft Machine Gun 333 Cycle of Operation 339 The B.A.R. Since World War I 342 Models of Browning Recoil-Operated Machine Guns 343 7. Hotchkiss Aircraft Machine Gun 345 Aerial Uses of the Hotchkiss 345 Tabulation of Hotchkiss Machine Guns 351 8. Nambu Automatic Weapons 353 9. Revelli Aircraft Machine Gun 356 10. Bergmann, Dreyse, and MG-13 Machine Guns 364 German Light Machine Gun Models in World War I 364 Bergmann Model 1915, N.A., Machine Gun 365 MG-13 367 11. Villar-Perosa Aircraft Machine Gun 371 12. S.I.A. AIrcraft Machine Gun 374 13. Gast Aircraft Machine Gun 379 14. Darne Aircraft Machine Gun 384 15. Beardmore-Farquhar Aircraft Machine Gun 389 16. Brixia Machine Gun 393 17. Mendoza Light Machine Gun 397 18. Chatellerault Machine Gun 401 19. Madsen Aircraft Machine Gun 407 The Aircraft Version of the Madsen 407 Models and Users of the Madsen 410 20. B.S.A. Aircraft Machine Gun 412 21. Breda Machine Gun 416 22. Furrer Machine Gun 425 23. ZB Machine Guns 429 ZB Model 1926 429 The Bren Gun 432 Japanese Models of the ZB 433 ZB-50 Machine Gun 434 Besa-ZB-53 Machine Guns 436 24. Vickers-Berthier Machine Gun 4441 25. Lahti (Suomi) (L/S) Machine Gun 446 26. Rheinmetall-Borsig Machine Gun 450 Introduction 450 Solothurn Model 29 451 MG-30 453 MG-15 454 MG-17 455 MG-131 457 27. Scotti Machine Gun 461 28. Bang Aircraft Machine Gun 464 29. Sistar Machine Gun 469 30. Knorr-Bremse Machine Gun 469 31. Mauser Machine Guns 472 Background 472 MG-34 473 MG-81 478 32. Johnson Light Machine Gun 480 33. MG-42 Machine Gun 484 34. FG-42 Machine Gun 489 PART V--AUTOMATIC AIRCRAFT CANNON 1. Davis Nonrecoiling Gun 495 2. Vickers Aircraft Cannon (C.O.W. Aircraft Cannon) 500 3. Revelli Aircraft Cannon 505 4. Puteaux 37-mm Aircraft Cannon 507 5. Becker-Semag-Oerlikon Automatic Aircraft Cannons 512 Backer Cannon 512 Semag Aircraft Cannon 514 Oerlikon Aircraft Cannon 515 Gazda Aircraft Cannon 519 Polsten Cannon 520 Cycle of Operation 522 Conclusion 522 6. Szakats 20-mm Aircraft Cannon 523 7. Baldwin Aircraft Cannon (37-mm) 526 8. Browning Aircraft Cannon 531 9. Madsen Aircraft Cannon 537 10. Hotchkiss 25-mm Aircraft Cannon 542 11. Scotti Aircraft 20-mm Cannon 545 12. Lübbe 20-mm Aircraft Cannon 548 13. Rheinmetall-Borsig Automatic Aircraft Cannon 550 Earhardt, Solothurn & Flak 30 Cannon 550 Flak 18 Cannon 554 MK-101 Cannon 555 MK-103 Cannon 557 MK-108 Cannon 558 14. Birkigt Type 404 20-mm (Hispano-Suiza) Cannon 562 Early History of Hispano-Zuiza Company 562 Earliest Birkigt Type 404 Cannon 563 Cycle of Operation 566 British Adoption of the Gun 566 American Negotiations for the Cannon 570 Production of Hispano-Suiza Cannon by the United States 574 Modifications and Attempts at Standardization 577 Mount, Feed, and Other Modifications 579 Types of Hispano-Suiza Cannon 582 T-26 and Other Modified Hispano-Suiza Cannon 583 Performance of Hispano-Suiza Cannon During World War II 588 15. Furrer Automatic Aircraft Cannon 591 16. American Armament Automatic Aircraft Cannon 593 17. Lahti Aircraft Cannon 596 18. Breda 20-mm Automatic Cannon 598 19. Mauser Automatic Cannon 602 MG-151 602 Flak 38 604 20. Automatic Aircraft Cannon, Caliber .90 Series 607 21. Bofors Automatic Aircraft Cannon 610 22. Japanese Automatic Aircraft Cannon 614 CONCLUSION 619 APPENDICES A. Patents on Machine Guns and Relating Mechanisms upon which the World's Automatic Weapons Have Been Based 621 B. Tabulated Characteristics of Machine Guns and Aircraft Cannon 657 BIBLIOGRAPHY 671 INDEX 675
Illustrations
Statue at Entrance to National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.