Maxim gun

Maxim gun
Maxim gun
Type	Heavy machine gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1886–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Mahdist War; Emin Pasha Relief Expedition; Yoni Expedition; Samoan Civil War; Abushiri Revolt; Jebu War; Buganda civil wars; First Matabele War; First Sino-Japanese War; Chitral Expedition; Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895); Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War; Jameson Raid; Second Matabele War; Dervish Resistance; Philippine Revolution; Benin Expedition; Spanish–American War; Adamawa Wars; Philippine–American War; Second Boer War; Boxer Rebellion; War of the Golden Stool; Bafut Wars; Anglo–Aro War; British expedition to Tibet; Russo-Japanese War; Herero War; Maji Maji Rebellion; Persian Constitutional Revolution; 1907 Honduran Conflict; Sokehs Rebellion; Mexican Revolution; Balkan Wars; Contestado War; World War I; Russian Civil War; Finnish Civil War; Estonian War of Independence; Polish–Soviet War; Paraguayan Civil War (1922); Constitutionalist Revolution; Chaco War; Chinese Civil War; Second Sino-Japanese War; World War II; Indochina War; Korean War; Vietnam War; Russo-Ukrainian War War in Donbas; Russian invasion of Ukraine; ;
Production history
Designer	Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim
Manufacturer	Maxim Gun Company, Vickers
Variants	Vickers machine gun, MG08, PM M1910, M32-33, M/09-21
Specifications
Mass	27.2 kg (60 lb)
Length	107.9 cm (42.5 in)
Barrel length	67.3 cm (26.5 in)
Crew	4
Cartridge	7×57mm Mauser; .303 British; .30-06 Springfield; 7.92×57mm Mauser; .577/450 Martini–Henry; 7.62×54mmR;
Action	Recoil-operated
Rate of fire	550–600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	744 m/s
Feed system	250-round canvas belt
Sights	Iron sights

The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world.^[15]

The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian Martin Gilbert,^[16] and was heavily used by colonial powers during the "Scramble for Africa". Afterwards, Maxim guns also saw extensive usage by different armies during the Russo-Japanese War, the First and Second World Wars, as well as in contemporary conflicts.

The Maxim gun was greatly influential in the development of machine guns, and it has multiple variants and derivatives.

^ ^a ^b "Machine Guns of the Schutztruppe and Overseas Forces". Archived from the original on 20 April 2021.
^ "The Soldier's Burden". www.kaiserscross.com. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
^ "The King's Royal Rifle Corps Maxim Gun Section". Archived from the original on 2 October 2022.
^ Raugh, Harold E.,"The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History" (2004)
^ Davis, Richard Harding (1897). Dr. Jameson's raiders vs. the Johannesburg reformers. New York: R. H. Russell.
^ "Second Matabele War".
^ "Extract from A DIARY OF A SURGEON WITH THE BENIN PUNITIVE EXPEDITION' By FELIX N. ROTH, M.R.C.S., and L.R.C.P."
^ Montagu, Hall Wynyard (1939). The Great Drama Of Kumasi. Osmania University, Digital Library Of India. Putnam Limited Press.
^ Allen, Charles (2015), "Duel in the Snows" John Murray Press
^ "AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE PARAGUAYAN ARMY". Archived from the original on 1 December 2022.
^ Cotta, Francis Albert "as trincheiras da mantiqueira: os embates da Brigada Sul na Revolução Constitucionalista"
^ "Ukrainian Troops Are Still Using This Pre-World War I-Era Maxim Machine Gun In Combat". The Drive. 5 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022.
^ "Why Ukraine's army still uses a 100-year-old machinegun". The Economist. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022.
^ "Bakhmut: Russian casualties mount but tactics evolve". BBC News.
^ Encyclopædia Britannica: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim
^ Gilbert, Martin (1997), A History of the Twentieth Century: Volume One: 1900–1933 (1st US ed.), New York: William Morrow and Company, p. 11, ISBN 978-0-688-10064-3

[German_Colonial-1] "Machine Guns of the Schutztruppe and Overseas Forces". Archived from the original on 20 April 2021.

[2] "The Soldier's Burden". www.kaiserscross.com. Retrieved 6 May 2023.

[3] "The King's Royal Rifle Corps Maxim Gun Section". Archived from the original on 2 October 2022.

[4] Raugh, Harold E.,"The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History" (2004)

[Davis-21-5] Davis, Richard Harding (1897). Dr. Jameson's raiders vs. the Johannesburg reformers. New York: R. H. Russell.

[6] "Second Matabele War".

[7] "Extract from A DIARY OF A SURGEON WITH THE BENIN PUNITIVE EXPEDITION' By FELIX N. ROTH, M.R.C.S., and L.R.C.P."

[8] Montagu, Hall Wynyard (1939). The Great Drama Of Kumasi. Osmania University, Digital Library Of India. Putnam Limited Press.

[9] Allen, Charles (2015), "Duel in the Snows" John Murray Press

[10] "AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE PARAGUAYAN ARMY". Archived from the original on 1 December 2022.

[11] Cotta, Francis Albert "as trincheiras da mantiqueira: os embates da Brigada Sul na Revolução Constitucionalista"

[Ukrainian_Troops_Are_Still_Using_This_Pre-World_War_I-Era_Maxim_Machine_Gun_In_Combat_-_The_Drive-12] "Ukrainian Troops Are Still Using This Pre-World War I-Era Maxim Machine Gun In Combat". The Drive. 5 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022.

[DNR/LPR_troops_using_a_technical_with_a_maxim_gun-13] "Why Ukraine's army still uses a 100-year-old machinegun". The Economist. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022.

[Bakhmut:_Russian_casualties_mount_but_tactics_evolve-14] "Bakhmut: Russian casualties mount but tactics evolve". BBC News.

[15] Encyclopædia Britannica: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim

[16] Gilbert, Martin (1997), A History of the Twentieth Century: Volume One: 1900–1933 (1st US ed.), New York: William Morrow and Company, p. 11, ISBN 978-0-688-10064-3

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