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Machine gun Maxim TTX. A photo. Video. Dimensions. Rate of fire. Bullet speed. Target range. The first automatic weapon in history - the Maxim machine gun Maxim easel machine gun 1910

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Production history Designed by: 1910 Years of production: from 1910 to 1939, from 1941 to 1945 Options: M1910/30, Finnish M/09-21 Characteristics Weight, kg: 64,3 Length, mm: 1067 Barrel length, mm: 721 Cartridge : 7.62×54 mm Caliber, mm: 7.62 mm Work principles : automatic machine gun works on the principle of using the recoil of the barrel. rate of fire,
shots/min: 600 Muzzle velocity, m/s: 740 Type of ammunition: 250 patr. fabric machine-gun belt.

Machine gun "Maxim" model 1910(GAU index - 56-P-421 listen)) - easel machine gun, a variant of the British Maxim machine gun, widely used by the Russian and Soviet armies during the First World War and the Second World War. The Maxim machine gun was used to destroy open group live targets and enemy fire weapons at a distance of up to 1000 m.

Story

Maxim's machine gun on a fortress ("artillery") carriage. 1915

By 1899, the Maxim machine guns were converted to the 7.62 × 54 mm caliber of the Russian Mosin rifle from the 10.67 mm Berdan rifle caliber under the official name "7.62 mm easel machine gun".

To increase the reliability of the machine gun, the so-called "muzzle booster" was used - a device that works on the principle of a muzzle brake. The front of the barrel was thickened to increase the area of ​​the muzzle and then a muzzle cap was attached to the water casing. The pressure of the powder gases between the muzzle and the cap acted on the muzzle of the barrel, pushing it back and helping it roll back faster. A similar device was subsequently used on a German machine gun. MG-42.

In the Russian army, a new type of weapon - a machine gun - was subordinated to artillery. It was mounted on a heavy carriage with large wheels and a large armored shield. The weight of the structure turned out to be about 250 kg. It was planned to use this installation for the defense of fortresses, from pre-equipped and protected positions, machine-gun fire was planned to withstand massive enemy infantry attacks. This approach may now cause bewilderment: after all, even during the Franco-Prussian war, French mitrailleuses used in the artillery manner, that is, by batteries, were suppressed by Prussian counter-artillery fire due to the obvious superiority of artillery over small-caliber weapons in range.

Soon the machine gun machine was reduced to an acceptable size, although the armored shield that unmasked the position was still left, and the machine gunners wore it during two world wars. The calculation often simply threw away the armored shield, having established from their own experience that for a machine gun, position camouflage is the best defense during the defense, and during the offensive, especially when moving through a field pitted with funnels or a city littered with debris, mobility is more important than armor protection. In addition to the Russian army, the armored shield was used in the German army ( MG-08) during the First World War, however, the German armor was half as large, which provided some level of protection for the shooter and machine gun without compromising visibility.

The machine gun turned out to be an extremely reliable and effective weapon. The production of "Maxim" was started in 1904 at the Tula Arms Plant.

Tula machine guns were cheaper, easier to manufacture and more reliable than foreign ones; their shutters were completely interchangeable, which for a long time could not be achieved in English and German factories. Sokolov's wheel machine showed the best results, Sokolov also designed special cartridge boxes, a gig for transporting ammunition, and sealed cylinders for boxes with cartridges. Simultaneously with the development of a more convenient machine gun, the weight of the machine gun itself was reduced, and some details were redone in connection with the adoption of a cartridge with a pointed bullet of the 1908 model of the year, which made it necessary to change the sights in the Maxim machine gun, remake the receiver so that it fits the new rifle cartridge 7.62×54 mm with bullets of the 1908 model of the year (light bullet) and the 1930 model of the year (heavy bullet), as well as to expand the opening of the muzzle bushing, in order to avoid too much shaking of the machine gun when firing. The Maxim machine gun with the machine weighed more than 60 kg, machine-gun belts, machines for stuffing tapes with cartridges, and a supply of water for barrel cooling were also attached to it.

Mechanism

Machine gun automation works on the principle of using barrel recoil.

The device of the Maxim machine gun: the barrel is covered on the outside with a thin layer of copper to protect it from rust. A casing is put on the barrel, filled with water to cool the barrel. Water is poured through a tube connected to the casing with a branch pipe with a tap. A hole closed with a screw cap is used to release water. The casing has a steam pipe through which steam escapes from it when firing through a hole in the muzzle (closed with a cork). A short, movable tube is put on the tube. At elevation angles, it descends and closes the lower opening of the tube, as a result of which water cannot enter this latter, and the steam accumulated in the upper part of the casing will enter through the upper opening into the tube and then exit through the tube. At angles of declination, the opposite will happen.

A frame is attached to the barrel (Fig. 4, 5), consisting of two slats. With its front ends it is put on the trunnions of the trunk, and with its rear ends on the trunnions of the bloodworm. The bloodworm is connected by a hinge to the connecting rod, and this latter with a lock. To the skeleton (Fig. 4, 5, 7) of the lock, which has two cheeks, attached on pins from the outside: lock levers, crank levers; inside - the lower descent, the palm, the trigger, the safety descent with its spring and the mainspring. A battle larva is put on the front of the castle so that it can move up and down relative to it. Its movement upwards is limited by a ledge, and downwards by a rod. Head of lock levers And it is put on the front end of the connecting rod (Fig. 6) and when it is rotated 60 ° relative to the connecting rod, its three sectoral protrusions go beyond the corresponding protrusions of the head of the lock levers. Thus, the lock levers, and therefore the lock, will be connected to the connecting rod. The lock can slide with its protrusions along the frame in its grooves formed by the ribs. The protrusions of the frame (Fig. 3, 4, 5) enter the slots on the side walls of the box. These slots D covered with slats. Eyelets on the box serve to strengthen the machine gun on the gun carriage. The side walls and the bottom of the box are one piece. On the inner side of these walls of the box at the beginning and at the end there are grooves in the form of a swallow's tail. The front wall of the box, which is integral with the casing, is pushed into the front ones by the corresponding protrusions, and the butt plate is into the rear ones. The front wall has two through channels. A barrel is inserted into the upper one, and spent cartridge cases pass through the lower one, and the spring prevents the cartridge cases from falling into the box. A trigger lever is attached to the butt plate with an axis, the lower end of which is hinged to a rod. The trigger rod is fixed at the bottom of the box with two rivets and so that it can move slightly along the box. The box is closed with a hinged lid W with latch W. The lid has a press that does not allow the lock E rise up when it comes out of the grooves with its ribs when the barrel moves back. On the left side wall of the box (Fig. 3, 8) a box is fastened with spikes. It is connected to the front wall with a screw. 6 helical (return) spring 7 . Screw 6 serves to regulate the degree of tension of the spring. The other end grabs it with its hook by the chain, and this latter in turn is connected with the eccentric tide of the bloodworm. AT(Fig. 5). The receiver (Fig. 3, 4, 11) is inserted into slots on the side walls of the box. It has a slider with two fingers and a fifth. A crank is put on the heel, the other end of which goes into the cutout of the frame (Fig. 5). At the bottom of the receiver (Fig. 11), two more fingers are fixed, which, like the upper ones, have springs.

Machine gun action

The action of machine gun automation is based on the recoil of the bolt and the barrel coupled to it under the pressure of powder gases. Having rolled back a certain distance, the bolt and barrel disengage and move independently of each other.

In the position in FIG. 4 machine gun is ready to fire. To fire a shot, you need to raise the safety lever I and press the upper end of the trigger lever. Then the thrust will move back and turn the lower descent with its protrusion P, which will free the ankle. The trigger, no longer held by the ankle, under the action of the mainspring O move forward and break the cartridge primer (Fig. 10). The bullet flies out of the barrel through the hole in the steel tube of the muzzle. Powder gases will push the barrel with the frame back and exit through the holes in the muzzle. To increase the recoil energy, a muzzle is used, and the barrel is thickened in the muzzle. bloodworm AT rests against the rib and cannot rise up, so the lock in this position of the bloodworm will only move back together with the frame and the barrel. If, after the shot, the lock had been immediately thrown away by powder gases from the barrel, the cartridge case would have been torn.

The spring, unlike most systems, works in tension, not compression. The barrel with the shank then stops, and the bolt (“lock”) connected to the lever pair continues to move back, while simultaneously removing a new cartridge from the tape and a spent cartridge case from the barrel. When the movable system rolls forward, the new cartridge is lowered to the line of the barrel and sent to the chamber, and the spent cartridge case is fed into the sleeve channel located below the barrel. Spent cartridges are ejected from the weapon forward, under the barrel. To implement such a feed scheme, the shutter mirror has a T-shaped vertical groove for the sleeve flanges, and in the process of rolling back and forth moves up and down, respectively.

When the barrel moves back with the frame, the following happens: the handle G bloodworm (Fig. 3) slides on the roller X(fixed on the axis of the right bar 12) and, due to its shape, will lower the bloodworm down. This movement of the bloodworm will cause the lock to accelerate its movement relative to the frame, while the lock will slide along the frame with ribs to (Fig. 4, 5, 7, 9, 10) in the grooves 23 and separate from the stem. combat grub To holds the cartridges in the chamber of the barrel and in the receiver, capturing with its ribs L for the rims of the cartridges. At the moment of recoil, the combat larva pulls the cartridge out of the receiver and, when the lock is separated from the barrel, the spent cartridge case from the chamber. The cartridge and sleeve are held in their respective places by latches M and H with springs and cannot lower relative to it. When lowering the bloodworm, the head I lock levers presses on the ankle, and this latter will pull the trigger back. Safety trigger P under the action of its spring, jumps with its protrusion over the protrusion 24 trigger. The paw is held in the allotted position by the lower descent of the machine gun. War larva, gliding over the ledges O side walls of the box with their protrusions R, by the end of the movement will fall down due to its own gravity and under the action of springs With, mounted on the lid of the box, while its protrusions R do not lie on the ribs E frames. In this position of the combat larva, the new cartridge will be against the chamber, and the sleeve against the output channel 2 . When the frame moves back, the coil spring 7 stretches and when the bloodworm turns, the chain 8 coils on the eccentric tide of the bloodworm. Frame when moving back with its cutout 17 (Fig. 5) turns the crank 15 (Fig. 11) so that the slider 13 moves to the right and his upper fingers 16 go for the next cartridge.

Power scheme

When the recoil is over, the coil spring 7 compresses and returns the frame with the barrel to its original position. Lever G, sliding on the roller X, turns the bloodworm, which is why the lock fits the barrel, the new cartridge enters the chamber, and the sleeve enters the output channel. crank arm 15 , turning, advances the slider into the receiver 13 , and this last one with your fingers 16 will move the belt to the left so that the new cartridge falls into the slot of the receiver R. Before the end of the castle movement E lock levers And by clicking on the cutouts 25 (fig. 7), turn the cranks L, as a result of which the combat larva rises to its upper position and will be held in it by a spring F(Fig. 5). The fighting larva, rising, will capture the ribs L behind the rim of a new cartridge lying in the receiver, and it is held by a latch M, and now in the chamber with a latch H. Lock levers with further movement of the lock jump into the second cutout 26 cranked levers and, pressing on these latter, they will send the lock close to the trunk. At the end of the movement of the bloodworm, the head I lock levers (Fig. 4) will raise the end of the safety trigger and release the trigger, which is now held in the cocked position only by the lower trigger. At the same time, the handle G(Fig. 3) jumps over the delay ledge F and therefore cannot be reflected forward. By pressing the end of the trigger lever, we will fire again. With continuous squeezing, the shooting will also continue continuously. The ballistic data of a machine gun is almost the same as that of a shotgun.

Captured Russian machine guns on a horse-drawn carriage

Cartridges are inserted into the sockets of cartridge (canvas) tapes, 450 pieces each. The tape is placed in a cartridge box (Fig. 11). The rate of fire is up to 600 rounds per minute. The barrel during firing is very hot and after 600 shots the water in the casing begins to boil. The disadvantages include the complexity of the mechanism and a large number of small parts, as a result of which delays are possible during firing from their faulty action. After a large number of shots, the muzzle becomes clogged with small particles of the shell of the bullets that fly out along with the powder gases, and prevents the movement of the barrel.

Sokolov machine

An important distinguishing feature of the machine was the presence of a movable table on which the machine gun swivel was attached. This made it possible to give it a horizontal position, which ensured firing with dispersion. Sokolov also designed special cartridge boxes, a gig for carrying ammunition, airtight cylinders for boxes of cartridges.

The machine tool of the system of General A. A. Sokolov for 3-ln. Machine gun Maxim


Combat use in World War I

Combat use in the Civil War

There was also a quadruple anti-aircraft version of the machine gun. This ZPU was widely used as a stationary, self-propelled, ship, installed in car bodies, armored trains, railway platforms, on the roofs of buildings.

Crimean Front, 1942 Quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mount model 1931 "Maxim" on a drag boat

Machine gun "Maxim" as a means of military air defense

Maxim's machine gun systems have become the most common army air defense weapon. The quad anti-aircraft machine gun installation of the 1931 model of the year differed from the usual Maxim machine gun by the presence of a forced water circulation device and a larger capacity of machine gun belts - for 1000 rounds instead of the usual 250 rounds. Using anti-aircraft ring sights, the installation was able to conduct effective fire on low-flying enemy aircraft up to 1400 m at speeds up to 500 km/h). These mounts were also often used to support infantry.

Combat experience

), Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) , Great Patriotic War , Korean War , War in Donbass

Machine gun Maxim model 1910(Index GRAU - 56-P-421) - easel machine gun, a variant of the British Maxim machine gun, widely used by the Russian and Soviet armies during the First World War and the Second World War. The machine gun was used to destroy open group targets and enemy fire weapons at a distance of up to 1000 m.

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    Subtitles

Story

After a successful demonstration of the machine gun in Switzerland, Italy and Austria-Hungary, Hiram Maxim arrived in Russia with a demonstrative sample of a .45 caliber (11.43 mm) machine gun.

In 1887, the Maxim machine gun was tested under a 10.67 mm Berdan rifle cartridge with black powder.

Vickers, Sons & Maxim began to supply Maxim machine guns to Russia. The machine guns were delivered to St. Petersburg in May 1899. The Russian military fleet also became interested in the new weapon; it ordered two more machine guns for testing.

To improve the reliability of the automation of the 7.62-mm machine gun, a "muzzle booster" was introduced into the design - a device designed to use the energy of powder gases in order to increase the recoil force. The front of the barrel was thickened to increase the area of ​​the muzzle and then a muzzle cap was attached to the water casing. The pressure of the powder gases between the muzzle and the cap acted on the muzzle of the barrel, pushing it back and helping it roll back faster.

In 1901, the 7.62-mm Maxim machine gun on an English-style wheeled carriage was adopted by the ground forces, during this year the first 40 Maxim machine guns entered the Russian army. In general, during -1904 years 291 machine guns were purchased.

The machine gun (whose mass on a heavy carriage with large wheels and a large armored shield was 244 kg) was assigned to the artillery. Machine guns were planned to be used for the defense of fortresses, for repelling massive enemy infantry attacks from pre-equipped and protected positions with fire.

  • this approach may be bewildering: even during the Franco-Prussian war, French mitrailleuses, used in an artillery manner, that is, by batteries, were suppressed by Prussian counter-artillery fire due to the obvious superiority of artillery over small-caliber weapons in range.

In March 1904, a contract was signed for the production of Maxim machine guns at the Tula Arms Plant. The cost of producing a Tula machine gun (942 rubles + £80 commission to Vickers, about 1700 rubles in total) was cheaper than the cost of purchasing from the British (2288 rubles 20 kopecks per machine gun). In May 1904, mass production of machine guns began at the Tula Arms Plant.

At the beginning of 1909, the Main Artillery Directorate announced a competition for the modernization of the machine gun, as a result of which, in August 1910, a modified version of the machine gun was adopted: the 7.62-mm Maxim machine gun of the 1910 model, which was modernized at the Tula Arms Plant under the guidance of masters I. A. Pastukhov, I. A. Sudakova and P. P. Tretyakova. The body weight of the machine gun was reduced and some details were changed: a number of bronze parts were replaced with steel ones, the sights were changed to match the ballistics of the cartridge with a pointed bullet mod. 1908, the receiver was changed to fit the new cartridge, and the muzzle bushing was enlarged. The English wheeled carriage was replaced by a lightweight wheeled machine by A. A. Sokolov, the English-style armor shield was replaced by a reduced size armor shield. In addition, A. A. Sokolov designed cartridge boxes, a gig for transporting cartridges, sealed cylinders for boxes with cartridges.

Machine gun Maxim arr. 1910 with the machine weighed 62.66 kg (and together with the liquid poured into the casing to cool the barrel - about 70 kg).

Mechanism

Machine gun automation works on the principle of using barrel recoil.

The device of the Maxim machine gun: the barrel is covered on the outside with a thin layer of copper to protect it from rust. A casing is put on the barrel, filled with water to cool the barrel. Water is poured through a tube connected to the casing with a branch pipe with a tap. A hole closed with a screw cap is used to release water. The casing has a steam pipe through which steam escapes from it when firing through a hole in the muzzle (closed with a cork). A short, movable tube is put on the tube. At elevation angles, it descends and closes the lower opening of the tube, as a result of which water cannot enter this latter, and the steam accumulated in the upper part of the casing will enter through the upper opening into the tube and then exit through the tube. At angles of declination, the opposite will happen. For winding the front and rear oil seals, twisted asbestos thread impregnated with gun grease is used.

In 1915, they adopted and began production of a simplified machine gun of the Kolesnikov system, model 1915.

Combat use in the Civil War

During the civil war, the Maxim machine gun arr. 1910 was the main type of machine gun of the Red Army. In addition to machine guns from the warehouses of the Russian army and trophies captured during the hostilities, in 1918-1920, 21 thousand new machine guns mod. 1910, several thousand more were repaired

In the 1920s-1930s in the USSR

In the 1920s, based on the design of the machine gun in the USSR, new types of weapons were developed: the Maxim-Tokarev light machine gun and the PV-1 aircraft machine gun.

The cost of one machine gun "Maxim" on the Sokolov machine (with a set of spare parts and accessories) in 1939 was 2635 rubles; the cost of the Maxim machine gun on a universal machine (with a set of spare parts and accessories) - 5960 rubles; the cost of a 250-cartridge belt is 19 rubles

By the end of the 1930s, the design of the machine gun was obsolete, primarily due to its large weight and size.

During the Finnish war of 1939-1940. not only designers and manufacturers tried to increase the combat capabilities of the Maxim machine gun, but also directly in the troops. In winter, the machine gun was mounted on skis, sleds or drag boats, on which the machine gun was moved across the snow and from which, if necessary, they fired. In addition, in the winter of 1939-1940, there were cases when machine gunners planted on the armor of tanks installed Maxim machine guns on the roofs of tank turrets and fired at the enemy, supporting the advancing infantry.

In 1940, in the barrel water cooler for quick water changes, the small diameter water filling hole was replaced by a wide neck. This innovation was borrowed from the Finnish Maxim ( Maxim M32-33) and made it possible to solve the problem of the lack of access to the coolant in the winter, now the casing could be filled with ice and snow.

After the start of the Great Patriotic War, in June 1941, the DS-39 was discontinued and enterprises were ordered to restore the curtailed production of Maxim machine guns.

Maxim machine gun as a means of military air defense

Based on the design of the machine gun, single, twin and quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mounts were developed, which were the most common army air defense weapons. For example, the quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mount M4 of the 1931 model differed from the usual Maxim machine gun in the presence of a forced water circulation device, a larger capacity of machine-gun belts (for 1000 rounds instead of the usual 250) and an anti-aircraft ring sight. The installation was intended for firing at enemy aircraft (at altitudes up to 1400 m at speeds up to 500 km / h). The M4 installation was widely used as a stationary, self-propelled, shipborne installation, installed in car bodies, armored trains, railway platforms, and on the roofs of buildings.

Paired and quad installations of Maxim machine guns were also successfully used for firing at ground targets (in particular, to repel enemy infantry attacks). So, during the Finnish war of 1939-1940, units of the 34th tank brigade of the Red Army, which were surrounded in the Lemitte-Womas area, successfully repelled several attacks by the Finnish infantry, using two twin mounts of Maxim anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on lorries as mobile firing points.

Application in the Great Patriotic War

The Maxim machine gun was actively used in the Great Patriotic War. It was in service with infantry and mountain rifle troops, border guards, the fleet, and was installed on armored trains, Jeeps "Willis" and GAZ-64.

In May 1942, in accordance with the order of the People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR D.F. Ustinov, a competition was announced for the development of a new design of an easel machine gun for the Red Army (to replace the Maxim machine gun arr. 1910/30

On May 15, 1943, the Goryunov SG-43 heavy machine gun with an air barrel cooling system was adopted by the Red Army, which began to enter the troops in June 1943. But the Maxim machine gun continued to be produced until the end of the war at the Tula and Izhevsk plants, and until its completion it was the main machine gun of the Soviet Army.

Operating countries

  • Russian empire Russian empire
  • Germany Germany: captured machine guns were used during the First World War.
  • the USSR the USSR
  • Poland Poland: in 1918-1920, a number of Russian Maxim machine guns arr. 1910 (under the name Maxim wz. 1910) was in service with the Polish army; after the 7.92 × 57 mm cartridge was adopted as a regular rifle and machine gun ammunition in 1922, a number of machine guns were converted to this cartridge, they received the name Maxim wz. 1910/28.
  • Finland Finland: after the declaration of independence of Finland in 1918, up to 600 7.62 mm Maxim machine guns mod. 1910 entered service with the emerging units of the Finnish army, Germany sold another 163; they were used under the name Maxim m/1910, in the 1920s, machine guns were purchased abroad (for example, in 1924 - 405 pieces were purchased in Poland); in 1932, a modernized machine gun was adopted Maxim M/32-33 powered by a metal tape, part of the machine guns installed in the pillboxes were supplied with forced water cooling of the barrel. By the winter of 1939, Maxim machine guns of various modifications still made up the bulk of the Finnish army's heavy machine guns. They were used in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. and "continuation war" 1941-1944.
  • in 1918-1922 a number of Russian machine guns "Maxim" mod. 1910 entered service with paramilitary forces in China (in particular, Zhang Zuolin received them from white emigrants who retreated to northern China)
  • Bulgaria Bulgaria: in 1921-1923 a number of Russian 7.62-mm machine guns Maxim mod. 1910 came into the possession of the Bulgarian army after the disarmament of the units of the Wrangel army that arrived in Bulgaria.
  • Second Spanish Republic Second Spanish Republic : after the outbreak of the war in Spain in 1936, 3221 machine guns were purchased by the government of the Spanish Republic.
  • Mongolian People's Republic Mongolian People's Republic
  • Germany Germany: captured Soviet Maxim machine guns (under the name MG 216(r)) were used by the Wehrmacht and entered service with paramilitary and security police units in the occupied territory of the USSR.
  • Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia: in January 1942, the first 12 Maxim machine guns were received by the 1st Czechoslovak separate infantry battalion, and later other Czechoslovak units

GAU index - 56-P-421

Heavy machine gun, a modification of the British Maxim machine gun, widely used by the Russian and Soviet armies during the First World War and the Second World War. The Maxim machine gun was used to destroy open group targets and enemy fire weapons at a distance of up to 1000 m.

Story

After a successful demonstration of the machine gun in Switzerland, Italy and Austria-Hungary, Hiram Maxim arrived in Russia with a representative model of a .45 caliber (11.43 mm) machine gun.

In 1887, the Maxim machine gun was tested under the 10.67-mm cartridge of the Berdan rifle with black powder.

On March 8, 1888, Emperor Alexander III himself fired from it. After testing, representatives of the Russian military department ordered Maxim 12 machine guns mod. 1895 chambered for 10.67 mm Berdan rifle cartridge.

Vickers, Sons & Maxim began to supply Maxim machine guns to Russia. The machine guns were delivered to St. Petersburg in May 1899. The Russian navy also became interested in the new weapon; it ordered two more machine guns for testing.

Subsequently, the Berdan rifle was withdrawn from service, and the Maxim machine guns were converted to the 7.62-mm cartridge of the Russian Mosin rifle. In 1891-1892. five machine guns chambered for 7.62x54 mm were purchased for testing.

To improve the reliability of the automatics of the 7.62-mm machine gun, a “muzzle booster” was introduced into the design - a device designed to use the energy of powder gases in order to increase the recoil force. The front of the barrel was thickened to increase the area of ​​the muzzle and then a muzzle cap was attached to the water casing. The pressure of the powder gases between the muzzle and the cap acted on the muzzle of the barrel, pushing it back and helping it roll back faster.

In 1901, the 7.62-mm Maxim machine gun on an English-style wheeled carriage was adopted by the ground forces, during this year the first 40 Maxim machine guns entered the Russian army. During 1897-1904, 291 machine guns were purchased.

The machine gun (whose mass on a heavy carriage with large wheels and a large armored shield was 244 kg) was assigned to the artillery. Machine guns were planned to be used to defend fortresses, to repulse massive enemy infantry attacks from pre-equipped and protected positions with fire.

This approach may be bewildering: even during the Franco-Prussian war, French mitrailleuses, used in an artillery manner, that is, by batteries, were suppressed by Prussian counter-artillery fire due to the obvious superiority of artillery over small-caliber weapons in range.
In March 1904, a contract was signed for the production of Maxim machine guns at the Tula Arms Plant. The cost of producing a Tula machine gun (942 rubles + £80 commission to Vickers, about 1700 rubles in total) was cheaper than the cost of purchasing from the British (2288 rubles 20 kopecks per machine gun). In May 1904, mass production of machine guns started at the Tula Arms Plant.

At the very beginning of 1909, the Main Artillery Directorate announced a competition for the modernization of the machine gun, as a result of which, in August 1910, a modified version of the machine gun was adopted: the 7.62-mm Maxim machine gun of the 1910 model, which was modernized at the Tula Arms Plant under the guidance of masters I A. Pastukhov, I. A. Sudakova and P. P. Tretyakov. The body weight of the machine gun was reduced and some details were changed: a number of bronze parts were replaced with steel ones, the sights were changed to match the ballistics of the cartridge with a pointed bullet mod. 1908, the receiver was changed to fit the new cartridge, plus the muzzle bushing was enlarged. The English wheeled carriage was replaced by a lightweight wheeled machine by A. A. Sokolov, the armor shield of the English sample was replaced by a reduced size armor shield. In addition, A. A. Sokolov created cartridge boxes, a gig for transporting cartridges, sealed cylinders for boxes with cartridges.

Machine gun Maxim arr. 1910 with the machine weighed 62.66 kg (and together with the liquid poured into the casing to cool the barrel - about 70 kg).

Design

Machine gun automation works on the principle of using the recoil of the barrel.

The device of the Maxim machine gun: the barrel is covered on the outside with a thin layer of copper to protect it from rust. A casing is put on the barrel, filled with water to cool the barrel. Water is poured through a tube connected to the casing with a branch pipe with a tap. To drain the water, there is a hole closed with a screw cap. There is a steam pipe in the casing, through which steam comes out of it when firing through a hole in the muzzle (closed with a cork). A short, movable tube is put on the tube. At elevation angles, it descends and closes the lower opening of the tube, as a result of which water cannot enter this latter, and the steam accumulated in the upper part of the casing will enter through the upper opening into the tube and then exit through the tube. At angles of declination, the opposite will happen.

Combat use

World War I

The Maxim machine gun was the only machine gun produced in the Russian Empire during the First World War. By the time the mobilization was announced, in July 1914, the Russian army had 4157 machine guns in service (833 machine guns were not enough to meet the planned needs of the troops). After the start of the war, the Ministry of War ordered to increase the production of machine guns, but it was very difficult to cope with the task of supplying the army with machine guns, since machine guns were produced in Russia in insufficient quantities, and all foreign machine gun factories were loaded to the limit. In general, during the war, Russian industry produced 27,571 machine guns for the army (828 in the second half of 1914, 4,251 in 1915, 11,072 in 1916, 11,420 in 1917) , but production volumes were insufficient and could not meet the needs of the army.

In 1915, they adopted and began production of a simplified machine gun of the Kolesnikov system, model 1915

Civil War

During the civil war, the Maxim machine gun arr. 1910 was the main type of machine gun of the Red Army. In addition to machine guns from the warehouses of the Russian army and trophies captured during the hostilities, in 1918-1920, 21 thousand new machine guns mod. 1910, several thousand more were repaired.

In the Civil War, a tachanka became widespread - a spring wagon with a machine gun pointed backwards, which was used both for movement and for firing directly on the battlefield. Carts were especially popular among the Makhnovists (armed rebel formations during the Civil War in Russia, operating in the south-east of Ukraine from July 21, 1918 to August 28, 1921 under the slogans of anarchism).

In the 1920s-1930s in the USSR

In the 1920s, new types of weapons were created on the basis of the machine gun design in the USSR: the Maxim-Tokarev light machine gun and the PV-1 aircraft machine gun.

In 1928, an anti-aircraft tripod mod. 1928 of the system of M. N. Kondakov. In addition, in 1928, the development of Maxim's quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns began. In 1929, the anti-aircraft ring sight mod. 1929.

In 1935, new states of the Red Army rifle division were established, in accordance with which the number of Maxim heavy machine guns in the division was somewhat reduced (from 189 to 180 pieces), and the number of light machine guns was increased (from 81 pieces to 350 pieces)

The cost of one machine gun "Maxim" on the Sokolov machine (with a set of spare parts and accessories) in 1939 was 2635 rubles; the cost of the Maxim machine gun on a universal machine (with a set of spare parts and accessories) - 5960 rubles; the cost of a 250-cartridge belt is 19 rubles

In the spring of 1941, in accordance with the staff of the Red Army Rifle Division No. 04 / 400-416 of April 5, 1941, the regular number of Maxim heavy machine guns was reduced to 166 pieces, and the number of anti-aircraft machine guns was increased (to 24 pieces. 7 .62 mm integrated anti-aircraft machine guns and 9 pieces of 12.7 mm DShK machine guns).

Machine gun Maxim arr. 1910/1930

During the combat use of the Maxim machine gun, it became clear that in the vast majority of cases, fire is fired at a distance of 800 to 1000 meters, and at such a range there is no noticeable difference in the trajectory of light and heavy bullets.

In 1930, the machine gun was again upgraded. Modernization was carried out by P. P. Tretyakov, I. A. Pastukhov, K. N. Rudnev and A. A. Tronenkov. The following changes were made to the design:

A folding butt plate was installed, in connection with which the right and left valves and the connection of the release lever and thrust have changed
- the fuse was moved to the trigger, which eliminated the need to use both hands when opening fire
- installed return spring tension indicator
-changed the sight, introduced a stand and a clamp with a latch, on the rear sight of the side corrections the scale is increased
- there was a buffer - a holder for a shield attached to the machine gun casing
-introduced a separate striker to the drummer
- for firing at long distances and from closed positions, a heavy bullet mod. 1930, optical sight and goniometer - quadrant
- for greater strength, the barrel casing is made with longitudinal corrugation
The upgraded machine gun was named "7.62 machine gun of the Maxim system of the 1910/30 model". In 1931, a more advanced universal machine gun model 1931 of the S.V. Vladimirov system and a PS-31 machine gun for long-term firing points were created and put into service.

By the end of the 1930s, the design of the machine gun was obsolete, primarily due to its large weight and size.

On September 22, 1939, the Red Army adopted the “7.62-mm easel machine gun mod. 1939 DS-39 ", which was intended to replace the Maxim machine guns. However, the operation of the DS-39 in the army revealed design flaws, as well as the unreliability of the operation of automation when using cartridges with a brass sleeve (for reliable operation of the automation, the DS-39 required cartridges with a steel sleeve).

During the Finnish war of 1939-1940. not only designers and manufacturers tried to increase the combat capabilities of the Maxim machine gun, but also directly in the troops. In winter, the machine gun was mounted on skis, sleds or drag boats, on which the machine gun was moved across the snow and from which, if necessary, they fired. In addition, in the winter of 1939-1940, there were cases when machine gunners planted on the armor of tanks installed Maxim machine guns on the roofs of tank towers and fired at the enemy, supporting the advancing infantry.

In 1940, in the barrel water cooler for quick water changes, the small diameter water filling hole was replaced by a wide neck. This innovation was borrowed from the Finnish Maxim (Maxim M32-33) and made it possible to solve the problem of the crew not having access to coolant in winter, now the casing could be filled with ice and snow.

After the start of the Great Patriotic War, in June 1941, the DS-39 was discontinued and enterprises were ordered to restore the curtailed production of Maxim machine guns.

In June 1941, at the Tula Arms Plant, under the leadership of chief engineer A. A. Tronenkov, engineers I. E. Lubenets and Yu. A. Kazarin began the final modernization (in order to increase the manufacturability of production), during which the Maxim was equipped with a simplified sight device (with one aiming bar instead of two, which were previously replaced depending on the shooting with a light or heavy bullet), a mount for an optical sight was dismantled from the machine gun.

Maxim machine gun as a means of military air defense

Based on the design of the machine gun, single, twin and quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mounts were created, which were the most common army air defense weapons. For example, the M4 quad anti-aircraft machine gun mount of the 1931 model of the year differed from the usual Maxim machine gun by the presence of a forced water circulation device, a larger capacity of machine-gun belts (for 1000 rounds instead of the usual 250) and an anti-aircraft ring sight. The installation was intended for firing at enemy aircraft (at altitudes up to 1400 m at speeds up to 500 km / h). The M4 installation was widely used as a stationary, self-propelled, ship mounted, mounted in car bodies, armored trains, railway platforms, on the roofs of buildings.

Twin and quad mounts of Maxim machine guns were also successfully used to fire at ground targets (in particular, to repel enemy infantry attacks). So, during the Finnish war of 1939-1940, units of the 34th Tank Brigade of the Red Army, who were surrounded in the Lemitte-Womas area, successfully repulsed several attacks by the Finnish infantry, using two twin mounts of Maxim anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on lorries as mobile firing points.

Application in the Great Patriotic War

The Maxim machine gun was actively used in the Great Patriotic War. It was in service with infantry and mountain rifle troops, border guards, the fleet, and was installed on armored trains, Willys and GAZ-64 jeeps.

In May 1942, in accordance with the order of the People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR D.F. Ustinov, a competition was announced for the creation of a new design of an easel machine gun for the Red Army (to replace the Maxim machine gun model 1910/30

On May 15, 1943, the Goryunov SG-43 heavy machine gun with an air barrel cooling system was adopted by the Red Army, which began to enter the troops in June 1943. But the Maxim machine gun continued to be produced until the end of the war at the Tula and Izhevsk factories, and until its completion it was the main machine gun of the Soviet Army.

Operating countries

Russian Empire: the main machine gun in service with the army.
-Germany: captured machine guns were used during the First World War.
-THE USSR
-Poland: in 1918-1920, a number of Russian Maxim machine guns mod. 1910 (under the name Maxim wz. 1910) was in service with the Polish army; after the 7.92x57 mm cartridge was adopted as a regular rifle and machine gun ammunition in 1922, a number of machine guns were converted to this cartridge, they received the name Maxim wz. 1910/28.
-Finland: after the declaration of independence of Finland in 1918, up to 600 7.62 mm Maxim machine guns mod. 1910 entered service with the emerging units of the Finnish army, Germany sold another 163; they were used under the name Maxim m / 1910, in the 1920s machine guns were purchased abroad (for example, in 1924 - 405 units were purchased in Poland); in 1932, a modernized Maxim M / 32-33 machine gun powered by a metal belt was adopted, some of the machine guns installed in pillboxes were supplied with forced water cooling of the barrel. By the winter of 1939, Maxim machine guns of various modifications still made up the bulk of the Finnish army's heavy machine guns. They were used in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. and "continuation war" 1941-1944.

In 1918-1922. a number of Russian machine guns "Maxim" mod. 1910 entered service with paramilitary forces in China (in particular, Zhang Zuolin received them from white emigrants who retreated to northern China)
-Bulgaria: in 1921-1923 a number of Russian 7.62-mm machine guns Maxim mod. 1910 came into the possession of the Bulgarian army after the disarmament of the units of the Wrangel army that arrived in Bulgaria.
-Second Spanish Republic: after the start of the war in Spain in 1936, 3221 machine guns were acquired by the government of the Spanish Republic.
-Mongolian People's Republic
-Third Reich: captured Soviet Maxim machine guns (under the name MG 216 (r)) were used by the Wehrmacht and entered service with paramilitary and security police forces in the occupied territory of the USSR.

Czechoslovakia: in January 1942, the first 12 Maxim machine guns were received by the 1st Czechoslovak separate infantry battalion, and later other Czechoslovak units.
- Poland: in 1943, the 1st Polish infantry division named after T. Kosciuszko received Soviet machine guns, and later other Polish units.
-Ukraine: as of August 15, 2011, there were 35,000 units in storage with the Ministry of Defense. machine guns; On October 8-9, 2014, the use of volunteer battalions during the battles for the Donetsk airport was noted, in early December 2014, another machine gun was seized by the SBU from DPR supporters in the Slavyansk region. Machine guns "Maxim" model 1910 (released in 1944) were issued to units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that took part in the armed conflict in the Donbass.

Reflection in culture and art

The Maxim machine gun is mentioned in many works about the events of the First World War, the Civil War (the films "Thirteen", "Chapaev", etc.), the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War.

Civil version

In 2013, the Maxim machine gun, without the function of automatic fire, was certified in Russia as a hunting rifle, sold under license.

performance characteristics

Weight, kg: 20.3 (body), 64.3 (with machine)
- Length, mm: 1067
- Barrel length, mm: 721
- Cartridge: 7.62x54 mm R
-Principles of operation: barrel recoil, crank locking
-Rate of fire, shots / min: 600
- Muzzle velocity, m/s: 740
- Type of ammunition: canvas or metal cartridge belt for 250

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    • Machine guns "Maxim"

    Machine gun system H. Maxim model 1910/30

    The machine gun "Maxim" of the 1910 model is a Russian version of the British machine gun, which was modernized at the Tula Arms Plant under the guidance of masters I. Pastukhov, I. Sudakov and P. Tretyakov. The body weight of the machine gun was reduced and some details were changed: the adoption of a cartridge with a pointed bullet of the 1908 model of the year made it necessary to change the sights in the machine gun and remake the receiver to fit the new cartridge. The English wheeled carriage was replaced by A.Sokolov's lightweight wheeled machine. In addition, A. Sokolov designed cartridge boxes, a gig for carrying cartridges, sealed cylinders for boxes with cartridges. Part of the machine guns had a casing with longitudinal ribs, which increased rigidity and increased the cooling surface, but the fins had to be abandoned in order to simplify production. ( S. Fedoseev. Machine gun "Maxim" model 1910)

    Machine guns "Maxim" were used during the First World War and the Civil War, they were used as heavy machine guns, installed on armored cars, armored trains and carts. In 1929, an experimental batch with a corrugated casing was produced, according to some reports with a wide neck, but it was not accepted into production. ( S. L. Fedoseev. "Machine guns of Russia. Heavy fire"). In 1930, the Maxim was modernized in connection with the adoption of a new cartridge with a heavy bullet. A corrugated casing is also introduced to lighten the machine gun. The modernized machine gun was named "7.62 machine gun of the Maxim system, model 1910/30".

    Main tactical and technical characteristics:

    Body weight of the Maxim machine gun with coolant - 24.2 kg

    The weight of the Sokolov machine with a shield is 43.4 kg
    Machine gun body length - 1107 mm
    The greatest width of the machine gun - 140 mm
    Rate of fire - 500-600 rounds per minute
    Maximum range of a bullet:

    heavy model 1930 - up to 5000 m
    light model 1908 - up to 3500 m

    The Maxim easel machine gun of the 1910/30 model belongs to automatic weapons systems with barrel recoil (short stroke). Locking is carried out by a crank type mechanism (connecting rod and bloodworm). The trigger mechanism of the machine gun is designed for automatic fire only and has a fuse against accidental shots. The machine gun is fed with cartridges from a slide-type receiver with a metal or canvas tape for 250 rounds. The barrel during firing is cooled by a liquid placed in the casing. Rack-mounted machine gun sight, front sight with a rectangular top.

    By the end of the 30s, the design of the machine gun was considered obsolete for rifle units. The time of carts has passed, and the machine gun was powerless against tanks. One of the drawbacks was its former advantage, which allowed continuous firing - water cooling of the barrel. It significantly increased the mass of the weapon, damage to the casing led to the outflow of water, a decrease in the speed and accuracy of fire, and after a while led to the failure of the machine gun. The machine gun became especially inconvenient during operations in the mountains and on the offensive. The machine gun with the machine had a mass of about 65 kg, the weight of the box with the cartridge belt - from 9.88 to 10.3 kilograms, the box with spare parts - 7.2 kilograms. Each heavy machine gun carried a combat set of cartridges, 12 boxes of machine-gun belts, two spare barrels, one box of spare parts, one box of accessories, three cans for water and grease, and an optical machine gun sight. ( From the manual for the infantryman. Chapter 12 1940). This weight significantly reduced the maneuverability of the machine gun during the battle, and the protruding shield made it difficult to disguise. On the march, the machine gun was served by a team consisting of 5-7 people (machine-gun compartment), during the battle - from 2-3 people.

    The need for a link metal tape was recognized. Such a tape was used in the PV-1 aircraft machine gun, created on the basis of the Maxim. The fact that this tape was not accepted for ground machine guns is due to the lack of stamping and pressing equipment that allows its mass production.

    To replace the "Maxim" on September 22, 1939, a new air-cooled machine gun "Degtyarev easel model of 1939" was adopted for service. But the Tula Arms Plant continued to produce "Maxims" of the 1910/30 model - in 1940, 4049 "Maxim" machine guns were produced, in terms of orders from the people's commissariats of defense for ground weapons, 3000 units were scheduled for 1941 ( S. L. Fedoseev. Machine guns of Russia. Heavy fire). Structurally, the DS-39 machine guns turned out to be underdeveloped, in June 1941 they were taken out of production, and the production of Maxims began to increase with the outbreak of war. But already in October 1941, the production of machine guns dropped sharply due to the evacuation of factories.

    The main manufacturer of easel machine guns was the Tula Machine-Building Plant No. 66. In October 1941, in connection with the approach of the Nazi troops to Tula, the equipment of plant No. 66 was evacuated to the Urals. The production of machine guns dropped sharply. During the siege of Tula (November - December 1941), on the basis of the Tula Arms Plant and using equipment collected from other enterprises of the city, among other weapons, Degtyarev machine guns - 224, machine guns of the Maxim system - 71 were assembled. In the last quarter of 1941, instead of the planned 12,000 Maxim machine guns, the front received 867. For the whole of 1941, 9,691 Maxim machine guns and 3,717 DS machine guns were produced. S. L. Fedoseev. Machine guns of Russia. Heavy fire).

    From 4 to 12 October 1941, engineers Yu.A. Kozarin and I.E. Lubenets under the leadership of the chief designer A.A. Tronenkov at the Tula Arms Plant undertook another modernization of the Maxim machine gun in accordance with the new combat and production and economic requirements. To fill the casing with ice and snow, it was equipped with a wide neck with a hinged lid - this solution was borrowed from the Finnish Maxim M32-33, which the Soviet army had to face in 1940. The machine gun was equipped with a simplified sight with one aiming bar instead of two, which were replaced earlier, depending on the shooting with a light or heavy bullet, the bracket for the optical sight was removed from the machine gun machine, since the latter was not attached to the machine gun.

    For the use of metal and canvas tapes I.E. Lubenz developed a milled receiver, for the convenience of unloading it was equipped with a special switch for the upper fingers. But, in order to maximize the use of large stocks of canvas tapes, receivers only for them continued to be produced throughout the war. Then, in October, the People's Commissariat of Armaments and the GAU approved design changes, but the improvement continued. Receivers from 1942 began to be produced from silumin by injection molding or from steel by broach.

    The Maxim machine gun is a machine gun designed by American-born British gunsmith Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1883. The Maxim machine gun became one of the founders of automatic weapons; it was widely used during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, World War I and World War II, as well as in many small wars and armed conflicts of the 20th century.

    Machine gun Maxim - video

    The outdated, but very reliable Maxim machine gun is found in "hot spots" around the world, even today.

    In 1873, the American inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim created the first type of automatic weapon - the Maxim machine gun. He decided to use the weapon's recoil energy, which had not been used in any way before. But the testing and practical use of these weapons were stopped for 10 years, since Maxim was not only a gunsmith and, in addition to weapons, was interested in other inventions. His range of interests included various techniques, electricity, and so on, and the machine gun was just one of his many inventions. In the early 1880s, Maxim finally took up his machine gun, but in appearance his weapon was already very different from the 1873 model. Perhaps these ten years were spent thinking, calculating and improving the design in the drawings. After that, Hiram Maxim made a proposal to the US government to adopt his machine gun into service. But the invention did not interest anyone in the USA, and then Maxim emigrated to the UK, where his development initially also did not arouse much interest from the military. However, they were seriously interested in the British banker Nathaniel Rothschild, who was present at the tests of the new weapon, and agreed to finance the development and production of the machine gun.

    Maxim's Arms Company began to manufacture and advertise machine guns, showing their work in many states. Hiram Maxim managed to achieve excellent survivability and reliability of his weapons, and at the end of 1899 his machine gun, produced under the British cartridge of caliber .303 (7.7 mm), fired 15 thousand shots without any serious difficulties.

    System

    The machine gun of the Maxim system (or simply "Maxim") is an automatic weapon based on automation with a barrel recoil that has a short stroke. As the shot is fired, the powder gases send the barrel back, setting in motion the reloading mechanism, which removes the cartridge from the fabric tape, sends it to the breech and at the same time cocks the bolt. After the shot is fired, the operation is repeated anew. The machine gun has an average rate of fire - 600 rounds per minute (depending on versions varies from 450 to 1000), and the combat rate of fire is 250-300 rounds per minute.

    For firing from a machine gun of the 1910 model, rifle cartridges of 7.62 × 54 mm R are used with bullets of the 1908 model of the year (light bullet) and the 1930 model of the year (heavy bullet). The trigger system is designed only for automatic fire and has a fuse against accidental shots. The machine gun is powered by cartridges from a slide-type receiver, with a cloth or metal tape with a capacity of 250 rounds, which appeared later. The sighting device includes a rack-mounted sight and a front sight with a rectangular top. Some machine guns could also be equipped with an optical sight. The machine gun was originally mounted on bulky gun carriages, modeled on mitrailleuse gun carriages; then portable machines appeared, usually on tripods; in the Russian army since 1910, a wheeled machine developed by Colonel A. A. Sokolov was used. This machine gave the machine gun sufficient stability when firing and made it possible, unlike tripods, to easily move the machine gun when changing positions.

    Main details

    box
    - Casing
    - recoil pad
    - Shutter
    - Receiver
    - return spring
    - Return spring box
    - Lock
    - Trigger lever

    The manufacture of one Maxim machine gun required 2448 operations and took 700 working hours.

    Hiram Maxim with his machine gun

    Maxim machine gun in Russia

    After a successful demonstration of the machine gun in Switzerland, Italy and Austria, Hiram Maxim arrived in Russia with a demonstrative model of the .45 caliber machine gun (11.43 mm). In 1887, the Maxim machine gun was tested under the 10.67-mm cartridge of the Berdan rifle with black powder. On March 8, 1888, Emperor Alexander III fired from it. After testing, representatives of the Russian military department ordered Maxim 12 machine guns of the 1885 model of the year under the 10.67-mm Berdan rifle cartridge.

    The Vickers and Maxim Sons enterprise began to supply Maxim machine guns to Russia. The machine guns were delivered to St. Petersburg in May 1889. The Russian navy also became interested in the new weapon; it ordered two more machine guns for testing. Subsequently, the Berdan rifle was withdrawn from service, and the Maxim machine guns were converted to the 7.62-mm cartridge of the Russian Mosin rifle. In 1891-1892. five machine guns chambered for 7.62x54 mm were purchased for testing. During 1897-1904. 291 more machine guns were purchased.

    In 1901, the 7.62-mm Maxim machine gun on an English-style wheeled carriage was adopted by the ground forces, during this year the first 40 Maxim machine guns entered the Russian army. The machine gun (whose mass on a heavy carriage with large wheels and a large armored shield was 244 kg) was assigned to the artillery. Machine guns were planned to be used to defend fortresses, to repel massive enemy infantry attacks with fire from pre-equipped and protected positions. In March 1904, a contract was signed for the production of Maxim machine guns at the Tula Arms Plant. The cost of producing a Tula machine gun (942 rubles + £80 commission to Vickers, about 1700 rubles in total) was cheaper than the cost of purchasing from the British (2288 rubles 20 kopecks per machine gun). In May 1904, mass production of machine guns began at the Tula Arms Plant.

    Machine gun "Maxim" model 1895 on a fortress gun carriage with a shield.

    Application

    The Maxim machine gun was designed to support infantry with fire, as well as to suppress enemy fire and clear the path for infantrymen during an attack, or to cover during a retreat. In defense, the Maxim machine gun was designed to deal with enemy firing points, to fire at open approaches. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, European pacifists often demanded a complete ban on the use of a machine gun in military conflicts, as an inhumane weapon. These demands were provoked by the fact that Great Britain was the first among the colonial empires to reveal the advantages of the machine gun and began to actively use it in clashes with poorly armed native rebels.

    In Sudan on September 2, 1898, at the battle of Omdurman, a 10,000-strong Anglo-Egyptian army fought a 100,000-strong Sudanese army, which consisted mainly of irregular cavalry. Sudanese cavalry attacks were repulsed by massive machine-gun fire. The British units suffered minor losses.

    Combat use in the Russo-Japanese War

    The Maxim machine gun was used during the Russo-Japanese War. In one of the battles near Mukden, the Russian battery, equipped with sixteen Maxim machine guns (at that time in the Russian army, machine guns were subordinate to the artillery department), withstood several attacks by the Japanese, and soon the Japanese side lost half of the attackers. Without the help of machine guns, it would have been impossible to repel these attacks so effectively. Having fired several tens of thousands of shots in a relatively short period of time, the Russian machine guns nevertheless did not fail and were in good condition, thus proving their exceptional combat characteristics. Now machine guns began to be purchased by the hundreds, despite the significant price, over 3,000 rubles per machine gun. At the same time, they were already removed from heavy carriages in the troops and, in order to increase maneuverability, they were put on home-made, lighter and more convenient to transport machines.

    Ensign of the Military Driving School at a machine gun in the back of a training armored vehicle "Berlie". Petrograd. 1915

    Application in the Great Patriotic War

    The Maxim machine gun was actively used by the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War. It was used by both infantry and mountain rifle units, as well as the fleet. During the war, the combat capabilities of "Maxim" tried to increase not only the designers and manufacturers, but also directly in the troops. The soldiers often removed the armor shield from the machine gun, thereby trying to increase maneuverability and achieve less visibility. For camouflage, in addition to camouflage, covers were put on the casing and shield of the machine gun. In winter, "Maxim" was installed on skis, sleds or on a drag boat, from which they fired. During the Great Patriotic War, machine guns were attached to light SUVs "Willis" and GAZ-64.

    There was also a quadruple anti-aircraft version of the Maxim. This ZPU was widely used as a stationary, self-propelled, ship, installed in car bodies, armored trains, railway platforms, on the roofs of buildings. Machine-gun systems "Maxim" have become the most common weapon of military air defense. The quad anti-aircraft machine gun installation of the 1931 model of the year differed from the usual Maxim by the presence of a forced water circulation device and a large capacity of machine gun belts - for 1000 rounds instead of the usual 250 rounds. Using anti-aircraft ring sights, the installation was able to conduct effective fire on low-flying enemy aircraft (maximum at altitudes up to 1400 m at speeds up to 500 km/h). These mounts were also often used to support infantry.

    By the end of the 1930s, the Maxim design was obsolete. The body of the machine gun (without a machine tool, water in the casing and cartridges) had a mass of about 20 kg. The mass of the Sokolov machine is 40 kg, plus 5 kg of water. Since it was impossible to use a machine gun without a machine tool and water, the working weight of the entire system (without cartridges) was about 65 kg. Moving such a weight around the battlefield under fire was not easy. The high profile made camouflage difficult; damage to the thin-walled casing in battle with a bullet or shrapnel practically disabled the machine gun. It was difficult to use "Maxim" in the mountains, where the fighters had to use homemade tripods instead of regular machines. Significant difficulties in the summer were caused by the supply of water to the machine gun. In addition, the Maxim system was very difficult to maintain. A lot of trouble was delivered by a cloth tape - it was difficult to equip it, it wore out, torn, absorbed water. For comparison, a single Wehrmacht machine gun MG-34 had a mass of 10.5 kg without cartridges, was powered by a metal tape and did not require water for cooling (while being somewhat inferior to the Maxim in terms of firepower, being closer to the Degtyarev light machine gun in this indicator, although and with one important nuance - the MG34 had a quick-change barrel, which made it possible, in the presence of spare barrels, to fire more intensive bursts from it). Shooting from the MG-34 could be carried out without a machine gun, which contributed to the secrecy of the machine gunner's position.

    On the other hand, the positive properties of Maxim were also noted: thanks to the shockless operation of automation, it was very stable when fired from a standard machine, gave even better accuracy than later developments, and made it possible to control fire very accurately. Under the condition of competent maintenance, the machine gun could serve twice as long as the established resource, which was already greater than that of the new, lighter machine guns.

    Gun team. Caucasian Front 1914-1915.

    Even before the war, a significantly more advanced and modern design of an easel machine gun was developed and put into production - a DS designed by V. Degtyarev. However, due to problems with reliability and a significantly greater demand for maintenance, its production was soon curtailed, and most of the copies available to the troops were lost at the initial stage of hostilities (in many respects a similar fate befell another type of weapon of the Red Army - the Tokarev self-loading rifle, which was not they managed to bring it to the proper level of reliability before the start of the war, and subsequently production was forced to curtail in favor of the outdated, but well-developed and familiar to the fighters "three-line").

    However, the urgent need to replace the Maxim with more modern weapons did not disappear, so in 1943 the Pyotr Goryunov SG-43 machine gun with an air-cooled barrel was adopted. The SG-43 was superior to the Maxim in many ways. He began to enter the troops in the second half of 1943. Meanwhile, "Maxim" continued to be produced until the end of the war at the Tula and Izhevsk plants, and until the end of production, it remained the main heavy machine gun of the Red Army.

    The last fact of the use of a machine gun by the Soviet army occurred in 1969 during the border conflict on Damansky Island.

    However, this machine gun has been actively used and is used in many hot spots to this day: in particular, it is used by both opposing sides during the war in Donbass, mainly as stationary firing points.

    Austin type machine gun 1 series 15 machine gun platoon of the South-Western Front.

    Maxim machine gun model 1910

    The 7.62-mm machine gun "Maxim" of the 1910 model of the year is a Russian version of the British machine gun "Maxim", which was modernized at the Tula Arms Plant under the guidance of masters I. A. Pastukhov, I. A. Sudakov and P. P. Tretyakov. The body weight of the machine gun was reduced and some details were changed: the adoption of a cartridge with a pointed bullet of the 1908 model of the year made it necessary to change the sights in the Maxim machine gun, remake the receiver so that it fits the new cartridge, and also expand the opening of the muzzle bushing, in order to avoid too much shaking of the machine gun when firing. The English wheeled carriage was replaced by a lightweight wheeled machine by A. A. Sokolov, the armor shield of the English sample was replaced by a reduced size armor shield. In addition, A. Sokolov designed cartridge boxes, a gig for carrying cartridges, sealed cylinders for boxes with cartridges.

    Machine gun Maxim arr. 1910 with the machine weighed 62.66 kg (and together with the liquid poured into the casing to cool the barrel - about 70 kg).

    Maxim machine guns arr. 1910s were used during the First World War and the Civil War, they were used as heavy machine guns, mounted on armored cars, armored trains and carts.

    German fire support horse

    Maxim machine gun model 1910/30

    During the combat use of the Maxim machine gun, it became clear that in most cases fire was fired at a distance of 800 to 1000 m, and at such a range there was no noticeable difference in the trajectory of a light bullet of the 1908 model and a heavy bullet of the 1930 model.

    In 1930, the machine gun was again modernized, the following changes were made to the design:

    A folding butt plate was installed, in connection with which the right and left valves and the connection of the release lever and thrust have changed
    - the fuse was moved to the trigger, which eliminated the need to use both hands when opening fire
    - installed return spring tension indicator
    - the sight has been changed, a stand and a clamp with a latch have been introduced, the scale on the rear sight of the side adjustments has been increased
    - a buffer appeared - a holder for a shield attached to the machine gun casing
    - introduced a separate striker to the drummer
    - for shooting at long distances and from closed positions, a heavy bullet of the 1930 model was introduced, an optical sight and a goniometer - a quadrant
    - for greater strength, the barrel casing is made with longitudinal corrugation.

    The modernized machine gun was named "7.62 machine gun of the Maxim system of the 1910/30 model of the year"

    In 1940, following the experience of the Soviet-Finnish war, the machine gun received a wide filler hole and a drain valve for the pourer hole (following the example of the Finnish M32), now in winter conditions the casing could be filled with ice and snow.

    Motorized machine gun - Russian invention

    This Finnish machine gun is a variant of the Russian 1910 pattern machine gun. The Maxim M/32-33 was designed by the Finnish gunsmith Aimo Lahti in 1932, it could fire at a rate of 800 rounds per minute, while the Russian machine gun of the 1910 model fired at a rate of 600 rounds per minute; in addition, "Maxim" M / 32-33 had a number of other innovations. It was actively used by the Finnish side in the Soviet-Finnish war. The cartridge used differed in tolerances from the Soviet one.

    Machine gunners of the 84th Life Infantry Shirvan Regiment of His Majesty.

    Vickers

    The Vickers is an English variant of the machine gun and was practically the main heavy automatic infantry weapon in the British army from the time it was adopted in 1912 until the early 1960s. In addition to Great Britain, Vickers were also produced in the USA, Australia, and Portugal. Before the US entered the First World War, the War Department evaluated the weapons of the Entente and after that, at the end of 1916, ordered 4,000 Vickers machine guns from the Colt arms company.

    The device of the Vickers machine gun was slightly different from the device of the Russian machine gun "Maxim" of the 1910 model of the year as follows:

    The castle was rotated 180 degrees so that the lower descent was facing up; this made it possible to reduce the height and weight of the box.
    - The lid of the box is divided into two halves: the front half of the lid covers the receiver, and the back half closes the box; both parts are fixed on the same axis.
    - The butt plate is hinged, attached to the box with two bolts (upper and lower).

    Vickers in aviation

    In 1914, Vickers began to be installed on military aircraft, and in 1916 the Vickers Mk I (51) appeared, its distinguishing feature was the air cooling of the barrel and the synchronizer thrust for firing through the propeller of the aircraft. Ventilation holes were made in the barrel casing in front and behind. The weight of the "body" of the machine gun was 13.5 kg, the number 511 indicated an increased rate of fire with the help of a buffer, which accelerated the initial speed of the rolling system of the mobile system. Vickers was used by both French and Russian aviation. Machine guns "Vickers" also began to arm the first tanks.

    MG 08 (German: Maschinengewehr 08) - German version of the Maxim machine gun, it could be mounted on both a sled and a tripod machine. MG 08 was actively used by the German army in the First World War. Like the base sample, the MG 08 automatic system works on the barrel recoil system. The Wehrmacht began the Second World War, armed with, in addition to other types of machine guns, 42,722 easel, heavy machine guns MG 08/15 and MG 08/18. By the beginning of World War II, the MG 08 was already an obsolete weapon, its use in the Wehrmacht was explained only by the lack of newer and more modern machine guns.

    Swiss variant of the Maxim machine gun, based on the German MG 08. Used the standard Swiss rifle cartridge 7.5x55mm Schmidt-Rubin.

    PV-1 (Machine Gun Vozdushny) - a variant designed for installation on military aircraft. It differs from the basic model in the way it is attached to the carrier and the absence of a water cooling casing.

    Type 24

    Type 24 - Chinese variant, which is a copy of the German MG 08 (Mingo year 24 corresponds to Gregorian year 1935). It was produced by the Jingling Arsenal (Nanjing) with a tripod machine Dreifuß 16. In total, about 36 thousand pieces were produced. Subsequently, many of them were converted under the Soviet cartridge 7.62 × 54 mm R. There was also a modification of the air-cooled machine gun, "Type 36".

    Large-caliber options

    In addition to options for rifle caliber, large-caliber versions were also produced: Vickers .50 (12.7 × 81 mm), used in the British Navy and ground forces, and the experimental MG 18 TuF (13.25 × 92 mm SR). Vickers .50 was used during World War II. There were also quad variants as anti-aircraft machine guns.

    Captured Russian Maxim machine guns on a machine-gun cart, Berlin

    Tactical and technical characteristics of the machine gun Maxim

    Adopted: 1889
    - Constructor: Maxim, Hiram Stevens
    - Designed: 1883

    Maxim machine gun weight

    Maxim machine gun dimensions

    Length, mm: 1067
    - Barrel length, mm: 721

    Maxim machine gun cartridge

    7.62×54 mm R (Maxim mod. 1910)
    - 7.92 × 57 mm Mauser (MG 08)
    - .303 British (Vickers)
    - 7.5 × 55 mm (MG 11)
    - 8×50 mm R Mannlicher

    Caliber machine gun Maxim

    Maxim machine gun rate of fire

    600 shots/min

    Machine gun bullet speed Maxim

    Work principles: barrel recoil, crank locking
    Type of ammunition: machine-gun belt for 250 rounds.

    Photo machine gun Maxim