Hotchkiss Light Machine Gun

There were two Hotchkiss models in Army use during World War One. One was the standard French Heavy Machine Gun, the Puteaux-Hotchkiss Mle 1914. The other one was a smaller, lighter, portable model, that was employed both as a mobile Light MG, and as a weapon in a number of British Tanks, among others the Mk IV and the Whippet. (It was also used in aircraft.)

It was a light weapon, weighing only some 28 pounds, and simple in design, made up of only 26 component parts. It was, as is obvious, an air-cooled weapon, but with much smaller cooling flanges than on the bigger model. The infantry model was equipped with a bipod barrel rest, the aircraft version was instead equipped with a crutch, and the wooden stock replaced by a pistol grip. When used in Tanks, the stock was also removed, employing only the pistol grip. 

The maximum rate of fire was 600 rounds per minute, as long the gun was fully served. With two men the rate of fire was lowered to 400 rounds per minute, and if only one man was to serve the gun, a rate of 250 rounds per minute was maximum. It could also be fired in single shot mode, at a rate of 100 rounds per minute.

In a contemporary manual the principle of the gun is described thus: 
"The gun is operated automatically by two forces:
(1) The pressure of gas resulting from the explosion of the charge.
(2) The recoil spring.
Guided in the receiver parallel to and below the barrel is the piston, which by its reciprocating motion assures the automatic action of the gun. It is brought about as follows: When the bullet in its passage through the bore has passed a part connecting the barrel with the gas cylinder, a small portion of the powder gas, trapped, issues from the nozzle, and, impinging in the cup­shaped forward extremity of the piston, drives it to the rear. The recoil spring, compressed by the piston in its rearward movement, now drives the piston again to its initial position."

The cartridges were fed into the gun on flat tempered steel strips, of 30 rounds each. The strips, empty, weighed about 4.5 ounces; when full, about 1 pound 15 ounces. There were also strips of 9 usually carried in bandoliers, and special arrangements were made for the 14 round strips. There were also ammunition belts. These were made up of "three round" links, except the first link, which was a "six round" link to facilitate introduction in the receiver; it is made to take 50 rounds and used in the Tanks. The ammunition came in boxes, each containing 10 feed strips of 30 rounds each, filled by hand or by a filling machine.

It was considered a good gun, easy to use. Or, as it is stated in the above mentioned manual: "The absence of recoil enables a novice to obtain an excellent group on any target. This is a decided advantage, as in the case of some machine guns much experience and practice in holding is absolutely necessary."