Heavy MGs
Kord: Russia’s New .50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun
The Kord was developed to replace the Soviet NSV heavy machine gun. The NSV was developed in 1969 to replace the DShK, and it was a pretty good gun – but it was manufactured in […]
Heavy MGs
Heavy MGs
MG08: The Devil’s Paintbrush
The MG08 was the German Army standard Maxim gun in World War One. The Germany Navy adopted the Maxim first in 1894, followed by the Army in 1899, then a new pattern in 1901, and […]
Heavy MGs
MG11: The Magnificent Swiss Maxim Gun
The Swiss were one of the first countries to test Hiram Maxim’s new automatic machine gun in 1887, and they found it far superior to their just-recently-purchased Gardner guns. The first Swiss maxims were delivered […]
Heavy MGs
Argentine Brass Maxim: A Machine Gun of the Steampunk Age
The Maxim Gun was the first successful true machine gun, and it became extremely popular worldwide. Maxim sent his first two working models to Enfield for testing in 1887, and by 1889 he had what […]
Heavy MGs
Russia’s Big Fifty on the Range: DShK-38
Yesterday we looked at the history and the mechanics of the Soviet heavy machine guns from World War Two, the DShK-38. Today, we are taking it out to the range!
Heavy MGs
DShK-38: The Soviet Monster .50 Cal HMG
In 1925 the USSR began a program to develop a heavy machine gun for antiaircraft use. After some initial experimentation with a converted Dreyse machine gun, they brought in Degtyarev to scale up his recently-adopted […]
Heavy MGs
The US Adopts A Maxim: The Colt Model 1904
The US Army spent nearly 16 years languidly testing the Maxim gun, but was never willing to actually make a decision until a final trial in 1903 finally settled the matter. The Maxim was deemed […]
Accessories
Water-Cooled .50s: The US Navy Mk22 Pedestal Mount
In 1942, the US Navy adopted the Mk22 Pedestal mount, which fitted a pair of water-cooled Browning M2 machine guns (one left-hand feed and one right-hand). It was used for antiaircraft use primarily, and was […]
Heavy MGs
Goryunov SG43: Russia Replaces the Maxim
The Russian M1910 Maxim was clearly obsolete in the 1930s, and the Soviet military developed a replacement for it – the Degtyarev DS-39. These performed well in testing, but several major flaws were revealed when […]
Conversion
Ukrainian DShK as Infantry Support Weapon
The initial Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 stagnated into trench warfare after a few months, and Ukrainian forces found themselves often in entrenched positions 500m or more from Russian opposition. At that range, their […]