Some archived footage here, of the Manchester Regiment showing us how to properly set up a Vickers gun…and how not to!
The clip comes from the Museum of the Manchester Regisment, in Ashton-under-Lyne east of Manchester.
Commentary
Predicting the Future
While doing some research on the experimental Spencer-Lee rifle design, I came across an article on shoulder rifle technology written by Col. George Fosbery in 1884 for the Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. […]
Ammunition
British and Japanese Ammo Docs
We have a couple more ammunition-related documents today, both in English this time (and courtesy of reader Robert). First up is the short one, a 21-page leaflet on Japanese ammunition markings. It was written just […]
Light MGs
Vintage Saturday: Kiwi Rambo
Since we were just looking at Bren drums yesterday, here’s a New Zealand trooper in the desert somewhere with a pair of them…
Yep, that’s the way we like it.
Nice gun to shot as soon you get rid of the British soldiers.
Thanks, Ian — You really made my morning :)! The second half of the film (“How Not To Do It”), was hilarious. It reminded me of the old silent movies featuring such unforgettable characters as the Keystone Cops, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd.
By the way, that three-man Vickers crew used in the demonstration film is very competent and well-trained.
The only thing worse than bungling the set-up process would be an attempt to brew tea in the barrel jacket. The tea would taste of machine oil… And using the gun as a toilet is strictly out of the question. Urine will corrode the barrel if you don’t clean out the “emergency coolant.”
Anyways, once the Vickers gun is up and supported by other guns, it will likely keep watch over the battlefield for days on end (and kill hundreds or thousands during its watch).
Nice post. Thanks.
The first segment is so nice and smooth. Clearly it is a “parade ground” exercise. Sadly when there are incoming bullets ,artillery and screaming hoards of armed of enemies things usually happen in the manner of the second segment. Remember people standing and assembling a machinegun will attract unwanted attention form those who are the intended targets.