This video explores the Maxim 'Prototype', considered the first practical machine gun. It details Hiram Maxim's pioneering recoil operating system, patented in 1883, and its application in this proof-of-concept machine gun. The Prototype featured a unique hydraulic rate of fire control, adjustable from 1 to 500 rounds per minute, and a combined trigger and accelerator lever. The description highlights the rarity of this artifact, with only three known to exist, and provides information on visiting the Royal Armouries collection where one is housed.
This video explores the M1915 Villar Perosa, one of the earliest military machine guns, originally designed as an aircraft weapon. It details its unique dual-barreled configuration, high rate of fire, and its feed system using 25-round magazines of 9mm Glisenti cartridges. The description highlights its obsolescence in aerial combat with the advent of improved armaments and its unsuccessful adaptations for ground combat. The video also touches upon its later conversion into shoulder-fired submachine guns by Beretta and Villar Perosa, making intact original models rare.
This video showcases the firing of a Reffye Mitrailleuse reproduction, an early mechanical machine gun. The description provides historical context, highlighting its use in the Franco-Prussian War and its initial misapplication as artillery. It contrasts the Reffye with other early machine gun designs like the Gatling and Montigny, and mentions that the featured weapon is firing blanks. The footage is credited to Julien Lucot of the French arms magazine Cibles.
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