Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun
| Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun | |
|---|---|
7×57 mm Mauser (Brazil and Spain) | |
| Caliber | .303 (7.70 mm) 8 mm .30 (7.62 mm) 7 mm |
| Action | Gas-operated |
| Rate of fire | 400-600 rounds per minute[1] |
| Maximum firing range | 3800 m |
| Feed system | 30-round feed strip, or belt-fed |
The Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a light machine gun of the early 20th century that was developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I, Hotchkiss Portative and M1909 Benét–Mercié.
Design
It was based on a design by Austrian nobleman and Army officer, Adolf Odkolek von Újezd, who sold the manufacturing rights to Hotchkiss in 1893.[citation needed] Several improved versions were designed by Hotchkiss's American manager, Laurence Vincent Benét (son of General Stephen Vincent Benét) and his French assistant, Henri Mercié.
It was gas-operated and air-cooled, had a maximum range of 3,800 m (4,200 yd) and weighed 12 kg (27 lb). Initial models were fed by a 30-round feed strip but later models could be either strip-fed or belt-fed. The U.S. types had a bipod, while some others used a small tripod. This tripod, fitted under the firearm, could be moved with the weapon, and thus was very different from larger, heavier tripods of the period.
Manufacture
Production began at the Hotchkiss factory in Saint-Denis, Paris, but in 1914, with the invading German army threatening the city, the French military authorities ordered the factory to be moved to Lyon. The following year, the British government invited Hotchkiss to set up a factory in Coventry. By the end of the war, this factory had manufactured over 40,000 M1909s.[2]
The U.S. version was made by Springfield Armory and by Colt's Manufacturing Company. Total production for the United States was 670.[1] This was small compared to the huge production runs of firearms later in the 20th century, but this was a significant number for the size of the contemporary U.S. Army. The M1909's adoption coincided with the withdrawal of the .30-06 manually operated Gatling guns from the U.S. Army's arsenals.
Service
As the Hotchkiss M1909 (or Mle 1909), firing the
A variant to use the .303 round was produced in Britain at the Coventry factory as the "Hotchkiss Mark I" and issued to some cavalry regiments. The MkI* variant, with the wooden stock replaced with a pistol grip, was widely used in British tanks during World War I.[3]
It was adopted by the United States in 1909 as the "Benét–Mercié Machine Rifle, Caliber .30 U. S. Model of 1909" firing the
U.S. forces used the Benét–Mercié at the Battle of Masaya in 1912, In the 1915 Haitian Campaign, the 1916 Battle of Guayacanas,[7] the Battle of Columbus in 1916 (4 guns fired 20,000 rounds total in the engagement), the subsequent Pancho Villa Expedition in Mexico of 1916–17,[8] and initially in France.[citation needed]
On the American guns, firing pins and extractors broke frequently. Some members of the U.S. press derisively called the M1909 the "daylight gun" because of the difficulty in replacing broken parts at night and jams caused when a loading strip was inserted upside down in darkness.
Users
Austria-Hungary
Australia[5]
Belgium[4]
Brazil
Republic of China
Finland
France[4]
Kingdom of Greece[11]
India
Irish National Army during the Irish Civil War
Kingdom of Italy[12]
Mexico[4]
Ottoman Empire[12]
Russia
Spain
Sweden[4]
United Kingdom[5]
United States[4]
New Zealand[13]
Gallery
-
2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry gunners in Flanders, winter of 1914–1915 -
Old Glory postcard with U.S. soldiers firing an M1909 machine gun -
Hotchkiss Mark I on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center -
British soldiers of the Royal East Kent Regiment in 1941
-ZKlugerPhotos-00132hd-090717068512410a.jpg)
See also
- Light machine gun
- List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
- Huot automatic rifle
- Chauchat - Another French light machine gun that was also used by the U.S. Army
- Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun
References
- ^ a b c d e Canfield, Bruce N. (September 2010). "The 'Daylight Gun': U.S. Model of 1909 Benét–Mercié Machine Gun". American Rifleman. Vol. 158, no. 9. pp. 84–87.
- ISBN 978-0-31330-832-1.
- ^ "Hotchkiss Machine Gun Mk 1*". Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Hotchkiss Portative LMG". Forgotten Weapons. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85753-270-8.
- ^ Idress, Ion (1944). The Desert Column: Leaves from the Diary of an Australian Trooper in Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine. Sydney, NSW: Angus & Robertson. p. 225.
- ^ Association, National Rifle. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | Guns of the "Banana Wars" Part One". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ Segel 2012
- LCCN 62-12654.
- ^ Canfield, Bruce (October 2016). "1916: Guns On The Border". American Rifleman. Vol. 164, no. 10. National Rifle Association.
- ISBN 978-1-47281-917-8.
- ^ OCLC 1159412148.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ "Hotchkiss light machine gun". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 15 July 2013.
Further reading
- Segel, Robert G. (3 January 2012). "U.S. Automatic Machine Rifle Model of 1909". Small Arms Defense Journal. Vol. 2, no. 4.
External links
- "M1909 Benet-Mercier .30 Machine Rifle". US Militaria Forum. 3 January 2008. Images from the Museum of the Soldier, Portland, Indiana.
- An Instructor (1917). Complete Guide to the Hotchkiss Machine Gun. London, UK: ISBN 9781781512654.
- "Hotchkiss Portative LMG". Forgotten Weapons. 2011.
- vbbsmyt (28 November 2017). "Hotchkiss Portable MG". YouTube. Animation of the Hotchkiss portative .303 machine gun.
- Handbook of the Automatic Machine Rifle Caliber .30, Model of 1909. Ordnance Department. 31 July 1916. (many good plates)
- "New Machine Guns Ordered: Vickers Recoil Type Will Replace Those That Jammed". The New York Times. 24 March 1916.
- Collection of photos that appear to be either U.S. Army photos or published before 1922