Vickers K Machine Gun - Aircraft of World War II

Micdrow · 04-08-2008, 08:57 PM

Small article on the Vickers K Machine Gun.

Enjoy!!!!

Glider · 04-09-2008, 04:37 AM

I wouldn't fancy firing one from the shoulder, I don't care what they say

Fokker D21 · 04-09-2008, 11:07 PM

Amazing that in 1939 there was already public awareness about the trend of increasing gun sizes.

Equally amazing that sensitive technical data in July '39 was not classified.

Great article.

Tony Williams · 04-12-2008, 06:45 AM

Thanks for posting that.

There was nothing very secret about the Class K: it was a beefed-up and speeded-up version of the Vickers-Berthier light machine gun, which was nearly chosen for the British Army (the Bren just beat it) and was used by the Indian Army. This was in turn based on the French Berthier LMG, which was developed before the First World War.

The Class K was a very good gun. It was test-flown with the big 300-round drum mentioned, and beat the .303 Browning for reliability. However, the wide drum would have caused problems to accommodate, since it would have interfered with wing structures.

When Class Ks were removed from aircraft, special forces in the North African Desert liked to attach them to their vehicles, as they liked the higher rate of fire and bigger magazine capacity compared with the Bren. Of course, they couldn't have fired very long bursts without running into overheating problems.

CharlesBronson · 06-04-2008, 09:55 PM

Very good, Thanks.

A4K · 06-05-2008, 04:42 AM

Great article Paul, thanks!

04-09-2008, 11:07 PM	#3
Fokker D21 Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Dordrecht Posts: 62	Amazing that in 1939 there was already public awareness about the trend of increasing gun sizes. Equally amazing that sensitive technical data in July '39 was not classified. Great article. __________________ Ceteris Paribus (meaning everything else is considered to have no influence on our investigation) http://members.tele2.nl/harmstolk/gunpower.htm

04-12-2008, 06:45 AM	#4
Tony Williams Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 273	Thanks for posting that. There was nothing very secret about the Class K: it was a beefed-up and speeded-up version of the Vickers-Berthier light machine gun, which was nearly chosen for the British Army (the Bren just beat it) and was used by the Indian Army. This was in turn based on the French Berthier LMG, which was developed before the First World War. The Class K was a very good gun. It was test-flown with the big 300-round drum mentioned, and beat the .303 Browning for reliability. However, the wide drum would have caused problems to accommodate, since it would have interfered with wing structures. When Class Ks were removed from aircraft, special forces in the North African Desert liked to attach them to their vehicles, as they liked the higher rate of fire and bigger magazine capacity compared with the Bren. Of course, they couldn't have fired very long bursts without running into overheating problems. __________________ Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website

06-04-2008, 09:55 PM	#5
CharlesBronson Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Cordoba - Argentina Posts: 2,999	Very good, Thanks. __________________ Bronsons´s videos

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04-09-2008, 04:37 AM	#2
Glider Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London Posts: 3,655	I wouldn't fancy firing one from the shoulder, I don't care what they say

06-05-2008, 04:42 AM	#6
A4K Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,227	Great article Paul, thanks!