Maxim machine gun

E88407

The Maxim machine gun is a pioneering late 19th-century recoil-operated, water-cooled heavy machine gun that became one of the first fully automatic weapons widely adopted by major armies around the world.

Aliases (1)

Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf 19th-century invention
fully automatic weapon
heavy machine gun
recoil-operated firearm
water-cooled machine gun
adoptedBy British Army
German Empire
Ottoman Empire
Russian Empire
United States Army
various European armies
category crew-served weapons
early machine guns
coolingSystem water-cooled barrel jacket
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
designedInYear 1884
displayedAt various military museums worldwide
eraOfUse early 20th century
late 19th century
feedSystem belt-fed
firstPatentedInYear 1884
firstPublicDemonstrationYear 1884
historicalSignificance revolutionized infantry and defensive warfare
influenced Maxim machine gun
surface form: "M1910 Russian Maxim"

MG 08 machine gun
Vickers machine gun
other early 20th-century machine guns
inventor Sir Hiram Maxim
surface form: "Hiram Stevens Maxim"
manufacturer Maxim Gun Company
surface form: "Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company"

Vickers-Armstrongs
surface form: "Vickers, Sons and Maxim"
mounting tripod mount
wheeled mount
namedAfter Sir Hiram Maxim
surface form: "Hiram Maxim"
notableFeature first widely adopted fully automatic machine gun
significantly increased battlefield firepower
notableUser British Army
surface form: "British Empire forces"

Imperial German Army
surface form: "German Imperial Army"

Imperial Russian Army
surface form: "Russian Imperial Army"
operatingPrinciple short recoil operation
powerSource recoil energy of fired cartridge
rateOfFireApprox 500–600 rounds per minute
safetyFeature thumb-operated trigger and safety arrangements
typicalCaliber .303 British
7.62×54mmR
7.92×57mm Mauser
usedInConflict Russo-Japanese War
Second Boer War
World War I
various colonial wars

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Maxim machine gun influenced Maxim machine gun
this entity surface form: "M1910 Russian Maxim"
Sir Hiram Maxim notableWork Maxim machine gun
subject surface form: "Hiram Maxim"
Imperial Russian Army usedEquipment Maxim machine gun

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