Machine Gun Protractor circa 1918

Things a soldier would carry other than firearms, ammo, or uniforms. Meaning equipment such as ammo pouches, bayonets, holsters, oil cans, cleaning equipment, etc.

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BOLOMK1
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Machine Gun Protractor circa 1918

Post by BOLOMK1 » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:30 am

Just recovered this after having misplaced it for 16 years!
Got it in a footlocker belonging to a WW1 Lt. who was from Bozeman, Montana
and ended up as a machine gun instructor at Camp Hancock,Ga.
Thought you old gunners might find it of interest.
I also have his manuals and the ser.#'s of the outfit's MG's.
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Re: Machine Gun Protractor circa 1918

Post by Niner » Sat Sep 19, 2009 12:03 pm

That's pretty interesting. The machinegun as an indirect fire weapon isn't something that comes to mind now days, like the volley fire sights on the old bolt action rifles. But doing a quick Google, looks like the heavy machineguns could be effective in WWI..
An early use of such fire in the Somme battle occurred on 14 July, when 27th Machine Gun Company provided vital support for 27th Brigade in the capture of the village of Longueval. They achieved this by means of indirect, overhead fire; with the guns being sited one and a half miles away, outside Montauban.

On 24 August one of the most celebrated machine gun actions of all time took place nearby. This was the famous barrage fired by 100th Machine Gun Company in support of the capture of High Wood. With the assistance of two companies of infantry to do the fetching and carrying, rapid fire (officially laid down as 250–300 rounds per minute) by 10 guns was maintained continuously for twelve hours. At the end of this period they had fired 900,750 rounds. Their target was the area behind the crest-line on which High Wood stands, through which German infantry attempting to counter-attack had to pass. According to a German prisoner, the effect of the machine-gun fire was ‘annihilating'. This barrage was of course rather out of the ordinary, both in terms of its duration and in the lavish expenditure of ammunition. Nevertheless, along with the preceding examples, it shows that by the late summer of 1916 the use of machine guns in the British army was showing signs of increasing sophistication.
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Aughnanure
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Re: Machine Gun Protractor circa 1918

Post by Aughnanure » Sat Sep 19, 2009 6:36 pm

That prolonged fire is very interesting. I remember in final training going in under Vickers covering fire; a bit scary. :roll:

Wonder how many barrels were worn out firing that 900,750 rounds? That's an average of 90,075 rounds per gun.
Number of stoppages would be interesting too.
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stripperclip
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Re: Machine Gun Protractor circa 1918

Post by stripperclip » Wed Sep 23, 2009 9:27 am

very interesting I remember learning the beaten zone on the machine gun range but indirect fire amazing.
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Re: Machine Gun Protractor circa 1918

Post by Tom-May » Thu Sep 24, 2009 6:39 am

In amongst my books there is one with a copy of a 'barrage' map for the Machine Gun Corps circa 1918, in much the same way as an artillery barrage of the day might have been laid down.

Tom
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