Vickers Class C
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 720 mm
- Weight, empty
- 25.00 kg
- Introduced
- 1912
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Vickers Class C was the commercial and export production form of the Vickers machine gun, the company's lightened refinement of Hiram Maxim's recoil-operated toggle-lock design. The British Army's Mark I medium machine gun was derived directly from it. Chambered primarily in .303 British and fed from a 250-round fabric belt, the water-cooled ground gun was a closed-bolt, short-recoil weapon, while air-cooled derivatives with perforated barrel jackets became the standard forward-firing fighter gun of WWI. Vickers offered the Class C in a range of export calibers including 7mm, 6.5mm and 8mm.
The air-cooled Vickers became the definitive forward-firing fighter gun of WWI: its closed-bolt action meant virtually no lock-time delay, making it ideal for synchronization gear that timed each shot to fire through the spinning propeller arc, as on the twin-Vickers-armed Sopwith Camel. Some aircraft Vickers guns were still in service into the closing years of WWII.
Distinct from the standard British-Army Vickers gun already in the database; the Class C was Vickers' commercial designation and parent to the air-cooled aircraft variants. Weight shown is the water-cooled ground gun; air-cooled Mk I* aircraft versions weighed roughly 13 kg. The closed-bolt action made it ideal for propeller synchronization.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Vickers Limited
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1912
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 720 mm
- Overall length
- 1100 mm
- Weight, empty
- 25.00 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Capacity
- 250
- Magazine
- Belt
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 744 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3130 J
- Effective range
- 740 m
- Maximum range
- 4100 m
- Rate of fire
- 500 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Maxim toggle lock- Water cooled
Muzzle booster
Belt fed- Synchronization gear
Closed bolt
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 261 machine guns | 25.00 kg | 10.50 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 260 machine guns | 1100 mm | 1156 mm | Shorter than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 257 machine guns | 720 mm | 605 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 222 machine guns | 250 | 50 | Holds more rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Vickers Class C
How much does the Vickers Class C weigh?
The Vickers Class C weighs 25.00 kg (55.12 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Vickers Class C?
The Vickers Class C is chambered in .303 British.
How many rounds does the Vickers Class C hold?
The Vickers Class C holds 250 rounds, fed from a belt.
How long is the Vickers Class C?
The Vickers Class C is 1100 mm (43.3 in) long overall, with a 720 mm (28.3 in) barrel.
Who makes the Vickers Class C?
The Vickers Class C is made by Vickers Limited (United Kingdom). It was designed by Hiram Maxim.
When was the Vickers Class C introduced?
The Vickers Class C was introduced in 1912.
How does the Vickers Class C operate?
The Vickers Class C uses a short recoil action.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- British Empire
- 1912
- Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force
- 1916
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/vickers-class-c' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "vickers-class-c", "name": "Vickers Class C", "manufacturer": { "id": "vickers-limited", "name": "Vickers Limited", "countryCode": "GB", "foundedYear": 1828, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "version": "274f184f9ab81a6c83077b891e6d8650d2d4200981362fe34972351d6d26cbcc" }, "category": { "id": "machine-gun", "name": "Machine Gun", "description": "Fully automatic firearms for sustained fire" }, "country_of_origin": "GB", "year_introduced": 1912, "barrel_length_mm": 720, "weight_empty_g": 25000, "action_type": "short_recoil"}