Vickers Machine Gun
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 723 mm
- Weight, empty
- 11.34 kg
- Introduced
- 1912
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Vickers Machine Gun is a water-cooled, belt-fed medium machine gun developed by Vickers Limited as an improvement of the Maxim gun. Adopted by the British Army on 26 November 1912 as the Gun, Machine, Mark I, Vickers, .303-inch, it became the standard medium machine gun of the British Empire and Commonwealth forces for over half a century. The design inverted the Maxim's toggle-lock mechanism, breaking upward rather than downward, while using high-strength alloys to reduce overall weight. Fed by 250-round canvas belts, the gun's water-cooling system held approximately 4.3 litres and allowed sustained fire rates of 10,000 rounds per hour with barrel changes every hour - a two-minute job for a trained crew. Manufactured in Britain by Vickers and in Australia by the Lithgow Small Arms Factory, the gun served with distinction from World War I through the Korean War and Malayan Emergency, finally being retired from most Commonwealth service by 1968.
During the Battle of High Wood in August 1916, ten Vickers guns of the 100th Company fired nearly one million rounds over a 12-hour period in sustained indirect fire - each gun consuming 100 barrels, with no stoppages despite the relentless pace. The Vickers earned a reputation as the most reliable machine gun ever made.
The gun weighed approximately 11.3 kg (25 lbs) without water or tripod. With water in the cooling jacket it weighed roughly 18 kg, and the Mk IV tripod added another 23 kg, bringing the total combat weight to approximately 40 kg (88 lbs). A standard crew of three operated the gun - one firing, one feeding ammunition, and one carrying spare parts and water - though moving the weapon and its ammunition typically required six or more men. The Vickers was also produced in numerous other calibers for export, including 7.62x51mm NATO, .30-06 Springfield, 7.62x54mmR, 7.65x53mm Argentine, 7x57mm Mauser, and 8mm Lebel. The American firm Colt manufactured the gun during World War I for both American and Russian armies.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Vickers Limited
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1912 to 1968
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 723 mm
- Overall length
- 1155 mm
- Weight, empty
- 11.34 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 250
- Magazine
- Belt
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 744 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3120 J
- Effective range
- 2000 m
- Maximum range
- 4500 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.
Water cooled barrel
Belt fed
Tripod mounted- Indirect fire capable
- Sustained fire capable
Interchangeable barrel
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 | 11.34 kg | 10.50 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 260 machine guns | 1155 mm | 1156 mm | Near the median |
| Barrel lengthAmong 257 machine guns | 723 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 Machine Gun
How much does the Vickers Machine Gun weigh?
The Vickers Machine Gun weighs 11.34 kg (25.00 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Vickers Machine Gun?
The Vickers Machine Gun is chambered in .303 British.
How many rounds does the Vickers Machine Gun hold?
The Vickers Machine Gun holds 250 rounds, fed from a belt.
How long is the Vickers Machine Gun?
The Vickers Machine Gun is 1155 mm (45.5 in) long overall, with a 723 mm (28.5 in) barrel.
Who makes the Vickers Machine Gun?
The Vickers Machine Gun is made by Vickers Limited (United Kingdom).
When was the Vickers Machine Gun introduced?
The Vickers Machine Gun was introduced in 1912 and discontinued in 1968.
How does the Vickers Machine Gun operate?
The Vickers Machine Gun uses a short recoil action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
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 Army
- 1912
- Australian Army
- 1915
- Canadian Armed Forces
- 1915
- New Zealand Army
- 1915
- Indian Army
- 1915
- South African Armed Forces
- 1915
Provenance
Confidence in this record
85%
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-machine-gun' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "vickers-machine-gun", "name": "Vickers Machine Gun", "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": 723, "weight_empty_g": 11340, "action_type": "short_recoil"}