Vickers K machine gun
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| Vickers Gas Operated | |
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 Vickers K machine gun on a Fairey Battle bomber. |
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| Type | Machine gun |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United Kingdom |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 29.5 lb (13.4 kg) |
| Length | 37 in (0.93 m) |
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| Cartridge | .303 British |
| Calibre | 0.303 in (7.7 mm) |
| Action | gas |
| Rate of fire | 950 round/min |
| Feed system | drum 60/100 rounds |
The Vickers K gun, known as the Vickers Gas Operated (VGO) in British service, was a rapid-firing machine gun developed and manufactured for use in aircraft by Vickers-Armstrongs. The high rate of fire was needed for the short window of opportunity when the gunner would be able to fire at an attacking aircraft.
[edit] History
The Vickers K was a development of the Vickers-Berthier (VB) light machine gun. When the Browning Model 1919 machine gun was selected as the standard machine-gun armament for British aircraft, VBs became redundant.
[edit] Combat use
The Vickers K was fitted to a number of two- and three-seater aircraft in British service such as the Fairey Swordfish, Fairey Battle and Handley Page Hampden. It was also used in gun turrets, such as the dorsal turret in the Bristol Blenheim or the nose turret in the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley.
As supplies of air-cooled .303 calibre Browning machine guns increased the Vickers K was phased out of use. These machine guns were then reallocated from RAF stocks to units of the British and Commonwealth armies. The Long Range Desert Group was supplied with large numbers of the Vickers K for use on its vehicles. They were used in single or custom built twinned mountings. The Special Air Service adopted it for their hit and run tactics, mounting it in pairs on their jeeps. In a similar manner, the Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron of the Reconnaissance Corps had VGO's on their jeeps when they were attached to the 1st Airborne Division during Operation Market-Garden in September 1944. Royal Marine and Army Commandos used the VGO in an infantry support role/squad automatic weapon briefly around D-Day. In military terminology it was known as Gun, Machine, Vickers G.O. .303-inch.
[edit] External links
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