| Machine Gun, BESA | |
|---|---|
| Type | Tank Medium machine gun |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United Kingdom |
| Wars | Second World War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Vaclav Holek |
| Designed | 1936 |
| Manufacturer | Birmingham Small Arms Company |
| Variants | Mark II Mark III, III* 15 mm |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 47 lb (21 kg) empty |
| Length | 3 ft 6.5 in (1.105 m) |
| Barrel length | 2 ft 5 in (0.736 m) |
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| Cartridge | 8x57mm IS |
| Calibre | 7.9mm |
| Action | gas automatic |
| Rate of fire | 500/800 round/min |
| Feed system | 225 metal link belt |
The Besa Machine Gun was a British version of the Czechoslovak ZB-53 air-cooled, belt-fed machine-gun, which in the Czechoslovak army was marked as the TK vz. 37 ("TK" means "těžký kulomet", heavy machine gun. "vz" means "vzor", Model). It was used extensively by the armed forces of United Kingdom during the Second World War, as a mounted machine gun for tanks and other armoured vehicles, to replace the heavier, water-cooled Vickers machine gun. Although it required a rather large opening in the tank's armour, it was dependable and reliable. The name came from the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), who signed an agreement with Československá zbrojovka to manufacture the gun in the UK. The War Office ordered the weapon in 1938, and production began in 1939, after modifications.
Although Britain's armed forces used the .303 British for rifles and machine guns, the ZB-53 had been designed for the German 8x57mm IS round - referred to by the British as the 7.92mm. Although it had been intended for the British to move from rimmed to rimless ammunition generally, with war imminent wholesale change was not possible. It was considered by BSA and the Ministry of Supply that the industrial, technical, and logistical handicap of converting the design to the 303 round was more onerous than retaining the original calibre, especially given that the chain of supply for the Royal Armoured Corps was already separate from the other fighting arms of the British Army. As a consequence, the round was not changed for British production. In an emergency they could use stocks of captured German ammunition, which was shared with the Mauser Kar98k rifle and MG-34 and MG-42 machine guns.
The Mark II version entered production in 1940. It was modified with a selector to give high (around 800 rounds per minute) or low (around 500) rates of fire. As the war progressed the design was modified to be more rapidly and economically produced, resulting in the Mark III version. This came as either an "L" (for low) or "H" (high) firing rate models.[1]
A larger, heavier - at 57 kg (125 lb) - 15 mm version, also belt-fed, was developed by BSA from the Czechoslovak ZB vz.60 heavy machine-gun as vehicle armament. It could be fired in semi-automatic mode as well as fully automatic. It was used on the Light Tank Mk VIC and on armoured cars such as the Humber Armoured Car Mark III.
| Cartridge SA Besa 7.92 | Mark IZ, IIZ |
| Cartridge SA Armour-piercing 7.92 | Mark IZ, IIZ |
| Cartridge SA tracer 7.92 | Mark IZ, IIZ |
| Cartridge SA incendiary 7.92 | Mark I |
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