Vickers .50 machine gun

Vickers .50 machine gun
A Vickers .50 machine gun, Polish Army Museum, Warsaw (2006)
Type	Machine gun Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1932-?
Used by	United Kingdom Ireland
Wars	World War II
Production history
Manufacturer	Vickers
Variants	Marks I - V^[1]
Specifications (Vickers .5 Mk V)
Weight	63 pounds (29 kg) (includes 10 pounds (4.5 kg) cooling water)
Length	52.4 inches (1,330 mm)
Barrel length	31 inches (790 mm)

Cartridge	12.7 x 81 mm
Calibre	0.5 inches (12.7 mm)
Rate of fire	500-600 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	2,540 feet per second (770 m/s)
Maximum firing range	Altitude : 9,500 feet (2,900 m) Range: 4,265 yards (3,900 m)
Feed system	belt

The Vickers .50 machine gun, also known as the 'Vickers .50' was basically similar to the .303 inches (7.70 mm) Vickers machine gun but scaled up to use a larger-calibre 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) round. It saw some use in tanks and other fighting vehicles, but was much more commonly used as close-in anti-aircraft weapons on Royal Navy and allied ships, typically in a four-gun mounting. The Vickers fired UK 12.7 x 81 mm 50 calibre ammunition, not the better known US 12.7 x 99 mm .50 BMG.

Mark I

Mark I was the development model.

Mark II, IV and V

Mark II entered service in 1933 and was mounted in some British tanks. Marks IV and V were improved versions and were also used mounted on trucks in the North Africa Campaign. It was superseded for use in armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) during World War II by the 15 mm (0.59 in) Besa.^[2]

Mark III

A four-gun, naval anti-aircraft mounting, on board the destroyer HMS Vanity (1940)

Mark III was a naval version used as an anti-aircraft weapon, mostly by the Royal Navy and allied navies in World War II, typically in mountings of 4 guns. It proved insufficiently powerful in the short-range anti-aircraft role against modern all-metal aircraft and was superseded during World War II by the Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. The naval quad mount featured a 200-round magazine per barrel, with a maximum rate of fire of 700 rounds per minute, per gun.^[3] The four-barrel mounting had its guns adjusted to provide a spread of fire, amounting to 60 feet wide and 50 feet high at 1,000 yards (15–18 m at 915 m).^[2] The belts were wrapped around large drums which carried 200 rounds per gun. Vickers claimed that it could fire all 800 rounds in 20 seconds and could then be reloaded in a further 30 seconds.^[2]

During the Second World War it was also mounted on power-operated turrets in smaller watercraft such as Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats.

Notes

↑ i.e. Marks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Williams, Anthony G. "THE .5" VICKERS GUNS AND AMMUNITION". www.quarry.nildram.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
↑ DiGiulian.

References

The Vickers Machine Gun
Tony DiGiulian, British 0.50"/62 (12.7 mm) Mark III
Anthony G Williams, THE .5" VICKERS GUNS AND AMMUNITION
Machine Guns

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vickers .50 machine gun.

War Office, UK, Tank Training, Vol II Part III, Pamphlet No. 3. .5 inch Vickers Machine Guns Marks IV and II. 1936 from Google docs
War Office, UK, Tank Training, Vol II Part III, Pamphlet No. 5. .5 inch Vickers Machine Gun Mark V. 1937 from Google docs
War Office, UK, Machine Gun Handbook (Technical) Volume I, Pamphlet No. 1. Vickers .303-in. and .5-in. Machine Guns and Appurtenances. 1940 from Google docs
LRDG -- WEAPONS

British Commonwealth naval weapons of the Second World War

Monitor guns	BL 15 inch

Capital ship main armament	BL 14 inch BL 15 inch BL 16 inch

Heavy cruiser main armament	BL 7.5 inch Mk VI BL 8 inch Mk VIII

Secondary armament and light cruiser main armament	QF 4 inch Mk V QF 4.5 inch QF 5.25 inch BL 6 inch Mk XII BL 6 inch Mk XXII BL 6 inch Mk XXIII

Minesweeper, Sloop, Corvette, Frigate and Destroyer armament	QF 6 pounder 10 cwt QF 12 pdr 12 cwt Mk V QF 4 inch Mk IV BL 4 inch Mk IX QF 4 inch Mk XIX QF 4.5 inch BL 4.7 inch Mk II QF 4.7 inch Mk IX & XII QF 4.7 inch Mk XI

Submarine guns	QF 12 pdr 12 cwt Mk V QF 3 inch 20 cwt QF 4 inch Mk XII & XXII

Anti-aircraft weapons	Unrotated Projectile Holman Projector 20 mm Oerlikon QF 2 pounder "pom-pom" Mk VIII 40 mm Bofors QF 3 inch 20 cwt QF 4 inch Mk V QF 4 inch Mk XVI QF 4.5 inch QF 4.7 inch Mk VIII

Light weapons	.303 Lewis machine gun .50 Vickers Mk III machine gun QF 3 pounder Vickers

Torpedoes	21 inch Mk VII 21 inch Mk VIII 21 inch Mk X 21 inch Mk XI 24.5 inch Mk I

Anti-submarine weapons	Thornycroft depth charge thrower Hedgehog Squid

Small craft armament	Molins 6 pounder Vickers K machine gun 18 inch torpedo

Foreign-sourced weapons	20 mm Oerlikon 40 mm Bofors 3-inch 23 caliber gun (US) 3-inch 50 caliber gun (US) 4-inch 50 caliber Mark 9 gun (US) 5-inch 51 caliber Mark 8 gun (US) Y gun depth charge projector (US)