Hotchkiss Model 1914 (Mle 1914)

History

In the late 1800s, there were few proven "true" machine gun concepts in the world. Countless attempts have been made to produce bolt-action firearms using full-size rifle cartridges, of which only the Browning and Maxim developments have proven worthwhile. Both rely on the principle of recoil to push the barrel back with each successive shot. In 1893, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer named Baron von Odkolek brought his prototype of a new machine gun powered by a gas piston system to the French company Hotchkiss et Cie.

The Odkolek design used a cylinder that expelled propellant gas from the barrel to drive the piston with each successive shot, essentially laying the groundwork for the world's first true pneumatic weapon - a type now widely used in The operating system of the machine gun.

Hotchkiss took over Odkolek's designs and paid a fortune for the copyright. Ultimately, the development of the Odkolek concept proved costly and time-consuming, and despite the overheated and functional barrel, it still sounds so. Overheating is a concern as it can cause the barrel assembly to rupture and render the gun unusable. During this time, this error is usually corrected by water cooling - the water fills the jacket surrounding the barrel.

As long as there is a water supply, this gun can technically fire indefinitely without any issues. The disadvantage of this arrangement is the need for a constant water supply during operation, as the water evaporates over time.

Therefore, more work on the basic design of the Odkolek was required to find an air-cooled solution.

The remainder of the project subsequently fell to the American Lawrence V. Benet, the chief engineer of Hotchkiss. Subsequent improvements to the Odkolek system led to the first Hotchkiss-type machine gun as the "Type 1895" for the French Army's Lebel 8x50R cartridge, just like the Lebel service rifle. As overheating problems persisted, Bennett designed a barrel with a brass fin on the bottom to help dissipate heat. In this revision, the machine gun was officially adopted by the French Army in 1897 as the "Type 1897", becoming the world's first highly efficient air-cooled machine gun in service.

It is designed to fire 24 or 30 rounds of hard metal brass cartridges fed from the left side of the receiver, with blank shrapnel emerging from the right side. Supporting hardware includes a tripod, which surprisingly doesn't have any adjustable options.

In 1900, a modified version of this series model appeared, named "Model 1900", with tubular steel fins and a fully adjustable tripod mounting system. The fire control speed was later increased.

In order to further develop the family lineage, in an initiative in 1909, a variant as a portable light automatic weapon was born, named "Type 1909". The product was also used by US (Benet-Mercie M1909) and British (Hotchkiss Mk I) forces and was fed by a rigid 30-round metal ammunition bar introduced by a new routed bottom feed mechanism.

While the machine gun proved too heavy for its intended "gunner" role in service with the French Army, it still existed as a component of various aircraft, main battle tanks, and as a static system for defending strategic fortresses.

When the world went to war in the summer of 1914 (starting World War I), the French military industry was forced to keep up with demand. The French Army turned to a modernized version of the Model 1900, which introduced beautiful interiors but lacked the security systems of the original.

This weapon became the "Type 1914". To better simplify the manufacturing process, a new rigid 24-round metal ammo bar has been developed.

In addition, three-round clips were developed, which could be joined together to form a full 249-round "connection strip" while passing through the gun in the same manner. The end product resulted in a refined automatic firearm with good build quality and a dependable weapon.

While not as light as hoped, this weapon can still be used defensively and, with some work, can be used as an offensive weapon. The Model 1914 entered service in 1914 and surprisingly remained until 1945.

The Model 1914 became the last in the Hotchkiss machine gun series and replaced the Saint-Etienne heavy machine gun in its role as the standard French machine gun of World War I and beyond. During World War I, around 47,000 Type 1914 units were delivered to the French army until the fighting ended in November 1918. As part of the war effort, an incendiary 11mm balloon-busting variant was also born. In 1917-1918, U.S. troops in France alone received 7,000 Model 1914 machine guns.

The Type 1914 machine gun also armed early-war French main battle tanks, including the famous Renault FT-17 light tank.

The design of the Type 1914 is somewhat traditional in general. The receiver is a boxy rectangle that houses the necessary inner working parts. It supports a pistol grip with an integrated trigger assembly, and a vertical charging handle on the left side of the receiver. The barrel is 31 inches long and has five protruding fins at the base designed to help dissipate heat. The gas cylinder is mounted under the barrel, which strikes the barrel along the center of the barrel.

There is no flash suppressor of any kind on the barrel, although a front iron sight is installed. On the side of the receiver are the support arms of the adjustable tripod stand. A large loop handle is added to the receiver's receiver. The total weight is 54 pounds, the listed rate of fire is 500 rounds per minute, and the muzzle velocity is 2,325 feet per second.

The Hotchkiss 1914 machine gun was indeed a classic and successful machine gun of its time.

Model 1914s were produced under license from Spanish factories, which allowed them to be used in large numbers on both sides of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). By the time of World War II (1939-1945), the Model 1914 was still widely used in French and Belgian armies, allowing the Germans to stockpile weapons along the "Atlantic Wall" as a defensive measure to defend the growing German coast at Adolphus. Hitler conquered Belgium and the North French Empire.

As such, the Model 1914 can claim to be in combat service throughout WWII, joining a select group of weapons that played a role in both world wars. Numerous examples were also installed on various tanks of pre-war French design, including the Mammut Char 2C.

The French continued to use their 1914s in a static defensive role during the deployment of veterans in French Indochina and Algeria (1954-1962 Algerian Revolution) and in Morocco and elsewhere.

In addition to the stated war records, the Model 1914 machine gun was used in combat in the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) and the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921). Therefore, there are numerous operators of this type, including Belgium, Chile, Greece, Italy, Brazil, France, Germany (Nazi), Imperial Japan, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Poland, Spain (built under license). , Sweden, Turkey and the United States. The Japanese used the licensed Hotchkiss Model 1914 as the "Type 3 Heavy Machine Gun".

These are of course for the local 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridge. The Type 92 is similar in scope and functionality, and is a descendant of the Hotchkiss series, although it is tailored for the larger 7.7x58mm Arisaka cartridge for greater efficiency.

Specification

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Changes