H. Douglas

“ To test the automatic action, fire several shots with regulator set at 25 and cocking handle at “R,” and observe:—
(a) One shot should be fired at each pull of trigger. If more than one shot is fired at a time, it shows that piston does not recoil sufficiently after each shot to catch on sear. (b) Claw of pawl should catch in the opening in strip at each shot. If pawl rides on top of strip instead of catching, it shows that piston does not recoil sufficiently to throw feed lever through a complete stroke. (c) The ejection should be regular and energetic. ”

“ ASSEMBLING THE GUN. Reverse all the foregoing operations with the exception that the recoiling portions must be replaced before the packing and packing gland. In order to assemble the barrel and breech casings, they will have to be turned upside-down—i.e., the filling hole down, and the bottom plate of breech casing uppermost—they should be positioned by the crosshead joint pin. Care must be taken that the ejector tube spring is in position before joining the casings together. When assembling the feed block the longer of the two bottom pawls must always be placed at the front. ”

“ Turn the screwdriver edgeways and insert it behind the horns of the extractor and between the face of the barrel and front of the lock flange, and force the lock to the rear. (d) Turn crank handle on to the buffer spring, press down the extractor, raise the lock and remove the live cartridge, then lift out the lock. (iv) Damaged Parts of the Lock, no Spare Part being available. The gun will fire without the sear, or if the bents of the sear or firing pin are badly worn or broken off, but only single shots, and only by pressing and releasing the double button quickly. ”

“ A hot barrel may be dipped in water, but all traces of latter must be removed from barrel bore and gas cylinder, by blowing through same, by means of cleaning rod, or by firing two or three loose cartridges.
Until all water is blown out of gas cylinder, the gas pressure may be insufficient for ensuring automatic action.
USE OF THE REGULATOR. In order that the working of the gun may be regular, sufficient power must be available to ensure complete recoil of the piston. The amount of power necessary must vary because of insufficient oiling, dust, or fouling in the mechanism, &c. ”

“ The cover is fitted with (1) springs to ensure the extractor dropping on recoil; (2) a gunmetal block to keep the lock down when back, and (3) at the rear end, a lock to fasten it. On the upper surface is the tangent sight, consisting of a stem, a graduated plate and slide. Running through the centre of the slide is a pinion, the teeth of which work in the rack on the stem. A pawl is secured to the pinion by a fixing pin. On the under side of one end of the pawl are teeth, which engage in the circular rack on the slide. ”

“ Turn gun over and remove right-hand plate in same manner. Turn gun so as to bring bottom plate upward. Raise gas lever slightly with left hand, and lift bottom plate out. Raise gas lever again and pull out slide pin. Push slide to rear until it remains. Remove retracting spring tubes by pulling nearest tube toward you and pushing other away from you. Pull or push out gas lever bracket pin, then lift gas lever and connections out of bracket. Push carrier pin out with pointed end of screwdriver and lift carrier out of receiver. Unscrew locking screw and belt guide screw in belt guide. ”

“ With right hand introduce a feed strip into guides, cartridge side down, and push home until the pawl catches. N.B.—If gun is operated by but one man, loading will be found more convenient if the elevating mechanism is not used; the firer performs both operations of lifting the feed piece and introducing the strip with the right hand, the left hand meanwhile steadying the gun by grasping the stock.
(6) Firing.—The gun is fired by pulling the trigger.
(a) Single shots: Set cocking handle at “R” (repetition) . One shot is fired each time trigger is pulled. ”

“ BREAKAGES TO LIMBER. Perches, brakes and perch hooks have frequently broken. It is thought that brakes are too often used instead of horses being made to take the weight of the limber when descending hills.
BILLETS. Most Machine Gun Officers appear to make every endeavour to keep their men in practice, practice being daily given whether in or out of the trenches. There are, however, exceptions, who state that there is no time for training. As all brigades doing trench work are similarly situated, this points to lack of effort in those particular cases. ”

“ Lay the gun before commencing to load, place crank handle on buffer spring, pull belt to left and let handle go; repeat, but before allowing the handle to reach check lever and the gun to fire, grip the rear crosspiece with left hand to control gun in the ordinary way. If necessary firing can be stopped by throwing the filled end of the belt over the breech casing to the left. ”

“ Banks.—The banks of rivers, canals, streams, etc., can be made use of for gun positions, or covered lines of advance or retreat.
Crops.—Standing crops often form useful cover for guns and concealed lines of advance, etc.
Ditches.—These can often be used to enable machine guns to be pushed forward, so as to bring oblique or enfilade fire to bear on the enemy.
Great care must be taken not to show above the banks of the ditch.
A few men should be pushed along the ditch on the exposed flank as a protection against snipers, counterattacks, etc. ”

“ To place plate in position, have the dowel at rear of plate enter hole for same, in receiver, at the same time having groove near edge of plate engage rib on bottom plate and gas lever bracket pin enter hole in front end of plate. Turn gun over to rest on plate, draw slide forward, having slot at forward end of slide engage end of gas-lever connection. Hold gun at rear end with right hand to prevent moving. ”

“ A cork plug is provided which can be inserted in the steam escape hole when the gun is travelling, in order to prevent waste of water from jolting. The plug should always be taken out before commencing to fire, and put in again before the gun changes position, unless the condenser is attached to the barrel casing and can be conveniently moved with the gun. ”

“ When a loaded magazine is dropped into place over the magazine post, and the charging handle pulled to the rear as far as it will go and then released, the gun is put into action by a pull on the trigger, and continues to fire until the finger pressure on the trigger is released, or until the magazine is empty. ”

“ Lack of any attempt at co-operation between the sections of the units working together in any particular action.
3. Lack of initiative and push. This is usually due to want of knowledge. Though the machine gun is a weapon of opportunity, opportunities seldom occur to those who passively await them.
A good Machine Gun Officer, by keeping himself thoroughly in touch with the situation, must have an opportunity to use his guns with effect.
4. This lack of co-operation is seen both in the open and in trench work. ”

“ Not only should the individual gun of a particular unit work upon some definite plan for mutual support, but the sections of all units that are operating together should co-operate with a view to obtaining the best results from their combined action. ”

“ The extractor may not drop when the lock is drawn back, and the gun will stop with the crank handle in the first position. This may possibly be overcome by liberal oiling of the lock, but in any case single shots can be fired by holding the crank handle forward until the extractor drops by its own weight. ”

“ The saddle, in which the gun rests, is pivoted to the yoke by means of the axis bolt, so as to swing in a vertical plane. The gun is held in position on the saddle by the gun pin, which is inserted with its handle vertical; in any other position of the handle the gun is held secure by the gun pin lock screw. ”

“ The system is so effective that the gun is found to give a slightly greater velocity to the bullet than can be obtained from the same length of barrel in a shoulder arm firing the same ammunition. There is no excessive recoil and the gun can be used with or without mount. ”

“ In very few cases is any physical training attempted. This is one of the most important parts of the training of any man who has to carry a heavy weight at a rapid pace. After several days of trench work this becomes more than ever necessary. It is suggested that only the minimum number of men actually required to work the guns should be kept in the trenches. The remainder of the team should be practised daily, and every effort should be made to keep them physically fit. ”

“ If the sandbags are left in place for a considerable time without being removed, they may become embedded and be found unmovable. (b) That loopholes filled with single sacks will not be bullet-proof. Training the gunners to:—
(a) Remove the gun quickly from the tripod and fire from the top of parapet without it. (b) Lift the gun and tripod out of the trench and fire it from some previously selected spot. Note.—Both these methods require much practice.
Every endeavour should be made to conceal the position of the gun from the front. ”

“ The gun is supplied with cartridges from a belt which passes from right to left through the feed block. This belt 10is formed by two pieces of webbing connected together by eyelets and brass strips of two lengths, the projecting strips showing how far the cartridges should be inserted; the belt is made thick at the edge next the bullets by being folded over a piece of cord, so that the cartridges may be kept parallel in passing through the feed block, and lie evenly in the ammunition belt boxes. ”

“ Grasp outer elevating screw with left hand. (d) In case elevating gear is not used, left hand grasps stock to rear of receiver and pulls shoulder strap down solidly against shoulder. (4) Cock gun.
(a) Throw cocking handle knob to left to a stop. (b) Draw cocking handle to rear as far as possible with a sharp quick movement. (c) Return cocking handle to its original position, and set at “R” for single shots, “A” for automatic and “S” for safety. (5) Loading is ordinarily performed by a second operator, who takes the prone position to the right of gun, with ammunition conveniently at hand. ”

“ It is useless to flood the mechanism. As the essential parts are sufficiently accessible through the ejection slot and by opening the feed piece cover, dismounting is not necessary.
5. Test action of both ejector and cartridge stop by pushing on their points. They should work freely, their springs being elastic but without stiffness.
6. Test action of mechanism by rapidly opening and closing breech several times. It should work freely and smoothly.
OPERATING THE GUN. In firing, the prone position will be taken ordinarily, the barrel rest being used to steady the gun. ”

“ On the other hand, too much power is not desirable, as the vibration due to the violent action of the mechanism necessarily affects accuracy.
ACCIDENTAL STOPPAGES IN THE AUTOMATIC ACTION OF THE GUN. In case of a jam always proceed as follows:—
(a) Open breech completely by means of cocking handle. (b) Remove jammed cartridge through ejection slot by using hand ejector or cleaning rod as the case may be, and see that chamber is clear. (c) Withdraw the strip if some remedy is to be applied. Otherwise push it forward, bringing the next cartridge to the loading position. ”

“ To Draw Belt and Cartridges from the Gun.— Push forward the knurled head on the right side of the gun near the belt exit and draw the loaded belt out to the left. Then operate the lever once by hand, as in loading, ejecting the loaded cartridge that remains in the chamber.
Missfires.—Wait a moment in order to make sure that it is a missfire and not a hangfire. Then operate the gas lever by hand, as in loading, which will eject the unexploded cartridge and will re-load ready for continued firing. ”

“ No. 3 when he sees gun nearly mounted, will carry ammunition box forward and place it within reach of No. 2. He then retires to a position not immediately in rear of the gun.
Load.—No. 1 raises tangent sight, No. 2 passes tag of belt through feed block. No. 1 turns crank handle on to buffer spring, pulls belt to left front as far as it will go, and lets go crank handle, releases strain on belt, then turns crank handle on to buffer spring, again pulls belt to left front and lets go belt and crank handle. The gun is now ready to fire. ”

“ Normal rate of fire about 500 rounds per minute. 91All-round traverse, which allows gun to be turned in any direction without moving tripod, and with little exposure.
Mobility: It can go wherever a man can go on foot.
It has, however, the following drawbacks:—
Overheating, and consequent stoppage through too prolonged fire.
Noise of firing, and steam from barrel casing reveals position.
Narrow and scattered objects are unsuitable targets.
It will be seen therefore that the machine gun is a weapon of opportunity particularly adapted for surprise effect, but not for sustained fire action. ”

“ Help the infantry to gain fire superiority at the decisive point. (b) Make good and hold positions won. (c) Pursue the enemy by fire. (d) Watch for and repel counterattacks. (e) Enable the infantry to re-organize. As enemy snipers are a particular source of annoyance to machine gunners, they should be watched for.
The defence of prepared positions has been already dealt with under the heading of Machine Guns in Trenches.
Machine guns in any defensive position must be so organized that they can support each other mutually throughout any given section of the defensive line. ”

“ The mount is surprisingly rigid, and permits of very accurate shooting. Both front and rear mounting yokes, connected through centre post and rear brace, are pivoted about the axis of the centre post, so that the gun is always free to traverse. The gun is also free to turn within the yokes, so that the sights may always be kept vertical, no matter what the position of the feet. When the mount is attached, it is often convenient to use the rear brace as a handle for carrying the gun.
48
Plate VII.
Light Folding Field Mount Complete. ”

“ Safety: Set cocking handle at “S” (safety) and remove strip, unless firing is to be promptly resumed. N.B.—The trigger must be released at the end of each strip, so that the sear will hold the piston at the cocked position during the introduction of the following strip. Otherwise, as soon as the feed piece is raised preparatory to loading the breech will close, necessitating recocking the gun before continuous firing. ”

“ The enemy’s firing-line.
It may happen that machine guns are forced to open fire in self-defence, or to assist the advance of the infantry in spite of the target offered not being a suitable one for machine guns.
Any tendency, however, to open fire with machine guns without good reason must be suppressed.
Machine Guns and Artillery. Every effort must be made to prevent machine guns being located by artillery. ”