Time Life Before and after D-Day

[Rick B]

Closest thing I could find so far was a Czechoslovakian machine gun used by the Germans. Maybe they made some changes to it?? Rick B

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...61&FORM=IDFRIR

[mdoerner]

Nope....it's a French Hotchkiss machine gun from WW1 used by the Germans in WW2 after the fall of France.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotchki...14_machine_gun

Mike D

[Rick B]

Thanks Mike,
I kept thinking maybe it was a made up piece. Rick B

[snakehunter]

Nope....it's a French Hotchkiss machine gun from WW1 used by the Germans in WW2 after the fall of France.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotchki...14_machine_gun

Mike D

Thanks Mike. Looks like you've pegged it.

[fredtheobviouspseudonym]

To me it looks like a captured French Hotchkiss -- 8 mm Lebel, fed from 30 rounds strips. The Krauts used every captured weapon they could find, at least in what they considered "less threatened" areas. So when Sgt. Schultz on Hogan's Heroes was using a Danish Krag, I didn't mind. (I minded lots of other stuff about that show, but not Schultz' choice of arms.)

IIRC the Japanese heavy machine gun in 7.7 mm was a copy of the French Hotchkiss, and the US doughboys in WW One used the same. Slow rate of fire (c. 480 RPM) but very reliable. Given that it was an air-cooled weapon the slow rate of fire may have been something of an advantage.