The Maxim Gun: The (Terrifying) First Machine Gun

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 21 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 326

  • @megaprojects9649
    @megaprojects9649  Місяць тому +17

    Play War Thunder for FREE on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S: playwt.link/mp2024 Follow the link to download the game and get a massive free bonus pack including vehicles, premium accounts and more!

    • @BrunoDias1234
      @BrunoDias1234 Місяць тому +4

      please make a video of the indonesian high speed rail, the first in south east asia

    • @hullutsuhna
      @hullutsuhna Місяць тому +1

      regarding the use in Ukraine: in a defensive position the Maxim gun is very much superior to any air-cooled machine gun due to it's ability to keep firing virtually indefinitely as long as you can keep topping off the water jacket while literally all the general-purpose machine guns in service around the world are air-cooled & require barrel changes after some 200 rounds or so which forces a pause of anywhere from five seconds to over ten seconds while the barrel is changed, as a prime example of the Maxim gun's ability to keep on shooting, when the Vickers gun was finally retired by the British Army, a Vickers gun was famously fired virtually non-stop for several days (excluding reloads and an unknown number of barrel changes as the barrels were worn out to the point where the wear and tear started hindering the cycling of the gun)

    • @Un_Pour_Tous
      @Un_Pour_Tous Місяць тому

      Hail Azazel!

    • @Era_SoNER
      @Era_SoNER Місяць тому

      Keep in mind that Warthunder is a PVP mmo, without a functioning anticheat.. with a predatory pay 2 progress model

    • @Arnoldgomez-ul4ub
      @Arnoldgomez-ul4ub Місяць тому

      @@hullutsuhnaanyone have seen Agatha all along ?

  • @dod_the_angel
    @dod_the_angel Місяць тому +131

    Some fun facts about maxim
    - to promote his gun, he would use one to chop down trees for his guests
    - He wasn't just a gun inventor, he was fighting with THE Thomas Edison for patents to the lightbulb.
    - His son (who was also called Hiram) invented the first commercially successful silencer.
    - He eventually became a naturalised British citizen and was given a knighthood by Queen Victoria in 1901

    • @Nick-v7b3l
      @Nick-v7b3l Місяць тому +24

      A little deeper: His son developed the suppressor because his dad went deaf testing the Maxim. Although his invention never took off, he used the tech he developed to create the first automobile muffler!

    • @w8lvradio
      @w8lvradio Місяць тому +4

      ​@@Nick-v7b3land the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Amateur Radio.

    • @johnanderson1245
      @johnanderson1245 Місяць тому +3

      It’s ironic that the weapon was designed by a British subject yet it was the Germans that used it against them.

    • @Nick-v7b3l
      @Nick-v7b3l Місяць тому +1

      ​@w8lvradio very cool!

    • @steveconquest6684
      @steveconquest6684 Місяць тому

      Actually there were a few inventors challenging Edison, the most successful being Joseph Swan in the UK. Hiram was recognised the world over for his Maxim gun, receiving awards and honors from heads of state across the globe. I can recall seeing a photograph of him with a chest full of medals kept by his descendants.

  • @amaccama3267
    @amaccama3267 Місяць тому +133

    70 rpm of 37mm Canon rounds. That's going to cause anyone facing it to have a significant emotional event .

    • @sinocte
      @sinocte Місяць тому +13

      And likely leave them searching for a new pair of trousers.

    • @Shinzon23
      @Shinzon23 Місяць тому +2

      So much fun in BF1 to use

    • @okforsureguy6668
      @okforsureguy6668 Місяць тому

      wonderful reference

    • @Pearcewreck
      @Pearcewreck Місяць тому

      @@sinocte You misspelt legs.

    • @patgraeme775
      @patgraeme775 Місяць тому +2

      Now we have the mk19, 350-400rpm of 40mm HEDP that shoots up to 2200 yards

  • @CassandraFortuna
    @CassandraFortuna Місяць тому +25

    I'd known about Maxim guns being used in Ukrainian service for a while now thanks to a few Twitter posts that had gone viral, but it's still insane to think about. It's one thing for a carefully preserved machine gun to be fired a few dozen times by a curator or historian, it's another for one to be pushed right into frontline service when it's over a century old and just keep on trucking like not a day had passed.

    • @hanisk2
      @hanisk2 Місяць тому +1

      Yes…metal tends to feel time at a much slower pace 😂

  • @ianray8823
    @ianray8823 Місяць тому +56

    When you open up Maxim Magazine and its just a bunch of sexy women instead of water cooled machine guns...

    • @jamesmcewan2011
      @jamesmcewan2011 Місяць тому +6

      Biggest disappointment of my life

    • @comancheclub3449
      @comancheclub3449 13 годин тому

      my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined

  • @GalootWrangler
    @GalootWrangler Місяць тому +61

    Whatever happens, we have got
    The Maxim gun, and they have not.
    - Belloc

    • @randalthor741
      @randalthor741 Місяць тому +4

      This is the first thing that always pops into my head any time I hear or read anything about the Maxim gun... Hilaire Belloc really had a way with words!

    • @samuelgordino
      @samuelgordino Місяць тому +1

      Every time I read that poem, I always thought what if they also have Maxim guns?

    • @deamon002
      @deamon002 Місяць тому +4

      @@samuelgordino You get WWI.

    • @notlessorequal3777
      @notlessorequal3777 Місяць тому +3

      @@deamon002 You get 2022 Russo-Ukranian war

  • @acmelka
    @acmelka Місяць тому +65

    Interesting side note the US Navy hooked an electric motor to a Gatling gun in the 1890s and achieved 4000 rounds per minute rates if fire, just like a mini gun. The deal was shut down because of fear of cost of feeding such guns. The US Military used to be penny pinchers

    • @Nathan-vt1jz
      @Nathan-vt1jz Місяць тому

      We actually do the same thing in modern times if they think it doesn’t provide them with a new capability. This was the idea behind the three round burst fire of the M4 and precision strikes over carpet bombing (also less collateral damage).

    • @Kahless00
      @Kahless00 Місяць тому +12

      They still are when it comes to veteran healthcare.

    • @christopherconard2831
      @christopherconard2831 Місяць тому +8

      "It will use too much ammunition!" The neverending cry from ordinance approval. They hated the lever action Henry and Winchester rifles for the same reason. Apparently they have a great fear that if you give soldiers extra ammunition and a way to use it, they might actually use it as intended. To fire it towards the enemy.

    • @inisipisTV
      @inisipisTV Місяць тому +1

      The US has a small Navy back then in comparison to most European countries.

    • @mark_wotney9972
      @mark_wotney9972 Місяць тому +3

      Could you provide a source for the information on the motorized Gatling gun?

  • @lebaillidessavoies3889
    @lebaillidessavoies3889 Місяць тому +27

    Maxim’s achievement: a great leap forward for industrialisation of death….

    • @MyRuno
      @MyRuno Місяць тому

      And the solution is, STOP MAKING WARS.

    • @Nathan-vt1jz
      @Nathan-vt1jz Місяць тому

      @@MyRuno How?

    • @SoMuchFacepalm
      @SoMuchFacepalm Місяць тому

      @@Nathan-vt1jz Make it so expensive that on one can afford to even try.

    • @christopherconard2831
      @christopherconard2831 Місяць тому

      And breakfast. He also invited the first practical automatic toaster. But not enough people bought them to be really profitable. So, back to the drawing board and find something people would buy.

    • @sayaddesign
      @sayaddesign Місяць тому

      Boohoo, cry harder

  • @mikepatton8691
    @mikepatton8691 Місяць тому +10

    A little snippet from Young Guns there while illustrating the gatling gun in use, you could almost say that gentleman was shot down in blaze of glory.

    • @AaronLitz
      @AaronLitz Місяць тому +1

      That's not from _Young Guns!_
      ...it's _Young Guns II_ 😁

  • @simracing4simpletons978
    @simracing4simpletons978 Місяць тому +1

    Poilu, the book that is a collection of Louis Barthas’ WW1 notebooks, is a fantastic read. We had to study it for an entire year as a senior university history class.
    I highly recommend it to anybody who enjoys firsthand accounts or historical diaries. Especially ones about war or world war 1. He paints a very clear picture of the trials the French trench soldiers dealt with and his account pretty much lasts the entire war and he was in several major battles. It also covers the morale and thoughts of soldiers and officers at the time. (Officers more a hunch on his part, but he was a soldier and served with other soldiers and knew them well).

  • @mehtevas2653
    @mehtevas2653 Місяць тому +13

    3:30 even at its Inception the Gatling gun had a theoretical fire rate of 3000 rounds per minute but the feed mechanism wasn't there yet

    • @blackmagemasher4031
      @blackmagemasher4031 Місяць тому

      yeah, Simon's writers AI was delusional for the first 5 minutes

    • @mehtevas2653
      @mehtevas2653 Місяць тому

      ​@@blackmagemasher4031 nevermind they do specify early models they just didn't mention later models

    • @myparceltape1169
      @myparceltape1169 Місяць тому

      Black powder didn't help.

  • @douglassauvageau7262
    @douglassauvageau7262 Місяць тому

    The Vickers variants employed aboard WWI aircraft would make for an interesting episode.

  • @paulweeldreyer7457
    @paulweeldreyer7457 Місяць тому

    Fascinating, I've never heard of it. Certainly the Gatling Gun was a big advancement, but the recoil feed innovation was really creative.

  • @echomande4395
    @echomande4395 Місяць тому +6

    18:10 The Schwarzlose was not a Maxim derivative. There are major internal differences.

  • @gumpyoldbugger6944
    @gumpyoldbugger6944 Місяць тому +26

    The British Army retired the Vickers in 1958, however it is reported that the Royal Marine last use one in action in 1971. Interestingly enough, the British and Allied forces faced the Vickers when the Taliban used them during the recent Afghan War.

    • @Retarmyaviator
      @Retarmyaviator Місяць тому

      The Vickers was retired in 1968.

    • @gumpyoldbugger6944
      @gumpyoldbugger6944 Місяць тому

      @@Retarmyaviator sorry....a typo on my part, one day I will learn to check what I wrote before posting.

  • @yo388
    @yo388 Місяць тому +1

    Louis Barthas, the man somehow survived the entirety of the war despite being continuously on the front. His book, Poilu, is worth a read.

  • @Losangelesharvey
    @Losangelesharvey Місяць тому +1

    Thanks!

  • @geodkyt
    @geodkyt Місяць тому +26

    Fun fact, when Maxim was demonstrating his gun to Russia, one of the generals at the trials called Maxim a liar, because he said *no one* could possibly crank the little charging handle fast enough to fire 600 rounds per minute. 😂

  • @steveconquest6684
    @steveconquest6684 Місяць тому

    Whether you like weaponry or not, this represents an incredible accomplishment for a man who came from a town in central Maine that even by today's standards, barely registers as a dot on the map. I was married to one of his descendants and I recall the family still talking about Hiram and his son who they referred to as Percy (inventor of the silencer). One of them kept a trunk with some of his memorabilia tucked away in it.

  • @DornishVintage
    @DornishVintage Місяць тому

    There's a German MG08 on display at the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt, and that thing (with tripod mount) weighs in at a massive 68kg.

  • @MarlinWilliams-ts5ul
    @MarlinWilliams-ts5ul Місяць тому

    Good thing for us the Civil War was fought when it was, 10 years before the invention of barbed wire, and 20 years before the invention of the Maxim Machine Gun. Incidentally, two of Hiram Maxim's brothers were killed in the American Civil War, another was a pioneer in the field of explosives & the short wave radio.

  • @echomande4395
    @echomande4395 Місяць тому

    This video is on Maxim's machine gun. However, even ignoring the gun Hiram is a fascinating character who probably deserves an episode by himself.
    The scriptmakers should have tried to include material by Forgotten Weapons. Ian has several videos on Maxims, Vickers and related guns.

  • @Hajile_Ibushi
    @Hajile_Ibushi Місяць тому

    19:43 Honestly not surprised considering wagner found one of these cache's and it was full of tommyguns.

  • @Kokuraman
    @Kokuraman Місяць тому +1

    6:37 min. OK, world! Now you know!

  • @joshuaturcotte6724
    @joshuaturcotte6724 Місяць тому +1

    Maxim's gun was a stalwart defensive platform, a system they was effective at hammering offensive battle lines to a halt or to decimate an on coming force. If your on the Defensive the Maxim guns are one of the best machine-guns to date. Reason is because so long as the soldiers have water and soldiers have ammunition the gun wont stop doing what its asked. Water cooled guns are completely impractical outside of defense, however they were tight tolerance, allowing for insane firepower at range, the Maxim gun could "Zero" and so long as you have a fixed fighting position solid enough you could rain hell from ranges snipers would enguage enemy forces at. The tactical touches to a gun such as Maxim's design are defined as a static emplacement, or vehical technical weapon as the Russians used. Generally the weapon was better suited to WW1 Trench warfair then intended.
    Machineguns became a harsh regular operation, many doctrines still have classified this weapon type and have reasons for it. Often this is the "Crew Served Heavy Machine Gun" Which is oftennot expected to pace 15,000 rounds but could generally keep up. This was to lighten the load and change systems. However nothing can beat the sheer volume of lead the Vicker's could spit in WW1, there were soldiers who mastered the art of "Looping" where they merged belts and when the enemy pressed out they would run a 500+ round belt flawlessly turning enemy infantry into mulch. Moisture and mud made the cloth belts unreliable and thats why "Links" came into design, and many link systems can still work in older designs as the belt operations will be the same they just discard themselves onto the floor depending on the action. So there was many reasons to update the system, such as domestic production, tactics, and field efficency based on mission criteria and expectations!

  • @HSstriker
    @HSstriker Місяць тому

    the fact is that the maxim design is still one of the best for what it was meant to do, sustained fire from an emplacement. the heavy tri pod and cooling just make it ideal for defending trenches etc. modern machine guns are designed for a more mobile war. the maxims are apparantly still very accurate and they mount modern optics on them

  • @melissasmith5109
    @melissasmith5109 Місяць тому

    Definitely need a video on the Illustrious class carriers of WW2

  • @joshuaj.weaveresq.5719
    @joshuaj.weaveresq.5719 Місяць тому +1

    The Gatling Gun was the first machine gun, period. The Maxim was the first "automatic" machine gun. It's the self reloading that matters. That's the legal definition in the U.S. It's the automatic reloading and continued firing action after the first round that is the "automatic" part. The human power for causing all subsequent firings of the systems that is the difference. However, the Gatling gun is a gravity feed system, but it is automatically self reloads after each shot, which is why it is a machine gun. It is also only limited in its firing rate based on the speed the handle could be operated. Why the system is used, almost unchanged, on modern aircraft and naval units. They just had an engine attached to achieve firing rates of 1,000s rounds a minute. For example, the F-15E uses the M61A1 Six-barrel Gatling Gun and Feed System (4,000/6,000 shots per minute). However, it is still just a machine gun; not an automatic machine gun.

  • @Jimtheneals
    @Jimtheneals Місяць тому

    That lever on the side was NOT for adjusting fire rate but rather the tension on the recoil spring, depending on the ammo used, it did affect the ROF but that was not it's purpose.

    • @geodkyt
      @geodkyt Місяць тому

      It was originally. He even labelled the adjustment for the fusee spring with ROF settings on the prototypes and early demo versions. Literally advertised and demonstrated selectable ROFs from as slow as 1 round per minute (seriously) up to 600 RPMs.
      This plan of deliberately adjusting the rate of fire via the tension on the fusee spring was dropped by the time of the first production models.

  • @Harrington2323
    @Harrington2323 Місяць тому

    It was really surprising to see such a relict mounted on a modern Pick-Up Truck in 2022.

  • @roban2799
    @roban2799 Місяць тому

    Very interesting!
    Would love to see a video about the M2 Browning as well

  • @DuckAllMighty
    @DuckAllMighty Місяць тому

    A couple of facts about the Maxim, his first functioning prototypes where chambered for black powder, as smokeless powder hadn't been invented yet, it even had an internal cleaning mechanism.
    When the British took it out of service, they had 14 million bullets for it and 1 Vickers gun, they fired of all 14 million rounds through the same gun, and when they where done, a gun smith said that the gun looked as good as new. No modern firearm can fire 14 million rounds and be in perfect condition afterwards.

  • @ignitionfrn2223
    @ignitionfrn2223 Місяць тому

    1:25 - Mid roll ads
    2:40 - Chapter 1 - A long & difficult history
    6:15 - Chapter 2 - Design history
    12:10 - Chapter 3 - Design
    14:45 - Chapter 4 - Service history
    18:40 - Chapter 5 - Contemporary use

  • @geodkyt
    @geodkyt Місяць тому +19

    The Vickers gun is definately a "Son of Maxim Gun", but the Vickers company (Maxim's original partner) revised the mechanism and rather improved it quite a bit.
    To be honest, the Vickers was the absolute best water cooled, rifle caliber machinegun *ever* built. Whether in the original .303 caliber, one of the 7.62x54mmR conversions, or one of the 7.62x51mm conversions done by various former British possessions (but *not* the UK, notably), I'd take one if I had to set up a fixed dedemsive position. After all, the weight of the gun and water were really the only downsides - modern air cooled GPMGs are just lighter and more versatile for differemt roles. But for a gun in a bunker defending fixed ground, where you actually have access to water? A Vickers is *still* the absolute best rifle caliber MG, with a Maxim and Browning 1917 as very close runners up.

    • @sirridesalot6652
      @sirridesalot6652 Місяць тому

      When they retired the Vickers machine gun they set one up and fired on MILLION rounds through it. A remarkable weapon.

  • @pr0cr4st1na7or
    @pr0cr4st1na7or Місяць тому +4

    Man, come 2100 it's just gonna be the Maxim, Ma Deuce, and Buff

    • @weldonwin
      @weldonwin Місяць тому

      And the Colt M-1911, that thing never dies either

    • @the_retag
      @the_retag Місяць тому

      Mg42/3
      A modernised version (mg3 kws) is on offer, and most of the german military is annoyed its not being bought

  • @danielwolf6875
    @danielwolf6875 Місяць тому

    Remarkable..... lolz. Thanks Simon and team. Keep, up the great work! BARUCH HASHEM!!!

  • @markp6062
    @markp6062 Місяць тому +1

    Interesting! Thanks for sharing!

  • @starbomber
    @starbomber Місяць тому

    Intresting name missing from that list of contries that adopted the Maxim, was France. Now, I'm 75% sure some Vicars guns ended up in France, but the French had their own machine gun, the Hotchkiss gun, which was *gas* operated, like most modern machine guns. (and operated by positive pressure unlike maxim's first design which used negative pressure...it's wild to me that anyone would even try that and that it would even work)

    • @carloshenriquezimmer7543
      @carloshenriquezimmer7543 Місяць тому +1

      Maybe he used negative pressure to prevent black powder fouling from clogging the piston mechanism.
      Smokeless powder was not a thing yet when Maxim invented his gun.

  • @carloshenriquezimmer7543
    @carloshenriquezimmer7543 Місяць тому

    No references to the Gradner Machine Gun (1874)?
    It is basically a couple of toggle-lock(-ish) rifles bolted together, operated by a crank.
    Not so famous than the other mechanical machine guns, but it was adopted by the British, around 1880.
    It can be made today, there are part kits for Ruger 10-22 rifles that adapt a pair into a tripod mounted gun, fired by a crank.

  • @jesseshort8
    @jesseshort8 Місяць тому +1

    Idk how I've made it 40 years and never heard "noggin joggin'" before.🤯

  • @allbriardup6451
    @allbriardup6451 Місяць тому

    I love the game, I had awesome lower ping, though I’ve seen friends go from 160-499 ping after the patch. The game closes out at random and still disconnects players often once you complete a mission. The ammunition is ridiculous. Honestly I played the grind for the heavy bolter to be epic rarity and having 653 bullets is barely okay since you are rarely free to mow down enemies as you have to tap-snipe with a machine gun?? A tip for the devs is add damage to the machine gun and 100 rounds to every weapon. Maybe once you get an epic gun fully leveled you get extra ammo for grinding so much. What sniper goes in to battle with 12- 20 sniper shots plus 200 enemies in some stages alone? Still a favorite game, keep the lore, keep operations going strong because I don’t see replaying single player more than one or twice annually, but I’ll play operations daily 👍

  • @Chris_Garman
    @Chris_Garman Місяць тому

    Although it has some downsides compared to what is available today, the thing just works. If you treat it right you will have trouble wearing it out.

  • @harmless-kun
    @harmless-kun Місяць тому +1

    *This is my machinegun. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My machinegun is my best friend. It is my life.*

  • @mohammedsaysrashid3587
    @mohammedsaysrashid3587 Місяць тому

    It was a wonderful explanation and introduction to the made history of Maxim machine gun designed in the US .manufactured in Britain 🇬🇧, expanded utility by European countries armies . What was notable was that both British and American intellectuals had the same opinion about Europeans even before WW1 and WW2...

  • @hctim96
    @hctim96 Місяць тому

    Excellent vid, thanks

  • @MisterOcclusion
    @MisterOcclusion Місяць тому

    Barthas book, Poilu, is worth the read. He was an older soldier, with the viewpoint of a mature man

  • @LukasJampen
    @LukasJampen Місяць тому

    As a technical designer the maxim gun, as horrible as it's use was, was a masterpiece of engineering. It's fascinating that the first version of a one barreled machine gun was this reliable, simple and effective.

  • @scottrobinson3281
    @scottrobinson3281 Місяць тому

    The self-loading machine gun only became viable with the invention of effective smokeless powder by Paul Vielle in 1884. There is a jaunty Soviet war time song titled "Dva Maksima" (Two Maxims).

  • @Pavlos_Charalambous
    @Pavlos_Charalambous Місяць тому +4

    No telling of the maxim gun hist is full without mentioning one Basil Zaharoff
    The OG merchant of death

  • @erichollar5503
    @erichollar5503 Місяць тому

    I tried some multiplayer game that Simon recommended one time - got into play and the community killed me off in about 12 seconds. I did that two or three times and all the fun just went right out if it. I never was able to find some sort of training mode that would at least allow me to learn how to control the vehicle. Seems like the developers should allow for inexperienced users to have a shot at getting up to speed.

  • @vic5015
    @vic5015 Місяць тому +3

    Always wonfered why the Gatling gun didn't qualify.

  • @paulperano9236
    @paulperano9236 Місяць тому

    Sometimes simple is better. Keep the barrel cool and stitch the belts together ....

  • @sheldonwheaton881
    @sheldonwheaton881 Місяць тому

    "Whatever happens, we have got, the Maxim Gun.
    And they have not."

  • @PitFriend1
    @PitFriend1 Місяць тому

    The Russian version of the Maxim has a particularly Russian feature. The water jackets on them have a large cap in the top of them instead of the usual small filler port. This is so troops can shovel snow into the thing instead of just using liquid water. This is very handy considering the winters they have.

  • @Inubis9
    @Inubis9 Місяць тому

    The german variant MG 08/15 (introduced 1908, revisioned 1915) lead to a a saying in German. You would use it describing something completely ordinary and common. For example, the food in a restaurant could be described as 08/15 if it is okay, but nothing special.

  • @salty82ndveteran
    @salty82ndveteran Місяць тому

    I do historical reenactment and archeology from the 1800s, and I am a fully certified cannon operator. A 'grape-shot' round would take out more troops than machine gun ever could if operated correctly! In the operators manual from the 1800s, they even have a section on how you can deer hunt with these cannon.

  • @pianowhizz
    @pianowhizz Місяць тому

    Maxim… the OG badass!

  • @brs690
    @brs690 Місяць тому +1

    It seems so simple today, 20 years in the army being a gunner probably helps it seem simple.

    • @carloshenriquezimmer7543
      @carloshenriquezimmer7543 Місяць тому

      Funny too that the Maxim is one of the most complicated machineguns ever made. Even later guns made inspired by it are much simpler.
      The early Browning 1917 is a good example. J.M. Browning took a look at a Maxim and went "I'll make a better one, with ..." he was mormon, so no backjack, nor hookers...

    • @Predator42ID
      @Predator42ID Місяць тому

      @@carloshenriquezimmer7543 Or media for that matter. Browning saw fame and reporters as a waste of time. That is why it took forever to get a quote out of him.

  • @akyhne
    @akyhne Місяць тому

    The Madsen machine gun is also impressive. It was the first lught machine gun, meaning you can run around with it, lay down and shoot. You can also fire it, Rambo style.
    Developed in 1902, it was in service in many armies and police forces, until very recently (2010s). But is still in use by partisans, drug dealers erc.

  • @tootired76
    @tootired76 Місяць тому +1

    After looking at a Maxim gun John Moses Browning said, "Hold my beer..."

    • @myparceltape1169
      @myparceltape1169 Місяць тому

      Ìt was adapted by the British military to brew tea.

  • @dennislosee
    @dennislosee Місяць тому

    When you can piss in it and keep the barrel cool you know it’s a classic

  • @bridgetdelport5636
    @bridgetdelport5636 11 днів тому

    Interesting article, however the Schwarzlose machine gun,though having some external similarities to a Maxim gun, uses a delayed blowback operating system instead of Maxim's recoil operating system. This was done by its designer to avoid infringing on Maxim's patents. So, to list a Schwarzlose machine gun as Maxim gun variant is incorrect as they are mechanically very different guns.

  • @dinsdalemontypiranha4349
    @dinsdalemontypiranha4349 Місяць тому +4

    Another great Megaprojects video Simon. Thanks for including their use in Ukraine.

  • @garyneilson1833
    @garyneilson1833 Місяць тому +1

    Vickers didn't just make it in .303 they tweaked the design and the Vckers was lighter than the MG08

  • @w8lvradio
    @w8lvradio Місяць тому +1

    They called it the devil's paintbrush.

  • @harrisonbergeron9746
    @harrisonbergeron9746 Місяць тому +2

    Schwarzlose was not a Maxim derived design

  • @simanothername3035
    @simanothername3035 Місяць тому

    Ever heard of the puckel gun? Or at a pinch the ribauldaquin. A shipping manifest for the Puckel gun from 1722 describes it as a machine gun.....nevermind what arc say.

  • @RandomGreymane
    @RandomGreymane Місяць тому

    A really cool history teacher once taught a friend of mine about why machine guns weren’t the be-all-end-all weapon people think they are. They set up a miniatures table.
    Teacher: “Okay you can be the British or the Zulu.”
    Student: “I’ll take the British! They have machine guns!”
    Student: “Okay! I have my troops form square!”
    Teacher: “Ready? Here’s my FIRST box of 1000 Zulu warriors!”
    Student: “…”
    Needless to say the lesson was well taught. ;-)

  • @jonathanmatthews4774
    @jonathanmatthews4774 Місяць тому

    Insane to stop and think that 140 years later it's still being used.

  • @RGD2k
    @RGD2k Місяць тому

    A more accurate, precise definition for a machine gun has little to do with the fully automatic fire. It's the same difference in precision and accuracy that a machine tool has over a mere power tool. It's all in the tripod, and the attached means to precisely train long range fire.
    For that to work, the 'fully automatic' bit needs to be sorted such that every suceeding round goes repeatably where the gun is trained. Something that the hand-cranked multibarreled guns before could not do. It also needs to be something that can be sustained.
    And this is now what we call a 'heavy machine gun'. It's not perfectly accurate, but it is precise enough to have a 'beaten zone' - which actually makes it better at is unique role.
    What it really does is let you set it up on a hill, and so deny much ground from the enemy, essentially for as far as you can see.
    For, if the enemy were to dare to cross those fields, you can ensure they do not do so lightly. The counter for it is the Tank - the vehicle specifically designed to assault across such "no man's land".
    So really, a machine gun is a kind of light, nearly-direct-fire but longer range than rifle, artillary.
    The 'light machine gun' is an automatic thing you can carry with you, to use to deter the opponent from mounting a rapid counterattack: Make them at least think you might have a machine gun aimed in their direction, even if automatic fire without the advantages of the heavy tripod is not nearly as effective. But this is why we now call what were 'machine guns', 'heavy machine guns'.
    And so also the 'assault rifle': Specifically born to be lighter to run with than the battle rifle, this is for running under fire (which is what 'assault' really means in a military context). It's for taking positions with. You know, those places the enemy have defended with machine guns.
    The aforementioned battle rifle is the final semi-automatic (or sometimes full automatic) evolution of the rifle, firing the 'full size' rifle rounds traditional to bolt-action rifles and originally so sized to accomodate compressed black powder propellant. Whether or not it's fully automatic doesn't matter, because the recoil is such that you are not going to be hitting anything with more than one round of a trigger pull anyway, unless at desparately close range. Spray 'n Pray!
    The submachine gun: An automatic pistol for close range slaughter, perhaps no more effective than a pistol with a stock and a large magazine, but it turns out that fully-automatic trigger mechanisms are simpler and cheaper to make. The much smaller recoil of pistol rounds allows this to even be controllable. Give this to the soldiers who you're sure can murder, because apparently murder is something that humans do so poorly that no more than 1 in 20 trained soldiers could do so without flinching.
    And the most deadly weapon? Well, that's a shotgun loaded with buckshot at close range: Think of it as a sort of 'hyper-automatic' machinegun that fires a burst of 9 deadly rounds, all at once! This is more effective than the submachinegun. And remains so.

  • @fatrobin72
    @fatrobin72 Місяць тому

    A machine gun, even a 140 year old design machine gun... is better than no machine gun.

  • @JeffBilkins
    @JeffBilkins Місяць тому +6

    11:58 smokeless powder wasn't a thing yet, so the guns also work as portable smoke generator

    • @JohnSmith-cn4cw
      @JohnSmith-cn4cw Місяць тому +1

      Smokeless powder was developed about the same time as the Maxim.

    • @MisterOcclusion
      @MisterOcclusion Місяць тому +2

      We should take a moment and remember to be impressed that Maxim developed his early guns in the black powder era. A propellant that produced high residue, high heat, not to mention it being an explosive rather than a progressive burn. Black powder fouling was enough of a hindrance on repeaters, let alone a self loading machine gun

    • @geodkyt
      @geodkyt Місяць тому +1

      ​@@JohnSmith-cn4cwYes, but it took a couple of years for Maxim to start making them in smokeless powder cartridges.
      After all, he was trying to sell them to armies, who wanted to buy them in their primary rifle caliber... and smokeless powder didn't replace every earlier cartridge overnight.
      So, his first version was, IIRC, in the .450 Martini Henry cartridge Britain was still using (they didn't even adopt the .303 until 1889, and they didn't even start loading it with smokeless powder until 1891... I can't even imagine how bad the powder fouling of a .303 black powder Maxim would be... 😂 )

  • @user-ii1iy8fz1d
    @user-ii1iy8fz1d Місяць тому

    They sure knew how to moustache back then ❤ no wispy soystach nonsense In the ranks!❤

  • @ajm2872
    @ajm2872 Місяць тому

    I'd like to get ahold of a time machine and give the Victorian Brits helicopters and miniguns. I like how they used their tools 😁

  • @ObsidianQuasar
    @ObsidianQuasar 29 днів тому +1

    “They don’t make them like they used to” I think seeing them in Ukraine images

  • @sempersteel2799
    @sempersteel2799 Місяць тому

    Fun fact about that definition of a machine gun, and how it relates to a gatling gun.
    Because the gatling gun is not self-loading, and instead requires continual input from the shooter to function, gatling-style (hand cranked) guns are perfectly legal to own in the USA with no permits. Depending on your local and state laws, of course. But as far as the feds are concerned, go hog wild!

  • @MikkellTheImmortal
    @MikkellTheImmortal Місяць тому +1

    I'm sure Hiram Maxam would be proud that his invention is still being used, mostly unchanged from his design.
    And no, I am most certainly not being sarcastic.
    Irregardless of what it does and how it has been used, Hiram made the best machine he could with what he had available and it still works.

    • @acmelka
      @acmelka Місяць тому +1

      It makes great sense to use a water cooled Maxim in static trench warfare. They can be hooked up to an external water tank and shoot for hours. They can be used as area denial weapons saturating an area up to 4000 meters away via plunging fire.

    • @georgehh2574
      @georgehh2574 Місяць тому

      ​​@@acmelka That's not what area denial means, unless it can shoot miniature anti-personnel mines.
      Mines and traps are examples of area denial weapons. To deny the enemy the area.

    • @acmelka
      @acmelka Місяць тому

      @@georgehh2574 oh... Maybe I am quoting someone who misunderstood the term. In WW1 a machine gun barrage was often laid on important crossroads or other areas behind the front and sustained over many hours to keep the area unusable. Not sure what to call that.

    • @acmelka
      @acmelka Місяць тому

      @@georgehh2574 nuther thought, persistent gasses like mustard gass, is that an area denial weapon?

    • @SoMuchFacepalm
      @SoMuchFacepalm Місяць тому

      @@georgehh2574 Supressing fire is technically area denial. It just has an off switch.

  • @pyronuke4768
    @pyronuke4768 Місяць тому

    Maxim: "This gun can replicate the firepower of an entire platoon, meaning you can achieve the same effectiveness as three dozen men with just a half dozen, leading to smaller armies and therefore fewer casualties."
    Top Brass: "Or, just throwing stuff at the wall here, it can double the firepower of a platoon, meaning the opposition has to commit double the resources and manpower to take an objective! It's brilliant!!"
    Maxim: "No, wait, that's not what I ment-"
    Top Brass: "And, if all three dozen in that platoon were converted into crews for these things, we could get like six of them in exchange; BRILLIANT!!!"

  • @laurinjoelschafhausen
    @laurinjoelschafhausen Місяць тому

    Interesting video. With the mentioned definition a M134, or any other western gatling or chain gun are not machine guns because the do not use gas but external energy to cycle. I have my doubt that this is the case 🙂

    • @laurinjoelschafhausen
      @laurinjoelschafhausen Місяць тому

      I would say the definition is that one can pull the trigger, and the gun shoots automatically.

  • @bryanparkhurst17
    @bryanparkhurst17 Місяць тому

    The wildest part of this video was the photo at the end of the 2 slightly more than middle age gentlemen smoking period appropriate pipes for when that gun was made wearing modern BDU's.

  • @sergeychmelev5270
    @sergeychmelev5270 Місяць тому

    The Russian/Soviet-made Maxims could be filled with snow instead of water thanks to the very wide opening at the top of the cooling jacket that can be seen at the end of this video.

  • @JACKSONLEWISOFCANADA
    @JACKSONLEWISOFCANADA Місяць тому

    Maxims early prototypes were 577/450 black powder rifle cartridges…..

  • @ChicagoFaucet.etc.
    @ChicagoFaucet.etc. Місяць тому +1

    Fun Fact about the British and machines guns in Africa. A bullet is precisely weighed, designed, and shaped to be able to be effective as a bullet. Another example of this are hypodermic needles. They have to be of very specific shape, size, and material in order to even work properly.
    At one battle in Africa, the British were using their machines guns against a local uprising. I forget which one. Anyway, the bullets that were being used weren't fully tested, or weren't supposed to be used in those machine guns, and what resulted were particularly thin bullets that moved much, much faster than they were supposed to.
    These bullets were so streamlined, and moving so fast, that they were passing right through the bodies of the Africans, seemingly without them even noticing, or even being mortally harmed. The British had no idea what was going on. Either the machine guns were almost never hitting their targets, or these locals had somehow become bulletproof.

  • @matthewking2274
    @matthewking2274 Місяць тому

    First widely adopted machine gun but definitely not the first.

  • @501Mobius
    @501Mobius Місяць тому +5

    So, a Gatling gun is not a machinegun. hmmm.

    • @echomande4395
      @echomande4395 Місяць тому +3

      Under many countries' laws, no. They are not fully automatic in that they have to be cranked. If you motorized that crank then that would be another matter entirely.
      Personally I'm not too worried about a rash of robberies carried out by Gatling toting thugs (in which case props to the thugs for being able to lift the guns).

  • @ARIXANDRE
    @ARIXANDRE Місяць тому +98

    If only mankind would put the same effort to save lives rather than machines to kill each other . Thanks for the video, Simon and crew

    • @caldera11
      @caldera11 Місяць тому +50

      They do it's called modern medicine genius

    • @Loki52020
      @Loki52020 Місяць тому +7

      Doing so doesn't generate as much profit

    • @sbsstorytelling
      @sbsstorytelling Місяць тому +10

      ​@caldera11 really? That's your response to that statement? If you think modern medicine is the best we can do to save lives? How myopic are you? There are bigger picture ways to improve the lives of everyone. Regardless of that, you show your genius with your clever reply to their comment, cool guy.

    • @blakewhited
      @blakewhited Місяць тому +15

      Look at it this way. Your not speaking Nazi German or talking about humans lesser then you. Looks like the guns in a round about way saved lives.

    • @mrtlsimon
      @mrtlsimon Місяць тому +6

      ​@@caldera11Great answer 👍🏿

  • @Jameywells777
    @Jameywells777 4 дні тому

    I love this Gun on RD2.

  • @SouthernSultan阿力
    @SouthernSultan阿力 Місяць тому

    Just like gunpowder, sailing ships and aircraft.....

  • @timdanaher
    @timdanaher Місяць тому

    Hiram Maxim is buried in West Norwood Cemetery, London SE27. True story.

  • @thepax2621
    @thepax2621 Місяць тому

    Humans are always so creative, when it comes to inventing new ways to off each other 😅

  • @infin1ty850
    @infin1ty850 Місяць тому +9

    What's great about the definition of a machine gun is that gatling guns are totally legal, I'm the US, to own without having to go through the NFA process. You'll go broke paying for the ammunition, but you'll have a damn fun time doing it.

    • @carloshenriquezimmer7543
      @carloshenriquezimmer7543 Місяць тому

      This and the point about it beying a weapond built before 1893 (I guess, maybe it is 1891). Any and all weapons built before that are considered obsolete and nor a "firearm" but a weapon/gun, like a musket.

    • @infin1ty850
      @infin1ty850 Місяць тому

      @@carloshenriquezimmer7543 Depends on the date of manufacture, not the original release date. There were plenty made after the NFA was passed then that would require going through the NFA processes, assuming it was registered before the 80s ban.

    • @MinnesotaHomesteading
      @MinnesotaHomesteading Місяць тому

      ​@@infin1ty850 nope. Even copies of antique non gun guns are not regulated. That is why you can have a modern built muzzle loader shipped to your door.

    • @christopherconard2831
      @christopherconard2831 Місяць тому

      If a Gatling isn't enough, flamethrowers aren't considered firearms and are fully legal in most states. Though there is again, the expense of feeding it.

    • @Retarmyaviator
      @Retarmyaviator Місяць тому

      @@MinnesotaHomesteading That is not correct, you need to read the ATF regs on this subject. Muzzleloading firearms are specifically exempt from the definition of firearms under the GCA, some states such as NJ still consider them firearms. Firearms manufactured before 1898 are not considered firearms or copies of the same unless fixed ammunition is readily available, those manufactured after 1898 are considered firearms under the GCA.
      27 CFR 478.11 Antique firearm.
      (a) Any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; and (b) any replica of any firearm described in paragraph (a) of this definition if such replica (1) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or (2) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.

  • @26betsam
    @26betsam Місяць тому

    The bullet that hits you doesn't care where it came from or how old the gun that fired it.

  • @abrunosON
    @abrunosON Місяць тому

    I have thousands upon thousands of hours on war thunder over the course of over a decade. We need many more players to decompress Battle Ratting (BR) to improve the quality of the individual match in the late ww2 era airplanes. DORITOS AREN'T MEANT TO FIGHT LATE COLD WAR JETS.

  • @harrisonmiller6475
    @harrisonmiller6475 Місяць тому +5

    Henry Morton Stanley was Welsh, not American but nice video

    • @harrisonmiller6475
      @harrisonmiller6475 Місяць тому +1

      He later moved 2 the States but died in London

    • @Hillbilly001
      @Hillbilly001 Місяць тому +2

      He was born in the UK but became an American citizen in 1885. So yes he was an American.

    • @edjoehugh
      @edjoehugh Місяць тому +3

      He lived in Wales the country of his birth for the first 18 years of his life. A lot of people define their nationality as the country of their birth. He only became a US citizen in 1885 and then a british subject again in 1892 then sitting in the british parliament. I think calling him American is a bit of a stretch...

    • @georgehh2574
      @georgehh2574 Місяць тому

      ​@@Hillbilly001 An American second to being British, so no.

    • @Hillbilly001
      @Hillbilly001 Місяць тому

      @@georgehh2574 He was an odd one that's for sure. British then American and back to British. Just like a journalist. Can't make up his mind.

  • @v1e1r1g1e1
    @v1e1r1g1e1 Місяць тому

    According to legend, Maxim believed that the effectiveness of his gun would see rival powers reluctant to engage in war, because they would know how devastating the machine would be to armies.
    Either the man was utterly naive... or a total fool.
    Has there EVER been a weapon developed that hasn't been used?
    And here we are telling ourselves that having nuclear weapons will guaranteed peace because of MAD.
    Yeah.
    Right.
    It's all just a matter of time.

    • @petarpopovic3306
      @petarpopovic3306 Місяць тому

      I'm guessing that it felt like a bigger leap than previous inovations. It is probably fueled with a little bit of vain (after all, it was HIS bih invention) but you could say that, going through history, first guns were just a "small" upgrade of bows and arrows. Then improvement of guns could seem as a slow and steady evolution, while, in the eyes of a naive inventor a machine gun would be a leap, and gamechanger.
      Agreed, it was very naive, especially with 20/20 hindsight

  • @Helviuss
    @Helviuss Місяць тому

    Dont need to fix what aint broke. If they were used in WW1 to great effect in trench warfrare, I can only imagine how reliable they would be in less harsh conditions

  • @priatalat
    @priatalat Місяць тому

    Think about how different warfare was before the machine gun.

  • @KaceyBarraza-r9f
    @KaceyBarraza-r9f Місяць тому

    Schiller Point

  • @rodox2832
    @rodox2832 Місяць тому +1

    The battle of bembezi

  • @VacuousCat
    @VacuousCat Місяць тому

    Maxim gun and machine gun sound eerily similar.