Vickers Gas-Operated Machine Gun (the Vickers 'K'): An Overview
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- Опубліковано 13 січ 2020
- An overview of the Vickers GO machine gun. We have the No 1 Mk I in the collection but will give an overview of the No 2 Mk I as well. There was also the No 3, No 4 and No 5 but these were minor variants of the No 1. More information on all of them on the #VickersMG website: vickersmg.blog/the-guns/
We also cover the webbing pouches used by the Army Commandos in 1944, the mounting used on Special Air Service jeeps, as well as disassembly and assembly of a gun from the collection.
Please support the Association on Patreon to develop more of these videos: / vickersmg
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Photo sources include the Imperial War Museum alongside those held by the VMGCRA.
What a great introduction to a little known gun! Nice work Rich!
Thanks Rob. I appreciate that.
Never knew the Commandos used these in a ground role, that's mad!
Certainly some firepower for them!
The SAS fitted them to jeeps. A twin flexible mount like this facing back, a fixed pair facing forward for the driver, another twin flexible mount for the front seat passenger and a AN/M2 ,50 caliber Browning in the middle, the 1,200 rpm aircraft gun. Also used by another irregular British army unit, “Popski’s private army”.
There are lots of different configurations but that was certainly the most heavily armed.
Came here from Forgotten Weapon. Great video and channel!
That’s great. Thanks for coming across. For a niche channel we do cover quite a lot and get to test and trial a lot of things as part of our research.
Thanks for uploading this. My dear late father was an RAF armourer during the second world war, and had only good things to say about the VGO. He regarded the weapon as very well made and beautifully simple to take down and re-assemble. He also commented that the steel required for the magazine spring was of very high quality, and became unavailable. Subsequently a lesser steel was employed and armourers were instructed to not load the magazines to maximum capacity.
Thank you very much for the feedback. Hopefully we’ll be doing more videos on the VGO in the future too.
About time the VGO/Vickers K got some coverage.
Thanks Phil. We will do some more over time as they’re a popular, yet a little mysterious, part of the Vickers family.
_Ian McCollum has entered the chat._
Well we've finally snared him!
Superb video, not enough good material on the ‘K
01:30 something very pleasing and British that the ammunition drums were stored (and fit perfectly) in army issue biscuit tins
Thanks Matt. I’m glad it clarified the biscuit tin question for you!
That’s one of the most insightful and in depth looks at the Vickers K gun I think I’ve ever seen. Thanks for the vid.
You’re welcome. I’m glad you found it interesting. It’s certainly and well known weapon but only at face value it seems. We’ll hopefully do some more in the future.
Thank You!! I feel humbled!!
Humbled?
@@vickersmg never knew much about the Vickers Ks. And I consider myself a military and history buff. Truly a simple and rugged design. Could deliver as much firepower as the MG42. And how they were used by units such as the SAS and Commando forces were devastating to the enemy.
@martintrammell6481 well that’s great that it’s of use and interest. Thanks for commenting! We will add more in the Vickers K when we’re up and running with videos again.
I have a memory of reading somewhere, a long time ago, of an Anson that was night flying over Britain during the War and popped out of a cloud layer, right in front of a Heinkel 111. The Anson gunner promptly opened fire and shot the entire 100 rounds, in one long burst, into the Heinkel cockpit, which kind of settled things very finally for that crew.
Back on the ground, the armourer Sergeant was outraged when he saw the now-warped barrel of the Vickers gun and put the gunner on a charge - apparently, regulations said "short bursts" when firing the gun and a full drum in one go didn't count as a short burst.
The squadron CO thought a gun barrel for a Heinkel was a good trade and dismissed the charge.
That’s a great tale. I’m not sure 100 rounds would warp the barrel though as it’s only six seconds of that heat from cold. Regulations would be short bursts though so maybe just charged for that. It’d be great to find the source for the story.
I’m glad you did Beltfed Brutality!!!
Otherwise I wouldn’t have found this gem of a channel!!!
Keep ‘em coming!!!
Super. Glad you’re here and working through the content I see!
Great channel!
Thank you very much. Glad you like it.
Mounted on a tripod, it would have been a formidable defensive weapon
The No 2 Mk I was intended to be tripod mounted, hence no bipod on the original variant. It was for Airfield Defence Companies in the Royal Air Force.
Best rotary magazines ever, see how solid they are. Smaller than it looks, quite slim
They are certainly very heavy when full!
Excellent video thank you again Richard!
Great Andrew. Glad you like it.
As reenactor who did No4 Commando impression - i wish i had Vickers GO... This MG is so beautiful!
It’s a magnificent member of the #VickersMG family. Great to have in the collection.
Thank you. An interesting and enjoyable video. Great to see so many Vickers Berthier guns in one place and to learn about Western European ground usage of the K gun.
Thank you. Certainly scarce guns and very much part of the Vickers MG story.
My father used a pair as a WAG on a Hampden Torpedo Bomber
That’s great! Thanks for sharing. We need to do more on these, and the ‘normal’ Vickers MGs, in aircraft as it’s a fascinating topic.
the only reason the LRDG/SAS even used these was because of the lack of other available guns. these were essentially looted from the RAF which were mostly using them for airfield defence as they were obsolete for use in Aircraft mounts by that point. But the VERY high ROF actually perfectly suited the use for attacking airfields as it made it quite easy to mag dump into stationary targets ESPECIALLY aircraft.
Really good video I always wondered what guns the British military used in WW2
Thanks Bret. We have quite a lot of information on these and if you want the details, please come over and support us at www.patreon.com/vickersmg
No need to apologize about the Church ⛪️ Bells 🔔
It added some ambiance to the video
Always pleasant!
I love the bells
Thank you. We do live in a nice part of the world.
This was used on top of SAS Jeeps during WW2!!!
It certainly was. We have mounted it on one of the Association Members’ jeeps in the past.
Vickers + landrover + SAS 👍👍👍👍
Thank you.
I have a Lewis machine gun for home defence plus 10x97round drums all are fully loaded ready for immediate use.
I think you’re a little obsessed with a 97-round drum!
@@vickersmg Yes but its very effective in a fire fight !
It’s an aircraft magazine though! Too heavy and delicate for ground use.
Just found your Chanel. Absolutely love it and you're collection. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get a sec 5 certificate for the vickers?
I'm glad you like the channel. The Section 5 authority took a long time planning and preparation for evidencing that we wanted it for the right reasons. Perhaps later in the year, I'll do a little bit more about the process.
@@vickersmg sounds great. I know you can aquire one for business use, but besides that i thought they where of the table. So it be interesting to see how you precured it.
@@harryb8945 Well the VMGCRA is a registered company, albeit not-for-profit, and therefore a business which has turnover and commercial activity, just without profit returned to shareholders. Any money made goes back into running the company and expanding the collection.
@@vickersmg ah fair enough.
we found some vickers in river don @
ua-cam.com/video/CYcPyW3ow2A/v-deo.html
Yes, I'm aware of that Ian. I've seen some of the photos and publicity. Excellent stuff! If they ever need homes then it's something we'd love to have in the collection here.
Question about the magazine?
Usually it’s listed as being a 97 round drum(at least in a few books I’ve scene, tho they certainly aren’t specifically about the Vickers) so I’m wondering if it’s a case of being a 100 round mag that they usually put 97 in cuz the last few rounds are too difficult to load, a reliability issue or I’m completely wrong/misled and they are 100 rounders that were loaded with 100 rounds?
Love the channel, so glad InRangeTV/Forgotten Weapons led me here!!!
The Lewis Mk II mag was 97 rounds for aircraft but the VGO always reads 100 rounds. I’ve loaded 100 rounds in them and they do go as you tension the spring after it’s loaded.
@@vickersmgthat’s what it was!! Sorry, I was confusing the two guns since both were used in aircraft. It’s always good to know for sure, glad I found a great source for WW2/British and Commonwealth history. Thanks!!
You’re very welcome. If you’d like to find out more, we’ve got a huge online archive of material at www.vickersmg.org.uk and more at www.patreon.com/vickersmg if you’d like to support us.
Pity it doesn't have a working barrel fitted' as ive never seen one firing.
There are some videos of one firing in Canada. Are do have the plans to get some firing but limited resources at the moment, hence the constant drive for support - www.Patreon.com/vickersmg if you can help!
Could this weapon be used with some sort of belt fed configuration?
No. There were lots of different variations of the Vickers but the GO guns were all magazine fed.
@@vickersmg Do you think it's possible a belt-fed configuration could be made?
Not without a lot of work and Vickers had plenty of other belt-fed options in their catalogue so not something they would have considered.
@@vickersmg I see. I just ask for something I'm writing and I'm trying to keep it accurate in some sense.
Great. Happy to help. Are you looking for belt-fed with a high rate of fire then?
"Theirs is the glory" shows the use of the No 2 infantry version at 18.40. Would the recon squadron have used the No 1 or could the movie be correct? ua-cam.com/video/fiFeYxlPYy4/v-deo.html
1 AB Recce used the No 1 during Op MARKET GARDEN but we’re reequipped after losing all their equipment and received No 2 guns before going to Norway (and No 5 rifles). The film was made with their reequipped jeeps.
2:53 "SIMP"
Supposed to be “simply” I’m sure!