The Pulemyot Maxima PM1910 (PM M1910) (Russian: Пулемёт Максима образца 1910 года, ''Pulemyot Maxima obraztsa 1910 goda'' – "Maxim's machine gun Model 1910") is a

Heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...

that was used by the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Later the gun saw service in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

History

It was adopted in August 1910 and was derived from

Hiram Maxim Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916) was an American- British inventor best known as the creator of the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. Maxim held patents on numerous mechanical devices such as hair-curl ...

Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...

, chambered for the standard Russian

7.62×54mmR The 7.62×54mmR is a rimmed rifle cartridge developed by the Russian Empire and introduced as a service cartridge in 1891. Originally designed for the bolt-action Mosin–Nagant rifle, it was used during the late tsarist era and throughout th ...

rifle cartridge. The M1910 was mounted on a wheeled mount with a

gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery pi ...

. In 1918–1920, the industry of Soviet Russia produced 21 thousand new Maxim 1910 machine guns for the Red Army.Пулемёты // Гражданская война и военная интервенция в СССР. Энциклопедия / редколл., гл. ред. С. С. Хромов. — 2-е изд. — М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1987. стр.490-491 In 1930, a modernized version 1910/30 was adopted by the Red Army."''На вооружении Советской Армии состояли станковые пулемёты Максима образца 1910, модернизированные в 1930 и 1941''"
Пулемёты // Великая Отечественная война 1941 - 1945. Энциклопедия. / редколл., гл. ред. М. М. Козлов. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1985. стр.594-595 M1910/30 can be equipped with

optical sight A sight is an aiming device used to assist in visually aligning ranged weapons, surveying instruments or optical illumination equipments with the intended target. Sights can be a simple set or system of physical markers that have to be aligne ...

. In 1941, the gun was modernized once again. In May 1942, an order was given to begin the development of a new machine gun to replace the Maxim 1910/30. On May 15, 1943, the SG-43 Goryunov was adopted and since summer 1943 Maxim guns were replaced in Soviet service by the SG-43, which retained the wheeled and shielded carriage. However, production of the Maxim did not end until 1945. In addition to the main infantry version, there were aircraft-mounted and naval variants. Some were fitted with a tractor radiator cap fitted on top of the water jacket to allow handfuls of snow to be packed in to melt while firing. After World War 2, the Maxim was phased out of service, but was still sent in some quantities to the

and

. In 2014 during the War in Donbas, some Maxims in stock were captured by the Pro-Russian separatists while others were taken from storage to be used by the

Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...

. A number were used by the Ukrainian military during the

due to their reputation for accuracy and reliability.

Variants

* **"Maxim's machine gun model 1910 on a wheeled Sokolov's mount" (''Пулемёт Максима обр. 1910 года на колёсном станке А. А. Соколова обр. 1910 года'')Семён Федосеев. Столетие легендарного "Максима" // журнал "Мастер-ружьё", № 11 (164), ноябрь 2010. стр.40-46 **"Maxim's machine gun model 1915 on a wheeled Kolesnikov's mount" (''Пулемёт Максима обр. 1910 года на колёсном станке Колесникова обр. 1915 года'') * ** "Maxim's machine gun model 1910 on an antiaircraft tripod" (''Пулемёт Максима образца 1910 года на зенитной треноге М. Н. Кондакова обр. 1928 года'') **"Maxim's machine gun model 1910/30 on a wheeled Vladimirov's mount" (''Пулемёт Максима образца 1910/30 года на колёсном станке С. В. Владимирова обр. 1931 года'') ** Maxim-Tokarev **

PV-1 machine gun PV-1 (''Pulemet Vozdushny'', airborne machine gun) is a Soviet air-cooled version of the Russian M1910 Maxim for mounting on aircraft. It was designed between 1926 and 1927. The first prototypes were produced and accepted into service in 1928.Ш� ...

ZPU The ZPU (, meaning "anti-aircraft machine gun mount") is a family of towed anti-aircraft gun based on the Soviet 14.5×114mm KPV heavy machine gun. It entered service with the Soviet Union in 1949 and is used by over 50 countries worldwide. Qu ...

-4 (''Зенитная пулемётная установка М-4 образца 1931 года'') - quadruple anti-aircraft mount. * **Maxim M/09-21 ** Maxim M/32-33 *

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

** 7.92mm Maxim wz. 1910/28

Users

*Lugosi, József (2008). "Gyalogsági fegyverek 1868–2008". In Lugosi, József; Markó, György. Hazánk dicsőségére: 160 éves a Magyar Honvédség. Budapest: Zrínyi Kiadó. p. 382-383. . - a quantity of machine guns were seized during World War I * * - In January 1942 first twelve Soviet Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were given from USSR to 1st Czechoslovak Independent Infantry Battalion, later additional quantity was given to other units of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps. * * * - a quantity of machine guns was seized during World War I * - After June 22, 1941, a quantity of machine guns was seized by Hungarian troops during Axis invasion in USSR. Since 1945, Soviet Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were given from USSR to

People's Republic of Hungary The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet U ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

* - In September 1939 a quantity of Polish ''wz. 1910'' and ''wz. 1910/28'' was seized by

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. After June 22, 1941, a quantity of Soviet machine guns was seized by German troops during Axis invasion in USSR, they were used as schweres Maschinengewehr 216(r) * * * / White movement *

Russian separatist forces in Donbas The Donetsk People's Militia and Luhansk People's Militia (formerly also called Russian separatist forces in Donbas) are pro-Russian paramilitaries in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which have been fighting the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ...

* / * - at least several machine guns were captured during the

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War or Allied Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions which began in 1918. The Allies first had the goal of helping the Czechoslovak Leg ...

and disarmament of retreating armed anti-Soviet groups crossing the Romanian border in 1917 - 1920s. After June 22, 1941, an additional quantity was seized by Romanian troops during Axis invasion in USSR. In 1944 several Soviet Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were given from USSR to Romanian 1st Volunteer Infantry Division. After 23 August 1944 coup d'état additional Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were transferred from USSR to the Romanian army *

– Maxim wz. 1910 and Maxim wz. 1910/28 *

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

*: in August 2011, 35 000 ex-Soviet Maxim machine guns were stored in the warehouses of the

Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

although at least four of them were written off and scrapped later. They were used during the War in Donbas by Ukrainian troops. In December 2016 they were officially adopted by the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...

Минобороны Украины вернуло на вооружение пулемет "Максим"
/ref>

Gallery

File:RIAN archive 668428 Brigade commissar Veselov trains soldiers.jpg, Soviet troops receiving instruction on the M1910/30. File:Kursk Soviet machineguns.JPG, Soviet

machinegunners with a M1910/30 in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

. File:Tachanka in Huliaipole Museum.jpg, A

tachanka on display. Notice that it is mounted with a PM M1910/30. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 121-1204, Russland, Vierlings-MG auf LKW.jpg, Quad mounted Maxim M1910/30 guns—the first

. File:Ottoman soldiers with captured Russian machine gun2.jpg, Ottoman soldiers with captured Russian machine gun during

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

References

External links