The Vickers–Berthier (VB) is a

light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the ...

that was produced by the British company

Vickers-Armstrong Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

. It was adopted by the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...

and saw combat during

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 ...

History

Berthier machine gun

The Vickers–Berthier was based on a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

design of just before

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, ...

. It was proposed for use with infantry as ''Fusil Mitrailleur Berthier Modèle 1910'', ''Modèle 1911'', ''Modèle 1912'', ''Modèle 1916'' and ''Modèle 1920''. It was also proposed in 1918 to

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

which finally refused it. A later version, the ''Fusil Mitrailleur Berthier Modèle 1922'', competed for the replacement of the Chauchat LMG in the

French army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

but the ''Fusil Mitrailleur MAC modèle 1924'' was adopted.

Vickers-Berthier machine gun

In 1925 Vickers in Britain purchased licence rights of the Berthier Model 1922 for production in their Crayford factory, and as a replacement for the Lewis Gun. It was an alternative to the water-cooled

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and o ...

made by the same company. The weapon used a gas and tipping bolt mechanism similar to the Bren gun, was air-cooled like the Bren and also like the Bren had a removable barrel. It was adopted by the Indian Army in 1933. During the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

trials of several light machine guns which began in 1932, the Vickers–Berthier was in direct competition with the

ZB vz. 26 The ZB vz. 26 was a Czechoslovak light machine gun developed in the 1920s, which went on to enter service with several countries. It saw its major use during World War II, and spawned the related ZB vz. 27, vz. 30, and vz. 33. The ZB vz. 26 influe ...

. The British Army adopted the latter, modified and known as the

Bren light machine gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used ...

, and the Vickers–Berthier was adopted by the

. A production line for the Vickers–Berthier Light Machine-Gun Mk 3 was established at the Rifle Factory Ishapore.

Appearance and Design

The Vickers–Berthier Light Machine Gun has a 30-round box magazine and a bipod stand, and is sometimes mistaken for the Bren as both used a similar curved magazine to accommodate the rimmed

.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...

cartridge. It was slightly heavier, at , than the Bren at . It was also slightly longer, and harder to stow away. The Vickers–Berthier also had a slower cyclic rate of 500 rpm. The only major advantage the weapon had over the Bren was the far simpler design; it could be produced more efficiently. It existed in five versions : Mk I, Mk II, Mk II light, Mk III and Mk IIIB. Mark 1 was introduced in 1928, Mark 2 in 1931 and Mark 3 in 1933.

Use

Apart from India, it was only sold to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, but the design was modified into the Vickers K machine gun, called the Vickers Gas Operated (VGO). In Indian service, it was replaced from 1942 by Brens but continued to serve with reserve units of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

into the 1980s.

Users

* * * * : Vickers–Berthier Mk I, more than 800 by April 1936 * : Captured from Bolivia * : small numbers bought, known as ''m/931'' *

Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

: small numbers bought * : 322 sold by Paraguay in 1936 * : limited use * : Used by Taliban

Failed bids

* : Vickers–Berthier gun was tested in 1927-1928, without success * : Tested by

Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

in 1925, which chose

Hotchkiss machine gun The Hotchkiss machine gun was any of a line of products developed and sold by Hotchkiss et Cie, (full name Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie), established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss moved ...

instead

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

"Rifle-Machine Gun Increases Efficiency of Infantry" ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1930
early article with photos of first Vickers–Berthier * Berthier's patents for twin machine guns : , , {{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers-Berthier Light machine guns World War II machine guns World War II infantry weapons Machine guns of India Vickers World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom Machine guns of the United Kingdom Military equipment introduced in the 1930s