HOTCHKISS
PORTABLE MACHINE GUN
HANDBOOK
Hotchkiss, Paris
Printed and Published by Iliffe & Sons Ltd, London, c.1914
A rare original WW1 Hotchkiss Machine Gun handbook, published by Hotchkiss of Paris c.1914. The book is undated, but two of the plates show British soldiers in WW1 uniform. The "Portable" version of the French designed Hotchkiss machine gun was manufactured in Britain during the First World War, for issue to cavalry units. The Mk I* version was produced for use in tanks, replacing the original M1909 type wooden butt with a pistol grip, and could feed cartridges from belts made from short, linked strips, each containing 3 cartridges, as well as from the standard Hotchkiss 30 round strip.
The Hotchkiss Portable Machine Gun Handbook is well illustrated with photographs and line drawings, and covers the operation, mechanism, maintenance and use of the gun. The Hotchkiss was, along with the Lewis Gun, the standard light machine gun used by the allied armed forces in WW1 trench warfare. While the Lewis was generally used by the infantry, the Hotchkiss was issued to cavalry and armoured units, and was widely used in the Tank Corps. The Hotchkiss was included in standard British Army handbooks, including Small Arms Training, and Cavalry Training until the 1930s.
Hotchkiss Machine Gun M1914: became the standard machine gun of the French Army during WW1. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. The gas-actuated Hotchkiss system was first formulated in 1895 by Odkolek von Ujezda and improved into its final form by Hotchkiss armament engineers Laurence Benét and Henri Mercié. The M1914 was the last version of a series of nearly identical Hotchkiss designs : the M1897, M1900 and the M1909. The Hotchkiss M1914 became the French infantry standard in late 1917, replacing the unreliable St. Étienne M1907. The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France also purchased 7,000 Hotchkiss machine guns, and used them extensively at the front in 1917 and 1918. The British Army issued the Hotchkiss to Cavalry and Tank Corps units. The Hotchkiss remained in active service with the French army until the early 1940s. By the end of 1918, 47,000 Hotchkiss machine guns had already been delivered to the French army alone. Including all the international sales, the grand total of Hotchkiss machine guns sold by the manufacturer was well in excess of 100,000 units.
Condition:
In very good condition. The cloth-covered card cover shows minor signs of wear and use, and some marks. The binding is good and secure, although the staples are rusty. The text is in very good condition.
Published: c.1914
Blue cloth covered card cover with black titling
Dimensions: 100mm x 125mm
Pages: 42 (plus plates)
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