Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun

Last updated
M1922 machine gun
Hotchkiss-M1922-6d5mm-for-greece-batey-haosef-1.jpg
A Greek Hotchkiss M1922 chambered for 6.5 Greek at the Israel Defense Forces History Museum
Type Light machine gun
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1922–1950s
Wars
Production history
Designer Hotchkiss et Cie
ManufacturerHotchkiss et Cie
Specifications
Mass8.5 kg (18.74 lb)
Length1,216 mm (47.87 in)
Barrel  length600 mm (23.62 in)

Cartridge
Action Gas operated
Rate of fire 450 rounds/min
Feed system
SightsIron

The Hotchkiss M1922 was a light machine gun manufactured by Hotchkiss.

Contents

It was never adopted in large numbers by the French Army; nevertheless, it was exported to many European and Latin American countries under the names Hotchkiss M1926 or Hotchkiss M1934.

Description

The Fusil-Mitrailleur (FM) Model 1922 is a classic weapon with a fixed stock, pistol grip, and wooden handguard. It has a non-telescopic folding bipod. Both the cocking handle and ejection port is located on the right side. The FM's caliber varied with the user, being chambered in a wide range of calibres and fed from either 20-round overhead magazines (Spanish model) or an 15-round feed strip [note 1] . Its maximum range is 2,000 meters, and it had a regulator mechanism that would allow the user to adjust the rate of fire.

Use

Two Chinese soldiers using a Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun Shooting planes with MG.jpg
Two Chinese soldiers using a Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun

The Hotchkiss M1922 was used with great success by the Greek Army during Greco-Italian War during the fight against the Royal Italian Army. [4] It was also used by the Chinese Nationalist Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War to fight against the Japanese Imperial Army and was frequently used in the Spanish Civil War by the Nationalist and in small numbers, the Republicans. [5]

Versions

There were several versions with different feed systems, calibers and improvements, among which were the Hotchkiss M1924 and M1926, the last of which spawned the Greek EYP Hotchkiss. [6]

Users

Notes

  1. There's no evidence or general consensus on existence of production strips that were bigger 15 round. Hotchkiss M1922 can accept bigger strips from other Hotchkiss Machine Guns but there's no evidence provided if there were officially produced bigger strips for export models.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fusil Ametrallador Hotchkiss Mod.1922". historiadelasarmasdefuego.blogspot.com (in Spanish). 13 March 2009.
  2. Jowett, Philip (28 Jun 2018). Latin American Wars 1900–1941: "Banana Wars," Border Wars & Revolutions. Men-at-Arms 519. Osprey Publishing. p. 33. ISBN   9781472826282.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hotchkiss Model 1922 light machine gun (France)". 2010-10-27. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 Athanassiou, Phoebus (2017). Armies of the Greek-Italian War 1940-41. Vol. Men-at-Arms 514. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. Weapons and personal equipment. ISBN   978-1-4728-1917-8.
  5. Heinz, Leonard R. (10 December 2016). "Small Arms of the Spanish Civil War" (PDF). Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 McCollum, Ian (May 24, 2013). "Hotchkiss M1922/24/26". Forgotten Weapons . Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. McCollum, Ian (October 4, 2014). "Vintage Saturday: Pipe-Smoking Snakes". Forgotten Weapons .
  8. "Francouzský kulomet Hotchkiss vz. 24" [French machine gun Hotchkiss vz. 24]. vhu.cz (in Czech). Vojenský historický ústav Praha  [ cs ].
  9. http://atf40.1fr1.net/t6276-mitrailleuse-legere-hotchkiss-1934 Archived 2019-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Shih, Bin (2018). China's Small Arms of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).
  11. Howson, Gerald (1999). Arms for Spain: the untold story of the Spanish Civil War . St. Martin's Press. p.  28. ISBN   978-0719555565.
  12. Marina Berthier. La bataille de Na San Indochine : novembre-décembre 1952 (PDF) (Report) (in French). ECPAD Fonds Indochine. p. 8.