The Maxim M/32-33 is a Finnish modification of the Russian M1910 Maxim, developed by Aimo Lahti in 1932. Lahti was ordered to adapt the Maxim so that it could be fed with more modern metallic ammunition belts as opposed to the original cloth belts. The resulting weapon was able to fire at a rate of 850 rounds/min, whereas the Russian M1910 and earlier Finnish M09-21 were only capable of 600 rounds/min. The increased rate of fire was achieved through improvements that included an accelerator mechanism and muzzle booster. Other changes included a redesign of the Maxim M/32-33's grips and rear sights, as well as an installation point for an optical sight.
Unlike all the other Finnish Maxims, the Maxim M/32-33 was designed from the outset to be suitable for anti-aircraft use. The new M/32 tripod was designed and issued with extra parts allowing it to be easily converted to an anti-aircraft mount, and accessories for anti-aircraft shooting were included as standard.
The last improvement to the M/32-33 was the addition of a snow-filling cap to the water jacket; this way snow could be used instead of water during winter, so there was no need to carry and take care of 3liters of coolant water in snowy sub-zero conditions. This feature was also adopted on late World War II Russian Maxim variants.
A few hundred early M/09s were modified to the M/32 standard by Gun Depot 1 between 1933 and 1935. These weapons have also been called M/09-32s.
The MG 34 is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the Einheitsmaschinengewehr – and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). Both the MG 34 and MG 42 were erroneously nicknamed "Spandau" by Allied troops, a carryover from the World War I nickname for the MG 08, which was produced at the Spandau Arsenal.
The MG 42 is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Entering production in 1942, it was intended to supplement and replace the earlier MG 34, which was more expensive and took much longer to produce, but both weapons were produced until the end of World War II.
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 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 operate it: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the others helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition, and spare parts. It was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many Allied World War I fighter aircraft.
The PK also commonly known as the PKM, is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge.
The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled machine gun that served alongside the much lighter air-cooled Browning M1919. It was used at the battalion level, and often mounted on vehicles. There were two main iterations: the M1917, which was used in World War I and the M1917A1, which was used thereafter. The M1917, which was used on some aircraft as well as in a ground role, had a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. The M1917A1 had a cyclic rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute.
The MG 08 is a heavy machine gun (HMG) which served as the standard HMG of the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was an adaptation of Hiram Maxim's 1884 Maxim gun design, and was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 also saw service during World War II in the infantry divisions of the German Army, although by the end of the war it had mostly been relegated to second-rate "fortress" units.
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 and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or tactically mobile, have more formidable firepower, and generally require a team of personnel for operation and maintenance.
The Pulyemyot Maksima PM1910, or PM M1910, is a heavy machine gun that was used by the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the Red Army during the Russian Civil War and World War II. Later the gun saw service in the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Maschinengewehr (Schwarzlose) M. 7, also known as the Schwarzlose MG, is a medium machine-gun, used as a standard issue firearm in the Austro-Hungarian Army throughout World War I. It was utilized by the Dutch, Greek and Hungarian armies during World War II. It was routinely issued to Italian colonial troops, alongside the Mannlicher M1895 rifle.
The ShKAS is a 7.62 mm calibre machine gun widely used by Soviet aircraft in the 1930s and during World War II. The ShKAS had the highest rate of fire of any aircraft machine gun in general service during WWII. It was designed by Boris Shpitalniy and Irinarkh Komaritsky and entered production in 1934. ShKAS was used in the majority of Soviet fighters and bombers and served as the basis for the ShVAK cannon.
The Lahti L-39 is a Finnish 20 mm anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It had excellent accuracy, penetration and range, but its size made transportation difficult. It was nicknamed "Norsupyssy", and as tanks developed armor too thick for the Lahti to penetrate, its uses switched to long range sniping, tank harassment and with the L-39/44 fully automatic variant, employment as an improvised anti-aircraft weapon.
PV-1 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.
Aimo Johannes Lahti was a self-taught Finnish weapons designer. Of the 50 weapons he designed, the best known is the Suomi KP/-31 SMG. Other well-known weapon designs of his include the Lahti-Saloranta M/26 LMG, Maxim M/32-33 and Sampo L-41 MMG, Lahti L-35 pistol, and Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle. Lahti also designed the 7,62 ITKK 31 VKT anti-aircraft machine gun and the 20 ITK 40 VKT anti-aircraft cannon.
The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm (1.46 in) recoil-operated autocannon designed by Browning Arms Company and entered service in 1942. The M4 and its variants would primarily be manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company and Oldsmobile and is therefore sometimes referred to as the "Colt M4" or "Oldsmobile M4." It was primarily mounted in the Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra, with the U.S. Navy also utilizing it on many PT boats.
The QF 1 pounder, universally known as the pom-pom due to the sound of its discharge, was a 37 mm British autocannon, the first of its type in the world. It was used by several countries initially as an infantry gun and later as a light anti-aircraft gun.
7,62 ITKK 31 VKT or 7,62 mm VKT anti-aircraft machine gun was the primary anti-aircraft machine gun of the Finnish Army during World War II. The weapon was designed by the Finnish gunsmith Aimo Lahti. 507 weapons were produced in two versions, 7,62 ItKk/31 VKT and an improved 7,62 ItKk/31-40 VKT, between 1933 and 1944.
The 20 ItK 40 VKT or 20 mm dual anti-aircraft cannon model 1940 manufactured by VKT was a Finnish light anti-aircraft gun designed by the Finnish gunsmith Aimo Lahti. As the only multi-barrel 20 mm anti-aircraft gun, the 20 ItK 40 VKT was the most effective 20 mm air defence weapon used by the Finnish Army during World War II. A total of 174 guns were built, used in training until the 1970s and kept in reserve until 1988. The gun received the nickname Vekotin (gadget) from Finnish soldiers. The nickname was reached by adding to the abbreviation of manufacturer, VKT.
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S and many other countries.
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