Maxim machine gun
Ametralladora automática Maxim
- Date
- 1884 · confidence high
- Place
- London (Hatton Garden), England
- Credited to
- Hiram Maxim
- People
- 👤 Hiram Stevens Maxim1840–1916
- Field
- Conflict
What it is
First fully automatic weapon, using recoil to reload and fire 600 rounds per minute with water cooling. It changed the relationship between attack and defence.
What it led to
- Colonial conquest of Africa (Omdurman, 1898)
- Trench warfare of 1914-1918 and infantry slaughter
- Doctrine of automatic fire and the assault rifle
Built on
- Metallic cartridge (rimfire and centrefire)1846-1866
- Gatling gun1861-1862
- Smokeless powder (Vieille, 1884)
Made possible
- Interrupter gear for firing through the propeller1913-1915
- Tank1915–1916
- AK-47 assault rifle1947
- Light machine gun
- Tank (as a response)