Guys please do share this video around, I'd like as many people as possible to see it as everyone involved worked incredibly hard on the day of the shoot to make it happen despite terrible weather. Thank you!
Great video Matt. We’ll follow up with a vid explaining some of the technical mechanical aspects of this. For those who want to read more about Rex Fendick and 2nd Middlesex, we’ll be sharing his memoir soon.
Wow, thanks so much. Its something I'm always trying to be mindful of and often wonder what people think so it's great to have some feedback, very much appreciated!
Somewhere on YT there is a video on the Vickers endurance test end 60's in which they fired a few million rounds and except of the worn out barrelsn everything was still within spec. I think Ian from Forgotten Weapons mentions it.
@@TheArmourersBench Ian of Forgotten Weapons mentions it in his show on the Vickers.th-cam.com/video/HSG2Flnc1Rs/w-d-xo.html. Maybe you can contact him and ask him.
Gotta admire the engineering of the Vickers, in WW1 during the battle of the Somme ten Vickers guns of the 100th Company of the Royal Machinegun Corps fired over a million rounds into German positions at High Wood during a 12 hour period with no reported malfunctions, they reportedly used up most of the available water in the area including the mens canteens and even the contents of latrine buckets to keep them cool during that period and changed out 100 spare barrels.
It's a brilliantly engineered gun. The High Wood action is a bit of a myth though sadly, they actually fired closer to 100,000 rounds. Similar feats were accomplished during WW2. Rich Fisher of the Vickers MG Collection and Research Association, who helped us on this video, wrote a great journal article exploring High Wood. He visited the area recently too, search his channel for a video he did, interesting to see the lay of the land. Thanks for watching!
The reenactors are having problems with their gun because they are firing blanks, PPU blanks to be specific. I'd guess they need a bit smaller hole at the muzzle to provide more umph. Here in the USA heartland, we use those 1960's Radway Green blue wood bulleted blanks. They work great!
Richard at @vickersmg is going to do a follow up video talking a little about that. We talk about the difficulties of the shoot in the behind the scenes video @RM_Mili_History made (linked in the video too). Fun day though.
I am sure the idea of having truckloads of ammo for every gun, of any type, and spare barrels galore sounded like a great idea at first. But I bet the crew's enthusiasm for the novelty wore out after a few hours of concussion and vibration and noise and heaving ammo. And if you have a big tub of water you can toss the hot barrels in to cool them and then just swab the bore and put them back on in a few minutes. Need lots of water. That's what to do with air cooled MGs. water cooled just keep it filled barrel is good for 10-15 k rounds
Further to the above NZ’s battalion practices were the same as the British Army. I.e., a dedicated MMG battalion which be allocated to cover infantry battalions including the famous 28th Māori Battalion Te Tū Matautūtanga (god of war - Māori was a fierce warrior race as British imperial forces learnt the hard way)
Dad’s 27 (Mg) Bn did often fight alongside he 28 (Māori) Bn who were effectively aggressive shock troops who followed up a psychologically terrifying ‘haka’ war dance followed up by a bayonet (their favoured weapon) charge. The sound of the loud haka chant in Māori was one of the most demoralising sounds of WWII. Some simply fled. The Italians objected to the British using ‘savages’. Anecdotally Rommel was said to have that given a division of Māori battalions he could conquer the world (though it’s more likely he said reach his objective the Nile / Suez Canal - the gateway to India and the Persian oilfields which was the whole British and empire 8th army were in the Western Desert campaign for - Churchill’s strategy. The Al Alamein battle victory under Montgomery in 1942 was the first British victory since the Battle of Britain in 1940. It was the turning point in the war for Britain.
Guys please do share this video around, I'd like as many people as possible to see it as everyone involved worked incredibly hard on the day of the shoot to make it happen despite terrible weather. Thank you!
Terrible weather that day but a week later, that ground was like dust!
Brought the Northern weather with me haha
Great video Matt. We’ll follow up with a vid explaining some of the technical mechanical aspects of this. For those who want to read more about Rex Fendick and 2nd Middlesex, we’ll be sharing his memoir soon.
Thanks mate, couldn't have done it with you and the guys. Yes, plenty to footage to illustrate that haha.
Thank you for the work on this video. I rarely see any discussion on inditect fire with machine guns. This is a great piece!
Thanks John, that's very much why I wanted to get Richard and the VMGRCA involved and do a little on it. Thanks for watching.
Love your stuff man. You have great cadence and pace. Beautiful content.
Wow, thanks so much. Its something I'm always trying to be mindful of and often wonder what people think so it's great to have some feedback, very much appreciated!
Somewhere on YT there is a video on the Vickers endurance test end 60's in which they fired a few million rounds and except of the worn out barrelsn everything was still within spec. I think Ian from Forgotten Weapons mentions it.
Lots of people mention it but I'd like to see it myself of its on here. I can't seem to find it.
@@TheArmourersBench Ian of Forgotten Weapons mentions it in his show on the Vickers.th-cam.com/video/HSG2Flnc1Rs/w-d-xo.html. Maybe you can contact him and ask him.
Thank you for covering the Vickers guns in the indirect fire role.
Thank you and thanks for watching!
Gotta admire the engineering of the Vickers, in WW1 during the battle of the Somme ten Vickers guns of the 100th Company of the Royal Machinegun Corps fired over a million rounds into German positions at High Wood during a 12 hour period with no reported malfunctions, they reportedly used up most of the available water in the area including the mens canteens and even the contents of latrine buckets to keep them cool during that period and changed out 100 spare barrels.
It's a brilliantly engineered gun. The High Wood action is a bit of a myth though sadly, they actually fired closer to 100,000 rounds. Similar feats were accomplished during WW2. Rich Fisher of the Vickers MG Collection and Research Association, who helped us on this video, wrote a great journal article exploring High Wood. He visited the area recently too, search his channel for a video he did, interesting to see the lay of the land. Thanks for watching!
The reenactors are having problems with their gun because they are firing blanks, PPU blanks to be specific. I'd guess they need a bit smaller hole at the muzzle to provide more umph. Here in the USA heartland, we use those 1960's Radway Green blue wood bulleted blanks. They work great!
I’d wondered about the machine gun’s role in indirect fire in both world wars. Seems it might be more common than I thought.
Very interesting
Very glad you enjoyed it, we have a whole series on weapons used during thr Rhineland Campaign. This one is a personal favourite though.
Light 'em up, boys.
Nice work! Really interesting. But the Vickers Guns don't seem to work very well with the blanks.
Richard at @vickersmg is going to do a follow up video talking a little about that. We talk about the difficulties of the shoot in the behind the scenes video @RM_Mili_History made (linked in the video too). Fun day though.
They do, but we'll explain more about how and why it doesn't appear so here in some technical detail very soon.
I am sure the idea of having truckloads of ammo for every gun, of any type, and spare barrels galore sounded like a great idea at first. But I bet the crew's enthusiasm for the novelty wore out after a few hours of concussion and vibration and noise and heaving ammo. And if you have a big tub of water you can toss the hot barrels in to cool them and then just swab the bore and put them back on in a few minutes. Need lots of water. That's what to do with air cooled MGs. water cooled just keep it filled barrel is good for 10-15 k rounds
Absolutely, sounds like a lot of fun firing that many rounds but if it's just the gun on a set range you're gonna be bored eventually.
@@TheArmourersBench and deaf and your hands will be numb for days
Dad (27th Machine Gun Battalion New Zealand Second Division, Western Desert and Italy) would tell us kids about indirect fire
Oh wow! I bet they were interesting stories.
Further to the above
NZ’s battalion practices were the same as the British Army.
I.e., a dedicated MMG battalion which be allocated to cover infantry battalions including the famous 28th Māori Battalion Te Tū Matautūtanga (god of war - Māori was a fierce warrior race as British imperial forces learnt the hard way)
Dad’s 27 (Mg) Bn did often fight alongside he 28 (Māori) Bn who were effectively aggressive shock troops who followed up a psychologically terrifying ‘haka’ war dance followed up by a bayonet (their favoured weapon) charge. The sound of the loud haka chant in Māori was one of the most demoralising sounds of WWII. Some simply fled. The Italians objected to the British using ‘savages’.
Anecdotally Rommel was said to have that given a division of Māori battalions he could conquer the world (though it’s more likely he said reach his objective the Nile / Suez Canal - the gateway to India and the Persian oilfields which was the whole British and empire 8th army were in the Western Desert campaign for - Churchill’s strategy. The Al Alamein battle victory under Montgomery in 1942 was the first British victory since the Battle of Britain in 1940. It was the turning point in the war for Britain.
0:44 I'd send that one back to the armoury for service.
It's probably due to them firing blanks, I'd imagine.
It certainly is. Rich is doing a video to talk about blank firing and the interesting issues we encountered with it.
Read the history of the Gloucester's in Korea. The Vickers arcs of fire were designated Tory, Labour and Liberals for right, left and centre.
Hahah is that right? Amazing.