| Madsen machine gun | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A Madsen light machine gun | |
| Type | Light machine gun |
| Place of origin | Denmark |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1902–present |
| Used by | See§ Users |
| Wars | List of conflicts
|
| Production history | |
| Designer | Julius A. Rasmussen Theodor Schouboe |
| Designed | 1896–1902 |
| Manufacturer | Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat A/S |
| Produced | 1902–1955 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 9.07 kg (20.00 lb) |
| Length | 1,143 mm (45.00 in) |
| Barrel length | 584 mm (22.99 in) |
| Cartridge | |
| Action | Mixed recoil-operated |
| Rate of fire | 450 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 870 m/s (2,854 ft/s) (6.5×55mm) |
| Feed system |
|
| Sights | Rear V-notch and front post |
TheMadsen is alight machine gun that Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schouboe designed and proposed for adoption by ColonelVilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, theDanish Minister of War, and that theRoyal Danish Army adopted in 1902. It was the world's first true light machine gun produced in quantity and Madsen was able to sell it in 12 calibres to over 34 countries. The gun saw extensive combat usage for over 100 years, with continued use in limited quantities worldwide into the 2010s.[5][6] The Madsen was produced byCompagnie Madsen A/S (later operating as Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat A/S and then Dansk Industri Syndikat A/S).
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The design dates to 1880s, with the DanishSelf Loading rifle M.1888 (Forsøgsrekylgevær;lit. 'trial recoil rifle'), being a precursor design. In 1883 Captain Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen (a Danish artillery officer), andRustmesterAlexander Bjarnov [da] (a weapons technician at the Danish Arsenal), began working on a recoil-operated self-loading rifle; Madsen developed the idea and Rasmussen fabricated the actual weapons. The rifle used a non-removable stripper clip that used gravity to feed rounds to the action; when the gun was not in use one could fold the clip down to cover the opening. The rifle used the 8×58RD cartridge, first in black-powder and then in a much more powerful smokeless powder version. The design was not successful. An improved design in 1896 gave the rifle an enclosed, but still gravity-fed, magazine. This version saw some 50–60 rifles being produced, but they were only issued to the Danish navy for use by coastal fortifications troops.
Investors formed a company (the Dansk Riffel Syndikat; DRS), in 1898 to commercialise the rifle, and bought the patent rights from Madsen and Rasmussen in exchange for royalties on future production.[7] By this time Madsen had left the project to becomeMinister of War in Denmark.[8] In 1899 LieutenantJens Schouboe became the manager for the DRS, and a number of subsequent patents bear his name. Consequently, the Madsen rifle is sometimes referred to as the Schouboe rifle. In 1901 he patented the design for the Madsen machine gun. The original Madsen machine guns used black-powder cartridges that quickly jammed the action. However, once the design was tried with 6.5mm smokeless powder rounds it worked well.
The Madsen has a rather sophisticated and unique operating cycle. The machine gun uses a mixedrecoil-operated locking system with a hinged bolt that is patterned after the lever-actionPeabody Martinibreechblock.[5] The recoil operation is part short and part long recoil. After firing a round to start theopen bolt firing cycle, the initial recoil impulse drives the barrel, barrel extension, and bolt to the rear. A pin on the right side of the bolt moves backward in grooves in an operating cam plate mounted to the right side of the receiver. After 12.7 mm (0.5 in) of travel, the bolt is cammed upward, away from the breech (the "short" portion of the recoil system). The barrel and barrel extension continue to move rearward to a point slightly exceeding the combined overall length of the cartridge case and projectile (the long portion of the recoil system, responsible for the weapon's low rate of fire).
After the breech is exposed, an odd lever-type extractor/ejector, mounted under the barrel, pivots to the rear, extracts the empty case, and ejects it through the bottom of the receiver. The bolt's operating cam then forces the bolt face to pivot downward, aligning a cartridge feed groove in the left side of the bolt with the chamber. While the bolt and barrel are returning forward, a cartridge-rammer lever, mounted on the barrel extension, pivots forward, loading a fresh cartridge.
The Madsen was considered expensive to produce, but was known for its reliability. Thirty-four countries bought the gun, in a dozen differentcalibres, before and afterWorld War I. They were used by all sides in theMexican Revolution.[9]
In Britain, the Rexer Arms Company manufactured the Madsen without license from 1905.[10] The guns were known as theRexer orDDRS[11] and exported worldwide.
TheImperial Russian Army bought 1,250 Madsens for the cavalry and deployed them during theRusso-Japanese War. TheImperial Russian Air Service used Madsens to equip theirMorane-Saulnier G andMorane-Saulnier L monoplanes, and as its open bolt firing cycle made it difficult tofire through a propeller, the Madsen's gun mounting had to fire over the propeller.[12] TheGerman Army deployed the Madsen in 7.92 mm calibre in 1914; having intercepted shipments that were originally destined for Bulgaria in8×50mmR Mannlicher, they would promptly convert them. It would arm infantry companies, mountain troops and laterstormtroopers.
China would acquire about 150 Madsens by 1913, and begin manufacturing a domestic copy atGuangdong Arsenal in 1909.[13]
Among the fighting forces with the Madsen in their arsenals in the immediate aftermath of World War I were theCzechoslovak Legions in Russia, fighting theBolsheviks inSiberia.[14] The Madsen also saw service inChina during theWarlord era.[15] By 1935, China would acquire roughly 300 Madsen machine guns, with under 100 of these being used forMalmö Flygindustri,SIAI, andCaproni aircraft.[13]
Paraguay bought the Madsen in the 1920s and early 1930s as that country quietly girded for war withBolivia over mutual claims to theGran Chaco region, and it served in the Paraguayan army in theChaco War (1932–1935). Almost 400 were on hand when the war began, and the Paraguayans bought more as the war progressed.[16] Bolivia also fielded Madsens of the same calibre as Paraguay (7.65×53 Mauser) during the conflict.[6]
TheArgentine Army detachment that protected neutrality along the border with Paraguay and Bolivia during theChaco War used the Madsen in combat operations at least once in 1933 in the course of an engagement on the southern bank of thePilcomayo river against members of theMaká tribe commanded by deserters who had looted a farm in Argentine soil, killing some of its inhabitants.[17]
Brazil first acquired Madsen machine guns prior to the war.[18] When Brazil acquired some 23CV-35tankettes from Italy in the late 1930s, it armed a majority of the vehicles with twin-mounted 7 mm Madsens.[19] In 1943, the Army planned to produce their own Madsen machine guns at the Laminação Nacional de Metais factory.[20]
In China, 3,300 Madsens were ordered by March 1940 for use in theSecond Sino-Japanese War.[13]
Madsen machine guns were still in use in April–June 1940 as theNorwegian Army's standard light machine gun in theNorwegian Campaign, 3,500 M/22s in6.5×55 Krag being available for the defence of Norway. By 1940 each Norwegian infantrysquad had one Madsen machine gun, the Norwegians having previously grouped their Madsen in separate machine gun squads.[21][22] Each Norwegian infantry battalion had a standard complement of 36 Madsens, in addition to nineM/29 heavy machine guns. However, many Norwegian soldiers did not like the Madsen as it had a tendency to jam after only a few rounds in this calibre, leading to it gaining the nicknameJomfru Madsen (transl. Virgin Madsen).[23] The Germans used captured Madsens for second line units throughout the war, and Danish production continued for the German armed forces in the8×58mmR Danish Krag calibre until 1942. TheDanish Army did not retire their last Madsen until 1955.
It was standard equipment (in 6.5 mm) with theRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) during the inter-war period until the surrender to the Japanese in 1942. The barrel was shortened in the late 1920s which made it lighter and it was mounted in the Army Model of theBraat Overvalwagen APC.[24] TheImperial Japanese Army used some after capturing them during theDutch East Indies Campaign, evidently during theGuadalcanal campaign.[25]
Ireland had a total of 24 Madsen machine guns, all in.303 calibre. They armed the Irish army'sLandsverk L60 light tanks,Leyland armoured cars,Landsverk L180 armoured cars, andDodge armoured cars. In the 1950s.30 Browning machine guns replaced the Madsens still in Irish service.[26][page needed]
ThePortuguese Army used Madsen machine guns during thePortuguese Colonial War of the 1960s and 1970s. Madsens served as temporary armament for Auto-Metralhadora-Daimler 4 × 4 Mod.F/64 armoured cars, which wereDaimler Dingos modified with the addition of a turret-like structure.[27]
TheBrazilian Military Police ofRio de Janeiro State used Madsens into the 21st century. Although some of the Brazilian guns were captured from drug traffickers and pressed into service, the majority of the Brazilian police Madsens came from theBrazilian Army; in the 1930s they were commonly used in the wars against banditry in Northeast (bandit groups namedcangaceiros)[citation needed]; these guns were originally7x57mm Spanish Mauser weapons, later re-chambered to fit7.62 mm NATO. Official sources state that the Brazilian army retired the Madsen machine gun in 1996. It was reported that plans were in place to retire the last Madsen guns in service with theCivil Police of Rio de Janeiro State starting in 2008.[28] As of 2018, the Madsen was still used by the police.[29] It was favored by police for its reliability and intimidating sound.[30]
Argentina — Purchased Models of 1910, 1925, 1926, 1931 and 1935 (mostly in7.65mm Argentine).[3]
Austria[citation needed]
Austria-Hungary — 632 bought from Denmark in 1914[31]
Belgium[32]
Bolivia[6] — Model of 1925 in 7.65 Mauser[3]
Brazil[33][page needed] — Models of 1908, 1913, 1916, 1925, 1928, 1932, 1934, 1935 and 1936, in7×57mm Mauser and Model 1946 in.30-06[3]
Bulgaria[34] — Model 1902 received in 1915; Model 1924 received in 1928 (Both models chambered in8×50mmR Mannlicher[3]).
Colombia[citation needed]
Congo Free State Troupes de Katanga of theForce Publique[35]
Czechoslovakia[14] — M1922 and M1923, in 7.92 Mauser[3]
Chile — Models of 1923, 1925, 1926, 1928 and 1940, most in 7mm Mauser. Model 1946 in caliber .30-06[3]
Republic of China — Madsen M1916, Rexer,[15] M1930 and M1937 variants, all in 7.92 Mauser[3]
Qing Empire — M1904
Denmark — M1904, M1916, M1919, M1924, M1939 in8×58mmR and M1948 in .30-06[3]
El Salvador[5] — M1934 in 7mm Mauser and M1951 in .30-06[3]
Estonia: M1925 and M1937 in.303 British[3] Bought Finnish surplus Madsens in 1937
Ethiopia — M1907, M1910, M1934 and M1935, in 7.92 Mauser[3]
Finland — M1910, M1920, M1921 and M1923 in7.62×54mmR.[3] The M1920 was designated as7,62 pk/20. A few Madsens were used in the Finnish Civil War, and adopted in larger quantities by the army in 1926; retired and sold to Estonia in 1937[36]
France[37][page needed]:[38] Models 1915, 1919, 1922 and 1924 in 8mm Lebel[3]
German Empire
Nazi Germany — Models of 1941 and 1942 in 7.92mm[3]
Honduras — Models of 1937 and 1939 in 7mm[3]
Hungary[41]
Indonesia — M1950 in .30-06[3]
Ireland[26][page needed]
Italy[37][page needed] — Models of 1908, 1910, 1925 and 1930 in6.5×52mm Carcano[3]
Japan — Captured from theDutch East Indies[42]
Latvia — 3 pieces in stock of theLatvian Army by April 1936[43]
Lithuania[37][page needed] — Model of 1923 in 7.92mm[3]
Mexico[9] — Models 1911 and 1934 in 7mm[3]
Norway[21] — Models of 1914 and 1918 in6.5×55mm Swedish[3]
Netherlands — Models of 1919, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1934, 1938 and 1939 in6.5×53mmR.[3] The model of 1915 was used by theKNIL asgeweermitrailleur (andkarabijnmitrailleur for a shortened version modified in 1926–1927).[24]
Pakistan — M1947 in .303[3]
Paraguay — M1916 in 7.65mm[3][6]
Peru — M1929 in 7.65mm[3]
Poland — Models of 1914, 1918, 1930, and 1936
Portugal[27] — Models of 1930, 1936 and 1952 in .303 and models of 1936, 1940 and 1947 in 7.92mm[3]
Russian Empire[12] — Model 1904 and Model 1915 in 7.62×54mmR[3]
Soviet Union[44] — Model 1904 and Model 1915 in 7.62×54mmR from tsarist-era warehouse stocks alongside models appropriated from Baltic arsenals, used primarily by irregular forces.
Spain — M1907 and M1922 in 7mm[3]
Sweden — M1906, M1914 and M1921 in 6.5×55mm[3]
Thailand — Models of 1925, 1930, 1934, 1939, 1947 and 1949 in 8mm Siamese and Model 1951 in .30-06.[3]
Turkey — M1925, 1926, 1935 and 1937 in 7.92mm[3]
United Kingdom — Models of 1915, 1919, 1929, 1931 and 1939 in .303 British.[3]
Colony of Natal — 27 Rexer machine guns were used during theBambatha Rebellion[46]
Uruguay — M1937 in 7mm[3]
Yugoslavia[37][page needed] — Various models in 7.92mm Mauser[3]
