Vickers .50 machine gun

Vickers .50 machine gun
A Vickers .50 machine gun, Polish Army Museum, Warsaw (2006)
Typeheavy machine gun
Anti-aircraft gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1933–1954
Used byUnited Kingdom
Ireland
WarsSecond World War
Production history
ManufacturerVickers,
Enfield
Produced1933 -
VariantsMarks I–V[note 1]
Specifications (Vickers .5 Mk V)
Mass63 pounds (29 kg), excluding 10 pounds (4.5 kg) cooling water
Length52.4 in (1.33 m)
Barrel length31 in (0.79 m)

Cartridge12.7×81mm
Calibre0.5 inches (12.7 mm)
Rate of fire500–600 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity2,540 feet per second (770 m/s)
Maximum firing rangeAltitude: 9,500 feet (2,900 m)
Range: 4,265 yards (3,900 m)
Feed systembelt

The Vickers .5 inch machine gun (officially "Gun, Machine, Vickers, .5-in") also known as the Vickers .50 was a large-calibre British automatic weapon. The gun was commonly used as a close-in anti-aircraft weapon on Royal Navy and Allied ships, typically in a four-gun mounting (UK) or two-gun mounting (Dutch), as well as tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles. It was similar to the .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun but fired the enlarged calibre British Vickers 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) ammunition; this round was shorter in length than the American .50 BMG (12.7×99mm).
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