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Hotchkiss 13.2 mm machine gun

January 29, 2023

The Hotchkiss 13.2 mm machine gun (French: Mitrailleuse Hotchkiss de 13,2 mm, Mle 1929, Mle 1930, etc), also known as the Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun, and the like, was a heavy machine gun, primarily intended for anti-aircraft use, designed and manufactured by French arms manufacturer Hotchkiss et Cie from the late 1920s until World War II, which saw service with various nations' forces, including Italy and Japan where the gun was built under license.[2]

Hotchkiss 13.2 mm machine gun
Mitrailleuse Hotchkiss de 13,2 mm
A mitrailleuse de 13.2 mm CA mle 1930, in Batey ha-Osef Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel.
TypeHeavy machine gun
Place of originFrance
Service history
Used bySee Users
WarsWorld War II
Production history
Designed1929
ManufacturerHotchkiss et Cie
Specifications
Mass37.5 kg (83 lbs)
single gun, stripped
Length1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Barrel length1 m (3 ft 3 in)
Shell13.2×99mm Hotchkiss Long (prior to 1935)
13.2x96mm Hotchkiss Short (post 1935)
Caliber13.2 mm
ActionGas operated
Elevation-10° to +90°
Traverse360°
Rate of fire450 rpm (cyclic)
200-250 rpm (sustained)
Muzzle velocity800 m/s (2,625 ft/s)
Effective firing range4,200 m (13,800 ft) AA ceiling
Maximum firing range7.2 km (4.5 mi) at 45°[1]
Feed system30-round box magazine, or 15-round feed strip
A dual gun pedestal mount of the Free French Navy.

Development

In the late 1920s, Hotchkiss proposed a range of anti-aircraft automatic weapons in the 13.2, 25 and 37 mm calibers. They were all based on the same type of gas-operated action, similar to the one used in the 8 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun, which had proven extremely reliable during World War I and was still in service. This led to the production of the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun model 1929, often called the Hotchkiss M1929.

Performance

The Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun had a cyclic rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute, but their practical sustained rate of fire was just 200-250 rounds per minute due to limited magazine capacity. The majority of Hotchkiss M1929 machine guns were fed by overhead, 30 round, curved box magazines. These magazines would run empty in 4 seconds, requiring frequent magazine changes which limited their rate of fire.

Cartridges

The Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun was initially chambered for the cartridge 13.2 × 99 mm Hotchkiss "Long", which essentially was a 12.7 × 99 mm Browning (.50 BMG) cartridge necked up to 13.2 mm caliber.[3] This cartridge however proved to wear out gun barrels too quickly and to alleviate this inconvenience Hotchkiss introduced a new cartridge for the M1929 machine gun in 1935, featuring a slightly shorter cartridge case and reworked projectile shape, becoming the cartridge 13.2 x 96 mm Hotchkiss "Short". The new cartridge was practically identical to the original 13.2 x 99 mm cartridge except for the length of the neck, reducing the full case length to 96 mm. This minimal change was done so that existing weapons and the production line did not require any modification to fire the new cartridge, but was sufficient to fix the barrel wear issue.

Configurations

The Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun came in a number of different configurations depending on their intended role. There were single, double and quadruple barreled anti-aircraft weapons on a high-angle pedestal and tripod mounts, as well as low-angle bipod mounts for anti-tank and heavy machine gun roles.

French infantry commanders, who had expressed interest in acquiring light anti-aircraft guns, refused to accept the 13.2 mm. They argued that the heavy bullets falling down could be dangerous to friendly troops, and preferred larger calibers for which self-destructing shells were available. But the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss saw extensive use as a naval gun and was also chosen by the French cavalry for some of its armored vehicles.

  •  

    A Japanese 30 round box magazine.

  •  

    13.2 mm cartridges left to right:
    13.2×99mm Hotchkiss Long
    13.2×96mm Hotchkiss Short
    13.2×92mmSR Mauser TuF

  •  

    A quadruple naval mounting, as illustrated in US Patent 1700902 filed by Yves Le Prieur.

Service

As a ground-based anti-aircraft weapon

The French Air Force used the M1929, designated as mitrailleuse de 13.2 mm CA mle 1930, for close-range defense of its airfields and other strategic places.

It came in two versions:

  • A single gun with a stock and pistol grip that came in a dual-purpose anti-aircraft/anti-armor mounting. It had a two-wheeled split-trailed carriage that weighed 117 kg (259 lb) empty and 155 kg (342 lb) with the machine-gun mounted. When the swing-arm the gun was affixed to was locked upwards, it could be used in an anti-aircraft mode. When the arm was collapsed and a bipod extended it could fire straight ahead in an anti-tank role. When the gun was packed up and the trails closed, it was towed behind its caisson, which was pulled by a horse or by the gunner.
  • A fixed tripod mount with a seat and anti-aircraft sight for the gunner. This came in single or twin mounts. The single mount weighted 120 kg (270 lb) empty, 160 kg (352 lb) mounted. The double mount weighed 225 kg (496 lb) empty, 300 kg (662 lb) mounted.

As a naval weapon

Early in World War II, the French, Italian and Japanese navies were using twin (CAD Mle 1929 - Contre Avions Double) and quadruple (CAQ mle 1929 - Contre Avions Quadruple) mountings on many of their warships. French warships that were refitted in the United States in 1943, such as the battleship Richelieu or the destroyer Le Terrible, had their 13.2 mm machine guns replaced by more powerful Oerlikon 20 mm cannons.

In Italy, the Società Italiana Ernesto Breda produced the gun under license as the Breda Mod.31 from 1931 onwards. It was used as an anti-aircraft gun aboard ships, submarines, and armored trains of the Royal Italian Navy. After World War II it was used on the patrol boats of the Guardia di Finanza.

The Spanish Navy bought the weapon in December 1935 and used it during the Civil War (where it was mounted on several Republican Navy destroyers and cruisers). The "Pirotecnia Militar" Army Ammunition plant (Sevilla) produced its cartridges after 1939.

As a ground weapon

Several self-propelled anti-aircraft combinations were tested in the 1930s, with Citroën-Kegresse or Berliet chassis, but none was mass-produced. The 13.2 mm Hotchkiss was used on the Belgian T15 and the French AMR 35 light tanks as well as on the White-Laffly AMD 80 armoured car and on fortifications. The Free French used field-modified self-propelled mountings, with guns recovered from French ships, in North-East Africa in 1942. The Breda Mod.31 was used as an anti-aircraft and heavy machine gun on command tanks of the Royal Italian Army as well as on L3/33 light tanks sold to Brazil. The Japanese mounted license-produced version of the gun on a number of Type 92 Heavy armored Cars which had initially been armed with only a pair of 6.5mm machine guns.

Users

Japanese attack on Shanghai

Gallery

  •  

    A wz.30 dual gun pedestal mount used on the Polish submarine ORP Żbik.

  •  

    The related Japanese Type 93 single mount.

  •  

    The related Japanese Type 93 double mount.

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ "France 13.2 mm (0.5") Model 1929 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  2. ^ "Modern Firearms". 27 October 2010.
  3. ^ . www.municion.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  4. ^ Lai, Benjamin (29 Jun 2017). Shanghai and Nanjing 1937: Massacre on the Yangtze. Campaign 309. Osprey Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 9781472817495.
  5. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
  6. ^ Amregister Fl, Ammunitionsregister för flottan, 1947 års upplaga. Stockholm: Ammunitionssektionen vid marinförvaltningens artilleribyrå. 1947.

Bibliography

  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.

Further reading

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hotchkiss Model 1930.
  • Ferrard, Stéphane. France 1940 l'armement terrestre, ETAI, 1998, ISBN 978-2-7268-8380-8
  • "Las armas de la guerra civil española", José MAría MANRIQUE, ISBN 84-9734-475-8, pages 394 -398

January 29, 2023
hotchkiss, machine, french, mitrailleuse, hotchkiss, 1929, 1930, also, known, hotchkiss, m1929, machine, like, heavy, machine, primarily, intended, anti, aircraft, designed, manufactured, french, arms, manufacturer, hotchkiss, from, late, 1920s, until, world, . The Hotchkiss 13 2 mm machine gun French Mitrailleuse Hotchkiss de 13 2 mm Mle 1929 Mle 1930 etc also known as the Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun and the like was a heavy machine gun primarily intended for anti aircraft use designed and manufactured by French arms manufacturer Hotchkiss et Cie from the late 1920s until World War II which saw service with various nations forces including Italy and Japan where the gun was built under license 2 Hotchkiss 13 2 mm machine gun Mitrailleuse Hotchkiss de 13 2 mmA mitrailleuse de 13 2 mm CA mle 1930 in Batey ha Osef Museum Tel Aviv Israel TypeHeavy machine gunPlace of originFranceService historyUsed bySee UsersWarsWorld War IIProduction historyDesigned1929ManufacturerHotchkiss et CieSpecificationsMass37 5 kg 83 lbs single gun strippedLength1 67 m 5 ft 6 in Barrel length1 m 3 ft 3 in Shell13 2 99mm Hotchkiss Long prior to 1935 13 2x96mm Hotchkiss Short post 1935 Caliber13 2 mmActionGas operatedElevation 10 to 90 Traverse360 Rate of fire450 rpm cyclic 200 250 rpm sustained Muzzle velocity800 m s 2 625 ft s Effective firing range4 200 m 13 800 ft AA ceilingMaximum firing range7 2 km 4 5 mi at 45 1 Feed system30 round box magazine or 15 round feed stripA dual gun pedestal mount of the Free French Navy Contents 1 Development 1 1 Performance 1 2 Cartridges 1 3 Configurations 2 Service 2 1 As a ground based anti aircraft weapon 2 2 As a naval weapon 2 3 As a ground weapon 3 Users 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Footnotes 6 2 Bibliography 7 Further readingDevelopment EditIn the late 1920s Hotchkiss proposed a range of anti aircraft automatic weapons in the 13 2 25 and 37 mm calibers They were all based on the same type of gas operated action similar to the one used in the 8 mm Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun which had proven extremely reliable during World War I and was still in service This led to the production of the 13 2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun model 1929 often called the Hotchkiss M1929 Performance Edit The Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun had a cyclic rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute but their practical sustained rate of fire was just 200 250 rounds per minute due to limited magazine capacity The majority of Hotchkiss M1929 machine guns were fed by overhead 30 round curved box magazines These magazines would run empty in 4 seconds requiring frequent magazine changes which limited their rate of fire Cartridges Edit The Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun was initially chambered for the cartridge 13 2 99 mm Hotchkiss Long which essentially was a 12 7 99 mm Browning 50 BMG cartridge necked up to 13 2 mm caliber 3 This cartridge however proved to wear out gun barrels too quickly and to alleviate this inconvenience Hotchkiss introduced a new cartridge for the M1929 machine gun in 1935 featuring a slightly shorter cartridge case and reworked projectile shape becoming the cartridge 13 2 x 96 mm Hotchkiss Short The new cartridge was practically identical to the original 13 2 x 99 mm cartridge except for the length of the neck reducing the full case length to 96 mm This minimal change was done so that existing weapons and the production line did not require any modification to fire the new cartridge but was sufficient to fix the barrel wear issue Configurations Edit The Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun came in a number of different configurations depending on their intended role There were single double and quadruple barreled anti aircraft weapons on a high angle pedestal and tripod mounts as well as low angle bipod mounts for anti tank and heavy machine gun roles French infantry commanders who had expressed interest in acquiring light anti aircraft guns refused to accept the 13 2 mm They argued that the heavy bullets falling down could be dangerous to friendly troops and preferred larger calibers for which self destructing shells were available But the 13 2 mm Hotchkiss saw extensive use as a naval gun and was also chosen by the French cavalry for some of its armored vehicles A Japanese 30 round box magazine 13 2 mm cartridges left to right 13 2 99mm Hotchkiss Long13 2 96mm Hotchkiss Short13 2 92mmSR Mauser TuF A quadruple naval mounting as illustrated in US Patent 1700902 filed by Yves Le Prieur Service EditAs a ground based anti aircraft weapon Edit The French Air Force used the M1929 designated as mitrailleuse de 13 2 mm CA mle 1930 for close range defense of its airfields and other strategic places It came in two versions A single gun with a stock and pistol grip that came in a dual purpose anti aircraft anti armor mounting It had a two wheeled split trailed carriage that weighed 117 kg 259 lb empty and 155 kg 342 lb with the machine gun mounted When the swing arm the gun was affixed to was locked upwards it could be used in an anti aircraft mode When the arm was collapsed and a bipod extended it could fire straight ahead in an anti tank role When the gun was packed up and the trails closed it was towed behind its caisson which was pulled by a horse or by the gunner A fixed tripod mount with a seat and anti aircraft sight for the gunner This came in single or twin mounts The single mount weighted 120 kg 270 lb empty 160 kg 352 lb mounted The double mount weighed 225 kg 496 lb empty 300 kg 662 lb mounted As a naval weapon Edit Early in World War II the French Italian and Japanese navies were using twin CAD Mle 1929 Contre Avions Double and quadruple CAQ mle 1929 Contre Avions Quadruple mountings on many of their warships French warships that were refitted in the United States in 1943 such as the battleship Richelieu or the destroyer Le Terrible had their 13 2 mm machine guns replaced by more powerful Oerlikon 20 mm cannons In Italy the Societa Italiana Ernesto Breda produced the gun under license as the Breda Mod 31 from 1931 onwards It was used as an anti aircraft gun aboard ships submarines and armored trains of the Royal Italian Navy After World War II it was used on the patrol boats of the Guardia di Finanza The Spanish Navy bought the weapon in December 1935 and used it during the Civil War where it was mounted on several Republican Navy destroyers and cruisers The Pirotecnia Militar Army Ammunition plant Sevilla produced its cartridges after 1939 As a ground weapon Edit Several self propelled anti aircraft combinations were tested in the 1930s with Citroen Kegresse or Berliet chassis but none was mass produced The 13 2 mm Hotchkiss was used on the Belgian T15 and the French AMR 35 light tanks as well as on the White Laffly AMD 80 armoured car and on fortifications The Free French used field modified self propelled mountings with guns recovered from French ships in North East Africa in 1942 The Breda Mod 31 was used as an anti aircraft and heavy machine gun on command tanks of the Royal Italian Army as well as on L3 33 light tanks sold to Brazil The Japanese mounted license produced version of the gun on a number of Type 92 Heavy armored Cars which had initially been armed with only a pair of 6 5mm machine guns Users Edit source source source source source source Japanese attack on Shanghai This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hotchkiss 13 2 mm machine gun news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Belgium Brazil France Nazi Germany Captured French guns were designated MG 271 f Greece Some modified for larger magazine capacities and closed bolt operation Israel Italy Built under license as the Breda Model 1931 machine gun Japan Built under license as the Type 93 heavy machine gun 4 Poland Designated the wz 30 Republic of China Romania 200 delivered before the Fall of France 5 and delivered by Germans from captured material citation needed Spain Sweden License built Breda Model 1931 machine guns bought from Italy Designated 13 2 mm kulspruta M It 13 2 mm ksp M It 6 Kingdom of YugoslaviaGallery Edit A wz 30 dual gun pedestal mount used on the Polish submarine ORP Zbik The related Japanese Type 93 single mount The related Japanese Type 93 double mount See also EditAnti aircraft gun 25 mm Hotchkiss anti aircraft gun A closely related French anti aircraft gun Type 96 25 mm AT AA Gun A closely related Japanese anti aircraft gun References EditFootnotes Edit France 13 2 mm 0 5 Model 1929 NavWeaps www navweaps com Retrieved 2019 03 30 Modern Firearms 27 October 2010 13 2x96 Hotchkis Short MUNICION ORG www municion org Archived from the original on 2019 03 30 Retrieved 2019 03 30 Lai Benjamin 29 Jun 2017 Shanghai and Nanjing 1937 Massacre on the Yangtze Campaign 309 Osprey Publishing p 26 ISBN 9781472817495 Mark Axworthy London Arms and Armour 1995 Third Axis Fourth Ally Romanian Armed Forces in the European War 1941 1945 p 29 Amregister Fl Ammunitionsregister for flottan 1947 ars upplaga Stockholm Ammunitionssektionen vid marinforvaltningens artilleribyra 1947 Bibliography Edit Campbell John 1985 Naval Weapons of World War Two Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 459 4 Further reading Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hotchkiss Model 1930 Ferrard Stephane France 1940 l armement terrestre ETAI 1998 ISBN 978 2 7268 8380 8 Las armas de la guerra civil espanola Jose MAria MANRIQUE ISBN 84 9734 475 8 pages 394 398 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hotchkiss 13 2 mm machine gun amp oldid 1134152578, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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