This product is sold as an unpainted kit.
Additional Image.
1. Instruction Sheet. A hard copy of this sheet is provided with the kit.
THE MAXIM
GUN
‘The Maxim Gun, invented by the American Hiram
Maxim employed the force generated by each shot to load, fire and eject spent
cartridges as long as the trigger was depressed, producing a truly automatic
machine-gun. Belt-fed, the single-barrelled Maxim fired up to 600rpm, and the
barrel was encased in a water-filled jacket to prevent over-heating. Maxim’s
first patent was taken out in 1884, and after extensive trials the resulting
gun was taken into British Army service in 1891; initially it had wheeled
carriages (for cavalry a ‘galloping carriage’ drawn by two horses, for infantry
drawn by a mule), and the first tripod mount was approved in December 1897.’
‘From its introduction, the Maxim was
allocated to each infantry battalion or cavalry regiment, and crewed by members
of the unit, no longer being the preserve of the Royal Artillery. Initially the
Maxim was of .45in calibre and used black-powder propellant, later it used the
new rifle calibre (.303in) and smokeless powder. Maxim’s were sighted to 2,500
yards and carried ammunition in belts of 250 rounds, each belt in a box, of
which fourteen were stowed on a cavalry carriage and sixteen on an infantry
carriage.’
THE MAXIM
ON CAMPAIGN
‘The first use of Maxims was by colonial
forces in 1889 the Gold Coast Constabulary had one, and Maxims on ‘galloping
carriages’ accompanied the Pioneer Column into Rhodesia, later taken over by
the Chartered Company forces. The Bechuanaland Border Police had four Maxims on
‘galloping carriages’, and these were used in the 1893 Matabele revolt, with
conspicuous success. The first use by regular troops on campaign was on the
North-West Frontier in 1892 (by 2/KOYLI, although not used in action). The
greatest concentration of Maxims was that deployed at Omdurman, where twenty
were positioned behind the British zareba
(four crewed by 1/Royal Irish Fusiliers, six by British and ten by Egyptian
artillery), with 24 more in the naval gunboats. Their most successful
deployment was in such static positions, a lack of manoeuvrability perhaps
accounts for their comparative lack of success in the South African War,
although enterprising commanders who carried Maxims and tripods on horseback
(for example Thorneycroft of the Mounted Infantry which bore his name) found
them useful, albeit in a largely defensive role.’
Source: The
Colonial Wars Source Book, PJ Haythornthwaite, Caxton Editions, London, 2000. A
fascinating and highly readable text with a significant amount of useful detail
for the wargamer.
Jacklex Miniatures
Colonial Nineteenth Century 20mm metal wargame figures.