Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun

The Hotchkiss M1922 was a light machine gun manufactured by Hotchkiss.

M1922 machine gun
A Greek Hotchkiss M1922 chambered for 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer at the Israel Defense Forces History Museum
Type	Light machine gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1922–1950s
Wars	Rif War[1] Constitutionalist Revolution[2] Spanish Civil War[1] Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Greco-Italian War First Indochina War
Production history
Designer	Hotchkiss et Cie
Manufacturer	Hotchkiss et Cie
Specifications
Mass	8.5 kg
Length	1216 mm
Barrel length	600 mm
Cartridge	Several, including 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer, 7×57mm Mauser, 7.5×54mm French, .303 British, 7.92×57mm Mauser, 8×50mmR Lebel[3]
Action	Gas operated
Rate of fire	450 rounds/minute
Feed system	20 round overhead box magazine (Spanish pattern) 15 round feed strip (Officially issued and produced) 24-30 round strip from "Hotchkiss M1914" 30 round strip from "Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié"
Sights	Iron

It was never adopted in large numbers by the French Army; nevertheless, it was exported to many European and Latin American countries under the names Hotchkiss M1926 or Hotchkiss M1934.

Description

The Fusil-Mitrailleur (FM) Model 1922 is a classic weapon with a fixed stock, pistol grip, and wooden handguard. It has a non-telescopic folding bipod. Both the cocking handle and ejection port is located on the right side. The FM's caliber varied with the user, being chambered in a wide range of calibres and fed from either 20-round overhead magazines (Spanish model) or an extended^{[citation needed]} feed strip. Its maximum range is 2,000 meters, and it had a regulator mechanism that would allow the user to adjust the rate of fire.

Use

The Hotchkiss M1922 was used with great success by the Greek Army during Greco-Italian War during the fight against the Royal Italian Army.^[4] It was also used by the Chinese Nationalist Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War to fight against the Japanese Imperial Army and was frequently used in the Spanish Civil War by the Nationalist and in small numbers, the Republicans.^[5]

Versions

There were several versions with different feed systems, calibers and improvements, among which were the Hotchkiss M1924 and M1926, the last of which spawned the Greek EYP Hotchkiss.^[6]

Users

Two Chinese soldiers using a Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun

•  Brazil - M1922 in 7×57mm Mauser^[7]
•  Czechoslovakia - received 1000 M1924 (vz. 24) in 7.92×57mm Mauser^[8]
•  France - Mitrailleuse légère Hotchkiss type 1934, used in French colonies : Liban and French Indochina^{[9][better source needed]}
•  Greece - 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer,^[3] 6000 used^{[citation needed]}
•  Republic of China - ~3,500 in 7.92×57mm Mauser between 1931 and 1939^[10][3]
•  Spain - 3,000 Hotchkiss Model 1922 O.C. (Oviedo and A Coruña), in 7×57mm Mauser^[11]
•  Spanish Republic - from Spanish Army and Czechoslovakia^[1]
•  United Kingdom - .303 British, only for evaluation^[6]
•  Turkey - 7.92×57mm Mauser^[6]
• Viet Minh - used during First Indochina War^{[12][better source needed]}