Editing Vickers machine gun (section)

{{Distinguish|text =[[Vickers–Berthier]] light machine gun or [[Vickers K machine gun]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Vickers machine gun
| image              = File:Vickers Machine Gun YORCM CA78ac (cropped).jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = A Vickers machine gun mounted on a [[tripod]]. This example is at [[York Castle Museum]].
| origin             = [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| type               = [[Heavy machine gun]]
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = yes
| is_UK              = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1912–1968
| used_by            = See [[#Users|Users]]
| wars               = {{indented plainlist|
* [[World War I]]{{sfn|Pegler|2013|p=5}}
* [[Irish Civil War]]<ref>{{cite news|title=So, once and for all, who did shoot Michael Collins?|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/so-once-and-for-all-who-did-shoot-michael-collins-1.370519|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|first=Eoin |last=Neeson|author-link=Eoin Neeson|date=Aug 22, 2003}}</ref>
* [[Chaco War]]<ref name ='Chaco'/>
* [[Spanish Civil War]]<ref name="Spain"/>
* [[Winter War]]
* [[World War II]]{{sfn|Pegler|2013|p=49}}
* [[Indonesian National Revolution]]
* [[Greek Civil War]]{{sfn|Bloomfield|Leiss|1967|p=769}}
* [[First Indochina War]]<ref name="Viet Minh"/>
* [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]<ref>{{cite news|date=29 December 2017 |title=Arms for freedom|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/bangladesh-liberation-war-1971-muktijuddho-guerrilla-fighter-arms-freedom-1511812|access-date=2019-08-31|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407144902/http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/bangladesh-liberation-war-1969-muktijuddho-guerrilla-fighter-arms-freedom-1511812|archive-date= April 7, 2018}}</ref> 
* [[Indo-Pakistan War of 1947]]
* [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
* [[Malayan Emergency]]{{sfn|Pegler|2013|p=49}}
* [[Korean War]]{{sfn|Pegler|2013|p=49}}
* [[Algerian War]]<ref name="Algeria">{{cite book|title=The Algerian War, 1954-62|series= Men-at Arms 312|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|place= London |year=1997|isbn=978-1-85532-658-3|first= Martin |last=Windrow|page=21}}</ref>
* [[Cypriot intercommunal violence]]{{sfn|Bloomfield|Leiss|1967|p=854}}
* [[1971 JVP insurrection]]<ref> {{cite news |last1=Somasundaram |first1=Jayantha |date=2021-04-06 |title=The JVP's Military Battle for Power (The April 1971 Revolt – II) |url=https://island.lk/the-jvps-military-battle-for-power/ |access-date=28 January 2022 |work=The Island|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129153458/https://island.lk/the-jvps-military-battle-for-power/|archive-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref>
* [[Congo Crisis]]<ref name="Congo"/>
* [[Aden Emergency]]<ref name="armoryvickers"> {{cite web|url=https://www.thearmorylife.com/the-vickers-gun-britains-world-war-warrior/|title=The Vickers Gun - Britain's World War Warrior|last=Suciu|first=Peter|publisher=The Armory Life|date=May 4, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326092245/https://www.thearmorylife.com/the-vickers-gun-britains-world-war-warrior/|archive-date=March 26, 2023}}</ref>
* [[South African Border War]]
* [[Syrian Civil War]]<ref> {{cite AV media |date=12 May 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycm6y2120dE |title=Footage of weapons which were handed over by rebels to the Syrian Arab Army in Southern Damascus |publisher=SyrianCivilWarMap |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501155616/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycm6y2120dE&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=1 May 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           =
| design_date        = 1912
| manufacturer       = [[Vickers]]
| unit_cost          = £175 in 1914,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spartacus-educational.com/FWWvickers.htm|title=Vickers Gun|website=spartacus-educational.com}}</ref> £80 in 1918,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1919/jun/24/mr-kellaways-statement | title=MR. KELLAWay's STATEMENT. (Hansard, 24 June 1919) }}</ref> ~£50 in 1926<ref>{{cite web | url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1926/mar/15/sir-l-worthington-evans-statement | title=SIR L. WORTHINGTON-EVANS' STATEMENT. (Hansard, 15 March 1926) }}</ref>
| production_date    =
| number             =
| variants           = <!-- General specifications -->
| weight             = {{convert|33|-|51|lb|kg|abbr=on}} all-up
| length             = {{convert|3|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
| part_length        = 28 in (720 mm)
| crew               = 3
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
| cartridge          = {{ubli|[[.303 British]]|[[.30-06 Springfield]]|[[11mm Vickers]]|[[#Foreign service|others]]}}
| caliber            =
| action             = Recoil with gas boost
| rate               = 450 to 500 round/min
| velocity           = {{ubli|{{convert|2440|ft/s|m/s|0|abbr=on}} (.303 Mk. VII ball)|{{convert|2525|ft/s|m/s|0|abbr=on}} (.303 Mk. VIIIz ball)}}
| range              = {{convert|2187|yard|m|0|abbr=on}}
| max_range          = {{convert|4500|yard|m|0|abbr=on}} indirect fire (.303 Mk. VIIIz ball)
| feed               = 250-round canvas belt
| sights             =
}}

The '''Vickers machine gun''' or '''Vickers gun''' is a [[Water cooling|water-cooled]] [[.303 British]] (7.7&nbsp;mm) [[machine gun]] produced by [[Vickers Limited]], originally for the [[British Army]]. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and operate it: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the others helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition, and spare parts.<ref>[http://ww2armor.jexiste.fr/Files/Allies/Allies/4-Infos/UK/Guns/Light-Weapons.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401064809/http://ww2armor.jexiste.fr/Files/Allies/Allies/4-Infos/UK/Guns/Light-Weapons.htm|date=1 April 2012}}</ref> It was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many [[Allies of World War I|Allied World War I]] [[Aviation in World War I|fighter aircraft]].

The weapon had a reputation for great solidity and reliability. [[Ian V. Hogg]], in ''Weapons & War Machines'', describes an action that took place in August 1916, during which the British 100th Company of the [[Machine Gun Corps]] fired their ten Vickers guns to deliver sustained fire for twelve hours. Using 100 barrels, they fired a&nbsp;million rounds without breakdowns. "It was this absolute foolproof reliability which endeared the Vickers to every British soldier who ever fired one. It never broke down; it just kept on firing and came back for more."<ref>{{cite book |last=Hogg |first=Ian V. |author-link=Ian V. Hogg |author2=Batchelor, John |author-link2=John Batchelor (illustrator) |title=Weapons & War Machines |publisher=Phoebus |year=1976 |location=London |page=62 |isbn=978-0-7026-0008-1 }}<br />"The Vickers gun accompanied the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|BEF]] to France in 1914, and in the years that followed, proved itself to be the most reliable weapon on the battlefield..."</ref>