The Hotchkiss machine gun was any of a line of products developed and sold by Hotchkiss et Cie, (full name Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie), established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss.[1] Hotchkiss moved to France and set up a factory, first at Viviez near Rodez in 1867, then at Saint-Denis near Paris in 1875 manufacturing arms used by the French in the Franco-Prussian War.

Troops of 1 King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB), 9th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, firing a captured Hotchkiss machine gun during street fighting in Caen, 10 July 1944.

Variants

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At the turn of the twentieth century, the company introduced the gas-actuated Hotchkiss machine gun, a sturdy and reliable weapon which was widely used during World War I and thereafter by the French Army. Weapons manufactured in the Hotchkiss machine gun line include:

The Hotchkiss design was also used on foreign productions:

References

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  1. ^ An Instructor (29 March 2012). Complete Guide to the Hotchkiss Machine Gun. Andrews UK Limited. pp. 11–. ISBN 978-1-78151-265-4.
  2. ^ "Hotchkiss 37mm autocannon on a field mount, early... - Armies of a Genteel Age". Armies of a Genteel Age. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  3. ^ a b c Ezell, Edward Clinton (1988). Personal firepower. The Illustrated history of the Vietnam War 15. Bantam Books. pp. 47-49. OCLC 1036801376.