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I'm at the wonderful, War Years Remembered exhibition/museum, based at Ballyclare. The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The machine gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the rest helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition and spare parts. It was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many Allied 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 continuously for twelve hours. Using 100 barrels, they fired a million rounds without a failure. "It was this absolute foolproof reliability which endeared the Vickers to every British soldier who ever fired one.' Type Medium machine gun Place of origin United Kingdom Service history In service 1912–1968 Used by Widely used, see Users Wars World War I Chaco War World War II Indo-Pakistan War of 1947 1948 Arab–Israeli War Korean War Congo Crisis South African Border War Production history Designed 1912 Manufacturer Vickers Produced 1912–1968 Specifications Weight 33–51 lb (15–23 kg) all-up Length 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) Barrel length 28 in (720 mm) Crew three man crew Cartridge .303 British Action recoil with gas boost Rate of fire 450 to 500 round/min Muzzle velocity 2440 ft/s (744 m/s) Effective firing range 2,187 yd (2,000 m) Maximum firing range 4,500 yd (4,100 m) indirect fire Feed system 250-round canvas belt