History
2004 marked the one hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Maxim Machine Gun, Caliber .30, Model of 1904.  This was the first rifle caliber heavy machine gun approved for use as the standard service type by the United States Army.

The army was interested in the new Maxim gun as early as 1887 and procured examples of the World Standard Maxim machine gun Model 1889 and Model 1900 for testing purposes.  It took another seven years of sporadic testing with fits and starts before the Chief of Ordnance finally gave approval for adoption in 1904.  An agreement was reached with Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Ltd. (VS&M) and an initial order was placed for 50 guns and tripods to be produced at the VS&M Erith Works facility in England in the U.S. caliber .30-03.

The Ordnance Department, wanting the gun to be made in the United States, enlisted the Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Company to make the gun but problems arose concerning the drawings and seemingly arbitrary changing of engineering specifications and tolerances by U.S. Ordnance personnel, which caused a several year delay before Colt could start production.  Eventually, the design specifications reverted back to the original VS&M drawings.  In the meantime, the Ordnance Department placed another order for 40 guns with VS&M.  Thus, the first 90 production guns for the U.S. Maxim Model 1904 were produced in England by VS&M with serial numbers 1-90.  When Colt finally began production in 1908 they continued with the serial number sequence for the model type.  The first Colt produced Maxim Model 1904 gun had serial number 91.  Additionally, by 1908, the service cartridge had changed to the .30-06.  The 90 VS&M guns were retrofitted to accept the new .30-06 cartridge while Colt manufactured all their guns in .30-06.  In all, there were 287 Model 1904 Maxim’s produced.  The first 90 guns (serial number 1-90) were made by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in England and the remaining 197 guns (serial number 91-287) were made by Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company.

Left side of the Colt manufactured Maxim Model of 1904 mounted on the 1904 tripod. Note the one piece cleaning rod hanging underneath the trailing leg of the tripod.

The Colt company had no desire to produce tripods or wheeled mounts for the Maxim and all of the tripods produced for the 04 Maxim were produced in England by VS&M.  All of the wheeled carriage mounts were produced by Rock Island Arsenal (RIA).  Tripods and wheeled mounts were ordered and purchased separately from the guns and, though serial numbered, they were not numbered to a specific gun

The last order of guns was placed in 1908 and in 1909 the U.S. adopted the Benét-Mercié Machine Rifle Model of 1909.  That was superseded in 1915 by the adoption of the Colt Vickers Model of 1915 and then in 1917 by the Browning Model 1917.

Company M of the 3rd Oregon pose with the 04 Maxim in Calexico, California in 1916.

Accessories
Accessories for the Model 1904 Maxim included a tin lined wooden water box denoted by a 1-inch white stripe painted longitudinally around the box, a wood tool and spare parts box denoted by a light blue stripe and a wood belt filling machine box denoted by a red stripe.  All these boxes were of the same size and dimensions as the wood ammunition box with sides and ends dovetailed together and the bottom secured by screws.  All parts (hinges, handle and clasp) of the boxes are recessed so as to be flush with the surface.  04 Maxim boxes all had a fold down metal carrying handle as opposed to the later same size and color coded wood boxes of the Colt Vickers Model of 1915 which had leather handles.  The ammunition box contained one 250-round belt made of a composition of linen and flax.  The pockets being formed by brass strips securely riveted to the web portion of the belt.  Ordered accessories included a total of 6,434 ammo boxes, 1,344 water boxes and 7,144 ammo belts.  The one piece brass and steel cleaning rod was mounted under the trailing leg of the tripod.  Originally, there was no steam condensing hose for the gun as it had not yet been determined that a large white steam plume emitting from the water jacket steam escape port would be a problem in combat situations as it was envisioned that the guns would be placed at the rear by artillery units.  By 1913 that need was recognized and a rubber tube device was developed that was held to the water jacket by means of a supporting leather band.  The tubing is connected to the band by a chain and holder.  A nozzle at one end of the rubber hose fit into the steam escape port in the water jacket cap.  Seldom used, this device can be seen in a few rare photos.

The distinctive large muzzle booster (it is not a flash hider) of the 04 Maxim makes this weapon easily identifiable.

Usage
The 04 Maxim was issued to U.S. infantry companies and to cavalry troops.  Each machine gun company or troop was issued four guns including tripods, ammunition, spare parts, tools and accessories, together with the necessary packs.  Mules were the primary means of transport for the guns and equipment and each company or troop was issued twenty mules being made up of four sections of five mules each.  The 04 Maxim was a well made weapon; reliable and dependable as Maxim guns were noted for.  But, the gun was not popular with the men in the field.  The 04 Maxim had the distinction of being the heaviest Maxim ever produced weighing in at a total of 145 pounds (gun with water – 65 pounds, tripod field mount – 80 pounds).  It took specially trained troops to set up, operate, clear, repair, take down, pack and unpack for transport on animals that carried the equipment.  Nevertheless, the 04 Maxim was widely used and saw service in such distant outposts as the Philippines, Hawaii, Mexico, Central and South America yet never really saw combat service being relegated to training purposes.  The gun was not used overseas in World War I but remained in the U.S. as a training weapon.

Members of the First Connecticut Field Company Machine Gun Troop, Fifth Cavalry, fire the U.S. Maxim Model 1904 along the Mexican boarder circa 1916 in this hand colored photo postcard.

With about a dozen U.S. 04 Maxims being transferable on a Form 4 surviving today, and a few more in museums, it is generally considered to be the rarest and most desirable classic U.S. machine gun on the collectors market and, surprisingly, the 04 tripod is even rarer than the gun as they were salvaged for their high brass content.  This weapon is certainly a prized centerpiece of any classic machine gun collection.

Description
The Maxim Automatic Machine Gun, caliber .30, Model of 1904, belongs to that class of automatic guns in which the force of recoil is utilized to operate it.  After the first shot the gun is self operating until the ammunition in the cartridge belt is exhausted or until the trigger is released.  The force of the recoil opens the breech, extracts the empty case, and inserts and fires the next cartridge.  In firing, the action of the mechanism is as follows: The barrel and lock (bolt) move to the rear a short distance.  At the end of this recoil the lock is drawn back from the chamber, thus opening the breech and at the same time drawing a loaded cartridge from the belt and extracting the empty case from the chamber.  During the last part of the motion of the lock the empty case and the loaded cartridge are lowered until the latter is in line with the chamber and the former with the ejection opening.  Under tension of the recoil spring, which the movement has extended, the lock then travels forward, the fresh cartridge is pushed into the chamber, the empty case is pushed into the ejector opening, the belt is fed forward one round, and the carrier and barrel finally returned to the firing position.  During the recoil the firing pin is cocked, and unless the trigger has been released the sear is struck at the conclusion of the movement described above, and the gun is again fired.

The water box, denoted by the longitudinal white stripe, is of the same external dimensions as the ammunition box. Note that both boxes have the correct period folding metal handles. The 250 round ammunition belt shown here was manufactured by Mills and has a patent date of January 7, 1913.

The gun consists of the following principal parts groups.  The barrel, trunnion block, water jacket, water-jacket cap, filling valve, casing, handle block, recoil mechanism, lock mechanism, firing mechanism, feed box, nozzle, barrel disk and sights.

The tripod consists of the following principal parts: Front legs, trail, seat and seat bracket, pintle, traversing arm, top carriage, traversing mechanism, elevating mechanism, traversing clamp and elevating clamp.

Argentina was an early user of the Maxim and began by ordering 50 Maxims from the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited in England in 1895.  These first 50 guns were given Argentine Army serial numbers 1-50 and chambered in the 7.65×53 Belgium Mauser caliber.  In 1898, a second order of the Model 1895 was placed with Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), a licensed Maxim manufacturer in Germany, for another 150 guns still chambered for the Belgium Mauser 7.65×53 caliber.  These guns were serially numbered 51-200.  All of these guns had brass water jackets except for the last twenty DWM guns, numbers 181-200, which were fitted with steel water jackets.  Even though most South American countries adopted the French Hotchkiss machine gun, by 1902, Argentina had 200 of these early Maxims in their inventory.

Beautifully made with its water jacket, feed block, fusee spring cover, receiver floor plate and rear grip plate made of brass, the Model 1895 was a stunning, and lethal, piece of the firearm maker’s craft.  This model had the early straight style of crank handle, an 1889 style lock and wooden roller belt assist located within the brass feed block.  The gun also has provisions for attaching a commercially made 2×12 optical sight made by Carl Zeiss of Jena, Germany that also fit the Swiss Maxim MG11, and a shoulder brace made of steel and wood.  The gun is mounted on an Ackland tripod that was manufactured by VSM (Vickers, Sons & Maxim) in England.

Detail view of right side of the Maxim Model 1895. Note the early style of straight crank handle, wood roller for feed assist on the feed block and the simple traverse and elevation mechanism of the Acland mount.

The Maxim operating system used in the Model 1895 is the basic operating principle employed on all Maxim guns.  The gunner inserts the tab of a loaded cartridge belt into the feed block from the right, pulling it to the left, until it is secured by the belt holding feed pawls.  The gunner then manually pushes the crank handle forward and holds it there while pulling on the protruding end of the belt, then releases the crank handle to return to the rear under spring tension.  This allows the extractor on the T-slot to grip the first round in the belt.  The gun is now in the “half load” position.  Rotating the crank handle forward again, pull the cartridge belt tab once more to the left and let the crank handle fly back under its spring tension.  The gun in now loaded with a cartridge in the chamber and is ready to fire.

Upon pressing the trigger that actuates the trigger bar releasing the sear, the firing pin is released and goes forward igniting the cartridge driving the bullet down the barrel.  The barrel and the bolt are securely locked at this point.  After recoiling three-quarters of an inch, the bolt is unlocked and the crank engages the unlocking cam, breaking the toggle joint and freeing the bolt.  The recoiling forces are now able to accelerate the bolt assembly to the rear and rotate the crank.  This winds the actuating chain, loading the extension-type driving spring while the recoiling mechanism completes its rearward stroke.

Left side of the Maxim Model 1895 as used by Argentina. Note the 2x12 optical sight made by Carl Zeiss of Jena, Germany and the wood and steel shoulder brace.

After unlocking of the bolt from the barrel, the sliding boltface (T-slot) begins simultaneous extraction of the empty case from the chamber and withdrawal of a loaded round from the belt.  Continued rearward movement engages cams in the receiver to force the sliding boltface downward, bringing the loaded round in line with the chamber and the empty case in position for the ejection tube.

Also during recoil, a cam lever action moves the entire feed block slide to the right.  The top feed pawls move over to engage the incoming round in the belt, at the same time compressing the barrel return spring.  After completing its full recoil stroke, the forward action of the barrel and barrel extension returns the feed block slide to the left, bringing the next live round in the belt into position against the cartridge stops for engagement by the sliding T-slot.

The top cover of the Argentine Maxim Model 1895 showing the brass plate that originally read “Cartucho Mauser Argentino 1891” for the round nose, high trajectory Belgium Mauser 7.62x53 round. In 1909, the Spitzer round was adopted, and its much flatter trajectory necessitated the much shorter rear sight as shown here. The old ‘1891’ was milled out on all the converted guns and ‘1909’ stamped in its place. Also notice the original rear sight holding slot (in front of the word ‘Argentino’) that was used for the much longer sight bar when using the old Belgian Mauser round. The difference in length between the two sights shows how dramatic the improvement of trajectory was with the newer pointed-nose Spitzer round. (Photo courtesy of Dolf Goldsmith)

The complete force of recoil having expended itself, the extended driving spring starts the movement of counter recoil.  As the bolt moves forward, the cartridge to be fired is positioned for chambering.  When this happens, the T-slot rises, “wipes” itself clear of the spent case and slips over the rim of the incoming round in the belt.

When the bolt has reached its extreme travel forward, the toggle joint is forced slightly below the horizontal by the connecting rod.  At this securely locked position the sear is depressed and disengaged from the firing pin, removing the safety feature, so that continued pressure on the trigger permits full automatic fire.

Action of recoiling parts in a Maxim gun. 1) Gun in loaded and locked position. 2) Pressing the trigger draws the trigger bar to the rear, pivoting the lock trigger and disengaging the tumbler allowing the firing pin to snap forward. At the moment of ignition, the connecting rod and the sidelevers shank of the lock are locked together in a straight line. Recoil starts as soon as the bullet starts to move. 3) The barrel extension plates of the short-recoil Maxim abut against the recoil slot closure plates at the rear of the receiver after about three-quarters of an inch movement. The lock continues rearward rotating the crank shaft, which winds up the fusee chain that stores the energy needed for the return movement of the operating parts. At the same time, the extractor has drawn the next cartridge out of its belt pocket and as the lock moves rearward the extractor begins to fall. At the rear of the stroke, the extractor drops sharply down aligning the fresh cartridge with the bore, and the spent case with the ejection tube. 4) The fusee is now fully wound up against the fully stretched recoil spring and now starts the counter-recoil movement. The lock is thrust forward with the extractor at its lowest position. The fresh cartridge held by the extractor is chambered and the spent case is thrust into the ejection tube. 5) As the knee straightens to close the lock, the extractor is cammed sharply upwards. This wipes the extractor clear of the spent case in the ejection tube, and positions the upper portion of its T-slot around the rim of the new cartridge in the feed slot. 6) The gun is now in battery as in number 5 above, but with the trigger bar at rest and the lock trigger engaged in the tumbler notch. The gun is now loaded, locked and cocked, ready to fire. (Illustrations courtesy Verlag Stocker-Schmid)

All 200 of Argentina’s Maxims were originally chambered in the 7.65x53mm 1891 Belgium Mauser caliber and the long sight bar affixed to the upper receiver was calibrated for this round-nosed, high trajectory bullet.  Each gun was fitted with a brass data plate on the top cover over the feed block reading, “Cartucho Mauser Argentino 1891” indicating the use of the 1891 Mauser cartridge.  In 1909, Argentina adopted the new 7.65x53mm Spitzer round with the pointed bullet and flatter trajectory.  All of Argentina’s Maxims were then rebarreled for the new cartridge and the long sight bar was shortened for the high-speed, flatter trajectory of the new cartridge.  The brass cartridge data plate had the “1891” milled out and “1909” engraved in its place to reflect the change.  Because of the restamped “1909”, the gun is often mistakenly identified as a Model 1909.

Though well equipped, Argentina did not participate in any major conflicts during the period that the Maxim was in their inventory.  In the late 1950s, Argentina decided to sell some of their now obsolete weaponry and 91 Model 1895 Maxims were exported to the United States.  Those that remained in Argentina were used to decorate various officers’ clubs, donated to museums or sold to Argentine collectors.  Of the 91 guns imported into the U.S., 8 were exported, 28 ended up in government custody for museums, storage or destruction, and the remaining 55 are now mostly owned by collectors.