Vickers Mk I .303 in machine gun, 1914-1918 (c)

Mark of issue to the Union of South Africa.

The .303 inch Vickers machine gun was the British Army's primary heavy machine gun during World War One (1914-1918) and World War Two (1939-1945). Famed for its reliability, it could fire over 600 rounds per minute and had a range of 4,500 yards. The Vickers continued to be used by the British Army into the 1960s.