The American-born, British-nationalised Hiram Maxim died in England on 24 November, 1916. At this time, his 1880's invention of the fully automatic weapon, the machine gun, had already contributed to immense slaughter, not only in the first two years...

The American-born, British-nationalised Hiram Maxim died in England on 24 November, 1916. At this time, his 1880's invention of the fully automatic weapon, the machine gun, had already contributed to immense slaughter, not only in the first two years of WW1, but in colonial wars dating back to the 1880's. Apart from Maxim's general contribution, weapons directly descended were still in common use in WW2; in addition to those mentioned already in this thread, I might mention the water-cooled Vickers machine-gun, a standard with British and Imperial/Commonwealth forces during the war. In summary, Maxim's invention remained of specific importance in WW2 - but his importance in terms of the development of rapid-fire weapons extends well beyond the specific, to all automatic weapons in use at that time and since. Interestingly, externally powered (non-automatic) rapid-fire weapons have re-emerged in importance since WW2 (the Gatling Gun tradition) - but that is another story ... Best regards, JR.

Not that ancient when you compare it to the American Browning .30 water-cooled, which was still in use in WW2 alongside the air-cooled versions. Perhaps in part because of their addiction to the rimmed 7.62x54 cartridge the Red Army had teething...

Not that ancient when you compare it to the American Browning .30 water-cooled, which was still in use in WW2 alongside the air-cooled versions. Perhaps in part because of their addiction to the rimmed 7.62x54 cartridge the Red Army had teething problems with many of their new belt-fed models. The Maxim was slow-firing and heavier than an iron stove, but of proven reliability in the worst weather conditions with minimal maintenance. Perfect for the Red Army soldier.

These Maxim machine guns really look ancient! Imagine an MG 42 or american .30 cal next to it...