View source for Engineering:Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun

{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun
| image              = Hotchkiss M1922.PNG
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = A Hotchkiss Mark I
| origin             = France
| type               = [[Engineering:Light machine gun|Light machine gun]]
 <!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged          = yes
 <!-- Service history -->| service            = 1909–1945
| used_by            = See Users
| wars               = Italo-Turkish War<br />United States occupation of Nicaragua<br />United States occupation of Haiti<br />United States occupation of the Dominican Republic<br />Border War<br />[[Social:World War I|World War I]]<br />Russian Civil War<br />Irish Civil War<br />Warlord Era<br />Spanish Civil War<br />[[Social:World War II|World War II]]
 <!-- Production history -->| designer           = Laurence Benét and Henri Mercié
| design_date        = 1901
| manufacturer       = Hotchkiss et Cie
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1909
| number             = 40,000+ in GB; ~700 in US
| variants           = Hotchkiss M1909 (French Army, 8×50mm Lebel)<br />Hotchkiss Mark I (Britain, .303)<br />Benét–Mercié Machine Rifle M1909 (United States, .30-06)
 <!-- General specifications -->| weight             = 12 kg (26.5 lb)
| length             = {{convert|1.23|m|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="nra">{{cite magazine |title=The 'Daylight Gun': U.S. Model of 1909 Benét–Mercié Machine Gun |first=Bruce N. |last=Canfield |date=September 2010 |magazine=American Rifleman |volume=158 |number=9 |pages=84–87}}</ref>
| part_length        = {{convert|64|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="nra"/>
 <!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| cartridge          = .303 British (Britain)<br/>8mm Lebel (France)<br />.30-06 Springfield (U.S.)<br />7×57 mm Mauser (Brazil and Spain)
| caliber            = .303 (7.70 mm)<br />8 mm<br />.30 (7.62 mm)<br />7 mm
| action             = [[Engineering:Gas-operated reloading|Gas-operated]]
| rate               = 400-600 rounds per minute<ref name="nra"/>
| velocity           = 
| range              = 
| max_range          = 3800 m
| feed               = 30-round [[Engineering:Belt (firearms)#Feed Strip|feed strip]], or belt-fed
| sights             = 
}}

The '''Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun''' was a [[Engineering:Light machine gun|light machine gun]] of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the '''Hotchkiss Mark I''', '''Hotchkiss Portative''' and '''M1909 Benét–Mercié'''.

==Design==
It was based on a design by Austrian nobleman and Army officer, Adolf Odkolek von Újezd, who sold the manufacturing rights to Hotchkiss in 1893.{{cn|date=January 2019}} Several improved versions were designed by Hotchkiss's American manager, Laurence Vincent Benét (son of General Stephen Vincent Benét) and his French assistant, Henri Mercié.

It was gas-operated and air-cooled, had a maximum range of {{convert|3800|m|yd|abbr=on}} and weighed 12&nbsp;kg (27&nbsp;lb). Initial models were fed by a 30-round [[Engineering:Belt (firearms)#Feed Strip|feed strip]] but later models could be either strip-fed or [[Engineering:Belt (firearms)|belt]]-fed. The U.S. types had a bipod, while some others used a small tripod. This tripod, fitted under the firearm, could be moved with the weapon, and thus was very different from larger, heavier tripods of the period.

==Manufacture==
Production began at the Hotchkiss factory in Saint-Denis, Paris, but in 1914, with the invading German army threatening the city, the French military authorities ordered the factory to be moved to Lyon. The following year, the British government invited Hotchkiss to set up a factory in Coventry. By the end of the war, this factory had manufactured over 40,000 M1909s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Childs |first=David J. |date=1999 |title=A Peripheral Weapon?: The Production and Employment of British Tanks in the First World War |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |page=87 |isbn=978-0-31330-832-1}}</ref>

The U.S. version was made by Springfield Armory and by Colt's Manufacturing Company. Total production for the United States was 670.<ref name="nra"/>  This was small compared to the huge production runs of firearms later in the 20th century, but this was a significant number for the size of the contemporary U.S. Army.  The M1909's adoption coincided with the withdrawal of the .30-06 manually operated Gatling guns from the U.S. Army's arsenals.

==Service==
As the Hotchkiss M1909 (or ''Mle 1909''), firing the 8 mm Lebel, it was adopted by the French military in 1909 but not issued as an infantry weapon. The 700 examples manufactured were used in the fortresses at Verdun in a defensive capacity, on some fighter aircraft, and in [[Engineering:British heavy tanks of World War I#Mark V.2A|Mark V* tanks]] acquired from Great Britain.

A variant to use the .303 round was produced in Britain at the Coventry factory as the "Hotchkiss Mark I" and issued to some cavalry regiments. The MkI* variant, with the wooden stock replaced with a pistol grip, was widely used in British tanks during World War I.<ref name="MK 1*">{{cite web |title=Hotchkiss Machine Gun Mk 1* |url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30032989 |website=Imperial War Museum |access-date=27 November 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717100428/https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30032989 |archive-date=17 July 2018}}</ref>

It was adopted by the United States in 1909 as the "Benét–Mercié Machine Rifle, Caliber .30 U. S. Model of 1909" firing the .30-06 [[Engineering:Cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]]. It was also used by other countries, including Belgium, Sweden and Mexico.<ref name="FW">{{cite web |title=Hotchkiss Portative LMG |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/light-machine-guns/hotchkiss-portative-lmg/ |website=Forgotten Weapons |access-date=21 October 2018 |date=2011-09-14}}</ref> France and Britain used the Hotchkiss M1909 through World War I and on into World War II. The Australian Light Horse, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, the Imperial Camel Corps, and the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry<ref name="Bull 94">{{cite book |last=Bull |first=Stephen |date=1998 |title=World War One: British Army |series=History of Uniforms |location=London & Washington |publisher=Brassey |page=94 |isbn=978-1-85753-270-8}}</ref> used the Hotchkiss in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–17).<ref name="The Desert Column">{{cite book |last=Idress |first=Ion |date=1944 |title=The Desert Column: Leaves from the Diary of an Australian Trooper in Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine |location=Sydney, NSW |publisher=Angus & Robertson |page=225}}</ref> 

U.S. forces used the Benét–Mercié at the Battle of Masaya in 1912, In the 1915 Haitian Campaign, the 1916 Battle of Guayacanas,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=National Rifle |title=An Official Journal Of The NRA {{!}} Guns of the "Banana Wars" Part One |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/guns-of-the-banana-wars-part-one/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=An Official Journal Of The NRA |language=en}}</ref> the Battle of Columbus in 1916 (4 guns fired 20,000 rounds total in the engagement),  the subsequent Pancho Villa Expedition in Mexico of 1916–17,<ref name="Segel">{{harvnb|Segel|2012}}</ref> and initially in France.{{cn|date=October 2018}}  

On the American guns, firing pins and extractors broke frequently. Some members of the U.S. press derisively called the M1909 the "daylight gun" because of the difficulty in replacing broken parts at night and  jams caused when a loading strip was inserted upside down in darkness.<ref name="nra"/> Major Julian Hatcher was assigned to look into the issue after Columbus and found almost all the issues were due to inadequate training.  U.S. troops during the Villa Expedition received additional training and the M1909 was considered an effective weapon.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hatcher |first=Julian S. |title=Hatcher's Notebook |edition=3rd |date=1962 |location=Harrisburg, PA |publisher=Stackpole Books |pages=93–101 |lccn=62-12654}}</ref> During service in the Villa Expedition in 1916, the M1909 was fitted with the Model 1908 Warner & Swasey Musket Sight (more well known as an early telescopic sight on the M1903 Springfield Rifle) to aid in long-range firing.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Canfield |first=Bruce |date=October 2016 |title=1916: Guns On The Border |magazine=American Rifleman |volume=164 |number=10 |publisher=National Rifle Association}}</ref> U.S. production had already ceased before World War I and only a small number were available to the U.S. military. However, the U.S. Navy still used them in that period.

==Users==

*{{flagcountry|Austria-Hungary}}
*{{flagcountry|Australia}}<ref name="Bull 94"/>
*{{flagcountry|Belgium}}<ref name="FW"/>
*{{flagcountry|Brazil}}
*{{flagcountry|Republic of China (1912-1949)|name=Republic of China}}
*{{flagcountry|Finland}}
*{{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}<ref name="FW"/>
*{{flag|Kingdom of Greece}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Armies of the Greek-Italian War 1940–41 |series=Men-at-Arms 514 |first=Phoebus |last=Athanassiou |date=30 November 2017 |isbn=978-1-47281-917-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wbw0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |page=19 |publisher=Osprey Publishing}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|British India}}
*{{flag|Ireland}}: Used in armored cars by the Irish National Army during the Irish Civil War
*{{flag|Kingdom of Italy|}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=Gabriele |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1159412148 |title=Armies of the Italian-Turkish War Conquest of Libya, 1911-1912 |date=2020 |others=Giuseppe Rava |isbn=978-1-4728-3940-4 |location=Oxford |oclc=1159412148}}</ref>
*{{flag|Mexico}}<ref name="FW"/>
*{{flag|Ottoman Empire|}}<ref name=":0" />
*{{flagcountry|Russian Empire}}
*{{flagicon|Spain|1931}} [[Place:Second Spanish Republic|Spain]]
*{{flag|Sweden}}<ref name="FW"/>
*{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}<ref name="Bull 94"/>
*{{flag|United States|1912}}<ref name="FW"/>
*{{flag|New Zealand}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Hotchkiss light machine gun |date=15 July 2013 |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/hotchkiss-light-machine-gun}}</ref>


== Gallery ==
{{Gallery
|File:IndianArmyMGCrewFlanders1914-15.jpg
|2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry gunners in Flanders, winter of 1914–1915
|File:OldGloryPostCardwithM1909machinegun.jpg
|Old Glory postcard with U.S. soldiers firing an M1909 machine gun
|File:HotchkissPortableMarkI LMG.jpg
|Hotchkiss Mark I on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
|File:Jewish Buffs (חיילים עברים בשירות רג'ימנט מזרח קנט, "באפס")-ZKlugerPhotos-00132hd-090717068512410a.jpg
|British soldiers of the Royal East Kent Regiment in 1941
}}

==See also==
*[[Engineering:Light machine gun|Light machine gun]]
*List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
*Huot automatic rifle
*[[Engineering:Chauchat|Chauchat]] - Another French light machine gun that was also used by the U.S. Army
*[[Engineering:Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun|Hotchkiss M1922 machine gun]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*  {{cite magazine |first=Robert G. |last= Segel |date=3 January 2012 |url=http://sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=687 |title=U.S. Automatic Machine Rifle Model of 1909 |magazine=Small Arms Defense Journal |volume=2 |number=4}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13959&pid=119247&st=0 |title=M1909 Benet-Mercier .30 Machine Rifle |date=January 3, 2008 |website=US Militaria Forum}} Images from the Museum of the Soldier, Portland, Indiana.
** More images: [https://web.archive.org/web/20110929134554/http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/987/35194.jpg 1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120217123912/http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/84/sb5002a.jpg 2]
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Hu-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PR11 |author=An Instructor |date=1917 |title=Complete Guide to the Hotchkiss Machine Gun |location=London, UK |publisher=Gale & Polden|isbn=9781781512654 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.forgottenweapons.com/light-machine-guns/hotchkiss-portative-lmg/ |title=Hotchkiss Portative LMG |date=2011 |website=Forgotten Weapons}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU1xzzyugew |title=Hotchkiss Portable MG |author=vbbsmyt |date=28 November 2017 |website=YouTube}} Animation of the Hotchkiss portative .303 machine gun.
* {{cite book |title=Handbook of the Automatic Machine Rifle Caliber .30, Model of 1909 |date=31 July 1916 |publisher=Ordnance Department}} (many good plates)
* {{cite news |title=New Machine Guns Ordered: Vickers Recoil Type Will Replace Those That Jammed |newspaper=The New York Times |date=24 March 1916 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E2D6103FE233A25757C2A9659C946796D6CF}}

* Collection of photos that appear to be either U.S. Army photos or published before 1922
** [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/US%20MGs/MGtroopSoldier.jpg Machine Gun Troop Soldier]
** [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/US%20MGs/BenetMercierRPPC.jpg Benet-Mercier Rifle Platoon Postcard]
** [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/US%20MGs/MoreMGTroopsonBorder1914.jpg More Machine Gun Troops on Border, 1914]
** [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/US%20MGs/MotorcycleMGTroop.jpg Motorcycle Machine Gun Troop]
** [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/US%20MGs/M1909BMMGMotorcycleMountedRPPC.jpg M1909 Benet-Mercier Machine Gun Motorcycle Mounted Rifle Platoon Postcard]
** [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/US%20MGs/BenetMercierMGPlatoon27thInf19131.jpg Benet-Mercier Machine Gun Platoon 27th Infantry, 1913]
** [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/US%20MGs/BenetMercieGroup.jpg Benet-Mercier Group]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie Machine Gun}}
[[Category:Light machine guns]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun}}