ARMENMENTS USED BY THE NZMR AND OTHER TROOPS DURING WW1 |
arms display - Auckland War Memorial Museum |
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Also on the same floor are two separate static displays of NZMR equipment from the Boer War and the First World War. |
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A display of weapons used by the NZMR are on permanent exhibition at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Prominent is the Vickers Machine Gun and rifles on display in the Armour on the third floor.
The library also contains a copy of "The Story of Two Campaigns" the official history of the Auckland Mounted Rifles 1914 -1918.
It is well worth the effort to sit down with the copy and feel the history of the ANZAC's at your finger tips. |
Lewis gun |
| Weight |
28 pounds (13 kg) |
| Length |
50.5 inches (1,280 mm) |
| Barrel length |
26.5 inches (670 mm) |
| Width |
4.5 inches (110 mm) |
| Cartridge |
.303 British
.30-06 Springfield
7.92x57mm Mauser |
| Action |
Gas operated |
| Rate of fire |
500–600 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity |
2,440 feet per second (740 m/s) |
| Effective range |
880 yards (800 m) |
| Maximum range |
3,500 yards (3,200 m) |
| Feed system |
47 or 97-round drum magazine |
| Sights |
Blade and Tangent Leaf |
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Vickers Mark1 machine gun
Weight |
15 kg (33.07 lb) to 23 kg (50.71 lb) all-up |
Action |
recoil with gas boost |
Length |
1,100 mm (43.31 in.) |
Rate of fire |
450 to 500 round/min |
Barrel length |
720 mm (28.35 in.) |
Muzzle velocity |
744m/sec |
Crew |
three man crew |
Effective range |
2,187 yd (2,000 m) |
Cartridge |
.303 British |
Maximum range |
4,500 yd (4,100 m) indirect fire |
Feed system |
250-round canvas belt |
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photograph Corporal Albert Anderson - AMR - circa 1917 |
Auckland Hotchkiss Crew.
We wish we could tell you more about this never before published photograph of an Auckland Mounted Rifles Machine Gun Crew. A fantastic image sharp and clear as the day it was taken - sadly Albert Anderson didn't write any names on the obverse of the picture. - all that is noted in his Album is; "Hotchkiss Gun and Crew." The men wear the AMR hat badge and one man wears the white and red flash on his pugaree hat band that denotes the AMR Regiment.
We can however tell you that these men were the cream of New Zealand's defence force. The Machine Gun teams were a special breed of men. More than capable soldiers, they were competent horsemen, excellent marksmen and mechanically minded. Their ability to survive and act under extreme conditions was legendary.
(any information on these men would be greatly appreciated - it is most probable that these men came from the North Auckland Region of Wellsford and North). |
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Right: An observers improvised double machine gun mounted on the rear cockpit ring of a German AEG reconnaissance aircraft. Supported by two drum magazines.
As the war in the air expanded and intensified, so too did the fire-power of the weapons carried by their crews. |
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303 Lee Enfield Rifle - the Troopers weapon. |
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