Deactivated 1918 dated Vickers Machine Gun

This is a fabulous condition and very scarce 1918 dated Vickers MKI machinegun. Manufactured at the Vickers, Erith, Kent factory in late 1918 it is one of only 1,260 ever made. The K series guns were only produced from October 1918 until March 1919 when serial number K1284 was reached. However the true figure is slightly lower, just 1,260 guns. Erith's production records state that 24 allocated serial numbers were not completed. We have included these findings from the book. This example is serial K396 making it gun number 395th with s/n K331 not being completed. The guns barrel jacket bears a seldom seen armoury marking, "R.A. 9. 37", these initials are beleived to be an abbreviation for Royal Artillery, September 1937 when the gun was put back into service. At this time the British were aware of Nazi Germany's armament build up in preparation for WWII. The following year in March 1938 Hitler and his Nazi forces crossed into Austria and declared "Anschluss" the unification of Gemany with Austria. That year also saw the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia begin.

The gun is mounted on a 1937 dated cradle with matching numbers tripod. Also included is a 1943 dated 250 round ammunition belt containing 40 inert . 303 rounds, and an original wooden ammo box referred to as the "Jungle package" in the Vickers book.

This rare Vickers is in stunning condition throughout and would make an impressive centre-piece to any WWI or WWII collection.