A rare beauty.

At the last Hernando Machine-gun shoot I came across this beautiful Argentina model 1895 Maxim.

In 1895 the Argentinean government placed an order for 50 Maxim guns with Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited in England. The guns carried serial numbers 1-50.

When the need for more guns arose, another order for 150 more guns was placed in 1898, but thsi time with the Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), licensed Maxim manufacturers at the time.

Numbered 51-200, all the guns were chambered in Belgium Mauser 7.65×53. With the exception of numbers 181-200, all the Maxims built for the Argentinian contract had brass water jackets.

In 1909, Argentina adopted the new 7.65x53mm Spitzer round with the pointed bullet and flatter trajectory. All of Argentina’s Maxims were then re-barreled for the new cartridge and the long sight bar was shortened for the high-speed, flatter trajectory of the new cartridge.

In the 1950s, the guns had become obsolete, and 91 units were sold and exported to the US. The rest of the guns remained in Argentina, in museums, officers mess’ etc. Of the 91 sol to the US, 8 were re-exported, 18 were government owned and ended up in museums, storage and some were destroyed. The remaining 55 US guns ended up in private collections.

The gun I photographed carries number 143, and was part of the second DWM order in 1898.

Cooling down during a cease-fire. The gun is set in its original Ackland tripod, made in England by VSM (Vickers, Sons & Maxim)

The wooden feed roller in the brass feed housing.

(Source: Small Arms Defense Journal for data.)