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LOT 378
Charles Erb Vickers Mark I Heavy Machine Gun, Class III/NFA Fully Transferable Machine Gun, with Extensive Accessories - Serial no. 657A, 30 , 28 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. This is a highly desirable Vickers Pattern MkI heavy machine gun that has been assembled on a Charles Erb sideplate. An evolution of the Maxim Gun, the Vickers was a well refined heavy machine gun, with a water cooling system that permitted long strings of automatic fire without overheating. Blade front and folding peep rear sight, with an additional folding fixed sight on the top cover and an optics mount attached to the left sideplate, which conceals the Erb markings. The water jacket is brass with steel endcaps, with a “303” marked feed mechanism and a set of smooth wood spade grips. With a steel and brass tripod, 3 extra barrels, canvas and metal link belts, steam hose, and wooden ammo box. CONDITION: Very fine as assembled, with 85% refinished blue finish, showing some areas of covered pitting, mild spotting/discoloration amd repaired cracks on the water jacket, and mild handling marks. The grips show mild scuffs, and the accessories are in good order. Mechanically fine. NOTE: This weapon is a National Firearms Act (NFA), fully transferable Class 3, which is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (BATFE) under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 479. Estimate: 13,000 - 18,000
LOT 379
British Birmingham Small Arms Model 1914 Lewis Class III/NFA
C&R Fully Transferable Machine Gun with Extra Magazines and Accessories
- Serial no. A50, 303 British cal., 26 inch round bbl., blue/black finish, hardwood stock. Originally
developed prior to World War I, the Lewis was one of the lightest machine guns of the era, weighing in at about 28 pounds. At the time, these were considered to be the premier air cooled light machine gun and the first machine gun to be mounted and successfully used on an airplane in flight in 1912. The design was originally developed in 1910/11 by the Automatic Arms Company of Buffalo, New York, for commercial sales by Lieutenant Colonel Issac Newton Lewis using the gas-operated rotating bolt design of Samuel McLean. Later, Lt. Col. Lewis added some of his own improved designs changes, namely the jacketed cooling fin assembly on the barrel. Lewis established a firm in Belgium to license the design to arms manufacturers, finding interested parties at Birmingham Small Arms of Britain and Savage Arms of the United States, and both countries would take the Lewis into combat during World War I and World War II as infantry machine guns and in aircraft and vehicle mountings. This standard infantry Lewis features the distinctive
aluminum cooling fins and barrel shroud with clamp-on bipod, fixed blade front sight, ladder rear sight graduated from “1-19” (100-1,900 meters), hardwood
panels on the pistol grip and a fixed hardwood buttstock. The top is marked “Manufactured by/The Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd/ENGLAND/for” and
“Armes Automatiques Lewis/BELGIUM”. In front of the rear sight is marked “Lewis Auto Gun./Mod. 1914-Pat”. Mixed numbers visible on components
with some lined out and renumbered when it was arsenal rebuilt. “A383” stamped in the circular brass disc on the right of the buttstock. Includes an
extra bolt body, firing pin, ruptured case extractor tool, gas regulator cup reamer tool and four extra drum magazines.
CONDITION: Fine, retains 95% refinished deep blue/black finish with some scattered light pitting visible underneath the finish. The wood is very
good as refinished, with scattered moderate scratches, scuffs, and cracks. Mechanically excellent. NOTE: This weapon is a National Firearms Act (NFA), fully
transferable Class 3, which is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (BATFE) that is classified as a “Curios or Relic” as defined
in 27 CFR, 478.11. These weapons are still subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 479.
Estimate: 9,500 - 16,000
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