Vickers & Colt-Browning 

The men of the Battalion used several different types of machine guns to train on while at Camp Lee and also in the early training when they arrived in France. This article looks at some of the differences in the weapons. The early graphic used on the letterhead of the Battalion featured the British style Vickers machine gun. 

One of the first machine guns used was the M1895 Colt-Browning known as the "potato-digger." The motion of the operating lever and rod beneath the barrel dug up the ground when the gun was fired.  The first two photos here were taken from DeVore's collection of Company A men posing with the M1895 at the front of the barracks.  

The next photo appears in the book. Sergeant Ray probably training on the range at Camp Lee in a prone position behind the low mounted M1895.

The other machine guns used during World War I included the .30-caliber US made Vickers model 1915 and the British made Vickers .303-caliber. Take note of the caliber size of the ammunition. This difference meant the US had to use the British style weapon when they were in the British Zone sharing the trenches with New Zealand.

Here the men of Company C men are posing with the Vickers Machine Gun (likely the US made .30-caliber).

Postcard taken at Camp Lee VA (courtest Liberty Hall Museum exhibit 'Brothers in Arms')

Photograph shows two British soldiers with a Vickers anti-aircraft machine gun during World War I. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print