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THE VICKERS MACHINE GUN IN SOUTH
AFRICAN SERVICE
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After extensive use
by South African Army the water-cooled Vickers Medium Machine Gun was finally
retired from front-line service in the mid 1980s. The remaining approximately
2500 guns in the SADF’s (South African Defence Force) inventory were
then placed in War Reserve where they remained until destroyed during
‘Operation Mouflon’ during 2001. ('Op. Mouflon' an
internationally sponsored destruction program in which South Africa's excess
to needs Arms Reserves where destroyed under international supervision. Sadly,
this Operation made no provision or allowance for the preservation of unique,
or antique examples to be preserved) In a career that
spanned World War One, World War 2 and the Border War (and during peacetime
training in between) the Vickers in South African service carved a very
special niche in the hearts of those infantry soldiers who were privileged to
serve with this remarkable gun. Despite being heavy
(both gun and tripod) and relatively complex, these shortcomings were
overcome by exhaustive training and the gun proved most effective and
reliable in the hands of a well-trained crew. The steady, almost
leisurely, tat-tat-tat of the Vickers was always a very distinctive sound to
both friend and foe. The Vickers was
almost unchanged during it’s long service life and the only major development
was the Armscor conversion of the guns from their original .303 caliber to
the new 7.62 NATO round in the 1970s. South Africa was the
only country to achieve this conversion, which extended the life of the gun
long after the .303 British cartridge was obsolete. (Armscor; the South
Africa Armaments development and procurement Agency). From a collectors’
viewpoint the Vickers is a dream. Beautifully made, very distinctive in
appearance and with a wide range of accessories and tools, the Vickers can
occupy pride of place in any collection anywhere in the world. The vast majority of
surviving Vickers are in their original .303 configuration – many
de-activated to make them legal in the UK – but, thanks to demand from a
small group of American machine gun collectors/shooters, a small number of
South African 7.62 conversion kits were exported to the USA where they are
now highly desirable collectible items. The few remaining
Vickers in South Africa mostly reside in Museums but a very few (probably
less than a dozen) are treasured in private collections. Dolf Goldsmith’s
incredible book, ‘The Grand Old Lady of No-Man’s land’, provides an
invaluable source for those collectors worldwide who are lucky enough (or brave
enough!) to be able to pursue this interest (as does Richard Fisher’s
dedicated web-site -
‘www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk’ see: External Links Page). This Vickers
‘Special Interest Group’ (SIG) will provide a gathering place and forum for
those who have a genuine (whether scientific or sentimental) interest in the
gun, it’s accoutrements and particularly it’s South African history. Long live The Grand Old Lady of
No-Man’s Land !
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