Original U.S. WWI Model 1918 Colt Vickers Aircraft Display Machine Gun Serial A 1574 - Balloon Buster

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very unusual and extremely rare. This genuine World War One aircraft Vickers gun is one only 1,700 units! Yes, this was part of the very limited production contract from the Colt Firearms Company supplied in 1918.

The right side plate has correctly been dimilitarized, with almost the entire rear section removed, retaining only the lever latch and removing the cam portions. That makes this a very nice BATF compliant non-firing display machine gun, 100% legal to own without a license of any kind. There are deactivated internal components inside of the machine gun, which help complete the look. They can still move back and forth but are completely inert. 

Air cooled with a ventilated barrel jacket and fitted with 11mm barrel assembly intended to shoot 11mm Vickers cartridges, also known as 11×59mmR Gras, the same bullet used by the late 19th century French rifle. These cartridges were loaded with Desvignes Mark XI incendiary bullets, which were actually long-burning tracer rounds. This increased the devastating incendiary effect on all German observation balloons, Zeppelins and fighter aircraft fuel tanks.

It had been found that standard rifle cartridges were less than successful at downing observation balloons ("Balloon Busting") than larger calibers carrying incendiary or tracer bullets. France originally tried this with their Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun, however the Vickers platform proved far easier to synchronize with the propeller of the airplane.

With a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute and a range of nearly 2,000 yards these played a great part in the air war during the final year of The Great War.

Obsoleted in 1931 most were officially destroyed during the scrap metal drives of WW2. Our example was, as all others were, electrically fired, which utilized an actuator mounted to the top cover, which we unfortunately do not have. It has had a replica synchronization assembly mounted to the fusee cover, which prevented rounds from striking the plane's propeller.

Offered in lovely display condition still retaining much of the heavy blue/black finish on the receiver. It still bears all of the original manufacture and patent markings at the very front of the ventilated barrel jacket, which read:

11M/M CALIBER
VICKERS AIRCRAFT MACHINE GUN
MODEL OF 1918
COLT'S PT. F. A. MFG CO. HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A.
NO A1574
1918 INSPR.

The bottom of the barrel jacket lists all of the U.S. patent numbers involved with the machine gun, and there is also the number 14325 stamped in several places, which is probably a production number from Colt. The barrel jacket has a barrel mounted for display, but it is a .303 British example, not the correct 11mm.

This is truly a magnificent display piece, and only the third example of one of these exceedingly rare display guns that we have been able to offer. Ready to hang on the wall and display!