PM M1910 explained

Is Ranged:	yes
Pulyemyot Maksima PM1910
Type:	Heavy machine gun
Origin:	Russian Empire
Design Date:	1909–1910
Production Date:	1910–1939 1941–1945
Number:	at least 176,000^[1]
Service:	1910–present
Used By:	See Users
Wars:	World War I Russian Revolution Russian Civil War Turkish War of Independence Polish–Soviet War Finnish Civil War Estonian War of Independence Warlord Era Spanish Civil War Winter War Chinese Civil War World War II Second Sino-Japanese War Korean War Vietnam War Syrian Civil War War in Donbas^[2] 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine^[3]
Part Length:	721mm
Cartridge:	7.62×54mmR
Feed:	250-round belt
Action:	Short recoil, toggle locked
Rate:	600 round/min
Velocity:	740 m/s (2,427 ft/s)
Weight:	62.66kg (138.14lb)
Length:	1,067 mm (42 in)

The Pulyemyot Maksima PM1910 (Russian: Пулемёт Максима образца 1910 года|translit=Pulemyot Maksima obraztsa 1910 goda|lit=Maxim's machine gun Model 1910), or PM M1910, is a heavy machine gun that was used by the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the Red Army during the Russian Civil War and World War II. Later the gun saw service in the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

History

It was adopted in August 1910 and was derived from Hiram Maxim's Maxim gun, chambered for the standard Russian 7.62×54mmR rifle cartridge. The M1910 was mounted on a wheeled mount with a gun shield.

In 1918–1920, 21,000 new Maxim 1910 machine guns were manufactured in the Soviet Union for the Red Army.^[4]

In 1930, a modernized version 1910/30 was adopted by the Red Army.^[5] M1910/30 can be equipped with optical sight.^[6]

In 1941, the gun was modernized once again.

In May 1942, an order was given to begin the development of a new machine gun to replace the Maxim 1910/30. On May 15, 1943, the SG-43 Goryunov was adopted and since summer 1943 Maxim guns were replaced in Soviet service by the SG-43, which retained the wheeled and shielded carriage. However, production of the Maxim did not end until 1945.

In addition to the main infantry version, there were aircraft-mounted and naval variants. Some were fitted with a tractor radiator cap fitted on top of the water jacket to allow handfuls of snow to be packed in to melt while firing.

After World War II, the Maxim was phased out of service, but was still sent in some quantities to the Korean War and Vietnam War. In 2014 during the war in Donbas, some Maxims in stock were captured by the Pro-Russian separatists while others were taken from storage to be used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. A number were used by the Ukrainian military during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine due to their reputation for accuracy and reliability.^[7]

Variants

• Russian Empire
  • "Maxim's machine gun model 1910 on a wheeled Sokolov's mount" (Пулемёт Максима обр. 1910 года на колёсном станке А. А. Соколова обр. 1910 года)^[8]
  • "Maxim's machine gun model 1915 on a wheeled Kolesnikov's mount" (Пулемёт Максима обр. 1910 года на колёсном станке Колесникова обр. 1915 года)
• Soviet Union
  • "Maxim's machine gun model 1910 on an antiaircraft tripod" (Пулемёт Максима образца 1910 года на зенитной треноге М. Н. Кондакова обр. 1928 года)
  • "Maxim's machine gun model 1910/30 on a wheeled Vladimirov's mount" (Пулемёт Максима образца 1910/30 года на колёсном станке С. В. Владимирова обр. 1931 года)
  • Maxim-Tokarev
  • PV-1 machine gun
  • ZPU-4 (Зенитная пулемётная установка М-4 образца 1931 года) - quadruple anti-aircraft mount.
• Finland
  • Maxim M/09-21^[9]
  • Maxim M/32-33^[9]
• Second Polish Republic
  • 7.92mm Maxim wz. 1910/28

Users

• – seized during World War I.^[10]
• Bulgaria^[11]
• China
• Czechoslovakia – in January 1942 first twelve Soviet Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were given from USSR to 1st Czechoslovak Independent Infantry Battalion, later additional quantity was given to other units of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps.^[12]
• Finland^[9]
• – a quantity of machine guns was seized during World War I.
• Hungary – after June 22, 1941, a quantity of machine guns was seized by Hungarian troops during Axis invasion in USSR. Since 1945, Soviet Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were given from the Soviet Union to the People's Republic of Hungary.^[10]
• Mongolia
• – in September 1939 a quantity of Polish wz. 1910 and wz. 1910/28 was seized by the Wehrmacht. After June 22, 1941, a quantity of Soviet machine guns was seized by German troops during Axis invasion in USSR, they were used as schweres Maschinengewehr 216(r).^[13]
• ^[14]
• Poland – Maxim wz. 1910 and Maxim wz. 1910/28^[15]
• Romania – at least several machine guns were captured during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War and disarmament of retreating armed anti-Soviet groups crossing the Romanian border in 1917 - 1920s. After June 22, 1941, an additional quantity was seized by Romanian troops during Axis invasion in USSR. In 1944 several Soviet Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were given from USSR to Romanian 1st Volunteer Infantry Division.^[16] After 23 August 1944 coup d'état additional Maxim 1910/30 machine guns were transferred from the Soviet Union to the Romanian Army.
  • Russian separatist forces in Donbas
  • Taiwan^[17]
• Ukraine – in August 2011, 35 000 ex-Soviet Maxim machine guns were stored in the warehouses of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine^[18] although at least four of them were written off and scrapped later.^{[19] [20]} They were used during the war in Donbas by Ukrainian troops. In December 2016 they were officially adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.^[21] The Maxim has been used in combat following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,^{[22] [23]} proving useful for defending Ukrainian positions against Russian infantry assaults by permitting continuous fire without overheating. Ukrainian forces have been seen using a Maxim gun equipped with modern accessories like optics and a suppressor.

See also

• List of Russian weaponry
• Maxim gun
• MG-08
• Vickers machine gun

External links

• Soviet Manual Covering Operation and Repair of the 1910 Maxim Gun
• Robert G. Segel (24 February 2012) "The Origin of the Russian “Tractor-Cap” M1910 Maxim", Small Arms Defense Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1

Notes and References

1. Book: Forty, Simon. 2024. The Soviet Infantryman on the Eastern Front. Casemate. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 978-1-6362-4364-1. 81.
2. Web site: Ukrainian Troops Are Still Using This Pre-World War I-Era Maxim Machine Gun In Combat . Joseph . Trevithick . 5 February 2020 . The Drive .
3. Web site: Age old weapons are shaping Russia-Ukraine war, here is the list .
4. Пулемёты // Гражданская война и военная интервенция в СССР. Энциклопедия / редколл., гл. ред. С. С. Хромов. — 2-е изд. — М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1987. стр.490-491
5. "На вооружении Советской Армии состояли станковые пулемёты Максима образца 1910, модернизированные в 1930 и 1941"
   Пулемёты // Великая Отечественная война 1941 - 1945. Энциклопедия. / редколл., гл. ред. М. М. Козлов. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1985. стр.594-595
6. Описание пулемётного оптического прицела обр. 1930. Москва, Ленинград; Отдел Издательства Народного Комиссариата Обороны Союза ССР. 1951 г.
7. News: Why Ukraine's army still uses a 100-year-old machinegun . The Economist . subscription . 2022-05-11 . 0013-0613.
8. Семён Федосеев. Столетие легендарного "Максима" // журнал "Мастер-ружьё", № 11 (164), ноябрь 2010. стр.40-46
9. Web site: The Finnish Maxims: M09/21 & M32/33. 12 June 2019. mosinnagant.net.
10. Lugosi, József (2008). "Gyalogsági fegyverek 1868–2008". In Lugosi, József; Markó, György. Hazánk dicsőségére: 160 éves a Magyar Honvédség. Budapest: Zrínyi Kiadó. p. 382-383. .
11. La mitrailleuse russe Maxim modèle 1910 . Roger. Out . 47. Gazette des armes. fr. 365. May 2005.
12. Ермаков В. Ф. Из истории советско-чехословацкого боевого содружества // «Военно-исторический журнал», 1988, № 3. стр.11-16
13. Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain. Enzyklopädie deutscher Waffen 1939–1945. Handwaffen, Artillerie, Beutewaffen, Sonderwaffen. Motorbuch Verlag, 2008.
14. Book: Kinard, Jeff. The Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. 978-1-85109-849-1. Tucker. Spencer C.. 2nd. 1. A-L. 535. Machine guns. 9 April 2010. Pierpaoli. Paul G. Jr. . https://books.google.com/books?id=1ZNxDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA535.
15. Andrzej Konstankiewicz. Broń strzelecka i sprzęt artyleryjski formacji polskich i Wojska Polskiego w latach 1914-1939. Warszawa, 2003. str.113
16. Сведения штаба Московского военного округа о материальном обеспечении 1-й румынской пехотной дивизии, 1 апреля 1944 г. // Освободительная миссия Советских Вооружённых Сил в Европе во второй мировой войне: документы и материалы. М., Воениздат, 1985. стр.87-88
17. Book: Jowett, Philip. China's Wars: Rousing the Dragon 1894-1949. General Military. 20 Nov 2013 . Osprey Publishing. 9781782004073 . 129, 147.
18. "7,62 мм кулемет Максим - 35 000 штук"
    розпорядження Кабінету міністрів України № 1022-р від 15 серпня 2011 р. "Перелік військового майна Збройних Сил, яке може бути відчужено"
19. http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/108-2012-%D1%80 Розпорядження Кабінету міністрів України № 108-р від 29 лютого 2012 р. "Про утилізацію стрілецької зброї"
20. "7,62 мм кулемет Максим - 2"
    Розпорядження Кабінету міністрів України № 687-р від 14 серпня 2013 р. "Про затвердження додаткового переліку військового майна Збройних Сил, яке може бути відчужено".
21. https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/3845791 Минобороны Украины вернуло на вооружение пулемет "Максим"
22. News: Boffey . Daniel . 2023-06-21 . Zelenskiy admits counteroffensive may be going 'slower than desired' . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-21 . 0261-3077.
23. Web site: Gault . Matthew . 2023-03-21 . Ukraine Is Successfully Using a 140-Year-Old Machine Gun Against Russia . 2023-06-21 . Vice . en.