Vickers K Machine Gun - Combat Use

Combat Use

The Vickers K was fitted to a number of two- and three-seater aircraft in RAF service such as the Fairey Battle and Handley Page Hampden. It was also used in gun turrets, such as the dorsal turret in the Bristol Blenheim, the nose turret in the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the rear turret of the Fairey Battle (see photo at top). It was the standard Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm "Telegraphist Air Gunner" machine gun, on British built carrier (Torpedo Strike Reconnaissance) aircraft - the Fairey Swordfish, the Fairey Albacore and the Fairey Barracuda.

As supplies of air-cooled .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns increased the Vickers VGO was phased out of use with the RAF. These machine guns were then reallocated from RAF stocks to units of the British and Commonwealth armies. The gun continued in service with the Fleet Air Arm, and its last recorded use by the navy was by 812 Squadron RNAS Barracudas in anti piracy patrols off Hong Kong in October 1945.

When Class Ks were removed from aircraft, Special Forces in the North African Desert liked to attach them to their vehicles, as they preferred the higher rate of fire and bigger magazine capacity compared with the Bren. Of course, they couldn't have fired very long bursts without running into overheating problems.

The Long Range Desert Group was supplied with large numbers of the Vickers VGO for use on its vehicles. They were used in single or custom built twin mountings. The Special Air Service adopted it for their hit and run tactics, mounting it in pairs on their jeeps. Over the years, it was assumed by some that the latter services took the phased-out VGO because they could obtain no other suitable machine guns but with its high rate of fire and low-friction locking design (which proved resistant to jams from sand), the LRDG and SAS found the VGO markedly superior to either the .303 in (7.7 mm) water-cooled Vickers or the Bren gun. In a similar manner, the Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron of the Reconnaissance Corps mounted the VGO on jeeps when they were attached to the 1st Airborne Division during Operation Market-Garden in September 1944. Royal Marine and Army Commandos used the VGO for infantry support/squad automatic weapon briefly around D-Day. In military terminology, it was known as Gun, Machine, Vickers G.O. .303-inch.

In the Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy, the Vickers K began to replace the Lewis gun on board Motor Torpedo Boats, Motor Launches and other light craft, from 1942 onwards.