These downloads are provided free-of-charge for the benefit of anyone that wants to know more about the use of the Vickers Machine Gun and read what the Machine Gunners would have known. Many are rare items not readily available so, if you find them useful, please support the development of this resource. The archive now includes a wider range of associated documents so indirectly related to machine gunner. We hope you find it interesting.
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All of the manuals are sorted in date order, with some exceptions where it is appropriate to group similar manuals, such as the Small Arms Training series.
These downloads are provided free-of-charge for the benefit of anyone that wants to know more about the use of the Vickers Machine Gun and know what the Machine Gunners would have known. Many of rare items not readily available so, if you find them useful, please support the development of this resource. All donations are reinvested in the management of the website or the expansion of the collection and dissemination of information:
1908-1919:
Field Service Pocket Book
1914, United Kingdom
A comprehensive handbook for officers of the day, outlining all the duties and functions of the British Army when in the field. It contains information on communications, engineering, organisation, accommodation, cooking and much more. Each officer would have had one of these pocket books.
Low resolution PDF download: 7,181 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Field Service Pocket Book
1914, Reprinted with Amendments 1916, United Kingdom
A comprehensive handbook for officers of the day, outlining all the duties and functions of the British Army when in the field. It contains information on communications, engineering, organisation, accommodation, cooking and much more. Each officer would have had one of these pocket books.
Low resolution PDF download: 12,744 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
1920 – 1938:
Field Service Pocket Book. Part I – Countries other than India
1926, British Army
Split into two parts, this Field Service Pocket Book sets outs the detail and knowledge needed for being an officer in the British Army in the latter part of the 1920s who was not serving in India. It contains information on communications, engineering, organisation, accommodation, cooking and much more. Each officer would have had one of these pocket books.
Low resolution PDF download: 8,296 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Field Service Pocket Book – War Establishments
1926, United Kingdom
An insert for the Field Service Pocket Book that details the war establishments of the British Army in 1926.
Low resolution PDF download: 462 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Field Service Pocket Book. Part II – India
1928, British Army, British Indian Army
Split into two parts, this Field Service Pocket Book sets outs the detail and knowledge needed for being an officer in the British Army in the latter part of the 1920s who was serving in India or part of the British Indian Army. It contains information on communications, engineering, organisation, accommodation, cooking and much more. Each officer would have had one of these pocket books.
Low resolution PDF download: 8,522 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Field Service Pocket Book
1932, United Kingdom
A comprehensive handbook for officers of the day, outlining all the duties and functions of the British Army when in the field. It contains information on communications, engineering, organisation, accommodation, cooking and much more. Each officer would have had one of these pocket books.
Low resolution PDF download: 6,496 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
1939 – 1975:
During the Second World War, the Field Service Pocket Book was issued as a series of pamphlets rather than a single-bound book. This meant updates could be more readily issued and frequently updated.
Pamphlet No. 1 – Glossary of Military Terms and Organization in the Field
1940, United Kingdom
A primer that covers all of the basic terms and definitions that are used in the whole series of pamphlets and across British and Commonwealth publications of the period. It also includes the war establishments of the basic units in the Army and the Royal Air Force for 1940.
Low resolution PDF download: 991 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 1 – Glossary of Military Terms
1944, United Kingdom
A primer that covers all of the basic terms and definitions that are used in the whole series of pamphlets and across British and Commonwealth publications of the period.
Low resolution PDF download: 638 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 2 – Orders and Intercommunication
1939, United Kingdom
Armies required communication to function. They do so through orders based on a hierarchy, particularly with the larger units, or a combination of units working together. This pamphlet sets out the mechanisms and content for these orders as they were at the start of the Second World War in the British Army.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,811 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 2 – Orders and Intercommunication
1939, (Reprinted with Amendments (Nos. 1 and 2) and A.T.Ms. (Nos. 39 and 42, 1941) 1941, United Kingdom
Armies required communication to function. They do so through orders based on a hierarchy, particularly with the larger units, or a combination of units working together. This pamphlet sets out the mechanisms and content for these orders as they were at the start of the Second World War in the British Army.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,722 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 2 – Orders and Intercommunication
1939 (Amendment No. 7), July 1942, United Kingdom
An update to the pamphlet included different short codes for radio and wireless transmission.
Low resolution PDF download: 286 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 3 – Intelligence – Information and Security
1939, United Kingdom
The document detailing how to handle prisoners of war and field security issues, such as censorship and using information including sketches and diagrams.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,348 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 3 – Abbreviations
1944, United Kingdom
A pamphlet covering all of the common abbreviations in used with the British Army during the latter stages of the Second World War.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,204 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 4 – Field Engineering
1939, United Kingdom
The complete pamphlet on how the British Army was building its trenches, camps, emplacements, bridges and other ‘all arms’ field engineering and fortifications at the start of the Second World War.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,547 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 4 – Appreciations, Orders, Messages and Intercommunication
1943, United Kingdom
This pamphlet describes how the British Army conducts its ‘appreciations’ (or assessments) of situations and enemy forces, how it then issues its orders, sends messages and communicates between units.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,355 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 5 – Billets, Camps and Bivouacs, Camp Cooking and Water Arrangements
1939, United Kingdom
All aspects of how the British Army made camp and accommodated its troops at the start of the Second World War.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,064 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 5 – Signal Codes
1944, United Kingdom
To speed us wireless transmission, codes were used to shorten common phrases. This pamphlet covers those in use in May 1944, immediately ahead of Operation OVERLORD – the invasion of Normandy, France, commonly just referred to as ‘D-Day’.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,393 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 6 – Mechanized Movement by Road
1939, United Kingdom
A mechanised army, as the British Army was at the start of the Second World War, needs to move by road. This pamphlet includes the practical and administrative detail of doing so, including choosing routes, orders to be issued and repairing roads.
Low resolution PDF download: 940 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 6 – Mechanized Movement by Road
1941, United Kingdom
A mechanised army, as the British Army was at the start of the Second World War, needs to move by road. This pamphlet includes the practical and administrative detail of doing so, including choosing routes, orders to be issued and repairing roads.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,521 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 6 – Intelligence – Information and Security
1944, United Kingdom
The document detailing how to handle prisoners of war and field security issues, such as censorship and using information including sketches and diagrams.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,571 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 6A – Conventional Military Symbols
1943, United Kingdom
To easily and accurately add information to maps, the British Army used standardised symbols as shown in this pamphlet. It will greatly aid anyone interpreting wartime maps and sketches.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,152 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 7 – Movement by Sea, Rail and Air
1939, United Kingdom
The British Army extensively used sea and rail and, to a lesser degree, air transport to move its troops around the world at the start of the Second World War. This pamphlet describes the process for doing so including how to load troops, horses and equipment and the capacities of different vehicles.
Low resolution PDF download: 797 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No 7 – Field Engineering
1944, United Kingdom
The complete pamphlet on how the British Army was building its trenches, camps, emplacements, bridges and other ‘all arms’ field engineering and fortifications at the latter stages of the Second World War.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,993 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No 8 – Protection Against Gas
1939, United Kingdom
This pamphlet describes the types of gases in service at the start of the Second World War and the measures that the British Army was to put in place to protect against them, including the personal equipment for soldiers.
Low resolution PDF download: 767 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No 8 – Protection Against Gas
1941, United Kingdom
This pamphlet describes the types of gases in service during the Second World War and the measures that the British Army was to put in place to protect against them, including the personal equipment for soldiers.
Low resolution PDF download: 730 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 9 – Supply and Replenishment of Material in the Field
1939, United Kingdom
A pamphlet covering how the British Army supplied and replenished its troops in the field. This includes consumption rates and the logistics systems in place to carry out that supply. It also includes ammunition supply codes that were used on ammunition boxes and packaging.
Low resolution PDF download: 744 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 9 – Supply and Replenishment of Material in the Field
1939 (Reprinted with Amendments (A.T.Ms. 31 & 39), 1941) 1941, United Kingdom
A pamphlet covering how the British Army supplied and replenished its troops in the field. This includes consumption rates and the logistics systems in place to carry out that supply. It also includes ammunition supply codes that were used on ammunition boxes and packaging.
Low resolutions PDF download: 567 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 9A – Ammunition Code
1939, United Kingdom
An update to the earlier issue of Pamphlet No 9 but just covering Ammunition Codes used on packaging and ammunition supply information.
Low resolutions PDF download: 1,033 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 9 – Movement by Road and Rail
1943, United Kingdom
Movement of troops and equipment by road and rail was essential during the Second World War and this pamphlet covers the details of the orders and management required in the British Army.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,109 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 10 – Medical Services
1939, United Kingdom
Covering the organisation medical services in the British Army as well as how injured and sick troops were evacuated and treated and how health was to be maintained.
Low resolutions PDF download: 987 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 10 – Medical Services
1939 Reprinted with Amendments (ATM No. 39) 1941, United Kingdom
Covering the organisation medical services in the British Army as well as how injured and sick troops were evacuated and treated and how health was to be maintained.
Low resolutions PDF download: 957 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 10 – Gas
1943, United Kingdom
This pamphlet describes the types of gases in service during the Second World War and the measures that the British Army was to put in place to protect against them, including the personal equipment for soldiers.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,014 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 11 – Discipline, Office Work and Burial Parties
1939, United Kingdom
The less glamorous aspects of the British Army but this pamphlet details the administration that was essential to running an organised unit of men, including how to conduct burials in the field.
Low resolution PDF download: 737 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Pamphlet No. 12 – Miscellaneous Tables and Data
1939 (Reprinted with Amendments (Nos. 1 to 4) and A.T.M. No. 40, 1941), United Kingdom
Tabulated information useful for making calculations in the field. It includes bridge classifications for equipment, as well as sizes and weights of those items, conversion tables for money, weight, volume and temperature and then moon phases for 1941 and magnetic variations.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,453 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
Part I – Pamphlet No. 13 – Discipline, Office Work, Pay and Burial Parties
1943, United Kingdom
The less glamorous aspects of the British Army but this pamphlet details the administration that was essential to running an organised unit of men, including their pay and how to conduct burials in the field.
Low resolution PDF download: 1,633 KB
High-resolution available on archive.org thanks to support through Patreon
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