Most Vickers MGs are not clearly marked as to who the manufacturer was as the War Office contract guns did not require anything further than a serial number. The exception to this rule is the Commercial Guns as the manufacturer wished all to know who produced the gun as an additional marketing technique. Component parts often included a manufacturer marking as well, presumably for traceability. In the Second World War, this was reduced to a alpha-numerical code with N for Northern, M for Midlands and then S for Southern, followed by a number. Manufacturers’ markings are often accompanied by a year of production, which could be the full four digits or just the two end digits.
For additional information on the history of UK companies, the links go to Graces Guide.
Marking | Manufacturer details | Examples found on |
BA | Bathurst Annex (a feeder factory for the Small Arms Factory, Lithgow, Australia) | Extractor |
B.W.Ld. London | Bowden Wire Co., Willesden Junction, London | Muzzle cup |
E inside D | Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield | Direction dial pointer |
MA | Made in Australia | Feedblock top pawls spring |
RCD | Royal Carriage Department | Tripod mounting blocks |
S26 | Climax Rock Drill Company, Carn Brea, Cornwall | Feedblock casing |
S343 | Nicholls & Janes, St. Mary’s St., High Wycombe, Bucks | Spare parts box Mark III |
VAC | Vickers Armstrongs Crayford | Extractor |
VAN | Vickers-Armstrongs (believed to be Newcastle) | Feedblock casing |
VSM | Vickers, Sons and Maxim | Trigger bar |
W.T.&Co. | Wynn, Timmins & Co Ltd., Birmingham | Belt repairing tool |
Marking on bottom of rear cross-piece. VSM. Vickers Sons & Maxim. Marking on Mk. III Spare Parts and Tools Box. S.343. Nicholls & James, St. Mary’s St., High Wycombe, Bucks. Marking on Mk. II* Tangent Sight slide. MA42. Made in Australia, 1942. Marking on Feedblock Top Pawls spring. MA. Made in Australia. Marking on feedblock. V.A.N. Presumed Vickers Armstrongs but ‘N’ unknown. Marking on trigger bar. VSM. Vickers Sons & Maxim. Marking on Muzzle Attachment Cup. B.W. Ltd. London. Bowden Wire Co., Willesden Junction, London. Marking on Tripod mounting blocks. R.C.D. 1913. Royal Carriage Department, 1913. Marking on Tripod Direction Pointer Mk. II. E inside D. Enfield. Marking on Belt Repairing Tool. W.T & Co. 1916. Wynn, Timmins & Co Ltd., Birmingham, 1916. Marking on feedblock. S 26. Climax Rock Drill Company, Carn Brea, Cornwall.
Sources
- Goldsmith, 1994
- Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum (n.d.) History and Production [online]. Available at: https://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/history.html (Accessed 28 December 2020).
- Skennerton, 1988; 1997