Besa machine gun

Besa machine gun
general information
Military designation:	Besa 7.92 mm Machine Gun Mark 1, 2, 3, 3 *
Country of operation:	Great Britain
Developer / Manufacturer:	Václav Holek , Birmingham Small Arms Company
Manufacturer country:	Great Britain
Production time:	1939 to 1946
Model variants:	Mk1 / 2/3/3 *
Weapon Category:	Machine gun
Furnishing
Overall length:	1105 mm
Barrel length :	679 mm
Technical specifications
Caliber :	7.92 x 57 mm
Possible magazine fillings :	225 cartridges
Ammunition supply :	Ammunition belt
Cadence :	variable, either 500 or 800 rounds / min
Number of trains :	4th
Twist :	right
Closure :	Tilt lock
Charging principle:	Gas pressure charger
Lists on the subject

The Besa was a heavy machine gun used by the British Army during World War II .

history

The Besa MG was developed in Czechoslovakia . Great Britain agreed the license replica of two weapons with Zbrojovka Brno . On the one hand, there was the light MG Bren , and on the other, a heavy MG that was sold to the Czech ZB vz. 37 corresponded. BESA is derived from the spoken abbreviation BSA from the manufacturer Birmingham Small Arms Company . While the light firing could be converted to the British orderly cartridge .303 British , this was not possible with the Besa. To do this, the ammunition belts and the loading mechanism would have had to be converted to the British rim cartridge. The original 7.92 mm Mauser caliber with its rimless case had to be retained. This cartridge was standard ammunition for the Czechoslovak Army , but also that of the German Wehrmacht . To ensure the ammunition supply for this weapon, a factory was built specifically for this in Great Britain. In order to limit the logistical problems, the Besa was only issued to the armored forces, but not to the infantry. A total of about 60,000 copies were made.

technology

Vickers Light Tank AA MkI with four machine guns

The Besa-MG is a gas pressure loader. In contrast to other weapons of this type, the barrel is not rigidly attached, but slides back a little after the shot. The subsequent forward movement of the barrel is synchronized with the triggering of the next shot so that the forces roughly cancel each other out. As a result, the recoil is comparatively low; the weapon is therefore easy to control and precise.

In addition, there is a heavy-duty machine gun in caliber 15 mm, which is also known as a Besa. The cartridge was 15 × 104 mm in caliber. Technically it is quite similar to the 7.92 mm version, but the 15 mm version is more than 2 meters long and weighs almost three times as much at 57 kg.

literature

• Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun: Infantry weapons yesterday . (1918-1945). In: Illustrated encyclopedia of infantry weapons from around the world . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-89488-036-8 , weapons, p. 294-295 .
• Ian Hogg : Military Small Arms of the 20th Century . Arms & Armor Press, 1982, ISBN 0-910676-87-9 .

Web links

Commons : Besa machine gun  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files