Born in 1884. Maxim had filed quite broad patents covering gas pistons operation, but specifically in a linear format. In one engagement, fifty soldiers fought off 5,000 Matabele warriors with just four Maxim guns. The Maxim gun was the first recoil-operated machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884. The Maxim Gun In America The U.S. Army took an interest in the Maxim gun as early as 1887. Maxim harnessed a bullet’s recoil power to create a portable machine gun needed only one barrel to fire all of its bullets automatically. The following year the Austrian, German, Italian, Swiss and Russian armies also purchased Maxim's gun. HIRAM MAXIM: THE FATHER OF THE MACHINE GUN--AND OF MODERN WARFARE. Jahrhunderts eingesetzt. Despite holding patents for everything from mousetraps to curling irons, Maxim is best known for his machine gun. The gun was first used by Britain`s colonial forces in the Matabele war in 1893-94. The Maxim was first produced in 1884. Hiram Maxim and his namesake gun. The Vickers machine gun subsequently became the standard issue weapon of its type in the British army during the First World War. Off-and-on testing and frequent revisions finally yielded the M1904 machine gun. Das Maxim-Maschinengewehr (französisch Mitrailleuse Maxim, englisch Maxim Gun) war das erste selbstladende Maschinengewehr.Es wurde 1885 von dem amerikanisch-britischen Erfinder und Konstrukteur Hiram Maxim entwickelt und bis Mitte des 20. Sir Hiram Maxim died in London on 24 November 1916, while the Great War was still raging, at the age of 76. These weapons were still powered by hand; however, this changed with Hiram Maxim's idea of harnessing recoil energy to power reloading in his Maxim machine gun. It is generally regarded as the first true machine gun, and is certainly the first to function reliably. The combination of mechanized automatic fire and cleaner ammunition was revolutionary. Machine Guns. In the meantime Maxim continued work on the design that would soon make him famous — the Maxim machine gun. The Maxim gun was a weapon invented by American-born British inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884: it was the first recoil-operated machine gun in production. The Maxim gun was the first recoil-operated machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884. The First Automatic Machine Gun. When John Browning designed his Model 1895 machine gun with it’s rotary-lever gas operation system, Hiram Maxim filed suit claiming patent infringement. The Maxim gun was a weapon invented by American-born British inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884: it was the first recoil-operated machine gun in production. By 1889, the British Army had adopted the Maxim gun. Image from the April 1895 edition Cassier’s Magazine, showing Hiram Maxim and the Maxim gun, along with Louis Cassier and J. Bucknall Smith. The Maxim Machine-Gun was adopted by the British Army in 1889. Bei allen vor der Maxim Gun entwickelten mehrläufigen Mitrailleusen, wie der Gatling Gun, der De Reffye Mitrailleuse … It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest". It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest". It has been called "the weapon most associated with the British imperial conquest", and likewise was used in colonial wars by other countries between 1886 and 1914. It is worth noting that this gun was designed and publicly demonstrated in 1884 – still a year before the invention of smokeless gunpowder. Malcolm W. Browne, New York Times News Service CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The Maxim machine gun Made by American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884 First fully automatic machine gun, using energy from the recoil to eject and replace spent cartridges The Maxim gun was the first self-powered Machine Gun, created by American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884. In 1883 Hiram Maxim designed a unique system that harnessed the recoil of a rifle. Maxim’s gun was not the first machine gun. All of Maxim’s work on these guns was done with the black powder .45 Gardner-Gatling cartridge (485-grain bullets over 80 grains of black powder), which makes his feat of a reliable machine gun even more impressive. Public domain photo. On November 24, 1916, Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim died at the age of 76.