Madsen machine gun

Please note that the Lewis while being more expensive was a lot easier to build - from my dodgy memory cells I seem to recall that it was in Man hours terms 1 Vickers to 4 Lewis guns which is why the Lewis (in addition to its utility) was so prolific an automatic weapon in WW1 second only to the much maligned (an unfairly so) French Chauchat.

Well assembly was a lot faster faster, (understandably) not sure about parts manufacture though.
 
Madsens seem to be immortal with users keeping them as long as possible. Often abandoned as ammunition types changed. The design is impeccable (once you get your head around the apparent need for the case to bend to go in or out) but the sheer time of engineering to make one makes them far too expensive both financially and in skilled work force time. The comparison is perhaps between a Purdey shotgun and an off the shelf Spanish job. If you suddenly want them by the tens of thousands you have to choose something quick to make even if not as good. Thus the Chauchat which was production engineered to be made quickly by semi skilled workers was the Spanish shotgun. It did not work as well as a Madsen and had far more stoppages and heat soak problems but you could get it into the hands of the troops quickly whereas the Madsen was the Purdey; better but you can't make them fast enough. Better most units have Chauchats that sometimes stop working than just a few have Madsens that always work.

I would be happy with a Madsen as an LMG even today but it doesn't make it the right choice for a large army with an immediate need.
 
Well it might help to look at another country that very nearly liscenced the madsen: the UK. Their primary LMG of the war, the Lewis gun, cost more than a Vickers. The lewis gun however was produced in the US.

Part of the problem might have been setting up a new and very complex production line in wartime when you already have a billion things you can't make fast enough.

Part of the price of the Lewis was the huge amount of money the patent holder Colonel Lewis earned in royalties. He was clever enough (and the UK desperate enough) to agree a royalty payment that made him a millionaire. When the USNavy bought the Lewis he declined to charge royalties on guns for the Navy and Marines, the royalties amounted to approx one million dollars I dont know how many Lewis guns the USN used but it wasnt many.

edit: Just checked with wikipedia and it claims the US used 3,550 Lewis guns. The only problem is the wiki Lewis page has quite a lot of errors so its not gospel. 1 million dollars at $4.80 to the £ is £58 per gun.
 
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Redbeard

Banned
The Madsen was sold in a large number of small patches, but was quite expensive and produced in a place that to 99% of the world would be "not invented here" - so never in really big numbers.

It deserves credit however for being the first LMG and used as such from around 1900 - although originally called a "recoil rifle" (rekylgevær). I don't know from exactly when, but I have seen an inter-war (1920s IIRC) sales prospect on the Madsen saying that it had a quick barrel change function and a tripod - i.e. a very early GPMG.

The design was quite complicated but due to the high standard workmanship it actually worked well and reliably. My father used one when he was in the army in the 1950s - they called it the Miss Madsen - and liked it very much.
 

plenka

Banned
Does anyone have more information on the Madsen? Specificaly, how complicated was it to produce, and in what numbers was it produced?

How much did it cost to produce and how compatible was it with various calibers theb in use.

If at all possible, please try not to use wikipedia.
 
I suggest a quick look at the Forgotten Weapons web site, there is a very good section on the Madsen including drawings and manuals.
 
C&R Arsenal on YouTube covers a lot of WWI guns in incredible detail. If he has done the Madsen he will have more information than Wikipedia.
 

plenka

Banned
@sonofpegasus That is the problem. I have already looked at forgotten weapons page, in fact reading through British evaluation of Madsen 1918, was one if tge reasons I postted here in an effort to find out more.

@fastmongrel l Unfortunately, C&R have not done Madsen yet, but I am hoping they are going to do it soon.
 
You could try the 'Pattern Room' at Royal armouries, Leeds. An email to them might elicit at least a list of what material they have. Here is the address for emails, mailto:enquiries@armouries.org.uk
 
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