Hotchkiss M1922
Hotchkiss et Cie · Machine Gun · Discontinued · 1922
Also known as: Hotchkiss Mle 1922, Hotchkiss Modele 1922, Hotchkiss Mark I, M1922 O.C.
Overview
The Hotchkiss M1922 was an interwar French light machine gun developed by Hotchkiss et Cie as a commercial export venture. Gas-operated and air-cooled, it fired full-automatic only from an open bolt using a tilting-bolt lock and featured an adjustable cyclic rate. Its defining trait was flexibility: each gun could be built for either a rigid metal feed strip or a detachable overhead box magazine, and it was chambered to order in at least seven calibers including 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer, 7mm and 7.92mm Mauser, .303 British and 8mm Lebel.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 8400 g (296.3 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1216 mm (47.87") |
| Barrel Length | 600 mm (23.62") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated Long Stroke |
| Magazine Capacity | 30 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Stripper Clip |
| Maximum Range | 2000 m (2187 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 450 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
Calibers
- 6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer · primary — also known as 6.5x54mm MS, 6.5x54mm Greek Mannlicher
- 7.92x57mm Mauser — also known as 8mm Mauser, 7.92x57mm, 8x57 IS
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Metal Feed Strip, Detachable Box Magazine
- Features: Open Bolt, Air Cooled, Tilting Bolt Lock, Adjustable Rate Of Fire, Dual Feed Strip Or Magazine, Multi Caliber Export Design
Variants
- Hotchkiss M1924 — Export Contract
- Hotchkiss M1926 — Export Contract
- Hotchkiss Mle 1934 — Model
Service history
Operators
- Hellenic Army · adopted 1926 · as M1926
- National Revolutionary Army · adopted 1931
- Spanish Army · as M1922 O.C.
- Czechoslovak Army · adopted 1924 · as M1924
Conflicts
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
- Greco-Italian War (1940-1941)
Production
Production years: 1922-1930s
No single production figure published; summed national export contracts suggest roughly 15,000-20,000 units across all buyers
Origin
Country of origin: France
Notes
Passed over by the French Army in favor of the Chatellerault FM 24/29, so it survived purely as an export product. Feed-strip variants were heavier (~9.6 kg) than magazine-fed variants (~8.4 kg). Sources disagree on weight; the magazine-fed figure is used here.
Background
Rejected by its own French Army, the M1922 became a 'rent-a-caliber' export gun built to whatever cartridge and feed system each foreign buyer specified, and earned its greatest fame in Greek hands fighting the Italian invasion in the mountains of 1940-41.