THE MADSEN MACHINE RIFLE - Forgotten Weapons

TRAINING.
ln the report of the Schoo,! of Musketry, Hytihe, (1918) on the Madsen
Machine Rifle, Model 1918, it is stated:
»Instruction on the mechanism is ver·y eas:y to impart.
In the Infantry Report from the London District Command, May,
1918 it IS stated:
»A Non-Commissioned Officer who had only two hours instruc­
»tion was able to fire the gun correctly and to strip 1't in 30 seconds.
»Its simplicity from an instructional point of view appears
»to be of gr·eat importance. The Company's claim that a few
»days should be sufficient to train troops, who have had previous
»knowledge of Machine Guns, aprwars to be justifiable.
In the official Cavalry Report on the Madsen Gun (May 1918) it is
laid down:
»As regards the tra.ining of troops in the use of this weapo·n
»its advantages are pronounced, and a considerable amount of
»time can be saved. The question of stoppages is almost obliterated,
»the handling of the rifle is extremely simple, and with twelve
»hours' training a man would be quite efficient in the handling
»of gun and mechanism, and given sufficient a.mrnunition for
»training purposes, an effective shot within a week.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.
In the official British Infantry Report (May 1918) the following·
conclusion is drawn:
»The ·general impression produced by these trials 'LS a ve-ry
»favourable one. All observers were unani·mous in the opmwn
»that the Madsen Ma,chine Rille has a great advantage over the
»Lewis and Hotchkiss Guns in weight, simplicity and firing effi­
»ciently.
»Moreover the fact has been demon.strated that a su.f{?'cient
»knowledge of the; gun can be acquired in a few hour-s. This am..>enr·s
»to be a very important point having regard to the time and
»labour necessary for the training of efficient Lewis gunners.
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