Original British WWI Hotchkiss .303 Portative Display LMG made with Demilled Receiver Parts – Tripod, Shoulder Stock & Carry Handle Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a real treat!! We have sold numerous Hotchkiss .303 Portative Cavalry display guns over the years, however they were all built using machined aluminum dummy receivers. This example however is built on a BATF Compliant Non-firing Static Display Receiver, constructed using portions of an original de-milled receiver! At least 30% of the receiver is new solid steel per BATF guidance. The rest of the components are all original, complete with many issue markings, including serial number A / 15889 on the barrel.

It also has the standard attached carry handle, standard issue 1918-dated “Crow’s Foot” Tripod by C.B.&S., Carry Handle, and detachable “L” shoulder stock. These were extensively used in WWI, being the first truly portable machine gun. Very intricate and very rare!

Technically, this is the Mark I version in “Cavalry” configuration, with the pistol grip and detachable butt stock. It also has had an additional brass bushing mounted on the barrel for a second tripod attachment point, which made it more suitable for infantry use. Some call this the Mark I*.

Really a great example, ready to be part of any WWI display!

Hotchkiss Mark I Light Machine Gun In British Service The Hotchkiss Portative has a very interesting battle history, although the gun is not as widely known as the other British light machine gun, the Lewis. Adopted as the Hotchkiss Portable Machine Gun Mark I, it was based on the French Hotchkiss Model 1909. The British considered it more suitable for mounted troops cavalry and mounted infantry than the more cumbersome Lewis. It was used by some famous units in equally famous battles.

The Australian Light Horse, New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, and the legendary Camel Corp used it in the Desert Campaign in Sinai and Palestine from 1915 1917. In Palestine, it was used by the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade in their overwhelmingly successful attack at Beersheba (immortalized in the excellent film The Light Horsemen, 1987). This charge is known as the most successful attack by mounted infantry in history. The Mark I was used by the ANZACs in the Gallipoli Campaign, and by British mounted troops in the fighting on the Western Front.