Original Australian WWI Rare Pattern 1903 Hotchkiss Machine Gun Ammunition Leather Bandolier – Dated 1917 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. A solid example of a rare WW1 Australian 1903 Pattern Hotchkiss Bandolier, manufactured by Hepburn Gale and Ross and dated 1917. This bandolier would have been for the small stripper clips of ammunition for the Machine Gun as well as the various tools needed to keep the gun in action. This is actually a fantastic example of these rare bandoliers, you do not want to miss out on this opportunity.

The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun chambered for the 8mm Lebel cartridge became the standard machine gun of the French Army during the latter half of World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. The gas-actuated Hotchkiss system was first formulated in 1893 by Odkolek von Ujezda and improved into its final form by Hotchkiss armament engineers, American Laurence Benét and his French assistant Henri Mercié.

The Mle 1914 was the last version of a series of nearly identical Hotchkiss designs, following the Mle 1897, Mle 1900 and the Mle 1909. The Hotchkiss Mle 1914 became the French infantry standard in late 1917, replacing the unreliable St. Étienne Mle 1907. The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France also purchased 7,000 Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine guns in 8mm Lebel, and used them extensively at the front in 1917 and 1918. Hotchkiss heavy machine guns, some being of earlier types, were also used in combat by Japan, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, and Poland.

The Hotchkiss machine gun, a sturdy and reliable weapon, remained in active service with the French army until the early 1940s. By the end of 1918, 47,000 Hotchkiss machine guns had already been delivered to the French army alone. Including all international sales, the grand total of all Hotchkiss machine guns sold by the manufacturer in various calibers was well in excess of 100,000 units.

The leather is still structurally sound with all components still present. The brass does have verdigris present though nothing damaging. An all around great example.

Comes more than ready for further research and display.