Comments by "Pete Sheppard" (@petesheppard1709) on "Vickers Heavy Machine Gun" video.

Fun vid--but for the ammo bill! The 'tap' became a common trick with tripod-mounted guns. Most tripods had traverse and elevation gear (T&E) that could pretty much lock the guns into position. This permitted setting the guns onto preselected zones of fire in a fixed position. Once set, the guns could be tapped back and forth to cover the zone. There is film of Germans doing just this. With all the equipment, the heavies were considered a form of artillery, capable of delivering effective indirect fire; they were even organized into machine gun battalions to effectively mass fire.
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