The Vickers 'K' Gas Operated Machine Gun was a development of the Vickers-Berthier Class 'L' Land Service Light Machine Gun which was passed over for introduction into the British Army because of the success of the Bren Gun. There were two popular names for this gun, it was called the 'VGO' which was the official designation standing for 'Vickers Gas Operated'. It was also known as the Vickers 'K' which was the commercial designation made by Vickers themselves. Below are the specifications for the 'K' gun:
Weight of gun, complete with sights and empty cartridge bag 29.5 lbs (13.38 kgs) Weight of magazine with 60 rounds of .303" ammunition (later magazines held 100 rounds) 7.5 lbs (3.40 kgs) Length of gun with flash eliminator 37 inches (93.98 cms) Length of gun without flash eliminator 29 inches (73.68 cms) Rate of fire (approx) 950 rounds per minute
The Vickers 'K' gun was originally an Aircraft observers gun as it had a high rate of fire which made it suitable for shooting at high speed planes and getting as many bullets on target in the short space of time in which a plane would have been visible and in range. There were two sizes of drum magazines which fed the gun, a 60-round version and a later 100-round version, which is commonly described as a 96- or 97-round version as this was the number of rounds advised to be put into it in order not to weaken the spring too much. In approximately 1943, the Browning Machine Gun replaced the Vickers as the primary weapon in aircraft so they were effectively made redundant. However, the ambitious young officer in the form of David Sterling formed the Special Air Service and he found that the Vickers 'K' gun was an ideal weapon for the types of missions which they would be undertaking. The high rate of fire made it so the SAS troopers would be able to get as many bullets into the target without having to stay on the ground longer than necessary. The SAS mounted the guns on their jeeps usually in pairs with two at the front and two at the back and then a single piece was sometimes mounted on the drivers side wing so the driver could get in on a piece of the action as well.
Another user of the K gun in a jeep mounted role was the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron of the Reconnaisance Corps attache4d to the 1st Airborne Division which was the unit which took part in the ill-fated attack of Arnhem, Holland for Operation "Market-Garden" in September 1944. They mounted a single Vickers K gun on a cut-down 'P.L.M.' mounting on the bonnet of their jeeps.
The Reconnaissance Corps carried the spare magazines for their guns in issue biscuit tins!! They fitted perfectly and could hold about 6 to 8 in a tin and this was carried in the foot-well of the passenger side of the jeep. For more information on the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron Living History Association please go to http://www.ww2lha.com/recce. There are also some nice pictures of the K gun on jeeps.
The only people to use the K gun in the ground role were the Royal Marine and Army Commandos. Each "Commando" had a Heavy Weapons Troop within it and this troop had two sections. One was the 3-inch Mortar Section and the other was a K-Gun Section. It was a short-lived affair for the K-Gun in the ground role as the high rate of fire and the weight of the gun and the magazines were so much that re-supply would have been a disastrous task. It was only used shortly in the ground role from D-Day (6th June 1944) for a few weeks afterwards. The only photos of the Commandos using K guns are D-Day itself or D+1 and maybe D+2. There are onlt some quite poor photos of the K gun in its ground role but it can be clearly seen that the bipod is not that of the Bren or even the Lewis but is something that has been developed completely separate. It is also adapted to have a pistol grip below the receiver and a shoulder stock. The magazines were carried in specially made pouches that are similar to the Lewis pouches at first glance but they were specially supported by an integral pair of braces and a front strap. This was because of the weight of the magazines when full. A single magazine was carried in each pouch so a No. 1 would have three full magazines and the No. 2 would have 2 so that is only a maximum of 500 rounds which could be fired off in only a couple of minutes.
