The Mark 2 came along in 1929 with a rounded foregrip, this now extending beyond the receiver's running length. Additionally, the Mark 2 was fielded with a bipod attached to the gas cylinder and a monopod fitted to the underside of the buttstock. Other than these changes, the Mark 1 essentially lived on through the improved Mark 2 series.
The "Light Mark 2" began production in 1931 for evaluation purposes specific to the Indian Army. The barrel was now of a smooth appearance and the buttstock was carved out to save on weight and allow for more grip points when carrying or handling the weapon. The forend of the receiver was revised to a lighter construction degree for ease of carrying in the field. No monopod was fitted to these Indian Mark 2s.
The Mark 3 was adopted by the Indian government in 1933 - based on the Light Mark 2 but slightly heavier than the original mark. The Mark 3 fell under the official Indian designation of "Gun, Machine, .303in Vickers-Berthier, Indian Mark 3" and production was handled within India at facilities in Ishapore (Ishapore Rifle Factory).
The Mark 3B existed as a slightly improved form of the base Mark 3. For the most part, the system stayed true to the original Mark 3 design and only some slight revisions took place to improve the overall reliability of the all-important gas system.
A modified aircraft version of the Vickers-Berthier became the "Vickers K" (or "VGO" or "CO". This weapon was utilized by some of the RAF's inter-war fighters including the Hawker Hart. The Vickers K yielded a rate-of-fire more than twice that of the original World War 1-era Lewis machine guns. Once these aircraft were retired from RAF service, surplus components were utilized to good effect by British special forces groups known as "SAS" (Special Air Service). SAS elements fielded the machine gun on their jeep vehicles throughout North Africa and Europe during World War 2.
Vickers-Berthier Physical Characteristics
Design of the Vickers-Berthier was conventional . She delivered a smooth firing action and was purposely designed and manufactured with a limited set of internal moving parts - this facilitated repairs and cleaning when in the field and, overall, she proved a most reliable battlefield component in even the toughest of environments. Her simplicity also made her production-friendly. The weapon measured in at approximately 46.5 inches long with the barrel making up 23.9 inches. The Vickers-Berthier firing action operated from a gas-actuated system and was fitted with a 30-round curved magazine, this inserted into the top of the receiver ala the Bren Light Machine Gun (the two are regularly confused with one another). Muzzle velocity was rated at 2,450 feet per second while operational weight was in the neighborhood of 20lbs (9kg) and rate-of-fire was equal to 450 to 500 rounds per minute. The Vickers-Berthier made use of the machine gun version of the .303 British rifle cartridge - a rimmed, bottleneck cartridge to see service with British and Commonwealth forces from 1889 to the 1950s - until being replaced by the 7.62x51mm NATO round during the Cold War.
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