Summary
Nordenfelt quick firing machine gun, .45 calibre, 5 barrels (side-by-side), mechanically operated. Made in Britain, 1887. Enscribed: "ENFIELD 1887 NORDENFELT No 26 Mark II Cwt Qrt Lb 1.4.6"
Made in Britain at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield to a Swedish design, the Nordenfelt was the most common mulit-barrel machine gun in the 1880s. This is one of several Nordenfelt guns purchased by the Victorian colonial defence forces in the 1880s, for use on ships and shore-line batteries as anti-torpedo weapons. Others were attached to gun carriages for operation by horse artillery units.
Note: This gun is similar to Nordenfelt guns that were fitted to the HMVS Cerberus as anti-torpedo weapons in the late 1880s, however, the latter were 4-barrel models. The HMVS Cerberus was a Monitor Class armour-plated battleship built for the Victorian Colonial Navy in 1870. It served with the Victorian Navy until after 1900. The hull was later scuttled off Sandringham as a breakwater where it remains today and is now a protected shipwreck site.
A display of this gun at the Institute of Applied Science (Science Museum), Melbourne, in 1968 is depicted in MM 062952.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Purchase
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Maker
Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield, England, Great Britain, 1887
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User
HMVS Cerberus, Victoria: Colonial Navy, Australia, 1887 or later
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Inscriptions
Enscribed on cover plate: "ENFIELD 1887 NORDENFELT No 26 Mark II Cwt Qrt Lb 1.4.6"
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Model Name or Number
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Brand Names
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
133 cm (Length), 42 cm (Width), 66 cm (Height), 130.5 kg (Weight)
Dimensions include mount gun is on. Height is adjustable.
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Keywords
Australian Military Forces, Colonial Military Forces, Machine Guns: British