Machine Gun - Nordenfelt, 5 Barrel, .45 Calibre, 1887

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This item is on display at Melbourne Museum

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.

Discipline:	Technology
Dimensions:	66.00 cm (Height), 42.00 cm (Width), 133.00 cm (Length)
Weight:	130.50 kg (Weight)
Dimension Comment:	Dimensions include mount gun is on. Height is adjustable.

Tagged with:	australian military forces, colonial military forces, machine guns british
Themes this item is part of:	Arms Collection
On Display at:	Melbourne Museum
Primary Classification:	ARMS & ARMOUR
Secondary Classification:	Firearms
Tertiary Classification:	machine guns
Inscriptions:	Enscribed on cover plate: "ENFIELD 1887 NORDENFELT No 26 Mark II Cwt Qrt Lb 1.4.6"
Model Name/Number:	No.26 Mark II
Maker:	Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield, England, Great Britain, 1887
User:	Victoria: Colonial Navy HMVS Cerberus, Australia, 1887 or later