Manufactured using a Colt marked side plate with a number of Vickers, Sons & Maxim Limited marked components, this is a fine example of the Vickers Medium Machine Gun. A refinement of the Maxim machine gun, the Vickers was a mainstay British automatic weapon through and beyond World War I, noted for its exceptional ruggedness; in both British and American testing, the Vickers was noted as suffering zero parts failures even under massive volumes of fire, and with occasional barrel changes and water replacement British gunners of the Great War were known to literally fire their weapon all day without notable issue. During American testing, the Vickers was noted as being "in a class by itself. . . A better performance could not be desired". Colt produced a number of Vickers guns as the "Model 1915" for the American Expeditionary Force, many of which were later supplied to Britain's Home Guard as emergency weapons in the aftermath of the Dunkirk Evacuation. This example is fitted with a blade front sight on the water jacket and a flip up peep rear sight on the receiver cover, the latter graduated to "29" and fitted with a fixed battle sight. A mounting bracket is attached to the left side plate above the spring housing, which serves as the base for a Mark I Lensatic Sight; one of the most dangerous attachments for the Vickers, the Lensatic Sight permitted extreme high angle fire, which could plunge into trenches, assembly areas and communication lines that should have been safe from conventional machine gun fire. A set of hardwood spade grips are installed, with integral oilers, and the gun is fitted to a "Sokolov" style wheeled mount, with mixed brass and steel construction, a spare bolt assembly in a case on the left side, and a Finnish Army "SA" stamp on one side. Also included with the gun is a green painted hardwood transport case and a number of loose components, including an extra barrel and water jacket, and a partial set of armor plating (top only, no front plate or brackets) for the water jacket, which would also give limited protection to the gunner.

Fine, with about half of the arsenal black paint finish on the water jacket and 60% blue on the receiver, showing some mild wear and handling marks overall. The grips show a few light scuffs and dings, and the mount shows some freshened paint and mild wear. The lensatic sight appears to be in good order, as is the mechanism. The accessories show wear and tear appropriate to age. NOTE: This item is restricted as a National Firearms Act (NFA), fully transferable Class 3, which is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (BATFE) that is classified as a "Curios or Relic" as defined in 27 CFR, 478.11. These weapons are still subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 478.