§ Mr. SHINWELLasked the Under-Secretary of State for India the name of the machine gun now used by the cavalry forces in India; what is its performance; and why it is used in preference to the Bren machine gun?
§ Mr. BUTLERThere are two machine guns in use by the cavalry in India:
- (i) The.303-inch Vickers machine gun, capable of firing 450–600 rounds a minute.
- (ii) The.303-inch Vickers-Berthier light machine gun, capable of firing 250 rounds a minute at a rate of 500 rounds per minute.
In 1933 the re-equipment of cavalry in India with a light machine gun was considered necessary and since at that time technical trials had shown the Vickers-Berthier to be satisfactory, and as the 1848W trials of the Bren were still inconclusive and the gun was not available, it was decided to equip the cavalry in India with the former. Re-equipment was complete early in 1935.