Marlin M1917 Early Type

GasPatch, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by David Couche

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The Colt–Browning M1895, nicknamed "potato digger" because of its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. Based on a John Browning and Matthew S. Browning design dating to 1889, it was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter service.

While the United States used the M1895 for training, it was considered obsolete by the time the United States entered the war, and saw no service. Colt ceased production of the M1895 and variants in 1916, selling the machinery and rights to manufacture to Marlin Rockwell, who took over the still active Russian military and Italian Navy contracts, in order to concentrate on increased Vickers production.

After Marlin started making the Colt 1914s, it developed an improved version of the M1895. In 1917 this was adopted by the US Army as a training weapon and approximately 2,500 were purchased. Besides its designation of Colt–Browning M1895/14, it was also called the "Marlin Gun" and "Model 1917".

The Marlin M1917 used a different operating mechanism and bears only a passing resemblance to the M1895/14 it was based on.

A second, much more radical version of the M1895 was introduced in 1917 for tank and aircraft use, later designated the Marlin M1917 and M1918, with a Swedish armaments designer named Carl Gustave Swebilius responsible for the improvements.

Most Marlin M1917 and M1918 guns saw use in aircraft as defensive armament — however, as they retained the original M1895 "potato digger" ordnance's closed bolt firing cycle, these Marlin guns, weighing only some 25 pounds apiece, versus the standard Vickers gun's 33 pound figure for aviation use, could readily be used for forward-firing offensive armament with fighter aircraft, when used with synchronization gear for safely firing forward through a spinning propeller. By the last months of World War I, almost 50% of the SPAD XIII fighter aircraft used by the United States Army Air Service in France had their Vickers guns replaced with Marlins. Had the war lasted into 1919 the Marlin would have been the primary U.S. tank and aircraft gun. The M1917/1918 also equipped Thomas Morse Scout aircraft used for advanced training at stateside bases.

• Text sections from Wikipedia

The Gaspatch Marlin M1917 Early type set consists of parts for 2 guns.

They are lovely detailed resin cast pieces. They consist of a one piece body with a small section of ammunition belt to make them look interesting. Basically they are a drop in replacement for your injected moulded ones.

Instructions consist of a small single sided sheets with simple 2 colour paint call outs which are in metal colours and not a specific brand of paint.

A very nice little set to be added to late WWI and soon afterwards, US flown aircraft and US tanks.

This is a handy addition for both aircraft and armour modellers. This set is certainly recommended.

Thanks to GasPatch Models for the samples.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2019 by David Couche
Page Created 2 October, 2019
Last updated 3 October, 2019

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