Machine Guns in world war 1?

Answer 1

Machine GunNotesHiram MaximInventor of Machine GunBenet-Mercie (Hotchkiss)FranceBergmann MB 15 nAGermanyBergmann MP18GermanyBrowningU.S.Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)U.S.ChauchatFranceColt-BrowningU.S.Fiat-RevelliItalyHotchkissFranceLewisU.S.MadsenDenmarkMarlinU.S.MaschinengewehrGermanyMaximGermanyParabellumGermanyPulemyot MaximaRussiaSchwarzloseAustria-HungarySpandauGermanySt EtienneFranceVickersBritishVillar PerosaItalian

Answer 2

You would have to define your definitions of "handheld" and "machine gun".

For "handheld", you may mean it in the traditional definition, or you may simple define it as being "man portable". And when you say "machine gun", you could either be referring it to it by the traditional definition of a support weapon which was purpose-built to put out large quantities of suppressive fire, or you may be using the term simply to describe any full auto weapon.

As far as "handheld" goes, there were some pistols in service which had a full auto feature - variations of the c/96 "broomhandle" Mauser pistol and Luger, specifically. These were very rare, and their service was extremely limited. Additionally, these weren't machine guns in the traditional sense.

If you mean "handheld" in the man portable sense, and are referring to machine gun in the traditional sense, then yes. There were several machine guns in service which could be fired in a "walking fire" technique, were air-cooled, and did not require tripod mounting for operation.