The Vickers Medium Machine Gun
Introduced in 1912, the Vickers gun was the British Army's mainstay of defensive rapid fire throughout World War One.
With an outstanding reputation for reliability, the Vickers proved itself in many different roles, from use in aircraft to armoured cars.
Usually mounted on a heavy but stable tripod, the Vickers was very much a defensive weapon intended to be dug in.
Although attempts were made during the First World War to provide it with a bipod to make it more portable, the introduction of the much lighter Lewis and Hotchkiss guns rendered the Vickers unnecessary for a close infantry support role.
Pillboxes designed for use with the Vickers usually incorporated a brick/concrete table or solid platform upon which the tripod could be set up to allow the gun to traverse across its field of fire. The introduction of the Turnbull Mounting in 1941 removed the need for a platform, although the construction of pillboxes was slowing down in favour of less permanent defences by this time.