Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · IV · 114

Hotchkiss Models 1897, 1900 & 1914 machineguns

Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 85 ↗

Hotchkiss, Models 1897, 1900 and 1914 machineguns of French mfr. in all cal.s.

What this entry requires

  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1897–1935.
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
FranceBasis: outside reference ⁴
Manufacturer
Hotchkiss et Cie, Saint-DenisBasis: the ATF wording
Type
MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
Action
Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
Caliber
All calibersBasis: the ATF wording
Made
c. 1897–1935production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ¹²³
Service
Military

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 85 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. 1. Wikipedia, “Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it)
  2. 2. Wikipedia, “Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): later deliveries extend the end past the infobox's 1920: Poland's Mle 1914 derivative (ckm wz. 25, "designed in late 1924", at least 1,249 "bought in France" and in service from 1926, per Ciężki karabin maszynowy wz. 25), and "In 1930 to 1935, the Republic of China bought 1,192 Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine guns from France" (new manufacture vs. stock not stated); y ends 1935
  3. 3. Wikipedia, “Ciężki karabin maszynowy wz. 25” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): the Polish wz. 25 modification of the Mle 1914 was designed in late 1924; at least 1,249 were bought in France and used from 1926
  4. 4. Wikipedia, “Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun” ↗, country: infobox origin France (Hotchkiss, Saint-Denis)
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
1 change · see below

Correction history

  1. Evidence passYears: 1897–1940 → 1897–1935. Wikipedia infobox: Mle 1914 production 1914–1920 (no later production stated)

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun (base model shown for Hotchkiss Models 1897, 1900 & 1914 machineguns)
Shown: a tripod-mounted Hotchkiss machine gun; this entry covers the Models 1897, 1900 and 1914.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Hotchkiss 8954.JPG” by G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Mitrailleuse Automatique Hotchkiss modèle 1914 became the standard machine gun of the French Army during the latter half of World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. The gas-actuated Hotchkiss system was first formulated in 1893 by Odkolek von Ujezda and improved into its final form by Hotchkiss armament engineers, American Laurence Benét and his French assistant Henri Mercié.