Colt Vickers M1915 & M1918
Official wording
U.S. Models 1915 and 1918 Vickers machineguns, mfd. by Colt in cal.’s 30/06 or 11mm.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “mfd. by Colt”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1917–1918.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: the ATF wording - Manufacturer
- Colt’s Patent Firearms Mfg. Co.Basis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- .30-06, 11mmBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1917–1918production; ATF states no dateBasis: outside reference ²
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 89 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. smallarmsreview.com ↗, maker: Small Arms Review (Segel): orders of 125 (1915) and 4,000 (1916) placed with Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company; 12,125 Colt Vickers M1915 ground guns produced
- 2. smallarmsreview.com ↗, years: 'Colt finally started producing Vickers guns in late 1917 in the .30 caliber model and in 1918 expanded production to include the .30 caliber aircraft and then the 11mm aircraft models'; none delivered by April 1917 (Wikipedia: production began late 1917)
- 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
- Evidence passYears: 1915–1918 → 1917–1918. Small Arms Review and Wikipedia: Colt had made no M1915 by April 1917, production began late 1917 and in 1918 added the aircraft models; 1915 is the order/designation year
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Vickers Machine Gun YORCM CA78ac (cropped).jpg”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Vickers machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew, but typically required more men to move and operate it: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the others helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition, and spare parts. It was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many Allied World War I fighter aircraft.