10 British Light Machine Gun Hotchkiss 09 Mk I Model, Calibre .303 British

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Before World War I, the French firm Hotchkiss in St. Denis developed a variant of the light machine gun called the Benét Mercié M 1909 after the names of its designers Laurence Benét and Henri Mercié, who improved on the original design by Austrian inventor Adolf Odkolek of Újezd. Although the French army introduced the machine gun into its armament, the 700 pieces produced were mainly used for armament of fortifications, and during the war they were used as air and tank armament. It was introduced in the United States Army under the designation M1909, but even the local armouries did not produce it in larger quantities than the French armed forces. The Hotchkiss company sold the license to England in 1915, and the Ministry of War introduced the weapon in .303 British calibre under the designation Hotchkiss Mk. I. It was produced under licence by the Ordnance Works complex of factories in Coventry and total production during 1916-1918 reached 35,381 units. In addition to the basic design, the Hotchkiss Mk. I were also produced for the armament of Mark I tanks.