TheMadsen is not a simple weapon but now a legend that has served for over 100 years. It is the world's first real light machine gun/machine gun created in 1902 by the Danes Willem Hermann Oluf Madsen, Julius Rasmussen and Theodor Suboe. His enlistment was approved by the Danish Minister of War, Colonel Madsen, after whom he was named.
In 1883 then-Captain Madsen together with master craftsman Rasmussen began work on the production of a "self-loading, repeating rifle". The weapon originally used the 8 mm black powder cartridge. which was replaced by a smokeless gunpowder cartridge. However, the first model was not successful. The next model of 1886 had many improvements. But only 50-60 guns were produced and placed in forts.
In 1898 investors bought the rights from the inventors and formed the DRS company to commercialize the gun. In the meantime Madsen became Minister of War. In 1899 the directorship of the DRS was taken over by Lt. Suboe who developed the weapon which now fired 6.5mm smokeless powder cartridges.
With these cartridges the gun performed great using a mixed recoil system. It was gradually improved and became capable of firing various cartridges. The weapon was produced or converted in the calibers of 8, 7, 6.5, 7.92, 7.65, 7.62, mm. .303in, .30in, and 7.62x51 NATO. In 1905 the British Rexer copied the gun and produced it without a license.
In the period before, during the First World War and immediately after it was used by 34 countries. It even equipped the famous Stosstruppe, the elite German assault units. The tsarist army had procured 1,250 guns which equipped cavalry units in the ill-fated war against the Japanese (1904-05). Madsen also equipped the Morane Saulnier G and L aircraft of the tsarist air force.
It was also used by the Czechoslovak Legion that fought against the Bolsheviks. It was extensively used by the forces of various Chinese warlords in the period 1920-36. In the Americas, Paraguay used it against Bolivia in the Chaco War. However, Bolivia also acquired Madsen.
The weapon equipped units of the Argentine army as well as the Italian CV-35 light tanks supplied by Brazil. They also saw extensive use in the Dutch army, both in Europe, against the Germans, and in the Far East against the Japanese.
It was also the main group weapon of the armies of Norway and of course Denmark. After the occupation of Denmark the production of the weapon continued on behalf of the Germans. The Danish army kept it in service until 1955.
The weapon was also procured by Ireland to equip the Swedish Landversk L60 light tanks it had procured. Also the Portuguese used them in their colonial wars in the 1960s-70s. Brazil was the last user of the 7.62x51 NATO caliber weapon, keeping it in service until 2008.
The weapon weighed 9.07 kg and was fed by magazines of 25 – 40 cartridges depending on the caliber. The velocity reached 450 rounds per minute and the projectile exit velocity 870 meters/second with a 6.5x55 mm cartridge.