.30-06 M1918 American Chauchat - Doughboys Go to France

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20 күн бұрын

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When the US entered World War One, the country had a grand total of 1,453 machine guns, split between 4 different models. This was not a useful inventory to equip even a single division headed for France, and so the US had to look to France for automatic weapons. In June 1917 Springfield Armory tested a French CSRG Chauchat automatic rifle, and found it good enough to inquire about making an American version chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. This happened quickly, and after testing in August 1917, a batch of 25,000 was ordered. Of these, 18,000 were delivered and they were used to arm several divisions of American troops on the Continent.
Unfortunately, the American Chauchat was beset by extraction problems. These have today be traced to incorrectly cut chambers, which were slightly too short and caused stuck cases when the guns got hot. It is unclear exactly what caused the problem, but the result was that most of the guns were restricted to training use (as best we can tell today), and exchanged for French 8mm Chauchats when units deployed to the front. Today, American Chauchats are extremely rare, but also very much under appreciated for their role as significant American WWI small arms.
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Пікірлер: 668

@spvrda 19 күн бұрын

Morphy employees had to lure Ian out of the room by shaking a bag of .32 French Long ammo after filming this video

@M.RQ.Mittag910 18 күн бұрын

HAhahaha... good one (I actually just recently watched the 7+ year old video of Ian putting together one of the early prototype firearm display walls with the inventor of the system, when he displays & talks about some of the firearms in his own collection)

@caleblunsford8257 18 күн бұрын

*whistles* "Here, boy!"

@Treblaine 18 күн бұрын

"hold on, shh, that sounds like someone shaking a bag of 7.65mm French Longue."

@MrNikolai07 18 күн бұрын

Ian owns one of these I believe.

@zacharydurocher4085 18 күн бұрын

Ahaha

@AARONSHEERN 19 күн бұрын

Military: We need machine guns! We're desperate! Lewis Gun: What about me? Military: We're good thanks.

@DarnedYankee 18 күн бұрын

Britain: WE NEED MACHINE GUNS Lewis: I have a design Britain: WE’LL TAKE YOUR ENTIRE STOCK

@leneanderthalien 18 күн бұрын

The Lewis weight twice a Chauchat and cost 3times more: this is the real explanation…

@TheTrueNorth11 18 күн бұрын

@@leneanderthalienBut they were far better, far more reliable firearms.

@jamesricker3997 18 күн бұрын

Ironically, they also had the BAR

@TheTrueNorth11 18 күн бұрын

@@jamesricker3997 Not really.

@patrickwentz8413 19 күн бұрын

I love how, at about the 5-minute mark, the Chauchat flops over by itself as it faints. So the gun was so bad it even scared itself. LoL.

@theeyesofryan 18 күн бұрын

It gave me that vibe of when I'm exhausted after work and I jus flop onto my bed like "annnnnd I'm done"

@mpk6664 18 күн бұрын

This made me laugh more than it should've

@rogerjohnson8707 18 күн бұрын

Ian personally owns of of these. Curious if it's his gun for sale.

@ihcfn 18 күн бұрын

@@rogerjohnson8707 He said he's been assured that it runs ok, so no.

@jon9021 18 күн бұрын

It’s French, so it probably surrendered..sorry I’m English, it comes naturally to us.

@kmech3rd 19 күн бұрын

Are we SURE the designers weren't secretly Elbonian in heritage?

@patrickwentz8413 19 күн бұрын

Fifth columnist Elbonians infiltrating the French Arms industry!

@rodrigodepierola 18 күн бұрын

That's a question for 23andMe.😂

@Canushowmeonthedoll 18 күн бұрын

Scott Adams was right.

@ringding1000 18 күн бұрын

Yeah, you can be sure this was a true French idea of it era. That's not to say that the Elbonians weren't declaring it to be the best idea since the portable outhouse and pounding the table for it, (I think the Elbonians still issue it even yet today for their high speed low drag operators). And it's arguably better idea than the German Mg 08/15 version of their standard Maxim.

@OldManAndTheSeaOfTooManyCats 18 күн бұрын

Seeing the field strip the spirit of John Browning smacks his forehead…

@Vtarngpb 19 күн бұрын

Something tells me the rejection of Lewis guns in .30-06 came from a certain William Crozier 😡

@nickthompson9697 19 күн бұрын

I feel like Lazerpig could make a whole video roasting him.

@jmjedi923 19 күн бұрын

@@nickthompson9697maybe, he usually does videos on vehicles not weapons

@jon-paulfilkins7820 19 күн бұрын

@@nickthompson9697 C&Arsenal have made it something of a running joke ;)

@greycatturtle7132 19 күн бұрын

Yea

@jebdunkins6796 19 күн бұрын

Is that the guy who stopped the US Army from buying Lewis Guns because he had a grudge against Lewis?

@exharkhun5605 19 күн бұрын

The word you're looking for isn't "forgotten", it's "denial". 😁

@rodrigodepierola 18 күн бұрын

You win the internet today

@Gjoufi 18 күн бұрын

Yeah I thought repressed traumatic experience would fit but denial is much shorter 🤣

@TheWineGuy101 18 күн бұрын

5:00 "you would think this simpler magazine would be a better design... but it's kind of not, really." M1918 - "aw 😞" *falls over*

@sifuhotman1300 18 күн бұрын

Cute reaction... Poor gun :')

@markfergerson2145 18 күн бұрын

Might be why it spit out the end cap later in retaliation.

@BleedingUranium 17 күн бұрын

@@markfergerson2145 The end cap flying off is a defence mechanism when threatened.

@villev8844 17 күн бұрын

"This is my Chauchat. There are't many like it, but this one is mine."

@Choningana 11 күн бұрын

Eight-milimeter LEBEL.. Full Metal JACKET!

@ZGryphon 17 күн бұрын

It's probably just a coincidence, but the fact that it looks exactly like it was made from actual bicycle frame tubing really drives home that "made in a bicycle factory" thing. :)

@Tippet76 3 күн бұрын

Thinking on it, its probably not a coincidence. If they had a massive bicycle factory that was used to making tube frames why not keep it as close to what they know how to make as possible.

@user-er3lt1cp8p Күн бұрын

The bipod made from a bicycle stand is going a little too far tho

@ianloughney9570 18 күн бұрын

It's so weird to think of this as a competitor to the BAR. The BAR just seems miles and miles ahead as far as modernity, quality, usability, really everything.

@tylersmith3139 16 күн бұрын

Is it really though. The fire rate of the Chauchat is a lot more realistic for 15-20 round mags than the BAR which fires quickly with a small mag. The original BAR overheats quickly and doesn't have any tweaks like a shroud to reduce heat. It just isn't that advanced for it's time.

@ianloughney9570 16 күн бұрын

@@tylersmith3139 I think you have some misconceptions here. The fire rate of the BAR in low is effectively identical to that of the chauchat, they just eventually got rid of the low bc it was one of the few truly bad features of the BAR. In fact, in general extremely low fire rates for LMGs were a feature that, even by WW1, was pretty obsolete. Especially to be included as the sole fire mode for the chauchat. Walking fire was always a joke and that alone is a big part of the reason the BAR lasted and the chauchat didn't. Also, idk what you're basing your overheating issue claim on, but that is also simply wrong. For an MG, the relatively low fire rate and mag capacity on the BAR ensure that it's pretty difficult to overheat. Now, later model BARs did use cooling fins on the barrel (yet another thing your comment was wrong about), but that was for longevity and handling, not in-combat functional overheating issues. Look, you may not like it, but fact is the BAR was really really advanced for it's time. Was it the perfect gun? No, there are better LMGs today. But, was it miles better than basically any other option in 1918 and made the chauchat look like a joke? Yes, absolutely. Hell, the US used it for so long that when it left service it was competing with the M240, and that's still standard issue today! There's a reason it's the longest serving light MGs in US military history.

@diooverheaven6561 12 күн бұрын

@@ianloughney9570i wouldn't say it was miles better than all the competition as Lewis and Madsen were also fine weapons to my knowlage. Hell Madsen is still used today by brazilian police

@cgi2002 9 күн бұрын

@@ianloughney9570 in fairness the biggest issues with the BAR were all relatively easily fixed as it was tweaked throughout its lifetime. That said the US military managed to keep its biggest issue when it came to using it for basicslly its whole lifespan. The god awful control setup, the lack of a pistol grip made it so much less user friendly than nearly anything else you could find, the few versions of it with that as standard are so much more comfortable to use and becsuse of that so much easier to be accurate with.

@ianloughney9570 9 күн бұрын

@@cgi2002 Definitely agreed, there's a reason it got an A1 and A2. And really IMO the fatal flaw that finally did kill it was its weight, they could never really incrementally improve that out lol. But yeah, like I said, its not like the BAR was a perfect gun, hell it's been obsolete for 50 years. But compared to the chauchat, or even the lewis or madsen as another guy mentioned, it was lightyears ahead.

@pieshka4509 18 күн бұрын

3:00 Ian: for the first 2 divisions that are being sent over- My brain: OVER THERE!... OVER THERE!.. SEND THE WORD, SEND THE WORD, OVER THERE!

@bebopwing1 18 күн бұрын

"Putting the vertical grip way out here is just too far to be useful" Daniel Defense says hold my beer and watch this!

@RonJeremy514 15 күн бұрын

"So here is our 18" rifle, we have a grip at about 18" too. Careful where you place your fingers..."

@josephd.5524 18 күн бұрын

'Happy as Ian in a French Armory.'

@Arthurzeiro 18 күн бұрын

Ian makes a Chauchat video without saying "cachunk" once? Inconceivable

@NephilBlade 18 күн бұрын

Inconcevable!

@LordEvan5 17 күн бұрын

I don't think you know what that word means, and if you do it doesn't mean what you think it means.

@LRK-GT 18 күн бұрын

It's been over a hundred years, and as far as we know, no one has made repro Chauchats. Considering, the STEN is equally 'cost optimized', that really says something about the Chauchat...

@matthewwagner9350 15 күн бұрын

there is a replica bfong chauchat coming onto market for the ww1 reenactors

@shawnmiller4781 14 күн бұрын

It’s a product of its era. Remember the Sten came out twenty years later after a lot of lessons had been learned

@mimicrymwot 11 күн бұрын

An important thing to remember is that creating a reproduction of a historical firearm is very expensive. Such a product would not be targeted at mass market (pretty much any LMG would be better for recreational/sportive shooting), but for a relatively small - and very accuracy-demanding collectors' market. So you have to set up a unique production line for a mechanically complex - well, at least compared to a stamped subgun like Sten - gun (which, by the way, you almost certainly would have to reverse-engineer yourself, as I highly doubt there is the technical package available in public), with an infamously finicky proprietary magazine, in a semi-proprietary cartridge that almost no-one used or produced in large quantities for 80 years. And then you would have to make profit with the target audience of several hundred people. It took decades for someone to risk trying to produce and sell STG44 repros, and it is an iconic, German (!), WW2 (!) gun that pioneered an entire weapon class of assault rifles. In no way anyone would invest in reproducing a crappy, French, WW1, LMG, the only notable things about which are how quickly everyone ditched it as soon as they had access to anything better, and how low was the -BAR- bar to be better then Chauchat.

@Fliss317 19 күн бұрын

Chauchat LMGs were used in Spain during the Spanish Civil War: it is entirely possible that someone got good with one back in the late 1930s!

@diegoferreiro9478 18 күн бұрын

If I am not mistaken those were the French pattern, and they should arrived in small quantities to the Republican side. From the logistics point of view, the Nationalist side was a nightmare, while the Republican was hell. I guess all existing calibers of the time were present at some point or another.

@paulbeesley8283 18 күн бұрын

I seen to recall that the in the second War, the Waffen SS, got lumbered with some. They must have been desperate.

@voiceofraisin3778 18 күн бұрын

Given the reports from the International brigade im going to go with a solid no on that! The Chauchat was badly assembled and needed skilled well trained operators, the ones the republic got were clapped out WW1 relics that had been badly stored and were operated by unskilled amateurs. Most opinions on it were that youd be lucky to get a 2 round burst before something fell off.

@ciamciaramcia99 18 күн бұрын

@@diegoferreiro9478 The quantities weren't that small (atleast not for spanish civil war). Poland had almost 12000 Chauchats in early 20s, later in the same decade they converted half of them from 8mm Lebel to 7.92mm Mauser, and in 1936-37 sold 2650 abroad, mostly to Republican Spain and Mexico, who themselves were 3rd biggest arms supplier (after Poland and soviet Union) to Republicans.

@panagiotiskostarellis742 17 күн бұрын

Well Hellenic Army got French surpluses and used it extensively in 1919 Odessa campaign, 1919-1922 Asia Minor Campaign and of course in 1940-41 . In fact it was our main SAW and we produced 8 mmR Lebel for that reason. My Grandfather fought with this in Greco-Italian war for 6 months. He was drafted back in 1934 and in the meantime took part in 3 month long manoeuvres. So, lot of retraining. He never mentioned malfunctions, fault case rejection or difficulties in operating the machine. Only complaint was limited ammo. So now after Ian explaining manufacturing deficiencies, i am convinced about bad the source of bad reputation.

@thealmightyaku-4153 18 күн бұрын

5:00 The gun was so shocked by the insult, it fainted

@chubbycatfish4573 18 күн бұрын

Ian should do an entire video in French for an April Fool's joke.

@Justanotherconsumer 18 күн бұрын

Or just to expand to a francophone audience? Maybe a crossover with Gilles Messier?

@RonJeremy514 15 күн бұрын

@@Justanotherconsumer Pretty sure all the french firearm enthusiasts on KZfaq already know about Ian.

@danielboudreau8404 19 күн бұрын

There's nothing like starting your Saturday morning with a plesant video from Forgotten Weapons.

@andythem320guy9 19 күн бұрын

You did prove in project lightening that both versions can work. But, under the right circumstances and training.

@boatrat 18 күн бұрын

Don't forget all the remedial work needed on the magazines!

@BadBomb555 18 күн бұрын

Ian: _And you might think this would be a much better design, but it's kind of not really._ Merican Chauchat: *_Thud_*

@johnfisk811 18 күн бұрын

I understand that Gladiator contracted the magazine production to tin plate toy makers who had the pattern makers and tooling to press them out. However the tooling was made around the thin toy tinplate sheets hence the flexible magazines and the ribbing to try to stiffen them.

@classifiedad1 18 күн бұрын

Did they ever consider just using more than 1 layer?

@johnfisk811 18 күн бұрын

@@classifiedad1 I doubt if the presses could accommodate a double thickness nor make them to a close enough fit to put two together but I do not actually know the answer.

@lizardb8694 18 күн бұрын

To quote great american novel: “Ugly frigging thing,” Krazewski said. Crouching over the Chauchat automatic rifle, he yanked at the stock, twisting it on its bipod. “Look at it.” Anton Myrer "Once an Eagle".

@HussarPlays 18 күн бұрын

I looked at the thumbnail with my drowsy morning eyes and was like: “What kind of newfangled mall-ninja ar15 is this?”

@jon-paulfilkins7820 19 күн бұрын

Considering what happened after with that weapon, I suspect the reports were not so much lost, more taken round the back, dispatched with a service revolver and left in an unmarked grave.

@mathewweathers2788 18 күн бұрын

These are the best firearm history videos on the internet.

@LD-Orbs 18 күн бұрын

Ian is doing valuable work. May he prosper greatly!

@iceonthesun8880 18 күн бұрын

Only gun channels I watch are Forgotten Weapons and Paul Harrell. Both are informative and straight to the point in regards to the task at hand, with no fluff as a bonus.

@tylerwilliams6022 18 күн бұрын

I never really thought about it, but John Browning had a rather large impact on post WWI MG development. Even though he was nearing the end of his life he still had a big impact on MG evolution. With his 1917, 18, and 19 designs being fielded through most of the 20th Century. With the M2 still in widespread use to this day!

@huddunlap3999 19 күн бұрын

And the Army couldn't even catch Pancho Villa

@ZGryphon 17 күн бұрын

all the Federales say / they could have had him any day / they only let him go so long / out of kindness, I suppose

@mickleblade 18 күн бұрын

That strip down looks loads of fun to strip and fix in a muddy trench

@Fastwinstondoom 18 күн бұрын

Time to go rewatch Project Lightning!!

@moosemaimer 18 күн бұрын

Who else actually bought it?

@CSMwarhammer 19 күн бұрын

Is anyone else excited when there is a longer video? It means more history or more interesting mechanisms!

@buncer 18 күн бұрын

Amen.

@spencersdh1 18 күн бұрын

The WWII mod for Ravenfield has this American version of the Chauchat. It's coded to jam after the same number of shots with every magazine, and has an animation for the stuck casing being pulled out. There is nothing you can do to avoid this.

@recoilrob324 19 күн бұрын

How many of us tried to pick out all the guns behind Ian on his first video from Morphy's? There's just one I wasn't sure of and he hasn't gotten to it yet...but I'm enjoying this series immensely.

@StressmanFIN 18 күн бұрын

Ah yes, the "better than nothing, but not by much" gun.

@tomw.6511 18 күн бұрын

I saw some Chauchats with box magazines in the Belgrade Military Museum. From what I read these must have been Belgian Chauchats sold to Yugoslavia and rechambered from 7.65mm Belgian to 8mm Mauser.

@vincentmueller3717 19 күн бұрын

I have a friend who purchased one of these ,without magazine, in the late 90's. He took it to his friend, Max Atchisson, for some help. Max stuffed the mag well with aluminum foil, really tamped it in, then carefully removed it and took some measurements. After some modification and fiddling, he made a Johnson LMG mag somewhat functional in that particular gun. I don't know if it had the chamber modification. If it didn't have a mag, why bother? These were $17-$21 DEWAT guns in the 1960's, and amnesty registration was free. I can see why a $20 live leagal, nonfunctional machine gun could exist, but really, only in this sort of circumstance.

@Hysteria98 18 күн бұрын

Max Atchisson? By chance the same guy who made the AA12?

@vincentmueller3717 18 күн бұрын

@Hysteria98 Yes. Max was a long-time Atlanta area resident, who sadly passed in the early 2000's. I was fortunate to shoot several of his different prototype firearms. The Chauchat guy bought several at auction.

@ReboyGTR 19 күн бұрын

*Did the Doughboys ever make doughnuts?*

@tim5114 19 күн бұрын

Dough nuts are what you see when the pillsbury doughboy bends over

@generalawing 19 күн бұрын

@@tim5114it’s 9 in the morning. I didn’t need to see this.

@johnjimmies8256 19 күн бұрын

@@generalawingsee these dough nuts! HA goteem!

@coryhall7074 19 күн бұрын

Absolutely, doughnuts would have been made at least weekly by both regimental (and perhaps even battalion) kitchens as well as the Red Cross and other civilian organizations

@patrickhuber8630 19 күн бұрын

The battlefield of france made them into burned crossaints. Folded over and over and burned out.

@mainiac4pats 18 күн бұрын

Wow what a great job, love to listen to you “wax poetic” about doughboys “wacking poughetically” during their campaign overseas. I never feel that you Ian do anything except deliver. My Uncle Jim Blanchard from South Portland Maine was into all things war related, collectibles, etc. he sadly passed away and now your channel means even more to me. I spent many years looking at the comings and goings of his collection which sprung from the many circles of shows in your area. Thank you Ian, our family represented in the World Wars and all of these things mean a great deal to freedom and the values that we share today.

@kentuckyduke 18 күн бұрын

Family legend is my great grandfather was issued one of these in WW1, tossed it and went on with his .45

@Sherwoodnt 18 күн бұрын

I only know like 0.15% French so at the start, I thought you said "Armes oubliette" and I was like.... yes, I can picture Ian gleefully entering The Gun Pit. Alternatively a fun nickname for your channel.

@tomhalla426 19 күн бұрын

An example of Woodrow Wilson’s denial of the probability of the US getting involved in the war. No real preparations were made prior to the declaration of war, and Springfield and Rock Island had been in very slow production rate compared to TR or Taft administrations.

@hoilst265 18 күн бұрын

There's a school of political science thought that, like, half the bad stuff that happened back in the 20th Century can be traced back to Woodrow being an oblivious moron.

@tomhalla426 18 күн бұрын

@@hoilst265 Tommy Wilson was not stupid, he was evil. Joseph Hall-Patton (The Cynical Historian) mocks his own reaction to Woodrow Wilson, which he fully justifies. Aside from being a Fascist before Mussolini invented the term, he was a creatively destructive historian justifying the Southern side in the Civil War. His conduct before and during WWI offended all sides, justifiably. He totally pissed off both the Chinese and Japanese at Versailles, again by being his racist self. Most people know about his offending the Germans, but he egregiously offended the faction of the Republicans in the US who might have backed his policies, so he was assured that they could not pass Congress.

@hoilst265 18 күн бұрын

@@tomhalla426 Aye. I'm not American, but I should not have been so glib. I am Chinese-Australian (my Grandfather left in the late 1930s for...obvious reasons, though he was sorta Australian anyway), and while the CCP is rightfully seen as bad today...eh, on the other hand, you can't really blame 'em. The phrase "Century of Humiliation" is not an exaggeration - while Europe, for example, was offered help and support to rebuild after WWI, China was kept as a Western playground.

@6thmichcav262 18 күн бұрын

9:11: the SPROING!! noise that things make that I have never taken apart before, launching some critical part into the darkest, dustiest corner of my basement, never to be found again...

@stillhere9728 19 күн бұрын

Chauchat and the phrase “good enough” is an odd combination to say the least

@TitouFromMars 19 күн бұрын

The chauchat, despite all its flaws, fulfilled its role. So no, "good enough" is exactly the right word.

@DebatingWombat 18 күн бұрын

@@TitouFromMars And it’s important to recall that its low production cost would mean that the Chauchat was cranked out in astonishing numbers, something not to be sneezed at in a war of attrition where it was one of the few, truly portable, fully automatic weapons available.

@FirstMetalHamster 18 күн бұрын

Well, with enough time and development almost every gun can improve.

@jazzmaster909 18 күн бұрын

The 280000 "good enough" machine guns you have is better than the 280000 "amazing" machine guns they dont have. Or something to that effect

@iskenuz 18 күн бұрын

The Chauchat wasn't actually a bad design. It wasn't a particularly exceptional one, but almost all of its issues have been linked back to the holes in the magazine. In environments that aren't literal hell on earth, it's a little heavy but it tends to run without issues.

@user-ek9vo2ub9b 18 күн бұрын

US in 1917: "We have a Cowboy Army! How will we equip them!?" France: "I have an idea!"

@blank557 19 күн бұрын

John Moses Browning saw this abomination, and said to himself; "Nope. I can make something better than this for our boys to go to war with."

@skoshman1 19 күн бұрын

You mean "I'm already making something better. Better hurry up to get it to troops... working."

@TheArklyte 18 күн бұрын

And then he made an awesome automatic rifle... that costed almost three times as much to produce as MG42 two decades later😅

@FloodExterminator 18 күн бұрын

@@TheArklyte To be fair, the BAR is more mechanically complex than the MG42. IIRC, there was a version of the BAR that had a switch that changed the full-auto firing rate.

@ringding1000 18 күн бұрын

@@TheArklyte And the Germans couldn't have designed and produced the MG42 2 decades earlier either. And almost 80 years later, ain't no one using the MG42 design either.

@fzyturtle 18 күн бұрын

@ringding1000 Except for the MG3, which is still in use, and the M60, which is a essentially a blend of the MG42 and FG42 chambered in .308

@Victini0510 17 күн бұрын

Therapist: American Box Mag Chauchat does not exist, it cannot hurt you Ian:

@Yea_I_Got_Nothing 18 күн бұрын

Thats a scary looking piece of factory equipment turned in a rifle. 😮

@hoilst265 18 күн бұрын

"PIERRE! This machine gun is too long! Tres ridiculous!" "Fine, Jacques. Then we just put the buttstock under then receiver."

@RonJeremy514 15 күн бұрын

@@hoilst265 "It's not that great Pierre!" "Putain, we have a war to figh we can't spend too much designing and refinig the thing! Send it to the production lines asap!"

@BatCaveOz 19 күн бұрын

"Camming the feed ramp" is a technique I used with my college girlfriend.

@randywatson8347 18 күн бұрын

"'you might think it was a good design , but it's really not''. Rifle goes ''bonk!''.

@andrewdescant 16 күн бұрын

I'm less than a minute in, but I needed to say thanks to project lighting this gun is iconic at least to me.

@jessyzarzan8492 15 күн бұрын

First off, I love your videos. I have been collecting collectorables, war artifacts. Furthermore, a long time I've been collecting swords, bayonets and what not. At the end, I've always found out of my room looks like a pirates hoarding room from the 1700s & 18s. I'm a pirate at a heart and cannot let my sh go.

@chi7891 18 күн бұрын

Rehbiroll is my favorite French gun designer because he has the coolest name

@paulknuff1555 17 күн бұрын

That thing must have been a nightmare to do immediate action on in a fight.

@WMAJ6 18 күн бұрын

My great-uncle actually used these during WWI. I can't use the words on here that he used to describe them. Let's just say that he hated them. He said that they were junk that continually jammed and were useless.

@filipeamaral216 19 күн бұрын

I was missing Chauchat content. Great video, Ian!

@stumpythedwarf8712 18 күн бұрын

I did not know there was a US version of that gun. Thank you Ian, as always. Please do the Lewis gun vid, I'd love to hear that story.

@MadandMajorGaming0 18 күн бұрын

That smudge on the far left of the wall made me think there was something stuck to my phone screen

@mhmadgenious 16 күн бұрын

This is why i watch this channel...the odd and random pieces of firearm history

@user-me8fp2fl9c 18 күн бұрын

I've had imagery of this gun in my head for a long time after reading To the Last Man by Jeff Shaara. Wasn't expecting that but I think the author did a great job showing the attitudes towards the gun regardless if it was effective at times or not.

@user-kr7yh8vw9m 18 күн бұрын

Morphy really likes Ian so much to the point they let him see all the French guns he can find and the M1918 Chauchat is one of those despite being also American. That part at the beginning was pure genius.

@maximeb6662 19 күн бұрын

Got my Ianpat Boonie and just wow, really wanting to get the rest, great video as always!

@cammobunker 18 күн бұрын

It was well known that .30-06 Chauchat machine rifles tended to be "expended in combat" much more than one would think. Between crappy fabrication and that abortion of a magazine the thing was as likely to get you killed as save you. Doughboys tended to report them "lost in combat" which wasn't a lie, although that phrase was more intended for "damaged in fighting" rather than "Thrown in a shell-hole full of water never to be seen again". They would "lose" the .30-06 version and be issued the 8mm version as a replacement. (I read this in several Doughboy memoir books, all of whom seemed to have loathed the American version but found the French version much better. Wish I could remember what they were titled!).

@jamesjacobson3966 18 күн бұрын

With America rearming prior to Pearl Harbour and Lend Lease underway to supply arms to Britain were any Chauchats available still in the US inventory for 2nd line use at home or for supply to the British Home Guard?

@alexeysaphonov232 18 күн бұрын

C'etait une introduction magnifique :)

@TheIndianalain 15 күн бұрын

Greetings from Belgium! Bravo for your french, it's actually not bad at all. I don't want to bragg (but I can't resist), but I remember a certain Ian making a video about the Belgian Chauchat and stating it was the best of all. No take back!

@actionjksn 18 күн бұрын

That's a very interesting design. Some aspects seem ingenious and others are kind of insane. I was surprised by how short the barrels were. The long recoil is an interesting system, I don't think I've seen that on a rifle before.

@historysmith9597 18 күн бұрын

I'm not trying to be crude, but those front grips remind me of truck nuts 😂

@coreymerrill3257 18 күн бұрын

One of the design features of the ar-platform utilizes the different expansion rates of steel and aluminum . Your steel barrel extension slips into the aluminum upper. Then a steel barrel nut threads over that aluminum . As you fire, the aluminum expands faster than the steel around it , locking the barrel into place even more rigidly. When it is a steel ,aluminum ,steel interface the handguards ,especially floating handguards are much harder to torque off the gun when the user is under extreme stress with adrenaline . They can crush the gas tube . This is why quality free float handguards that require their own barrel nut use steel . Others use the existing barrel nut .

@scottfoster2639 18 күн бұрын

Another great video Ian.

@ElChris816 18 күн бұрын

I just went and watched the Mythbusting video on this gun that Ian did. It's really an amazing machine gun, and like the Lewis, it just screams WW1 badassery. Great video.

@jongutierrez9116 18 күн бұрын

Best intro for a forgotten weapon’s video!

@jamescarlisle1590 16 күн бұрын

Ian: "You might think this would be a much better design, but its kinda not really..." Chauchat: *dies*

@GeraldDarden 18 күн бұрын

The thing is, Ian didn’t even realize he made a video. This is just what he does on Saturday mornings.

@watchthe1369 18 күн бұрын

Marines hated the thing. It seized up in the middle of intense attacks, and would overheat quickly.

@boltforward3611 18 күн бұрын

8:50 --> Thanks for the channel shout out Mr. Ian, it means a lot to me!

@skid_Demon 17 күн бұрын

For a few minutes I was thinking, hey, at least they fixed the open magazine issue... nope! Not entirely. XD

@GarrisonNichols-ow1hb 18 күн бұрын

Man that Lewis guy simply couldn't get a break with his machine gun with the American military.

@vidyaorszag 17 күн бұрын

Funny, I rewatched Project Ligthening recently. Good times.

@Locutus494 17 күн бұрын

5:05 "But it's kind of not really" and the American Chauchat took offense to that! 🤣

@bwhog 18 күн бұрын

One issue with the Chauchat is that it required lubricated ammunition to function well. Did the American gun work around that or did they also have to have oiled cartridges? A point worth making is that in WWI, it was still really difficult to process aluminum and it was something of a wonder metal. So to see it used in this gun is interesting. Also, as I recall, basically no one was really ready for WWI and everyone found themselves QUICKLY short of all sorts of items and had to massively increase production.

@edwindeas9457 18 күн бұрын

Sacred Bleau, Mon Ami!! It's a French design (LoL)!! Brother, I'm like you.... I could never understand why the U.S. (Our beautiful America) chose the Chauchat over the Lewis (American designed) LMG. The Lewis was the most reliable of the early 20th Century/ pre-WW1 designs and could be manufactured faster than the Maxim-System guns (the British were building 04 Lewis LMGs to every 01 Maxim-Vickers MG). Great Video, as usual. I greatly enjoy your knowledge & expertise. Also, like you, I'm fond of Antigue, Classic Military Smallarms. GOD Bless you; keep up the good work!

@rubidio2788 19 күн бұрын

Good food for lunch and a video of Ian... Today is a better day

@Stevarooni 18 күн бұрын

What a cool, descriptive journey! 😄

@afre3398 18 күн бұрын

I have heard the BAR did not see much action if any in WW1. Part of this was the fear that the weapon should end up in enemy hands

@FranceKilledThomasSankara 18 күн бұрын

That's an urban legend with a touch of jingoism. They didn't see much action because there was hardly any of them on the western front by the time of the armistice, and planners had expected a massive, final campaign in 1919. I also sincerely doubt there's anything Germany could've done with the BAR, when it was so expensive to produce and they'd already developed the MP18 as a solution for portable, high volumes of fire.

@richardstephens5570 18 күн бұрын

A limited number of BAR's were used in the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

@mikemoore4033 18 күн бұрын

A machine gun that works way better in semi auto than full seems suboptimal.

@michaelangelomaimone3181 18 күн бұрын

It’s only sort of a machine gun. It’s more of an automatic rifle. They were still figuring out machine guns (especially light machine guns) in WW1

@johnfisk811 18 күн бұрын

The doctrine was that it was a semi automatic rifle that could fire in automatic if necessary. The overheating issue with the barrel cooling was a training issue. It took several magazine full in automatic to cause such overheating and this was advised against in the training.

@Justanotherconsumer 18 күн бұрын

Walking fire was a dumb idea.

@hoodedrage720 18 күн бұрын

I was fr talking about this gun yesterday and you posted this video right after

@Phoenix-MX1 18 күн бұрын

Mom can get sturmgewher 44? We have Sturmgewher 44 at home. The sturmgewher at home:

@kurt8597 17 күн бұрын

excellente vidéo

@aaronrowepalmer 18 күн бұрын

You know, Ian, American sentiment was fairly neutral or even antiwar before WW1, with cases in the books about people protesting the draft or even advising others to not comply with the draft, and maybe Americans had something to do with some of the teething problems this gun had with machining, it’s just a theory, there’s no factual evidence to back it up, but there do exist cases in Constitutional Law that we still study today about Americans protesting the draft and the War in general! Thanks for the videos, you remind me of a friend I have who really gets deeper in to his hobbies than I ever have!

@johnfisk811 18 күн бұрын

Like the Sten what the Chauchat brought to the table is that it used manufacturing from outside the firearms industries which were already overstretched. Bicycles and tin plate toys in the case of the Chauchat.

@SLON-sh2jg 12 күн бұрын

The stock is probably shortened to allow use with a BAR style belt cup (yes, they haven't released the BAR yet, but have decided to use its tactics in the CSRG). Interestingly, this belt did not have pockets (with the exception of two double pockets for M1911 magazines, reduced to one on the BAR version), instead magazines were carried in bags over the shoulder (each bag could hold about six such magazines), and you would probably have at least two such bags.