Madsen M-1904
Notes:
The “Madsen Muskette” is considered a remarkable weapon; some say the
most remarkable thing about it was that it worked at all. It was probably the
first light machinegun ever produced in quantity, and the same weapon continued
to be built, with only minor variations, for over 50 years.
It was never officially adopted by the military, police, or paramilitary
forces of any country – yet there isn’t a corner of the world where is did not
serve or in some cases, still serves.
The Madsen used an extremely complicated operation, an automatic form of
the Peabody-Martini hinged-block action.
Nonetheless, the design not only works, but works well; a Madsen 1904
built in 1904 is likely to still work today after some cleanup and a minimum of
care. This is great for bolt-action rifles, but in a machinegun, requires a
separate rammer and a very powerful extractor; a lot can go wrong, and even
loading a magazine into the M-1904 can produce a cascade of rounds that spring
out of the magazine while you’re trying to insert it.
The operation was, in essence, partially long recoil and partially short
recoil. The 24-inch barrel has a
reinforced ring around the muzzle where the front sight is mounted. The magazine
is curved and top-loading, making the 1904 look somewhat like a Bren. It also
has a feature that would later become almost standard among small arms – to
clean it, one opens it on pins at the rear of the receiver, and it opens like a
clamshell. It was, in spite of itself, very successful, the Madsen being
produced in at least 34 countries and used in close to 100 conflicts worldwide.
It was even captured from Viet Cong troops during the American
involvement in Vietnam as late as the 1970s.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
Madsen |
6.5mm Arisaka |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$1928 |
Madsen |
7mm Mauser |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$2291 |
Madsen |
7.65mm Mauser |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$2475 |
Madsen |
.303 British |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$2570 |
Madsen |
7.62mm Nagant |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$2477 |
Madsen |
.30-06 Springfield |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$2754 |
Madsen |
8mm Mauser |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$2740 |
Madsen |
8mm Danish Krag |
9.07 kg |
25, 30, 40 |
$2761 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
Madsen (6.5mm) |
5 |
3 |
2-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
70 |
Madsen (6.5mm, Bipod) |
5 |
3 |
2-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
91 |
Madsen (6.5mm, Tripod) |
5 |
3 |
2-Nil |
7 |
1 |
2 |
140 |
Madsen (7mm) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
68 |
Madsen (7mm, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
88 |
Madsen (7mm, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
2 |
136 |
Madsen (7.65mm) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
77 |
Madsen (7.65mm, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
100 |
Madsen (7.65mm, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
2 |
153 |
Madsen (.303) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
76 |
Madsen (.303, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
98 |
Madsen (.303, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
2 |
151 |
Madsen (7.62mm) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
77 |
Madsen (7.62mm, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
99 |
Madsen (7.62mm, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
1 |
153 |
Madsen (.30-06) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
67 |
Madsen (.30-06, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
86 |
Madsen (.30-06, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
1 |
133 |
Madsen (8mm Mauser) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
77 |
Madsen (8mm Mauser, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
100 |
Madsen (8mm Mauser, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
2 |
154 |
Madsen (8mm Krag) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
3 |
7 |
76 |
Madsen (8mm Krag, Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
3 |
99 |
Madsen (8mm Krag, Tripod) |
5 |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
7 |
1 |
1 |
152 |