Darne machine gun

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	Weapon: Darne machine gun Type: Aircraft Machine Gun Country of Origin: France Year Adopted: 1916 Overall Length (mm): 1120.0 Overall Length (in): 44.09 Weight (kg): 8.00 Weight (pounds): 17.64

The Darne machine gun was a French aircraft-mounted weapon developed by the Darne company during the 1920s and 1930s. Originally conceived as a lightweight and cost-effective alternative to heavier designs, it featured a simple blowback mechanism and was primarily chambered in 7.5x54mm French. Its design emphasized ease of manufacture and maintenance, with a top-mounted pan magazine and a distinctive perforated cooling jacket. The Darne machine gun was adopted for use in flexible aircraft mounts, especially in the interwar years, as France sought to equip its expanding air force with more modern weaponry.

Despite its practical design intentions, the Darne suffered from numerous reliability issues in the field. It was prone to jamming and had a relatively low rate of fire compared to its contemporaries, which limited its effectiveness in fast-paced aerial engagements. Nonetheless, the French Air Force deployed thousands of Darne machine guns on a variety of aircraft, including bombers and reconnaissance planes such as the Bloch MB.200 and Potez 540 series. Production numbers are estimated in the low tens of thousands during the 1930s, but many aircraft equipped with the Darne were later retrofitted with more capable weapons like the MAC 1934.

The Darne machine gun's notoriety stems from its reputation as an underperforming weapon during a critical period of aerial armament evolution. It remained in service through the early stages of World War II, primarily in Vichy French forces and colonial units, but was rapidly phased out as more reliable and powerful machine guns became available. While it was a sincere attempt at producing a lightweight aircraft gun, the Darne is largely remembered as a stopgap solution in French military aviation history.

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