Hotchkiss Model 1914 machine gun Country France Type Medium machine gun Manufacturer Hotchkiss Introduction 1914 Specifications Weight 53 lb 11 oz (24.4 kg) Length 1390 mm Barrel length 31 inches Cartridge 8 x 50 mm R Lebel, 7 x 57 mm Mauser, 6.5 x 50 mm SR Arisaka, 11 mm Gras Caliber 8 mm Action gas actuation Rate of fire 450 round/min Muzzle velocity 2.375 ft/s. Feed system 24 round strip, 250 round articulated metal belt

The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun became the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company of Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. The Hotchkiss system essentially formulated in 1895 is, clearly, a conceptual precursor to most gas actuated machine gun designs to this day.

The Mle 1914 was the last version of nearly identical Hotchkiss designs : the Mle 1897, Mle 1900 and the Mle 1908. The heavy Mle 1914 Hotchkiss is not to be confused with the lighter Hotchkiss M1909 (the U.S.\"Benet-Mercie\" or the British Hotchkiss Mark I). At the beginning of World War I, the St. Etienne Mle 1907 was the standard machine gun of French infantry. However, due to inferior field performance by the St. Etienne, the Hotchkiss Mle 1914 became the French infantry standard after 1917. The American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in France also used the Mle 1914 Hotchkiss extensively in 1917 and 1918. Hotchkiss heavy machine guns, some being of earlier types, were also used in combat by Japan, Mexico, Spain, Belgium and Poland.

The Hotchkiss machine gun, a sturdy and reliable weapon, remained in active service with the French army until the early 1940s.