Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun
The Benet-Mercie Machine Rifle, Caliber .30 U. S. Model of 1909 was a 30-06 machine gun adopted by the U.S. officially in 1909. It was mainly used up to and including WWI, when it was replaced by newer designs. It is also known as the Hotchkiss M1909, M1909 Benet-Mercie, etc. It should not be confused the unrelated, heavier Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun. The name comes from three sources: Hotchkiss, the name of an American who started the Hotchkiss Arms Company in France; the two main designers, Lawrence Benet and Henri Mercie; and the US designation system at time which label arms with 'Model of Year'. Lawrence Benet was related to the former head of US Army Ordnance at the time of adoption.
The same basic pattern was also used by the French and British: with the French as the Hotchkiss M1909 (adopted at the same time as the US) and chambered for 8 mm Lebel and with British as the Hotchkiss Mark I. It was also used by some other countries, such as Belgium. The French and British designs would be longer lived, being used in tanks and aircraft, and serving on into WWII. The US design was fed from 30 round strips, as were other types, though there also belt-fed versions, and ones with more barrel cooling. The US types had a bipod, while some others used a small tripod. This tripod fit under the firearm, could be moved with the firearm, and was very different from larger tripods of the period.
The U.S. M1909 machine guns were made by Springfield Armory in the U.S after the rights to produce it were bought. In all nearly 700 would be made. This may seem small compared to the huge production runs of firearms later in the 20th century, but this was actually quite a significant number for the size of the contemporary Army. The M1909's adoption coincided with the withdraw of the .30-06 manually-operated Gatling machineguns from the Army's arsenals.
The Benet-Merice was used in the Punitive Expedition in Mexico and initially in France. The US did not continue using them in WWI, though, its allies (France and Britiain) used them on into WW2.