What's a Chauchat?

[BobE]

I am re-reading "The Lost Battalion" in anticipation of the upcoming A&E movie. The authors keep referring to "Chauchats".
Here are some quotes:
"...the sudden grunting of Chauchats--an attack!
"Seventeen prisoners were taken together with four
machine guns and a dozen Chauchats."
"Another shower of the potato mashers,nearer. Then
the phunk of the Chauchat, a crash of Springfield
reports,etc."
The first quote refers to a French attack. The second to the capture of the French by the Germans.The last to an attack by the Germans against the Americans

I get the impression from other references that it is a French weapon with a distinctive sound which the authors often refer to. At one point I thought it was an automatic rifle of some kind but "grunting" and "phunk" certainly doesn't sound like it.

I know we have some serious weaponry buffs here .Would appreciate your comments.

Thanks guys,

Bob ???

[Kirby]

Bob-Simply put, it was the worst LMG ever made. :P

http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww_one/.../photos/mg1.htm

[Barrett]

It features in the old TV miniseries, "Once an Eagle" with Sam Elliot.

[BobE]

Thank you gentlemen both. Went to the site you gave,Kirby, and noted Americans being trained by the French in the use of the weapon. That explains why it is mentioned in use by both armies. I still don't get the author's use of adjectives. Never heard of a MG "grunting" or going "phunk". Note you said it was the worst MG ever made. Maybe "phunk" was what the crews went into when the darned thing didn't work!
Thanks again,
Bob

[Billy_Bishop]

The WWI Marines must have really been pissed. I understand they went to France with Lewis MGs, only to have them taken away and replaced by Chauchats! Can you imagine that!!!

VBR,

Al Lowe

[leo]

The Frenchie mg was bad, so was the german LMG 08/15. Which was worse? What do you guys think?

[Barrett]

the Chauchat was definitely worse; the 08/15 WORKED. It was just heavier'n hades...

[Kirby]

Al

When the AEF was transferred from British Command to French, they had to turn in all Brit government issue, including Lewis guns and their good British Enfields. They were reissued their old Eddystones and French ordnance including the infamous Chauchat.
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Leo

As I recall, one of the major drawbacks of the Chauchat was the type of ammunition feed it had. A magazine on the bottom of the gun with the ammunition exposed. This allowed for a lot of debris to get into it and caused severe stoppages.

Of the two, the Chauchat was the least dependable.

VBR
Kirby

[Barrett]

My experience with Chauchats is limited to looking but an experienced Emma Gee gunner has said that the open mags were only part of the problem. The design was mechanically inefficient, and the recoil system woefully inadequate. The dang thing HURT to fire, which induced serious flinching after a few bursts. I'm running on middle-age memory, but I sorta think that a heavier spring or installation of a buffer helped reduce felt recoil but it slowed rate of fire, which the French army didn't want to consider.
Makes perfect sense: we want our soldiers to shoot faster, waste more ammo, and miss more targets.

Chauchauts were also hand fitted, preventing parts interchangeability. The majority of them were poorly heat treated as well, so when converted to the more powerful US .30 caliber round, they tended to come apart in short order.

I have fired 1 magazine through a Chauchaut in the original 8mm Lebel. The fact that it is an open bolt, long recoil design, with your cheekbone resting on a piece of metal pipe that pounds you every time the gun fires doesn't really help accuracy. I suppose some of my poor shooting may have been the result of me flinching, expecting the thing to blow up in my face with every burst, I don't know for sure!