During World War I, the British Army sought to increase the mobility of its Vickers machine guns. A gun and its tripod weighed between 65 and 80 pounds (29 and 36 kg); cooling water was also required and ammunition boxes weighted a further 22 pounds (10.0 kg) each; each gun required a six to eight man team to carry it.
A solution to this problem was to fit the guns to sidecar motorcycles. This would allow the guns to be moved rapidly between different sectors, and allow them to quickly pursue retreating troops enemy. Clyno motorcycles were initially adopted; these could carry the gun, tripod, water and spare parts, as well as seven ammunition boxes; They were supported by unarmed sidecar motorcycles that carried only ammunition. A number of different motorcycles were eventually used. A special unit, the Motor Machine Gun Service, was formed to operate them, but the static nature of trench warfare meant the unit was infrequently used.
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