How useful would old weapons like Maxim guns be in modern war?

They were used in the Donbass airport siege by the Ukrainians, which was only like two years ago.

"how useful is this thing that shoots lots of bullets?"

what the hell kind of question is that

>>33746262
Generally my point was, that although it's a very "obsolete" weapon, that doesn't seem to matter all too much.

>>33746241
>How useful is a ma deuce in modern warfare?

>>33746241
I'd love to detach one of those from its mount, put a handle on it, drain the water jacket and hip fire. Not like it'd be practical, just fun

>>33746750
Oh god me too. I feel you'd have to add some massive heat sinks to stop it from overheating without the water though.

Also does anyone know why modern machine guns don't require water jackets or cooling like the old ones? I know barrels can be changed but they can still fire a lot of rounds per barrel, is it advances in metallurgy as well?

>>33746764
Improved methods of air cooling barrels, combined with the fact that a water cooled barrel is usually overkill for how long a machine gun is typically in operation given the additional weight it requires.

>>33746764
>>33746783
pretty much this. It's only an issue for MGs that fire really fast or fire for long periods of time. Most modern MGs do neither.

File: Maxim in Ukraine.jpg (182KB, 2048x1433px) Image search: [Google]

182KB, 2048x1433px

>>33746241

Assuming your enemies are equally as desperate or poorly armed, highly useful. Unless facing a modernized and competently trained & armed army (so NATO probably, maybe the Chinese or Russians) anything that shots and uses the ammunition you have available is useful. The question then becomes how the weapon is deployed and the competency of your enemy in countering it.

As another mentioned Maxims have shown up all over in the Ukrainian civil war. Both the Separatists and Ukrainian Loyalists have been using them because they work. The ones showing up in Ukraine are Soviet holdovers that were in turn a relic from the Russian Empire. But none of that matters because at the end of the day the Maxim still works (and they still have ammunition for it). It kills people mostly as effectively as most other GPMG's in theater.

>>33747119
Maxims are so aesthetic

File: 1458510035315.jpg (62KB, 960x643px) Image search: [Google]

62KB, 960x643px

>>33746241

>>33746241

Mount two to a truck and call it a day. No AASPG but assuming you're rigging the truck with hobo armor, it should be fine for fire support

>>33746241
useful in a purely defensive role