25 Round strip for the St. Etienne Machine Gun

[butterfly]

Curiosity got the better of me and I did a little online searching for info on this 25 metal feed strip. I thought for a long time that it was a form of Hotchkiss strip but I was wrong, it appears that it was for the St.Etiene machine gun.

not sure if these are common or not but thought members may be interested.

here is some additional information that helped me identify it (in French, not sure if there is a way to translate it?)
http://www.mitrailleuse.fr/France/StEtienne/StEtienne.htm

and some general info on the machine gun that used it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Étienne_Mle_1907

it has suffered some slight damage over time and is a little pitted in places (unfortunately just where some markings appear, typical!), however it remains in good solid order.

regards Kev

 

[butterfly]

here is another thread which has a connection to the same machine gun that I found here on bocn

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/90285-Copper-Ammo-Box-Lid-WW1?highlight=etienne

I ought to draw attention to some good photos and info about the strip in the above link - look here - http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1884

Kev