Archduke Karl Salvator and Army Major George Ritter von Dormus patented a new delayed blowback machine gun. It was adopted in 1893 by the Austro-Hungarian Army and in 1894 by the Navy. One or two machine guns were issued by the Navy to gunboats and patrol boats. The Navy installation weigh 220kg with rotating stand and 6mm thick shielding. 4000 round of ammunition per gun was the standard issue.
The gun had a fixed barrel, the locking mechanism needed .5 liter of oil for lubrication. The blowback delay was provided by a system of pivoting blocks and a large coil spring housed in a tube behind the receiver. An optional buttstock was attahable to the coil spring housing. The M1893 was equipped with a firing rate regulator pendulum with adjustable weight, which oscillated while the gun was firing. The adjustment range was 180-300 round per minute. The proper function of the pendulum required a sttionary stand installation, which limited the application of the gun to fortresses and ships.
The M1893 was simpler and cheaper to build than the Maxim Machine Gun. Its weekest point was the gravity fed open sided magazine which caused an occasional malfunction. The first battle test of the machine gun was in 1900 during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion. The Zenta Battle Cruiser provided the defense of the Austro-Hungarian Embassy in Peking. The defenders were succesful and the Skoda M1893 functioned well. The gun remained in Austro-Hungarian service until 1918, however it was gradually replaced by the more advanced
Schwarzlose 1907/12.M Machine Gun.
