View source for SIG KE7

{{Infobox weapon
| name               = SIG KE7
| image              = [[File:强渡大渡河轻机枪.jpg|300px]]
| caption            =
| origin             = Switzerland
| type               = [[Light machine gun]]
<!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged          = yes
| is_UK              = <!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1929
| used_by            = See [[#Users|Users]]
| wars               = [[Chinese Civil War]]<br>[[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]]<br>[[Spanish Civil War]]<br>[[Second Sino-Japanese War]]<br>[[Korean War]]<br>[[Cuban Revolution]]
<!-- Production history -->| designer           =
| design_date        =
| manufacturer       = [[SIG Sauer|SIG]]
| production_date    = 1929-1938
| number             =
| variants           = <!-- General specifications -->
| weight             = 8.2 kg
| length             = 1,190 mm
| part_length        = 800 mm
| crew               = 2, firer and magazine/barrel changer
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| cartridge          = [[7×57mm Mauser]]<br>[[7.65×53mm Mauser]]<br>[[7.92×57mm Mauser]]
| caliber            =
| action             = [[Recoil operation|Recoil-operated]]
| rate               = 550 rounds/minute
| velocity           =
| range              =
| max_range          =
| feed               = 25 round [[Magazine (firearm)#Box|box magazine]]
| sights             = Iron
}}
The '''SIG KE7''' is a [[light machine gun]] designed and manufactured in Switzerland in the decade before the [[Second World War]]. Although exported, it was never used by the [[Swiss Army]].
==Description==
The SIG KE7 is a [[Recoil operation|recoil operated]], air cooled light machine gun with tilting bolt. It is fed from a curved [[Magazine (firearm)#Box|box magazine]] mounted on the underside of the weapon, which holds 25 rounds. A light folding [[bipod]] is attached to the perforated barrel jacket, and an additional rear [[monopod]] can be fitted.
Notable feature of the gun is a very long travel of the bolt carrier (about 6 cm, 2.4 in) before it starts pulling the bolt back and extracting the fired case. It gives longer time for the pressure in barrel to drop for easier extraction.
==History==
The KE7 light machine gun was designed by [[Pál Király]] and Gotthard End at the [[SIG Sauer|SIG]] [[small arms]] factory in [[Neuhausen am Rheinfall]]. Production commenced in 1929, with most weapons being exported to the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] chambered for [[7.92×57mm Mauser]] ammunition. The Chinese government purchased 3,025 from Switzerland between 1928 and 1939, and the provincial government of [[Guangdong]] purchased 200 KE7s with 4,000 magazines in December 1928. In 1933, [[Liu Xiang (warlord)|Liu Xiang]] funded Huaxing Machine Works' acquisition of machinery for a workshop in [[Chongqing]]. From 1933 to 1936, it would produce 6,000 KE7 copies. Three months after the war with Japan began, the workshop would be requisitioned by the Chinese government and produce [[ZB-26]] copies after 1939.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shih |first1=Bin |title=China's Small Arms of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) |isbn=979-8473557848 |pages=158–159 |edition=2021}}</ref>
The KE7 would be used during the [[Chinese Civil War]], the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]<ref name="Jowett 2005">{{cite book|page=15|title=The Chinese Army 1937–49: World War II and Civil War|author=Philip Jowett|year=2005|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1841769042}}</ref> and the [[Korean War]]. Some KE-7 machine guns were also made in other calibres for export to [[Latin America]]{{Cn|date=January 2023}} and [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]].<ref>{{cite AV media| url-status = live| archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/uyR4w7MkSco| archive-date = 2021-12-11| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyR4w7MkSco| title = SIG KE-7 Light Machine Gun - More Complex Than Most | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1930, examples were provided for trials being run by the [[British Army]] to find a replacement for the [[Lewis gun]], although a modified [[ZB vz. 26]] was finally adopted as the [[Bren gun]].<ref>Grant, Neil (2013), [https://books.google.com/books?id=vZWdAwAAQBAJ&dq=The+Bren+Gun+Grant&pg=PP1 ''The Bren Gun''], Osprey Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1782000822}} (pp. 9-11)</ref>
==Users==
* {{flag|Argentina}}:In 7.65×53mm Mauser<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=República - Armas - Infantería - Subfusiles |url=http://www.sbhac.net/Republica/Fuerzas/Armas/Infanteria/Subfusiles/Subfusiles.htm |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=www.sbhac.net}}</ref>
* {{flag|Brazil}}:In 7×57mm Mauser<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Bolivia}}:In 7,65x53 mm Mauser<ref name=":0" />
* [[File:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg|22px]] [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]: Used at least 3,225 original and 6,000 domestically made examples.
* {{flag|People's Republic of China}}
* {{flag|Cuba}}:Used by guerillas during the Cuban Revolution<ref>{{Cite web |title=Los guerrilleros de Fidel Castro utilizaron toda clase de armamento ligero al comienzo de la revolución |url=https://twitter.com/Ismael_Historia/status/1451128548245262342 |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref>
*{{flag|Ethiopian Empire}}: In 7.92×57mm Mauser
*{{flag|Mexico}}:In 7×57mm Mauser
*{{flag|Spain|1931}}<ref name=":0" />
*{{flag|Uruguay}}:In 7×57mm Mauser<ref name=":0" />
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{WWIIChineseInfantryWeapons}}
[[Category:Machine guns of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Light machine guns]]
[[Category:SIG Sauer machine guns]]
[[Category:World War II infantry weapons of China]]