Original German WWI Maxim MG 08/15 Display Machine Gun Serial 3741 b by Erfurt Arsenal with Replica Sling – dated 1918 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an incredible inert example of the legendary German Maxim Maschinengewehr (Machine Gun) 08/15, known as the MG 08/15. It is built using mostly original parts using a BATF compliant deactivated right side plate, which has over 50% of the total removed. This includes the entire forward section where the lock engages, making this a 100% legal display Machine gun, totally legal to own without a license of any kind. Included with the display gun is a great high end replica bipod and a replica sling. The barrel on this example is live and has not been altered, and the bore is in very good condition, showing a bright finish with crisp lands and grooves.

This gun became, by far, the most common German machine gun deployed in World War I (Dolf Goldsmith, 1989) since it reached a full allocation of six guns per company or 72 guns per regiment in 1918. By that time, there were four times as many MG 08/15 light machine guns than heavy MG 08 machine guns in each infantry regiment. This great example is covered with markings and proofs, and is nicely marked on the top cover:

3741
b
M.G. 08/15.
Gwf.
ERFURT
1918.

Erfurt Arsenal, known in German as Gewehr und Munitionsfabrik (Gwf.) Erfurt during the WWI period, was more properly known as the Royal Prussian Rifle Factory at Erfurt. It was one of the Prussian (and later Imperial) arsenals that manufactured arms for the German Empire in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It was originally purchased by the Kingdom of Prussia during 1840-1851, and then was merged with two private companies in 1862. It would receive orders for most arms used during the German Empire, including the P.08 Luger, MG 08, and MG 08/15. The arsenal was closed following WWI, and much of their equipment purchased by Simson & Co of Suhl.

The top cover, feed block, fusee spring cover (very faint), left side plate, rear plate and top cover / rear plate latch are marked with serial number 3741 / b, while the barrel extension and some other components are marked with 1192 / a, so the crank assembly was replaced at some point. Other components are marked with shortened versions of the two serial numbers. There are lot of markings and proofs on this example, typical of WW1 German production. Almost all of the parts are original German WWI manufacture except for the bipod and lovely replica sling.

This is a complete and fully BATF compliant inert non-firing display non-gun built using a deactivated right side plate, which has been left open so that the interior can be seen. The top cover closes and latches, however the spring on the latch is missing, so it needs to manually slide into place. Please note that the lock is not included.

Perfect for advanced collectors, ones this nice rarely come to market. Ready to be the centerpiece of your German WWI collection!

History of the MG 08-

The Maschinengewehr 08, or MG 08, was the German Army’s standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaption of Hiram S. Maxim’s original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 served during World War II as a heavy machine gun in many German infantry divisions, although by the end of the war it had mostly been relegated to second-rate fortress units.

The Maschinengewehr 08 (or MG 08) – so-named after 1908, its year of adoption – was a development of the license made Maschinengewehr 01. It could reach a firing rate of up to 400 rounds per minute using 250-round fabric belts of 7.92x57mm ammunition, although sustained firing would lead to overheating; it was water-cooled using a jacket around the barrel that held approximately one gallon of water. Using a separate attachment sight with range calculator for indirect fire, the MG 08 could be operated from cover. Additional telescopic sights were also developed and used in quantity during the war.

The MG 08, like the Maxim gun, operated on the basis of short barrel recoil and a toggle lock; once cocked and fired the MG 08 would continue firing rounds until the trigger was released (or until all available ammunition was expended). Its practical range was estimated at some 2,000 metres (2,200 yd) up to an extreme range of 3,600 metres (3,900 yd). The MG 08 was mounted on a sled mount (German: Schlittenlafette) that was ferried between locations either on carts or else carried above men’s shoulders in the manner of a stretcher.

Pre-war production was by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) in Berlin and the government arsenal at Spandau (so that the gun was often referred to as a Spandau MG 08).

A lightened and thus more portable version – by “stepping-down” the upper rear and lower forward corners of the original MG 08’s rectangular-outline receiver and breech assembly – was tested as a prototype in 1915 by a team of weapon designers under the direction of a Colonel Friedrich von Merkatz – the MG 08/15. The MG 08/15 had been designed to be manned by four trained infantrymen spread on the ground around the gun and in the prone position. To accomplish that purpose the MG 08/15 featured a short bipod rather than a heavy four legged sled mount, plus a wooden gunstock and a pistol grip. At 18 kg, the MG 08/15 was lighter and less cumbersome than the standard MG 08 since the MG 08/15 had been designed to provide increased mobility of infantry automatic fire. It nevertheless remained a bulky water-cooled weapon that was quite demanding on the quality and training of its crews. Accurate fire was difficult to achieve and usually in short bursts only. It was first introduced in battle during the French “Chemin des Dames” offensive in April 1917 where it contributed to the very high casualty count among the French assailants. Its deployment in increasingly large numbers with all front line infantry regiments continued in 1917 and during the German offensives of the spring and summer of 1918. The MG 08/15 became, by far, the most common German machine gun deployed in World War I (Dolf Goldsmith, 1989) since it reached a full allocation of six guns per company or 72 guns per regiment in 1918. By that time, there were four times as many MG 08/15 light machine guns than heavy MG 08 machine guns in each infantry regiment. To attain this goal, about 130,000 MG 08/15 had to be manufactured during World War I, most of them by the Spandau and Erfurt government arsenals.