MG 08/15 Maxim Machine Gun

Firearm

-

The Great Bend Museum

Name/Title

MG 08/15 "Maxim" Machine Gun

Entry/Object ID

2020.01.305

Description

Bulky water-cooled weapon. Has short bipod - wooden gunstock handle with a pistol grip. Barrel was 9cm cylinder. Curtiss Poteat, weapons expert at NC Veterans History Museum: "There should be a bi pod mounted in front of the rod in the middle. The rod was used on a 4 -5 foot tripod as an anti aircraft version. Called hand held because it could be carried and used without the heavy tripod and water can cooling system. These were also made by the Sauer Company also. Without a close up of any markings I can't tell who made it. Hope this helps in any way, if you can copy any markings on the chassis let me know." "Captured machine guns were often painted with details of the unit that had taken them and then sent home as symbols of victory." (citation in references tab) "118 Legion" on wood might be that unit.

Use

Gun was introduced to be a more portable weapon. It was designed to be manned by 2 soldiers. In reality it was a "cumbersome beast in battle" over 130,000 were made - weight 40 lbs, 18kg. "It was first introduced in battle during the French Second Battle of the Aisne (Chemin des Dames offensive) in April 1917. 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" (citation in references tab) "The MG 08/15 remained by far the most common German machine gun deployed in World War I,[16] reaching a full allocation of six guns per company (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 were manufactured during World War I, most of them by the Spandau and Erfurt government arsenals. The heavy weight remained a problem though and a "futile attempt"[14] to solve this problem was a late-war air-cooled version of the MG 08/15, designated as the MG 08/18; but it was only 1 kg lighter than the MG 08/15. The MG 08/18's barrel was heavier and it could not be quickly changed; inevitably overheating was a problem. It was battlefield tested in small numbers during the last months of the war. As noted, "the Maxim Gun was not a sound basis for an LMG."[14]" (citation in references tab)

Acquisition

Accession

2020.01

Source or Donor

Miscellaneous FIC

Firearm Detail

Serial Number

5129

Place Made

Country

Germany

Continent

Europe

Date Made

1917 - 1918

Time Period

20th Century

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Date

Location

Top right corner of wooden hilt

Transcription

4-15-52

Material/Technique

Etched

Type

Inscription

Location

Center of wooden hilt

Transcription

118 Legion

Material/Technique

Etched

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Gun, Machine

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Firearms

Nomenclature Class

Armaments

Nomenclature Category

Category 05: Tools & Equipment for Science & Technology

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Charles J Fast

Notes

From Wikipedia: "Prior to US involvement in the First World War, the predecessors of the 118th were sent to El Paso, Texas in 1916. There, they joined Brig. Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing's Punitive Expedition to protect U.S. border towns from Mexican General Pancho Villa's forces. When America declared war on the German Empire, the various companies of the South Carolina Militia were organized into the 118th Infantry Regiment on 16 April 1917, and assigned to the 30th Infantry Division, the "Old Hickory" Division. The division consisted of the 117th, the 118th, the 119th, and the 120th Infantry Regiments, along with the 113th, 114th, 115th Machine Gun Battalions, and the 105th Engineer Regiment. Soldiers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee comprised the division when it shipped off to France for combat on the Western Front." It's possible that Fast acquired the gun there and it made its way to the museum?

Web Links and URLs

History of War Trophies, History of Maxims, Wikipedia History