MG08 with optical sight.

The Maschinengewehr 08, or MG08, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an almost direct copy of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim Gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG08 remained in service until the outbreak of the Second World War due to a shortage of its successor, the MG34. It was retired from front-line service by 1942. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Army The German Army (German: Heer  ) is the land component of the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Forces) of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... {{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict = World War I |partof = |image = |caption = Clockwise from top: Trenches on the Western Front; a British Mark IV tank crossing a trench; Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the Battle of the Dardanelles; a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks... Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, 1916 1895 . ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... An early Maxim gun in operation with the Royal Navy A 1895 . ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... MG34 The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG34, was a German machine gun that was first produced and accepted for service in 1934, and first issued to units in 1935. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...

Like the Maxim Gun, the Maschinengewehr 08 (or MG08) — so-named after 1908, its year of adoption (itself based upon an earlier 1901 model) — was water-cooled (via a jacket around the barrel that held approximately one gallon) and could reach a firing rate of up to 400 7.92 mm rounds from a 250-round fabric belt per minute, although sustained firing would lead to over-heating. It was a development of the license made Maschinengewehr 01. 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Watercooling is a method of heat removal from components. ... The gallon (abbreviation: gal) is an English unit of volume. ...

The MG08, like the Maxim Gun, operated on the basis of a toggle lock; once cocked and fired the MG08 would continue firing rounds until the trigger was released. Its practical range was estimated at some 2,200 yards up to an extreme range of 4,000 yards. The MG08 was mounted on a tripod (Schlitten) 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 Munitions Fabriken (DWM) in Berlin and the government arsenal at Spandau (so that the gun was often referred to as a Spandau MG08). When the war began in August 1914, approximately 12,000 MG08s were available to battlefield units; production, at numerous factories, was however markedly ramped up during wartime. In 1914 some 200 MG08s were produced each month; by 1916 — once the weapon had established itself as the pre-eminent defensive battlefield weapon — the number had increased to 3,000; and a year later to 14,400 per month. Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken, known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created when Ludwig und Loewe merged with several other companies. ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... An arsenal is a establishment for the construction, repair, receipt, storage and issue of weapons and ammunition. ... For the 1980s New Wave group, see Spandau Ballet. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

MG08/15

A revised version of the MG08 was produced in 1915 — the MG08/15 — which featured a bipod rather than the tripod mount plus a pistol grip. At 18 kg, it was lighter and less cumbersome and was intended to demonstrate better mobility on the battlefield; it nevertheless remained a bulky weapon which was chiefly used for defensive purposes. It was, however, put to some use as an aircraft weapon. 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A bipod is a support device that is similar to a tripod or monopod, but with only two legs. ... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ... An Airbus A380, currently the worlds largest airliner An aircraft is any vehicle or craft capable of atmospheric flight. ...

The designation lives on as an idiom in the German language, 08/15 (Null-acht-fünfzehn) being used like an adjective to denote something 'standardized', unremarkable or generic. An idiom is an expression (i. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually describing it or making its meaning more specific. ...

Later versions

A lightened air-cooled version, the lMG08/15, (with a lower case 'L', not an upper case "i"), was developed as a fixed aircraft weapon and was used on the Fokker Eindecker as early as the autumn of 1915. This version eliminated the stock, grip, and bipod and perforated the water jacket to allow the air flowing around the aircraft to provide cooling. Early examples of this gun had a design flaw in that too much of the jacket had been slotted, resulting in firearms that could fall apart while being fired in aerial combat, which resulted in a revised cooling jacket having somewhat less slotting that did not run all the way fore and aft on the jacket. Its fully rectangular receiver, as seen from the side, distinguishes it from the later, and more robust version, the LMG08/15, which had a notably lightened receiver, trimmed down on both upper and lower surfaces, which quickly superseded it. The capital "L" on the later version is variously described as standing for leicht (light), luft (air), or luftgekühlt (air cooled). Also see Maxim Tokarev. Minuscule, or lower case, is the smaller form (case) of letters (in the Roman alphabet: a, b, c, ...). Originally alphabets were written entirely in majuscule (capital) letters which were spaced between well-defined upper and lower bounds. ... Majuscules or capital letters (in the Roman alphabet: A, B, C, ...) are one type of case in a writing system. ... The Fokker Eindecker was a German First World War monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1918 an air-cooled and more mobile model — the MG08/18, weighing 15 kg — entered into production. It was intended for forward use by advancing infantrymen, that is to say as an offensive rather than a solely defensive weapon. These proved of most use in covering the German Army's withdrawal during the latter half of 1918. Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Statistics (MG08)

• Calibre: 7.92 mm (0.312 in)
• Load: 250-round fabric belt
• Rate of fire: 300 to 450 round/min
• Weight: 62 kg (136.7 lb)
• Muzzle velocity: 900 m/s (2953 ft/s)

The 8mm Mauser cartridge next to a United States nickel. ...

See Also

• Schwarzlose MG M.07/12

The Maschinengewehr Patent Schwarzlose M.07/12 is a Austria-Hungarian heavy machine gun, standard machine gun of the Austro-Hungarian Army throughout World War I. Similar looking to the Maxim gun derived machine guns such as the Vickers, it was a simpler design using a single spring compared to...

References

• Goldsmith, Dolf L. (1989). The Devil's Paintbrush: Sir Hiram Maxim's Gun. Collector Grade Publications. ISBN 0-88935-282-8.