Maxim MG08
Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken · Machine Gun · Out Of Production · 1908
Also known as: MG 08, Maschinengewehr 08, Spandau MG 08, Maxim MG 08
Overview
The Maxim MG08 (Maschinengewehr 08) is a German water-cooled, belt-fed heavy machine gun adopted by the Imperial German Army in 1908 as a licensed and modified version of Hiram Maxim's original recoil-operated Maxim gun. Built by Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) and the government Spandau arsenal, it chambered the 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge and used the same toggle-lock short-recoil action as the parent Maxim, with a recoil-amplifying muzzle booster to ensure reliable cycling. The gun itself weighed roughly 26.5 kg, but its characteristic Schlitten 08 (sledge) mount added another 38.5 kg, giving a combat-ready weight near 62 kg that demanded a four-to-six-man crew and confined it to defensive and supporting fire roles. Fed from 250-round fabric belts and firing at about 450 rounds per minute, the MG08 was the backbone of German machine gun companies during the First World War, where massed batteries inflicted catastrophic casualties on attacking infantry across no-man's-land. Surplus guns continued in second-line German service through the Second World War.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 26500 g (934.8 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 30500 g (1075.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1175 mm (46.26") |
| Barrel Length | 720 mm (28.35") |
| Action Type | Short Recoil |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Automatic Only |
| Magazine Capacity | 250 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Belt |
| Muzzle Velocity | 866 m/s (2841 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 4800 J (3540 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 2000 m (2187 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3600 m (3937 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 450 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.92x57mm Mauser · primary — also known as 8mm Mauser, 8x57mm IS, 8x57mm JS, 7.92mm Mauser
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Fabric Belt 250 Round
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Water Cooled Barrel Jacket, Toggle Lock Short Recoil, Muzzle Booster Recoil Amplifier, Spade Grips With Thumb Trigger, Schlitten 08 Sledge Mount, Fabric Belt Feed, Crew Served Heavy Mg Role
Variants
- MG 08/15 — Lightened Bipod Lmg Variant
- lMG 08/15 (Luftgekuhlt) — Air Cooled Aircraft Gun
- MG 08/18 — Fully Air Cooled Late War
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Imperial German Army · adopted 1908 · as MG 08
- German Reichswehr · adopted 1919 · as MG 08
- Nazi Germany Wehrmacht · adopted 1935 · as MG 08
- Ottoman Army · adopted 1915 · as MG 08
- Imperial Russian Army (captured) · adopted 1915 · as MG 08
- Polish Army · adopted 1919 · as ckm wz.08
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Russian Civil War (1917-1922)
- Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921)
- World War II (1939-1945)
Production
Production years: 1908-1918
Production accelerated dramatically during WWI; German machine gun strength grew from roughly 12,000 guns at the start of the war to many tens of thousands, with monthly output peaking in 1916-1917 at the Spandau and DWM works. Exact total MG08 figures are not consistently recorded.
Origin
Country of origin: Germany
Designer: Hiram Stevens Maxim (original mechanism); German adaptation by DWM and the Spandau arsenal
Discontinued: 1918
Notes
The MG08 was Germany's standard heavy machine gun of WWI, organized into dedicated Maschinengewehr-Kompanien. Its 4-liter water jacket allowed sustained fire but added weight and required a water supply; in prolonged action the cooling water boiled and was condensed for reuse via a separate can and hose. The recoil booster (a muzzle cup that traps propellant gases) is essential to the design and distinguishes the German guns. The lighter, bipod-mounted MG 08/15 (1915) and the air-cooled MG 08/18 (1918) were squad-mobile derivatives developed to give infantry organic automatic firepower the heavy MG08 could not provide.
Background
Massed MG08 batteries gave the German defense its lethal reputation in WWI; at the Somme on 1 July 1916 interlocking MG08 fire was a principal cause of the nearly 60,000 British casualties suffered in a single day. The gun's water jacket meant crews could fire for sustained periods until the cooling water literally boiled, and the heavy Schlitten sledge mount was carried like a stretcher or dragged into position, earning the weapon a fearsome but immobile reputation.