Original German WWI Maxim MG 08 Parts Set- Matching Serial Numbers, Dated 1918, Marked Berlin
Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. These have become very hard to find. This original German WW1 MG 08 water-cooled Maxim machine gun was The Grim Reaper" of the First World War.
This fine example is totally inert having been de-militarized to BATF specifications. Marked on the top cover:
M.G.08.
D.W.M.
BERLIN
1918
This Maxim has survived because it did not see much service in WWI being made in the final year of the conflict. All major parts except the bolt are marked with the serial number 43750, the barrel is complete (functional) and only the receiver right side plate is absent (per BATF rules).
It is the centenary year in 2014 of the outbreak of WWI that lasted 4 terrible years and destroyed the manhood of Europe. It only concluded after the entry of the United States in 1917 to tip the scales into the Allies favor ending at the 11th Hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
A very rare chance to acquire a nearly perfectly matching German MG08 from World War One!
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 adoptionwas 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).
- This product is not available for international shipping.
- This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America. Every display machinegun and machine gun parts set and gun sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).
Information pertaining to Maxim display guns:
taken from BATF ruling 2010-3 : https://www.atf.gov/regulations-rulings/rulings/atf-rulings/atf-ruling-2010-3.html
During the evaluations, complete, original models of Vickers and German MG-08 Maxim-type machineguns were tested and found to fire automatically more than one round of ammunition by a single function of the trigger. Additionally, a reference model of a Vickers-type machinegun was tested for function; first, by partially removing the right side-plate, and then after completely removing the right side-plate. Although the sample firearm was capable of firing one shot with a partial right side-plate, once the entire right side-plate was removed, testing demonstrated the sample was not capable of functioning without the right side-plate. Accordingly, it was determined that neither a Vickers nor any Maxim-type machinegun would be capable of firing with the entire right side-plate removed. Nonetheless, ATF has previously examined semi-automatic versions of the Vickers/Maxim firearm where the right side-plate has an approved block that prevents installation of machinegun fire control components. These semi-automatic firearms have been classified by ATF as firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), but not as machineguns under the GCA or the National Firearms Act (NFA).
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