Specifications
Year: 1916
Manufacturer(s): Spandau Gewhrfabrik - German Empire
Roles: Fire Support/Suppression/Defense; Vehicle Mount;
Manufacturer(s): Spandau Gewhrfabrik - German Empire
Roles: Fire Support/Suppression/Defense; Vehicle Mount;
Action: Short-Recoil; Belt-Fed; Air-Cooled; Full-Automatic-Fire-Only
Caliber(s): 7.92x57mm Mauser
Sights: Iron.
Barrel Length: 721 mm (28.39 in)
Caliber(s): 7.92x57mm Mauser
Sights: Iron.
Barrel Length: 721 mm (28.39 in)
Rate-of-Fire: 450 rounds-per-minute
Effective Range: 6,600 ft (2,012 m; 2,200 yd)
Effective Range: 6,600 ft (2,012 m; 2,200 yd)
Operators: German Empire (retired)
The weapon also proved very lethal as a fixed mounting on German warplanes, often paired over the nose and synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades. The "LMG08/15" was the result of further work on the series which converted the infantry-based machine gun into an effective air-cooled aircraft weapon. Spandau Arsenal of the German Empire was the sole manufacturer of the this new machine gun type which was adopted for service and entered the war in the middle of 1916.
A heavily perforated barrel jacket now took the place of the water cooling jacket as water cooling held no place in an aircraft gun. The weapon also took on a slightly revised version of the German ammunition belt. Like its forebearers, the LMG08/15 was chambered for the ubiquitous 7.92x51mm Mauser German rifle cartridge and these fed into the gun by a 500-round fabric belt. Cyclic rate-of-fire reached 400 to 500 rounds-per-minute and effective range was out to 2,200 yards.
Because of Spandau's involvement in producing this new weapon, the Maxim LMG08/15 became generically known as "Spandaus" for a time and the line would see consistent service up until the end of the war in November of 1918.
Roughly 23,000 LMG08/15 machine guns were produced from mid-1916 until 1918.
Variants / Models
• LMG08/15 - Base Series Designation
