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"Spandau"
LMG 08/15
The Allies called it the "Spandau" because
of the name engraved on top of the gun. Actually, "Spandau" was the
name of the arsenal in Berlin, Germany where the guns were manufactured. The
air-cooled LMG 08/15 and its sibling, the MG 08/15 water-cooled ground gun were lighter
variants of the MG 08 Maxim, heavy machine gun. The Maxim guns were the basis
for several guns of the same basic design, included among these was the "Vickers"
gun.
In the first years of WWI the role of the aeroplane expanded from reconnaissance
to include bombers and armed fighter planes. The Germans, after much experimentatation,
settled on a lightened version of the MG/08 Maxim the IMG/08 as their choice for
fixed synchronized forward firing armament. This gun however was lightened
to the point of weakness by its thin web pattern of holes By early 1917 the
LMG 08/15 "Spandau" was in full production and became the main fixed gun
on all fighters till Warís end. Over 23,000 were produced.
The LMG 08/15 was not without its faults. The original guns required two hands
for cocking and charging. The "Kingstrom" mechanism bolted to the
right side of the gun enabled one-handed operation. This too evolved into a
long handle, geared to the cocking lever on later models. The knob on the cocking
lever also evolved into a "half spool" shaped knob which was easier to
grasp with gloved hands.
The 7.92 MM ammo was fed into the gun on a cloth belt holding 250 or 500 rounds.
An aluminum link belt was developed for both the MG/08 and MG 08/15 guns but the
cloth belt was still preferred for aviation use.
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