Parabellum MG 14

Last updated
Parabellum MG 14
Parabellum-mg14.jpg
Early version (1913), with electromagnetic trigger attached
TypeAircraft Machine Gun
Place of originFlag of the German Empire.svg  Germany
Service history
In service1914–1918
Used by
Wars World War I
Polish–Soviet War
Production history
DesignerKarl Heinemann [1]
Manufacturer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM)
Specifications
Mass9.5 Kg [2]
Length122 cm [2]
Barrel  length70 cm [2]
Cartridge 7.92x57mm Mauser
Caliber 7.92mm
Action Recoil Operated
Rate of fire 600-700 rpm [2]
Feed system250-round fabric belt

The Parabellum MG 14 was a 7.92 mm caliber World War I machine gun built by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. It was a redesign of the Maschinengewehr 08 machine gun (itself an adaptation of the Maxim gun) system intended for use on aircraft and zeppelins. Like the earlier Vickers machine gun, it used a toggle action that broke upwards rather than downwards, the opposite way to the MG 08, making for a much more compact receiver. The fusee spring was replaced with an internal spring design, the breech block was completely different and the spent cartridges dropped out the bottom of the receiver, rather than being ejected forward through a hole under the breech from the receiver. There appear to be no action or receiver parts interchangeable with the MG 08. The MG 08's belt-style ammunition feed was enclosed in a drum, the recoil casing was lightened and the cooling jacket was modified for air- instead of water-cooling. The rate of fire was 700 rounds/minute. The belt was reduced to 30 mm in width.

Contents

Leutnant Kurt Wintgens' Fokker Eindecker prototype. "E.5/15", which used a Parabellum MG 14 as its synchronized armament in July 1915. Fokker M5K-MG E5-15.jpg
Leutnant Kurt Wintgens' Fokker Eindecker prototype. "E.5/15", which used a Parabellum MG 14 as its synchronized armament in July 1915.

An MG 14 was used in the early development of the German version of the gun synchroniser by Anthony Fokker. [3] The MG 14 was used with the first version of the pioneering Fokker Stangensteuerung synchronizer on the five Fokker M.5K/MG pre-production prototypes for the Fokker E.I. However, the limited supplies of the weapon were more urgently needed for observers in reconnaissance aircraft and defensive gunners aboard Zeppelins and heavier-than-air bombers and it was reserved for flexible mounts where its combination of light weight and high rate of fire were most useful. [4] The weapon was also temperamental when used on the M.5K/MG, as noted by Otto Parschau. [5]

DFW C.V (Av) banking DFW C.V (Av) banking.jpg
DFW C.V (Av) banking

The MG 14 and subsequent MG 14/17 did make one important contribution to the fixed forward-firing LMG 08 and LMG's 08/15 guns, in that their 30mm wide cloth ammunition belt was compatible with those weapons, The fixed forward-firing guns used fixed ammunition feed guides and judging by surviving photographs, the belts were used exclusively by the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte for all fixed forward-firing guns. The belts can be readily identified by two grommets (instead of three for the wider MG 08 and MG 08/15 belts used by ground forces) and the lack of extended brass tab (also used by the MG 08 and MG 08/15 ground guns). This not only reduced weight and bulk but it also allowed for much lighter and smaller empty belt chutes, which came out of all LMG 08's and LMG 08/15's and led down into storage bins in the aircraft. At least three versions survive, a water cooled, an air cooled and a 14/17 version with a 3x telescopic sight. [6] Flugz MG Parabellum 1913.jpg

Users

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synchronization gear</span> Device to synchronise the firing of a warplanes automatic guns with its spinning propeller

A synchronization gear was a device enabling a single-engine tractor configuration aircraft to fire its forward-firing armament through the arc of its spinning propeller without bullets striking the blades. This allowed the aircraft, rather than the gun, to be aimed at the target.

The MG 34 is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the Einheitsmaschinengewehr – and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). Both the MG 34 and MG 42 were erroneously nicknamed "Spandau" by Allied troops, a carryover from the World War I nickname for the MG 08, which was produced at the Spandau Arsenal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MG 30</span> Light machine gun

The Maschinengewehr 30, or MG 30 was a German-designed machine gun that saw some service with various armed forces in the 1930s. It was also modified to become the standard German aircraft gun as the MG 15 and MG 17. It is most notable as the design pattern that led to the MG 34 and MG 42, and thus is one of the major ancestors of many of the weapons in service which would later find widespread use into the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vickers machine gun</span> Heavy machine gun

The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and operate it: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the others helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition, and spare parts. It was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many Allied World War I fighter aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FN Minimi</span> Light machine gun

The FN Minimi is a Belgian 5.56mm or 7.62mm light machine gun, also classified as a squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. Introduced in the late 1970s, it is in service in more than 75 countries. The weapon is manufactured at the FN facility in Herstal and their U.S. subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FN MAG</span> General-purpose machine gun

The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, including Argentina, Canada, Egypt, India, and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Closed bolt</span> System in firearms

A semi or full-automatic firearm which is said to fire from a closed bolt or closed breech is one where, when ready to fire, a round is in the chamber and the bolt and working parts are forward in battery. When the trigger is pulled, the firing pin or striker fires the round; the action is cycled by the energy of the shot, sending the bolt to the rear, which extracts and ejects the empty cartridge case; and the bolt goes forward, feeding a fresh round from the magazine into the chamber, ready for the next shot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK machine gun</span> General-purpose machine gun/Squad automatic weapon

The PK also commonly known as the PKM, is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker E.I</span>

The Fokker E.I was the first fighter aircraft to enter service with the Fliegertruppe of the Deutsches Heer in World War I. Its arrival at the front in mid-1915 marked the start of a period known as the "Fokker Scourge" during which the E.I and its successors achieved a measure of air superiority over the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MG 08</span> German machine gun

The MG 08 is a heavy machine gun (HMG) which served as the standard HMG of the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was an adaptation of Hiram Maxim's 1884 Maxim gun design, and was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 also saw service during World War II in the infantry divisions of the German Army, although by the end of the war it had mostly been relegated to second-rate "fortress" units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MG 3 machine gun</span> General-purpose machine gun

The MG 3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reibel machine gun</span> Machine gun

The MAC mle 1931 machine gun, was a machine gun used in French tanks of the World War II era, as well as in fortifications such as the Maginot line. It is also sometimes known as the JM Reibel, from Jumelage de mitrailleuses, or Reibel twin-mounted guns and really refers to the specialized twin-mounting frame used in JM cloche cupolas on the Maginot Line fortifications, while MAC mle 1931 refers specifically to the gun. The JM twin-mounts were the standard emplacement for the mle 1931 in fixed fortifications, while tanks and other AFVs received single guns.

The Bergmann MG 15nA was a World War I light machine gun produced by Germany starting in 1915. It used 100- and 200-round belts and utilized a bipod, which allowed the weapon to be mounted on a flat surface for more accurate firing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIG MG 710-3</span> General-purpose machine gun

The SIG MG 710-3 is a Swiss 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) designed and manufactured by SIG - Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft. The weapon was developed as a commercial venture primarily for export, since the Swiss Army had already adopted the 7.5 mm MG 51 GPMG, produced by the federal arms factory W+F.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MG 51</span> General-purpose machine gun

The 7.5 mm Maschinengewehr 1951 or Mg 51 is a general-purpose machine gun manufactured by W+F of Switzerland. The weapon was introduced into Swiss service when the Swiss Army initiated a competition for a new service machine gun to replace the MG 11 heavy machine gun and the Furrer M25 light machine gun adopted in 1911 and 1925 respectively.

The Fokker-Leimberger was an externally powered, 12-barrel rifle-caliber rotary gun developed in Germany during the First World War. The action of the Fokker-Leimberger differed from that of a Gatling in that it employed a rotary split-breech design, also known as a "nutcracker".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M1919 Browning machine gun</span> American medium machine gun

The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S and many other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I was a German single-engined reconnaissance seaplane with a low-wing monoplane layout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviatik C.IX</span> WWI German observation aircraft

The Aviatik C.IX was a prototype German observation aircraft built by Aviatik in the final months of World War I.

References

  1. ↑ Fitzsimons, Bernard (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare, Volume 19. London: Phoebus. p. 2082.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Williams (2003), p. 166
  3. ↑ Michael John Haddrick Taylor; Bill Gunston (1980). Jane's encyclopedia of aviation. Vol. 3. Grolier Educational Corporation. p. 533. ISBN   978-0-7106-0710-2.
  4. ↑ Williams (2003), p. 18
  5. ↑ Grosz, Peter M., Windsock Datafile No. 91, Fokker E.I/II, Albatros Publications, Ltd. 2002. ISBN No. 1-902207-46-7, pgs 6-9.
  6. ↑ Williams (2003), p. 19
  7. ↑ Dambītis, Kārlis (2016). Latvijas armijas artilērija 1919.-1940.g.: Vieta bruņotajos spēkos, struktūra un uzdevumi [Artillery of the Latvian Army (1918–1940): structure, tasks and place in the Armed forces] (PhD thesis). University of Latvia. p. 225.

Bibliography

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.