The Spandau MG 08 (Maschinengewehr 08) was the standard heavy machine gun adopted by the German army prior to World War I (Spandau refers to the Spandau Armory, of the common manufacturers, and 08 is the year it was first issued to the German Army). The MG 08 was based on Hiram Maxim’s original 1884 Maxum Gun desing and fired a fabric belt of amunnition at the rate of 400 rounds per minute. To prevent the gun from overheating, a water jacket was added to the gun’s barrel. It was used with a sled style mount that could additionally be transported the gun like a stretcher. Over 100,000 MG 08’s were produced during the First World War, making it the predominant defensive machine gun used by the German Army. The MG 08 was also used as a defensive heavy machine gun during World War II, particularly in heavily fortified defensive zones and the desperate street fighting during the Battle of Berlin.
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