This is an original and fully automatic WWI German 1908 Maxim heavy machine gun. This is probably one of the most influential weapons of the 20th century that certainly belongs in an advanced Military or German arms collection. This was actually the very first true self-sustaining, fully firing MG that was able to sustain automatic fire without any external means other than by just inserting the cartridge belt in the feed-mechanism, pulling the cocking handle twice and pulling the trigger. This weapon was able to function through the complete loading, firing, ejecting and rechambering a round cycle strictly on the power of the force of firing the bullet. This series of MG was actually developed by Hiram Maxim, in the 1883-1884 timeframe with the final design being finished in 1885. Maxim was a self taught engineer and inventor, who demonstrated his design throughout Europe with the British army being the first to make any notable purchases and the first country to actually use this weapon in battle in Chitral India, the Sudan and again in the Boxer Rebellion in 1899. Germany officially adopted the weapon in 1899 and Russia in 1905 and used it in the 1905 Russo-Japanese war. Nicknamed the Devils Paintbrush, the true effectiveness and devastation that this weapon was capable of was only finally realized in WWI based on the large scale, open field, land battles, where this weapon could and did literally mow down, hundreds of men while charging opposing forces. These static defensive positions, that were manned or equipped with these heavy MGs would literally change the face of land warfare forever. At the beginning of WWI the Germans had an estimated 12,000 of these MGs in inventory and were originally produced at the Spandau Arsenal and eventually by DWM. They have the distinctive large steel water jacket that surrounds the barrel which held seven quarts of water to cool the barrel which allowed it to have long sustained bursts of fire. These Maxims were capable of firing approximately 500 rounds of SUSTAINED fire before the water started to boil and up to 2000 rounds of SUSTAINED fire before the water would all boil off and the jacket had to be refilled. Interestingly enough on the left side of the receiver is a round selection mechanism where the machine gunner could actually set the number of rounds that the MG would shoot in a single bust. The settings range from single shot up to 70 rounds, (in increments of 1 round) per burst. In short burst of fire, (of 20-50) rounds, it was probable that the water could last for an indefinite period of time. It is clearly understandable why these were so devastating on the open battle fields where hundreds of men were charging these positions. This is quite astonishing for 1915, in comparison to the air-cooled MGs that are employed by the US Military today, where the soldier is taught to fire no more than 5-10 rounds per bursts. This specific MG was produced by the DWM factory in 1916 and the large side cover is marked "DEUTSCHE WAFFEN-und MUNITIONSFABRIKEN" with BERLIN 1916, in the middle, and the top cover is marked "M.G.08". It is fitted with a very robust flip-up tangent style rear sight that is calibrated from 400-2000 meters with a simple inverted "v" front sight that is fitted to the front of the water jacket. It has an original WWI Maxim steel water jacket with the correct plugs on each end and an original WWI static position sled. These sleds were large heavy four-legged mounts that were capable of being set in multiple firing positions based on the terrain of the battle field. This sled was manufactured by the Durkopp company in 1917 and is serial numbered 5913.

Very fine overall, with the receiver mechanism having 80% of the original blue/black finish on the various metal components with wear along the edges and high spots, with clear markings overall. The water jacket has lost most of its original finish and has now turned a gray patina, with some slight paint remnants in areas. The sled mount has most of an old gray painted finish with some rusting in areas, but still fully functional. The machine gun has mis-matched parts which is common for these weapons as any machine gun crew that was about to be captured usually removed the breech block and various other parts to keep the captured MG from being used against them. Just a super example of a very unique and certainly historical MG. Certainly for the discriminating collector. Class 3 Weapon.