This is a very fine example of an original WWI German Maxim heavy machine gun manufactured in 1918 by the DWM factory that has capture information written on top of the barrel jacket. The top of the water jacket has been hand written in an original WWI era white paint with: Captured by 27th DIV. A.E.F./Sept 1918". This is the real deal, as the 27th Infantry Division was a unit of the Army National Guard that served in both World War I and World War II. The division traces its history from the New York Division, originally formed originally in 1908. The New York Division was originally called to active duty during the Mexican border crisis in 1916. It was redesignated as the 6th Division in June 1916 and then released from active duty in December 1916, only to be recalled for World War I service in July 1917. The 6th Division was reorganized and redesignated as the 27th Division on 1 October 1917. The Maxim MG is probably one of the most influential weapon designs of the 20th century as it was the first true self-sustaining machine gun that could fire in a fully-automatic mode without external means other than by power of the round and mechanism itself. This design was developed by Hiram Maxim in the 1883/84 time frame with the final design finalized 1885. He demonstrated his design throughout Europe circa 1887, and the British Army was the first country to recognize its importance and the first to officially adopted it and to use it in battle. Germany officially adopted the weapon in 1899 and used it throughout WWI and well into the Weimar period. This is a very late "1918" production model with serial number "47316". It has all matching visible serial numbers to include the top cover, back plate/butterfly trigger mechanism, spade grip assembly, barrel jacket and various smaller parts. All of the side plates of the receiver are correctly stamped "DWM" certainly indicating its originality. Unfortunately it does NOT come with the internal lock mechanism (bolt assembly) but this part, like other components and ammunition for this machine gun, are all available over the internet. The top cover is marked: "47316/M.G.0.8./D.W.M./BERLIN/1918". The tangent style rear sight is graduated from calibrated from 400-2,000 meters, and a simple inverted "V" front sight is fitted to the front of the water jacket. The water jacket could hold seven quarts of water that would allow the machine gunner to fire long bursts of intermittent, sustained fire. After approximately 500 rounds of fire the water would started to boil and would completely boil off/evaporate after 2,000 rounds. During WWI this weapon would wreak havoc and devastation in the large open field battles in France and Germany where it was nicknamed the "Devils Paintbrush" because of the thousands of soldiers it killed. This single weapon changed the tactics of land warfare forever. It does come with an original WWI German green wooden box trench periscope and a walnut display stand. This weapon is currently registered with the ATF as an unserviceable weapon.

Very fine with 85% of its original blue finish on the receiver and various other parts. The complete water jacket has an old original field gray paint applied by the Germans and the noted historical capture information written in white on top of the jacket. The walnut grips are in very good condition showing numerous handling marks and pressure dents on the sides. A super nice and very historic WWI Model 1908 Maxim MG. NOTE: This is a registered DEWAT weapon with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), as a National Firearms Act (NFA) weapon, that is fully transferable. It has been classified as a Curio or Relic as defined in 27 CFR, 478.11. These weapons are still subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 478.