We have another pretty cool machine gun today, thanks again to Steve Hill at Spotted Dog Firearms in Arizona. It’s an aerial Maxim gun, based on the 08/15 infantry Maxim. The 08/15 was a lightened version of the Standard 1908 Maxim used extensively by ground forces. This lighter version was equipped with a bipod and belt drum and intended for mobile use. The design immediately drew the notice of the German Luftwaffe, which adapted it for use on fighter aircraft.
The barrel jacket was heavily perforated (no need for cooling when the barrel is exposed to an aircraft’s slipstream), and several modifications were made to adapt it to use by a pilot. We’ll look at several of those in the video – but one element that is not on this particular gun is the firing mechanism. These guns used the first synchronizer (or interrupter) mechanism, which linked the aircraft’s prop shaft to the gun trigger. It would prevent the gun from firing when a prop blade was in the line of the muzzle. This allowed the guns to be mounted alongside the cockpit for easy manipulation and aiming in a single-seat aircraft.
This aircraft Maxim is fully transferrable and currently for sale by Spotted Dog Firearms in Cave Creek AZ. If you are interested in owning it yourself, please contact Steve Hill at 602-538-2769.
Thanks for the video !
Wow ! There is an original 45/70 Gatling Gun for sale in Spotted Dog Firearms site !
I love your work. all the vault videos are fascinating…
Just a quick comment on the larger cocking handle. I believe the design was intended to cam the the recoiling portions of the mechanism back to allow the belt to feed while recocking the gun. This would allow a jam or misfire to be cleared without the pilot having to remove both hands from the stick to cock the gun and feed the belt. This motion would have been especially necessary with the use of disintegrating links as there would be nothing to grab while loading the feedblock with the new round.
Could also be a counterweight for the mechanism. There is a hole at the end of the lever, which I would assume attached to a cable or rod.