MG 15 (7.92 mm)

The MG 15 on the S-100 (1944)

Description

The 7.92 mm MG 15 is a German machine gun seen used on a variety of vehicles. Its roles consist of a defensive armament for large German aircraft and as an anti-aircraft armament for some German motor torpedo boats.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

Vehicles equipped with this weapon
Twin-engine fighters	Do 17 Z-7 (Defensive)
Strike aircraft	Bf 110 C-6 (Defensive) · Bf 110 C-7 (Defensive) · Bf 110 F-2 (Defensive)
Bombers
Ar 196	Ar 196 A-3 (Defensive)
Do 17	Do 17 E-1 · Do 17 Z-2
Do 217	Do 217 E-2 (Defensive) · Do 217 E-4 (Defensive)
Fw 189	Fw 189 A-1 (Defensive)
Fw 200	Fw 200 C-1 (Defensive)
He 111	He 111 H-3 (Defensive) · He 111 H-6 (Defensive)
Ju 87	Ju 87 B-2 (Defensive) · Ju 87 R-2 (Defensive) · Ju 87 R-2 Libya (Defensive) · ▄Ju 87 R-2 (Defensive)
Ju 88	Ju 88 A-1
Motor torpedo boats	S-147 · S-100 · S-204 Lang

General info

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Available ammunition

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Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

• High muzzle velocity
• High fire rate

Cons:

• Jams quickly
• Low damage output (as many low-caliber machine guns)

History

The Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I forbid Germany from developing and using aircraft, let alone machine guns to arm them. However, the Germans didn't stop making machine guns but moved the development behind closed doors. Lewis Strange led a Rheinmetall design team to develop one in secret and production began in Switzerland under Solothurn to bypass the restrictions in Germany. The MG 30 that resulted was an air-cooled recoil-operated design intended for use by the Reichswehr (Realm Defense) but was passed over in favor of the MG13 Dreyse. However the recently formed Luftwaffe (German Air Force) needed a flexible-mounted weapon for their bombers and tail-gunners on their aircraft so the design was refined into the MG 15 and adopted by the Luftwaffe as their first machine gun. Designating the gun MG 15 was a deceptive tactic shared by other German equipment developed during the Weimar Republic period including the fixed-mount counterpart the MG 17 which implied both weapons were World War I era designs that would be allowed under the Versailles Treaty.

The MG 15 is a simple design with an almost tubular receiver but an unusual rotating collar that locks the bolt into battery instead of the bolt itself rotating. The MG 15 was fed with distinctive 75-round double-drum or "saddle-drum" magazines named for the manner they straddled the receiver and had an alternating feed for each gun. While belt-feeding was an option for these guns, the Luftwaffe was concerned about the belt interfering with the operation of a flexible weapon. The rate of fire was boosted from the MG 30 progenitor to 900-1,000 rounds per minute. The open-bolt gun was also capable of mounting a brass-catching bad under the ejection port, a large trigger guard for gunners with mittens, a lock for the magazine release, and aircraft sights.

The main flexible machine gun for German aircraft during the inter-war period, it fell out of favor when the more powerful 13 mm MG 131 was introduced in 1940 due to the fact rifle-caliber were not as capable as heavy machine guns or autocannons against the new generation of fighters encountered by the Luftwaffe. The more direct replacement, however, was the MG 81 which was developed from, and used most of the parts of, the MG34. After they got forced out of their intended aircraft role they found a new lease in life as an infantry light machine gun due to a shortage of machine guns for the Heer (Army). The infantry models featured a number of modifications in the form of additional attachments to the external gun. These include a barrel shroud air-cooling, a modified version of the aircraft sights for ground use including the rear sight in the range adjustment drum, a buttstock, sling swivel attachments, and an MG 34 bipod that could be mounted in two positions.

Media

Videos

The MG-15: A Flexible Aircraft Machine Gun Pushed into Infantry Service - Forgotten Weapons

See also

• Type 98/Type 1 - The MG 15 licensed to Imperial Japan and used in the Army and Navy respectively.

External links

• [World War II Database] MG 15 Machine Gun (Web Archive)
• [National Army Museum] MG 15 7.92 mm light machine gun, 1941 (c) (Web Archive)

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Chen, C. Peter. 2017. "MG 15 Machine Gun". World War II Database. Last modified October 2017. Website (Archive)
• Forgotten Weapons. 2017. "The MG-15: A Flexible Aircraft Machine Gun Pushed into Infantry Service". YouTube video. 14:32. October 29, 2017. Video

Aircraft machine guns
USA
7.62 mm	Browning · M134 Minigun
12.7 mm	GAU-19 · M2 Browning · M3 Browning
Germany
7.62 mm	MG3
7.92 mm	MG 15 · MG 17 · MG 81
12.7 mm	FN M3P
13 mm	MG 131
USSR
7.62 mm	DA · GShG-7.62 · PKT · PV-1 · ShKAS
12.7 mm	A-12.7 · Berezin UB · TKB-481 · YaK-B
Britain
7.62 mm	FN 60.30 · L8A1
7.7 mm	Browning · Lewis · Vickers E · Vickers K
Japan
7.7 mm	Te-1 · Type 89 · Type 89 'special' · Type 92 · Type 97 navy
7.92 mm	Type 1 · Type 98
12.7 mm	Ho-103 · Ho-104
13 mm	Type 2
13.2 mm	Type 3
China
12.7 mm	QJK99-12.7-1
Italy
7.7 mm	Breda-SAFAT · Lewis
7.92 mm	FN Browning
12.7 mm	Breda-SAFAT · FN M3M · Scotti
France
7.5 mm	Darne 1933 · Fabrique Nationale Mle 38 · FN Browning · MAC 1934 · MAC 1934T · Mle 33 · Mle 1923
7.62 mm	PKA
7.92 mm	FN-Browning M.36 No.3 · FN-Browning M.36 No.4
Sweden
7.7 mm	FN-Browning M.36 No.3
8 mm	Ksp m/22 · Ksp m/22 Fh · Ksp m/22 Fv · Ksp m/22-37 R
12.7 mm	Akan m/39A · Akan m/40 · Akan m/45 · LKk/42
13.2 mm	Akan m/39 · Akan m/39A

Naval machine guns
USA
7.62 mm	M73
12.7 mm	AN-M2
Germany
7.62 mm	MG-3
7.92 mm	MG08 pattern 1908 · MG15 · MG34
13.2 mm	Hotchkiss
15 mm	MG M38(t)
USSR
7.62 mm	Maxim
12.7 mm	DShK
14.5 mm	KPV
Britain
7.62 mm	FN MAG
7.7 mm	Lewis 1916 · Vickers GO No.5
12.7 mm	Vickers Mk.V
Japan
6.5 mm	Maxim · Type 38 pattern 1907
7.7 mm	Type 89 · Type 92
13.2 mm	Type 93
Italy
6.5 mm	Breda Mod.30 · Fiat Model 26
12.7 mm	Breda-SAFAT
13.2 mm	Breda Model 31
France
7.7 mm	Darne M1922
7.92 mm	Hotchkiss pattern 1914
13.2 mm	Browning · Model 1929 Hotchkiss