Ian with Forgotten Weapons breaks down the history and function of a classic Luftwaffe-era machine gun.
Designed in Switzerland at Solothurn to get around that pesky Versailles Treaty which put the kybosh on machine guns in Weimar Germany, the MG 17 and its cousin the MG 15 armed most of the early German combat aircraft in WWII.
Chambered in 8mm Mauser, the open-bolt LMG had a super high rate of fire– 1,200 rpm– and was belt fed in the MG 17 variant and with a 75-round saddle drum on the MG 15.
The sweet Class III example Ian has in the above video is up for sale through Rock Island Auction, Messerschmitt not included.
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