www.MG42.us

Found this working in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum! It is from the SMS Cormoran II, the ship that prompted the first U.S. shots in World War One.



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Thanks. This is the coolest thread on the interweb today.

Thanks to you we get to see what normally sits on a back room shelve.

Nice pics Thanks for sharing them and I hope that it gets to go into a nice display someday that all can view.

Later 42rocker

You have a real piece of history in your hands there! Very cool gun.

I see a rough MG08/15 there too! What is the maker and serial number? Any other Maxims?

Sure is an 08/15. There are two in the vault. The one you see in the background was shot up by the marines at Belleau Wood. Its in bad shape, and missing pretty much all its internal parts. I haven't yet messed with the other 08/15.

What are you guys doing with these guns?

Very cool! Where is the museum? Can anybody look at it close up? How do you get permission to inspect it?

Thanks in advance!

Tom

cleaning them up so that they can sit in the gun vault for another 50 years untouched. its against "museum morals" to shoot them. I believe it is called "consumptive use" of public property. Its aggravating, but I guess I understand....haha

Tom,
the museum is on the naval academy grounds in annapolis md. I graduated this past may, and have a temporary assigned duty(more like a temporary assigned playtime) cleaning these guns until I start flight school. I got lucky, others were fighting for the job, but I convinced them to let me do it because I have some(though limited with machine guns) in gun collecting.(i only have 2 mg's) I am sure anyone can go look for researcher's purposes though.

USNA MUSEUM MG08/15's: Spandau from belleau wood



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Second gun from Cambrai



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Both in rough shape, and missing alot of parts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuttling_of_SMS_Cormoran ---bil

Thanks bil,
Looks like it's bell ended up here too!

-seth

sbl11 wrote:cleaning them up so that they can sit in the gun vault for another 50 years untouched. its against "museum morals" to shoot them. I believe it is called "consumptive use" of public property. Its aggravating, but I guess I understand....haha

Yeah I guess it would not be to fair for a few Museum people to wear out these guns. Of course if they did a public display once every 5 years or something... what would be awesome!

Here is an idea! Clean them and get a display at some gun shows, like the Nations gun show. I think its free tables for displays like this and I would come down to see them!

On the first gun, I assume thats a "b" under the serial number and the gun is a 1917? Nice battle damage! Looks like the parts got stripped off and reused on another gun. Cool stuff!

What else have you got? Any Diggers?

Most of the other stuff is from Vietnam. The records show that we had an mg08 and sled, but transfered it to either the navy history and Heritage muesum in D.C. or to the Marine air/ground museum in quantico. Its one of those two places, though I forget. We have an mg34 that was captured in Vietnam. It has vietnamese text stamped on the buttstock.

What is a Digger? Colt 1895 "potato digger"?

sbl11 wrote:What is a Digger? Colt 1895 "potato digger"?

Yup, any year.

None of those. I'm pretty sure that the Virginia War museum has one though. Does anyone have one of these navy maxims?

can you get photos of the mg34? that would be neat to see - matt

Hello,

Does anyone have one of these navy maxims?

I have one made in 1918, all are matching numbers except the spring cover; it's also a navy made but from 1914.















Regards

david

Sure Matt,
Here is the Vietnam bring back mg34:



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Its the typical russian capture mismatch

Seth,

Cool gun!

You should build the Museum a on-line picture museum! As you clean them, set them up against a nice background and take pictures. That way the rest of the world can see! Like what Aberdeen Proving ground has.... come on beat Army!

Any T-Gewehrs? Any other German MGs?

Unfortunately not. Just two mp40's.