The Kjellman LMG was a
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle ri ...
produced in Sweden. It is notable for being one of the first fully automatic weapons ever conceived (if not produced) and one of the first
light machine gun
A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the s ...
s as well.
Although the patent dated back to 1870, and prototypes may have existed at least a half a decade before the
Maxim was invented,
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
ammunition made the weapon virtually unusable due to rapid residue build up. The weapon was the brainchild of a
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often su ...
D.H. Friberg, and was later modified by (and acquired its namesake from) Rudolf Henrik Kjellman, who in 1907, adapted the system to fire smokeless cartridges. Although boasting a reliable and secure breech-locking mechanism (similar to the Russian
DP-27), the weapon was prohibitively expensive to manufacture, and only ten were ever made.
External Image
Kjellman LMG
External links
* http://www.gotavapen.se/index_english.htm
* http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artiklar/kg/swedish_kg1.htm
* http://peashooter85.tumblr.com/post/108124336697/the-first-true-machine-gun-the-kjellman-light
Machine guns of Sweden
Early machine guns
Light machine guns