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The Maschinengewehr Modell 1911 or MG 11 is a Swiss
heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...
which was introduced before and during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. The MG 11 has a narrow constructive relationship with the German
MG 08 The ''Maschinengewehr'' 08, or MG 08, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 served during Wo ...
heavy machine gun.


History

The MG 11 was based on the water-cooled
Maxim machine gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian M ...
, which had been developed by
Hiram Stevens Maxim Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916) was an American- British inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, ...
in 1885. The MG 11 was the last of a series of Swiss derivatives of the Maxim machine gun.


7.5 mm Maschinengewehr Modells


1894 (MG 94)

Between 1891 and 1894 Switzerland procured 72 heavy machine guns, designated MG 94, from Maxim and Nordenfelt in London . These weapons were issued to fortress troops and mountain troops and were operational until 1944 as spare arms with the Territorial Battalion. The MG 94 was mounted at the front end and at the rear on the knees of the gunner. Two leather padded rings on the left and on the right sides of the breech of the weapon rested on the knees of the machine gunner sitting behind it and permitted sweeping fire. The machine gun MG 94 was chambered for the 7.5x53.5 mm GP 90 cartridge and was later, along other minor technical modifications, adapted for firing the more powerful 7.5x55 mm GP 11 cartridge. Six MG 94s had their water-cooling mantles drilled and cut open, making these guns air-cooled and thus water-free and lighter for use as aircraft machine guns. These six MG 94 air-cooled guns were taken out of service in 1944.


1900 (MG 00)

In 1899 Switzerland procured 69 heavy machine guns, designated MG 00, mainly from Vickers, Sons & Maxim in London. These guns had tripod mounts designed for cavalry use with a gunner's seat attached to the rear support strut. The machine gun MG 00 was chambered for the 7.5x53.5 mm GP 90 cartridge and was later adapted for firing the more powerful 7.5x55 mm GP 11 cartridge.


1911 (MG 11)

The MG 11 at first was originally procured from DWM Berlin. As German deliveries ceased during World War I, the manufacturing of the MG 11 was taken up in 1915 by the Eidgenössischen Waffenfabrik W+F (confederate weapon factory W+F) Bern.Am Rhyn, Michael und Reinhart, Christian: ''Bewaffnung und Ausrüstung der Schweizer Armee seit 1817, Band 14, Automatwaffen II, Maschinengewehre, Sturmgewehre, Minenwerfer. Zürich 1983. S. 228 The MG 11 was a water-cooled heavy machine gun and mounted on a tripod. It was chambered for 7.5x55 mm GP 11 ammunition and came into service with the army, cavalry and was also used in fortresses, tanks and on airplanes of the Swiss Army. When applied in a fortress an optical sight and ball armoured screen was applied, the water cooling was connected to a tank and a sealing rubber was mounted behind the muzzle to prevent the penetration of
flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
oil into the bunker.


=1934/1935 modernization programme

= In 1934 and 1935 the MG 11 machine guns were adapted for using then modern metal machine gun belts that started to replace the canvas belts used by the original Maxim machine guns. A
flash suppressor A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a muzzle device attached to the muzzle (firearms), muzzle of a rifle that reduces its visible signature while firing by cooling or dispersing the b ...
at the muzzle was also introduced. Further a new trigger system was fitted that allowed one handed firing, so the gunner could simultaneously operate the sweeping fire control wheel at the tripod, and additional kit for anti aircraft usage. The modernized MG 11 machine guns were marked with a white stripe running along the length of the cooling sleeve. Beginning in the early 1950s the MG 11 was gradually replaced by the air-cooled 7.5 mm Maschinengewehr Modell 1957 (MG 51)
general-purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for v ...
. The replacement process was finished in the 1980s.


Variants

* MG 94 on knee-mount * MG 00 on tripod, with simple sweep mounting * MG 11 standard version during World War I * MG 11 (revisions 1934/1935)


References


Sources

* Schweizerische Armee (Hrsg.): ''Technisches Reglement Nr. 3, Das schwere Maschinenge-wehr (Mg. 11), provisorische Ausgabe 1939'', Bern 1939 * Bericht des Chefs des Generalstabes der Armee an den Oberbefehlshaber der Armee über den Aktivdienst 1939-45 * Robert G. Segel (14 October 2011)
The Swiss MG11 Maxim Machine Gun
, ''Small Arms Defense Journal'',·Vol. 2, No. 3
Maschinengewehre und leichte Fliegerabwehr
Bulletin für die Mitglieder des Vereins Schweizer Armeemuseum, 2007/1


External links

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Machine guns of Switzerland Heavy machine guns