| |
|
| Country |
Austria-Hungary |
| Type |
Medium machine gun |
| Introduction |
1905 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Maschinengewehr Patent Schwarzlose M.07/12 was a medium machine-gun, and was a standard issue firearm in the Austro-Hungarian army throughout World War I, and by the Dutch, Greek and the Hungarian armies during World War II.
The Schwarzlose M.07 was a water cooled belt fed weapon designed by a German named Andreas Wilhelm Schwarzlose. It was usually mounted on a tripod and looked broadly similar to the family of Maxim-derived machine-guns such as the British Vickers and the German Maschinengewehr 08. The Schwarzlose, however, was a simpler design that featured an unusual delayed blowback mechanism which contained only a single spring. The initial variants of the M.07/12 had a cyclic rate of about 400 rounds/m but this was later increased to 580 rounds/m during World War I by fitting a stronger spring. It was a robust and reliable weapon in its intended role as an infantry gun but unlike the highly adaptable Maxim-derived machine guns the Schwarzlose met with less success when it was used in roles it had not been designed for.
The Schwarzlose enjoyed moderate export success in the years leading up to World War I. Apart from the armies of the Austro-Hungarian empire (8mm caliber) it was adopted by the armies of Greece (6.5mm caliber) and the Netherlands (6.5mm caliber). After the first world war the Schwarzlose continued in use with the new nations that emerged from the fragments of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Captured examples of the Schwarzlose saw some sporadic use by Russian and Italian units during the first world war. During World War II captured Schwarzlose machine guns of various types saw service with second line units of the Nazi German army, especially during the desperate fighting that took place in the final phases of World War II.
|
