Schwarzlose machine gun

Maschinengewehr (Schwarzlose) M. 7
MG M.07/12 mounted on a wheel in a World War I-era anti-aircraft configuration.
Type	Machine gun
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1908–1945 (at least)
Used by	See Users
Wars	Balkan Wars World War I Russian Civil War Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia Polish–Soviet War Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) Colombia–Peru War World War II 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Production history
Designer	Andreas Wilhelm Schwarzlose
Designed	1904
Manufacturer	Steyr
Produced	1908 – 1918
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	41.4 kg (gun & tripod)
Length	945 mm
Barrel length	530 mm
Cartridge	8×50mmR Mannlicher 8×56mmR 7.92×57mm Mauser 6.5×53mmR 6.5×55mm 7.62×54mmR .303 British
Action	Toggle-delayed blowback
Rate of fire	400-580 round/min (M.07/12) 600-880 round/m (MG-16A)
Feed system	250-round cloth belt

The Maschinengewehr (Schwarzlose) M. 7, also known as the Schwarzlose MG, is a medium machine-gun, used as a standard issue firearm in the Austro-Hungarian Army throughout World War I. It was utilized by the Dutch, Greek and Hungarian armies during World War II. It was routinely issued to Italian colonial troops, alongside the Mannlicher M1895 rifle.

The Schwarzlose M. 7 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 of simpler design and 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/minute, but this was later increased to 580 rounds/minute during World War I by fitting the mechanism with a stronger spring. The Schwarzlose was a robust and reliable weapon in its intended role as an infantry weapon, but unlike the highly adaptable Maxim-derived machine guns, met with less success when it was used in roles it had not been designed for. The simplicity of its design however, made the weapon very inexpensive to manufacture.

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), the Netherlands (6.5mm caliber) and Sweden (using the 6.5×55mm cartridge and designated kulspruta m/1914). In addition, the British ammunition company Kynoch produced a machine gun based on the Schwarzlose patent in 1907, using the .303 British cartridge. The Netherlands used an modified version, the Schwarzlose M.08, in production from 1918 (2,006 made). 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 the Schwarzlose saw limited action in North Africa as an anti-aircraft weapon in Italian service. It was also the standard MG issued to Italian colonial troops. Besides, 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 that conflict.