Bergmann MG 15nA machine gun

Lore & Background

The Bergmann MG 15nA was developed from earlier Bergmann machine gun designs that began in 1901, using a lock system patented by Theodor Bergmann and the short recoil principle. The locking system, in which a cam moves a lock vertically, was not dissimilar to Browning machine gun designs. Early development was partly performed by Louis Schmeisser. By 1910 the then-current model used cloth belts, fired from a closed bolt, and could fire at around 600 rpm. A 1915 model was modified to share a mount with the MG 08.

The weapon was lightened for both infantry and aircraft use. For aircraft use, the bolt was lightened and the mechanism sped up from 500 to 800 rounds per minute. For ground use, it was adopted as the Bergmann MG 15. The receiver was machined down, a butt stock was fitted, and it received a pistol grip and trigger group instead of spade grips. The heavy cooling jacket was replaced with a thin perforated barrel shroud, and a bipod was fitted halfway along the barrel. The major development came early in 1916 when the Bergmann MG 15 was converted into a second variation to mirror the development of the Maxim MG 08/15. The bolt was slowed back down due to stoppage issues in the ground role. The bipod was removed from the barrel shroud and relocated to just forward of the pistol grip using a swivel-mount that accepted the bipod shared between the Bergmann and Maxim guns. A carry handle and new sights were also added. This variation was called the Bergmann MG 15nA, with nA standing for 'neuer Art' (new model); the old pattern was renamed MG 15aA for 'alter Art' (old model). The MG 15nA saw much more frequent use among Imperial German forces.

Reader's Guide

The Bergmann MG 15nA was an important weapon in that it filled a gap in the German armory between the rifle and the heavy machine gun. The only other light machine guns the Imperial German Army fielded before the Bergmann was adopted was the Madsen machine gun used by the battalions. In the 1916 Battle of the Somme, the German Army found they desperately needed a weapon to counter the British Army's Lewis light machine gun, and the limited quantities of Madsen guns only added to the need. Germany did not produce any Madsens in the First World War and relied almost entirely on captured weaponry. The German Army, reeling from the Somme, ordered some 6,000 MG 15nA examples in November 1916. These weapons were distributed to infantry battalions before enough troops could be trained on the new MG 08/15 in the winter and spring of 1917. The majority of MG 15nA weapons were actually delivered to the Eastern and Palestine fronts where the German Asia Corps made the most significant use of the gun. A major limitation was that its air-cooled barrel would overheat after 250 rounds of sustained fire; they were therefore grouped into sections allowing gunners to open fire alternately, or attributed to mobile detachments. The German 'Light Machine Gun Units' were formed specifically for the weapon. The MG 15nA was a generally reliable gun that served until manufacture of automatic weaponry ceased in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles, but the dominance of the Maxim 08 during the war meant it never acquired much enthusiasm from military officials. It had faded into obscurity by the Second World War, though some were used by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. During the closing months of World War II, it was briefly put back into service by German Volkssturm units who lacked modern equipment.

Did You Know?

• The Bergmann MG 15nA used a lock system patented by Theodor Bergmann in 1901.
• Some 6,000 MG 15nA examples were ordered in November 1916 after the Battle of the Somme.
• The MG 15nA was briefly used by German Volkssturm units in the closing months of World War II.

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