Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Maschinengewehr 13 also called the MG 13 was a light machine gun of German origin, developed in the late 1920s by converting the Dreyse Model 1918 water-cooled machine gun to an air-cooled design. It was Germany’s standard light machine gun up to 1935 when it was replaced with other designs. Features including a closed bolt operation, magazine feed (25-round box or 75-round drum), folding stock, and a unique double-crescent trigger allowed select-fire without using a separate selector switch. The MG 13 was first made by Simson in Suhl then later by Berlin-Schuler Waffenwerke before being exported to Spain and Portugal making it internationally recognized. It also found usage among Chinese Nationalist forces. While officially replaced by the MG34, MG13s were still used in World War II as rear-echelon weapons by some German units. This weapon went beyond just infantry use and could be installed in Panzer I tanks and allegedly Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers too. The MG 13 represented a bridge from World War I era designs to more advanced machine guns and played an important role in German military development during the interwar period.
“This is a very scarce example of a late pre-WWII MG-13 machine gun as manufactured by the Berlin-Schuler Waffenwerke (BSW) circa 1937/38. This rare MG was manufactured under a commercial contract for the country of Portugal as it is correctly stamped on the right side of the receiver with the large Portuguese Crest/1938, which was the model number of the Portuguese version. Little early history is know about the MG-13 as it was produced at a time when Germany was under the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty (post WWI). The design was an improved/converted version of the original WWI Dreyse Model 1918, water cooled heavy machine gun. This improved model was basically an air-cooled version of the Model 1918. It was originally produced by the Simpson factory after WWI and then later in the mid to late 1930s by the BSW (Berlin-Schuler Waffenwerke) factory. The redesign made it light weight and easy to handle in the field. It was originally fitted with a single side mounted 25 round magazine, and a saddle or double-drum magazine was also developed like the MG-34s, which was the next German machine gun to replace this one. It had a folding bipod permanently attached to the barrel jacket, with a unique side folding buttstock. It has a rotating carrying handle that made it easy to transport and was fitted with a folding front sight with tangent rear sight graduated from 100-2000 like the K98 rifle and a long range folding sight.”
Lot 746: German MG-13 Light Machine Gun – Rare Pre-World War II German MG-13 Class III/NFA “SALES SAMPLE” Light Machine Gun with Accessories. (n.d.-z). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/76/746/german-mg13-light-machine-gun.
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