Maybe an iron piece from a m-g ?

[Nicolas G.]

Goodday,

I am back with my rusty artefacts. This big one could be from a machinegun or similar... or from a farming tool ! The top certainly moved on a kind of rail with the under pieces as levers. Hope someone could tell me more.

Nicolas

[Marco]

Yep, breach lock of a MG. It looks different from my Vickers breach lock I found at Thiepval:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~aur/layout/frames.ht...ebris/rifle.htm

Regards,

Marco

[Nicolas G.]

Thanks Marco. Looked in your page, there is similar things but it's hard to say for the instant... Maybe another mg.

[Muerrisch]

looks like a fairly good match ........

[182 CEF]

This looks just like a part for an 08 I used to have.

Dean Owen

[Staffsyeoman]

I'll agree with Dean; looks more like a German 08 lock than a Vickers..

[Patrick Mooney]

I think Dean is correct. It is extremely close to what I remember from my old MG08 locks. It was very common for troops capturing machine guns to disable the gun in some way to prevent it's use by enemy forces if it was recaptured. The quickest way with the MG08 was to open the top cover, rotate the lock up and twist it to the side one third of a turn, which unlocked the lock and allowed it's removal. The lock was then tossed far from the gun.

Another lock could be fitted, but would need to be done by an armory, since the headspace would be different on each lock. Each MG08 contained a accesory box on the leg of the sled mount which contained two extra locks for that particular gun should one become disabled or broken.

The whole process of removal and replacement takes about 20 seconds.

Again, this may be somewhat faulty in memory, since my I sold my 08 about 12 years ago. A lovely piece of equipment, made in 1916 by Spandau.

Hope this helps...

Patrick

[Patrick Mooney]

In looking at the photo again, it is definetly an 08 lock. The rusty bit pointing toward seven o'clock which is threaded is the portion that locks into the receiver of the machine gun.

If only it could speak of it's history...

Patrick

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Hello Nicolas, It is a lock from an MG08 as you can see from the attached engraving. This was taken from a booklet 'Unterrichtsbuch für die Maschinengewehr+Kompagnien Gerät 08'. Berlin, 1918. Where did you pick it up?

Ralph

[Nicolas G.]

Thank you Ralph !!! There is no doubt now. I was given that artefact by a relative. It came from the "rubbish" of a potato starch factory in the Somme. Impossible to know more about its origin.

Regards- Nicolas

[Mark Finneran]

Of course this lock could be for a MG08/15 too! Both locks were identical. I am putting together a display of WWI German MG items hence the MG submissions, but for info when the Canadians took their captured war trophies back to the homeland in WWI the only 'deactivation' regulation imposed upon them was that either the lock or feedblock were discarded. For some, fortunately, this was interpreted as kept seperate!! One of my MG08/15's came from Canada but of course is now sadly UK spec deactivated.

Mark

Thank you Ralph !!! There is no doubt now. I was given that artefact by a relative. It came from the "rubbish" of a potato starch factory in the Somme. Impossible to know more about its origin.

Regards- Nicolas