German First World War Machine Guns, York Sunbury Historical Society, Fredericton Region Museum artefacts

German First World War Machine Guns in the Fredericton Region Museum Collection

The Fredericton Region Museum (FRM), formerly known as the York Sunbury Museum, is a small, non-profit museum founded in 1934 by the York Sunbury Historical Society. The museum was housed in several different locations until 1959, when it moved into Officers' Square on Queen Street in Fredericton, New Brunswick.  The Fredericton Region Museum focuses on preserving the history of the York and Sunbury region as well as central New Brunswick.  The museum possesses a large and diverse collection of artifacts, including an extraordinary firearms collection, a few of which are illustrated here.  The firearms have all been deactivated.

Photos of the small arms found in the museum are by the author or as credited.

Musée de la région de Fredericton, Mitrailleuses allemandes de la Première Guerre mondiale

Le Fredericton Region Museum, anciennement connu sous le nom de York Sunbury Museum, est un petit musée sans but lucratif fondé en 1934 par la York Sunbury Historical Society. Le musée a été installé dans plusieurs endroits différents jusqu'en 1959, date à laquelle il a emménagé sur la place des Officiers sur la rue Queen à Fredericton, au Nouveau-Brunswick. Le Fredericton Region Museum se concentre sur la préservation de l'histoire de la région de York et de Sunbury ainsi que du centre du Nouveau-Brunswick. Le musée possède une grande et diversifiée collection d'objets, dont une extraordinaire collection d'armes à feu, dont quelques-unes sont illustrées ici. Les armes à feu ont toutes été désactivées.

Les photos des armes légères trouvées dans le musée sont de l'auteur ou créditées.

(Author Photos)

Accession No: 1969.2153.1. German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun, (Serial Nr. 5923).  This gun was captured on 28 Aug 1918 by a Battalion of an Infantry Brigade in the 2nd Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), in France.  This MG 08 was originally allocated to Fredericton.  The weapon is mounted in a Great War exhibit inside the Fredericton Regional Museum on Officer’s Square.

(Library of Congress Photo via the USN)

Two captured German Machine Guns at a Salvage Dump in France in 1918.  These guns were refurbished by the French Army and put back into action using captured German ammunition.  The 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun is mounted on a Schlitten stand, while the lighter gun with a pistol group and box magazine is 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08/15 Machinegun.  The FRM has one of each.

Accession No. 1969.2955.1.  German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08/15 Machinegun, (Serial Nr. 6209a), Gwf Spandau 1917.  This weapon was likely captured ca 1918 by a Battalion of an Infantry Brigade in a Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), in France.  This MG is on display inside the Fredericton Regional Museum on Officer’s Square.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3403105)

Captured German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun being examined, repaired and assembled by Canadian armourers in France, May 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3522120)

Captured German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08/15 Machinegun being examined, Canadian Motor Machine Gun Officers in France, March 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3403114)

German prisoners carrying captured 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08/15 Machineguns back behind Canadian lines in France, June 1917.  

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3397823)

German 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machineguns captured at Vimy Ridge, May 1917.

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