[Braith-Wafer]

http://www.militaryimages.net/photopost/data/500/untitled.JPG

And i thought the Maxim gun was, The patent of this design goes well back to 1870!

[junyo]

Although the patent dated back to 1870, and prototypes may have existed at least a half a decade before the Maxim was invented, black powder ammunition made the weapon virtually unusable due to rapid residue build up. The weapon was the brainchild of a Lieutenant D.H. Friberg, and was later modified by (and acquired its namesake from) Rudolf Henrik Kjellman, who in 1907, adapted the system to fire smokeless cartridges. Although boasting a reliable and secure breech-locking mechanism (similar to the Russian DP28), the weapon was prohibitively expensive to manufacture, and only ten were ever made.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kjellman_machine_gun

Interesting. Seems like this is one of those technically first to achieve something, but never actually made it work well, sort of deals. So this would be the first MG and the Maxim would be the first practical MG.


What was the Kjellman chambered in?

[SDC]

Kind-of, sort-of; since they couldn't get it to work with the ammunition available at the time of patent (black-powder), does it REALLY count as a practical MG? Elements of this design are still used today, in the MG-42-based MG-3, as the firing-pin forms part of the locking mechanism, and the firing-pin is (supposed to) be unable to go forward unless the locking lugs/rollers are fully engaged. The standard Swedish round at the time this was experimented with was the 8x58R Krag.

[BigG]

I call it an interesting footnote in firearms history, like the John Browning 1873 Winchester prototype with the autoloading mechanism.

[Trebor]

If that info is correct, this is a huge, pretty much unknown development. Even if it didn't work *well*, if it worked at all, it shows that Maxim wasn't the first one to use the energy of the cartridge to operate the mechanism and thus does not deserve credit for inventing the autoloading concept.

Granted, Maxim's gun changed the course of the world, but this would be a very important footnote, at least.

Max P, what do you think?

[max popenker]

Max P, what do you think?
Well, there were many attempts to make an automatic gun, but Maxim was the first truly SUCCESSFUL one. Kjellman system came into existence much later, when in improved form used in Friberg LMG (some 10 were built and then dropped due high cost)
The same Kjellman flap-locking system was later used in German Kar.43 and British EM-2 rifles, and in seriously improved form - in Soviet Degtyarov MG's and some other guns.

[Croyance]

If practical is the only way to get credit, remember that the Wright brothers didn't fly that far at Kitty Hawk. Their design was nowhere close to practical.
Prototypes were built and they did work until gummed up. Later smokeless ammunition proved the design works.

[rangerruck]

well then, I say it has to work first, for it to be the first. Or technically, Leonardo Da vinci was the first dude working on the machine gun concept, but it was a multi bbl, fan shaped weapon he had drawings for.

[Croyance]

It did work, up to the point where the black powder gunk jammed it up.
Define "work", because as I said, the Wright brothers machine was barely functional. Many early designs of things were quirky, to say the least and tempermental (crapped out a lot).

[Kaeto]

Heck they tried to make a copy of the Wright Flyer following the original design and it would not fly.

[20nickels]

They didn't have the favorable wind conditions the Wright bros. did on that historical day.

[Davo]

It was not the REAL first MG, but it did prove that the autoloading, automatic design COULD work.
Energy Breeding isnt here yet either people...dosent mean its not thoretically possible, or hasn't been done in a lab.