MG 08 - Chinese Version

Chinese Version

Because of the Sino-German alliance, the Germans supplied the Chinese with MG 08s. Later in 1935, the Chinese demanded to have machine guns produced by themselves, so they created the Type 24 Heavy machine gun.

The Type 24 Heavy machine gun, first introduced to the National Revolutionary Army in 1935, designed to replace the original MG 08. It was the standard heavy machine gun for all Nationalists, Communists, and Warlords from 1935. They were usually made in the Hanyang Arsenal. Like the original MG 08, because of transportation difficulties, the M1917 Browning machine gun and other machine guns slowly replaced the Type 24 for the NRA after the Chinese Civil War. The PM M1910, and the SG-43 Goryunov (or Type 53/57 Machine gun) slowly replaced the Type 24 Heavy machine gun after the Chinese Civil War, but it was kept in service with the PLA, KPA and the NVA until the 1960s during the Vietnam War.

The Type 24 heavy machine gun's tripod resembles the tripod of the MG 08. This gun is not able to be mounted on sledge mounts. When aiming at enemy infantry, it usually comes with a muzzle disk. When used as an anti-aircraft gun, it uses a metal pole to make the tripod higher and usually does not come with a muzzle disk. The gun's receiver is similar to the MG 08's gun body. Like the original MG 08, it needs a crew of four.

The Type 24 heavy machine gun is chambered with the 7.92x57mm Mauser round, the standard Chinese military rifle cartridge of Nationalist China. After the Chinese Civil War, the People's Republic of China developed its own version of the Type 24 HMG chambered with the 7.62x54mmR Russian cartridge.