This German made machine is almost a direct copy of Hiram Maxim machine gun and was the standard armament for most of that nation’s fighter aircraft.  There are 4 version of the Spandau MG08.  This variant is the 1915 LMG 08, which was originally produced as a light machinegun for the infantry and produced into the 1920's.  This is the classic LMG most often seen; however it was not used on airplanes until mid war.  Problems with the aerial version of the MG08 (see lMG 08), resulted in some individual pilots replacing broken lMG08s with infantry LMG in late 1916; these guns proved more reliable and manufacturers began mounting this version on new planes in 1917.  Our model has the short mounting bracket used in airplanes; the longer bracket most often seen on surviving pieces was for mounting on a tripod. 

A Daniel Olding  3D Modeller/Graphic design.