Original WWII Rare Danish Madsen M-1924 Belt Fed Tanker Display Machine Gun with Internal Components - Serial G.N.R. No. 15A

Original Item: Only One Available. Constructed from a legally demilitarized (de-milled) parts set, this is a wonderful example of the very rare Danish Madsen M-1924 Belt Fed Tanker Display Machine Gun, just purchased at a recent military show. It is built from all original parts on an original BATF compliant non-firing inoperable display receiver, making this a 100% legal display machine gun. This receiver was created by using portions of the original torch cut receiver, including the barrel bushing, and has had over 25% of the length totally removed, making this totally legal to own without a license of any kind. This was constructed of 95% original parts (a couple pins and minor parts maybe post war manufactured), manufactured in Denmark and extensively used by Germany during WW2 after the invasion of Scandinavia.

As with most reliable machine gun designs during the first half of the 20th Century, the Madsen wend through various design iterations, including various ammunition delivery options. The Madsen design in this case actually dates back to the late 19th century, and was made to utilize black powder cartridges when the self-loading features were first introduced. It was originally gravity fed from a stripper clip loaded magazine as well, but this eventually became insufficient, and with the introduction of smokeless powder rounds, the top fed spring loaded magazine that most recognize was introduced, and the world's first true "light machine gun" came into being. It ended up being marketed to countries around the world, and would see use through both world wars, and into the post war period.

As many other machine guns of the time were based around belt fed systems, this was also tried with limited success on the Madsen, however it proved inferior in practice to the easily transportable and reloadable box magazines. There was only one area where this was not true, and that was in an enclosed space, where the large magazine was a hindrance, such as on the inside of an armored vehicle. In this case, a belt fed design was definitely superior, as it required less reloading, and also required far less clearance on the top of the gun.

This is one of those rare "tanker" or "tank gun" Madsen machine guns, designed to be attached via a trunion on the bottom front of the receiver to a mount within the vehicle / tank. It also features a heavy armored barrel jacket, similar to the Panzerlauf variant of the MG 34 machine gun. The design looks to have allowed the air to circulate around the barrel, with hot air escaping through the front, though we unfortunately have not been able to find much information on these very rare machine guns.

This example comes complete with the original shoulder rest intact, and much of the belt feed system, though we do not have the belt can available, and have never really seen one on the market. The barrel and barrel extension assembly were not put into the display gun when it was built, and are included along with the display gun. Also included are the internal components were not used during the assembly of this display gun, which include the side plate, breech block, and other items.

As the internal mechanisms are removed, there is no way to "clunk-click" this display gun. It still bears the original Portuguese markings on the left side of the receiver, along with serial G.N.R. № 15A stamped in several locations. We believe it is in 8mm German, as were many of the weapons supplied to Portugal by both Denmark and Germany. 

Really a great collector's and research opportunity here! We are unlikely to ever have another of these again in the future!

The Madsen is a light machine gun that Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schouboe designed and proposed for adoption by Colonel Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Danish Minister of War, and that the Royal Danish Army adopted in 1902. It was the world's first true light machine gun produced in quantity and Madsen was able to sell it in 12 calibers to over 34 countries. The gun saw extensive combat usage for over 100 years, with continued use in limited quantities worldwide into the 2010s. The Madsen was produced by Compagnie Madsen A/S (later operating as Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat A/S and then Dansk Industri Syndikat A/S).