The Parabellum LMG 14 (also seen as Parabellum MG 14 or LMG 14/17 for later variants) was Germany’s purpose-built aircraft adaptation of the Maxim family of machine guns. Designed and manufactured by DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken), it was lightened and reworked for aerial use — featuring an air-cooled or reduced-jacket barrel, cloth-belt feed, high cyclic rate and a much smaller, lighter receiver than the MG 08 infantry gun. The gun was widely used as an observer’s flexible defensive weapon in German two-seat reconnaissance machines, bombers and airships, and it also featured in early experiments with synchronisation on Fokker prototypes.

Typical installations & variants

LMG 14 (MG 14) — aircraft version introduced c.1914, optimised for flexible mounts and airship use (light weight, high rate of fire).
LMG 14/17 — later refinement with slimmer jacket and sights; common in surviving examples and late-war mounts.

The weapon normally fed from a closed drum or short cloth belt spool and was mounted on observer ring mounts or flexible pintles; it was favoured where a high rate of fire and reduced weight were required.

Aircraft equipped with the Parabellum LMG 14

Halberstadt CL.II – observer’s flexible defensive gun.
Gotha G.IV – bomber defensive mounts.
Rumpler C.IV – observer’s defensive gun on two-seat reconnaissance aircraft.
LVG C.V – two-seat reconnaissance planes with flexible mounts.
Gotha G.I – early bomber defensive armament.

Historical significance

The Parabellum LMG 14 was a crucial development in German aviation armament. It allowed observers and airship crews to carry a reliable, high-rate-of-fire machine gun without the weight penalties of standard MG 08s. It also contributed to the early experiments with synchronized guns, paving the way for fixed forward-firing armament on fighter aircraft.