Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · IV · 032

Chinese Type 24 Maxim machine gun

Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 82 ↗

Chinese, Type 24 (Maxim) machinegun, cal. 7.92mm, Chinese manufacture.

ATF lists cal. 7.92mm; this is the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “Chinese manufacture”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1935–1949.
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
ChinaBasis: the ATF wording
Manufacturer
Chinese arsenalsBasis: outside reference ¹
Type
MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
Action
Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
Caliber
7.92×57mmBasis: the ATF wording
Made
c. 1935–1949production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ²
Service
Military

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 82 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. 1. Wikipedia, “MG 08” ↗, maker: section 'Chinese derivative': the Type 24 heavy machine gun 'were usually made in the Hanyang Arsenal'.
  2. 2. Wikipedia, “MG 08” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): 'in 1935, the Chinese began to produce the Type 24 Heavy Machine Gun'; the 1949 end is our estimate.
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
None

Historical context

MG 08 (base model shown for Chinese Type 24 Maxim machine gun)
Shown: a German MG 08, not this Chinese Type 24 derivative.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Maschinengewehr 08 1.jpg”, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “MG 08”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The MG 08 is a heavy machine gun (HMG) which served as the standard HMG of the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was an adaptation of Hiram Maxim's 1884 Maxim gun design, and was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 also saw service during World War II in the infantry divisions of the German Army, although by the end of the war it had mostly been relegated to second-rate "fortress" units.