C&R · IV · 083
Dreyse Model 1918 machinegun
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. 84 ↗
German, Dreyse, model 1918, water-cooled machinegun, cal. 7.92mm.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1918–1920.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
GermanyBasis: the ATF wording - Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- 7.92×57mmBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- c. 1918–1920production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ¹
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 84 ↗ · 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. Wikipedia, “MG 13” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): "a new version was designed in 1918" to replace the 1912 model, later modernized by Simson into the MG 13; the 1920 end is our estimate
- 2. Wikipedia, “MG 13” ↗, maker: Schmeisser's 1907 machine gun was "named in honor of the inventor of the Dreyse needle gun by the executives of the factory where it was created, which was founded by Dreyse"; the 1918 model succeeded the 1907 and 1912 models
- 3. Wikipedia, “Louis Stange” ↗, maker: German Wikipedia Louis Stange: born 1888 in Sömmerda, employed at the "Waffenfabrik von Dreyse" there "nachdem das Unternehmen von Rheinmetall übernommen worden war" (after Rheinmetall had taken the firm over): the Dreyse works at Sömmerda were Rheinmetall's
- 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
- 1 change · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Munster MG13 (dark1) noBG.png” by https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Darkone, CC BY-SA 2.5. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “MG 13”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The MG 13 is a German light machine gun developed by converting the Dreyse Model 1918 heavy water-cooled machine gun into an air-cooled version.