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 · 168

Marlin aircraft machineguns M1917 & M1918

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. 86 ↗

Marlin, aircraft machineguns, Models 1917 and 1918, cal. .30.

ATF lists cal. .30; this is the .30-06 Springfield cartridge.

What this entry requires

  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1917–1918.
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United States
Manufacturer
Marlin-Rockwell Corp.
Type
Machinegun
Action
Select-fire / auto
Caliber
.30-06
Made
1917–1918production; ATF states no date¹²
Service
Military
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 86 ↗ · 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, “M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): section 'Marlin Rockwell M1917/M1918 versions': a second version 'introduced in 1917 for tank and aircraft use, later designated the Marlin M1917 and M1918'; end year not stated
  2. web.archive.org ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): 'The 1917 Marlin .30-inch light machine gun... chiefly intended for aircraft use... saw widespread use on U.S. aircraft in 1918'
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

Marlin aircraft machineguns M1917 & M1918

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “165-WW-385F-002 crop.jpg” by US War Department., Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Colt–Browning M1895, nicknamed "potato digger" because of its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. Based on an 1889 design by John Browning and his brother Matthew S. Browning, it was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter service.