Infantry Weapons

Marlin Model 1917 aircraft machine gun

Also known as
  • Marlin M1917
  • Marlin 7MG
  • Model 1917 Aircraft Machine Gun
  • Marlin Model 1918 aircraft machine gun
  • Marlin 8MG

The Marlin Model 1917 aircraft machine gun was a Marlin-Rockwell redesign of the Colt-Browning M1895 pattern for synchronized aircraft and mounted use. Museum and U.S. military-history sources tie Marlin M1917/M1918 guns to American DH-4 and SPAD aircraft in First World War service, while technical references document Carl Gustav Swebelius's straight-piston conversion, .30-06 chambering, 7MG/8MG designation path, and Model 1918 synchronization changes.

Marlin Model 1917 aircraft machine gun, .30-06 aircraft and mounted machine gun, Infantry Weapons
Image source: Wikimedia Commons: Marlin M1917 aircraft machine gun

Role in Conflicts

First World War
Fire Support
Side
Allied and Associated Powers

Smithsonian and U.S. Air Force museum sources tie Marlin M1917/M1918 guns to American DH-4 and SPAD aircraft in First World War service, supporting Allied aircraft-armament use rather than infantry ground use.

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States
Type
.30-06 aircraft and mounted machine gun
Service note
World War I aircraft, tank, and mounted machine-gun development; examples remained museum and collector subjects afterward.
Designer
Carl Gustav Swebelius
Designed
1917
Produced
1917-1918 aircraft-gun production period
Number built
38,000 aircraft guns completed across Model 1917 and Model 1918 production in Chinn's account
Developed from
Colt-Browning M1895 machine gun
Developed into
Marlin Model 1918 aircraft machine gun

Specifications

Caliber
.30-06 Springfield
Operating principle
Gas-operated straight-piston redesign of the earlier Colt-Browning M1895 pattern
Feed
Disintegrating metallic-link belt in 500-round lengths or more, with fabric belts also described in aircraft tests
Rate of fire
680 shots per minute in the 1918 aircraft-armament handbook; 630 shots per minute normal rate in Chinn's description
Weight
22 lb in the 1918 aircraft-armament handbook; 23 lb / 10.4 kg for the Smithsonian museum object
Museum object dimensions
89.9 x 5.7 x 14.6 cm for the Smithsonian M1917 object
Synchronization
Model 1917 and Model 1918 aircraft-gun arrangements for hydraulic or mechanical synchronizing gear
High-altitude heating
Resistance-grid electric heater consuming 60 watts at 12 volts in the 1918 aircraft-armament handbook
Primary role
Fixed synchronized aircraft machine-gun armament, with later tank and mounted adaptations documented in technical histories
Model 1918 barrel
24 inch round barrel on the Rock Island Auction example
Model 1918 finish
Blued steel on the Rock Island Auction example
Variants

Public and military-history references separate the Marlin aircraft-gun line into the 7MG/Model 1917 configuration and the later Model 1918/8MG configuration, whose revised lock and trigger arrangements were intended to improve synchronized firing.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
7MG / Model 1917Aircraft and mounted machine-gun configuration

Forgotten Weapons describes the 7MG designation after extraction-related revisions to the Marlin redesign of the Colt-Browning pattern, while the 1918 aircraft-armament handbook covers the Model 1917 aircraft-gun arrangement.

Sources: Forgotten Weapons: Marlin 7MG aka Model 1917 Aircraft Machine Gun, Handbook of Aircraft Armament, U.S. Army Air Service, 1918

8MG / Model 1918Later synchronized aircraft-gun configuration

Chinn and the 1918 aircraft-armament handbook describe Model 1918 changes for single-shot or automatic fire and synchronizer trigger connections, while Rock Island Auction identifies surviving Model 1918 aircraft-gun examples.

Sources: Chinn: The Machine Gun, Vol. I, Handbook of Aircraft Armament, U.S. Army Air Service, 1918, Rock Island Auction: Marlin-Rockwell Model 1918 Browning Aircraft Machine Gun

Ammunition Fired

The Marlin Model 1917 and related Model 1918 aircraft guns are documented in .30-06 chambering, tying the gun to the cataloged U.S. service cartridge used across rifle and machine-gun roles.

AmmunitionAmmunition typeFiring evidence
.30-06 Springfield cartridge, Rimless bottleneck rifle cartridge and .30 caliber machine-gun ammunition, Munitions.30-06 Springfield cartridgeRifle and machine-gun cartridge

Forgotten Weapons places the Marlin 7MG/Model 1917 in .30-06 context, and Rock Island Auction lists the related Marlin-Rockwell Model 1918 aircraft gun in .30-06.

Sources: Forgotten Weapons: Marlin 7MG aka Model 1917 Aircraft Machine Gun, Rock Island Auction: Marlin-Rockwell Model 1918 Browning Aircraft Machine Gun

Timeline

Marlin Model 1917 aircraft machine gun Key Events

  1. Colt subcontracts M1895 production to Marlin

    Forgotten Weapons reports that Colt arranged for Marlin to subcontract the M1895-pattern gun as World War I demand strained Colt's capacity.

    Sources: Forgotten Weapons: Marlin 7MG aka Model 1917 Aircraft Machine Gun

  2. 7MG designation follows Marlin redesign

    After Marlin's Swebelius-led straight-piston redesign and extraction revisions, the gun was designated 7MG, or Model 1917, by the United States.

    Sources: Forgotten Weapons: Marlin 7MG aka Model 1917 Aircraft Machine Gun

  3. Model 1918 synchronization work begins

    Chinn records a Signal Corps request for a firing mechanism suited to four-bladed propellers and Nelson mechanical synchronization, leading to a modified Model 1918 aircraft gun.

    Sources: Chinn: The Machine Gun, Vol. I

  4. 8MG / Model 1918 aircraft version appears

    Chinn describes the Model 1918 as a changed Marlin aircraft gun with single-shot or full-automatic firing for closer synchronization, and Rock Island Auction documents surviving Marlin-Rockwell Model 1918 aircraft-gun examples.

    Sources: Chinn: The Machine Gun, Vol. I, Rock Island Auction: Marlin-Rockwell Model 1918 Browning Aircraft Machine Gun

  5. A.E.F. front-line squadrons report Marlin equipment

    Chinn quotes the A.E.F. Chief Ordnance Officer reporting 22 front-line squadrons partly or fully equipped with Marlin guns using hydraulic or mechanical synchronization gear.

    Sources: Chinn: The Machine Gun, Vol. I

Media

Marlin Model 1917 aircraft machine gun Videos

Marlin Model 1917 aircraft machine gun Images

Marlin Model 1917 aircraft machine gun, .30-06 aircraft and mounted machine gun, Infantry Weapons - view 1
Source: Wikimedia Commons: Marlin-M1917-18 aircraft machine gun at Batey ha-Osef
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Sources

Forgotten Weapons: Marlin 7MG aka Model 1917 Aircraft Machine GunPublisher: Forgotten Weapons | Note: Supports the Colt subcontract context, Marlin-Rockwell reorganization reference, Swebelius straight-piston redesign, 7MG/Model 1917 designation, 8MG/Model 1918 designation, .30-06 context, and aircraft/tank mounted-use background. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Rock Island Auction: Marlin-Rockwell Model 1918 Browning Aircraft Machine GunPublisher: Rock Island Auction Company | Note: Supports Marlin-Rockwell manufacturer marking, Model 1918 aircraft-machine-gun identification, .30-06 chambering, 24-inch barrel description, and fixed-wing aircraft-armament context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons: Marlin M1917 aircraft machine gunPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a National Archives public-domain photograph of a Marlin M1917 aircraft machine gun. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons: Marlin-M1917-18 aircraft machine gun at Batey ha-OsefPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY 4.0 photograph by Bukvoed of a Marlin M1917/18 aircraft machine gun at the Batey ha-Osef Museum. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Machine Gun, .30 Caliber, Marlin, M1917Publisher: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Note: Supports museum reference context for the Marlin M1917 and M1918 lightweight aircraft machine-gun development from the Colt-Browning pattern, plus object construction, dimensions, weight, feed/ejection layout, and Marlin Rockwell manufacturer attribution. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: The Evolution of World War I AircraftPublisher: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Note: Supports First World War direct conflict use by describing Marlin Model 1917 and Model 1918 synchronized guns replacing Vickers guns on many U.S. aircraft and arming many U.S. SPAD and DH-4 aircraft. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Dayton-Wright DH-4Publisher: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Note: Supports First World War direct conflict use by identifying the museum DH-4 as carrying the complete military equipment used on American DH-4s in World War I, including two fixed .30-caliber Marlin machine guns. | Accessed: 2026-07-13National Museum of the U.S. Air Force: De Havilland DH-4Publisher: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | Note: Supports First World War direct conflict use by identifying the DH-4 as the only U.S.-built aircraft to see combat during World War I, describing wartime DH-4 missions, and listing two .30-caliber Marlin machine guns in the nose. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Chinn: The Machine Gun, Vol. IPublisher: Bureau of Ordnance, U.S. Navy / HyperWar Foundation | Note: Supports Marlin-Rockwell and Swebelius design history, straight-piston redesign, 1917 and 1918 aircraft-gun differences, synchronization tests, A.E.F. front-line squadron use in the First World War, 23,000 Model 1917 and 15,000 Model 1918 production figures, and normal rate-of-fire context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Handbook of Aircraft Armament, U.S. Army Air Service, 1918Publisher: Bureau of Aircraft Production, Air Service, U.S. Army | Note: Supports Marlin Model 1917 and Model 1918 aircraft-gun technical context, fixed synchronized mounting, metallic-link belt feed, 22 lb weight, 680-shot-per-minute rate of fire, trigger-motor arrangements, and electric heater details. | Accessed: 2026-07-13