[2][1] Failures during the war were attributed to the poor quality of German wartime ammunition,[1] although a British 1950s experimental weapon with the same type of breech had ruptured-case problems.
Ignoring the various material stresses, the maximum rate of fire was thus theoretically limited only by the time needed to complete the burning of the propellant from each cartridge (although, practically, barrel heating is a far more serious constraint).
1930" was donated by Val Forgett to Kentucky Military Treasures in 1977; according to the museum record it "proved unsuccessful because of its inability to seal breech cylinders".
[1] The development program that lead to the Fokker-Leimberger prototype was apparently initiated by the Idflieg through a circular sent to German firearms manufacturers on 16 August 1916.
This document, which was written by Major Wilhelm Siegert, requested lightweight designs with a high rate of fire for use in German aircraft.
None of these entered mass production before the war ended, although the Siemens prototype was used on the Western front and claimed one aerial victory.
Initially they developed a simple adaptation of the Maxim action (itself widely used in Germany as the MG 08), driven by a crank from the engine.