Unknown MG belt starter

General Ammunition Discussion
#1

Hello,

Here is an usual MG belt starter that I would like to identify.

It is high quality blued and bears no markings at all.

So far, 50-round belts that I know of and which bear the small positionning hole are :

  • Yougo MG 53
  • Belgian MAG
    -Danish Madsen-Seatter

My best bet would be Danish : can one of our Danish member check if this could be a Madsen-Seatter starter.

Thanks in advance,

JFL

#2

Dear JFL, Some time since I have seen your Posts,
As to the starter, I think your Danish ID may be correct.

Could you please contact me on info@avballistics.com.au directly, there are some matters regarding Hotchkiss (US) M1909 strips I wish to put to you.

We have been successful in Making strips (M1909 Export Model) and Using them in our T3/M1920 Nambu…and selling some to the US…We used both an original British .303 strip and several Japanese T92 strips as design material, and built our own stamping/cutting dies.

Au revoir,
Doc AV
Brisbane Australia.

#3

I bought about 30 cans of Israeli 8mm and the belt tabs appear identical to yours except the end is turned up, while yours is turned down. Also,they are permanently attached to the belts, and are not “starters”. JH

#4

Haak - This may be too simple, but I think that the long rib is raised in the top picture, whereas in your picture it is definitely indented. That tells me that your picture is simply upside-down and the the hook
on the end is therefore reversed in the photo, but actually with the same orientation in manufacture as
that of the top picture. That is, if you photographed the other side of your belt tab, it would be identical to that in the first picture. Am I now completely senile and wrong in that regard? Is it just an opical illusion in
the picure that one of the long ribs is impressed and the other raised? I know nothing about these belts.

#5

[quote=“JohnMoss”]Haak - This may be too simple, but I think that the long rib is raised in the top picture, whereas in your picture it is definitely indented. That tells me that your picture is simply upside-down and the the hook
on the end is therefore reversed in the photo, but actually with the same orientation in manufacture as
that of the top picture. That is, if you photographed the other side of your belt tab, it would be identical to that in the first picture. Am I now completely senile and wrong in that regard? Is it just an optical illusion in
the picture that one of the long ribs is impressed and the other raised? I know nothing about these belts.[/quote]
Your correct John, but I am the one that is senile…I should have looked more closely. The tabs do appear identical. JH

#6

Dear Haak,

thanks for this information. Interesting to see that starter permanently attached to the belt. Could you please check if the spring connecting the starter with the first link looks exactly the same as those of the belt or if this could have been reworked by hand ?

What is the total length of that belt ? 50-round, 100-round, 250-round ? How is the other end of the belt ?

Thanks in advance for any help,

JFL

#7

Hi JFL,
I looked at about a dozen of these belts, are are 50 rounds total. Standard connection on belt end for attaching another segment. No markings on the tabs or starter. All spring wire connections including tab & starter appear factory done and are identical to those between the links. Thanks, JH