Smoke

A German MG 15 Crew in Russia during the Winter of 1942 
 
_________________________________________________ 
 
The Rheinmetall MG 15 was actually a 1932 development from the MG30, and not, as the name suggests, the same machine gun that had already been used in WWI. It was chiefly used to arm Luftwaffe aircraft beginning in 1934 and was replaced by the MG 81 by 1941. 
However, limited numbers also found their way to infantry units as the newer, heavier machine guns replaced them on Luftwaffe aircraft. It used a 75-round double-drum magazine and fired at about 1,000 rpm. 

The confusing naming originates from the Nazi Regime's intent of hiding the rearmament. The Weimar Republic had already been forced to decline the adoption of the MG 30 because of the Treaty of Versailles, and Hitler's regime wanted to hide Germany's rearmament for as long as possible. Therefore it was decided to name it the MG 15, with the intention of making it appear to be old MG 08/15 that had already been used by the German army in WWI. 
 
Colorized by Schuultz