The Germans use air-cooled Maxim LMG 08/15 machine guns on their Fokker biplanes and triplanes. The guns mounted are mockups due to a number of revealing mistakes. The cocking handle on each MG doesn't move when the gun is fired unlike the original. The brass also ejects through the right side of the gun and actually from the middle of the cooling jacket as opposed to the original. Another giveaway is that the barrel of each MG is seen portruding from just above the exact center of the cooling jacket. In reality the barrel was at the bottom of the jacket. Another strong hint that the movie MG's are a mockup is the presence of stick magazines inserted very near where the movie-version MG's is seen ejecting brass. All in all this indicates that a pair of submachineguns were substituted for the real MG08.
The mockups might also be an explaination (at least in part) why the pilots are using a handle to fire the MG's eventhough the historical aircraft used buttons attached to the flightstick in order to fire the onboard weapons.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingMaxim MG08/15Error creating thumbnail: File missingStachel pulls the (fictionous) handle in order to fire the MG's.Error creating thumbnail: File missingNote the stick magazine on the MG on the left with a revealing magazine release lever plainly visible.Error creating thumbnail: File missingNote the trigger with trigger guard mounted on the "Maxim". Unlike Stachel's "MG's", Hauptmann Heidermann's pair seems to have used a different pair of SMG's. The barrels are also placed higher than on Stachel's machine guns, and even higher than on a original Maxim. The position of the "stick" to the left and behind the trigger indicates (in this version) that it's a supporting strut for the gun rather than a stick magazine.Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Error creating thumbnail: File missingMaxim MG08 7.92x57mm Mauser on sled mountError creating thumbnail: File missingNote the soldier manning the MG on the right. His helmet is tilted to his left in an awkward angle. Seconds later this screencap was taken an explosion takes place just to the left of the soldier meaning the tilted helmet was most likely done for safety reasons.
Rifles
Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I
Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I carried by both German and British troops. The rifle is also seen in the hands of Bruno Stachel (George Peppard). The movie was shot in the Republic of Ireland and there was a lack of genuine German (or otherwise) Mausers for the shoot so older Irish Defence Forces weapons were used.
