The Bergmann MG15 was the World War I production version of a prototype machine gun designed in 1910. It should not be confused with the similarly designated Rheinmetall MG-15, which was a completely different weapon, whose nomenclature is often confused with the Bergmann because of the naming conventions of the Weimar Republic. The two weapons are completely unrelated. The Bergmann MG-15 fired from 250, 200, or 100 round disintegrating metal-linked belts, a first for a light machine gun. The crank-loaded "Kurbel drum" that held a 100-round linked belt could be fitted to the side of the weapon's receiver with a mounting bracket.