The machine gun that was created in 1914, usually was positioned on a flat tripod and would require a gun crew of four to six operators. They could fire 400-600 small-caliber rounds per minute with rounds red via a fabric belt or a metal strip. Unfortunately, these early machine guns would rapidly overheat and become inoperative without the aid of cooling mechanisms and they were consequently fired in short rather than sustained bursts. They usually cooled the machine guns using one of the two forms: water cooled and increasingly as the war developed, air cooled. Whether they were air or water cooled, machine guns still jammed frequently, especially in hot conditions or when used bu inexperienced operators. Hiram Maxim, the designer of the machine gun in 1884, first offered use of the machine to Britain. Unfortunately for Maxim, the British army high command could see no real use for the oil-cooled machine gun. The German army then quickly produced a version of Maxim's invention in large quantities at a Spandau arsenal. By the time war broke out in August 1914, the Germans had 12,000 at their disposal which eventually ballooned to 100,000. Although the machine gun was not truly portable, they were transported on roads or flat ground by armored cars. As the war developed, machine guns were adapted for use on tank on broken ground, particularly on the Western Front. Similarly, machine guns began to be added to warships as a useful addition to naval armaments.