The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98 or M98) is a German bolt action Mauser rifle firing cartridges from a 5 round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. It was hence the main rifle of the German infantry during World War I. The Gewehr 98 replaced the earlier Gewehr 1888 rifle as the German service rifle. The Gewehr 98, and especially its action, also directly influenced the design of many other military rifles of the era such as the M1903 Springfield, the M1917 Enfield and the Arisaka.
The Mauser 98 is a German rifle designed by Paul Mauser in 1898 and quickly adopted by the German army, who then used it in the First World War. Also called Gewehr 98. The Mauser 98 is considered the best bolt action rifle in history (based on design and precision).
Although the design of the Mauser inherited a bad feature of their predecessors, and this is the total length of the weapon (125 cm and 160 cm with fixed bayonets), which makes it an obstacle to war or war dynamics in places narrow (trench warfare). However, the German army was not in great disadvantages, as the rifles of his enemies in the First World War (Britain and France) were equal to or longer than the Mauser own.The design of the Mauser 98 was modified, mainly to create a shorter rifle. From there several prototypes that were born inside the Mauser had 98, as the gun used by Germany itself uring World War II: the Mauser 98 K. Although the Mauser 98 rifle is a very well designed, it is a bolt gun manual reload, so shooting was slower compared to, say, the U.S. M1 Garand. However, the quality and accuracy were bested this semiautomatic rifle. In fact, when in 1943 he began distributing the primerosGB 43 German soldiers preferred to retain their old Mauser Kar 98k, citing lack of reliability or accuracy of the new rifles. The truth is that no other era semiautomatic rifle could hit a target at 1.4 km and none could withstand many harsh as the Mauser 98 K.
In 1936, in the Soviet Union troops were distributed to the first semi-automatic rifles gas recovery (the Simonov AVS36), which followed in 1938 and in 1940, versions perfecionadas increasingly designed by Tokarev. In Germany, however, the work was slower and only in 1940, three companies, Carl Walther, Mauser and Krieghoff, received from the Office for Army Armament (HWaA) the request to present Semi-automatic rifles.Walther and Mauser companies responded immediately, dusting the projects developed in the mid-30s, while Krieghoff (FG42 developing its version for paratroopers against Rheinmetall, which ultimately was the one who won), resigned to participate in competition. Over the years there were several thousand copies of this rifle, known as Gewehr 41 (M) and Gewehr 41 (W), which were quickly distributed to the troops who were on the eastern front. Both models of gun functioned on the principle of subtraction of the gases which are contained in the gun and coaxial powering a piston placed in the barrel.
ste-derived system studied by a Dane, in the early years of the century, was revealed to be too delicate and difficult to clean, so after a pilot production of a few thousand copies (Walther Model 70,000 and 10,000 of Mauser), both rifles, appeared as a more modern, were removed and distributed to second-line troops. Of the two models, the Walther was considered better: especially the shutter (derived from that used in the Soviet machine gun Degtyarev), was robust and able to withstand without problems pressure from the powerful German ordinance cartridge caliber 7 92x57.
Countries who used the Mauser 98
* Nazi Germany * Germany * Argentina * Belgium * Bolivia * Brazil * Czechoslovakia * Chile * China * Costa Rica * Spain * Ethiopia * Hungary * Iran * Israel * Mexico * Peru * Dominican Republic * Poland * Romania * Sweden * Thailand * Uruguay * Venezuela *
USERS:
Belgium
Czechoslovakia
German Empire
Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
Ottoman Empire
Republic of China in the form of the Chiang Kai-shek rifle.
Spain
Mexico
Peru
Poland Made in Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów in Warsaw and Fabryka Broni in Radom
Design details
The Gewehr 98 or model 98 (M98) rifle is a manually operated, magazine fed, controlled-feed bolt-action rifle, 1,250 mm (49 in) in length and 4.09 kg (9 lb) in weight. It has a 740 mm (29 in) long rifled barrel and carries 5 rounds ammunition in an internal magazine. The Gewehr 98 has two sling swivels, open front sights, and a curved tangent-type rear sight, known as the Lange Visier.
The controlled-feed bolt-action of the Gewehr 98 is a distinct feature and is regarded as one of the major bolt-action system designs.
M98 controlled-feed bolt-action system
M 98 controlled-feed bolt-action system; a = chamber, b = front main locking lugs recess, c = receiver, d = internal magazine spring, e = ammunition stripper clip, f = bolt group, g = firing pin, h = pistol grip.
Mauser M 98, bolt group.
Mauser M 98, bolt and firing pin and safety mechanism field stripped.
German World War I 5 round stripper clip with 7.92x57mm IS cartridges.
The controlled-feed Mauser M98 bolt-action system is a simple, strong, safe, and well-thought-out design that inspired other military and hunting/sporting rifle designs that became available during the 20th century. A drawback of the M98 system is that it can not be cheaply mass produced very easily. Some other bolt-action designs (e.g. the Lee Enfield) offer trained operators a slightly faster rate of fire.
Features
The M98 system[3] consists of a receiver that serves as the system's shroud and a bolt group of which the bolt body has three locking lugs, two large main lugs at the bolt head and a third safety lug at the rear of the bolt which serves as a backup in case the primary locking lugs failed. This third lug is a distinctive feature and was not present on previous Mauser bolt-action designs. The two main locking lugs are positioned opposed to each other and display a locking surface of 56 mm², whilst the third safety lug normally plays no part in locking the action to avoid asymmetric and hence unbalanced bolt thrust forces.[4] The diameter of the receiver was also enlarged compared to previous Mauser receivers for additional strength and safety. The bolt handle is permanently attached to the bolt and on the Gewehr 98 is straight and protrudes out.
Another distinctive feature of the M98 system is the controlled-feed mechanism, consisting of a large, non-rotating claw extractor that engages the cartridge case rim as soon as the round leaves the magazine and firmly holds the cartridge case until the round is ejected by the ejector, mounted inside the receiver. Combined with a slight bolt retraction at the last stage of the bolt opening cycle, caused by the cammed surface on the rear receiver bridge, this results in a positive cartridge case extraction. The M98 bolt-action will cycle correctly irrespective of the way the rifle is moved or positioned during the bolt cycling action or if the cartridge has been fired or not. Only if the bolt is not brought back far enough, sharply enough, in a controlled round feed bolt-action the cartridge case may not be cleanly ejected and a jam may result. A cartridge that is directly loaded into the chamber instead of out of the magazine will not be engaged by the claw extractor.
The bolt houses the firing pin mechanism that gets cocked when the bolt is opened and the cocking piece protrudes visually and tactilely from the rear of the bolt to indicate the action is cocked. This bolt sleeve lock was not present on previous Mauser bolt-action designs and reduced firing pin travel and lock time.
The action features two large gas relief holes and a gas shield on the bolt sleeve designed to protect the users head in case of a primer or cartridge rupture or detonation. When the action suffers a catastrophic failure these safety features deflect escaping gas and eventual debris away from the operator's face.
The M 98 bolt group can be easily removed from the receiver simply by pulling out the bolt stop, located at the left wall of the receiver, and then by rotating and pulling the bolt out. The metal disc inlay in the rifle stock functions as a bolt disassembly tool.
The metal parts of the rifle were blued, a process in which steel is partially protected against rust by a layer of magnetite (Fe3O4). Such a thin black oxide layer provides minimal protection against rust or corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic corrosion.
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