The Second World War was the most tragic milestone in the history of the past century. She inflicted such wounds that will heal for a very long time. But it was she who gave humanity a huge amount of new technologies and mechanisms that are used to this day. Of course, this statement is most true in relation to weapons. Some samples that were massively used on the battlefields have successfully survived to this day and are not going to give up their positions.
This is the German carbine Mauser 98K. Contrary to popular belief, it is he, and not at all the “canonical” MP-38/40 submachine gun, that can be considered a real “calling card” of an ordinary Wehrmacht infantryman. The design of this weapon was so successful that it was the most respected German rifle of World War II. Even today, hunting carbines are made from old Mausers everywhere, and modern replicas are also produced. Read about the history of this weapon and its characteristics in this article.
Introduction
The Mauser 98K carbine (Kurz - short) was adopted by the Wehrmachtin 1935. It was another modification of the "cult" Gewehr 98 rifle, the ancestor of which, the Gewehr 71, was developed by the Mauser brothers back in 1871! The caliber of this type of weapon has not changed, amounting to 7.92 mm. As in the case of the Gever 98, a 7, 92 × 57 mm cartridge was used.
Differences from a rifle
The carbine has the following features that distinguish it from a rifle: the barrel is 60 cm long (for Gewehr - 74 cm), the bolt handle is bent down, and in the stock there is a special recess for its handle. The main difference (initially) is that the front swivel is a single unit with the stock ring, and therefore the belt is attached “in a cavalry way” (more on that below).
There is no rear swivel at all: instead, a slot is provided in the butt, protected from wear by a metal edging. A very important and useful "trick" of this weapon is that the depleted clip did not need to be removed manually, since after emptying the magazine (when charging), it simply fell out through a special slot. In addition, after the cartridges ran out, the shutter remained in the open position. Together with the previous innovation, this circumstance made reloading much more comfortable. In total, about 14.5 million samples were released.
Tech note
Initially, the letter "K" in the name meant, rather, the cavalry belonging of the weapon. "Short" it was far from immediately. The fact is that in the German army, “carbines” for a long time were considered modifications of conventional linear rifles, the mainthe difference of which was not the length, but the method of fastening the weapon belt, which was more suitable for cavalrymen! Only later in the German language did this term acquire its global meaning.
And therefore, in many sources, the "Mauser 98K" is called a "lightweight rifle." The shutter closes when rotated 90 degrees, has three lugs. The loading handle is attached to it from the back. As we already mentioned, it is bent down. This gave several advantages at once:
- First of all, reloading weapons has become easier again.
- Secondly, the handle, laid in a slot on the bed, is much more convenient in the field than a "lever" sticking out to the side.
- Finally, you can immediately put an optical sight on any Mauser 98K without reworking the carbine (as is the case with the original Gewehr and the Mosin rifle).
All this, coupled with the small dimensions of the weapon, made the 98K a real "hit" not only in the German army. Captured rifles did not disdain to use neither Soviet, nor English, nor Yugoslav soldiers. The powerful caliber of the weapon also impressed, which made it possible to shoot farther and more accurately.
Technical features of the bolt group
There are several holes in the shutter itself. Through them, in the event of a breakthrough of powder gases from the sleeve at the time of the shot, the latter are retracted back and down into the magazine cavity. Another feature is the extremely massive ejector. It performs two important functions: firstly, it bites hard on the inexpressive flange of a German-style cartridge, along the wayholding it on the shutter mirror.
This is a very important circumstance, because thanks to it (when using normal ammunition), Mausers practically never have cases when the cartridge case could not be removed from the chamber. The "Three Lines" were not so rosy with this. In general, the weapons of the Wehrmacht were almost always of high quality and fairly decent reliability, especially in the early stages of the war.
On the bolt lock there is an ejector responsible for ejecting spent cartridges. This latch is located on the left side of the receiver and securely holds the bolt itself in it. To remove it for visual inspection or replacement, you must first place the fuse in the middle position, and then, pulling the front of the latch towards you, pull out the shutter.
Store Details
Two-row store, box type. Located inside the receiver. It is the Mauser store that is very different from many rifles of that time, since it does not protrude beyond the limits of the rifle / carbine itself. The German gunsmiths achieved this by using two factors to their advantage: firstly, the cartridge used by the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht did not have a pronounced flange, while the same detail on cartridges 7, 62x54R spoiled a lot of blood for domestic gunsmiths. Because of this, the ammunition could be pressed closer to each other. The use of the "chess" scheme made the Mauser store as compact as possible.
You can equip this weapon of the Wehrmacht as ready-made clips for fivecartridges, and individually. To load the magazine with a clip, it had to be placed in specially designed grooves in the receiver, and then vigorously squeeze out the cartridges using the thumb. After the shutter was jerked, the clip was automatically knocked out of the grooves (through the slot we talked about above).
If the weapon needs to be unloaded, you should use the bolt, pulling it as many times as there are cartridges left in the carbine. Under the trigger guard there is a spring-supported latch that provides access to the magazine cavity, if necessary, cleaning or technological maintenance.
It is strictly forbidden to manually load a cartridge into the chamber, as this dramatically increases the risk of breakage of the ejector tooth, which cannot be repaired in the field. In general, the German Mauser rifle was remarkably reliable, but it also had similar weaknesses (the Mosinka had an Achilles heel on the bolt).
USM (trigger mechanism)
USM simple striker type. The trigger stroke is quite long and smooth, which is why this weapon was very loved by snipers. On combat platoon, the drummer rises when the shutter is turned. Its spring is located inside the shutter. For its visual localization, there is no need to carefully inspect the bolt, since this detail is easily visible from the shank protruding back.
In the back of the fuse there is a toggle type fuse. It has three possible positions:
- Bent to the right - combat position, fire.
- Vertical position - blowback, fuse active.
- Curved to the left - the safety is on when the shutter is locked.
In the literature, there is often a statement that the fuse on the Mauser is more convenient than a similar system on the Three-ruler. The authors argue their opinion by the fact that with the upper vertical position of its petal, allegedly, the soldier could easily determine whether it was possible to shoot from a rifle or not. But here you should look again at the description of its provisions: with the fuse turned on in the middle position, not a single normal infantryman would walk, since in this case it was possible to simply lose the shutter. Fun move in combat!
However, it must be admitted that the control of the fuse on the K98 is really much simpler: it changes position more easily, it is much easier to handle it with gloves on. So this German rifle is much more ergonomic than the small arms common at that time.
About sights
Mechanics cannot boast of anything impressive: ordinary front sight and rear sight. The sight could be adjusted from 100 to 1000 meters. The front sight is fastened in the Dovetail mount, known in the territory of the Warsaw Pact countries. It is possible to make lateral edits. Placement of the rear sight - on the trunk, in front of the receiver.
It should be noted that the Germans, like the Soviet specialists, did not produce special, sniper versions of Gw.98 carbines and rifles. For this purpose, weapons were selected from standard factory batches. ATfor the purposes of selection, firing was carried out in "reference" conditions. The Germans used SmE cartridges with a steel core (“E” - Eisenkern) for this.
Specially for snipers in 1939, the ZF39 optical sight was developed and put into service. A year later, experts improved it by adding markings up to 1200 meters. The sight was placed directly above the bolt, and throughout the war the design of the sight changed several times.
New optical sights
A month after the start of the war with the Soviet Union, in July 1941, the ZF41 model was adopted, which is often found in the literature under the names ZF40 and ZF41 / 1. But 98K carbines with these sights began to enter the Wehrmacht only at the end of the year. Their characteristics were quite modest, and the standard Mauser 98K cartridges of the initial period of the war were not very good for such shooting.
Firstly, with a length of 13 centimeters, the sight provided only x1.5 magnification. In addition, its fastening was so unsuccessful that it seriously interfered with the process of reloading the weapon. Due to poor magnification, snipers preferred to use the ZF40 only at medium ranges. Moreover, the manufacturer himself did not hide the fact that the Mauser 98K carbine, which was equipped with such a sight, should have been perceived exclusively as a weapon of increased accuracy, but by no means as a sniper "tool". And therefore, already in 1941, many Germans removed the ZF41 from rifles, but their release was continued anyway.
New, telescopic sight ZF4(43 / 43-1) was … an almost exact copy of the Soviet product, adjusted for German manufacturing technologies. The Wehrmacht failed to establish a stable release of the new model, and there were simply no mounts specifically for the Mauser 98K. Only a specific swept mount was more or less suitable, which was also not supplied to the troops in sufficient quantities.
Some snipers also used Opticotechna, Dialytan and Hensoldt & Soehne models (x4 magnification), as well as Carl Zeiss Jena Zielsechs. The latter was the lot of the elite: excellent quality, extremely accurate markings and a sixfold increase made it possible to use the carbine as a truly effective sniper weapon. Historians believe that about 200 thousand carbines were equipped with “optics”.
Other features
The stock, in addition to the exceptionally high-quality workmanship (which the Mauser 98K rifle generally stands out for), has a very ergonomic shape at that time. The butt plate is edged with steel. It has a compartment for placing items for the care of weapons, which was closed by a small flap. In front of the stock, just below the barrel, there is a ramrod for cleaning and maintaining the carbine. The peculiarity of this Mauser is that there were two ramrods at once: 25 and 35 cm. To clean the Mauser 98K carbine, it was necessary to screw them together.
As in the case of the "Three-ruler", bayonet-knives were included with carbines and rifles. The Germans used the SG 84/98 models, which were much shorter andlighter than those used with the Gw.98. So, with a total length of 38.5 cm, he had a blade 25 centimeters long.
On the butt there is a metal disk with a hole, which plays a purely practical role, as it is used as a stop when disassembling the butt. All metal parts of the carbine are burnished, which largely protects steel from corrosion, which is extremely important in difficult combat conditions (Fe3O4 layer). In 1944, German engineers switched to phosphating, as it was cheaper and provided better corrosion protection. Thus, it was possible to reduce the cost of the Mauser 98K carbine, spare parts for which were regularly required at the front.
Additional accessories
To expand the combat capabilities of the carbine, a muzzle grenade launcher was adopted for throwing barrel grenades, as well as a special curved attachment that allows firing from around a corner.
Grenade launchers
The grenade launcher of the Gewehrgranat Geraet 42 model deserves a separate description. Mounting on the Mauser 98K is with a steel clamp. The firing range under ideal conditions was about 250 meters. Throughout the war, German industry produced at least seven varieties of grenades of various types and purposes. Especially for the Waffen SS paratroopers, the GG / P40 model was developed, which was lighter and more convenient to handle.
Unlike a standard grenade launcher, the P40 was attached to a rifle like a bayonet and was in great demand when fighting enemy light armored vehicles and clustersenemy soldiers.
Nozzle for shooting from around the corner
The Krummlauf attachment was developed in 1943 when the Germans were having trouble in urban combat. She helped to fire, not protruding from the corner of the building. This device was also fastened with clamps. It is interesting to know that it was the work on the Krummlauf that made significant progress in the invention of the first prototypes of the assault rifles that replaced the carbines after the Second World War.
This is the end of it. However, do you know how much Mauser 98K costs now? The price of a carbine in our country can reach up to 50-60 thousand rubles, which still does not deter hunters and collectors! It should be noted that abroad the price of this rarity is much more modest.
This is especially noticeable if we compare the technical condition of rifles and carbines that are on sale. If in the same America it is quite possible to purchase a Mauser almost in factory lubrication and with all original parts, then such “killed” weapons often appear on domestic shelves that they can be taken exclusively for collection purposes.
