The Second World War was the most tragic milestone in the history of the past century. She inflicted such wounds that healed not very soon. But it was she who gave humanity a huge number of new technologies and mechanisms that are still used today. Of course, this statement is most true with regard to weapons. Some of the samples that were massively used on the battlefields have survived to this day and are not going to give up their positions.
Such is the German carbine "Mauser 98K." Contrary to popular belief, it was he, and not the “canonical” MP-38/40 submachine gun, that could be considered a real “visiting card” of an ordinary Wehrmacht infantryman. The design of this weapon was so successful that it was the most respected German rifle of the Second World War. Even today, hunting carbines are made everywhere from the old Mausers, as well as modern replicas of it. Read the history of this weapon and its characteristics in this article.
Introduction
The Mauser 98K carbine (Kurz - short) was adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1935. This was another modification of the “cult” Gewehr 98 rifle, the ancestor of which, 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 with the Hever 98, a cartridge of 7.92 × 57 mm was used.
Differences from a rifle
The rifle has the following features that distinguish it from a rifle: a barrel 60 cm long (Gewehr 74 cm), the bolt handle is bent down, and a special recess is located in the box under its handle. The main difference (initially) is that the front swivel is a single unit with a false ring, and therefore the belt is fastened “in a cavalry way” (more on that below).
There is no rear swivel at all: a slot in the butt is provided instead of it, protected from wear by a metal edging. A very important and useful feature of this weapon is that the empty clip did not need to be removed manually, because after emptying the store (when charging), it simply fell out through a special slot. In addition, after the cartridges ran out, the shutter remained open. Together with the previous innovation, this circumstance made recharging much more comfortable. In total, about 14.5 million samples were produced.
Technical note
Initially, the letter "K" in the name meant, rather, the cavalry affiliation of the weapon. “Short” it was far from immediately. The fact is that in the German army for a long time they considered modifications of ordinary linear rifles, the main difference of which was not length, but the method of fastening a weapon belt, which was more suitable for cavalrymen! Only later in the German language did this term acquire its universal meaning.
And therefore, in many sources, the Mauser 98K is called a "lightweight rifle." The shutter closes when turning 90 degrees, has three combat stops. The charging handle is attached to it from the back. As we already mentioned, it is bent down. This gave several advantages at once:
- Firstly, the reloading of weapons was again facilitated.
- Secondly, the handle, laid in a slot on the bed, is much more convenient in the field than the sticking out sideways “lever”.
- Finally, on any Mauser 98K, you can immediately set an optical sight without having to remake 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. Neither Soviet nor English nor Yugoslav soldiers disdained to use trophy rifles. He was impressed by the powerful caliber of the weapon, which made it possible to shoot further 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 liner at the time of the shot, the latter are taken back and down into the cavity of the store. Another feature is an extremely massive ejector. It performs two important functions: firstly, it bites hard the inexpressive flange of the German-style cartridge, while simultaneously rigidly holding it on the shutter mirror.
This is a very important circumstance, since thanks to it (when using normal ammunition), the Mausers practically have no cases where it would be impossible to extract the sleeve from the chamber. The "Three-line" with this was not so rosy. In general, the Wehrmacht's weapons were almost always of high quality and fairly decent reliability, especially in the early stages of the war.
On the shutter lock is an ejector responsible for ejecting the shot cartridges. This lock is located on the left side of the receiver and reliably holds the shutter in it. To remove it for visual inspection or replacement, you must first put the fuse in the middle position, and then, pulling the front of the latch forward, pull out the shutter.
Store Information
The store is two-row, box-type. Located inside the receiver. It is the Mauser store that is very different from many rifles of the time, since it does not protrude beyond the limits of the rifle / carbine itself. The German gunsmiths achieved this by making advantage of two factors: firstly, the cartridge used by the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht did not have a pronounced flange, while the same part on cartridges 7.62x54R spoiled a lot of blood for domestic gunsmiths. Because of this, the ammunition could be pressed closer to each other. Using the “chess” scheme made the Mauser store as compact as possible.
It is possible to equip this weapon of the Wehrmacht with both ready-made clips for five rounds, and individually. To load the magazine with a clip, it should be placed in the grooves specially designed for this in the receiver, and then vigorously squeeze the cartridges using the thumb. After jerking the shutter, the clip was automatically pulled out of the grooves (through the slot that we talked about above).
If the weapon needs to be defused, you should use the bolt, jerking it as many times as there were cartridges in the carbine. Under the trigger guard there is a spring-supported latch that opens access to the magazine cavity, if necessary, for cleaning or maintenance.
It is strictly forbidden to charge the cartridge into the chamber manually, as this dramatically increases the risk of damage to the ejector tooth, which cannot be repaired in the field. In general, the German Mauser rifle was very reliable, but it also had similar weaknesses (the Mosinka had an Achilles heel with a reflector on the shutter).
Trigger (trigger mechanism)
USM simple drummer type. The trigger stroke is quite long and smooth, which is why this weapon was very loved by snipers. On a combat platoon, the drummer rises when the shutter is turned. Its spring is placed inside the shutter. For its visual localization, there is no need to carefully examine the shutter, since this part is easily visible from the shank protruding backward.
At the rear of the fuse is a cross over type fuse. It has three possible positions:
- Bent to the right - fighting position, fire.
- The vertical position is a free shutter, the fuse is active.
- Bent to the left - the fuse is on when the shutter is locked.
The literature often claims that the fuse on the Mauser is more convenient than a similar system on the Trekhlineyka. The authors argue their opinion by the fact that with the upper vertical position of his petal, supposedly, a soldier could easily determine whether it is possible to shoot with a rifle or not. But here we should look again at the description of its provisions: with the fuse turned on in the middle position, no normal infantryman would go, since in this case the shutter could be trite to lose. Merry move in battle!
However, it should be recognized that controlling the fuse on the K98 is really much simpler: it is easier to change position, it is much easier to handle it in mittens. So this German rifle is much more ergonomic than the small arms common at that time.
About Sights
The mechanics can’t boast of anything impressive: the usual front and rear sights. The sight could be adjusted from 100 to 1000 meters. The fly is mounted in the “Swallow Tail” mount known on the territory of the Warsaw Pact countries. Side edits are possible. Placement of the rear sight - on the barrel, in front of the receiver.
It should be noted that the Germans, like Soviet specialists, did not produce special sniper versions of carbines and rifles Gw.98. For this purpose, weapons were taken from standard factory batches. For the purposes of selection, firing was carried out in "reference" conditions. For this, the Germans used SmE cartridges with a steel core ("E" - Eisenkern).
Especially for snipers in 1939, the ZF39 optical sight was developed and adopted. 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 construction of the sight repeatedly changed.
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 troops only at the end of the year. Their characteristics were rather modest, and the standard Mauser 98K cartridges of the initial period of the war were not too good for such firing.
Firstly, with a length of 13 centimeters, the sight provided only x1.5 magnification. In addition, its mount was so unsuccessful that it seriously hindered the process of reloading weapons. Due to the poor magnification, snipers preferred to use the ZF40 only at medium distances. Moreover, the manufacturer himself did not hide the fact that the Mauser 98K carbine, which was equipped with such a sight, should be perceived solely as a weapon of increased accuracy, but by no means as a sniper "tool". Therefore, already in 1941, many Germans removed the ZF41 from rifles, but their release was still continued.
The new, telescopic sight ZF4 (43 / 43-1) was … almost an exact copy of the Soviet product, adjusted for German manufacturing techniques. The Wehrmacht did not succeed in establishing a stable release of the new model, and there were simply no mounts specifically for the Mauser 98K. More or less suitable was only a specific arrow-shaped mount, which was also not supplied in sufficient quantities to the troops.
Some snipers also used the Opticotechna, Dialytan and Hensoldt & Soehne models (x4 magnification), as well as Carl Zeiss Jena Zielsechs. The latter was the destiny of the elite: excellent quality, extremely accurate marking and a six-fold increase allowed the use of a carbine as a truly effective sniper weapon. Historians believe that about 200 thousand carbines were equipped with “optics”.
Other characteristics
The box, in addition to exceptionally high-quality workmanship (which stands out for the Mauser 98K rifle), is distinguished by its 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 shutter. In the front of the box, immediately below the barrel, there is a ramrod for cleaning and servicing 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-line", bayonet-knives were included with carbines and rifles. The Germans used the SG 84/98 models, which were much shorter and lighter 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 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 treated with burnishing, which largely protects the 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. So it was possible to reduce the cost of the Mauser 98K carbine, spare parts for which were regularly required at the front.
Additional devices
To expand the combat capabilities of the carbine, a muzzle grenade launcher for throwing barrel grenades was adopted, as well as a special curved nozzle that allows firing from around the corner.
Grenade launchers
A grenade launcher of the Gewehrgranat Geraet 42 model deserves a separate description. Mounting on the Mauser 98K - with the help of a steel clamp. The firing range under ideal conditions was about 250 meters. German industry throughout the war produced at least seven varieties of grenades of various types and purposes. Especially for parachutists "Waffen SS" was developed a model GG / P40, which was easier and more convenient to use.
Unlike a standard grenade launcher, the P40 was attached to a rifle like a bayonet and was extremely in demand when fighting light enemy armored vehicles and clusters of enemy soldiers.
