Mauser Model 1904

Last updated
Mauser Model 1904
Type Bolt-action rifle
Place of origin Imperial Germany
Service history
In service1905 – Present
Used bySee Users
Wars
Production history
Designed1904
Manufacturer
  • Mauser
  • DWM
  • Various Chinese arsenals
  • Oviedo
Produced1905–1935
Specifications
Mass3.76 kilograms (8.3 lb) (Chinese Model 1907)
Length125 centimetres (49 in) (Chinese Model 1907)
Barrel  length74.0 centimetres (29.1 in) (Chinese Model 1907)

Cartridge
Action Bolt-action
Feed system5-round stripper clip, internal magazine
Sights Iron sights adjustable to 2,000 metres (2,200 yd)

The Mauser Model 1904 and Model 1907 were Gewehr 98 pattern bolt-action rifles produced by Mauser and Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM). They were designed for export market. Copies were later produced in China and in Spain.

Contents

Design

The Models 1904 and 1907 were similar to the Gewehr 1898. They featured a longer cocking piece. Only the rifles made for Paraguay kept the Lange Visier sight of the German rifle. [1] [2] While most of the rifles were fitted only with a short bayonet lug that required a bayonet with a muzzle ring, [3] rifles ordered by Paraguay and Ecuador had another lug to fit the Mauser Model 1895 bayonet. [1] [4] The Siamese model was heavier and slightly longer. [5]

Variants

Brazilian carbine version

The Brazilian military police ordered a carbine variant, with a bent bold handle. A bayonet lug was fitted under the barrel band, similarly to the Mauser Model 1893. [6]

Paraguayan and Chinese carbines

These carbines generally featured turned down bolt handle, even if some Chinese carbines had a straight one. [7] The stock ended under the muzzle. [1] The carbines also had a tangent leaf rear sight while the front sight was directly mounted on the nose cap. No bayonet could be used. [8] [9]

Chinese variants

China tested the Model 1904 from 1907. The rifle was known as Model 1904/1907 while the carbine was known as Model 1907. [10] Most of the rifles were originally produced by Mauser and DWM with a special 6.8×57mm cartridge. [3] The production of the Model 1907 soon started in Guangdong arsenal with DWM help. The 1911 revolution slowed the purchase of weapons [11] and in 1914, thousand of 6.8mm Model 1907 rifles stored in Germany were chambered to the standard 7.92×57mm Mauser and pressed into service of the German Empire. [12] Originally produced as the Guang Xu Type 33 during the Imperial rule, the newly formed Republic of China chose it as the standard rifle of the Chinese army as the Type 1 rifle, intended to replace the Hanyang 88. In 1915, the Chinese also decided to switch to the 7.92mm cartridge and the rifle was renamed Type 4 or 7.9mm Type 1. More than 200,000 were produced until 1935. The last factory producing them was the Gongxian Arsenal, where the guns were nicknamed Gong 98. While they have been replaced in most front-line units at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Type 4 rifles were kept in regular use with some units. [13] They were still used by the Red Guards in the 1960s. [7]

Mauser/Oviedo Model 1927

The Spanish Fabrica Nacional de Armas, in Oviedo, produced a derivative of the Mauser 1907 for Paraguay. Three variants were produced: a long rifle (Fusil Modelo 1927), a short rifle (Mosqueton Modelo 1927) and a carbine (Carabina Modelo 1927). [9] The bolt stop was extended to block the clips during the loading of the magazine, thus enabling the use of different models of clip. [14] They had a tangent leaf sight while the upper hand guard of the rifle and short rifle was slightly extended. [15] The short rifle did not feature a pistol grip and the carbine had a stock extended to the muzzle. The bolt handle was straight for the rifle and bent for the carbine, whereas the short rifle can be found with both types of bolt handles. [9]

The Paraguayans wanted an affordable weapons, and the guns were reportedly of low quality. [16] 10,363 were purchased from 1927 to 1932. [9] They saw combat use during the Chaco War and performed poorly. [1]

Users

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gewehr 98</span> German service rifle from 1898 to 1935

The Gewehr 98 is a bolt-action rifle made by Mauser for the German Empire as its service rifle from 1898 to 1935.

The vz. 24 rifle is a bolt-action carbine designed and produced in Czechoslovakia from 1924 to 1942. It was developed from the German Mauser Gewehr 98 line, and features a similar bolt design. The rifle was designed in Czechoslovakia shortly after World War I, to replace the Vz. 98/22, also a Czech derivative of the Gewehr 98. The vz. 24 featured a 590 mm (23.2 in) barrel which was shorter and considered more manageable than the 740 mm (29.1 in) Gewehr 98 barrel. The vz. 24 was chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser like its predecessors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karabinek wz. 1929</span> Service rifle

The Karabinek wz.29 was a Polish bolt-action short rifle based on the German Kar98AZ. Identifying attributes include a 98/05 style mast bayonet lug ending directly beneath the front sight and winged protective ears to either side of the front sight blade. Cavalry models featured a turned-down bolt handle, and early versions had a stacking hook near the end of the stock on the right side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gewehr 1888</span> Service rifle

The Gewehr 88 was a late 19th-century German bolt-action rifle, adopted in 1888.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauser Model 1871</span> Bolt action rifle

The Mauser Model 1871 adopted as the Gewehr 71 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71, or "Infantry Rifle 71" was the first rifle model in a distinguished line designed and manufactured by Paul Mauser and Wilhelm Mauser of the Mauser company and later mass-produced at Spandau arsenal.

vz. 33 Czech rifle

The puška vz. 33 was a Czechoslovak bolt-action carbine that was based on a Mauser-type action, designed and produced in Československá zbrojovka in Brno during the 1930s in order to replace the obsolete Mannlicher vz. 1895 carbines of the Czechoslovak četnictvo (gendarmerie). The manufacturer's designation was vz. 16/33. Another version, the Vz. 12/33, was also produced for the Latin American market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Mauser</span> Bolt-action rifle

"Swedish Mausers" are a family of bolt-action rifles based on an improved variant of Mauser's earlier Model 1893, but using the 6.5×55mm Swedish cartridge, and incorporating unique design elements as requested by Sweden. These are the m/94 carbine, m/96 long rifle, m/38 short rifle and m/41 sniper rifle. Production began in 1898 at Carl Gustafs stads Gevärsfaktori in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

The Type Chiang Kai-shek rifle, also known as the Generalissimo rifle, and Type 24 (二四式), named after the Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, was a Chinese-made copy of the German Standardmodell rifle, the forerunner of the Karabiner 98k. Preproduction of the Chiang Kai-shek rifle started in 1935. It was designated the Type 79 by the Chinese Communists.

The Mondragón rifle refers to one of two rifle designs developed by Mexican artillery officer General Manuel Mondragón. These designs include the straight-pull bolt-action M1893 and M1894 rifles, and Mexico's first self-loading rifle, the M1908 - the first of the designs to see combat use.

The Mauser Model 1893 is a bolt-action rifle commonly referred to as the Spanish Mauser, though the model was adopted by other countries in other calibers, most notably the Ottoman Empire. The M1893 was based on the experimental M1892 rifle, which Paul Mauser developed for the Spanish Army as part of a program to correct deficiencies in the earlier 1889, 1890, and 1891 series of Mauser rifles. The M1893 introduced a short staggered-column box magazine that fit flush with the bottom of the stock; the magazine held five smokeless 7×57mm Mauser rounds, which could be reloaded quickly by pushing a stripper clip from the top of the open bolt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FN Model 24 and Model 30</span> Bolt-action rifle

The FN Model 1924 series is a line of Mauser Gewehr 98 pattern bolt-action rifles produced by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale. They are similar to the Czech vz. 24 rifle, however have an intermediate length action, featuring open sights, 7.65×53mm, 7×57mm or 8×57mm IS chambering, Long rifle, Short Rifle and carbine-length barrels, hardwood stocks, and straight or curved bolt handles. This pattern rifle was discontinued from production and was no longer offered after 1932 being totally replaced by the 1930 pattern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauser Model 1889</span> German-Belgian bolt-action rifle

The Mauser Model 1889 is a bolt-action rifle of Belgian origin. It became known as the 1889 Belgian Mauser, 1891 Argentine Mauser, and 1890 Turkish Mauser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauser Model 1895</span> Bolt-action rifle

The Mauser Model 1895 is a bolt operated magazine fed rifle using the 7×57mm Mauser cartridge. It was exported to many overseas powers, including the Chilean forces which adopted as the Fusil Mauser Chileno Modelo 1895. It is the first major modification of the Mauser Model 1893 and was produced by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken, known as DWM, and Ludwig Loewe Company from 1895 to 1900.

The Mukden Arsenal Mauser also known as the Model 13 Mauser and Liao Type 13 was a rifle that implemented characteristics of both the Mauser Type 4 and the Arisaka rifles. They were mostly built in the Mukden arsenal in Manchukuo.

The Standardmodell rifle is a bolt-action rifle designed to chamber the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge. The rifle was developed in 1924 but entered full-scale production in 1933. Officially designed for export and German security guards, it was used by the paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS). Export variants were used in South America, Ethiopia, China and the Iberian Peninsula. The carbine version of this rifle was almost identical with the Karabiner 98k that became the standard German service rifle during World War II.

The Steyr Model 1912 were Gewehr 98 pattern bolt-action battle rifles produced by Steyr before World War I. They were designed for export market. During the war, they were also used by the Austro-Hungarian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentine Mauser Model 1909</span> Bolt-action rifle

The Argentine Mauser Model 1909 were Gewehr 98 pattern bolt-action battle rifles designed for the Argentine Army. They were produced both in Germany and in Argentina.

The Mauser Model 1908 were series of Gewehr 98 pattern bolt-action rifles. First produced by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) and Mauser, they were exported to Uruguay and Brazil. In this latter country, Brazilian War Material Industry produced upgraded versions until the rifle was replaced by the FN FAL.

The Mauser Model 1902 was a Mauser bolt-action rifle, designed for Mexico. It was similar to the Mauser Model 1895 but used the Gewehr 98 action.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ball 2011, p. 275.
  2. Ball 2011, p. 58.
  3. 1 2 Ball 2011, p. 83.
  4. 1 2 Ball 2011, p. 127.
  5. 1 2 Ball 2011, p. 372.
  6. 1 2 Ball 2011, p. 65.
  7. 1 2 Ball 2011, p. 85.
  8. Ball 2011, p. 84.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Ball 2011, p. 273.
  10. Ball 2011, p. 81.
  11. Ness & Shih 2016, p. 248.
  12. 1 2 Grant, Neil (20 Mar 2015). Mauser Military Rifles. Weapon 39. Osprey Publishing. p. 20. ISBN   9781472805942.
  13. Ness & Shih 2016, p. 249.
  14. Ball 2011, p. 276.
  15. Ball 2011, p. 277.
  16. Reynolds, Dan. "Rifles of the Gran Chaco War". carbinesforcollectors.com. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  17. Ball 2011, pp. 57–59.
  18. 1 2 Huon, Jean (September 2013). "The Chaco War". Small Arms Review. Vol. 17, no. 3. Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  19. Ball 2011, p. 64.
  20. Ball 2011, p. 101.
  21. Ball 2011, p. 129.
  22. Ball 2011, p. 235.