Mauser Manufacturer Codes

[Cristy Borovetz]

Althoughsupplemented by semi-automatic and fully automatic rifles during World War II, the Karabiner 98k remained the primary German service rifle until the end of the war in 1945.[4] Millions were captured by the Soviets at the conclusion of World War II and were widely distributed as military aid. The Karabiner 98k therefore continues to appear in conflicts across the world as they are taken out of storage during times of strife.

In February 1934, the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Agency) ordered the adoption of a new military rifle. The Karabiner 98k was derived from earlier rifles, namely the Mauser Standardmodell of 1924 and the Karabiner 98b, which in turn had both been developed from the Gewehr 98. Since the Karabiner 98k rifle was shorter than the earlier Karabiner 98b (the 98b was a carbine in name only, as it was in reality a version of the Gewehr 98 long rifle designated a carbine to adhere to the Treaty of Versailles; the 98b was additionally fitted with a tangent rear sight rather than the more claustrophobic "Lange" ramp sight), the new rifle was given the designation Karabiner 98 kurz, meaning "Carbine 98 Short". Just like its predecessor, the rifle was noted for its reliability, safety and an effective range of up to 500 metres (550 yd) with iron sights and 1,000 metres (1,090 yd) with an 8 telescopic sight.[5]

The desire for adopting new shorter barreled rifles and the introduction of the Karabiner 98k, featuring a 600 mm (23.62 in) long barrel, were reasons for changing the standard German service ball rifle cartridge. The 1903 pattern 7.9257mm Mauser S Patrone produced excessive muzzle flash when fired from arms that did not have a long barrel like the Gewehr 98. It was found that the s.S. Patrone, originally designed for long range machine gun use, produced less muzzle flash out of rifles that had a shorter barrel and also provided better accuracy. Because of this, the S Patrone was phased out in 1933 and the s.S. Patrone became the standard German service ball cartridge in the 1930s.[6][7]

The Karabiner 98k is a controlled-feed bolt-action rifle based on the Mauser M98 system. Its internal magazine can be loaded with five 7.9257mm Mauser cartridges from a stripper clip or one-by-one.[3] After loading, the empty clip is ejected when the bolt is closed. The straight bolt handle found on the Gewehr 98 bolt was replaced by a turned-down bolt handle on the Karabiner 98k. This change made it easier to rapidly operate the bolt, reduced the amount the handle projected beyond the receiver, and enabled mounting of aiming optics directly above the receiver. Each rifle was furnished with a short length of cleaning rod, fitted through the bayonet stud. The joined rods from 3 rifles provided one full-length cleaning rod.

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 only minimal protection against rust or corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic corrosion. From 1944 onwards phosphating/Parkerizing was introduced as a more effective metal surface treatment.[8]

During World War II, s.S. Patrone ball ammunition was gradually replaced by S.m.E. - Spitzgescho mit Eisenkern ("spitzer with iron core") mild steel cored projectile ammunition and later by S.m.E. lg - Spitzgescho mit Eisenkern lang ("spitzer with iron core long") ammunition to save on lead and other metals that became scarce in Germany during the war. Within the Karabiner 98k effective range the external ballistic behavior of these rounds were practically identical to s.S. ammunition, so the iron sight line range graduation could be retained.[9]

Early Karabiner 98k rifles had solid one-piece stocks. From 1937 onwards, the rifles had laminated stocks, the result of trials that had stretched through the 1930s.[8] Plywood laminates are stronger and resisted warping better than the conventional one-piece patterns, did not require lengthy maturing, and were cheaper. The laminated stocks were, due to their dense composite structure, somewhat heavier compared to one-piece stocks.[10] In addition to the use of walnut and beech laminate, elm was used in small quantities. The butts of the semi-pistol grip Karabiner 98k stocks were not uniform. Until early 1940 the stocks had a flat buttplate. After 1940, some stocks had a cupped buttplate to prevent the separation of the butt stock. All stocks had a steel buttplate.[citation needed]

When issued, the Karabiner 98k came accompanied with assorted accessory items including a sling, a protective muzzle cover, and for field maintenance a Reinigungsgert 34 ("Cleaning Kit 34") or RG34 kit. Introduced in 1934, the Reinigungsgert 34 consisted of a flat 85 mm (3.3 in) wide by 135 mm (5.3 in) long sheet metal container with two hinged lids carried on the person, which held an oiler, a take down tool for removing the floorplate and cleaning the receiver of the rifle, an aluminum barrel pull-through chain, a cleaning and an oiling brush, and short lengths of tow used as cleaning patches.[11] From 1905 until 1945, the German military used Ballistol intended for cleaning, lubricating, and protecting metallic, wooden and leather firearms parts.[12]

The Karabiner 98k rifle was designed to be used with an S84/98 III bayonet.[13] The S84/98 III had a blade length of 252 mm (9.9 in) and an overall length of 385 mm (15.2 in) and was accompanied by a bayonet frog.[14] The Seitengewehr 42 or SG 42 was a shorter multi tool combat knife that could also be mounted as a bayonet on the Karabiner 98k rifle. The SG 42 was issued in small numbers.

In 1942, an attachable rifle grenade launcher called the Gewehrgranatengert or Schiessbecher ("shooting cup") was introduced that was developed based on rifle grenade launcher models designed during World War I. The 30 mm Schiessbecher cup-type rifle grenade launcher could be mounted on any Karabiner 98k and was intended to replace all previous rifle grenade launcher models. The rifle grenade launcher could be used against infantry, fortifications and light armored vehicles up to a range of 280 m (306 yd). For these differing tasks, several specialized grenades with accompanying special propelling cartridges were developed for the 1,450,113 produced Schiessbecher rifle grenade launchers. The rifle grenade-propelling cartridges fired a wooden projectile through the barrel to the rifle grenade that, upon impact, automatically primed the rifle grenade. The Schiessbecher could be mounted on the Karabiner 98a, G98/40, StG 44 and FG 42.

Starting from 1941, the short 1.5 Zielfernrohr 41 (ZF41) long eye relief telescopic sight was fitted over the rear iron sight element to some Karabiner 98k rifles for designated marksman use. Adding the ZF41 to the rifle turned the Karabiner 98k essentially into an early somewhat big and heavy scout rifle, though that concept did not exist at that time. The ZF41 was in fact the first attempt to provide the ordinary infantryman with a rifle capable of being used for sharpshooting. Early production ZF41 were matched, zeroed and fitted on Karabiner 98k rifles selected for being exceptionally accurate at the factory before issue. After the development of a field replaceable mount the ZF41 sights were issued to be mounted on random Karabiner 98k rifles by field armorers. This led to an inevitable reduction in accuracy in lots of these field fitted rifles. By the end of the war in 1945, more than 100,000 ZF41 sights had been produced, the largest production of German optical sights during the war.[15][16]

Starting in late 1944, Karabiner 98k production began transition to the Kriegsmodell ("war model") variant. This version was simplified to increase the rate of production, removing the bayonet lug, cleaning rod, stock disc (which functions as a bolt disassembly tool), and other features deemed unnecessary.[18] Non-critical parts like the stock were finished to lower standards and metal parts like the nose cap, barrel band, floor plate and trigger guard (lacking the small locking screw provision) were simplified stamped parts and less elaborately mounted to the rifle. The M98 bolt was also simplified by no longer milling the two oval-shaped emergency gas relief holes in the bottom of the bolt. Instead, two emergency gas relief holes were drilled and the bolt guide was omitted from the bolt body. It had fewer serial numbered parts, a phosphate metal surface finish, and a hole at the bottom end of the butt plate that replaced the stock disk. At least two transitional variants existed, which incorporated only some Kriegsmodell features, and some factories never switched to Kriegsmodell production at all.[19]

Despite the experiences of World War I, prior to the outbreak of World War II the German military command believed sniper rifles with telescopic sights were not necessary due to military technology advances in connection with new resulting tactics. Partly for that reason, the Karabiner 98k was not designed for use with aiming optics and the German military did not standardize a particular telescopic sight or mounting system and fielded many variants of sniper rifles.[20] Already in the Poland campaign, and especially in the Russian campaign, it became apparent that specialist snipers were urgently needed as substantial losses were suffered caused by enemy snipers.For snipers, Karabiner 98k rifles selected for being exceptionally accurate during factory tests were fitted with a telescopic sight and issued as sniper rifles. The sniper rifles with Zeiss Zielvier 4 (ZF39) telescopic sights were expected to be capable of head or chest shots up to 400 m (437 yd) and to hit a standing man at 600 m (656 yd) when used by a skilled sniper. Regarding effective support/harassment fire ranges of up to 1,000 m (1,094 yd) were achievable. The German Zeiss Zielvier 4 (ZF39) telescopic sight had bullet drop compensation in 50 m (55 yd) increments for ranges from 100 to 800 m (109 to 875 yd) or in some variations from 100 to 1,000 m (109 to 1,094 yd). It was not windage adjustable. There were also Zeiss Zielsechs 6 and Zielacht 8 telescopic sights and sights by various other manufacturers like the Ajack 4 and 6, Hensoldt Dialytan 4, Kahles Heliavier 4 and Opticotechna Dialytan 4 with similar features employed on Karabiner 98k sniper rifles.[21] Several different mountings produced by various manufacturers were used.[22] Attaching telescopic sights to a Karabiner 98k required machining by a skilled armourer. A telescopic sight mounted low above the center axis of the receiver will not leave enough space between the rifle and the telescopic sight body for unimpaired operation of the bolt handle or the three-position safety catch lever. This ergonomic problem was solved by mounting the telescopic sight relatively high above the receiver and sometimes modifying or replacing the safety operating lever or using an offset mounting to position the telescopic sight axis to the left side in relation to the receiver center axis.[23] A common minor modification was replacing the stock buttplate with a waffled anti-slip "sniper" buttplate. Approximately 132,000 Karabiner 98k sniper rifles were produced by Germany.[24]

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