Mauser C96 Model

[Giuliana]

TheMauser 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 757mm Mauser rounds, which could be reloaded quickly by pushing a stripper clip from the top of the open bolt.

In 1887, the Spanish Army began trials of the Turkish Model 1887 Mauser rifles, which utilized black powder cartridges. These rifles did not satisfy the Spanish Army, and so on 2 December 1891, the Army ordered 1,200 Model 1891 Mausers that used new smokeless powder ammunition.[1] The impetus for the change was a series of defeats of Spanish forces around the enclave at Melilla in North Africa.[2] Trials with these guns provided a series of improvement suggestions for Mauser;[1] in addition to Spanish experiences, by that time, the 1889, 1890, and 1891 series of Mauser rifles had been in service with various armies long enough to highlight deficiencies in the designs. Among the issues that had been identified were an unreliable extractor, a detachable box magazine that was frequently lost and extended below the bottom of the stock, which caused problems with carrying the rifle slung. The stripper clip guide and the clips themselves were also unreliable and the bolt design allowed the rifle to double-feed rounds of ammunition. As a result, Paul Mauser decided to design a new rifle that would correct the problems with the earlier rifles, and allow the company to secure more arms contracts.[3]

Mauser's design work produced the Model 1892, a transitional design that was manufactured in limited numbers for the Spanish Army.[4] Between 5,000 and 8,000 of the rifles were built for Spain.[1] At the same time, Mauser developed the 757mm Mauser cartridge for the Spanish Army, which adopted the round the following year for the M1892 rifles.[3] The M1892 rifle introduced a number of innovations to remedy the problems of the earlier rifles, including the large non-rotating claw extractor on the bolt, which prevented double-feeds. The magazine box and trigger guard were machined as a single piece, preventing the box from being removed and lost, though the magazine was still a single-stack design that extended below the bottom of the stock. The stripper clips and the clip guides were improved to make them easier to use. Other internal changes were made to simplify the action and increase its reliability and safety,[4][5][6] including alterations to the sear to prevent it from releasing the firing pin if the bolt was not fully in battery.[1]

Spain placed an order for 20,000 of the M1892 rifles on 21 July 1893, with a further 10,000 added on 27 August, but the design quickly led to an improved version, the Model 1893, which replaced the M1892s ordered.[7] The new M1893 version incorporated a staggered 5-round magazine that did not extend below the bottom of the stock. This was the first time a Mauser rifle included a fully contained magazine. Apart from a redesigned receiver to fit the wider magazine, the action of the M1893 was essentially identical to the M1892.[4][5] The Spanish Army adopted the M1893 on 7 December 1893.[6] For his work in developing such an effective rifle, Mauser received the Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit from the Spanish government.[8]

The M1893 was manufactured in two variants for Spain, a standard rifle with a 29.06-inch (738 mm) barrel and a short carbine with a 21.75-inch (552 mm) barrel.[9] According to historian John Walter, however, the short version might have been an experimental design only.[10] Both of these variants were chambered in the 7 mm caliber developed by Mauser, and the barrel had 4-groove rifling with a right-hand twist.[6] The rifling twist rate was 1 revolution in 8.68 inches (220 mm).[11] The 7 mm ammunition was fired at a muzzle velocity of 2,330 feet per second (710 m/s) from the standard rifle-length barrel.[11] The rifle weighed 8.8 pounds (4.0 kg),[6] while the carbine weighed about 8.3 pounds (3.8 kg). Another variant, built for the Ottoman Army, had the same 29.06-inch barrel as the Spanish rifle, but it was chambered in the slightly larger 7.6553mm Mauser round.[5][9] The Ottoman variant weighed about 9 pounds (4.1 kg).[12]

The receiver for all versions of the rifle and the one-piece bolt were forged steel. The receivers had guides for stripper clips milled into the bridge for increased reliability, though the rifles could also be loaded individually. Most bolts featured a straight handle with a rounded grasping knob, though the short rifles were fitted with bolts that had turned down handles. As was standard for Mauser rifles, the M1893 was configured with a three-position safety that locked the action or allowed the bolt to be worked but with a disabled firing pin, in addition to the fire setting. The safety could only be applied while the action was cocked. The bolt was a cock on close design, and locked with a pair of forward locking lugs; unlike later Mauser designs, it did not include a third, rear locking lug, which was introduced with the Model 1895. The forward receiver ring diameter were the two forward locking lugs achieved lockup is 33 millimetres (1.30 in).[10][13][14] As a result, the bolt was not as strong as later designs.[15] The M1893 magazine included a bolt stop, which prevented the bolt from being closed on an empty magazine, thus indicating to the soldier that the rifle was empty. To close the bolt with an empty magazine, the follower had to be depressed to clear the bolt stop.[10]

The iron sights included a tangent V-notch rear sight that was graduated from 400 meters (1,300 ft) to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).[6] Later rifles, manufactured from May 1906 onward, received a modernized rear sight, and a third version of the rear sight was adopted in 1913 after an improved 7 mm round, which had the significantly higher muzzle velocity of 2,790 feet per second (850 m/s), was adopted.[10] The barreled receiver was fitted with a wood stock with a straight grip. The stock was attached to the barrel with two barrel bands, the forward-most of which also included a bayonet lug for the rifle variant,[14] while the short carbine did not receive the bayonet lug. Each rifle was issued with an M1893 sword bayonet.[16]

In 1894, Mauser designed a new version of the rifle, designated the Model 1894, chambered in 6.555mm for the Swedish Army.[17] Further alterations of the basic M1893 design produced the Model 1895, which was chambered in 7 mm and sold in large quantities to Central and South American countries, including Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, and Mexico. The M1895 was also sold to China, Luxembourg, and Persia.[17][18] Spain also acquired a variant of the M1895 that was essentially identical to the M1893 series with the exception of its 17.5-inch (440 mm) barrel.[14]

In addition to Mauser, the Spanish 1893 rifles were manufactured under license by a variety of other firms, including Ludwig Loewe & Company (and its successor, Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken) of Germany, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium, and Fbrica de Armas and Industrias de Guerra de Cataluna of Spain.[9][23] A total of 206,830 rifles were manufactured in Germany for Spain by 1899, and from 1896 to 1943, Spanish arsenals manufactured more than 2 million of the rifles including all variants.[10] Over the course of Spanish Mauser production, Fbrica de Armas built some 500,000 M1893 rifles at its factory in Oviedo, along with 850,000 M1895s and 325,000 of the modernized Model 1916 rifles.[24]

A slightly modified M1893 rifle were also sold to Brazil, chambered in 7 mm and designated M1894. Produced in long rifle and carbine version, it was used during the War of Canudos in 1897[35] and later during the Contestado War alongside the Mauser Model 1908.[36] Moreover, some M1893 long rifles and cavalry carbines in 7.65 mm were made at Fabrique Nationale for the Belgian Gendarmerie, the Garde Civique and the Congo Free State after 1894.[37]

When the Ottoman Army learned about the new Spanish model of 1893, it ordered some 200,000 rifles in the same configuration. Their rifles were chambered for the 7.6553mm Mauser cartridge and were identical to the Spanish model,[9] except for a magazine cut-off, which when engaged permitted the feeding and extraction of single cartridges only while keeping the cartridges in the magazine in reserve,[11] and a cylindrical bolt. The bayonet lug fit the M1890 Bayonet, which the Ottomans had already acquired in large numbers.[38] Most of these rifles still in Turkish hands were later re-barreled and converted to fire the far more common and powerful 7.9257mm Mauser after the Turkish Army adopted that caliber.[12]

The Spanish Army adopted the Model 1895 carbine on 7 May 1895; the rifle was essentially a shortened M1893, with a full-length stock that ran to the muzzle.[10] Though the carbine bears the 1895 designation, it did not include the improvements made in the M1895, and was essentially just a shortened M1893. It received the 1895 designation as the Spanish Army did not approve the carbine for service until that year.[39] Ludwig Loewe manufactured around 22,500 of the M1895 carbines between 1896 and 1897 before licensing production to Fbrica de Armas, which built an unknown number of the rifles between 1898 and 1915, when production changed over to the Model 1916 short rifle.[10]

The carbine had an overall length of 37.4 inches (950 mm), with a 17.55-inch (446 mm) barrel and a stock that extended to the end of the barrel. The carbine weighed 7 to 7.5 pounds (3.2 to 3.4 kg) empty. The M1895 carbine also differed in some minor details, including the rear sight, which was graduated only to 1,400 meters (4,600 ft), and the bolt handle, which was turned down. Since the carbine was intended to be used by cavalry, it used a single, large lanyard loop on the bottom of the wrist instead of traditional sling loops. In 1896, the design was modified slightly, to add a sling ring to the barrel band and a sling bracket in the left side of the butt. Unlike on the longer rifles, the upper barrel band did not include a bayonet lug. The left side of the rear of the receiver was cut down to facilitate the use of stripper clips.[10][40]

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