| Gewehr 98 | |
|---|---|
 Gewehr 98 made in 1898. From the collections of the Swedish Army Museum | |
| Type | Bolt-action rifle |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1898-1945 |
| Used by | See Users |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Paul Mauser |
| Designed | 1895 |
| Manufacturer | |
| Produced | 1898–1918 |
| No. built | 9,000,000+[1] |
| Variants | K98a, K98b, Kar98az |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4.09 kg (9.0 lb) with empty magazine Gewehr 98 3.50 kg (7.7 lb) Karabiner 98a |
| Length | 1,250 mm (49.2 in) Gewehr 98 1,090 mm (42.9 in) Karabiner 98a |
| Barrel length | 740 mm (29.1 in) Gewehr 98 590 mm (23.2 in) Karabiner 98a |
| Cartridge | M/88 until 1903, 7.92×57mm Mauser later |
| Action | Bolt action |
| Rate of fire | 15 rounds/minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 639 m/s (2,096 ft/s) with M/88 878 m/s (2,881 ft/s) with 1903 pattern 9.9 g (154 gr) ball ammunition |
| Effective firing range | 500 m (550 yd) (with iron sights) 1,000 m (1,100 yd) (with optics) |
| Maximum firing range | 3,735 m (4,080 yd) with S Patrone |
| Feed system | 5-round stripper clips in an internal box magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights |
The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98, or M98) is a bolt-action rifle made by Mauser for the German Empire as its service rifle from 1898 to 1935.
The Gewehr 98 action, using a 5-round stripper clip loaded with the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, successfully combined and improved several bolt-action engineering concepts which were soon adopted by many other countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, and Japan.[2] The Gewehr 98 replaced the earlier Gewehr 1888 as the main German service rifle. It first saw combat in the Chinese Boxer Rebellion and was the main German infantry service rifle of World War I. The Gewehr 98 saw further military use by the Ottoman Empire and Nationalist Spain.
It was eventually replaced by the Karabiner 98k, a carbine version using the same design, for the Wehrmacht under Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945.
- ^ Gewehr & Karabiner 98. Die Schußwaffen 98 des deutschen Reichsheeres von 1898 bis 1918 (= Kataloge des Bayerischen Armeemuseums Ingolstadt. Bd. 4). Verlag Militaria, Wien 2006, ISBN 978-3-902526-04-5
- ^ "Five Supposed Mauser Firsts ... That Weren't - The Firearm Blog". thefirearmblog.com. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2018.