Mauser (weapons manufacturer)

Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH
legal form	Company with limited liability
founding	1811 as the Royal Württemberg rifle factory in Oberndorf
resolution	2000 (civil) & 2004 (military)
Reason for dissolution	Sale of the civil weapons division to the Lüke & Ortmeier Group ; Integration of the military arms division in Rheinmetall
Seat	Isny im Allgäu , Germany
Branch	Arms manufacturers , automobile manufacturers

Mauser was one of the oldest and internationally best-known German arms manufacturers , especially of military and civil handguns . In 1999, the civil weapons division was split off into Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH, with its headquarters in Isny im Allgäu, and sold to the Lüke & Ortmeier Group . The military weapons division has been a subsidiary of Rheinmetall Defense at the Mauser headquarters in Oberndorf am Neckar since 2004 as Rheinmetall Waffen Munition GmbH Niederlassung Mauser Oberndorf .

The best- known invention of the Mauser company is the 98 locking system of the Gewehr 98 . It was introduced in the Kingdom of Prussia as an experimental weapon on April 5, 1898 by Kaiser Wilhelm II with ACO (Allerhöchster Cabinett Ordre) . The Karabiner 98 developed from it was then the orderly rifle in the German Army and the Reichswehr . As a 98k carbine with a 15 cm shorter barrel, it was the standard rifle of the Wehrmacht until 1945 . It is still used today by the guard battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defense .

history

founding

German infantryman of the First World War with his Ordonnanzwaffe Gewehr 98

Franz Andreas Mauser (born August 1, 1792; † June 23, 1861) came in 1805 as a shoemaker in a craftsman's company in the Württemberg army in Ludwigsburg, in 1812 this company was incorporated into the Königl. Württ. Gun factory relocated to Oberndorf am Neckar, where Mauser first made leather saber scabbards and then trained as a gunsmith . In 1818 the company was dissolved and workers continued to operate. Like their father, the two brothers Wilhelm (1834–1882) and Peter-Paul Mauser (1838–1914) worked in the rifle factory from 1848 and 1852 respectively. In 1858 the father left the factory due to illness. Since the beginning of the 1860s, in addition to their work in the rifle factory, the sons have been developing a breech loader design. A first model received little attention in 1867. The Remington agent Samuel Norris arranged for the brothers to come with him to Liege and work for him there. In Liège in 1868 they developed a patent according to which the French Chassepot rifle could be modified to use a metal cartridge. A Mauser-Norris experimental rifle from the Spandau-Ruhleben infantry shooting school for adapting the Württemberg infantry rifle from 1857 to rear loading has been preserved to this day. In 1870 the brothers returned to Oberndorf.

Rifles for Prussia and the K98

View of the rifle factory (center) in Oberndorf, on the opposite bank the Mauser factory owner's villa (light-colored building)

The history of Mauser rifles began when the Prussian army with royal command of 22 March 1872 for centerfire ammunition was fitted bolt action rifle, which mainly by the Prussian gun-examination board had been developed (GPK) in collaboration with the brothers Mauser. The Mauser brothers developed the locking system. Although it was not adopted until 1872, the design was named Model 71 (M / 71) on December 2, 1871 , which was then retained. Only 8,000 dollars were the brothers for due in Prussia prevailing patent ban they received no royalties . Only the M71 / 84 repeating rifle , which was the first German rifle to have a tubular magazine (with a capacity of ten rounds), was completely designed by Paul Mauser.

The systems 1894/95/96 can be regarded as the direct forerunners of the 98 system. The decisive difference to the 98 system introduced in 1898 was the type of firing pin tension. While the forerunners were designed as closing clamps, the 98 system was an opening clamp. The firing pin is cocked via a clamping curve as the bolt stem moves upwards .

Initially, in 1895, Mauser delivered 2,000 test rifles, based on the Spanish rifle 1895, in 7.9 mm caliber to the rifle testing commission in Spandau. At that time, Mauser himself preferred smaller calibers for military use, such as. B. the caliber 6x58 or 59. Further 2,185 experimental rifles in smaller calibers followed. However, in view of the successful use and the large reserves of ammunition, the military decision-makers wanted to stick to the tried and tested 8x57 caliber and therefore also ordered the successor infantry rifle in the 8x57 caliber (this caliber is not a Mauser development, although it is often referred to as the 8mm Mauser in the Anglo-American region) .

Finally, in April 1898, the first 20 experimental rifles, Mod. 1898, were delivered in 7.9 mm caliber, in the version with a 36 mm case head diameter and a barrel thread of 28 mm outer diameter.

The license agreement for the Gewehr 98 with Prussia dates from November 11, 1895, the Kingdom of Bavaria only received the Mauser license on September 17, 1901 for the Royal Bavarian Rifle Factory in Amberg . It was not until May 2, 1900, when Prince Regent Luitpold accepted the Gewehr 98 for the Bavarian Army as an orderly weapon . The reason was the bad experience with its predecessor, the Gewehr 88 (which did not come from Mauser, but had been developed by the GPK and was therefore also called the commission rifle ). The first copies were issued to the Imperial Navy and the East Asian Expeditionary Corps, which had been marched against the so-called Boxer Rebellion .

Turkish and Swedish construction

Since the Prussian state did not want to pay license fees for the development of the Gewehr 71, this almost meant ruin for the company after 1872. However, it succeeded in acquiring a state contract from the Ottoman Empire for black powder ordonnance weapons, so that the future of the company was initially secured. Pure military weapons were checked and approved by special inspection officers of the commissioning state. The Turkish inspection officers checked the individual parts directly in the factory. A house of the Turkish acceptance commission in the oriental style, the so-called "Turk's building", reminded of the delivery orders of the Ottoman army for many years later .

When a contract was signed with Sweden in 1894 for the delivery of carbines for the Swedish army in the new 6.5 × 55 mm caliber , the so-called "Schwedenbau", in which the museum is located today, expanded the Mauser factory. By 1900, when Sweden finally took over production entirely, Mauser still supplied around 60,000 infantry rifles with this caliber. These weapons are also known as the "Swedish Mauser".

Tank rifle M1918

After the use of the first tanks (tanks) by the British Army in 1916, Mauser was commissioned to develop the M1918 tank rifle . It was the first German anti-tank rifle of the First World War and also the first in the world. It had the caliber 13 × 92 mm HR .

Mauser weapons from Brno

After the First World War, the Mauser works were no longer allowed to manufacture military weapons according to the provisions of the Versailles Treaty . Production had to be completely converted to hunting weapons. However, through the mediation of an Italian member of the Control Commission, all of the production machines for the Gewehr 98 were sold to Československá zbrojovka in Brno and machines for the production of hunting weapons were purchased instead. The Gewehr 98 and the Gewehr vz were then produced on the Mauser machines in Brno . 24 .

Resumption of military arms production

Manufacturer code and year of construction on the system sleeve of the 98k

Locking system Mauser98

From 1934 Mauser was also integrated into the (initially secret) armament of the Wehrmacht . Military weapons were now being produced again, namely the Karabiner 98k (K98k), which was adopted as the German Ordonnanzwaffe in 1935 . Since the production was initially supposed to go unnoticed by the Allies, the full name of the plant was no longer stamped on the system case, but a changing code designation, which should make identification difficult or impossible. For the Mauser / Oberndorf weapons factory, these were the codes S / 42 K, S / 42 G, S / 42, 42, byf and svw.

During the Second World War, more than 5,000 forced laborers were used to keep production going.

See also : Nazi forced labor in the Oberndorf a. N.

Dismantling after 1945

After the defeat in 1945, Mauser's development department was on a special train in the direction of the "Alpine Fortress". This was stopped by American soldiers in the Ötztal and the material was confiscated. The documents, manufacturing equipment and weapon parts were taken to the American Ordnance Depot in Paris. Because of the importance of the weapons developments, top American teams later moved additional material to Oberndorf. From October 1945, production continued for another ten months on behalf of the USA. From April 1946, Mauser produced in Berlin for the British occupation forces. In August 1946, the construction documents, machines and tools were brought to Mulhouse under French administration . A number of employees remained in demand as weapons technicians and found new places of work with the consent of the occupying powers. At French companies alone, 150 skilled workers found new jobs.

In December 1946, the military government decided to finally dismantle the Mauser works. The company owners of the Quandt family , the municipality of Oberndorf and some banks then conducted lengthy negotiations with the administrator Raymond Bouysse in order to avert the dismantling of the production facilities. Later on, 700 workers were laid off, while 750 continued dismantling. In the end, 160 of the former 9,000 jobs remained. Among other things, because of the possible follow-up costs for the public sector, an agreement was reached until 1953 to assume the pre-war debts in order to ensure the continued existence of the Mauser works.

Manufacture of hunting weapons

Mauser first reworked the returned test rifles into the first civilian hunting rifles and brought them onto the market. These weapons are called surplus models and are very rare. In addition to the production of military weapons, Mauser himself immediately began producing civilian hunting weapons.

From 1898 there are documents for the first hunting rifles , now known as civil moulting . For this, Mauser used raw systems from general system production, which were then processed further in the field of hunting weapons production with lower tolerances and higher surface quality than the systems used in military production. They also received other chamber stems with the pear-shaped end that is characteristic of civil moults to this day.

All civil production systems were numbered consecutively. This number sequence ends with the number 126.417 for the last known civil mouse rifle from October 1944.

Mauser also produced the systems or system-barrel combinations for other gun manufacturers and gunsmiths, especially in Germany and Great Britain. These systems are also included in the consecutive numbering of their own civilian hunting weapons. These systems submitted for further processing are now referred to as "action only".

Immediately after the presentation of this new locking system, the first contacts were made with the London company John Rigby & Company , which had recognized the potential of this system. However, the system was too short for the large-caliber and large-volume hunting rifle cartridges in use in the United Kingdom and its colonies at that time. As early as 1899, the so-called Mauser Magnum System was developed with a system extended by around 15 mm. Rigby became Mauser's general distributor in Great Britain and remained so until 1912.

At the turn of the century, Mauser expanded its production with a short system for its own short cartridges ( 6.5 × 54 mm Mauser , 7 × 54 mm Mauser , 8 × 51 mm Mauser ). This system was around 15 mm shorter than the standard system and again had the narrow case and the smaller thread of the trial rifles. Based on the short system, the Suhl company Schmidt and Habermann developed its own short system with Mod. 21, which was based on the Mauser short system in terms of dimensions and design.

At the request of the Rigby company, another system was introduced around the turn of the century, which did not differ from the standard system in terms of overall sleeve length, but had a 5 mm shorter chamber and, accordingly, a 5 mm backward extended sleeve head when using a (longer) 25 mm thread . This system is known as the "intermediate system". The advantage lies in a shorter repeating distance. The Rigby company ordered this system specifically for the .275 Rigby cartridge, which is identical to the Mauser cartridge 7 × 57 mm . Mauser himself then also used this system for his own 7x57 caliber hunting rifles. However, the system then became better known through its use in military infantry weapons production. Mauser used this system for exports to the Turkish military in 1903 and the Peruvian military in 1909. Systems of these weapons are now the non-plus-ultra for high-quality hunting rifle conversions.

This intermediate system was then modified again on behalf of Rigby, especially for the .303 British cartridge . It received a 5 mm shorter locking sleeve and a rear-angled magazine box specially made for the .303 British rim cartridges. This system is known as the short intermediate system.

Some of the systems mentioned were manufactured in four different system modifications. In addition to the normal system designs (round sleeve, thumb hole), Single Square Bridge (sleeve bridge with square elevation) and Double Square Bridge versions (sleeve bridge and sleeve head with square elevation) were produced, the latter in turn in the variations with and without thumb hole. The single square bridge could be provided with the locking for the Mauser hook mounting. The different systems mentioned were combined with different magazine shapes.

Initially, the civilian hunting rifles from Mauser also had the base groups known from military systems with a loose magazine cover that could not be opened without tools. Magazine lids with rotating levers appeared for the first time in the mid-1910s. In these first versions, the entire magazine cover could be removed after swiveling the lever to the left; there was initially no hinge mounting. It is conceivable that this construction was not a Mauser development, but rather a development from Suhl gunsmiths, who at that time manufactured bolt-action rifles based on original Mauser systems (action only) in large numbers. They replaced the military magazine cover delivered at the time with this more easily removable version.

From 1908, the hinge-mounted magazine lids with pivoting levers also appeared. From the mid-1910s, magazine covers were installed with a trigger integrated into the trigger guard. (These were already used in the infantry rifles for Argentina in 1909 ).

Mauser installed the systems in seven different hunting rifle designs:

• The “B” model series was the most common and widespread rifle variant and was characterized by a slim walnut stock and checkering only on the pistol grip, barrel lengths of 60 cm and pear-shaped bolt handles.
• The first nozzles came on the market before the First World War . These had barrel lengths of 50 cm and a whole shaft with a metal end and initially also pear-shaped chamber stems. After the First World War, the nozzles continued to be produced in two versions. The socket with a full shaft and metal end at the mouth, which was introduced before the war, now has a bolt handle based on the Mannlicher-Schönauer system with a flat, curved bolt handle (“butter knife”). This variant was henceforth referred to as the M model.
• Next to it was the S model with a full shaft without a metal edge and a carved beak in the front shaft area. This variant was produced with pear-shaped chamber stems.
• The model series "A" (or internally also referred to as "E") were the higher quality hunting rifles that were mainly intended for export. They were presented shortly before World War I. The stylistic features and proportions developed with these weapons are still decisive for the construction of exclusive handcrafted bolt action rifles based on Mauser 98. The weapons had better stocks with fine wood ends and fish skin on the fore-stocks.
• In addition, there was also the simple model C in the first few years of the last century . These were hunting rifles that were essentially made from military system and barrel components with simple hunting stocks.
• The model "G" was a fully loaded rifle with a barrel length of 60 cm.
• The “L” model was the African rifle with 70 cm barrels, optionally with hand protection on the barrel.

In addition to the original civil mouse rifles from Mauser Waffenwerke Oberndorf, all well-known German hunting rifle manufacturers had bolt action rifles based on original Mauser 98 systems (action only) in their product range ( JP Sauer & Sohn Suhl, Krieghoff , Merkel , Greifelt & Co. and others ) before World War I ).

But most of the other 98-based rifles from this period also came from Suhl , where other dealers had their weapons made (with the dealer's signature).

In addition to simple designs with round barrels, the high-quality designs made by these manufacturers were particularly stylish in this time. They were often equipped with barrels that had an octagonal into a round barrel contour. These barrels were milled from the full blank, i.e. rail, front sight saddle and barrel hook for the locking in the fore-end.

After the First World War, many manufacturers switched their bolt action rifle production to the now numerous and inexpensive Mauser systems of military origin (e.g. Sauer & Sohn Suhl).

In 1966, Mauser introduced the M66, a special repeating system for hunting rifles. This system was designed by Walter Gehmann, an arms dealer, internationally renowned sports shooter and later sports official from Karlsruhe. The M66 consisted of two parts: the rotating chamber, similar to the one used in the G98, and an additional slide on a guide rail. When opening, the chamber and slide initially moved backwards together. Then the slide stopped and the chamber slid out further until the breech was fully opened. This telescopic design of two locking parts that move out and in one after the other allows - with the same type of ammunition - a design that is around 6 cm shorter than the M98.

In 1996, with the M96, a straight pull repeater was introduced in which the bolt handle no longer has to be lifted for the repeating process. A simple pull back is enough to repeat. The gun sat down but compared to the competitors in all anticipate the Geradezugrepetierer R93 of the company Blaser , not through.

In 2003 the M03 system followed, which took over the advantages of the M98 in a modern design. A particular advantage of the M03 is that the gun owner can use different barrels in different calibers and only has to change the bolt head on the chamber in the system, as well as increased security of the gun in the fully loaded state thanks to the decocking lock, which allows the firing pin to be released even with a cartridge in the Cartridge chamber allowed.

The hunting rifles were produced in the Mauser works in Oberndorf am Neckar until 1999 . The trademark rights for Mauser hunting rifles were sold to the entrepreneurs Michael Lüke and Thomas Ortmeier in 2000 . Today Mauser hunting rifles are manufactured in the Blaser factory in Isny im Allgäu . Behind Mauser-Jagdwaffen, the competitors Blaser-Jagdwaffen and JP Sauer & Sohn, along with pistol manufacturer SIG Sauer, is the L & O Holding , which until 2006 also included the trading company for “Hunting and Nature” Kettner and the sports pistol manufacturer SIG Hämmerli .

Military weapons from 2000

In the military sector, Mauser was no longer able to deliver infantry weapons to the Bundeswehr after the Second World War; Heckler & Koch had taken on this role . In return, Mauser was able to get orders for Mauser BK-27 on - board cannons for combat aircraft, for example for the Eurofighter Typhoon .

In 2004 the Mauser-Werke were merged with the newly founded Rheinmetall Waffen Munition GmbH , but the brand still exists.

Products

Carbine 98

The Karabiner 98 is probably one of the two most frequently built military rifles in the world, estimates go up to 100 million examples, but the exact numbers cannot be determined.

This system, which acts as a bolt lock when it is opened, was primarily used for military weapons. The weapons with the 98 system were used in Germany during the First and Second World Wars , especially the Gewehr 98 and the Karabiner 98k . Both weapons were produced in innumerable versions and later replicated and varied by many other companies.

The system turned out to be so reliable and error-free that it is still used in hunting and sporting weapons to this day. Original systems from old military weapons of the world wars are often reprocessed and used for hunting repeater.

Guns for big game hunting

Even big-game hunters in Africa use for over a hundred years, the Mauser 98er system as extended, "Magnum" so-called. Version with long extractor, because it is simple in construction, reliable with different types of ammunition also works under extreme climatic conditions and especially insensitive against soiling. An M 98 can be dismantled and reassembled for cleaning without tools and in just a few simple steps. However, many manufacturers modify the bulky fuse, which can affect the low mounting of a riflescope. Various manufacturers have developed their own variants of the system over the decades, which are still used today in large game repeater from modern production or from antiquarian products.

vehicles

Mauser single-track car from 1923

The company was founded in 1920 on the Einspurwagen of Gustav Winkler attentive, took over and improved the design and presented at the Berlin Motor Show 1921, the Mauser Einspurauto 2/6 PS ago. Another source names the designer Reinhold Böhm from Berlin.

It was a car on two wheels, one in the front, one in the back, and two side support wheels that were folded up while driving. The single-cylinder engine with an initially 496 cm³, later 510 cm³ displacement developed 6  HP . The series production of this model ran from 1923 to 1925, some other vehicles were produced until 1927. There were also two conventional models, the 6/24 hp type M 6 from 1923 to 1926, and its successor, the 6/24 hp type M 7 from 1926 to 1927. A four-cylinder engine with 1,568 cc and 24 hp installed in the front drove the rear wheels via a cardan drive. In 1927 production was stopped. The Winkler company offered the Winkler single-track car until 1929.

Tools and measuring tools

Mauser vernier caliper

From 1920, Mauser was also a developer and manufacturer of various measuring tools such as micrometers and callipers . These measuring tools were also produced for the US market under the name Scherr-Tumico , for example . From 1922 to 1996, Mauser registered over 200 patents for hand tools and measuring tools, including several patents for "adjustable wrenches ".

literature

• Hans-Dieter Götz: The German military rifles and submachine guns. 1871-1945. 4th edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-87943-350-X .
• Wolfgang Seel: Mauser. From an armory to a global company. Stocker-Schmid, Dietikon-Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-7276-7068-1 .
• David Th. Schiller, Matthias Recktenwald: Once around the world. The Mauser weapons. In: Ulrich Eichstädt (Red.): Ordonnance rifle. The big special issue about long military weapons. Repeater & Self-Loader, Shooting & Collecting, History & Development. Visier-Verlag, Nassau et al. 1996, ISBN 3-931190-04-8 , ( Visier Special 5), pp. 18-39.
• Dieter Storz: Gewehr & Karabiner 98. The firearms 98 of the German Reichsheeres from 1898 to 1918. Published by Ernst Aichner . Militaria, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-902526-04-1 , ( catalogs of the Bavarian Army Museum Ingolstadt 4).
• Werner Oswald : German Cars 1920–1945. All German passenger cars of the time. 10th edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-87943-519-7 .
• Oldtimer Markt 12/1984, ISSN  0943-7320 , p. 56 and 8/2009, p. 166.
• Ludwig Olson: Mauser Rifles , NRA, Fairfax, 1980. ( 36 pages, online at archive.org )
• Frères, G. 1998: Mauser-Gewehr 98 - The work of the century. DWJ 1/98 - 4/98.
• Speed, J., Schmid, W. and Herrmann, R. 1997: Original Oberndorf Sporting Rifles. Collector Grade Publications.
• Speed, J. 2007: The Mauser Archive. Collector Grade Publications.
• www.zeughaus-goettingen.de
• Joachim Scholtyseck : The rise of the Quandts: A German entrepreneurial dynasty, chapter “The difficult new beginning of the subsidiaries Mauserwerke and MfM” CH Beck, 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62252-6 .

Web links

Commons : Mauser  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH
• Early documents and newspaper articles on Mauser in the press kit of the 20th century of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter Wolf: Mauser stayed afloat with measuring tools after the war. In: König gives the go-ahead for weapons production. Schwarzwälder Bote, July 31, 2011, accessed on February 24, 2014 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Joachim Scholtyseck: The Rise of the Quandts: A German Entrepreneur Dynasty , Chapter "The Difficult New Beginning of the Subsidiaries Mauserwerke and MfM"
3. ^ Hans Christoph von Seherr-Thoss : The German automobile industry. Documentation from 1886 until today . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1974, ISBN 3-421-02284-4 , p. 80 .