The Gew (Gewehr ) 98 or Model 1898 was designed by Paul Mauser and was adopted by the German Army in 1898 to replace the earlier Gew 88 . The Gew 98 then remained largely unchanged in the German Army until replaced by the shortened Karabiner (Kar) 98k version in 1935.
The Gew 98 was the culmination of the development of bolt action rifles by Paul Mauser and his brother Willelm. This started with the single shot, black powder Model 1871 or Gew 71 in 11 mm calibre that replaced the earlier Dreyse Needle Gun. The Gew 71 was further developed in 1884 to add an 8-round tubular magazine to become the Gew 71/84.
In 1880, the Mauser brothers turned their attention to designing a smaller bore rifle using smokeless powder that had recently been developed. Unfortunately, Willelm died in 1882 which delayed the development work. As a result, the new rifle for the German Army, the Gew 88, was designed by the German Rifle Test Commission using the best features from a range of designs, including the Mauser bolt and the Mannlicher box magazine using en bloc (as opposed to stripper) clips. The unusual feature of the Gew 88 was the use of a barrel shroud to allow the barrel to be fully floating improving the accuracy of the rifle.
In contrast with many military rifle developments in other countries, Paul Mauser developed his bolt action magazine rifle design over the next 10 years leading to the Gew 98 via a series of commercial contracts. Over this period, the basic design developed in a series of steps that corresponded to the following groups of models:
Model 89, 90, 91
The original model used the first generation smokeless 7.65 x 53 mm rimless round which employed a 210 gr round nosed bullet developed by Mauser. The rifle used a 5-round, single column box magazine projecting down below the stock that was fed via Ladestreifen which translates into loading clips or stripper clips. It was found that stripper clips provided significant advantages over the en bloc loading of the Gew 88. These early models used a fixed bolt head and claw extractor and all used a cock-on-closing bolt mechanism.
The first commercial success for Mauser was the Model 1889 for the Belgium army that was manufactured under licence by Fabrique Nationale Herstal which was specially set up for this purpose. This rifle used a shrouded barrel like the Gew 88. A similar rifle was then manufactured by Mauser for Turkey without the barrel shroud known as the Model 1890 and a year later was then provided to Argentina as the Model 91. As with all the earlier Mausers, they were manufactured by Ludwig Loewe in Prussia.
Model 92
The Model 92 was the first to use a non-rotating claw extractor patented by Mauser in 1892. The advantages of this was that it firmly gripped the next cartridge as it was extracted from the magazine providing a much more reliable method of feeding. The M92 was the first Mauser to introduce a trigger/sear/bolt interlock mechanism that prevented the trigger from moving the sear unless the bolt was fully closed. This model was sold to Spain and used the Mauser 7 x 57 mm cartridge but still used the single column box magazine.
Model 93
This model evolved from the M92 and was the first to use a staggered column 5-round magazine that was flush with the bottom of the stock and used a detachable floor plate. It again fired the Mauser 7 x 57 mm cartridge and was sold principally to Spain.
Model 94, 95 & 96
The M93 was followed by the Model 1894 that was sold to Sweden in carbine form firing the Mauser 6.5 x 55 mm round. The Model 1894 was followed by the Model 1895 firing the Mauser 7 x 57 mm round. Among the countries that bought the Model 1895 were the Boer republics in South Africa who used them with great success against the British Army during the 2nd Boer War (1899-1902). The Model 1896 was a long rifle version sold to Sweden firing the Mauser 6.5 x 55 mm round. Later models used a shoulder on the receiver behind the bolt handle to act as a safety feature in case of failures of the two front lugs on the bolt.
Gewehr 1898
The Gew 88 suffered from a number of problems and became outclassed during the 1880’s by more modern types of Mauser rifles purchased by other countries. However, in 1898, the German Army purchased the Mauser Model 1898 that was designated the Gew 98 and fired the same round nosed 8 x 57 mm Patrone 88 cartridge as the Gew 88.
The Gew 98 included a number of new safety features compared with the previous Mauser models. The first improvement was the use of a third lug at the rear of the bolt to guard against failure of the front two lugs. The second improvement was much better gas venting in the case of a rupture of the cartridge case or primer that made use of two large vent holes in the bolt that directed any escaped gases down into the magazine. The Gew 98 also incorporated a larger diameter 1.41 inch locking ring on the receiver for greater strength that compared with the 1.30 inch diameter on the previous ‘small ring’ Mausers.
The Gew 98 used a straight bolt handle projecting sideways from the receiver that required 90 degrees of rotation to unlock. The bolt could be withdrawn from the receiver by first operating the spring loaded catch on the left of the receiver. The Gew 98 was fitted with a inclined shoulder behind the charger bridge that provided a smooth initial extraction of a cartridge as the bolt handle was rotated.
In contrast with most of the previous Mauser models, the Gew 98 cocked-on-opening and it also used a different approach to the trigger/sear/bolt safety interlock. Rather than stopping the sear from being released as done in the earlier models, the Gew 98 safety feature prevented the firing pin from being released unless the bolt was closed. The bolt was fitted with the usual Mauser 3-position safety mounted on the bolt sleeve that operated when the action was cocked. In the right-hand position, it locked the bolt; in the middle position, it disengaged the trigger from the sear but still allowed the bolt to be cycled; in the left-hand position, it made the rifle ready to fire.
Like all previous Mauser rifles, the Gew 98 used a one piece stock with an upper hand guard between the rear sight and the mid barrel band. An end cap was used on the stock that incorporated a 1.75 inch long T-shaped bar to mount a bayonet which, in general, was not fitted with a muzzle ring to avoid upsetting the accuracy of the rifle. The end cap was held in place by a wide barrel band that itself was held in place via a spring load pin. The mid barrel band was positioned against a shoulder in the stock and held in place by a spring stop in front of it. It incorporated the upper swivel for the leather sling.
The Gew 98 was equipped with a short cleaning rod ( 15 5/8 inches) that slid into a hole beneath the bayonet bar and effectively screwed internally into the mid barrel band. The idea was for soldiers to screw 3 of the rods together tin order to clean a rifle. However, in practice, rope pull throughs were also issued that were much easier to use in practice.
The Gew 88 and all previous Mauser models featured a straight stock behind the trigger but the Gew 98 featured a semi-pistol grip. The butt plate was of plain design with no trap fitted as on the equivalent US and UK military rifles of the time. The butt included a transverse hole halfway along with brass fittings that was used to enable the firing pin to be disassembled. The Gew 98 was fitted with a leather sling with a spring loaded buckle that clipped on to either the rear swivel mounted behind the pistol grip or to a hole in the front of the trigger guard. The slings also included a wire loop that allowed it to hook on to the top barrel band tightening the sling for parade purposes.
The Gew 98 uses a fixed front sight in the form of a blade with no protection wings provided. The Gew 98 originally used a Lange Visier sight as shown below. In a conventional tangent sight, the leaf with the sighting notch on it is raised against spring pressure by the slider bearing on a ramp. In the Gew 98 backsight, the leaf is raised instead by the top of the slider running down a curved slot on either side. The bed of the backsight was graduated from 400 to 2000 m.
Manufacturing
The Württemberg Royal Armoury (Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik) was acquired in May 1874 after an agreement between the Württemberg government and the Mausers to produce 100,000 Model 71 rifles. It was a partnership between the Mauser Brothers and the Württemberg Vereinsbank of Stuttgart and had three factories in the German town of Oberndorf.
The partnership became a stock market company with the name of Waffenfabrik Mauser in April 1884. The shares held by the Württemberg Vereinsbank and Paul Mauser were then sold to Ludwig Löwe & Company in December 1887 but Paul Mauser stayed as the technical leader. Ludwig Löwe then united its other weapons and ammunition production facilities under the name of Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken A.G. (DWM) in November 1896. Both Waffenfabrik Mauser and DWM produced teh Gew 98 rifle.
Ammunition
Both the Gew 88 and Gew 98 originally fired the first generation smokeless Patrone 88 cartridge also known as the M88 with a round nosed bullet of 8.10 mm diameter. The cartridge contained 43 gr of smokeless powder and the bullet was made of 95% lead and 5% antimony and weighed 225 gr. The muzzle velocity produced was 620 m/s or 2,000 fps.
However, in 1905, the Patrone 88 cartridge was replaced by the S Patrone or 7.92 x 57 mm Mauser cartridge with the S denoting Spitzgeschoss (pointed bullet) referred to as ‘Spitzer’ in English. This fired a pointed boat tailed bullet weight 153 gr which gave it a much higher muzzle velocity of 878 m/s or 2,881 fps. Both the Gew 88 and Gew 98 were modified to fire the new cartridge with the designations changed to 88/05 and 98/05.
Updated Gew 98m
Later in WW1, the Gew 98 was updated by fitting a conventional tangent rear sight and by using a turned down bolt. The problem found with the original Lange Visier site was that the sight picture provided was less than ideal in use because of the high walls either side of the sighting notch. The original horizontally projecting straight bolt action might have been easier to manipulate but it was found to snag very easily in combat conditions. The modifications therefore made the rifle much better in use. The modified version was designated the Gew 98m.
Sniper Rifle
At the start of WW1, the German army used civilian sniper rifles but these proved not to be robust enough. Therefore, in 1915, standard Gew 98 rifles were converted to sniper rifles by adding a 3x or 4x telescopic sight and issued as the Scharfschützen-Gewehr (sniper rifle) 98. Apart from adding the mounts for the telescopic sight, the only other change made was to turn down the bolt handle to avoid it hitting the scope when opened. The Gew 98 was designed to be a very accurate rifle and therefore it was one of the most effective sniper rifles of WW1.
Karabiner 98a
The Kar 98a was a shortened version of the Gew 98 and was intended for use by cavalry. The original pattern had a 450 mm (17.7 inch) barrel but this resulted in both excessive recoil and flash when converted to the new S Patrone cartridge. To overcome these problems the barrel was lengthened to 600 mm (23.6 inch) compared with the 740 mm (29.1 inch) of the Gew 98.
It is interesting, historically, to note that the German Army did not follow the lessons of the British Army following the 2nd Boer War (1899 – 1902) in terms of the advantage of adopting a universal shorter rifle for both the army and cavalry. The British adopted the 3′ 8.5″ long SMLE for all arms, whereas, the German army continued with a 4′ 1″ long Gew 98 along with the shorter Kar 98a.
The Kar 98a was fitted with a more conventional tangent rear sight graduated from 300 to 2000 m. It was fitted with a turned down bolt handle and fitted with a leather sling on the left-hand side of the carbine using a sling loop on the mid barrel band and a slot in the side of the butt. The same bayonet bar as on the Gew 98 was used but, because the bayonet handle projected beyond the muzzle, the top of the grip needed to be fitted with a heat shield. The Kar 98a was also fitted with a small L-shaped rod under the front barrel band that was used for stacking purposes.
Karabiner 98b
The Kar 98b was introduced in 1923 as a means of getting round the limitations of the WW1 Treaty of Versailles by re-designating the Gew 98 as a carbine, a class of weapon that was allowed under the treaty. The Kar 98b was basically a Gew 98m with the same side sling as on the Kar 98a.
Bayonets
A large number of different types of bayonet were manufactured for the Gew 98 rifles. The Gew 98 was originally fitted with the Seitengewehr (S)98 sword bayonet with a 19.7 inch blade and a curved quillon but no muzzle ring to avoid it upsetting the accuracy of the rifle. It was housed in a leather scabbard and the length of the blade was 20.5 inches. Wooden grips were used with the original n.A version being in one piece and the later a.A version introduced in 1902 being made up of two separate grips. As with most German bayonets, a saw back version was produced for pioneer troops to be used as a saw.
The S98 bayonet was intended to give the German army the same reach as the French Lebel rifle and bayonet. However, it was found to be too long and too fragile for trench fighting. The S98 was therefore replaced by the shorter S98/05 bayonet with a 14.5 inch blade with a distinctive shape that earned it the nickname of ‘Butchers Blade’. The original pattern did not have the flash guard fitted along the top of the grip that was later fitted to protect it from the flash generated by the Kar 98a carbine.
The third bayonet type used with the Kar 98a version of the Gew 98 was the S84/98 with a 10 inch blade. The original pattern was a modified version of the Model 1971/84 rifle bayonet but with the muzzle ring removed. The 2nd pattern was then newly made and included a heat shield for the grip. This was essentially the same bayonet as fitted to the Kar 98k adopted in 1935 and used throughout WW2.
At the beginning of WW1, with a huge increase in the number of small arms required by the German army, there were problems with manufacturing enough regulation bayonets. Instead, Germany resorted to getting small engineering firms to manufacture a myriad of different designs, many with 12 inch blades and made entirely from metal. These bayonets are referred to as Ersatz (substitute) bayonets but were replaced later in the war by the regulation designs. The were manufactured for both the Gew 88 and Gew 98 rifles.
My Gew 98
My Gew 98 was made by Waffenfabrik Mauser and dated 1917 and is in very good condition. It is fitted with the S98/05 ‘Butchers Blade’ bayonet but I also have an S98 bayonet for it, both in very good condition.
Gew 98 Specifications
- Weight: 4.09 kg
- Weight of Bayonet: 0.53 kg
- Length of Rifle: 1.25 m
- Length with Bayonet: 1.61 m
- Length of Barrel: 740 mm
- Calibre: 7.92 mm (S Patrone)
- Bullet: 153 gr S Patrone Spitzer bullet
- Muzzle Velocity: 878 m/s (s Patrone)
- Front Sight: Blade
- Rear Sight: Tangent Lange Visier
- Rear Ladder Sight: 400 to 2000 m
- Rifling: Conventional
- No. of Grooves: 4
- Rifling Twist: right-handed with 1 twist in 9.45 inches
