About Mauser ... with love. "Karl Gustav" - the traditional Swedish quality (part three)
Boers with rifles Mauser sample 1895 of the year.
In Belgium, rifles began to be produced at the private enterprise Fabrique Nationale Herstal (FN), which was originally built specifically for the production of these rifles, and the state arms factory Manufacture D'Armes De L Etat (MAE). When Belgium was occupied by the Germans during the First World War, they were also produced by Hopkins & Allen in the United States by order of the Belgian government in exile, and they were also made in England at a factory in Birmingham, where ... refugees from Belgium worked!
Rifle and carbine M1889
Rifles for Turkey and Argentina were produced in Germany, with the factories of Ludwig Löwe and DWM fulfilling the order for Argentina, and the Mauser brothers' enterprise for Turkey. The rifle "Argentine-style" were in service with many Latin American countries, such as Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.
Carabiner model M1889. Pay attention to the well-marked barrel casing and the specific shape of the store.
One of the patents of Paul Mauser with one of the options for single-row store. May 1889
The reason was a good cartridge. The fact is that the Argentine general, who considered the Prussian military training system to be the best in the world (because of which the Argentines sent their cadets to study in German military institutions), worked very closely with the Germans in the field of weapons production. And the result of this collaboration was precisely the appearance in the 1891 year of the cartridge 7,65 × 53 mm Argentino and, accordingly, the Argentine Mauser rifles 1891 and 1909 developed for it.
Here about the Argentine Mauser, the M1891 has it all ... The question is how to read and translate ... And, of course, it would be nice to also hold it in your hands!
High combat qualities led to its widespread use in America, so firms such as Remington and Winchester took up the release of these patrons. CIP cartridge: 7,65 × 53 Arg. - such was its official name, had a sleeve with an annular groove and without rim, with a bullet with a diameter of 7,91 mm and energy in 3651 J. By its ballistic characteristics it turned out to be close to the British patron .303, considered one of the best.
Another patent for the store. June 1893 g. On it the store has a slightly different shape.
Interestingly, when in 1950 - 1960's. The 7,62 × 51 NATO cartridge was adopted for armament; the old cartridge continued to be used in Argentina in the reserve units of its army. Right up until the beginning of the Second World 7,65 × 53 Arg. experts considered him a good chuck for hunting any North American game, except perhaps a brown bear. Moreover, the production of this cartridge continues today, that is 125 years!
And this is a Swedish-Norwegian 6,5x55 mm rifle cartridge. At the time of its appearance, it was the smallest caliber cartridge in Europe. True, the same caliber and had an Italian rifle cartridge. But they appeared almost simultaneously, so it is difficult to determine the primacy in this case. In Norway, a Krag-Jorgensen rifle was created under it, which was already described at the HE. But they did in Norway. The Swedes did not break the head, but simply ordered a rifle to the firm "Mauser". “There would be a good cartridge, and a rifle could be found under it!”
Cartridge 6,5x55 mm was produced for a very long time, until the second half of the twentieth century. In the photo there is a clip with cartridges with pointed bullets of the 1976 release of the year.
The 1889 model's rifle was also a weapon that had a manual reload using a butterfly valve with two radially spaced fighting lugs in front of it. The ejector hook was mounted on the bolt and rotated with it, and the reflector was in the receiver. The rifle was fitted with a box store of the James Lee system, with a single-row arrangement of cartridges and spring-loaded bend jaws that held them in the store when the shutter was open.
Carabin M1894 chambered for 6,5x55 mm. Swedish Army Museum, Stockholm.
Equipment was carried out from above, through a special window inside the receiver, when the shutter was opened, and either one cartridge each, or with the help of penta-charge plate clips. The store could be separated from the rifle for repair, cleaning or replacement. The magazine latch was in the front of the trigger guard, and the fuse was on the back of the gate. The Belgian Mauser model 1889 of the year, as well as carbines made on its basis, had tubular protective covers on the trunks. But the Turkish and Argentine Mauser models of this system did not have such a casing on the trunks, but they had a wooden barrel pad to protect the hands of the shooter from contact with the hot barrel. In 1936, part of the Belgian Mauser was converted into short rifles, called the M1889 / 36, and the casing was removed from the barrel on them. Rifle box of a traditional design. All Mauser rifles of the 1889, 1890 and 1891 models and also individual variants of carbines based on them were equipped with several types of bayonets.
Rifle М1896 g. Chambered for 6,5x55 mm. Swedish Army Museum, Stockholm.
The barrel had a traditional length equal to 740 mm with four grooves, cutting pitch 240 mm and right turn. The barrel was inside an enlarged tube, like the 88 rifle, which was done in order to protect the shooter’s hands from burns, although this design not only weakens the shank, but is also more bulky. The sight and front sight were mounted on the casing, therefore it was more difficult to upgrade such a rifle than the usual one, with a barrel without a casing. The sight was framed with divisions at a distance of 2000 m. A bayonet with a length of 250 mm and a weight of 365 g should be adjacent to the barrel only when necessary, and so it was worn in a sheath at the waist. The length as that of the Gewehr 88 sample - 1240 mm. The weight is the same - 3800. The lodge is made of walnut wood, and it also contains a light semi-composite; with English neck. The front swivel was mounted on the first ring on the bed; rear swivel swivel: it could easily be transferred under the butt (if the rifle is carried on the belt) or under the magazine box, when the belt needs to be folded under the forearm.
But this is the carbine of the “Karl Gustav” company of the 1914 model of the year, that is, the same 1894 mouser of the year, but only produced in Sweden under license.
Well marked stigma.
In 1894, the Mauser brothers created a magazine rifle (patented by them in 1893), which was also adopted by several countries and modified in 1895. It was their first rifle with a magazine that did not stand for the dimensions of the box, and the staggered arrangement of cartridges. After charging, there was no need to discard the clip, since it was pushed out by a closed shutter. It was not only convenient, but also definitely saved time. The rifle of the 1894 model of the year was made for export to Brazil and Sweden, and the carbine in the same 1894 year entered service with the armies of Spain and Chile.
Interestingly, many rifles of the firm Mauser brothers, supplied abroad, were designed under the cartridge 7 × 57 mm, which became in Germany the representative of the first generation of new rifle cartridges for smokeless powder. It used the sleeve from the cartridge 7,92 × 57 mm, but the caliber of the bullet itself was reduced to 7 mm (actually 7,2 mm). At the same time, its weight was about 9. The cartridge was developed in Germany by the 1892 year, but it was not accepted for service, although in other countries it was very popular for a long time.
The Swedish quality is immediately evident: all the details of the shutter are very well made and nickel-plated. A very large cutout for fingers on the slide frame facilitates loading from the clip. On a safety lock ribbing is provided. Trifle, but nice! It is a pity that there is no lug on the sighting frame.
The 1895 model 7 × 57 mm rifles were supplied to Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, China, Iran and the two Boer republics: the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, where not so much rifles as many 1894 carbines of the year were in great demand, as more comfortable for riders, which most of the Boers were.
Look, there is a stigma even on the feeder, which, by the way, is made in the form of one wide plate. Its device is such that after the last cartridge is used up, the shutter cannot be closed. That is, it is necessary to insert into it or cartridges, or press the feeder down with your finger. Convenient for the user!
At the gate is very long and powerful spring extractor lever.
The extractor's tooth (here it is clearly visible) covered the neck of the liner almost one quarter of its diameter, which ensured efficient extraction.
Shop cover.
In the famous novel by French writer Louis Bussenar “Captain Sorvi-golov” (1901), describing the events of the Second Anglo-Boer War 1899 - 1902, Mauser rifles are mentioned repeatedly, and it is obvious that we are talking about the 1895 model of the year .
Front swivel head and ramrod head.
Fly, muzzle (for some reason, threaded at the end?) And ramrod.
Finally, in 1896, the company developed a rifle chambered for 6,5 × 55 mm for export to Sweden, where it later became known under the unofficial name “Swedish Mauser”. These rifles were first shipped to Sweden from Germany. But then they began to be made under a license in the country at the enterprise “Karl Gustav” (the plant in Eskilstuna was called.) The rifle had a length of 1260 mm, a barrel - 740 mm, without cartridges it weighed 3,97 kg and had a traditional five-cartridge magazine.
This rifle was made in Sweden from 1894 to 1944 year. In addition to the M96, the improved M38 rifle, the M41 sniper and the M94 carbine are known. In service with the army of Sweden, these samples were more than eighty years. A sniper version of the Swedish Mauser - M41 was completely removed from service only in the 1978 year, but later it was also met ...
Personal impressions.
In fact, "Carl Gustav" (carbine) is ... a Mauser with an English straight lodge and a straight, rather than a reload knob bent down, located in the middle part of the bolt. That is, the model precedes the well-known Gewehr 98. A purely subjective bed in the area of holding it with her left hand seemed too "plump." Perhaps that is why the recesses are made on the sides. That is, I personally would like more comfort in holding the carbine in this particular place, although it is possible that a person with large palm dimensions will not even notice it! The Karl Gustav is being reloaded in the same way as the Mosinka (and the rifle and the carbine), that is, with a separation from the shoulder, which is really not very convenient. But it is possible to grip it in the center of gravity, since the store does not protrude from the lodge. In general, again, if I were offered to choose between our carbine and the “Swede”, I would have to think. The caliber is smaller - there are more cartridges, the shooting distance is about the same, which means that the accuracy is also recharged that the other is in the same way. The question of reliability remains, but judging by the reliability of Mauser rifles proper, it was quite large. So I would probably choose the “Swede” after all. It was obviously more convenient to carry in his hands, and the return was weaker !!!
To be continued ...
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