How Paul Mauser created his famous rifle

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It all began in the second half of the XIX century.

In 1865, Paul Mauser resigned from active military service in the Ludwigsburg arsenal, where he was able not only to perfectly study the design features of various types of modern weapons, to see their strengths and weaknesses, but also to understand the requirements of the military to armsused in combat conditions.

After demobilization, Paul returns to his native Oberddorf. The city where he was born 27 on June 1838, and immediately after graduating from elementary school, was an 12-year-old teenager, went to work as an apprentice to the Württemberg Royal Arms Factory, where his father and four older brothers already worked as a blacksmith. It was here that he mastered the first basics of the business to which, as it turns out, he would devote his whole life.



She is returning to begin the difficult and thorny path of intensive searches, distressing mistakes, encouraging finds and solutions stretching for many years.

Only in 1871, the Mauser rifle, which Paul made with his elder brother Wilhelm, is born. Already in this, the very first, there was a rotary shutter that became characteristic of all subsequent models. Of course, she had flaws. The single-shot rifle did not have an ejector and therefore the cartridge case was removed by the shooter from the receiver with a hand. But the first pancake did not come out lumpy. The high quality of the Mauser 71 has been confirmed by a number of prestigious trade show awards. In Sydney (1879) and Melbourne (1880), the rifle received awards. In 1881, in Stuttgart - the gold medal.

It is not surprising that the military became interested in 71-oh. It, along with the rifles of Berdan (Russia, 1871) and Gras (France, 1874), became one of the first 4-linear "low-caliber" with a sliding bolt, adopted under the "metal" cartridge. The Prussian military set up the production of a rifle at its arsenal in Spandau. 26 thousand copies of this model bought China, 100 thousand ordered Württemberg. These orders gave the brothers the money they needed to continue the improvement of the Mauser 71.

How Paul Mauser created his famous rifle

1906 d. Paul Mauser with the product, immortalized his name

And about the fact that the need to improve the design, the brothers did not doubt. Rapidly developing tactics of warfare put on the agenda increasing the rate of fire of weapons. The US Civil War (1861-1865) clearly demonstrated the advantages of magazine rifles over breech rifles. As a result, in 1866, a rifle made by Henry Winchester with an under-barrel magazine appears overseas. If Europe has lagged behind, it is not much. In 1869, Switzerland is starting to build a Veterla magazine rifle. A year later, Austria-Hungary does the same with a Fruvirth rifle. And in 1878, France also adopts the Gra-Kropachek rifle with a barrel gantry.

The Mauser brothers are starting work in this direction. In 1878, they are trying to install a Leve system horseshoe-shaped magazine on their “71” in the rifle box. Due to a significant increase in the size of the weapon, the experience is unsuccessful. As a result of the next attempt, the Mauser 71 has a sub-barrel magazine, and its barrel becomes shorter by 55 mm. In September, 1881, Paul and Wilhelm demonstrate to the Kaiser this particular model, which became the last joint development.



13 January 1882, the eldest brother dies, and the new rifle, which received the name "Gew 71 / 84", is already launched by Paul. In addition to the already approved pivoting bolt, when retracted, the next cartridge was fed to the batching line, this model has a barrel-mounted magazine for 8 cartridges and an ejector that provides automatic removal of the sleeves.

It seemed that the optimal solution was found.

No, it was not there. Charged "Gew 71 / 84" one cartridge, and it took time, which in the heat of battle could not be. This made the soldier save ammo. Save them for the most decisive, turning point. As a result, the rifle continued to be used predominantly as a single-shot.

Yes, and weapons business went forward by leaps and bounds. In the 1885 year, thanks to the efforts of the Austro-Hungarian engineer and inventor Ferdinand Manlicher, a middle magazine with a burst loading appeared. The successful design immediately removed from the agenda the main drawback of the magazine weapon - slow loading.



Literally a year later, a special commission under the leadership of Colonel Lebel in France designed an 8-mm magazine rifle chambered for central ignition with smokeless powder and a lead bullet in a solid shell. Blinding arrow smoke and thick powder soot in the barrel bore into the past. Thus, the last obstacle was removed, which did not allow to solve the problem of increasing the rate of fire of small arms.

All these technical innovations, which were essentially revolutionary, were taken into account by Paul Mauser in the model known as the “1888 commission rifle” and received the designation “Gew 88.”. This rifle was like a synthesis of an improved, one-part "branded" Mauser shutter and a removable bundle store of the Mannlicher system. In addition to them, a store box assembled with a trigger guard appeared, and the barrel, inside its metal casing, to prevent its bending, was inside the metal case that protected the gunner’s hands from being burned.

But the designer remains dissatisfied with this sample. He is not satisfied with the Manlicher loader system. And he continues to search.



As a result, in the next year, 1889, Paul created the “Belgian Mauser”, which got its name from the name of the country that adopted this model. In the new system, both the shutter and the single-row store have been significantly reworked. The latter began to be equipped not with a pack, but from a clip. The shutter has become longitudinally sliding and got in front of two symmetric locking protrusions, which significantly increased the reliability of the design.

In the 1893 year, the Belgian Mauser was redesigned for a flangeless cartridge that was reduced to 7 mm in caliber, with the result that it surpassed all rifles of that time in its ballistic characteristics.

Mauser rifle without a single shot begins to conquer the world. In the same year, 1883, it is being adopted by Turkey, Spain, Chile. The following are Brazil and Transvaal.

In 1895, 12185 rifles are bought by Sweden. Moreover, the plant "Karl Gustav" acquires a license, and the Swedes begin independent production. The “Swedish Mauser”, known under the designation М96, has a special flange in front of the valve shank that protects the shooter’s eyes from powder gases, which could burst back when the liner was broken or the capsule penetrated. In addition, from other models, the 96 was distinguished by a heavier barrel, which increased the accuracy of shooting, and the upper lip of the trigger, which greatly facilitated the disassembly of the bolt.



So, step by step, went Paul Mauser to his rifle of the 1898 model of the year. Famous Mauser 98, which combines all the best that was developed by the designer during the long and difficult 30-th years of continuous work.

And therefore - nothing strange in the fact that 5 on April 1898 was adopted by the German army, namely Mauser G98. The rifle, which took an active part in almost all wars of the first half of the XX century. Well, I already told about how and where she fought (“What provided the Mauser 98 rifle (Mauser G98) extraordinary popularity around the world?”).

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