Karabiner 98k

The Karabiner 98k (often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k) was a bolt-action rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the Wehrmacht, and was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles.

Description

The Karabiner 98k was a bolt-action rifle with Mauser-type action holding five rounds of 7.92 x 57 mm (also known as 8 mm Mauser) on a stripper clip, loaded into an internal magazine. It was derived from earlier rifles, namely the Karabiner 98b, which in turn had been developed from the Mauser Model 1898. The Gewehr 98 or Model 1898 took its principles from the Lebel Model 1886 rifle with the improvement of a metallic magazine of five cartridges. Since the rifle was shorter than the earlier carbines, it was given the designation Karabiner 98 Kurz, meaning "Short Carbine Model 98".

The rifle was noted for its good accuracy and effective range of up to 500 meters. For this reason, it was also used with a telescopic sight as a sniper rifle, which extended the effective range to about 800 m when used by a skilled marksman. It was designed to be used with a bayonet and to fire rifle grenades. A version with a folding stock was introduced in 1941 to be used by airborne troops.

The 98k had the same disadvantages as all other turn-of-the-century military rifles: being comparatively bulky and heavy, and the rate of fire was limited by how fast the bolt could be operated. While the Allies (both Soviet and Anglo-American) developed and moved towards standardization of semiautomatic rifles, the Germans maintained these bolt-action rifles due to their tactical doctrine of basing a squad's firepower on the unit's light machinegun.

In close combat, however, submachine guns were often preferred, especially for urban combat where the rifle's range was not very useful. Towards the end of the war, the Kar98k was being phased out in favor of the MP44, which fired a less powerful round but could be used like a submachine gun in close-quarters and urban fighting. Despite this, the Mauser Kar98k rifle was still produced and used in large quantities by the Germans during World War II, and the rifle was still an effective and potent infantry weapon in the final days of the war until Nazi Germany's surrender to the Allies in May 1945.

Combat use

World War II

The Mauser Kar98k rifle was widely used by all branches of the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II and saw action in every theatre of war the Germans were involved in during World War II which ranged from every corner of Europe that was under German occupation to North Africa and Norway. The Mauser Kar98k was among the commonly used weapons of various Resistance forces in German-occupied Europe with Resistance forces making use of captured German infantry weapons.

The Soviet Union also made extensive use of captured Mauser Kar98k rifles and German infantry weapons during World War II in light of the Soviet Union suffering shortages of infantry weapons for their own troops which forced them to use German infantry weapons until sufficient numbers of Soviet infantry weapons could be produced and issued to combat forces.

Post-World War II

During World War II, the Soviet Union captured millions of Mauser Kar98k rifles and re-arsenaled them in various arms factories in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

One of the reasons behind the Soviets keeping these rifles after World War II was in case the Soviet Union was invaded again in a future war. The Soviets wanted to avoid the situation where they could be short of infantry weapons, as it happened during World War II when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, especially when the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States started during this period of time.

Another reason was that the Soviets wanted to support various communist guerrilla forces and newly-established communist governments around the world during the early Cold War period with a supply of cheap, surplus, military firearms like the Mauser Kar98k and the Mosin-Nagant series of rifles and carbines. The provision of firearms like the Mauser Kar98k and the Mosin-Nagant was one way that Moscow could support these organisations and governments until they trusted them enough to provide modern infantry weapons like the SKS carbine and the AK-47 rifle.

One example of the Soviet Union providing the Mauser Kar98k rifle (as well as other infantry weapons captured from the Germans during and after World War II) to its communist allies during the Cold War period occurred during the Vietnam War with the Soviet Union providing military aid to the armed forces of North Vietnam and to the Viet Cong in South Vietnam.

A considerable number of Soviet capture Mauser Kar98k rifles (as well as a number of Kar98k rifles that were left behind by the French after the First Indochina War) were found in the hands of Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese Army soldiers by U.S. and Allied forces alongside Soviet-bloc rifles like the Mosin-Nagant, the SKS and the AK-47.

In the years after World War II, a number of European nations that were invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany used the Mauser Kar98k rifle as their standard-issue infantry rifle, due to the large numbers of German weapons that were left behind. Nations like France and Norway used the Mauser Kar98k rifle and a number of other German weapons in the years after World War II. Firearms manufacturers like Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Belgium, Česká Zbrojovka (CZ) in Czechoslovakia and the Zastava plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, Yugoslavia, continued to produce the Mauser Kar98k rifle after 1945. From 1950 to 1965, Zastava produced a near-identical copy of the Kar98k called the Model 1948 (M48) which differed only from the German rifle in that it had the shorter bolt-action of the Model 1924 series of Mauser rifles. Yugoslavia sold many of these rifles to Algeria, Egypt and Iran during the 1950s and '60s. Many surplus M48s have been sold in the United States, Australia and Canada in recent years.

The Persian Bruno

The Mauser Kar98k found its way into Iran very quickly where it became known as the 'Brno', following the name of the city of Brünn, Czechoslovakia where the rifles were originally manufactured. The Kar98k was selected for the Iranian Army during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, however Iran never ordered any from Germany instead preferring the identical Czechoslavakian copy.

The Iranian version had a Pahlavi crown and lion and sun crest near the feeding ring, as well as an inscription in Persian (in Nasta'liq script) on the side of its magazine giving the model and the factory name.

In the late 1940s Iran's Taslihat-e Artesh (Arms Factories of the Army), popularly known as Mosalsal-sazi (the machine-gun factory), in Tehran started production of these Brno rifles. The required machinery and manufacturing knowledge was provided to Iran through the industrial firm Škoda, which had a long history of cooperation with Iran. Iran produced two models: the Kar98k and a short version (similar to the German G30 known as "Berno kootah" (short Brno) under a licence from CZ.

The only difference between the local Iranian version and the Czech version was the markings on the side of the magazine: instead of naming Brno as the maker, it was written "sakht-e aslah-e sazi-e artesh" (made by the Army arms factory).

The Brno remained as the standard Iranian infantry weapon until it was replaced by the more modern, semi-automatic, American Garand M1 in 1960. Following the change, the Brno was confined to the gendarmerie and the game wardens for a while, before it was decommissioned from active use. In the 1970s it was used mainly in ceremonial occasions

The Iranian Brno rifles saw action in a number of places from tribal uprisings in Kurdistan to the coup removing Mohammad Mossadegh from power. During the 1979 revolution, the gun re-appeared in the hands of the revolutionaries and tribesmen, who had never abandoned their Brnos. Besides the rebels, the Islamic government too had a use for Brno: It was, and is, used in official Friday prayer ceremonies. The speaker is required to have 'the weapon of the day' by his side, according to the tradition of the Prophet (he apparently used a sword).

Israeli Mauser Kar98k rifle

A number of non-European nations used the Mauser Kar98k rifle as well as a few guerrilla organisations to help establish new nation-states. One example was Israel who used the Mauser Kar98k rifle from the late 1940s until the 1970s.

The use of the Kar98k to establish the nation-state of Israel often raises a lot of interest among people and rifle collectors today with many Jewish organisations in Palestine acquiring them from post-war Europe to protect various Jewish settlements from Arab attack and to carry out guerrilla operations against British military forces in Palestine. The use of this weapon, closely associated with Nazi Germany, by early Israel is viewed with some irony.

The Haganah, who later evolved into the modern-day Israeli Defence Forces, was one of the Jewish organisations in Palestine that brought large numbers of Mauser Kar98k rifles and other surplus arms (namely the Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle) from Europe during the post-World War 2 period.

The Israeli version of the Mauser Kar98k rifles differ from the original German version in that they have had all of the Nazi markings and emblems removed and replaced with Israeli Defence Force and Hebrew markings as part of an effort to ideologically "purify" the rifles from their former use as an infantry weapon of the armed forces of Nazi Germany. The Mauser Kar98k rifles produced by Fabrique Nationale post-World War II have Israeli Defence Force markings on the rifle as well as the emblem of the Israeli Defence Force on the top of the rifle's receiver. The FN-made Kar98k rifles with the IDF markings and emblem on the rifle were produced and sold to Israel after Israel established itself as an independent nation in 1948.

During the late 1950s, the Israeli Defence Force converted the calibre of their Mauser Kar98k rifles from the original German 7.92 mm round to 7.62 mm NATO after the Israeli Defence Force adopted the FN FAL rifle in 1958. The Israeli Mauser Kar98k rifles that were converted have "7.62" engraved on the rifle receiver and burned into the heel of the rifle stock for identification and to separate the re-chambered Kar98ks from the original 7.92 mm versions of the weapon that were still held by the Israelis.

The Kar98k rifle was used by the reserve branches of the Israeli Defence Force well into the 1960s and 1970s and saw action in the hands of Israeli Army reservists during the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

Usage today

The Mauser Kar98k rifle, in all of its guises and origins, is very popular among many rifle shooters and gun collectors the world over. Besides the obvious historical interest, these rifles derive their popularity from the fact that they remain long range marksmens' rifles which benefit from a plentiful supply of cheap and easily obtained surplus ammunition.

The Kar98k rifles that were used by Germany during World War II are highly sought after collector's items in many circles.

The Israeli Mauser Kar98k rifle is very popular among many rifle shooters and military rifle collectors due to the rifle's historical background, as well as its low recoil and ability to fire the 7.62 mm NATO (.308 Winchester) round. This is due to the low cost of the commercial .308 Winchester and ex-military 7.62 mm NATO ammunition on the market today, as well as the widespread use of the 7.62 mm NATO round among civilian shooters and hunters.

As of 2005, the Mauser Kar98k rifles that were captured by the Soviets during World War II and refurbished during the late 1940s and early 1950s have appeared in large numbers on the military surplus rifle market. These have proven popular with buyers in the United States and Canada, ranging from ex-military rifle collectors to target shooters and survivalists, due to the unique history behind the Soviet capture of Mauser Kar98k rifles.

The Bundeswehr still uses Kar98k rifles in the Wachbataillon for military parades and show acts.

During the 1990s, the Yugoslavian Kar98k rifles and the Yugo M48 and M48A rifles were used by all warring factions of the Yugoslav wars, alongside modern automatic and semi-automatic rifles. There are a number of photographs taken during the war in Bosnia, showing combatants and snipers using Yugoslavian-made Mauser rifles from the high-rise buildings in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo. Many Third World nations still have Kar98k rifles in their arsenals and it will most likely be encountered in regional conflicts for years to come.

The Mauser Kar98k rifle (along with the Mosin-Nagant series rifles and carbines) has also been encountered in Iraq by US and Allied forces in the hands of Iraqi insurgents alongside modern infantry weapons like the AK series rifles and the SKS carbine.

External links

German Mauser Kar98k rifle

Israeli Mauser Kar98k rifle

Yugoslav Mauser M48 rifle

SurplusRifle.com

Persian Mauser Kar98k rifle

Persian Mauser

Bolt-action rifles | World War II German infantry weapons

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