Mauser Model 1903

For other uses, see Turkish Mauser.
Ottoman Model 1903 rifle
Mauser Model 1903 rifle in a museum.
TypeBolt-action rifle
Place of originGerman Empire
Service history
In service1903–1960s
Used byOttoman Empire
Republic of Turkey
Wars
Production history
Designed1903
ManufacturerMauser
Produced1903–1910
VariantsModel 1905 carbine
Specifications
MassModel 1903: 4.17 kg (9.2 lb)
Model 1905 carbine: 3.6 kg (7.9 lb)
LengthModel 1903: 124 cm (49 in)
Model 1905 carbine: 105.6 cm (41.6 in)
Barrel lengthModel 1903: 74 cm (29 in)
Model 1905 carbine: 55.6 cm (21.9 in)
Cartridge7.65×53mm Mauser
ActionBolt-action
Muzzle velocity650 metres per second (2,100 ft/s)
Feed system5-round stripper clip, internal magazine
SightsIron sights adjustable to 2,000 metres (2,200 yd)

The Mauser Model 1903 (also known as the Ottoman Mauser) was a Gewehr 98-pattern bolt-action rifle designed for the Ottoman Army. They were produced by Mauser in Germany.

Design

The Mauser 1903 was a modified version Gewehr 98 The Lange Visier sight was replaced by a tangent leaf sight, the nose cap was simplified, the rifle could be fitted with older Ottoman M1890 bayonets. The weapon had curved arm on its bolt stop to block the cartridge clip when the cartridges are stripped into the magazine. It also had a larger receiver and a longer cocking cam and firing pin than the German variant.[1]

Model 1905 carbine

The Model 1905 carbine was a shortened version of the Model 1903, designed for cavalry and artillery units.[2]

Service

After the adoption of the long rifle, 200,000 were received before 1905.[3] 406 Marine-gewehre were delivered to the Ottoman Navy in 1904,[4] 7,617 to the Gendarmerie in Ottoman Macedonia.[3] 1,100 more, modified to fire spitzer bullets[5] and sometimes known as M1910,[4] were ordered in 1910. The Ottoman customs also received some.[3] The Model 1905 carbine was produced between 1903 and 1906.[5] 30,000 M1908 carbines were delivered in 1908 and 1909.[4]

The Model 1903 saw combat during the Italo-Turkish War, the Balkan Wars, World War I[5] and the Turkish War of Independence.[6] After World War I, most of these weapons were modified to fire the 7.92×57mm Mauser round.[7] Many of the long rifles were refurbished as Mauser Model 1938 short rifles.[8] Models 1903 and 1905 were still in service in the 1960s.[7]

Users

Former users

References

  1. ^ Ball 2011, p. 382.
  2. ^ Ball 2011, p. 387.
  3. ^ a b c Ball 2011, p. 383.
  4. ^ a b c Ball 2011, p. 235.
  5. ^ a b c Ball 2011, p. 385.
  6. ^ Jowett, Philip (20 Jul 2015). Armies of the Greek-Turkish War 1919–22. Men-at-Arms 501. Osprey Publishing. pp. 22, 45–47. ISBN 9781472806840.
  7. ^ a b Smith, Joseph E. (1969). "Turkey". Small Arms of the World (11 ed.). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company. pp. 570-572. ISBN 978-0-8117-1566-9.
  8. ^ Ball 2011, p. 389.
  • Ball, Robert W. D. (2011). Mauser Military Rifles of the World. Iola: Gun Digest Books. ISBN 9781440228926.

See also