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Date: |
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Description: | 1) Gew. 98.
2) crown over ERFURT 1915
3) 9216 c
4) 1928
The Gewehr 98 was the standard German infantry weapon of the First World War. It is a good example of the type of military rifle designed around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when rifle development reached fever pitch. In common with other armies, the German infantry carried a full length rifle, while other troops were issued with shorter carbines (see FIR 7956 & FIR 7339).
The bolt and magazine system of the Gewehr 98 was designed by the Mauser company, although the rifle was produced under licence by a number of other commercial manufacturers, as well as Prussian and Bavarian state arsenals.
It was a well-made and accurate weapon, but was not well suited to trench warfare. Its length of 1.25m (without bayonet) made it difficult to handle in confined spaces. Furthermore its sights were calibrated to give a minimum range of 400m, meaning that an auxiliary foresight had to be produced to allow accurate aiming at normal battlefield ranges, which generally proved to be much less than 400m.
rifle & cleaning rod & sling & muzzle cap | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Königliche Gewehrfabrik, Erfurt, Germany | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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