Mao Se standard rifle with 7.9mm caliber was officially tested by the Germans in the early years of 1929 and 1930. However, this test is not the standard rifle of 1924 style provided by Mao Se Company, but the barrel of the existing 98b carbine is shortened to 600 mm.. This shortened 98b has proved to be more portable than other models, especially its downward bent handle and belt ring installed on the left side. So it was recommended to be adopted, and it was called Karabiner 98k, abbreviated as Kar.98k, K98k or 98k for short.
Note that the "K" before the number "98" is a capital letter for carbine, while the lowercase letter "K" after the number means kurz (short), which means shorter than the 98b carbine. This is why this 1 meter-long rifle is called "short carbine" (note: the correct writing must pay attention to the case of the letters before and after). The code name of ordinary kar98k is Adalbert, and the code name of ZF4 1 sight kar98k-zf41is Adalbert B. Starting from 1944, the code name of kar98k was changed to Dauerwelle.
Although the Kar.98k short carbine was recommended, it was not formally finalized or adopted until Hitler implemented the army reconstruction plan in June 1935. 1933, Mao Se company introduced a new downward-bending machine gun rifle. Because its shell is marked with Mao Se's national flag trademark, collectors now usually call this 1933 rifle "Flag Mao Se". Except for the official name, this 1933 standard rifle is basically the same as the 98k short carbine. This kind of short rifle is claimed to be used by the "German Imperial Post", but in fact many new guns were handed over directly to the Nazi Party.
On June 2 1, 1935, the Germans officially announced the adoption of 98k carbine, but on June 2 1934, Mao Se Company and Sauer Company (J.P. Sauer &; Sohn) has started trial production in small batches according to the shortened version of Kar.98b carbine designed by them. Mao Se's gun model and Sauer's gun model each use different gun management hoops to fix the barrel. After comparison and testing, it is found that the design of Mao Se Company is more reliable, so the gun type of Mao Se Company is set as the standard model of Kar.98k carbine.
The structure of the Kar.98k short carbine is exactly the same as that of the Kar.98b carbine, but the length of the Kar.98k is shorter. The left side of the case of the Kar.98k carbine is marked with "Mod.98", and the gun models produced in the late war are marked with this mark on the case ring. In addition, the shell ring is also marked with a manufacturer identification code consisting of numbers and words.
For example, "k" means 1934, while "g" means 1935. The mark "S/42K" indicates that the gun was produced by Mao Se Company in 1934, while "S/ 147/G" indicates 65438. During the period from 1935 to 1945, many other production contractors were responsible for the production of Kar.98k carbine. If the product is produced by two contractors, the manufacturer code will be two codes separated by a diagonal line. There are also some Kar.98k carbines produced in concentration camps.
After the formal adoption of the Kar.98k short carbine, a large number of original Kar.98b carbine and Gew.98 rifle were sent to the factory to be converted into Kar.98k carbine. The original marks on the shells of these rifles cannot be erased, but the main metal parts are marked with the acceptance mark of Waffenamt (Weapons Bureau). There are also some gun types modified from the original rifles, marked with the skull pattern of the SS and the ancient Germanic symbol of the SS. Many old-fashioned long rifles without modification were handed over to the police.
Kar.98k adopts arc gauge and V-notch door. The sight is barley grain (inverted "V" shape), and some guns are equipped with detachable semicircular sight holder. The scope can adjust the wind deflection, and the scale can be adjusted from 100m to 2000m in increments of 100m. However, the effective range when using the mechanical sight is actually only about 500 meters. If the sight is installed, the effective range can be increased to about 900 meters.
Originally, the 98 rifle was equipped with two strap buckles at the bottom of the stock, while the Kar.98k short carbine, like the 98b carbine, only has a buckle on the left side of the stock, and there are two straps-wearing openings on both sides of the stock to replace the buckle at the bottom of the stock. Before the Second World War, the butt stock and the guard wood were all walnut, but this kind of wood was soon in short supply. Therefore, most 98k carbine guns use laminated stock and thin beech wood with phenolic resin, which leads to a slight increase in weight and makes it more difficult to manufacture, but plywood is stronger, and its moisture resistance and bending resistance are better than that of solid walnut or beech wood.
The bayonet of Kar.98k carbine is shortened from the long bayonet of Gew.98 rifle, with a total length of 380mm and a blade length of 240mm, and a bleeding groove on the blade. Bayonets made in Germany have oblique anti-skid lines on the handle, while bayonets made in other countries have no anti-skid lines. The original 98k bayonet was equipped with a hard sheath made of metal, and later it was changed into a soft sheath made of leather. Kar.98k carbine can be equipped with a grenade launcher in front of the barrel, and equipped with accessories such as grenade sight, which can throw anti-personnel grenades or armor-piercing bullets. When not in use, these accessories can be packed in a leather satchel and hung on the left side of the soldier's belt to carry.
In the war, in order to speed up the production of Kar.98k carbine to meet the needs of the front line, the rifle itself has made many changes to simplify the production process and reduce the production difficulty. For example, the steel butt plate was changed from machining to casting, the scale on the inner side of the arc gauge was cancelled, the shape of the back side of the sliding door was changed from oblique angle to right angle, the trigger retainer, magazine shell, magazine plate, magazine bottom plate and gun management hoop were all changed to stamped steel, and the exhaust hole on the bolt was used. Initially, there was a metal sleeve on the stock to accommodate the firing pin when disassembling the firing mechanism. Later, it was changed to directly open the hole on the side of the stock floor.
Because the process is further simplified, the groove for fixing the gun handle on the gun stock is cancelled, the screw for fixing the gun retaining ring is replaced by wood products, the bottom plate is replaced by stamping parts, and the metal parts are treated with phosphate instead of the original baking blue. In some later models, a fixed shutter was also used. At 1944, except the sniper type, even the rifle barrel was directly used, avoiding the process of making rifling. In the later period of the war, the bayonet inserted bamboo shoots was cancelled, and at the same time, the bar was cancelled and the barrel brush with rope was used instead.
At the beginning of World War II, the German Wehrmacht was equipped with about 2.77 million 98ks, and during the war, another 7.54 million 98ks were delivered to the troops (including1.2000 sniper type). Among them, the air force is about 920 thousand, the navy is 6.5438+0.9 thousand, and the SS is more than 60 thousand. From 1935 to 1945, the total output of Kar.98k short carbine exceeds10 million.
However, only the Kar.98k produced before World War II has the best quality. With the progress of the war, the production technology and quality of 98k carbine declined after accelerated production. In the early years of the war, the simplified version of Kar.98k still met the military standards, but the quality of Kar.98k produced in the later period of the war became worse and worse.
1940, Mao Se participated in a competition to develop a new semi-automatic rifle for the German Army. However, the sample gun of Walter Company defeated the sample gun of Mao Se Company, and was officially named Gewehr 43(G43) by the Germans. However, due to the late launch of G43, Germany's production capacity is getting weaker and weaker, and the simplified version of Kar.98k is still being produced and equipped in large quantities.
The Kar.98k carbine was not an outstanding weapon in World War II. At that time, M 1 Garland of the United States and SVT of the Soviet Union adopted automatic loading technology, which greatly improved the firing rate of weapons. Even compared with similar weapons, the front-locked Mauser bolt is not as fast as the rear-locked Li En Field bolt. Shooters who use Kar.98k must move their whole arms to throw shells and reload, while shooters who only use SMLE rifles.
Therefore, the actual firing rate of Kar.98k is only 15 rounds/min, while the firing rate of SMLE is 15 rounds/min. The only rifle slower than 98k is Mosinnagan. The shooting accuracy of 98k is not as good as that of similar rifles such as SMLE or Mosinnagan, and even the semi-automatic M 1 Garland is more accurate than it. But after all, Kar.98k is not poker. With its reliable bolt and good shooting accuracy, it has proved the existence value of Kar.98k carbine in the scorching desert of North Africa and the cold winter in Russia. With the resounding name of "Mao Se", this backward weapon was taken home by many allied soldiers for collection or sold to other collectors after the war.
In addition, a large number of 98k were renovated and continued to be used by France, East Germany, Norway, Denmark, Czech Republic and Yugoslavia after the war. The Korean War, the Second Middle East War of 1956, and the Vietnam War later, 98k was still fighting on the battlefield. Now, as a classic weapon of World War II, 98k carbine is still popular among gun lovers, and it is used for collection, shooting or hunting.