Mauser Model 1904

The Mauser Model 1904 and Model 1907 were Gewehr 98 pattern bolt-action battle rifles produced by Mauser and Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM). They were designed for export market. Copies were later produced in China and in Spain.

Mauser Model 1904
Type	Bolt-action rifle
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
In service	1905-1960s
Used by	See Users
Wars	Chaco War World War I Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese Civil War
Production history
Designed	1904
Manufacturer	Mauser DWM Various Chinese arsenals Oviedo
Produced	1905-1935
Specifications
Mass	3.76 kilograms (8.3 lb) (Chinese Model 1907)
Length	125 centimetres (49 in) (Chinese Model 1907)
Barrel length	74.0 centimetres (29.1 in) (Chinese Model 1907)
Cartridge	6.8×57mm Chinese 7×57mm Mauser 7.65×53mm Mauser 7.92×57mm Mauser
Action	Bolt-action
Feed system	5-round stripper clip, internal magazine
Sights	Iron sights adjustable to 2,000 metres (2,200 yd)

Design

The Models 1904 and 1907 were similar to the Gewehr 1898. They featured a longer cocking piece. Only the rifles made for Paraguay kept the Lange Visier sight of the German rifle.[1][2] While most of the rifles were fitted only with a short bayonet lug that required a bayonet with a muzzle ring,[3] rifles ordered by Paraguay and Ecuador had another lug to fit the Mauser Model 1895 bayonet.[1][4] The Siamese model was heavier and slightly longer.[5]

Variants

Brazilian carbine version

The Brazilian military police ordered a carbine variant, with a bent bold handle. A bayonet lug was fitted under the barrel band, similarly to the Mauser Model 1893.[6]

Paraguayan and Chinese carbines

These carbines generally featured turned down bolt handle, even if some Chinese carbines had a straight one.[7] The stock ended under the muzzle.[1] The carbines also had a tangent leaf rear sight while the front sight was directly mounted on the nose cap. No bayonet could be used.[8][9]

Chinese variants

China tested the Model 1904 from 1907. The rifle was known as Model 1904/1907 while the carbine was known as Model 1907.[10] Most of the rifles were originally produced by Mauser and DWM with a special 6.8×57mm cartridge.[3] The production of the Model 1907 soon started in Guangdong arsenal with DWM help. The 1911 revolution slowed the purchase of weapons[11] and in 1914, thousand of 6.8mm Model 1907 rifles stored in Germany were chambered to the standard 7.92×57mm Mauser and pressed into service of the German Empire.[12] Originally produced as the Guang Xu Type 33 during the Imperial rule, the newly formed Republic of China chose it as the standard rifle of the Chinese army as the Type 1 rifle, intended to replace the Hanyang 88. In 1915, the Chinese also decided to switch to 7.92 cartridge and the rifle was renamed Type 4 or 7.9mm Type 1. More than 200,000 were produced until 1935. The last factory producing them was the Gongxian arsenal, where the guns were nicknamed Gong 98. While they have been replaced in most front-line units at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Type 4 rifles were kept in regular use with some units.[13] They were still used by the Red Guards in the 1960s.[7]

Mauser/Oviedo Model 1927

The Spanish Fabrica Nacional de Armas, in Oviedo, produced a derivative of the Mauser 1907 for Paraguay. Three variants were produced: a long rifle (Fusil Modelo 1927), a short rifle (Mosqueton Modelo 1927) and a carbine (Carabina Modelo 1927).[9] The bolt stop was extended to block the clips during the loading of the magazine, thus enabling the use of different models of clip.[14] They had a tangent leaf sight while the upper hand guard of the rifle and short rifle was slightly extended.[15] The short rifle did not featured a pistol grip and the carbine had a stock extended to the muzzle. The bolt handle was straight for the rifle and bent for the carbine, whereas the short rifle can be found with both types of bolt handles.[9]

The Paraguayans wanted an affordable weapons, and the guns were reportedly of low quality.[16] 10,363 were purchased from 1927 to 1932.[9] They saw combat use during the Chaco War and performed poorly.[1]

Users

•  Bolivia: ~4,000 Modelo 1907 rifles and 1,000 Model 1907 carbines made by DWM in 7.65×53mm Mauser,[17] used during the Chaco War[18]
•  Brazil: 7mm DWM Model 1907 rifles.[19] A Model 1907 carbine was also sold by DWM to the cavalry of the military police.[6]
•  China: Model 1907, Type 1 and Type 4.
•  Colombia: DWM Model 1904[20]
•  Ecuador: Model 1907[4]
•  El Salvador: Model 1904[21]
•  German Empire: Chinese Model 1907[12]
•  Iran: 1,500 Mauser Model 1904/1907[22]
•  Paraguay: Fusil Modelo 1907 Paraguayo, Carabina Mauser Paraguayana Mo. 1907, Fusil Modelo 1927, Mosqueton Modelo 1927 and Carabina Modelo 1927,[9][1] all used during the Chaco War[18]
•  Thailand: slightly heavier and longer Mauser Model 1904[5]

References

1. Ball 2011, p. 275.
2. Ball 2011, p. 58.
3. Ball 2011, p. 83.
4. Ball 2011, p. 127.
5. Ball 2011, p. 372.
6. Ball 2011, p. 65.
7. Ball 2011, p. 85.
8. Ball 2011, p. 84.
9. Ball 2011, p. 273.
10. Ball 2011, p. 81.
11. Ness & Shih 2016, p. 248.
12. Grant, Neil (20 Mar 2015). Mauser Military Rifles. Weapon 39. Osprey Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 9781472805942.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
13. Ness & Shih 2016, p. 249.
14. Ball 2011, p. 276.
15. Ball 2011, p. 277.
16. Reynolds, Dan. "Rifles of the Gran Chaco War". carbinesforcollectors.com. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
17. Ball 2011, pp. 57-59.
18. Huon, Jean (September 2013). "The Chaco War". Small Arms Review. Vol. 17 no. 3.
19. Ball 2011, p. 64.
20. Ball 2011, p. 101.
21. Ball 2011, p. 129.
22. Ball 2011, p. 235.

• Ball, Robert W. D. (2011). Mauser Military Rifles of the World. Iola: Gun Digest Books. ISBN 9781440228926.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Ness, Leland; Shih, Bin (July 2016). Kangzhan: Guide to Chinese Ground Forces 1937–45. Helion & Company. ISBN 9781910294420.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)