Karabiner 98k
The Karabiner 98 kurz, often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98, is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge. It was adopted on 21 June 1935 as the standard service rifle by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles.
Although supplemented by semi-automatic and fully automatic rifles during World War II, the Karabiner 98k remained the primary German service rifle until the end of the war in 1945. Millions were captured by the Soviets at the conclusion of World War II and were widely distributed as military aid. The Karabiner 98k therefore continues to appear in conflicts across the world as they are taken out of storage during times of strife.
History
In February 1934, the Heereswaffenamt ordered the adoption of a new military rifle. The Karabiner 98k was derived from earlier rifles, namely the Mauser Standardmodell of 1924 and the Karabiner 98b, which in turn had both been developed from the Gewehr 98. Since the Karabiner 98k rifle was shorter than the earlier Karabiner 98b, the new rifle was given the designation Karabiner 98 kurz, meaning "Carbine 98 Short". Just like its predecessor, the rifle was noted for its reliability, safety and an effective range of up to with iron sights and with an 8× telescopic sight.The desire for adopting new shorter barreled rifles and the introduction of the Karabiner 98k, featuring a long barrel, were reasons for changing the standard German service ball rifle cartridge. The 1903 pattern 7.92×57mm Mauser S Patrone produced excessive muzzle flash when fired from arms that did not have a long barrel like the Gewehr 98. It was found that the s.S. Patrone, originally designed for long range machine gun use, produced less muzzle flash out of rifles that had a shorter barrel and also provided better accuracy. Because of this, the S Patrone was phased out in 1933 and the s.S. Patrone became the standard German service ball cartridge in the 1930s.
Design details
Features
The Karabiner 98k is a controlled-feed bolt-action rifle based on the Mauser M98 system. Its internal magazine can be loaded with five 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridges from a stripper clip or one-by-one. After loading, the empty clip is ejected when the bolt is closed. The straight bolt handle found on the Gewehr 98 bolt was replaced by a turned-down bolt handle on the Karabiner 98k. This change made it easier to rapidly operate the bolt, reduced the amount the handle projected beyond the receiver, and enabled mounting of aiming optics directly above the receiver. Each rifle was furnished with a short length of cleaning rod, fitted through the bayonet stud. The joined rods from 3 rifles provided one full-length cleaning rod.The metal parts of the rifle were blued, a process in which steel is partially protected against rust by a layer of magnetite. Such a thin black oxide layer provides only minimal protection against rust or corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic corrosion. From 1944 onwards phosphating/Parkerizing was introduced as a more effective metal surface treatment.
Sights
The impractical Langevisier or "rollercoaster" rear sight of the Mauser Gewehr 1898 was replaced with a conventional tangent leaf sight. The Karabiner 98k rear tangent sight was comparatively flatter and did not obstruct the view to the sides during aiming as the Langevisier. Originally, the Karabiner 98k iron sight line had an open-pointed-post-type front sight, and a tangent-type rear sight with a V-shaped rear notch. From 1939 onwards the post front sight was hooded to reduce glare under unfavourable light conditions and add protection for the post. These standard sight lines consisted of somewhat coarse aiming elements, making it suitable for rough field handling, aiming at distant area fire targets and low-light usage, but less suitable for precise aiming at distant or small point targets. It is graduated for 7.92×57mm Mauser s.S. Patrone cartridges loaded with 12.8 g s.S. ball bullets from in increments. The sight line of early productions rifles have the ranging scale copied at the bottom of the tangent aiming element for setting the range whilst lying down. The Karabiner 98k has a sight radius. The sight lines were factory zeroed as part of the acceptance process before issue. The non user adjustable windage was factory set by horizontally drifting the front sight in a dovetail. It was discouraged to zero the iron sight line by non-armorers.During World War II, s.S. Patrone ball ammunition was gradually replaced by S.m.E. - Spitzgeschoß mit Eisenkern mild steel cored projectile ammunition and later by S.m.E. lg - Spitzgeschoß mit Eisenkern lang ammunition to save on lead and other metals that became scarce in Germany during the war. Within the Karabiner 98k effective range the external ballistic behavior of these rounds were practically identical to s.S. ammunition, so the iron sight line range graduation could be retained.
Stock
Early Karabiner 98k rifles had solid one-piece stocks. From 1937 onwards, the rifles had laminated stocks, the result of trials that had stretched through the 1930s. Plywood laminates are stronger and resisted warping better than the conventional one-piece patterns, did not require lengthy maturing, and were cheaper. The laminated stocks were, due to their dense composite structure, somewhat heavier compared to one-piece stocks. In addition to the use of walnut and beech laminate, elm was used in small quantities. The butts of the semi-pistol grip Karabiner 98k stocks were not uniform. Until early 1940 the stocks had a flat buttplate. After 1940, some stocks had a cupped buttplate to prevent the separation of the butt stock. All stocks had a steel buttplate.Accessories
When issued, the Karabiner 98k came accompanied with assorted accessory items including a sling, a protective muzzle cover, and for field maintenance a Reinigungsgerät 34 or RG34 kit. Introduced in 1934, the Reinigungsgerät 34 consisted of a flat wide by long sheet metal container with two hinged lids carried on the person, which held an oiler, a take down tool for removing the floorplate and cleaning the receiver of the rifle, an aluminum barrel pull-through chain, a cleaning and an oiling brush, and short lengths of tow used as cleaning patches. From 1905 until 1945, the German military used Ballistol intended for cleaning, lubricating, and protecting metallic, wooden and leather firearms parts.The Karabiner 98k rifle was designed to be used with an S84/98 III bayonet. The S84/98 III had a blade length of and an overall length of and was accompanied by a bayonet frog. The Seitengewehr 42 or SG 42 was a shorter multi tool combat knife that could also be mounted as a bayonet on the Karabiner 98k rifle. The SG 42 was issued in small numbers.