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Mauser G98 used by the German Imperial Navy
Photos ©
Marc Thevenin
This Mauser G98
rifle was made in Berlin in 1906 and was recently found in a state of decay and corrosion
in Alsace in modern France. This region was part of Imperial Germany
before the First World War. It is possible that this rifle was
brought home by an Alsatian sailor after serving in the Imperial
German navy. Marc Thevenin has spent considerable time and
effort in restoring it to the condition we see here. The reason
we allude to an Alsatian sailor is the the gun bears two naval
markings (on the chamber and stock), though they are hard to see at first glance.
There is also a unit marking and
weapon number "M.A. 111". The markings, M.A. in the Prussian and
other German armies denoted the
Militär-Betriebs-Abteilung
but this was a naval rifle and thus did not follow army
regulations. The
problem with identifying this and other naval weapon markings is
that the original Imperial Navy regulations for unit markings do
not exist anymore. They were most likely lost in allied bombing
raids on Berlin the the Second World War. As a naval marking it could be speculated that
M.A. may represent the land based naval artillery, the Matrosen
Artillerie.
The Near Sights of the Rifle with range adjustments for
hundreds of metres. The barrel number "20..." has been
partially eaten away by corrosion as has the crowned naval M
next to it on the chamber.
The Chamber and Breech of the Rifle with a makers marking,
Deutsche Waffen-und-Munitions
Fabrik
Berlin 1906. To the right on the barrel is a crowned AN
marking. This is a later French marking to show the gun was
deactivated at the armaments workshop of the
Banc National d’Epreuve
in Saint Étienne.
The Butt of the Rifle with the butt disc having the
unit and weapon number marking
M.A. 111. Notice the but itself is also stamped with an M for
Marine and has a crowned inspection marking.
Photos © Marc Thevenin
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