Mauser Model 1890

The Mauser Model 1889 is a bolt-action rifle of Belgian origin. It became known as the 1889 Belgian Mauser, 1890 Turkish Mauser, and 1891 Argentine Mauser.

History

After the Mauser brothers finished work on the Model 71/84 in 1880, the design team set out to create a small caliber repeater that used smokeless powder. Because of setbacks brought on by Wilhelm Mauser's death, they failed to have the design completed by 1882, so the German Rifle Test Commission () was formed. The commission preferred to create their own design. Paul Mauser, who was not aware of the commission's work until 1888, managed to sell an improved version of his M1871/84 rifles as M1887 to the Ottoman Empire.

Meanwhile, in the mid-1880s, Belgium wanted to adopt a magazine rifle to replace the Albini-Braendlin, Terssen and Comblain 11-mm single-shots. In 1886, Manufacture d’Armes de L’État started trials of several mostly foreign designs (including Kropatchek and Jarmann) of which the M1885 Remington–Lee won, but was considered too complicated to be adopted. Thus, they had to run a second round of trials, of which Mannlicher M1886 would be the winner.

However in 1887, the characteristics of ''Poudre B'' smokeless powder and revolutionary smallbore 8×50mmR Lebel cartridge became public. Consequently, all black powder rifles became obsolescent. The next year, the Belgians tried a smokeless 8-mm cartridge (still with a rim), of which not much detail is known. A Mannlicher rifle in 8 mm with 1887 Belgian proof marks survived (it may have been a prototype for the Mannlicher M1888).

Since every participant needed to work out the kinks of using smokeless powder, the next round of trials didn't start in Beverloo until July 1888: Mannlicher, Nagant, Pieper and Schulhoff participated but the results were inconclusive.

Paul Mauser didn't participate in the aforementioned rounds of the Belgian trials, but as soon as he was aware of the '' Kommissionsgewehr'' rifle, he started developing a new one. He patented a rear-locked bolt design somewhat similar to a Lee action in February 1888 and a detachable magazine in April 1888 (shown to the left).

He also sent a similar but not identical experimental rifle now known as "Mauser-Metford" to Great Britain, which was also adopting a small-bore cartridge (.303 Rubini, yet to become .303 British) rifle at the time. This was to no avail because it was too late (since December 1887 they already started the final troop trials of the future Lee-Metford, the pattern of which was sealed in November 1888 after minor tweaks).
In September 1888 Mauser filed a British patent on the stripper clips and test-fired an experimental rifle with the feature. The idea was not unknown and in fact a similar design was patented by a US inventor in 1878, but it was Mauser who managed to commercialize the idea. The design was adapted to a 7,65 mm rimless cartridge Mauser derived from the Patrone 88 developed at the Spandau Arsenal.

The next round of Belgian trials was held under General van der Smissen in October-December 1888 with five participants, all but Mauser using 8 mm caliber: Mannlicher, Nagant, Pieper, Mauser and Engh (also known as ''Liégeoise'' by its manufacturer). Even though Mauser's rifle was included in the trio of best performers, along with Mannlicher and Engh, it suffered from one or several malfunctions, details of which differ in various sources:

* according to a modern source, a cartridge reportedly ruptured, damaging the bolt face and the extractor, and Mauser himself blamed faulty ammunition;
* according to a 1888 French source, extraction of empty cases became difficult in the end of the trials, and Mauser blamed imperfectly obturating cartridges which clogged the bolt with soot from the firing;
* according to a 1889 Russian source, the rear-locking bolt was consistently deforming under high pressure from the new cartridge, forcing Mauser to develop front-locking lugs.

After the trials Mauser chose to move the locking lugs to the front of the bolt like on the ''Komissionsgewehr'', despite the added cost in manufacturing. This was done in order to prevent the receiver now opened-up from the top for more practical stripper clip reloading from compressing with firing, and to prevent the receiver from stretching.

The last round of Beverloo trials with reportedly 24 participants (including Nagant, Schulhof, Marga, Mannlicher, and Engh) began in May 1889 and continued into the summer. The trials finished in August, Mauser won over the Mannlicher-derived design and a Nagant, and the rifle was adopted on October 23, 1889, with some changes to the form of the safety, tweaks to the sights, and lengthening the barrel.

Mauser 1889

To compete for Belgian trials, several Belgian arms manufacturers funded the Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre, now known as FN Herstal.

FN's factory was overrun during World War I, so they outsourced production to a facility in Birmingham, England and Hopkins & Allen in the United States. The Birmingham factory was originally set up by the well-known gunmaking firm W. W. Greener, and was subsequently handed over to the Belgian Government later in the war. Many Belgian Model 1889 rifles were captured by the Imperial German Army, and some were modified to fire the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge. Paraguay purchased 7,000 Belgian Model 1889s in 1930.

Rifles captured by Nazi Germany after 1940 were designated Gewehr 261 (b) (Mle 1889 rifle), Karabiner 451 (b) (Mle 1889 carbines), Karabiner 453 (b) (Mle 1916 carbine) and Gewehr 263 (b) (Mle 1889/36). Models 1889/36 were used by German second-line troops or pro-German organisations such as the . Some Model 1889/36 rifles were still in service in Belgian Congo at the time of independence of the Republic of the Congo-Léopoldville in 1960, and were used during the Congo Crisis.

Belgian variants

* Model 1889 Carbine with bayonet: With a standard bayonet.
* Model 1889 Carbine with Yatagan: With a yatagan-like bayonet, used by the Foot Gendarmerie and fortress artillery.
* Model 1889 Carbine with bayonet: Shorter variant, reconditioned during World War I, using the Gras bayonet.
* Model 1889 Carbine with bayonet: Shorter variant, with a long bayonet and heavier stock, used by the Mounted Gendarmerie.
* Model 1916 Carbine: Slightly modified Mle 1889 with Yatagan, to replace all the earlier models of carbines.
* Model 1889/36 Short Rifle or Model 1936: A modernized Model 1889 or Turkish Model 1890 with its bolt modified to cock on opening, and the barrel, barrel bands, front handguard, and sights of a Mauser Model 1935.

Mauser 1890

The Belgian's talks with Mauser prompted the Ottoman Empire, whose contract for Model 1887 rifles included an "escape clause" allowing them to alter their order to account for any new advancements the Mauser brothers made, to reconsider the design. In the end, they ordered 280,000 pieces of an improved version of the 1889 Mauser known as the Turkish Model 1890 rifle. It used a slightly modified 7.65 round. A Model 1890 carbine was also supplied in smaller numbers. These rifles saw service during the First Balkan War and World War I. Large numbers of these rifles were captured by the British Army during World War I and sent to supply the Belgian Army. Mauser 1890 rifles were fielded by both Nationalist and Sultanate armies during the Turkish War of Independence. Some of these rifles were captured by Kurdish and Circassian rebels. In the 1950s, these rifles were still kept in reserve, but many of them were rebuilt and rechambered in 7.92×57mm during the 1930s. During the Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, old Mauser 1890 rifles were used by Turkish Cypriots.

The Royal Yugoslav Army received Turkish Mausers as war reparations. Some were used unmodified Puska M90 T and others were shortened as Puska M 03 T. Some of these rifles were captured by Nazi Germany and designated Gewehr 297 (j).

Mauser 1891

While this was taking place, the Argentine Small Arms Commission contacted Mauser in 1886 to replace their Remington Rolling Block rifles. 180,000 rifles and 30,000 carbines, all chambered in 7.65×53mm Mauser, were ordered. As with other early Mausers, the arms, designated ''Mauser Modelo 1891'', were made by the Ludwig Loewe Company and Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. Mauser 1891 carbines were still in service with the Argentine Police in the 1960s.

Bolivia bought 15,000 Argentine-made Modelo 1891s in the period between 1897 and 1901, and were designated Modelo 1895 (not to be confused with the Mauser Model 1895). They saw combat during the Chaco War

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