The Israeli bayonets were a mix of converted German production and domestically produced examples. The Israeli Karabiner 98k utilized the same bayonet design as in German service, with a barrel ring added. The original receiver markings of these conversions were not altered, making it easy for collectors to identify their origin.
The FN-made Karabiner 98k rifles with the IDF markings and emblem on the rifle were produced and sold to Israel after it established itself as an independent nation in At some point, Israel converted all other Mauser based rifles in their inventory most commonly Czechoslovak vz.
These have Israeli and Belgian markings on the rifle as well as the emblem of the IDF on the top of the rifle's receiver. Later, the newly established Israel Defense Forces ordered more numbers of Mauser Karabiner 98k rifles, produced this time by Fabrique Nationale. The Haganah, which later evolved into the modern-day Israel Defense Forces, was one of the Jewish armed groups in Palestine that brought large numbers of Mauser Karabiner 98k rifles and other surplus arms namely the British Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle, which was used on a large scale by these groups and the Mosin-Nagant from Europe during the post-World War II period.Īs the Arab-Israeli conflict approached, the Haganah and other Jewish forces in Palestine tried to get hold of as many weapons as they could in the face of an arms embargo by British colonial authorities. Many Jewish organizations in Palestine acquired them from post-World War II Europe to protect various Jewish settlements from Arab attack as well as to carry out guerrilla operations against British Army forces in Palestine. The use of the Karabiner 98k to establish the nation-state of Israel often raises a lot of interest among people and rifle collectors today. One example was Israel who used the Mauser Karabiner 98k rifle from the late s until the s.
A number of non-European nations used the Mauser Karabiner 98k rifle as well as a few guerrilla organizations to help establish new nation-states. It was the standard rifle of the Spanish units during the Ifni War.
Rebarreling services for mauser gewehr 98 series#
In Romania, the Czechoslovak version was known under the informal name of ZB, after Zbrojovka Brno - the Czechoslovak state producer of small weapons and munitions - and it was used to arm Romania's Patriotic Guards.įrom to, Yugoslavian Zastava Arms produced a close copy of the Karabiner 98k imported between the wars from Fabrique Nationale called the Model, which differed from the German rifle in that it had the shorter bolt-action of the Yugoslav M series of rifles not to be confused with the widely distributed Czech Vz 24, which had a standard length action, a thicker barrel profile Yugoslavia had low chromium iron ore deposits, so they could not produce steel as hardened as the Krupp or Swedish steel used in other variants, and made up for it in adding extra material, and a rear sight enclosed in the wooden hand guard the German-style hand guard began in front of the rear sight, unlike e.Ī hunting variant of the Yugoslavian M48 is still produced by Zastava Arms. Mauser Model (Gew 98) Bolt-Action Service Rifle - Imperial Germanyīoth FN and CZ utilized a modified Kriegsmodell design, with the cleaning rod and stock disk omitted, but the bayonet lug restored.