Allied troops occupied the Mauser factory complex in Oberndorf in April of 1945, right at the end of the war. The factory was put under French administration and by May that same year production lines were restarted to supply French forces (who needed as many arms as they could get). In total, just under 52,000 new K98k rifles were made for the French between May 1945 and June 1946, when the factory shut back down (and much of it was dynamited by the departing French forces).
The rifles made under French control were all marked with the receiver code svwMB. German production had switched to this code early in 1945 after producing an “a” block of svw45 rifles and about 5,500 guns in the svw45 “b” block. The factory shutdown came midway through svwMB “c” block, and the first French-property rifles had been assembled under German control and were waiting for final inspection when the factory was occupied. Mauser production was non-linear, and some “c” block receivers had been finished and shipped to German forces before the shutdown, while others remained at the factory. There is no specific transition point between French and German rifles because of this. Production of the “c” block ran into the 29,000 range, and was followed by three suffixes of entirely French-production guns; “d”, “h”, and “k”.
The K98k being produced by this point – and what was continued under the French – was the Kriegsmodell, the last-ditch simplified model of the K98k. It had many stamped and welded parts, no barrel band springs (screws were used instead) and no bayonet lug. The French produced the guns in exactly the same configuration as the Germans had, simply substituting a five-pointed star as a final inspection stamp in front of the receiver serial number. At some point later, the French rebuilt many of these rifles and added two distinctive features that are often thought to have been original factory production elements. These are the hexagonal stacking rod under the muzzle and the left-side sling bar on the stock. When these rebuilds were done, the bolts were also scrubbed and renumbered with just the last 3 digits of the receiver serial number.
So the French finally got a bolt action rifle with a safety catch!
Their logistics people must have been delighted to add 7.92mm to the roster of calibres they had to provide for too.
As an afterthought, if the Mauser factory was in such good order at the end of the war, what had we been bombing for the previous several years?
“(…)what had we been bombing(…)”
According to https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Kasernen/Wehrkreis05/KasernenOberndorf-R.htm after bombing raid in August 1940, which managed to hit certain industry in area (but not Mauserwerke itself) Oberndorfer Fliegersperre http://spuren-der-geschichte.de/bilder/aistaig-boll/Seilsperre_freigestellt.jpg was build which consisted of steel cables and weight, which prevented low-level attack. With WW2 technology this mean only less accurate bombing from higher altitude could be applied. This combined with AA artillery proved effective in defending Mauserwerke. First serious would be done in February 1945 when 4-engine bombers managed to totally destroy power station.
Daweo, great new info, never heard of it.
I havent been able to find historical photos of contraption, probably they dont exist
what was getting bombed?
high density working class residential areas (a war crime).
what wasn’t getting bombed
for one thing, definitely not the Ford plant in Cologne
Well said! Let those with ears hear.
Destroying machine tools with explosives is very difficult, and generally requires careful placement. Better to use firebombing, since high temperatures can ruin tempering.
I feel like this whole episode started out as France pursuing a legitimate form of reparation for war losses, then degenerated into the national equivalent of your fat girlfriend bleaching your clothes because you talked to her hot sister. Blowing up the Mauser works did nothing productive, and I hope H&K charges accordingly for the 416. Mauser all the way.
Great summary of this rare animal! I have one in the h-series with the later-installed sling bar and hexagonal stacking rod but it retains its 4-digit matching serial number, suggesting the post-production mods made by the French were not consistent for all svwMBs in inventory
Hello, this question is not related to the video, sorry for the incovinience.
But I do wonder, and I have to ask:
Is there any information about how many Type 38 arisaka’s were delivered to arabian fighters during Arab revolt in ww1? I heard that the british did send Arisakas which were left in the supplies after sending about 170k to the Russian army, but I wonder if there was any information about it.
Thank you all for answers, and sorry for the problem.