I need help with identifying marks

[Daeld]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and new to Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles.
I recently acquired this rifle and I would appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction to learn more about it.

What I've been able to work out is that it is Gewehr 98 from Spandau 1916, but reworked in 1935 Oberndorf (in secret?) during the rearmament in violation of the treaty of Versailles. Serial number 8736 seems to have been force matched. If you could help me decifer the markings like the things that look like cursive h h and also the barrel markings above the 7.9 mark I'd be grateful. I'm specifically wondering what the disc is with the crown above what looks like a capital "I" or, less likely a "J". Is this just a proof mark? Thanks in advance for your help.

Greetings from Australia

Daeld

PS Please let me know if this is the wrong place in the forum or if I've done anything else wrong.

 

[chrisftk]

What I've been able to work out is that it is Gewehr 98 from Spandau 1916, but reworked in 1935 Oberndorf (in secret?) during the rearmament in violation of the treaty of Versailles

Thanks for posting. The rifle has nothing to do with Mauser/Oberndorf. That's just the manufacturer of the updated rear sight. These were converted from the lange visier (aka rollercoaster sight) of WW1 in response to a further refinement of the ammunition in the 1920s. These reworked Gewehr 98s are known informally by collectors as Gew98M. These were heavily reworked in saw service in two World Wars. Force matching of parts is very common as these often passed through depots multiple times. In this case, your rifle was rebarreled at some point.

The markings you reference (crowned letters and eagle/49) are acceptance markings from two different eras. The crowned letters are imperial and the letter denotes the last name of the lead inspector. The eagle and number denotes the number designation of the inspection team that looked at that particular part or assembly. Both are evidence that that particular part was inspected.

 

[AndyB]

I assume the 87936 hh is on receiver, on the barell looks like letters were stamped twice or over older one letters.

 

[Daeld]

Thank you so much for your insights. So the S42/G simply means that the part was manufactured at Oberndorf in 1935 but not necessarily the date of reworking and the rework did not necessarily happen at Oberndorf itself. These marks are on the rear sights and on the barrel.

So I'm wondering when the rework would have been done. I've seen some 98Ms with the original imperial mark on the receiver and an eagle with a small hakenkreuz on the barrel. does the fact that mine doesn't have it mean that it would have been reworked in early 1935? I'm just thinking this because it obviously can't be earlier if the parts of the rework are 1935 and if it were much later it probably would have had the hakenreuz, right? (given that 1935 was the year that they started to openly defy the rearmament restrictions) Is it possible to narrow down the year range?

Final question, where would the rifle have been used after the rework? Obviously by the time it was being done the Gew98 had largely been replaced by the K98k as a frontline rifle. I read somewhere that the reworks might have been used in rear lines or auxiliary troops or law enforcement or given to allied forces. Is that true? And I guess none of the markings help to narrow down anything more specific, right?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[chrisftk]

So I'm wondering when the rework would have been done. I've seen some 98Ms with the original imperial mark on the receiver and an eagle with a small hakenkreuz on the barrel. does the fact that mine doesn't have it mean that it would have been reworked in early 1935? I'm just thinking this because it obviously can't be earlier if the parts of the rework are 1935 and if it were much later it probably would have had the hakenreuz, right? (given that 1935 was the year that they started to openly defy the rearmament restrictions) Is it possible to narrow down the year range?

Mid-late 30s is the best guess, though others could narrow it down possibly. Take some pics of the underside of the stock. Keel and wrist specifically. If the stock matches, that would be a way to possibly tell. There are often stamps on the wood to identify which facility work was done at. These can sometimes be lost by wear and tear or if someone sanded the stock along the way.

Final question, where would the rifle have been used after the rework? Obviously by the time it was being done the Gew98 had largely been replaced by the K98k as a frontline rifle. I read somewhere that the reworks might have been used in rear lines or auxiliary troops or law enforcement or given to allied forces. Is that true? And I guess none of the markings help to narrow down anything more specific, right?

There are plenty of of pictures of guys marching east to Russia still carrying 98M. They saw use far into the war.

 

[Daeld]

Awesome, thanks. I'm travelling for work at the moment, so I'll take some more pictures when I get back. Thanks so much!

 

[Daeld]

There is only one area in the stock itself with markings (pic attached) but I can’t tell what it says, so probably end of the road i suppose? The second pic is what I thought was an eagle mark (which in zooming with the camera looks more like just a scratch. Underneath the crownI/J.