Mannlicher M1893

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with
Swiss Mannlicher M1893
.
Romanian repeating rifle model 1893
en bloc clip, integral box magazine

The Mannlicher M1893 (or M93) is a

bolt-action rifle that was the standard service rifle of the Kingdom of Romania from 1893 to 1938.[1] The rifle and its 1892 predecessor were the first repeating rifles to be widely issued in the Romanian military.[2] It was later replaced by the Czechoslovak-designed Vz. 24 as the standard service rifle.[3]

Development

Mannlicher M1893 bolt

Around the year 1890 the Romanian military started its search for a small bore,

straight-pull bolt-action rifle, the Romanian rifle had a conventional turn-bolt.[6]

The rifle's adoption caused some controversy, as despite the weapon's approval by King Carol I, General Constantin Budișteanu derided the Austrian rifle as un baton ("a stick") that required improvements. The rifle's bore, smaller than the usual Mannlicher product, also caused difficulties in finding compatible gunpowder.[7]

A carbine variant was also introduced, it was 98 centimetres (39 in) long and featured a bent bolt handle. It was used by cavalry and artillery units.

melee combat during the 1916 campaign. A bayonet was eventually added to 20,000 carbines after an invention by cavalry Captain Botez.[8]

History

Deliveries started in 1893, and by 1907 more than 100,000 rifles were in service.

Romanian Army.[10] These were distributed to the infantry and Vânători regiments, while carbines were issued to cavalry, cyclists and Vânători units.[11] Many rifles were destroyed or captured during the Romanian campaign. At the end of the war, only 82,000 rifles were still in service with Romania.[10]

Following the war, 8mm M93 rifles were given as war reparations to Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav rifles, designated as "Puška 8mm M93", were captured by the Germans in World War II. The Germans referred to these rifles as "8mm Puschka M93/30 Rumänisches".[1] The Romanian Mannlicher also saw some service in the Spanish Civil War by Spanish Republicans and captured by the Nationalists. It is unknown how these rifles were obtained.[12]

Portuguese Mannlicher M1896

The

Steyr, some in 1896, for the Navy and Cavalry, and the remainder in 1898 for the Artillery. These rifles carry the "CI" monogram of Carlos I of Portugal. The 6.5x53R cartridges were first imported from Georg Roth and later made in Portugal.[13]

In 1946 a few hundred of the Portuguese Mannlichers were adapted to fire the 5.6mm calibre (.22 Rimfire), for training.[13]

Mannlicher M1904 Export

An early advertisement for the 1904 rifle in several languages

In 1904, ŒWG would slightly modify the original M1893 design, primarily by rechambering it to the

Chinese Army, who used the M1904 in their Hanyang 88 design.[14] The Irish would purchase around 11,000,[15] these Irish rifles looked very similar to the Romanian M1893, but were manufactured using leftover parts from the M1892. Some of these rifles would end up in British stocks when some of the Ulster members, wanting to join the British Army, would turn in their rifles.[14] A few would also be obtained by the Austro-Hungarian army in the beginning of World War I, as most firearms not yet delivered would be seized at the start of the war.[16]

Ammunition

Romanian gendarme or prison guard with the M93 and its bayonet

6.5×53mmR: The 6.5×53mmR ammunition for the Romanian rifles was provided at first by Georg Roth, and Keller & Co.[17] Local production was also carried out at Pirotehnia Armatei, with a production rate of 200,000 cartridges per day registered in 1914.[18] Later, ammunition was also purchased from DWM, Manfréd Weiss and Hirtenberger Patronen. During the First World War, factories from France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States also provided ammunition.[17]

World War 2-era

6.5x53R chamber. Alteration of the original chamber by re-chambering with a 6.5x57R[21] chamber reamer has also been done, but the overall length of the original 6.5x53mmR Romanian cartridge has to be maintained by seating the projectile more deeply in order to fit the original magazine. It would also be a best practice to retain the upper C.I.P. 6.5x57mmR[21]
pressure limit of 3300 Bar to reduce additional stress on these 80 to 125 year old rifles.

8×50mmR Mannlicher: 8×50mmR Mannlicher reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by reforming and trimming 8×56mmR Mannlicher or 7.62×54mmR Mosin–Nagant Russian brass. Standard .323" 8mm S-bullets are correct for this caliber though best results are obtained from open-base bullets that can expand to fit the .329" bore. RCBS offers both reforming and reloading dies. Rifles such as the Mannlicher M.95 using a stronger rotating-bolt design can be loaded to higher pressures.

Users

A Greek revolutionary with an M1893 carbine

Non-state users

  • Macedonian revolutionaries: M1893 carbines used by various groups during the Macedonian Struggle between 1904 and 1908[22]

Gallery

  • Diagram of the Romanian Mannlicher M93
    Diagram of the Romanian Mannlicher M93
  • Romanian soldiers during the 1907 peasant revolt
    Romanian soldiers during the 1907 peasant revolt
  • Portuguese cavalry
    Portuguese cavalry
  • Bulgarian IMARO band armed with Mannlichers
    Bulgarian
    IMARO
    band armed with Mannlichers

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mannlicher M1893.
  1. ^ a b c d "Romanian Mannlicher M1893 Infantry Rifle". hungariae.com. Manowar. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  2. ^ Bernard Fitzsimons (1978). The Illustrated encyclopedia of 20th century weapons and warfare. Columbia House. p. 1828.
  3. ISBN 9781440228926
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780275973391
    .
  5. ISBN 0873492021
    .
  6. ISBN 978-1-135-50701-5
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-674-02442-7
    .
  8. ^ Scafeș 2013, p. 73.
  9. ^ Scafeș 2013, pp. 65–66.
  10. ^ a b Ministerul Apărării Naționale Marele Stat Major Serviciul istoric (1934). "Documente–Anexe". România în războiul mondial : 1916-1919 (in Romanian). Vol. I. pp. 41, 45.
  11. ^ Scafeș 2013, p. 88.
  12. ^ "Foreign Rifles of the Spanish Republic, 1936-1939 – Surplused". Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Portuguese 6.5 m/96 cartridges for the Mannlicher rifle". 25 April 2010.
  14. ^ a b "Steyr M1904 Export Mannlicher". 19 May 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  15. ISBN 0-85640-764-X
    .
  16. ^ "Mannlicher Repeating Rifle Model 1904 Contract". hungariae.com. Manowar. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b "6.5x53.5R Romanian Mannlicher 1892 & 1893". 27 October 2016.
  18. ^ Ministerul Apărării Naționale Marele Stat Major Serviciul istoric (1934). "I–VIII". România în războiul mondial : 1916-1919 (in Romanian). Vol. I. p. 51.
  19. ^ "303 British" (PDF).
  20. ^ "30-40 Krag" (PDF).
  21. ^ a b "6,5 x 57 R" (PDF).
  22. ISSN 0353-9628
    .

Bibliography

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