The main reason why the K-98 killed more people is because of the nazi's war crimes. The M1 Garand in combat was MUCH better.

__________________
Best Regards, Hufflepuff

Actually the Springfield Armory paid royalties to the Mauser firm as many parts of the receiver were direct license built copies of the Mauser designs. I'll have to do some searching, but I have the list and the amounts saved in some file somewhere.

It was in 1900 with the US government owned Springfield armory which was tasked with building a new rifle for the infantry. This was to replace the Krag-Jorgensen design which had been shown inferior to the Mausers in the Spanish/American war. So, based on the battle-proven Mauser design, Springfield entered into negotiations with the Mauser company and finally acquired the rights for the excellent Mauser bolt action for a license payment of USD $200,000 which was quite a sum at the time, and royalties on each unit produced.

They also had to pay for the reloading system which was as revolutionary as the action itself. The five-round stripper clip charger made reloading the magazine something that was done in about the same time as one could load just one round at a time. The US government continued to pay these royalties up until the outbreak of WW1.

__________________
Happy Trails,
Clint.

I didn't know this. Thanks for the info

The British, on the other hand, made the Lee-Enfield No.4 rifle just in time for the Boer war, and British troops hated it. The British were about to design another mauser-inspired rifle before WWI broke out. So they had no choice but to issue the troops the Lee Enfield.

I've wondered: why did the British soldiers love the Enfield in WWI, but hate it in the Boer War? Was it because of the climate?

__________________
Best Regards, Hufflepuff

The rifle was actually the Mark 1 in the Boer War, and was slightly altered between those two conflicts, becoming the Mark 1 (SMLE) in WW1, and I wouldn't doubt it was due to "battlefield input" data. It didn't become the No.4 until WW2.

In 1887 the British Arms Committee recommended the adoption of the Lee bolt action magazine rifle with a reduced calibre. The thoroughness of this Committee's work is exemplified by the fact that Lee's action and magazine, with only one minor modification, proved completely adequate from the South African War until well after World War Two. The Lee Enfield magazine rifle Mk 1 (1895) was used during the Boer War and, as a result of this experience, it was shortened and modified in minor ways and re-issued in 1902 as the short magazine Lee Enfield Rifle No 1 (SMLE). It remained virtually unaltered for 40 years and had the fastest bolt action of any bolt action rifle of its type.

Just prior to World War Two further modifications were made, mainly to the stocking and sighting arrangements and it became known as the No 4 Rifle; a shortened pattern, designated the No 5 Rifle, was produced and used for jungle warfare.

See:

REME Technical Notes on Weapons Collection - Rifles


Here are a couple of the differences I could find on just a quick look, the rifle was shortened in overall length from 1,260 mm (49.6 inches) to 1,129 mm (44.45 inches), and lightened slightly from 4.19 kg (9.24 lbs) to 4.11 kgs (9.06 lbs). The British also eliminated the bothersome "dust cover" which was attached to the bolt on the old "long" version of the Boer War, and also added guides for the charger clips to follow into the magazine.

__________________
Happy Trails,
Clint.

K98 and war crimes...
If you consider fighting against other armies a war crime...
And I don't think they used all their bullets on civilians...

Nevertheless, the K-98 was used in war crimes more often than the M1 Garand, I'd imagine.

But the K-98 obviously got lots of its kills from the Eastern Front, so I'm not saying they got all thier kills from genocide. I was just saying that the better rifle would be the Garand in combat.

I'm sorry I brought this subject up to topic, let's just forget about it and move on. I never meant to offend anyone.

__________________
Best Regards, Hufflepuff