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Tankgewehr!

Absolut

Absolut

Senior Member
Finally after a two years wait being able to hold and feel two abroad purchased Mauser Tankgewehr 1918 rifles in hand (well, mainly only one since two would be a bit heavy to hold at the same time :D ) I got reminded how ridiculous large these things are. It is so giant, that somehow you cannot stop laughing while looking at those and you feel the necessity to compare the size to "normal rifles" at all of the time.

This also lead me to the consideration to take a size comparison picture - the Tankgewehr 1918 compared to a Gewehr 98 (1250mm length) as well as a K98k (1110mm length), the first picture. The second only shows both side by side, left being Rüster ("R") stock and right being Buche ("B") stock. When I find time to clean them I'll provide more pictures if there is interest.

PS: what kept me giggling the most was imaging the soldier bringing one of those home as trophy and showing it to his wife..... :)
 

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Absolut said:
PS: what kept me giggling the most was imaging the soldier bringing one of those home as trophy and showing it to his wife..... :)
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That definitely wasn't fitting in a duffle bag without a few saw cuts! 🤣

Congrats Georg, great snags. I don't see as many of the beech ones. Did they come with bipods? Just curious as to the types of so.
 
Actually those came from the UK, so no duffle cut needed. I assume I'd had done the same, just to get the priceless look at the face of the wife when trying to get it through the front door ...

Unfortunately no bipods came with them. In case you know of ones, please direct me to those!

Oh, forgot to mention: they appear to have been cleaned the last time in 1918, so that is why you hardly can even see the serial number, due to the crusted grease and oil on everything. The super nice blank area on the covered part of the bolt though makes me hope that those are near mint after having given them a proper cleaning job.
 
Speaking of Tankgewehrs. Has anyone tried to translate the tank Gewehr book by Kern? Last I had heard there wasn’t* an English version.
 
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OzzMan said:
Speaking of Tankgewehrs. Has anyone tried to translate the tank Gewehr book by Kern? Last I had heard there was an English version.
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I'm only aware of German version. It's a great book though. There are some great German references that make it a good incentive to learn to at least read German. Even if you can't/don't want to learn, the pictures in Kern are great for reference.
 
chrisftk said:
I'm only aware of German version. It's a great book though. There are some great German references that make it a good incentive to learn to at least read German. Even if you can't/don't want to learn, the pictures in Kern are great for reference.
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I was thinking google translate. Or maybe see if the new AI from whatever website/company it is can translate it accurately.
 
Congrats! Wonderful rifles. Would love to see detailed pics when you are able .....
 
Nevertheless. Definitely an excellent set of rifles. I hope to add one to my bunch one day
 
I still can't get over how massive that thing is. Thanks for the comparison shot! Congrats and can you shoot these?
 
After having pulled the rifle from one stock and cleaning some smaller parts I'm now very certain that the last time those got cleaned and oiled was 1918 .. the stock is stamped as yesterday, some dings and dents, but clearly never sanded. And I made a mistake in my starting post, it isn't B (Buche/Beech) but A (Ahorn/maple) marked - and jointed. Amazing btw to find so many parts that carry serial numbers under the crust, rust and dust of the centuries.
 
Congratulations! Serial numbers 8244 (left) and 8377 unless I'm mistaken.
 
OzzMan said:
Speaking of Tankgewehrs. Has anyone tried to translate the tank Gewehr book by Kern? Last I had heard there wasn’t* an English version.
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As chrisftk accurately stated, Kern's book is only available in the original German language edition. it is also nearly 20 years old. We have learned a lot since then. I am working on a new reference book specific to the Mauser Tankgewehr Model 1918. Information submissions are greatly appreciated. See below:

www.k98kforum.com

Mauser Tankgewehr 1918 - Research

Hello all. Have been researching the WWI German Tankgewehr for a number of years. Have compiled quite a bit of material but still looking for additional data in the form of serial numbers and other information. At this point am not trying to duplicate Wolfgang Kern’s book but a lot has been...
www.k98kforum.com www.k98kforum.com
 
Correct @Slash - had planned to do better pictures once I finished cleaning them, but cleaning so much metal is like cleaning 5 guns at the same time. And for the fact that they were last cleaned in 1918 they are a bit more work than I thought they would be!
 
heavy_mech said:
Or the gun safe... or car trunk. :ROFLMAO:
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When I picked mine up a few years ago I had to get really creative to fit it in my sedan. Ended up laying down the seats and having it stretch out from the trunk. I stupidly didn't have any blankets to cover it either, so I certainly drove the speed limit that day. 🤣 That debacle was one of the reasons I upgraded to an SUV.
 
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