WMO 1917 "N Block Sniper" Project

[mauser1908]

Hi Everyone,

I picked this gun up several months ago and wanted to make forward movement on the project before I posted it. For anyone unfamiliar with Scharfschützengewehr, they are "typically" a state arsenal phenomenon, WMO is the one notable exception to this rule. In 1917, the entire 'n' block was earmarked to become snipers; these snipers would eventually be used by Infanterie Regiment Nr. 146 . Any rifle that didn't meet the criteria to become saw normal use like any other rifle. It's hard to say specifically where these rifles served, but all of them ended up in Turkey during the post war era. These were likely used in Anatolia, I would think the Palestine Campaign near the close of the war.

When you encounter these today, they can be in any number of configurations ranging from barreled actions to complete rifles with attached bases. This gun is in the middle, the bases have been removed and some of the holes have been filled. It's not clear which optical company performed the modifications, but the more I examine the hole configuration, the more I'm swayed into thinking these were Oigee rigs. There is a potential that Voigtländer did some of these as well. I would love to hear thoughts on the correct base/scope set up for this.

 

[mauser1908]

 

[Jdt]

Awesome example, can't wait to see the finished project. Definitely need to stretch her legs when ya can. There was a YouTube video of someone hunting with a sniper variant of the Gewehr 98 and got a awesome first round impact on a goat on and a opposing mountain side. Seemed like a 4-500 yard shot.

 

[mauser1908]

 

[MichaelWC]

Awesome and rare rifle Sam. Sam do you care if I catalogue this rifle for my database? I mainly, ask because this rifle was used with the II Pascha Expedition.

"A second Pascha Expedition also known as the Asia Corps ("Asienkorps") was formed at Neu-Hammer in July 1917 under the command of Oberst Werner von Frankenberg zu Proschlitz (and from June 1918, Oberst Gustav von Oppen). The first elements were deployed in October 1917 with more reinforcements arriving in 1918. The Asienkorps' initial mission to recapture Baghdad was deemed unfeasible and they were instead sent to fight alongside the Ottoman army in Palestine.

The Pascha II Expedition was a more rounded fighting unit than Pascha I which consisted solely of support troops to bolster the Ottoman army. At about 10,000 strong it consisted of frontline infantry units with machine guns, artillery, cavalry and full supporting units. The number of fighter squadrons was greatly increased. After being defeated along with their Ottoman allies at the Battle of Megiddo 19th September- 1st October 1918, the Asienkorps was withdrawn towards Istanbul just before the Ottoman surrender."

Pascha II- German Units in Palestine 1917-18*

Asienkorps Staff ("Stäben des Asienkorps") and from 1918 the staff of the 201. Infanterie-Brigade

Infantry
701st Infantry Battalion ("Infanterie Batallion 701")- deployed 1917
With 6 machine guns and 18 Bergman light machine guns
146th Infantry Regiment ("1. Masurische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 146")- deployed from Macedonia 1918
1st Battalion- with 6 machine guns
2nd Battalion- with 6 machine guns
3rd Battalion (from the 85th Landwehr Regiment, IX Army Corps)- with 6 machine guns
11th Reserve Jäger Battalion ("Kurhessisches Reserve Jäger Batallion Nr. 11")- deployed 1918
With 6 machine guns

Artillery
701st Infantry Support Battery ("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge 701")- deployed 1917
4 x 7,7cm guns
702nd Infantry Support Battery ("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge 702")- deployed 1917
4 x 7,7cm guns
703rd Infantry Support Battery ("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge 703")- deployed 1917
4 x 10,5cm howitzers

Other Armed Units
701st Machine Gun Company ("Maschinengewehr-Kompanie 701 "Hentig"")- deployed 1917
Cavalry Squadron ("Kavallerie-Eskadron Asienkorps")- deployed 1917
701st Pioneer Unit ("Pionierabteilung 701" from the "Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11")- deployed 1917
205th Pioneer Company ("Pionier Kompanie 205")- deployed 1917

Aircraft
300th Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 300 "Pascha“")- deployed 1916
301st Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 301")- deployed 1917
302nd Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 302")- deployed 1917
303rd Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 303")- deployed 1917
304th Bavarian Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 304b")- deployed 1917
305th Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 305")- deployed 1918
55th Fighter Squadron ("Jagdstaffel 55" later known as "Jagdstaffel 1F")- deployed 1918

Non-Combatant Units
27th Mountain Heliograph Platoon ("Gebirgs-Blinker-Züge 27")- deployed 1918
Intelligence Unit ("Nachrichtenabteilung Pascha II")- deployed 1918
27th Survey Unit ("Vermessungsabteilung 27")- deployed 1917
Medical Units ("Sanitätsformationen")- deployed 1917

Information from http://www.germancolonialuniforms.co.uk/hist ottoman.htm

 

[chrisftk]

Sam, great rifle and abnormally nice for a Turk ex-sniper. First one I've seen where the stock wasn't hit with 150 grit sandpaper!

I think these were a combination of optics companies involved in these. Maybe there are documents out there-- I like the odds of Mauser having docs more than the Prussian arsenals!

I've seen some with what appears to be Voigtländer bases, yet this one is almost assuredly Oigee (and glad you found the bases and rings!) really looking forward to seeing this completed.

 

[Cyrano4747]

That's really, really nice. Oddly enough, however, I'm more interested in the scrap of paper. Can you say some more about it? From context I gather it was found with the rifle. Where was it tucked away?

I love stuff like that and I've never seen something similar in Turkish guns.

 

[Absolut]

Sam, see this thread here for what I think the original bases were: https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/mauser-gew98-sniper-rifle-with-bases.53187/post-406271

Scroll down a bit, I have had another set of bases for those, and my bases came with Gerard B3x scope. Not saying this is the solution, just that this may had been the case. Actually I have a n-block sniper with bases removed, maybe I should try to see if the bases with scope that I have would fit that rifle.

 

[mauser1908]

Awesome and rare rifle Sam. Sam do you care if I catalogue this rifle for my database? I mainly, ask because this rifle was used with the II Pascha Expedition.

"A second Pascha Expedition also known as the Asia Corps ("Asienkorps") was formed at Neu-Hammer in July 1917 under the command of Oberst Werner von Frankenberg zu Proschlitz (and from June 1918, Oberst Gustav von Oppen). The first elements were deployed in October 1917 with more reinforcements arriving in 1918. The Asienkorps' initial mission to recapture Baghdad was deemed unfeasible and they were instead sent to fight alongside the Ottoman army in Palestine.

The Pascha II Expedition was a more rounded fighting unit than Pascha I which consisted solely of support troops to bolster the Ottoman army. At about 10,000 strong it consisted of frontline infantry units with machine guns, artillery, cavalry and full supporting units. The number of fighter squadrons was greatly increased. After being defeated along with their Ottoman allies at the Battle of Megiddo 19th September- 1st October 1918, the Asienkorps was withdrawn towards Istanbul just before the Ottoman surrender."

Pascha II- German Units in Palestine 1917-18*

Asienkorps Staff ("Stäben des Asienkorps") and from 1918 the staff of the 201. Infanterie-Brigade

Infantry
701st Infantry Battalion ("Infanterie Batallion 701")- deployed 1917
With 6 machine guns and 18 Bergman light machine guns
146th Infantry Regiment ("1. Masurische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 146")- deployed from Macedonia 1918
1st Battalion- with 6 machine guns
2nd Battalion- with 6 machine guns
3rd Battalion (from the 85th Landwehr Regiment, IX Army Corps)- with 6 machine guns
11th Reserve Jäger Battalion ("Kurhessisches Reserve Jäger Batallion Nr. 11")- deployed 1918
With 6 machine guns

Artillery
701st Infantry Support Battery ("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge 701")- deployed 1917
4 x 7,7cm guns
702nd Infantry Support Battery ("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge 702")- deployed 1917
4 x 7,7cm guns
703rd Infantry Support Battery ("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge 703")- deployed 1917
4 x 10,5cm howitzers

Other Armed Units
701st Machine Gun Company ("Maschinengewehr-Kompanie 701 "Hentig"")- deployed 1917
Cavalry Squadron ("Kavallerie-Eskadron Asienkorps")- deployed 1917
701st Pioneer Unit ("Pionierabteilung 701" from the "Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11")- deployed 1917
205th Pioneer Company ("Pionier Kompanie 205")- deployed 1917

Aircraft
300th Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 300 "Pascha“")- deployed 1916
301st Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 301")- deployed 1917
302nd Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 302")- deployed 1917
303rd Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 303")- deployed 1917
304th Bavarian Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 304b")- deployed 1917
305th Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 305")- deployed 1918
55th Fighter Squadron ("Jagdstaffel 55" later known as "Jagdstaffel 1F")- deployed 1918

Non-Combatant Units
27th Mountain Heliograph Platoon ("Gebirgs-Blinker-Züge 27")- deployed 1918
Intelligence Unit ("Nachrichtenabteilung Pascha II")- deployed 1918
27th Survey Unit ("Vermessungsabteilung 27")- deployed 1917
Medical Units ("Sanitätsformationen")- deployed 1917

Information from http://www.germancolonialuniforms.co.uk/hist ottoman.htm

Thanks, Michael! Yes, please do.

Sam, great rifle and abnormally nice for a Turk ex-sniper. First one I've seen where the stock wasn't hit with 150 grit sandpaper!

I think these were a combination of optics companies involved in these. Maybe there are documents out there-- I like the odds of Mauser having docs more than the Prussian arsenals!

I've seen some with what appears to be Voigtländer bases, yet this one is almost assuredly Oigee (and glad you found the bases and rings!) really looking forward to seeing this completed.

Thanks, Chris! I appreciate the lead on the bases! It seems many of the really nice examples are just barreled actions, at least the ones I've seen.

That's really, really nice. Oddly enough, however, I'm more interested in the scrap of paper. Can you say some more about it? From context I gather it was found with the rifle. Where was it tucked away?

I love stuff like that and I've never seen something similar in Turkish guns.

Than you! Sorry, I'll go back and edit the main post later, but the piece of paper was folded under the handguard. Basically, it was a good luck message written by a Turkish soldier in the post WWI era to whoever was issued the rifle after him.

Sam, see this thread here for what I think the original bases were: https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/mauser-gew98-sniper-rifle-with-bases.53187/post-406271

Scroll down a bit, I have had another set of bases for those, and my bases came with Gerard B3x scope. Not saying this is the solution, just that this may had been the case. Actually I have a n-block sniper with bases removed, maybe I should try to see if the bases with scope that I have would fit that rifle.

Georg, I can't believe I missed that thread, super cool and the only non n-block WMO I've seen. I'll have to share an example on a DWM 1905 that I think everyone will find interesting. I think this is very helpful. On the spare set of bases; could can you measure the distance on the front base from the center of the top hole to the center of the bottom? On my rifle, the distance between the centers of the plugged holes is 11/16th of one inch or about 1.74 cm in metric.

Side note, awesome to know they ground the backside of the bolt ball flush.

 

[Cyrano4747]

Than you! Sorry, I'll go back and edit the main post later, but the piece of paper was folded under the handguard. Basically, it was a good luck message written by a Turkish soldier in the post WWI era to whoever was issued the rifle after him.

That's neat as can be. Good on you for keeping it with the gun and preserving it properly.

 

[OnlyMil]

Awesome looking rifle Sam. Very interesting in the backstory MichaelWC provided.