Spanish Mauser Model 1893

Ludwig Loewe & Co. · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1893

Also known as: Fusil Mauser Modelo 1893, Spanish Mauser

Overview

The Spanish Mauser Model 1893 was the first Mauser rifle to combine a smokeless-powder cartridge with a flush, staggered-column internal box magazine loaded by a five-round stripper clip. A small-ring bolt-action chambered in 7x57mm Mauser, it was adopted by Spain in December 1893 and built first by Ludwig Loewe & Co. and DWM in Germany, then domestically at the Oviedo arsenal. Its controlled-round feed and rapid stripper-clip reloading set the template that every later military Mauser followed.

Specifications

Weight (empty)3950 g (139.3 oz)
Overall Length1235 mm (48.62")
Barrel Length738 mm (29.06")
Action TypeBolt Action
Trigger TypeSingle Stage
Magazine Capacity5 rounds
Magazine TypeInternal
Muzzle Velocity680 m/s (2231 fps)
Muzzle Energy2744 J (2024 ft·lbf)
Effective Range500 m (547 yd)
Maximum Range4000 m (4374 yd)
Barrel RiflingRight Hand
Rifling Twist220 mm (8.66")
Number of Grooves4
Frame MaterialSteel
Barrel MaterialSteel
Stock MaterialWood
FinishBlued

Calibers

Features

Variants

Service history

Operators

Conflicts

Production

Estimated total produced: 500,000 · Production years: 1893-1943

Oviedo arsenal alone built over 500,000; initial Loewe order was 70,000 rifles plus 5,000 carbines, with additional batches from Mauser, DWM and FN

Origin

Country of origin: Germany

Designer: Paul Mauser

Discontinued: 1943

Notes

Spain continued production at the Fabrica de Armas Oviedo into the 1940s. The pattern was widely exported and copied.

Background

At San Juan Hill in 1898, US troops armed with the Krag-Jorgensen took heavy losses from Spanish Model 1893 Mausers; the lopsided result drove the US Army to develop the M1903 Springfield, whose action copied the Mauser so closely that Mauser later won a patent-royalty settlement.