Turkish Mauser Model 1890
Waffenfabrik Mauser · Rifle · Discontinued · 1890
Also known as: Ottoman Mauser Model 1890, Model 1890 Turkish Mauser, M1890 Mauser, Turk Mauser 1890
Overview
The Turkish Mauser Model 1890 is a bolt-action service rifle developed by Waffenfabrik Mauser of Oberndorf for the Ottoman Empire as an improved evolution of the Belgian Model 1889. Chambered in the 7.65x53mm Mauser cartridge, it replaced the M1889's protruding, barrel-jacketed design with a cleaner arrangement that housed a five-round single-column box magazine flush within the stock and dispensed with the sheet-steel barrel jacket. Loaded from stripper clips and using a cock-on-closing striker action, roughly 280,000 were ordered by the Ottoman government. The rifle saw combat in the First Balkan War and World War I, and many surviving examples were later rechambered to 7.92x57mm Mauser in the 1930s.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3900 g (137.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1235 mm (48.62") |
| Barrel Length | 740 mm (29.13") |
| Action Type | Bolt Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 640 m/s (2100 fps) |
| Effective Range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 2000 m (2187 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 10 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.65x53mm Argentine · primary — also known as 7.65x53mm Mauser, 7.65 Turkish Mauser, 7.65x54mm, 7.65 Argentine
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Internal Box Magazine, Stripper Clip
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Two Position Flag Safety
- Features: Flush Single Column Magazine, Cock On Closing, Stripper Clip Loading, Open Sights, Controlled Round Feed
Variants
- Model 1890 Carbine - Carbine
Service history
Operators
- Ottoman Army · adopted 1890 · as Model 1890
Conflicts
- First Balkan War (1912-1913)
- World War I (1914-1918)
Production
Estimated total produced: 280,000 · Production years: 1890-1893
Approximately 280,000 ordered by the Ottoman Empire from Waffenfabrik Mauser as an improved 1889-pattern rifle; superseded in Ottoman service by the Model 1893.
Origin
Country of origin: Germany
Designer: Paul Mauser
Discontinued: 1893
Notes
The Model 1890 sits between the Belgian M1889 and the more famous Turkish Model 1893 in Mauser's development lineage; its flush internal magazine was a key step toward the classic staggered-column Mauser magazine. Numerous rifles were reworked and rebarreled to 7.92x57mm during Turkish arsenal modernization in the interwar years.
Background
Many Model 1890 rifles outlived their original 7.65mm chambering: Turkish arsenals rebarreled numbers of them to 7.92x57mm in the 1930s, and some remained in reserve or paramilitary hands long enough to appear as late as the Cyprus crisis of the 1960s.