Mauser Model 1888

About the Mauser Model 1888

The Mauser Model 1888, officially the Gewehr 88 and commonly called the Commission Rifle (Kommissionsgewehr), is a German bolt-action service rifle developed by the German Rifle Testing Commission and adopted in 1888. It introduced the smokeless-powder 7.92x57mm cartridge and a barrel jacket surrounding the barrel, while feeding from a Mannlicher-style en bloc clip into a fixed integral magazine. Although widely associated with the Mauser name, its action and clip-loading system drew heavily on Mannlicher patterns rather than Paul Mauser's own designs. It served the German Army until largely replaced by the Gewehr 98 and saw extensive use in colonial conflicts and both World Wars.

The Gewehr 88 was rushed into service after France adopted the smokeless-powder Lebel rifle in 1886, leaving the German Army determined to field a small-bore smokeless rifle of its own. The committee design borrowed Mannlicher's en bloc clip and a barrel jacket, and despite the common 'Mauser' label it was not a Mauser design at all.

Mauser Model 1888 specifications

Despite the popular Mauser attribution, the Gewehr 88 was designed by the German government's Gewehr-Prufungskommission and built under contract by firms including Ludwig Loewe & Company, C. G. Haenel, V. C. Schilling and Steyr, as well as the state arsenals at Amberg, Danzig, Erfurt and Spandau. Many rifles were later rebuilt as the Gewehr 88/05 and 88/14 to chamber the rimmed-clip-fed 7.92x57mm IS (S Patrone) cartridge.