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Last of a Dynasty
Infanterie Repetier-Gewehr M.95
The M.95 straight pull rifle became the last to be fielded by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, crowning a developmental cycle of over a decade. A sleek, light design it would prove to be a big upgrade for the infantry from their earlier wedge-locking rifles.
History
In 1886, when the French Republic formally adopted the Fusil Mle 1886 "Lebel", kicking off an arms race the likes of which had yet to be seen, Austria-Hungary's Ferdinand Mannlicher revolutionised small arms development as well with the introduction of a cheap, simple way to rapidly load multiple cartridges into a rifle magazine at once - the Laderahmen (loading frame).
Mannlicher also introduced the Austro-Hungarian ministry of war to his very own straight-pull action designs, intended to increase the rate of fire even further in combination with the aforementioned rapid loading system.
His initial patent from 1884, a design combining an internal bolt head and sleeve, which would move against each other in order to achieve rotation, was rejected due to concerns of high cost and manufacturing difficulties. However, just a year later he would present a newly designed wedge-locking action that still allowed for a rapid operation while negating the aforementioned concerns. with minor changes the M.85 rifle was accepted for military use and formally adopted as the M.86 Infantry Repeating-Rifle.
Ferdinand Mannlicher (1848-1904)
Mannlicher's initial ideas for rapid loading were very modern - detachable box magazines.
However, as production of such would have been cost-prohibitive for the army, the Laderahmen was a natural evolution of the core idea, only that instead of a full magazine assembly, the new design merely provides the feed lips to the rest of the magazine assembly
When France's smokeless Poudre B propellant came into the spotlight in 1887, the new model which had been state of the art mere months ago, was updated to the M.88 and later the M.90 pattern, to catch up to the French and Germans, who themselves had a smokeless powder ready by 1888.
While the M.90 pattern was already used with the smokeless cartridge of the same designation in the infantry, the cavalry was the first to really profit from the move away from black powder.
The M.90 Cavalry-Repeating Carbine and its derivates were a callback to 1884 - the big change from this earlier patent was the moving of the locking lugs to the front of the action for increased strength. With refined metallurgy, manufacturing and most importantly no concern about black powder fouling, this new, old action was well liked amongst the troops, especially as an upgrade from the woefully outdated Werndl single shot carbines.
By 1895, the Imperial Ministry of War had decided to increase the amount of repeating rifles in stockpile in preparation of the great European war that loomed on the horizon. With both the Imperial Landwehr and the royal Honvéd also wanting to increase their own stockpiles, the question whether or not a new production run of the current M.90 infantry rifle would be started, or if a new model should be adopted.
Despite warnings about the disruption of a uniform armament, the technical military committee decided that a "new 8mm repeating rifle for the existing cartridge with the carbine bolt M.90* shall be constructed" while "all previously made experiences, especially the weight reduction were to be included".
By May of 1895 the commitee had already received several prototypes and by autumn of 1896 it had decided on a model to adopt.
The Infantry Repeating-Rifle Model 1895 fulfilled every need expressed by encompassing the ever so slightly modified M.90 carbine action, as well as a marked reduction in weight. Where the M.88 pattern rifles weighed a tremendous 4.41kg (9.72lbs), the new model reduced this weight to only 3.65kg (8.05lbs). This was achieved by incorporating improved metallurgic processes, allowing for thinner metal to be used, especially for the barrel.
The overall changes, apart from the action, were:
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A thinner dimensioned barrel (18.5mm vs 22mm at the chamber)
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The rear sight got switched to a more flush fitting ladder sight, while the front sight did not sit on the barrel anymore, but on its own band. The volley sights were abandoned
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The M.90 carbine bolt cocking piece was modified to allow cocking with your thumb only
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The trigger guard was now directly connected to the magazine well
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The bayonet mount was moved from the side to the bottom of the barrel
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An upper handguard to allow for handling even if the barrel ran hot from rapid fire
M.90 (left) and M.95 (right) bolt
When the war began, the Austro-Hungarian Army had around 800,000 M.95 pattern rifles compared to 1.3 million of the older M.86 and M.88 patterns. It would not be until 1916 that M.95 production had geared up enough to replace them on the frontline in earnest
While the infantry rifle was still going through trials, it was decided to also adopt a new shortened pattern for use with branches such as engineers and artillery. This pattern was to have the exact same features as the infantry rifle, with the exception of the front sight, which was again sitting directly on the barrel.This Extracorps-Gewehr M.95, which was henceforth called Repetier-Stutzen*, was however not intended for cavalry use.
Mounted units of the army received their own short rifle pattern in the Repetier-Karabiner. Being the same length as the Repetier-Stutzen, it differs in the way the carry sling was mounted, as well as the front barrel band, which was neither equipped with a stacking rod, nor a bayonet mount.
The infantry rifle, Stutzen and Karabiner were officially accepted in 1898, 1897, and 1899 respectively.
During the war more variants were introduced to allow for more varied sling mounting by converting both Repetier-Stutzen and -Karabiner to a pattern with both side- and bottom sling attachments - the Repetierstutzenkarabiner and the Repetierkarabinerstutzen.
Ultimately, more than 3.5 million M.95s of the various patterns were produced by ŒWG in Steyr, and FÉG in Budapest from 1914 to 1918 alone, with several hundred thousand having been made before the war as well. In the end, the rifle would outlast the empire it was designed for and continued being used in combat by other nations up until the 70s. Austria itself would use the M.95 as its standard rifle until the Anschluss in 1933, albeit with an updated cartridge. Hungary would attempt to replace the rifle in the 30s, but never managed to do so entirely.
A Bulgarian soldier with his M.95 rifle
Mechanism
Bolt
The M.95 is, unlike all but one of the other main line rifles of the Great War, a straight pull design. What this means is that unlike more traditional bolt action rifles where the operation requires four motions (up-back-forward-down), only two are required (back-forward).
This is achieved via a rotating bolt head that sports a pair of helical grooves that act as camming surfaces to turn a linear motion into a rotary one. The cocking (compression of the firing pin spring) happens on the opening stroke, making it a cock-on-open action.The extractor serves in the functionality of this design as well, next to its usual function. It sports an attachment fitting into corresponding slots on the grooves of the bolt head, preventing rotation of the bolt head when unlocked.
Primary extraction is achieved via differing angles between the receiver's locking recesses and the bolt body/sleeve's grooves. The initial movement of the bolt body is almost exclusively used to rotate the bolt head, similar to how a classic turn bolt design would be rotated before the backward movement, dislodging the cartridge base for full extraction.
Magazine
Mannlicher revolutionised the loading process in the early 1880s with the invention of the "Laderahmen" ("Loading Frame") that is commonly known as theen-bloc clip today. Unlike more traditional magazine systems, the clip in this case is integral to the functionality of the system, as the clip itself serves as the feed lips of the magazine. As the clip is pressed into the magazine, the follower spring is depressed and the cartridges will snag on the clip latch.
The moment the last cartridge of the five-round clip is chambered, there is nothing left to retain the clip and it is ejected via the ejection port at the bottom of the rifle.
A big drawback of this design is the inability to load single cartridges into a less than full magazine. However, it is possible to eject a partially empty clip via pressing the clip latch release button on the inside of the trigger guard, allowing the follower spring to eject the clip out the top.
Single loading is generally not advisable and wasn't intended. However it can be done by placing the cartridge upon the follower spring and pushing it forward into the chamber. Putting it directly into the chamber forces the extractor to snap over the rim and can damage it.
Markings
Manufacturer & Model Designation
Two simple stamps stating the manufacturer of the rifle, this can either be Steyr for ŒWG or Budapest for FÉG, and the model designation M.95.
In place of the manufacturer, Bulgarian contract rifles have the coat of arms stamped on top of the receiver.
Position: Receiver Top
Acceptance Stamp/Date Stamp
The acceptance date is a small stamp that oftentimes can be overstamped or illegible due to (even minor) pitting.Depending on where the rifle was accepted it either has the format Wn - *Double Eagle* - Number or Bp - *Crest or Shield* - Number.
The letter code stands for the accepting arsenal. Wn for the Viennese Arsenal, Bp for the one in Budapest. The number stands for the year of acceptance (not manufacture!) and would be a two digit code, except for the years 1900-1909, which bear a single digit. Early guns occasionally also use the last three digits of the acceptance year.
Bulgarian contract rifles differ in this as they lack the dated acceptance mark, but instead show the manufacturer and year of manufacture on the left side receiver wall.
Position: Barrel Shank Top
Serial Number
There are only four places you would find your serial number at. The bolts were not numbered in Austro-Hungarian arms despite being hand fit to the rifles. As the serial numbers were reused every fiscal year they sadly do not hold any valuable information.
Bulgarian contract rifles feature a fifth serial on the bolt handle knob.
Positions: Barrel Shank Left Side, Receiver Left Side, Buttstock Left Side, Upper Handguard Left Side (only the last two digits, just under the rear sight)
Proof Stamps
Two tiny stamps, the proof marks also often times become illegible over time, however if they are present they either show the Imperial eagle, or the Hungarian crest for the respective arsenals again.
The Bulgarian contract rifles display the Bulgarian lion.
Positions: Receiver Right Side, Barrel Shank Right Side
Stock Markings
A single letter stamp on the bottom of the stock, in front of the magazine.
This indicates the type of wood the stock is made from with the most common being N (Nuss) for Walnut, K (Kastanie) (Chestnut), R (Rüster) for Elm and A (Ahorn) for maple.
Bulgarian contract rifles will also show the coat of arms on the left hand side of the buttstock.
Control Stamps
These can be found in the form of a 'K' in the case of Steyr made parts or 'R' for Budapest made ones. Note that a Steyr made receiver can have a Budapest made bolt and vice versa. In the process of refurbishment and repairs bolts and other parts were mixed together.
Position: Cocking Piece, Safety Lever, Tang, Trigger, Magazine Floor, Bolt Head, Bolt Handle Root
Contract Rifles
While the platform proved a domestic success, the M.95 didn't garner much international attention. Most nations like Romania and Greece preferred the more traditional turn-bolt designs that came out of Steyr's export roster, or adopted one of the extremely successful designs produced by Mauser Oberndorf in Germany.
The one big exception was the Tsardom of Bulgaria. Having already bought the earlier wedge-locking platforms from Steyr for their expected wars against Ottoman dominance in the Balkans, the Bulgarians adopted the M.95 as their official main line rifle in 1897, ahead of Austria-Hungary herself.
With the first production contract coming to pass in 1903, the Bulgarians adopted it as the Пушка Манлихер Образец 1903г (Rifle, Mannlicher, Model of 1903) or M.03, although the Austro-Hungarian model designation equally found use.
Four additional contracts would follow in 1904 and 1908 from Steyr, as well as 1909 and 1914 from Budapest. With the outbreak of hostilities between Vienna and Belgrade, some 9,500 rifles from the 1914 contract were sequestered by the Austro-Hungarian army and did not make it to Bulgaria. The unique markings on those guns were left intact.
Overall, the Bulgarians were happy with the model as it was, the biggest differences are the gas vent hole in the bolt sleeve and the Bulgarian lion being displayed on top of the receiver. They are also the only WWI-era M.95s that received a numbered bolt and had both sides of the rear sight marked.
Further wartime deliveries did not receive the typical Bulgarian markings and thus are not different from the Austro-Hungarian used examples.