![]() In German this means "mit aufplanz-und Zusammensetz vorrichtung" This was in fact a short rifle development of the carbine,the barrel was longer and it got the bayonet lug but there was also a stacking hook. The carbine that we here always discussing on the site and preferred the name A is in fact really named AZ by the Germans This short carbine was a short barrel version and not long used by the German Army ,it was awkward and was not really usable for the powerful 8 mm S-munition. In fact the Mauser Carbine A is coming from the short German carbine development in the beginning of the 1900's this carbine got the bajonet lug for the seitengewehr model 98 bajonet it means in German "Aufplanz vorrichtung fur das seitengewehr 98" We are heading in the same direction with rifles.īTW, German contemporary useage is often inconsistent even within the same document.Your question must be in the Imperial Area. Markings on specimens vary and often vary from official terminology.Ĭonsistency is not a characteristic of official or markings terminology.Ĭollector terminology is just that it can be a more precise descriptor than either the official terminology or the markings on specimens.Ĭollector terminology has a tendency to evolve in the direction of more complexity (and theoretically precision) over time for an example, note the elaborate and continuously evolving collector terminology currently applied to Lugers. Attempts to establish logic with official designations are pointless: the designation is what it is because Authority says that's what it is. A Kar 98 of 1904 is not the same as a Kar 98 of 1909 or a Kar98 of 1925 or a Kar 98 of 1941. Official terminology varies with the period and can vary from agency to agency applying it in the same period. There is official terminology, terminology derived from markings on the rifles themselves, and collector terminology. I will say though that there are German authors, who's work has not been translated, and that I do not own all of their books (I try to buy them but many are VERY expensive), so this might be covered by one of these authors, Wacker, Görtz, Seel, Speed, etc. This is supported by period documents I have, and period writings, in German, that only discuss the Modell 98 Carbine, as Karabiner or Karabiner 98, never using another designation until the 1920's. He also happens to follow Olson's information closely, so I will stick with the best two sources, and say the Kar.98AZ was at most a trials designation and not appropriate for use for the regular production Kar.98 carbines. Like much of Storz book though, you have to browse to find things, often times in places you'd not expect to find information, so he could have explain it better elsewhere, but I didn't see anything revealing.Īnyway, the bottom line is whomever you want to believe, and although Ludwig Olson is the best English language researcher, ( I think I have read that he spoke German, and he is known to have collaborated with German collectors, all the top ones of his time), I would have to say Storz seems to be the most accurate and reliable ( detailed with images of the trial rifles). As I recall he didn't elaborate much on the "AZ", only mentioning it once, and seemingly only relating it to the final trials version. The thing is Storz only uses the "A.Z" designation once, doesn't mention it in the "three" versions ( Gew.06, Kar.98, and Kar.98Z) but apparently the AZ might have been the final trials version? Or maybe just the designation used to differentiate the final adopted version. Then it was the Karabiner 98 until 1923 when the Kar.98a was used to differentiate it from the Kar.98b. Ludwig Olson is perhaps the best researcher of the early period that wrote on this, he uses the Kar.98AZ designation, and states correctly this was the trials version ( the “AZ” standing for Aufpflanz und Zusammenstellvorrichtung or a means for fixing bayonet & stacking arms), and the designation was in use up to 1912. His book suffers from a very poor English translation, much worse than Storz, and it has been the source of many misunderstandings. Götz seems to take a middle road, making use of the Kar.98AZ designation, but not being too attached to the designation. John Walter's, who references Götz, adopted the full designation from the trail rifle for the regular production model ( Karabiner 98 - or as Storz calls it the Modell98 carbine). ![]() Early writers, specifically Götz, John Walter's and Ludwig Olson all used this early designation, but only John Walter's seems to have adopted the designation for regular production.
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