Mauser C96
| Mauser C96 | |
|---|---|
 Mauser C96 - "Red 9" with a stock | |
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1899 to present |
| Used by | Germany, China |
| Wars | Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Feederle brothers (Fidel, Friedrich, and Josef) |
| Designed | 1895 |
| Manufacturer | Mauser |
| Produced | 1896 – 1936 |
| Variants | "full sized" C96 (standard model); "Bolo" (short barrel, small grip); "Red 9" (9 mm chambering); M712 "Schnellfeuer" (full-automatic) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1130g unloaded |
| Length | 288 mm |
| Barrel length | 140 mm |
| Cartridge | 7.63 x 25 mm Mauser; 9 mm Luger Parabellum; 9 mm Mauser Export (rare) |
| Action | recoil operated semi-automatic |
| Muzzle velocity | 425 m/s |
| Effective firing range | ca 200 m |
| Maximum firing range | 2,000 m (according to manual) |
| Feed system | 6, 10 or 20-round integral or detachable magazine; 40-round detachable magazines were also made |
| Sights | V-notch rear tangent sight adjustable up to 1,000 metres, inverted V front sight |
The C96, or Broomhandle Mauser, was the first semi-automatic pistol to see widespread use. It was manufactured from 1896 to 1936 in Germany, as well as being manufactured in direct or modified—and often unlicensed—form in other countries, such as Spain, and especially China.
The main characteristics that distinguish the C96 are the integral box magazine in front of the trigger, the long barrel, the wooden shoulder stock which can double as a holster or carrying case, and the handle shaped like the end of a broom's handle, hence the nickname "Broomhandle".
The Mauser C96 can be considered one of the first personal defense weapons (PDWs), as its long barrel and powerful cartridge gave it superior range and better penetration capabilities than most other standard pistols and revolvers.
Variants
There were many variants, including the "Bolo" versions with shorter barrels and smaller grips (so named due to large orders being placed by Bolshevik government of the Soviet Union in 1920s, when German handgun manufacturers had to confirm to Versailles restriction of barrel length), versions with detachable magazines varying in size from 6 to 40 rounds instead of the integral magazine seen on most pre-1930s versions, and models such as the M712 Schnellfeuer ("rapid fire") machine pistol from 1932 that was capable of fully automatic fire. All versions were made to use detachable shoulder stocks that doubled as holsters. A small number of carbine models with wooden stocks, wooden foregrips and much longer barrels were also manufactured.
During World War I the Imperial German Army contracted Mauser for 150,000 C96 pistols, chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum. This variant was named the "Red 9" after a large number "9" burned and painted in red into the grip panels, to prevent the pistols' users from loading them with 7.63 mm ammunition by mistake. Of the 150,000 commissioned, approximately 135,000 were delivered before the war ended. This was the only time in which the C96 was ever used officially by the German army.
Cartridges
The C96 was originally designed for the 7.63x25 mm Mauser cartridge, but many were also made in 9x19 mm Parabellum and 9 mm Mauser Export, a more powerful cartridge than the 9 mm Luger. Versions in .45 ACP caliber were produced by China. The C96 was also manufactured on a limited or experimental basis in 7.65 mm Borchardt, 9 mm Mauser, 7.65 mm Parabellum, 9 mm Largo (Bergmann), and 8.15 mm Mauser.
Service
The Mauser C96 was sold commercially worldwide; Winston Churchill favored it, and used one at the Battle of Omdurman and during the Second Boer War. The pistols saw service in various colonial wars, World War I, the Spanish Civil War, the Chaco War, and World War II, among other places.
Many Mausers were sold to Russia before, during and after the October Revolution. Mauser produced significant quantities of the short-barreled variant on Soviet order in 1920s, giving that version the nickname "Bolo" (short for "Bolshevik") Mauser. The Bolo Mauser was chambered for the 7.63x25 mm Mauser cartridge.
Imported and domestic copies of the C96 were used extensively by the Chinese in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. It was nicknamed the "box cannon" (Chinese: 盒子炮; pinyin: hézipào) because it was holstered in a wooden box as well as for its unique external magazine. Some domestic copies even displayed serial numbers of original Mauser-manufactured pistols.
The C96 Mauser was the weapon of choice for the Indian revolutionaries during India's freedom struggle. Leaders like Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Asfhaqulah Khan, Sukhdev Thapar and others used Mausers smuggled from China.
In the critically acclaimed movie Hey Ram the central character played by Kamal Haasan chooses a Mauser C96 as his weapon to kill Gandhi.
The C96 Mauser had been favoured by the Jewish armed guards in the Ottoman Palestine and the paramilitaries of Haganah in the British Mandate of Palestine. Most of the pistols had been bought by either private buyers or agents of the Jewish settlement movement in Europe and sent to Palestine.
Despite the pistols' worldwide popularity and fame, the only nation to use the C96 as the primary service pistol of its military and police was China.
Today the Broomhandle Mauser is a popular collector's gun; many have come on to the US civilian market after being exported from China.
Bibliography
- System Mauser - A Pictorial History of the Model 1896 Self-Loading Pistol, John W. Breathed, Jr. and Joseph J. Schroeder, Jr., (Handgun Press, 1967)
- The Mauser Self-Loading Pistol, James N. Belford and Jack Dunlap, (Borden Publishing Cie 1969)
- The Mauser C96 explained, Gerard Henrotin (H&L Publishing - HLebooks.com, 2002)
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