| Mauser Mod. 1918 13.2 mmTankgewehr | |
|---|---|
 13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank at theMusée de l'Armée in Paris | |
| Type | Anti-tank rifle Anti-materiel rifle |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1918–1933 |
| Used by | |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Mauser |
| Produced | January 1918 – April 1919 |
| No. built | 16,900 |
| Variants | M1918 shortened Magazine-fed[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 15.9 kg (35 lb), 18.5 kg (41 lb) loaded with the bipod |
| Length | 169.1 cm (5 ft 7 in) |
| Barrel length | 98.4 cm (3 ft 2.7 in) |
| Crew | two-man crew |
| Cartridge | 13.2 mm TuF (German:Tank und Flieger) |
| Caliber | 13.2 mm (.525 inches) |
| Action | bolt-action |
| Rate of fire | single-shot |
| Muzzle velocity | 780 m/s (2,600 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 500 m (550 yd) |
| Feed system | manual |
| Sights | 100–500 m (110–550 yd) (notched V) |
TheTankgewehr M1918 (transl. Tankgun), also known as theMauser 13mm anti-tank rifle andT-Gewehr in English,[2][3] is aGermananti-tank rifle[4]—the first rifle designed for the sole purpose of destroying armored targets—and the only anti-tank rifle to see service inWorld War I. Approximately 16,900 were produced.
During theFirst World War the onset of static,trench warfare saw the rise in the use of armour plate for personal defense, and the development and use ofarmour-piercing ammunition to counter this. Both Britain and Germany used high-powered rifles, such aselephant guns from their African colonies, for this purpose.The first use of armoured fighting vehicles (tanks) was by the British at theBattle of Flers–Courcelette in September 1916 and were followed by the French.By June 1917, the German Army faced theMark IV tank, and found that the standard armour-piercing7.92 mmK bullet was no longer effective. This prompted the development by the Germans of a heavy-calibre and high-velocity rifle as an anti-tank weapon. The makers of the gun were inspired by weapons used to hunt African big game, like the elephant gun.[5] TheMauser Company responded with the 13mmT-gewehr and began mass production atOberndorf am Neckar in May 1918. The first of these off the production lines were issued to specially raised anti-tank detachments.[citation needed]
14,700 T-Gewehrs were produced before theArmistice, and production ceased in April 1919. Approximately 1,490 were produced after the cessation of hostilities.[6]
The rifle was a single-shotbolt-action rifle using a modifiedMauser action, with rounds manually loaded into the chamber. The weapon had apistol grip andbipod, but no method of reducingrecoil, such as a soft buttpad or muzzle brake. This could cause problems for the shooter with repeated firing. Theiron sights were composed of a front blade and tangent rear, graduated in 100-meter increments from 100 to 500 meters. The rifle was operated by a two-man crew of a gunner andammunition bearer, who were both trained to fire the weapon. Due to the tremendous blunt force of the recoil, it was designed to be shot in a static position, either prone or from inside a trench.[citation needed]
TheUnited States Army tested the T-Gewehr after the war,[7] as did the otherAllied Powers.[8]Poland obtained a few T-Gewehrs during border skirmishes at the German border in 1920.[9]
TheReichswehr kept some M1918s in service into the 1930s[10] (805 were in the secret arsenals of the Reichswehr in 1925[11]). Sweden bought a number from Germany, and used them under the designationPansarvärnsgevär m/21.[12] During theRif War, the Rifian rebels obtained some smuggled Mauser 1918s to counter the SpanishRenault andSchneidertanks.[13]
In 1939, aSoviet team led by V.N. Shokolov retro-engineered the T-Gewehr, modified to fire the Soviet12.7×108mm B-32 bullets. Small numbers were hand-produced by theBauman Institute in the emergency of July 1941.[14] After theWinter War,Finland bought 100 T-Gewehr fromGreat Britain but they were never used and Finland scrapped them in 1944.[15]
Thearmour-piercinghardened steel cored13.2×92mm (.525-inch) semi-rimmed cartridge, often simply called "13 mm", was originally planned for a new, heavyMaxim MG.18 water-cooled machine gun, theTank und Flieger (TuF) meaning for use against "tank and aircraft", which was under development and to be fielded in 1919. The rounds weighed 51.5 g (795gn) with an initial velocity of 785 m/s (2,580 ft/s).[16]
| Range | Penetration @ 90° |
|---|---|
| 100 m (110 yd) | 26 mm (1 in) |
| 200 m (220 yd) | 23.5 mm (0.93 in) |
| 400 m (440 yd) | 21.5 mm (0.85 in) |
| 500 m (550 yd) | 18 mm (0.71 in)[17] |
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Examples of the Mauser 1918 anti-tank rifle can be found in several museums:
| Rifles | |
|---|---|
| Cartridges | |
