The Mauser Model 1902 was a
Mauser bolt-action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
rifle, designed for
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It was similar to the
Mauser Model 1895
The Mauser Model 1895 is a bolt operated magazine fed rifle using the 7×57mm Mauser cartridge. It was exported to many overseas powers, including the Chilean forces which adopted as the Fusil Mauser Chileno Mo 1895. It is the first major modific ...
but used the
Gewehr 98
The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98, or M98) is a German bolt-action rifle made by Mauser, firing cartridges from a five-round internal clip-loaded magazine. It was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Kar ...
action.
Design
The Model 1902 was an upgraded Model 1895, the standard rifle of the
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army.
The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National ...
at the beginning of the 20th century. The improvements were derived from the German Gewehr 98, such as the use of three locking lugs and a gas protection on the bolt. It fired the
7×57mm Mauser
The 7×57mm Mauser (designated as the 7 mm Mauser or 7×57mm by the SAAMI and 7 × 57 by the C.I.P.) is a first-generation smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in ...
and accepted the Model 1895 bayonet. Two contract were signed in 1902 and 1906 by the Mexican general
Bernardo Reyes
Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón (30 August 1850 – 9 February 1913) was a Mexican general and politician, with aspirations to be President of Mexico. He died in a coup d'état against President Francisco I. Madero. Born in a prominent libera ...
.
They were produced by
Loewe Berlin,
Steyr and
DWM
dwm is a minimalist dynamic window manager for the X Window System developed by Suckless that has influenced the development of several other X window managers, including xmonad and awesome. It is externally similar to wmii, but internally mu ...
. 38,000 DWM-made rifles were delivered, and 40,000 more made by Steyr.
Mexican Mauser Model 1910
The Mexican Mauser Model 1910 or ''Mauser Mexicano Modelo 1910'' was a locally-made Model 1902. To reduce the country dependency on foreign suppliers,
the ''Fabrica Nacional de Cartuchos'' and the ''Fabrica Nacional de Armas'' were created with the help of foreign technicians.
A Model 1910 carbine, similar to the Model 1895 carbine, was also produced. 8,000 bayonets originally produced for the
Mondragón rifle were adapted for the Mauser 1910. The Model 1902 and 1910 saw combat use during the
Mexican Revolution. Production of the Model 1910 was slowed down because of the fall of the
Díaz government in 1911 and it was supplemented by the
Steyr Model 1912 Mauser.
Nevertheless, 40,000 were produced until 1934. The Model 1910 also saw service in the Spanish Civil War where 20,000 were sent to aid the Spanish Republicans.
See also
*
Mexican Mauser Model 1936
*
Mexican Mauser Model 1954
The Mexican Mauser Model 1954, officially designated Mosquetón Mod. 1954, was a Mexican Mauser-type bolt-action rifle, produced in Mexico. Derived from the Mexican-made Mauser Model 1936, it used many of the M1903 Springfield rifle features, i ...
References
*
*
{{Mauser Firearms
Mauser rifles
Rifles of Mexico
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1902
7×57mm Mauser rifles