The Mauser–Vergueiro was a

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 A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

, designed in 1904 by José Alberto Vergueiro, an infantry officer of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

, and manufactured by

Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when ''Ludwig Loewe & Company'' united its weapons and amm ...

(DWM). It was developed from the

Mauser 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 (ammunition), clip-loaded magazine. It was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was r ...

rifle with the introduction of a new bolt system derived from the

Gewehr 1888 The Gewehr 88 (commonly called the Model 1888 commission rifle) was a late 19th-century German bolt-action rifle, adopted in 1888. The invention of smokeless powder in the late 19th century immediately rendered all of the large-bore black powder ...

and

Mannlicher–Schönauer The Mannlicher–Schönauer (sometimes Anglicized as "Mannlicher Schoenauer", Hellenized as Τυφέκιον/Όπλον Μάνλιχερ, ''Óplon/Tyfékion Mannlicher'') is a rotary-magazine bolt-action rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher for t ...

. Outside Portugal, the weapon was also known as the Portuguese Mauser. It used the 6.5×58mm Vergueiro, a cartridge developed specially for it. The weapon replaced the Kropatschek m/1886 as the standard infantry rifle of the Portuguese Army in 1904, remaining in service until it was replaced by the

Mauser 98k The Karabiner 98 kurz (; "carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×57 ...

in 1939. In Portuguese service the weapon was officially designated ''Espingarda 6,5 mm m/1904'' ("Rifle 6.5mm m/1904"). A lighter and shorter version of the weapon was classified as a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...

and designated ''Carabina 6,5 mm m/1904'' ("Carbine 6.5mm m/1904"). A total of 100,000 rifles were produced for Portugal. An additional 5,000 Mauser–Vergueiro rifles, chambered in

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 189 ...

, were produced in 1906 for Brazil's

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

, using leftover components from the Portuguese order and issued in the cities of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. In 1915, 20,000 of Portugal's Mauser–Vergueiro rifles were sold to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, which had insufficient

Lee–Enfield SMLE The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...

rifles to supply all of its troops. In Portuguese and South African service it was used in combat in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and in several colonial campaigns. The German colonial troops in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

also used Mauser–Vergueiro rifles, captured from the allied forces in combat. The

Portuguese Expeditionary Corps The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...

on the Western Front used British weapons and equipment for logistical reasons, and so did not use the Vergueiro. Although Portugal was neutral in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1942 Portuguese forces briefly fought against the Japanese occupation of

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the ...

using Kropatschek rifles In 1939, after the Portuguese Army had adopted the 7.92×57mm Mauser 98k as the m/937, many of the remaining Mauser–Vergueiro rifles were modified to chamber the new standard cartridge. The modified rifles were called ''Espingarda 8 mm m/1904-39''. Markings on the modified rifles remained unchanged with the exception of the caliber designation "6,5" being stamped over on some rifles with two "X" marks. This was apparently done by individual Portuguese armorers rather than as standard practice. The 8mm variant can be distinguished visually from the 6.5mm variant with the 1939 modifications including a shorter barrel, distinctive front sight protector and ground down rear sight base. The 7.92x57mm Mauser–Vergueiro rifle was kept in limited use in the Portuguese Army until the middle 1960s, mainly in some Overseas units. These rifles are still used in Africa, for example in the

Northern Mali conflict {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Mali War , partof = the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel and the War on terror , image = MaliWar.svg , image_size = 380 , caption = Military situation ...

Notes

*http://www.cptpp.com/fotos/2011/Mauser-Vergueiro-october-2011-TargetShooter-magazine-online.pdf

Gallery

File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-right.jpg, Overall view - right side File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-top.jpg, Top view - bolt, action, sight elevation ruler File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-action.jpg, Action File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-s-ruler.jpg, The finger adjustable elevation sight ruler (note ground down sight base) File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-side-marks.jpg, Side markings: "Espingarda Portugueza 6,5 mod. 1904". "Deutsche Waffen - und Munitionsfabriken . BERLIN". (note 6.5mm not stamped out despite being 8mm) File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-top-d-carlos-i.jpg, D. Carlos I royal sign top marking File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-front-sight.jpg, Front sight with side protection guards (Front sight protector is only on the 1904/39 update) File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-bolt.jpg, Mannlicher style Bolt and split receiver bridge File:Dwm-vergueiro-1904-trigger.jpg, Trigger (with magazine release) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauser-Vergueiro Bolt-action rifles Weapons of Portugal