Mannlicher-Schönauer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mannlicher-Schönauer (Military version) | |
|---|---|
| Type | Bolt action Repeater |
| Place of origin |  Austria-Hungary |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1903 - 1941 (military) |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Otto Schönauer& Ferdinand Mannlicher |
| Designed | late 1903 |
| Number built | ? |
| Variants | M1903/14 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 8.44 lb (3.83 kg) |
| Length | 48.25 in (1226 mm) |
| Barrel length | 28.55 in (725 mm) |
|
|
|
| Cartridge | 6.5 mm × 54 Mannlicher-Schönauer |
| Action | bolt action |
| Rate of fire | ? |
| Muzzle velocity | 2223 ft/s (678 m/s) |
| Effective range | ? |
| Feed system | 5 |
| Sights | front barleycorn; rear tangent adj. from 200 to 2000 m |
The Mannlicher-Schönauer (sometimes Anglicized as "Mannlicher Schoenauer," Hellenized as Τυφέκιον Μάνλιχερ or Όπλον Μάνλιχερ-Σενάουερ) is a type of rotary magazine bolt action rifle produced by Steyr-Mannlicher for the Greek Army in 1903 and later was also adopted by the Austro-Hungarian Armies.
Contents |
[edit] History
In the late 1800s, classic Mannlicher designs for the Austro-Hungarian armies were based on a straight-pull bolt mechanism based on obsolete large caliber cartridges. Around the turn of the Century the Steyr factory worked on new designs, using more effective modern cartridges, for both the Austro-Hungarian Armies and export purposes. The M-S rifle had specifications that allowed the flexibility of either service or sport versions, depending on market response. Interestingly, the bolt has a rotating action, more reminiscent of the competing Mauser design. The characteristic that makes this design break apart from others of the era was the innovative rotating spool magazine, designed by the Mannlicher protegee, Otto Schönauer. The rifle action was designed by Ferdinand Mannlicher and the rotary magazine by Otto Schönauer of the Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft (Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company; now Steyr Mannlicher). This rifle should not be confused with its more widely manufactured cousin, the Steyr-Mannlicher M1895, or the so-called Mannlicher-Carcano, made infamous in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald. However, the balistics and penetration of the 6.5x52 mm cartridge loaded with the 160 grain full military jacketed 6.5 mm bullet in the rifle used by Oswald, are essentially identical to that of the big game hunters using the same bullet with the 6.5x54 Mannlicher.
[edit] Service use
Most of the foreign Mannlicher clients opted for versions of the standard Austro-hungarian rifle, M1895. The only success for the alternative export rifles was when the 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schönauer M1903 fulfilled the specifications of the Greek Army. That was part a major modernisation plan; until then the Greeks were using single-shot rifles ( Gras rifle). Most of the Greek Gras were made by the Steyr factory and that might partly explain how Mannlicher advertised their new design. This rifle was the main small arm for the Greek military for some of the most active years of its modern history. Greece was almost continuously in state of war between the years 1904-1922 and 1940-1948. The version history of this rifle is rather confusing. It appears that the Greeks received three main contracts. The original Steyr-made, starting at 1904-1905 was the main weapon during the victorious Balkan Wars. The Greeks seemed satisfied with the rifle's performance and losses were replenished with a new supply in 1914, with minor changes. These rifles were used for the first time in the WW1. Following the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the Greeks were in urgent need of serviceable weapons and tried to get M-S from every possible source. A last official contract was in 1930, when they received "Breda" marked rifles. This Italian factory might not even have manufactured their parts, but might have mediated on behalf of the Steyr factory, due to treaty restriction to Austrian weapon manufacture. These rifles had extensive use against the Italians and Germans in the WWII and many passed to the resistance fighters and combatants of the Greek Civil War that followed.
Despite its good performance, it was only the Greek government that chose the M-S as official service rifle. Only due to expediency other countries made limited use of them too. At the break of the WWI, a significant number of 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schönauer rifles manufactured for Greece under the 1914 contract, were sequestered, due to urgent needs, and used from the Austrian Army. After the dissolution of the Empire, large numbers were given for free to the intended recipient, the Greek Army, as war reparations. Small numbers also saw occasional use by Greece's enemies as was booty.
[edit] Improvement attempts
Two Greek-designed improvements for the weapon proposed during its operational use by the Greek Army never materialized: one was the so-called "Philippides design," which failed to go to production in 1925 due to a late submission of designs to Breda, which had undertaken construction in Italy; and another, designed by Lieutenant R. Rigopoulos just before World War II. This latter design incorporated both modified and totally redesigned parts to dramatically increase firing performance. Though approved by the Greek military, the weapon never went into producion due to interruption of test construction in Volos after Greece's entrance to the War.
[edit] Sport use
A civilian version of the rifle, also introduced in 1903, proved very popular with deer and big game hunters worldwide. In the UK, along with the 7 x 57 Mauser, the 6.5 x 54 MS probably accounted for more red deer during the 20th century than all other rifle cartridges put together. British sportsmen generally preferred a single-trigger mechanism, rather than the double set triggers popular in Europe. The 6.5x54 cartridge fell into disfavour with British deer-stalkers after the passage of the 1963 Deer Act because the bullet's muzzle velocity failed to reach the legally required minimum when fired from typically short, carbine-type MS barrels. The rifle continued to be manufactured in various forms (full, half-stock and take-down models) until 1972, and although production was interrupted during the Second World War, it eventually re-commenced in 1950. The most significant modification to be made to the rifle, during its period of manufacture, was introduced in 1925 when the action was lengthened to accommodate such cartridges as the .30-06 Springfield and .270 Winchester. Although no longer in production, the rifle remains popular due to its aesthetic qualities, compactness, the smoothness of its action and its precision and quality of manufacture. The rifle is also known for its low recoil when chambered for the original 6.5x54 cartridge.
The early years of the 20th century saw what was fundamentally the same rifle being offered in various other, larger Mannlicher-Schoenauer calibres including the 8 x 56 MS, the 9 x 56 MS and the 9.5 x 57 MS, but none of these sold as well as the 1903 Model in 6.5mm.
Ernest Hemingway frequently used the rifle, and mentions it in some of his writings, most notably The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber. WDM Bell, a prominent elephant (ivory) hunter in Africa in the early 20th century, also used the rifle in its original 6.5x54 chambering with considerable success. The ability of the diminutive 6.5x54 cartridge to take the largest and most dangerous of the big game species, such as African Elephant and Cape Buffalo, was due in the main to the high sectional density of the 6.5 mm projectiles used in the rifle, although precise placing of the shot was imperative. Because the original factory loads for the 6.5x54 used projectiles that were long and heavy (160 grains) relative to their diameter, they proved capable (in solid form) of very deep penetration through muscle and bone. This, coupled with the relatively low recoil of the fired cartridge, facilitated accurate shot placement into vital organs such as the heart and particularly the brain.
Ironically, Steyr-Mannlicher currently manufactures a rifle known as the "Classic Mannlicher," which it bills on its website as "a direct descendant of the world famous MANNLICHER [sic] Schoenauer models" In fact, this rifle is available in almost every modern caliber except the original 6.5 mm × 54 cartridge. (note: a modern cartridge, the 6.5mm Grendel very closely duplicates the ballistics of the 6.5mm x 54) Although the modern "Classic" Steyr-Mannlicher rifles still incorporate some original features, like the butter-knife bolt handle, the distinctive actions and rotary (spool) magazines of the original Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifles are no longer used.
High production costs and the difficulty of fitting telescopic sights to the rifles' split receivers eventually resulted in a decision to terminate production in 1972.
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
^ Christos Sazanidis,"Ta Opla ton Ellinon (Arms of the Greeks)", Maiandros, Thessaloniki, 1995.
