Mannlicher M95 - the numbers

[CroGer]

Hello,

when you look up the Mannlicher M95 on the internet, you usually find the following production numbers: 2.5 - 3.5 million produced.
Unfortunately, I don't have any literature on this rifle. But I wonder where these numbers come from, because they must be very wrong.
The russian Wikipedia at least says 3.5 million until 1916.

Austria-Hungary sent 7.8 million soldiers in the field. In most sources, you'll find that AH had 3 million rifles when war broke out (for 3,35 million soldiers). The number of older Mannlichers was 1.295.000. Germany send 70.000 G88 as aid. Steyr also had 64.000 romanian M93 in stock and build further 11.000 in 8x50 from spare parts. 73.000 7x57 Mausers originally to be send to South America were also fielded. There also was a number of Mannlicher-Schönauer-rifles.
So you'll get 1.500.000 rifles other than Mannlicher M95 when "war were declared". So the number of 95's must have been around 1.5 million. Of these, probably 10% were carbines (as with all other pre-war models).
According to this source https://ww1.habsburger.net/de/medien/sc ... -1914-1918, AH could produce further 3.580.000 rifles during the war. At least 3.5 million must have been M95. Of these around 25% must have been carbines.
Which would put the number to 5 million until november 1918 (1.025.000 carbines).
Before the war the M95 has also been exported (85.000 to Bulgaria, several others to south american countries and China). After the war both Austria and Hungary also produced M95. In September 1939 the Wehrmacht had 268.648 M95. Hungary probably had a lot more until 1931.

So, I guess these numbers of 2.5 to 3.5 million are only the WWI-production, probably 3.5 million overall, 2.5 million by Steyr.
But overall, the real number should reach at least 5.6 million rifles (5,1 million 1895-1918, 500.000 in Austria and Hungary between 1920 and 1937) .

Does anybody have good literature about this rifle and can confirm this assumption? Can anybody correct or add some numbers?

[Poot]

CroGer,
What is the primary source for the Wehrmacht having 268,648 Model 95's in September 1939?

Thank you,
Pat

[reedwh52]

CroGer:

The book "Mannlicher Military Rifles" by Paul S Scarlata states that the Austro-Hungarian military had 850,000 M95 rifles in August, 1914. TYhey also had 80,000 M90 carbines, 1.3 million other Mannlichers and 118,000 Werndls.(Page 34)

Poot: I too am interested in the source for the number of M95 variants in the Wehrmacht in September 1939. It actually seems to be low since the total is less than the numbers acquired from Austria

[CroGer]

Hello,

my source for the number of Mannlicher's in 1939 is the book "Sturmgewehr!" by H.D. Handrich. The number is part of the list of small arms in use by Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS in september 1939.
How many were acquired from Austria? Maybe the list does not include firearms that were stored, or maybe the rest was sold or traded.

[Poot]

Thank you, CroGer.
I'm actually surprised there were that many available by that point. The majority of rifles, carbines and stutzens (and their 8X56R cartridges) had been sold to Bulgaria after the Anschluss. Some M.95 variants remained in Austria, but not very many.

Other M.95s would be captured by Germany in Poland, Greece and Yugoslavia, but these would have still been chambered in 8X52R.

[kfbr392]

The majority of rifles, carbines and stutzens (and their 8X56R cartridges) had been sold to Bulgaria after the Anschluss.

how many were sold April 1938-August 1939?
Or if this is easier: What was the Austrian small arms inventory at the time of the Anschluss?

[Poot]

kfbr392,
Former Austrian property Mannlicher long arms had been sold to Bulgaria post-Anschluss, and this was confirmed later once many of these same firearms appeared on the surplus firearms market showing indicators of Bulgarian ownership and (some) repairs. I don't have a source available for how many were sold and/or were in inventory at the time of sale to Bulgaria, but the first place I'd look would probably be one of Heino Hintermeier's books. Since they became a part of the Third Reich in 1938, the arms factories transitioned to producing small arms of German design, like the K98k.

One problem with CroGer's information in his first post above is that Hungary didn't produce M95s after WWI, they used the ones that remained within their borders that had been constricted as a result of the Treaty of Triannon. They slightly modified the M95s and designated them as 31M rifles, with Hungarian-specific markings. Like the M95s that the Austrian Republic retained, these were re-chambered in 8X56R, as opposed to the original chambering of 8X50R.

[kfbr392]

What was the Austrian small arms inventory at the time of the Anschluss?

apparently 286033 M95 rifles in March 1938 according to this source:
https://www.gunboards.com/threads/1938- ... ry.174339/

[Poot]

Good information, thanks for sharing!

Pat

[kfbr392]

Pat,

which M95 models precisely are meant in this document when it says:
"8 mm M 95 and M 95A"
"8mm M 95/31 and M 95/37"
"8 mm older Mannlicher"
?

To what modern nomenclature do these terms correspond?

[LineDoggie]

Italy received more than a few as reparations and they certainly were issued in Africa