What type of rifle is this?

[jmark]

Does anybody know what sort of rifle this is? It looks enormous compared to the soldier (who doesn't seem to be short). Photo taken in Stalingrad, October 1942, if that helps.

Thanks!
Jason

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[Johnnie]

Looks like a standard 98k from what I can see. Sling, floorplate, ect. I think it may just be the angle of the shot or something..

Johnnie

[PZIV]

I think it is a kar98. If you look at the bolt it would seem we're looking at the bottom of the gun. If that is the case you can see the distingtive little "nub" on the bottom of the rifle that is shown here and also casts a shadow on the bottom of the gun. I don't think any other rifle has this feature, but I could be wrong.

Best regards,
Mansal

[HouweTrouwe]

Couldn't he attached a 'grenadelauncher' (don't know the Right English word) at the loop? As other this also looks to me as a K89k3

[jmark]

Thanks for the replies... I too always thought it was a Kar98K until I realised that the tip of the barrel reached the top of his pocket. A quick search shows the rifle to be 1.11 metres in length... I figure it's about 3/4 of his height, which would make him about 1.5 metres. That's just under 5 feet tall! That's very short for a soldier. Another photo of this same soldier (see below... he's on the right) shows that he is almost the same height as the other soldiers. That's why I thought he might have a different rifle, something longer than normal.

Jason

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[gew98]

It does appear to be a Karab 98b as it does look to be longer than the standard 98k.

[Doug Kenwright]

It could be that it is the split second in time where he is either rising up from a crouch or lowering himself into one..his hands look to be in the position one would adopt in such a stance..

[jmark]

It does appear to be a Karab 98b as it does look to be longer than the standard 98k.

I think this may be the solution! I found the following diagram online [http://feldbluse.ld.infoseek.co.jp/017-07.JPG].

The distance between the front sling attachment and the tip of the barrel shows that it can't be a 98k but it does fit with the 98b. Was it unusual for this rifle to still be in front-line use in 1942? Did it have greater accuracy than the 98k? I'm wondering whether a skilled marksman would prefer this older, longer rifle over the shorter 98k.

Jason

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[jmark]

It could be that it is the split second in time where he is either rising up from a crouch or lowering himself into one..his hands look to be in the position one would adopt in such a stance..

Hi Doug,

I thought about that too but the rifle butt is squarely on the ground and his left leg is in front of it, so we are seeing the true height of the rifle compared to the soldier. Both photos show the same thing and they must have been taken at least a few seconds apart, so I don't think it's a matter of strange angles.

All the best,
Jason