Today for Gus’ Gear, a fellow member requested I post a few photos of the T-Gewehr. The T-Gewehr is probably one of the most commonly represented weapons of WWI in collections around the world. Of the slightly less than 17,000 produced before April of 1919, I suspect most of them still exist in private collections or museums. I have heard that the Brussels Royal Military Museum has at least 40 of them. I do apologize for the quality of the photos as I am not well enough yet to move the rifle to better lighting.
Here the rifle is shown displayed with the German and Austro-Hungarian standard issue battle rifles of the Great War.
This is a comparison of the size of the T-Gewehr bolt to the Gew 1898 bolt. The T-Gewehr was a scaled up version of the Mauser rifle.
The markings on the top of the receiver are a Mauser banner and the year of manufacture.
The rear sight is a simple adjustable sight, similar to the type found on most Mauser rifles (other than the Gew 98). It is marked up to 500 meters. At 500 meters, the projectile could penetrate about 18mm of armored steel, but at 100 meters penetration was almost 24mm. The rifle was originally designed based on a captured tank that had unhardened plating and was originally expected to engage the enemy at 400 meters, but with the better armor of the tanks that were fielded, it was found that the gunners should try to engage at 100 meters.
This is a comparison of the 13.2x92mmR cartridge and the 7.92x57mm cartridge used with the Gew 1898. The case and projectile on the right are modern examples and were acquired with the intention of having a chance to fire the T-Gewehr. It turns out that the modern cartridges are rarer and more expensive than originals, so I think my shoulder will be spared from any bruising.