Embodying improvements to the Mauser Gewehr 98 rifle of World War 1, the gun destined to become the main German battle rifle of World War 2 evolved through the commercial Mauser Werke straight-bolt Standard Gewehr of the late 1920s, and the “Original-Mauser-Stanars-Gewehr” of the early Nazi era. The Resulting Karabiner 98k (Short 98 Carbine) was officially adopted on June 21 1935 as the standard service arm of the rejuvenated German Wehrmacht. From June, 1935 until the end of World War 2 Europe in May 1945, Over 14 Million K98k rifles were produced, in over 100 combinations of manufacturer’s code-and-date markings. This edition includes data on: The military and commercial background to the K98k. The materials and Methods used in the manufacture, inspection, and acceptance of the components of the K98k. Exhaustive data on K98k quantities produced, manufacturing times, personnel, and costs. Commercial and contract K98ks, and many ‘one-offs’ and experiments. 34 original Mauser and Waffenamt blueprints Rare, archival K98k ‘in-use’ photos.