Krag-Mauserheim M98
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| Krag–Mauserheim | |
|---|---|
 Krag–Mauserheim M98 in Heimdallr Imperial Arsenal | |
| Type | Bolt action |
| Place of origin |  Erebonian Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1895–1936 |
| Wars | First Europan War Second Europan War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | J. Krag and E. Mauserheim |
| Designed | 1894 |
| No. built | more than 2,500,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.375 kg / 7.5 lb to 5.157 kg / 11.46 lb depending on model |
| Length | 986 mm / 38.8 in to 1328 mm / 52.28 in depending on model |
| Barrel length | 520 mm / 20.5 in to 832 mm / 32.78 in depending on model |
| Cartridge | 6.5x55mm |
| Action | Bolt action |
| Muzzle velocity | 580 m/s (1900 ft/s) to 870 m/s (2854 ft/s) depending on ammunition |
| Effective firing range | 900 m (3,000 ft) |
| Feed system | 5-round magazine |
| Sights | V-notch and front post |
The Krag-Mauserheim M98 is a five-round repeating bolt-action rifle designed and developed in the Erebonian Empire. It was adopted for use by the Imperial Army of Erebonia, Alteria and the Lorican Alliance, but trade embargoes during the Lorican expulsion of Commonwealth assets in 1899 prompted the Erebonian Parliament to cease shipping weapons to Lorica, prompting the Loricans to develop their copied version of the Krag, called the M98 Dubois Rifle. In 1903, Joyonghea designed their copy of the rifle named the Gimcheok Model 1905 to replace their outdated Kangjon-Ryong Rifles.
A distinctive feature of the Krag–Mauserheim action was its magazine. While many other rifles of its era used an integral box magazine loaded by a charger or stripper clip, the magazine of the Krag–Mauserheim was integral with the receiver, featuring an opening on the right hand side with a hinged cover. Instead of a charger, single cartridges were inserted through the side opening, and were pushed up, around, and into the action by a spring follower.
The design presented both advantages and disadvantages compared with a top-loading "box" magazine. A similar claw type clip would be made for the Krag that allowed the magazine to be loaded all at once, also known as the Krag "speedloader magazine". Normal loading was one cartridge at a time, and this could be done more easily with a Krag than a rifle with a "box" magazine. In fact, several cartridges can be dumped into the opened magazine of a Krag at once with no need for careful placement, and when shutting the magazine-door the cartridges are forced to line up correctly inside the magazine. The design was also easy to "top off", and unlike most top-loading magazines, the Krag–Mauserheim's magazine could be topped up without opening the rifle's bolt. But nonetheless, the disadvantages of the Krag prompted the Imperial Army of Erebonia to find potential replacements for the Krag. Solutions to replace the Krag included adopting the Gallian M1903 GSR rifle, copying the Imperial Gewehr 98 or redesigning the Krag but these attempts failed; The GSR was unsatisfactory, the Gewehr 98 proved to be unreliable in muddy conditions and the redesigning of the Krag proved to be expensive. In 1935, the Imperial Army of Erebonia purchased Lee-Enfields from the United Kingdom and was formally adopted and replaced the Krag when the Enfield was tested and met Erebonian standards.