At first there was no Yugoslavia. It just wasn’t, as it is now. There was Serbia that became an independent state in 1878. And the liberated Serbs wanted complete independence, that is, in everything, including weapons. This is how the "Mauser" model of 1880 appeared, called "Mauser-Milovanovich" - a single-shot Mauser rifle of 1871 chambered for 10, 15-mm caliber, adopted in Norway.
As always, first in 1879, a commission was created in Serbia to select a new rifle, the chairman of which was appointed military designer Kostya (Koku) Milovanovic. The commission announced an international competition to which designers and manufacturers of rifles from all over the world were invited.
The M1871 / 78 Mauser model attracted the attention of Koki Milovanovic, who decided to improve its ballistic qualities by using a black powder cartridge of a reduced caliber 10.15x63R and changing the rifling of the barrel. reduce the width of the grooves from the breech to the muzzle.
As a result, in 1880, the Mauser rifle with the Milovanovic changes was adopted by the Serbian army under the designation "Mauser-Milovanovic M 1880". She is also known under the names "Mauser-Koka" and "Kokinka". 100,000 rifles were ordered to Mauser, where it received the M 1878/80 index."
In 1884, the Serbian army received carbines with barrel-mounted tube magazines. A total of 4,000 carbines were received for the cavalry and the same for the artillery. Interestingly, some of them survived until 1937, when they were converted to 11-mm cartridges from Gra rifles.
The original bolt of Mauser rifles has not undergone any changes. The shutter handle is straight. The shutter is unlocked when it is turned to the left. The spring ejector is attached to the combat bolt head.
The fuse of the flag-type switch, as in the original sample, is located at the rear of the bolt stem. When the "flag" is turned by 180˚, it locks the striker, which prevents both shooting and opening the bolt.
At that time, almost all rifles had English-type continuous stocks. So on the "Serbian Mauser" it was the same: that is, it had a long forearm and a straight butt neck. The steel butt plate was L-shaped and attached to the stock with screws. The rifle's frame sight was designed for firing at a distance of 500 to 2700 steps, that is, from 300 to 1600 meters.
The rifle quickly began to be produced in Germany at the Mauser brothers' factory, so that the first copies arrived in Serbia at the end of 1881, and the latest in February 1884. In addition to 100,000 rifles, spare barrels were additionally ordered in the amount of 1,000 pieces and about 125,000 other parts. The rifle weighed, again, like most rifles of those years, 4.5 kg. The bullet speed was 510 m / s.
Serbian Mauser M1899, identical to the Chilean model of 1895 (Army Museum, Stockholm)
In 1899, faithful to the Mauser, Serbia ordered the M1899 rifles, which were analogous to the Chilean Mauser M1895. They were originally produced for the 7x57 mm cartridge at the D. W. M. factories, but in 1924 they were re-barreled for the 7.92x57 mm caliber. All Serbian rifles received at the end of the designation М1899С, where the letter "C" stands for "Serbia". Recall that the Mauser 1895 model was also used in Mexico, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Iran, El Salvador and Honduras.
The use of smokeless powder led to the fact that since 1907, about 50,000 rifles have been converted at the Serbian enterprise in Kragujevac for firing cartridges with smokeless powder of a reduced caliber 7x57 mm and with a five-round magazine. These rifles were called "Mauser-Milovanovic-Dzhurich M 80/07", and the M1899S rifles, respectively, M1899 / 07S.
"Coca Mauser"
The next example of the "Serbian Mauser" was the M1910 rifle, which turned out to be the first model of the Gewer 98 on Serbian soil. It was produced at the plant in Oberndorf from 1910 to 1911 and then also received the letter "C".
Naturally, Serbia used all these rifles in the most active way on the fronts of both Balkan wars and during the First World War.
The new state entity - Yugoslavia, in turn, wished to have a new weapon under a new cartridge. In 1924, machines were purchased from FN, which were supplied from 1924 to 1927 for the production of rifles of the 1924 model for German cartridges of 7.92x57 mm caliber.
In Yugoslavia, this rifle was produced under the official name M1924 ČK. The abbreviation "Cheka" translates as "Chetnitsky carbine", that is, the carbine used by the Chetniks, who have been considered elite units in Yugoslavia since the pre-war period.
Yugoslavian rifle М1924. (Army Museum, Stockholm)
The design of the rifle was similar to the Belgian model. The bolt handle was curved for greater ease of use and increased rate of fire. The barrel length was now 415 mm, and the entire rifle was only 955 mm. True, it is believed that the sound of the shot was too loud and, as a result, the shooter in ambush could be easily detected, and the recoil when shot in the shoulder is too strong. There is no exact data on the initial velocity of the bullet, as well as on the accuracy of fire, but most likely they did not differ from the data on the Belgian rifle FN Model 1924.
In addition to the Chetnitsky version, the Sokolsky carbine was also produced in Yugoslavia, which, like any carbine, was lighter in weight than a rifle, but had a shorter firing range. Both options had the same bayonet-knife. In Western European literature, it is often called "the dagger of the guard of King Alexander".
In Yugoslavia itself it was called "kolashinats", and it was a very popular cold weapon of the Chetniks and partisans: they were used by the so-called "kolyachi" - the Chetniks, who personally executed traitors, prisoners and spies, whom they simply cut their throats with this knife. … In the German army, the Yugoslav rifles were in service with the Wehrmacht and SS units under the name G289 (j) or "Jugoslawisches Komitengewehr 7, 9 mm".
In 1947, the production of the M.24 / 47 rifle began. In fact, it was a mixture of Yugoslav and Belgian details, that is, what was easier to do on the spot, and more complicated - was taken from warehouses or ordered in Belgium.
Interestingly, the stocks of the M24 / 47 rifles were made of chestnut or teak wood according to the old German imperial model, while the 98k had it made of elm or beech. There were no metal parts in the rifle butt. M.24 / 47 - Production of this rifle began in 1947 based on Belgian and Yugoslav designs and continued until the early 1950s. New parts appeared on the samples or unnecessary old ones were removed.
The new M.24 / 52č variant turned out to be a variant of the Czechoslovakian vz. 24. Its production was started in 1952.
M48 rifle with cartridges.
In addition, the M48 rifle, developed by the Zastava company and in service with the Yugoslav People's Army, was produced in Yugoslavia. It was a slightly improved version of the German Mauser 98k rifle and the Belgian Mauser M1924.
The bolt of the M48 rifle.
Outwardly, the M48 Zastava is similar to the 98k, but it is shorter, that is, it is similar to the M1924. At the same time, the M48 has a curved bolt handle, rather than a straight one like the M1924.
Coat of arms of Yugoslavia on the chamber of the M48 rifle.
A limited batch of 4,000 rifles was equipped with a sniper scope. A modification of the M48BO rifle was in service with the Syrian army. A significant part of the rifles produced were almost immediately transferred to warehouses, from where they were then sold to those whom Yugoslavia considered a promising partner in the fight against international imperialism.
Bayonet for the M48 rifle.
