Repetirgewehr Modell 1889

Introduction

The Repetirgewehr Modell 1889 [Repeating Rifle Model 1889] was the first straight-pull design adopted by the Swiss Army. Although approved for introduction in 1889 - as the name would suggest - full-scale production did not begin until 1891, with the first batch of 700 rifles being delivered to the Cantonal Arsenal in Aarau, Canton Aargau, on the 13th of July, for issue to the troops of Schützenbataillon 5. Production would run until 1897, with the final delivery of 1,000 rifles to the Federal Military Depot in Interlaken, Canton Bern arriving on the 29th of April. Serial production encompassed 211,887 rifles, serialised from 1 to 212000. The bloc of 113 serial numbers from 174888 to 175000 were allocated for Schulgewehr [School Rifle] production, but were not used, in the end. 

Nomenclature

At the time of adoption, the official designation was Repetirgewehr Modell 1889. In the years following, however, there were reforms both to German orthography and to Swiss military terminology, and the rifle's name changed as a result. 

Firstly, following the German Orthographic Conference of 1901, an 'e' was added, to become the Repetiergewehr 1889. Later - and it is unclear exactly when this took place, but it was at some point between 1896 and 1911, the Army's terminology was reformed, and the rifle came to be known as the Infanteriegewehr 1889.

In 1889, the Swiss Army had no standardised system for abbreviating words, and so for those early years there were no right or wrong ways to shorten the rifle's designation. In time, though, an official set of regulations were to be promulgated. Under these, years were to be shortened to their last two digits and types of items would have universally-approved short forms in all three of the languages of command used by the Army (German, French, and Italian - Romansch was not officially used by the Swiss Army until 1988). Abbreviated forms were to be written with only the first letter of a word capitalised, and words and numbers were separated by a space. The usage of a period following abbreviated words is optional. Thus, the 'correct' abbreviated name for the rifle is either Ig. 89, or Ig 89. In colloquial German, the capital I is sometimes replaced with a lower-case l to stand for Langgewehr, but this is not an official term. Another round of reforms would follow, under which Gewehr was to be shortened to Gw., instead of just G. However, a number of terms which were already in popular usage continued to have official status, despite not fitting the regulations. Hence, Ig. remained in use for infantry rifles, and ammunition continued to be GP.

Serial Numbers and Dates of Production/Delivery

We have created a tool to look up your rifle's serial number in the Waffenfabrik Bern purchase records, which you can find here!

Service History

From 1891 onwards, the Ig. 89 was the standard service rifle of the Swiss Army, and was delivered to Cantonal Arsenals for issue out to fresh recruits. Although replaced by subsequent, improved designs, Ig. 89s remained in circulation with older troops until 1934, by which point all soldiers had been issued with a newer rifle using the 7.5x55mm cartridge. During the Second World War, due to a shortage of modern rifles, Ig. 89s were pulled from stockpiles to equip the volunteer-only Ortswehr [Home Guard]. These troops, who were either too old or too young to form a part of the main, conscript Army, were low on the priority list for equipment, and many can be seen in early photos with their own, privately-owned rifles (including Martini-action target and hunting rifles). Post-war, as shortages abated and mobilisation was drawn down, the Ig. 89 was finally declared to be formally obsolete on 25th May 1947. Subsequently, the 60-70,000 rifles still in stockpiles were offered for liquidation by the War Military Administration (KMV), and the majority of them had been sold by the end of December 1949. The remaining rifles, which likely largely constituted poor-quality, unsold examples, were then destroyed and the metal scrapped. In the intervening period, a great many were purchased - for 5 Swiss Francs apiece - by large dealers, who exported them across Europe and beyond. 

Technical Characteristics

Action: two lug, rear-locking, straight pull bolt action

Length: 1.302m (4'3¼")

Barrel length: 780mm (31")

Unladen weight: 4.9kg (10.8lbs)

Calibre: 7.5x53.5mm Gewehrpatrone 90

Feed system: detachable 12-round double-stack, double-feed box magazine

Muzzle velocity: c. 590 m/s (approx. 1,935 fps)

Accessories

• Infantry-type leather sling (buttons at both ends)

• Muzzle cap (brass, long type)

• Bayonet (Modell 1889 Dagger Bayonet for infantry, Modell 1889/92 Cruciform Bayonet for engineers)

• Cleaning kit

Section incomplete.

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