7.92×57 mm Mauser

7.92×57mm Mauser
From left to right 9.3×62mm, .30-06 Springfield, 7.92×57mm Mauser, 6.5×55mm and .308 Winchester cartridges
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	1905–present
Used by	Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Poland, China, Dominican Republic, Yugoslavia, Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and many other countries
Wars	World War I, World War II and numerous others
Production history
Designer	German Rifle Testing Commission
Designed	1903/1905
Produced	1888–present
Variants	8×57mm IRS (rimmed)
Specifications
Parent case	M/88
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	8.22 mm (0.324 in)
Neck diameter	9.08 mm (0.357 in)
Shoulder diameter	10.95 mm (0.431 in)
Base diameter	11.94 mm (0.470 in)
Rim diameter	11.95 mm (0.470 in)
Rim thickness	1.30 mm (0.051 in)
Case length	57.00 mm (2.244 in)
Overall length	82.00 mm (3.228 in)
Case capacity	4.09 cm3 (63.1 gr H2O)
Rifling twist	240 mm (1 in 9.45 in)
Primer type	Large rifle
Maximum pressure (C.I.P.)	390.0 MPa (56,560 psi)
Maximum pressure (SAAMI)	241.3 MPa (35,000 psi)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 11.7 g (181 gr) RWS DK 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 3,934 J (2,902 ft·lbf) 12.1 LP RWS HMK 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 4,068 J (3,000 ft·lbf) 12.7 g (196 gr) RWS TMR 800 m/s (2,600 ft/s) 4,064 J (2,997 ft·lbf) 12.8 g (198 gr) RWS ID Classic 800 m/s (2,600 ft/s) 4,096 J (3,021 ft·lbf)
Test barrel length: 600 mm (23.62 in) Source(s): RWS / RUAG Ammotech

The 7.92×57mm Mauser (designated as the 8mm Mauser or 8×57mm by the SAAMI and 8 × 57 IS by the C.I.P.) is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. The 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge was adopted by the German Empire in 1903/1905, and was the German service cartridge in both World Wars. In its day, the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge was one of the world’s most popular military cartridges. In the 21st century it is still a popular sport and hunting cartridge that is factory-produced in Europe and the United States.

The parent cartridge on which the 7.92×57mm Mauser is based was adopted by Germany in 1888 as the Patrone 88 (cartridge 88) or M/88 (along with the Gewehr 1888 service rifle). It was a first-generation smokeless propellant cartridge designed by the German Gewehr-Prüfungskommission (G.P.K.) (Rifle Testing Commission), as the then-new smokeless propellant introduced as Poudre B in the 1886 pattern 8mm Lebel had started a military rifle ammunition revolution. The M/88 cartridge was loaded with 2.75 g (42.4 gr) of single-base (based on nitrocellulose) smokeless powder and a relatively heavy 14.7 grams (227 gr) round-nosed ball cartridge with a diameter of 8.08 mm (0.318 in). The M/88 bore originally had 7.90 mm (0.311 in) lands diameter and 8.10 mm (0.319 in) grooves diameter. The M/88 barrel bore specification was changed by 1894/1895 to 7.90 mm (0.311 in) lands diameter and 8.20 mm (0.323 in) grooves diameter to improve accuracy and reduce barrel wear in M/88 chambered arms.

German government driven efforts to further improve on the performance of the military M/88 ammunition and the service arms in which the M/88 was used after several development steps eventually resulted in the official adaptation on 3 April 1903 by the Gewehr-Prüfungskommission of the dimensionally redesigned 7.92×57mm Mauser chambering. Besides the chambering, the bore (designated as "S-bore") was also dimensionally redesigned. The 1903 pattern 7.92×57mm Mauser S Patrone (S ball cartridge) was loaded with a lighter 9.9 grams (153 gr), pointed Spitzgeschoß (spitzer bullet) of 8.2 mm (0.323 in) diameter and more powerful double-base (based on nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin) smokeless powder. With the improved ballistic coefficient of the new spitzer bullet, the 1903 pattern cartridge had an improved maximum effective range and a flatter trajectory, and was therefore less critical of range estimation compared to the M/88 cartridge.