Churchill interested in obtaining Brazilian rifles ?

[RodB]

I'm reading George Cassar's "Kitchener's War". On page 135 the following appears : "During the second week in february [1915] Churchill and Kitchener locked horns over the purchase of Brazilian rifles, then on the market. Churchill... pressed Kitchener to buy them for the British army before it was too late".

Does anybody have any more info on these rifles ? I understand that Britain was upgrading from the old MLE to the modern SMLE, and may well have been caught with a manufacturing shortfall by the expansion of the war.

[4thGordons]

TonyE is your man for this.

However, in short, Britain seized a quantity of Brazilian M1908 Mausers when a warship being built in the UK (by Armstrongs) was seized. The ship was originally intended for Brazil (hence the rifles) but the contract had been taken over by Turkey in 1913 in August 1914 the ship was seized by the Admiralty and served as HMS Agincourt.

The rifles from this ship were M1908 Mausers in 7x57mm very similar to the Chilean M1912 Mausers (also seized on battleships being fitted out in the UK).

I don't know anything specific about plans to purchase more on the market but perhaps TonyE does, there certainly was a rifle shortage early in the war although production was picking up quite well by 1915.

In the meantime:

here is a Brazilian Mauser of the type under discussion

and a Chilean Mauser for comparison

and a GEW 98 the standard German Mauser (in 7.92mm) for comparison

Chris

[TonyE]

I could give you reams of information on the"Brazilian deal" but essentially there were supposed to be 300,000 Mausers available for purchase in South America. The Admiralty sent Sir Trevor Dawson of Vickers to try to buy them and he spent several months chasing the source and negotiating with the Brazilian government. The German secret service became involved, Allied promises to buy Brazilian coffee were made but it all came to naught.

It is unlikely that the rifles actually existed. At various times they were said to be in Brazil, New York and aboard some neutral ship.

There are quite detailed files in the NA including Dawson's own account of his efforts.

In the end the only Brazilian rifles to see british service were those seized from ships building in the UK as Chris mentioned above.

Regards

TonyE

[RodB]

Thank you Chris and Tony. The murky depths of arms trading in the war would make a good movie. Rod