The army issued a specification to various manufacturers, and both Mauser and Walther submitted prototypes that were very similar.
Wirnsberger was sent to the Eastern Front in September 1942, and fought with both a K-98 and a Gewehr 43 after sniper training in the Seetaler Alpen.
Gewehr 43, or Karabiner 43, a 7.92×57mm Mauser caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Nazi Germany during World War II
Gewehr 98 | Gewehr 43 | Gewehr 1888 |
The Second World War saw the use of the bolt action rifles such as the Mauser Karabiner 98k, the Lee-Enfield SMLE, the Mosin Nagant, the Arisaka Type 38 and Type 99 rifles, and during the early years, the Springfield M1903, as well as semi-automatic battle rifles such as the Gewehr 43, the M1 Garand and the SVT-40.