Steyrs for the Luftwaffe: The G29(ö) aka Gewehr 12/34

When the German government bought up the controlling interest in Steyr in 1938, they made use of its production facilities to start making rifles for the Luftwaffe. Steyr had tooling for the Mauser 98, but not in K98k form – they had most recently made a Mauser-pattern carbine for Chile in 1934 (the M12/34). Under German ownership that rifle was put back into production, simply chambered for 8mm Mauser instead of the Chilean 7mm. About 50,000 in total were made between mid 1938 and the end of 1939, after which production changed to a standard K98k pattern. These rifles are known today as the G12/34 or G29(ö), and they are quite rare on the collector’s market.