Makers:	kb wz. 1898 : Panstwowa Fabryka Karabinow, Warsaw kb wz. 1898a: F.B. Radom, Radom, Poland
Caliber:	7.92 mm x 57 Mauser
Action type:	Bolt-action repeater
Capacity:	5
Length:	1250 mm (49.2")
Barrel length:	740 mm (29.1")
Weight: (empty)	4.36 kg (9.61 lb)
Muzzle velocity:	875 m/s (2870 m/s)

 
In 1918, when Poland reappeared on the European map after being occupied by three empires (Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia), the lack of standardization within the armed forces was a major problem. In 1921 22 different types of rifles and 24 types of carbines were used by the Polish army. In June the same year the Mauser model 1898 rifle was chosen by the Polish MoD as the primary arm of the Polish soldier. The official designation of the Rifle was: "7,92mm kb Mauser wz. 1898".

The production started in July 1922 in Panstwowa Fabryka Karabinow in Warsaw using tools and machinery from a former German factory in Gdansk (Danzig) which was granted to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles. Lack of experienced staff led initially to production difficulties and the quality of the first production runs was lower than that of the German-made guns. A total of 22 000 wz. 98 were made when the military decided to replace it with a handier weapon: kbk wz. 1898a. In 1931/32 the military requirement changed yet again (accurate fire up to 1200-1500 meters was demanded) and new full-length rifles were ordered. The new rifle, known as wz. 1898a was almost identical to the wz. 1898. The production started in 1934 (the time lag is due to the seasoning of the wood for stocks) in FB Radom. 44 500 wz. 1898a were manufactured.

 
Wz. 1898 is almost identical to the German model 1898 (Gewehr 98). The only differences are: beech stock and lack of the precision and quality of the German-made rifles. Wz. 1898a differs mainly in the new tangent-type rear sights and some other minor improvements were made. Otherwise it's identical to the wz. 1898 and Gewehr 98. The quality of the wz. 1898a is much better. Operation and disassembly is identical to the German Mausers.

 
kb wz. 1898: Identical to Gewehr 98; made 1922-24 by Panstwowa Fabryka Karabinow
kb wz. 1898a: Tangent rear sights; made 1936-39 by Fabryka Broni in Radom

 
Wz. 1898 and wz. 1898a were used by the Polish army. Captured rifles were also used by German soldiers.