Rast &amp; Gasser M1898Rast &amp; Gasser M1898 Rast & Gasser M1898 The Rast & Gasser Model 1898 was a service revolver used by the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I and various armies in World War II. History. 180,000 copies were produced by the firm Leopold Gasser Waffenfabrik in Vienna from 1898 to 1912. Prior to the outbreak of the First World War, the M1898 was planned to be replaced in the Austro-Hungarian cavalry with the Roth–Steyr M1907, and in the infantry with the Steyr M1912. However production of newer pistols was insufficient and the weapon remained in service. It was specially-issued to NCOs, officers , and also as a secondary weapons for machine-gunners. In some armies it was used up through the Second World War, including Italy and Yugoslavia. The manufacturing quality and the strength of the solid-frame design made it a reliable and consistent military weapon. The M1898 was copied in Belgium by Manufacture d'Armes Liégeoise in the 7.62 Nagant caliber. Operation. The Rast & Gassers featured some new elements of revolver design, as well as older elements already obsolete at the time of its manufacture. A solid-frame double-action revolver, it had a loading-gate through which individual cartridges were loaded  and extracted individually by an extractor rod. The firing pin was located on a transfer piece on the frame of the revolver rather than the hammer, an advancement at the time. Its ammunition was similar to but not interchangeable with that of the 8mm French Ordnance. The cylinder could be removed by pulling down on the trigger guard and withdrawing the axis pin/ejector rod. Loading. To load the M1898, the hammer is rotated back slightly until it is in the half-cock position. This safeguards against the hammer accidentally striking a cartridge while the user is loading the  weapon. The loading-gate is then rotated back, exposing the rear of the cylinder. Doing this disengages the hammer from the trigger, but the cylinder will still rotate if the trigger is squeezed. This feature makes loading much easier and faster. Cartridges are then inserted into the cylinder and the trigger squeezed to rotate the cylinder for the next empty slot. After all the slots have been loaded, the loading-gate is closed by pushing it forward. The hammer is then rotated all the way back to the full-cocked position ready for firing. To unload the M1898, the hammer  is rotated back slightly until it is in the half-cock position. The loading-gate is opened and the ejector rod is pulled back to eject either spent casings or unused cartridges. To remove the cylinder, the trigger guard is pulled down and the ejector rod-cylinder axis is then withdrawn and the cylinder removed. See also. Small Arms of WWI Primer 021: Austro-Hungarian Revolver M1898 Rast & Gasser covers the history of the gun, as well as disassembly and firing. Rast & Gasser M1898 The Rast & Gasser Model 1898 was a service revolver used by the Austro-Hungarian Army during