The Model 1935 combined elements of the Mauser 1889 (breech, magazine and stock) and of the Gewehr 98, but it was shorter.[2] Some Model 35 rifles were modernised Mauser 98.[2] Both the Manufacture d’Armes de L’État and the FN Herstal produced it between 1935 and 1940.[3] A sniping version was also developed before the war.[2][4]
After the war, some Model 35 rifles were modified to fire in .30-06 Springfield, the cartridge of the American weapons used by the post-war Belgian Army. They were known as Model 35/46.[5]
Service
The Belgian Army adopted it in 1935 but the Model 1935 never went into large-scale production. It served during World War II alongside the Fusil Modèle 1936, a Model 1889 upgraded with some features of the Modèle 1935.[2]
Nazi Germany captured many rifles after the invasion of Belgium. The standard Fusil 35 was designatedGewehr 262(b)[6] and the sniping rifle Zielfernrohrgewehr 264(b).[6] These rifles were used by second-line German units.[2]
The Argentine government purchased a batch of slightly modified Model 35s to equip the Buenos Aires Provincial Police.[7] Delivered in 1935-1936, they were kept in service into the 1960s.[8]