The "ATF" stands for "Askeri Tufiki Fabrika ( Army Rifle factory.an Army depot or Workshop dedicated to Repairing Rifles etc, as had existed under ASFA back in the 1930s and 40s, for conversion of WW I rifles to the "New Standard".
The reason for this was that (A) there were substantial quantities of Gew98s needing rebarrelling or restocking, and (b) the production line of the "Kirikkale" Turkish mauser had ceased production in 1946, and the Factory was now re-tooled for making other things, and about to get into Licensed manufacture of Semi Auto and Full Auto rifles. In the 1950s, a requirement for a small lot of Refurbished rilfes, led to the production of the "ATF" series, Using WW I Militasry Aid Gew98s as the basis, and converting them/re-furbishing them to the General "M938 design", the same as all the 1930s conversions had been done. ( Kirikkale a suburb of Ankara, under the control of the Askeri Fabrikalar (Administration of Army Factories).īy 1950, the AS FA had developed to such a degree that it was re-organised as a Government owned Corporation, and change its name to MKE ( Makina ve Kemia Endustrisi). M38 ( or more correctly, M938, as printed in Turkish instruction manuals) is not a specific rifle type, but a General Indication of all of Turkey's MAUSER Action rifles, whether Intermediate or Standard length Actions, and whether made in Turkey or Refurbiushed from Foreign (read German) Made MAUSER Rifles.ġ938 was chosen because it was (a) the year of the passing of Mustafa KLemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkisjh republic and its first president ( Turkey's "George Washington".a Military hero and commander, a head of a revolution, Liberator of his occupied land, and initiator of its Secular Constitution and coming into the Modern World.)ġ938 was also the year CZ set up a complete factory in Turkey to MAKE from scratch a truely "Turkish " rifle, with Mauser design, and in the now standardised 7,9 caridge. Firstly, let's get this "M38" stupidity well and truely squashed.