Text: Tuco
Photos: Tuco, Vic
Thomas, Karl-Heinz, and John Mitchell
While many refer to
these Mosin Nagants as East German, it is a bit of
a misrepresentation. The Mosin Nagant
M91/30's and M44 Carbines issued by the East Germans
are Soviet manufactured models, as the former DDR
never manufactured the Mosin Nagant. The DDR
were supplied these carbines by their Soviet taskmasters
for issue after WW2 and during the early 1950's. This
was a way to arm the Germans but once again keep
the SKS , which was in the process of being developed,
out of the hands of a nation under the yoke of the
USSR. This would protect Soviet arms development
and keep these satellite nations from being able
to field the same weapons as the Red Army.
In the short period
of time following WW2 the Soviets needed to rearm
what was to become the DDR as the Cold War began
to take shape very quickly in Germany. The
Soviets knew that their new sector of Germany would
need to be protected by a viable East German fighting
force that would be able to counter act the forces
in the West. It would be important
to have the East Germans fielding a force of their
own and not to rely just on Red Army troops. This
would give the impression of the East Germans fighting
as a sovereign nation*. The quick and easy
solution for this would be to arm the new German
forces with the weapons on hand. The arms on
hand of course being the Mosin Nagant M91/30 and
the Mosin Nagant M44 Carbine.
An interesting
Mosin Nagant: It is a cutdown that was used
as an early warning system on the Berlin Wall. These
were placed along the Wall and were loaded with blanks. In
the event of an emergency the blank was fired.
The Mosin Nagants
that went into East German service saw wide issue
and were not phased out until the East German and
Soviet manufactured SKS came into wide use. All
East German troops were armed with the M44 Carbine
as they were seen in military police units, standard
infantry units, and also saw duty on the Berlin Wall
with the dreaded GRENZSCHUTZ-EINHEITEN. It
can be assumed these same troops would have been
armed with the M91/30 and M91/30 PU sniper rifle.
The East
German proof on this M44 Carbine is the triangle
1.
The East German Mosin
Nagants that were issued in the former DDR
will have Soviet manufacturing proofs. The
added German markings will be a 1, 2 , or 3 in a
triangle. It is believed the 1, 2, and 3 signify
a first, second, and third quality weapon. These
proofs are found on the barrel shank normally above
the date. Many of the M44's will have
very early dates, as the author has 2 Tula manufactured
M44s that are 1944 dated and owns three other East
German marked M44's with the latest date being 1946. Of
two 1945 dated M44's one has the early carbine features
while the other has the later improvements to the
front sight and bayonet. These were fitted
with both hardwood and laminate stocks, and the stocks
in particular seem to have many dings and dents from
heavy usage. The finish of many of the stocks
are a darker reddish color than is found on the Soviet
models also showing a heavy varnish type finish.
Above one will see
an East German proof marking on a M91/30. These
are not commonly seen here in the US. It is
not known if they are really rare or if most owners
do not know what the triangle proof is so they believe
they have a standard Soviet rifle. The truth
is more than likely somewhere in the middle, meaning
they are uncommon but not as uncommon as once thought.
The M91/30 use the
standard Soviet green canvas sling while slings for
the M44's are Soviet leather or green canvas for
the most part (these also have been fitted with SKS
slings). There is also a green canvas
and brown leather sling that has belt attachments
that are seen on the EG M44's. The ammo pouches
that were issued with these are the later Soviet
leather style and many will be both dated and DDR
marked. The author owns at least one
WW2 style canvas/leather Soviet ammo pouch that also
has East German markings.
While not as uncommon
as the East German SKS, the DDR's Mosin Nagants are
not encountered often by collectors. Since
the fall of the USSR these carbines have shown up
in larger numbers but again they should be considered
at least an uncommon variant for the Mosin collector. The
condition of these firearms can be quite a mixed
lot. There are some that appear to be in almost
unissued/refurbished condition while others will
show heavy signs of use. It is unclear when
the latest refurbishment took place or where this
work occurred. Recently the East German carbines
have been found mixed in with imports of Hungarian,
Polish, Russian, and Romanian carbines. There
are well connected sources that state most of these
carbines were imported from the nation of Romania. It
is possible that these DDR carbines were sent to
Romania sometime in their past but this is speculation
at best. It is also known that many M91-30's
with DDR markings have recently arrived in shipments
from the nation of Bulgaria.
Top to
bottom: 1944, 1945, 1946 Izhevsk. Tula 1944 laminate
stock. Tula 1944 hardwood stock. Bottom carbine
is 1956 Polish M44. All but the Pole have DDR
proofs.
These firearms are
fast becoming major collectors items, as the recent
influx of Eastern European carbines has created many
new Warsaw Pact. As is often the case
there is a hole in almost every collection, and in
many cases it is the East German Mosin Nagant that
are the missing items. It pays
to know what the proofs of the former DDR look like
as these carbines/rifles are often sold as Russian/Soviet. Know
the facts and maybe you can have an uncommon and
complete collection of the Eastern Bloc Mosin Nagants.
Other Photos:
* The DDR was formed
in 1949
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