I've had this one for a few years but am just now getting around to posting it up. This is a Polish wz.91/98/26 Mosin-Nagant conversion rifle, built on a 1895 receiver and converted to fire 7.92X57mm by the Poles in the interwar years. Imperial Russian and early Soviet Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifles were captured in the Polish-Soviet war of the early 1920s by the Poles, who used them in a conversion project in the 1930s in an attempt to standardize on the 7.92 cartridge, at a time when the Mauser FOW was being adopted by the Poles as the standard for that emerging nation. To say the very least, numerous modifications were made to accommodate the different cartridge. In spite of that, the workmanship appears very well executed and well developed.
This particular example was built in Lvov/Lwow/Lviv, as indicated by the 'ARMA LWOW' stamp on the receiver. It was later received for repair or modification in May 1939 (see stock stamp), a scant four months prior to the German invasion. After capture, the bolt was blued and the rifle went on to serve or was stored in an unknown capacity. It was subsequently captured again, presumably by an GI, as it was 'duffel cut' under the rear barrel band. All numbered parts, and there are LOTS of them, are matching. These rifles are a fascinating study of the many interwar 'waste not, want not' policies of several nations who found themselves trying to settle on one standardized design or caliber, or both, following the last, and in anticipation of the next hostilities.
Pat
This particular example was built in Lvov/Lwow/Lviv, as indicated by the 'ARMA LWOW' stamp on the receiver. It was later received for repair or modification in May 1939 (see stock stamp), a scant four months prior to the German invasion. After capture, the bolt was blued and the rifle went on to serve or was stored in an unknown capacity. It was subsequently captured again, presumably by an GI, as it was 'duffel cut' under the rear barrel band. All numbered parts, and there are LOTS of them, are matching. These rifles are a fascinating study of the many interwar 'waste not, want not' policies of several nations who found themselves trying to settle on one standardized design or caliber, or both, following the last, and in anticipation of the next hostilities.
Pat
