Aug 16 / mystery mauser

[WmRoy]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v36/WmRoy/dontaskme.jpg

Stan, sc closer & LoLo are on guard duty today. The rest of you.......... get into the fight!
:devil-smiley-1: :eek: :devil-smiley-1: :eek: :devil-smiley-1: :eek: :devil-smiley-1: :eek: :devil-smiley-1:

[Spuds]

AVS-36, the predecessor to the SVT-38.

I originally answered SVT-38, but something wasn't "right" about it. Finally figured it must have been the rifle that preceded the SVT-38. Knew it was something-36, but wasn't sure what.

The AVS-36 (from Avtomaticheskaya Vintovka Simonova 1936 model; Russian: Автоматическая винтовка Симонова образца 1936 года) was a Soviet automatic rifle which saw service in the early years of World War II. It was among the early select-fire infantry rifles (capable of both single and full-automatic fire) formally adopted for military service.

The designer, Sergei Simonov began his work with a gas-operated self-loading rifle in 1930. The first prototype was ready in 1931 and appeared promising, and three years later a trial batch of an improved design was made. Next year, a competition between Simonov's design and a rifle made by Fedor Tokarev was held. The Simonov rifle emerged as a winner and was accepted into service as the AVS-36. The AVS-36 was a gas-operated rifle with a short piston stroke and vertical sliding locking block. It was capable of both automatic and semi-automatic fire. The barrel was equipped with a large muzzle brake to reduce recoil. Ammunition was in a detachable magazine holding 15 rounds. A knife bayonet was issued with the rifle. A sniper version was produced in small amounts with a PE scope. The AVS-36 was first seen in public in the May Day 1938 parade in Moscow.

Once in service, it quickly became apparent that the AVS was not a satisfactory design, the operating mechanism was overly complicated, and the problem was made worse by the rifle's construction which let dirt get inside the weapon. The rifle was also particular about ammunition quality. The muzzle brake design proved to be a failure - the rifle was near uncontrollable in automatic fire. Some of the problems were traced to the magazine which was deemed too long. Production of the AVS-36 was terminated in 1938, and new design competition was held to which Simonov and Tokarev submitted their improved designs. Simonov's rifle was lighter and contained fewer parts, Tokarev's rifle was considered sturdier. This time, the Tokarev design won (reportedly in part because of Stalin's interference in favour of Tokarev) and went on to become the SVT-38. Simonov would later design an anti-tank rifle, the PTRS-41, and the SKS carbine, which employed simpler tilting bolt operation.

Overall, about 65,800 AVS-36's were manufactured (although some sources place the number lower than that). The rifle first saw service in the Battle of Halhin Gol, and later in the Winter War, but did not perform well. Some of the problems were caused by incorrect maintenance; many rifles went into combat without having being cleaned of their storage grease, which then "froze" solid. SVT-38 and LS-26 used on the Finnish side suffered from similar problems. Finnish forces captured several hundreds of these rifles and put them to use, though after a large amount of the more serviceable SVT's were captured, they were largely withdrawn from service. In the Soviet Union, the AVS was quickly marginalized and apparently withdrawn from service during 1941, though it saw brief service during World War II. Some reports claim that remaining AVS's were mostly scrapped. Today, the AVS-36 is a rare collectors item; most of the remaining rifles in existence are in Finland.

[Spuds]

From another source:

Caliber: 7.62x54 mm R
Overall length: 1260 mm
Barrel length: 627 mm
Weight: 4.2 kg empty, w/o bayonet
Magazine capacity: 15 rounds
Rate of fire: 800 rounds per minute

Red Army conducted several trials for automatic rifles between 1928 and mid-1930s, but the first more or less practical self-loading / automatic rifle appeared only in 1936. This rifle was developed between 1931 and 1936 by the Sergey Simonov, and was adopted as "7.62mm Automaticheskaya Vintovka Simonova obraztsa 1936 goda" (Simonov automatic rifle, model of 1936), or AVS-36 in short. Service life of this weapon was relatively short, as it was too complicated and expensive to make and maintain, as well as not sufficiently reliable in harsh conditions. Something between 35 000 and 65 000 AVS-36 rifles were delivered to Red Army between 1936 and 1940, when it was officially replaced in service by the Tokarev SVT-40 self-loading rifle. The AVS-36 seen not much combat, but it was used during Winter War between USSR and Finland in 1940, as well as in early stages of Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. Since the basic design of the AVS-36 was far from being ideal, Simonov consequently dropped its locking system with vertically sliding lock, and turned to the more common and practical tilting block locking. Using this system, he later developed the famous 14.5mm PTRS-41 antitank rifle and 7.62mm SKS self-loading carbine.

The AVS-36 is a gas operated, selective fire rifle. Short stroke gas piston is located above the barrel (one of the first designs in the world to have such arrangement), and has its own return spring. The bolt is locked using vertically sliding locking block, which is located in the receiver, between the magazine and breech face. Because of this arrangement the receiver and bolt are relatively long and heavy. The cartridge feed path from magazine into chamber is long and steep, and this was the cause for numerous stoppages. Bolt group also was overly complicated, as it contained special anti-bouncing lock. AVS-36 had the fire mode selector at the right side of the receiver, which allowed for single shots and full automatic fire (rather ineffective with such a lightweight weapon and powerful cartridge). The barrel was equipped with large muzzle brake and bayonet mount. The bayonet could be attached to the barrel not only horizontally, but also vertically (down), to form some sort of monopod for firing from prone position. Open sights were marked up to 1500 meters. Cleaning rod was carried in a groove at the right side of the stock, along the barrel. Some AVS-36 rifles were issued as sniper weapons, thus being fitted with telescope sight. As the rifle ejected its empties to the top, the scope mount was offset to the left and was located at the left outer wall of the receiver.

[WmRoy]

Well................ now that you've gotten it right..............

can you tell us alittle about it????????? ;)

WOW!! Thanks!! :D

[rugerwheels]

WR,
Spuds' essays on this were very instructive. This is what I enjoy most about your MM feature, i.e. using as a means to learn more. I would suggest you encourage participants who have the time to post a bit about the gun they identify, either when they put in their entry or after you confirm they have it right.
Keep up the good work.
Don

[Spuds]

Just a minor (hah!) point, those weren't my essays, but a cut & paste job!

:headbanger: :headbanger: :)

[sc-closer]

I'm sorry, that was a modified daisy red rider...:snorting:

:xxrotflmao:

Awesome ID, Spuds. :occasion14:

sc-closer