Other Rifles of the Spanish Civil War:
Mosin Nagants were not the only rifles sent by foreign nations to aid the Republican armies. The Soviet Union sent thousands of outdated rifles in the early shipments to the Spanish. Some of these rifles dated back as late as the 1870's and had long ago become museum pieces! The rest of these early rifles had many different calibers of ammunition which could not be readily found within Spain. When shipped by the Soviets these rifles only came with enough ammunition to last a few days before becoming useless to the soldier wielding it.[1] Despite these various issues many of these rifles remained in the Spanish arsenals after the end of the war.
In the 1950's Spain was quite desperate for money and decided to sell off all of these surplus arms. Due to the varying non-standard calibers and age of these pieces, it only made sense for the Spanish to sell them to American importers. Today many of these other rifles can be found with the same Spanish markings and features that are found on Spanish Civil War Mosin Nagants. While certainly not as common, these rifles make a great addition to any Spanish Civil War collection.
[1] Howson, Gerald. Arms for Spain: The Untold Story of the Spanish Civil War. New York: John Murray Publishers Ltd, 1999.
Contents:
In the 1950's Spain was quite desperate for money and decided to sell off all of these surplus arms. Due to the varying non-standard calibers and age of these pieces, it only made sense for the Spanish to sell them to American importers. Today many of these other rifles can be found with the same Spanish markings and features that are found on Spanish Civil War Mosin Nagants. While certainly not as common, these rifles make a great addition to any Spanish Civil War collection.
[1] Howson, Gerald. Arms for Spain: The Untold Story of the Spanish Civil War. New York: John Murray Publishers Ltd, 1999.
Contents:
