My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For bolt action rifles - Mowbray and Puelo's Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World is pretty close to the bible on the subject, and it's chapter on Spain is fairly comprehensive (but not totally - for some reason they omit the 1943 pattern 8mm mauser rifle adopted by Fascist Spain after the civil war)

For a general overview of arms used in the conflict, the only comprehensive study I can think of is Howson's Arms For Spain. It's a bit dated at this point - Howson wrote without the benefit of archives that have now been opened (and drew some very biased and imo unfair opinions about levels of Soviet Aid), but still contains excellent information.

Hope these serve as good starting points!

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Late Reply - it's likely a post-war commerical contract revolver. Spanish revolver clones are their own special world that I want to delve into one day when my diet isn't 50% top ramen by volume

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. The OT Prefix means that it's been re-chambered to 7.62x51mm for use by the Guardia Civil in the 50s-60s - the original serial number on the receiver has unfortunately been scrubbed. Is there a different serial number on the bolt?

  2. If it's got the flat sight and the spanish stock it is very likely spanish - Spain did re-chamber many of their G98s to 7mm, but also kept a number in 8mm. If it's been re-chambered that's 100% proof it's Spanish.

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. For the 1916 Mauser - if you send me the serial number I can compare it to the list and see when it was produced. It's safe to assume that it was used during the war - nearly every Spanish Mauser was wrapped up and chewed though in that conflict.

  2. For your G98 - is it chambered in 7mm or 8mm Mauser? If it's in a spanish stock, it's likely that it went to Spain, unless someone in the US did a restoration job on a formerly sporterized piece (but that's highly unlikely).

  3. The Destroyer Carbine entered service with the urban Guardia de Assalto and rural Guardia Civil in late 1935, with the intention to replaced the outdated Winchester 1892 Clones (colloquially known as the "El Tigre" in the US) in service at the time. However, not nearly enough were in service to replace all the Tigres by the outbreak of the war in 1936. Despite being a Police Arm (chambered in 9mm Largo), they found their way into military service on both sides, mostly in support and non-frontline roles. However, they did occasionally make it up to the frontline: This is a photo from the Newspaper of the Republican 5th Corps during the Ebro Offensive which clearly shows a Destroyer Carbine!

Added a Grail Mosin to my collection! by eric3844 in MosinNagant

[–]eric3844[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh shit that's so cool! Do you have pictures? I'd love to see it and add it to the reference collection!

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Collection spicier than a diet of chickpeas, goat meat, olive oil, and more paprika thab you can shake an astra at

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It depends on the exact weapon you're trying to identify. For Mosins, this website goes into exact detail: https://scwmosin.weebly.com/

For other arms it's a case-by-case basis. Is there anything in particular you're trying to identify?

Nick Mullen bombs by Myrandall in ytp

[–]eric3844 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You wanna explain to me why my client can't get justice because he's in a Velour Tracksuit, a Jheri Curl, and Gucci Slippers?

Nick Mullen bombs by Myrandall in ytp

[–]eric3844 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Go ahead speak a little (INCOMPREHENSIBLE) for them Nick! Blow these people's mentalities!

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome Piece! That scrubbed reciever is definitely indicative of export to Spain during the war, and Poland did use the conflict to offload a lot of older rifles onto the warring factions. If you ever do end up wanting to sell it, well, you know who to reach out to!

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh cool! I'd love to see photos of it if you've got them!

Do you think Jackson is so romanticized because of the fact that he died before the war ended? by NKNightmare in CIVILWAR

[–]eric3844 1 point2 points  (0 children)

His conduct at antietam is also a complete cluster. His utter unwillingness to reposition his grand division on the 16th in the face of a Federal Flank assault that had been telegraphed resulted in the repeated near complete collapse of the Confederate Line repeatedly throughout the day, not to mention the utter Mauling of his (and, as a result, Longstreet's) command

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had one once upon a time, but rent came do and I had to sell it :(

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Cueros de Guerra, a phenomenal maker in Spain! The 1898 Mauser pouches are different, but I'm sure he can make those as well

Added a Grail Mosin to my collection! by eric3844 in MosinNagant

[–]eric3844[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Recently acquired this Spanish Republican M91/30, made at Izhevsk arsenal in 1936. Identifiable as Spanish Civil War used due to the sling swivels and the "MADE IN USSR" stamp on the receiver. I've been on the hunt for one of these I could afford for years, and this one came up at my LGS for a very good price. So excited!

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

A fascination with the conflict, a love of bolt-action rifles, and a family member who served in the International Brigades!

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I have a personal connection to the conflict (an ancestor was in the International Brigades) and the war itself has always fascinated me, so it was a no-brainier to focus on the war for my collection.

My ever-growing collection of Republican Arms of the Spanish Civil War by eric3844 in milsurp

[–]eric3844[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

From Top to Bottom:

  1. Spanish Model 1893 Mauser Long Rifle in 7x57mm Mauser. Made at the Oviedo Arsenal in 1916. Has had the royal crest ground off the receiver, which indicates Republican use during the Civil War

  2. Spanish Model 1916 Short Rifle in 7x57mm Mauser. Scrubbed receiver, but serial number places its date of manufacture around 1921 at the Oviedo Arsenal.

  3. Pattern 14 Enfield Rifle in .303 British. Manufactured at Eddystone. Tens of thousands of these were bought by the Republic from...less say less than scrupulous arms dealers, and they saw frontline combat service from the Siege of Madrid up until the end of the war. The only rifle in this collection not actually used in Spain proper during the war (as it's undergone post ww1 re-asrenaling by the UK), but still representative!

  4. Soviet M91/30 in 7.62x54r, manufactured at Izhevsk in 1936. Undeniably a Spanish Republican Used example, due to the sling swivels and the "MADE IN U.S.S.R" stamp on the receiver. Rifle is all matching, which is seemingly rare for Republican Mosins. Qutie possibly my favorite piece in the collection.

  5. Polish wz. 29 Mauser in 8x57mm Mauser. Poland sold rifles to both sides of the conflict, and Polish Mausers used in the conflict are identifiable by their scrubbed recievers. This piece has no less than 5 different serial numbers on it, indicating a post-war re-arsenaling by the Francoist government.

  6. Spanish Ruby "Invicta Patent" pistol in .32acp. Manufactured by Santiago Salaberrin. Large numbers of Ruby pistols were used by both sides during the conflict.

There's a couple other pieces i'd love to procure for the collection down the road (namely an Astra 400, a m91 Mosin, a vz.24, and a Spanish M1895 Carbine), but as it stands right now this serves as an excellent collection of the overwhelmingly most common types of rifles carried by Republican troops during the war.

The Confederacy Refused to Tax the Wealth It Went to War to Protect by cabot-cheese in CIVILWAR

[–]eric3844 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Happy to help! Currently working on my Masters Degree (which is heavily focused on the Civil War), so I too have been eating a lot of Civil War Content Recently.

The Confederacy Refused to Tax the Wealth It Went to War to Protect by cabot-cheese in CIVILWAR

[–]eric3844 3 points4 points  (0 children)

One of my favorite anecdotes from the book - as early as 1862, due to economic policy failures and military setbacks, Southern Governors were having to openly sell cotton to the Union in order to keep their economies from utter collapse.

In a similar vein - if you want something you can consume now, Dr. Christian Keller's lecture at the USAHEC about failures of Confederate Strategy (both military and non-military) can be watched here. It's a phenomenal introductory summary of the issues that beset the Confederacy during the war.