Chinese produced Type 53 carbine markings
In 1953, the People’s Republic of China started producing a Mosin Nagant M44 carbine clone, the Type of the year 53 so the Type 53 carbine. Jianshe Arsenal 26, also known as State Factory number 296 at Chongqing, was in charge of producing this carbine. Even if these weapons saw actions in many conflicts and beaten examples can tell a lot of war stories, matching examples are the ones to look for. Usually the examples from 1960 production have the stock marked with the same serial on the barrel, like in the one below.
Font may differ from production batches, in this case we are likely at the beginning of 1960 production (“A” prefix). On 1960 produced Type 53, having the serial number marked on the stock, the butt plate is not stamped to match the barrel.
On Type 53 is common to find parts (metal and wood) marked with the “21 in triangle” symbol. It is an acceptance marking. The meaning of the capital A however is unknown.
Again the “21 in triangle” close to another symbol not clearly identified.
This Type 53 from 1960 is full matching, so this is the serial number on the bolt. There are still a lot of unclear markings on these carbines, like the “K” on the stock below.
Even if the meaning of the “K” is unknown and we cannot exclude to find the same marking even on Russian or Mosin from other production, what is distintive of the Chinese carbines is highly likely the “o in circle” marking that you can see below.
The “o in circle” on the receiver or barrel is common on Type 53 but can be also found on the rare and elusive Albanian produced M91/30 rifle, with a production apparently limited to 1961. Why? Was China supporting this small batch production? What is the meaning of this marking that the Chinese Type 53 and the Albanian 91/30 are sharing? Could be really Chinese or is Albanian? Still unknown but intriguing.
Type 53 magazine serial number matching the rest of the gun. No other markings are visibile there.
A small “P” is under the fore part of the stock. Meaning is unknown. So many of these markings will be added soon to to the “currently unidentified” page.
Arsenal 26’s Type 53 carbine barrel markings: serial number A1962, Year 1960. 26 in triangle (Arsenal marking) and a small “32” towards the rear sight (should be inside a rhombus and the meaning is unknown). In the first years of production, the Arsenal marking was an underlined 296 but starting from 1955 a number 26 was replacing it. In the late production, in 1960, the 26 was inside a triangle, indicating the Jianshe Arsenal 26.
