The Mosin from Koblenz: The Mosin Nagant collection of the Defense Technology Museum

A very interesting Mosin Nagant collection in Germany

Time ago, I had the possibility to visit the collection of the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung (WTS) of Koblenz, the Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology.

I have to say that I was pretty lucky because, at present (Feb.2023), the collection is temporarily closed until further notice.

Talking about Mosin Nagant, the collection is including a very interesting exhibition of Mosin sniper rifles, including also an intriguing mysterious example…

As you can see in the picture at the beginning of the article, the collection is including:

A Mosin Nagant M91/30 PE sniper rifle;
A PEM scope with a central mount;
A Mosin Nagant M91/30 PU sniper rifle;
A rare Finnish M39/43 sniper rifle;
An M/44 scope for the M39/44 sniper rifle;
A Finnish M28/30 bayonet, complete of scabbard and frog;
A sort of mystery rifle….an M39 SOV equipped with a PU scope and an uncommon mount! A tool to disassemble this really uncommon mount is exposed just close to the rifle.

The full side view of the PE scoped M91/30

The M91/30 PE sniper rifle and the PEM scope

The displayed M91/30 PE sniper rifle is likely a refurbished original example. It is wearing a canvas sling and the stock it is highly likely a replacement one, considering that this type of sniper rifle was produced in the ’30 (1932-1938) and the stock it is using a post 1942 pattern. Unfortunately the description of the rifle, containing also the year of production and additional details is not clearly observable from my old pictures.

The central side view of the PE scoped M91/30

The additional pins that you can see on the rear sight base were introduced only in 1941, as a standard feature, and this is another sign of a refurbishment process that involved this rifle, since many Mosin were retrofitted with these during the same process.

Rear angled view of the PE scoped M91/30

Another central side view of the PE scoped M91/30 showing also the PEM

The above picture is clearly showing the base, mount and the PE scope. The base is correctly numbered with a serial. The left side of the barrel is not showing any serial number, correct as well. This rifle it is highly likely a Tula produced M91/30, assembled between 1932 and 1938, as said.

Interesting also the detail of the finish of the stock, that is clearly visible on the picture.

About the PEM scope over the rifle, it is a 1938 produced scope with a central Smirnskiy mount, the same mount used by the PE below. The reported serial of the scope is б (so B) -11761.

The M91/30 PU sniper rifle

The PU sniper rifle of the Koblenz collection is a genuine 1944 Tula made (from the information panel) M91/30 sniper rifle and it has some interesting features:

the left side of the barrel is reporting the scope serial (б-62270), that it is seems unusual for a Tula made sniper;
it is using a weird kind of cleaning rod;
the scope serial (б-62922) is not matching the one on the left side of the barrel, so could be a replacement;
The scope mount is Izhevsk marked.

Even if the stock seems to follow the Tula pattern, my personal idea is that this rifle belongs to Izhevsk production. However, this was impossible to clarify at that time and it is still the same now, just looking at the pictures.

The full side view of the PU scoped M91/30

A central side view of the PU scoped M91/30 showing some details like the scope serial on the barrel, the mismatching serial of the scope and the Izhevsk mark on the mount

Another view of the Rifle

From this picture it is clear the cleaning rod is not a standard one

Something to highlight is that the information panel dedicated to the rifle is clearly reporting that, due to its reliability, the Mosin sniper rifles were still in use in the ’60 and on the right side of the rifle there is a nice picture of a German sniper using a captured PU sniper rifle in January 1945.

A very nice view of the two M39 sniper rifles. The M39/43 is the one below

The Finnish M39/43 sniper rifle

A central side view of the rifle. The SA marking on the mount and scope is clearly visible

The Finnish M39/43 is one of the most rare example between the different models of Mosin Nagant sniper rifles. The one exposed in Koblenz´s collection is a 1944 VKT made rifle and this sounds 100% correct since only VKT produced these sniper variant.

The scope is an Ajack 4×90 without the focus adjustment ring and it is marked Suomen Armeija – SA. If you want to discover more about this marking, you can find additional information in the Markings and Proofs section. The serial of the scope is 60122. The mount is SA marked as well.
According to the description provided by the Museum, the rifle serial number is 42934 and the same description is also indicating a total production number that is matching the information that we can find on many books: a total of 500 rifles of this kind.

I am lucky to be the happy owner of one of those rifles and I will have the pleasure to show you my example in the future.

The Finnish M44 scope

The scope displayed just under the M39/43 is labelled as an M/44 scope for the same kind of sniper rifle (M39/43). It is in fact the scope used in the M39/44 variant. It is also a super rare piece of equipment and the serial of the scope is 4018. There are no visible additional markings on it.

The M/44 Finnish scope

The M28/30 bayonet

The collection is including also a single Finnish M28/30 bayonet complete with frog and scabbard.

The Finnish M28/30 bayonet

The M39 SOV equipped with a likely experimental mount and PU scope

This is the most interesting rifle of the collection. It is basically an M39 with a mount that is similar, at least for the kind of locking screws used, to the one that was installed on the Finnish M33 sniper rifle. The M33 is a sniper version of the M28/30 produced in a very..very limited amount of examples. The description of the rifle inside the display is describing it as an M39 SOV.

The M39 SOV with the PU scope

The unusual mount of the rifle

Usually we are considering the SOV variant as an M39 equipped with captured PE and PEM Russian scopes. The information panel is reporting the rifle as a 1944 VKT made M39 with serial number 256138. This serial it is really weird for a VKT barrel and it is suggesting a SAKO made one. The panel is also mentioning that 200 SOV have been assembled in Finland between 1942 and 1944. This highly likely experimental SOV is the only variant showing a usage of a PU on the M39.

The tool to disassemble the mount

A dedicated tool to disassemble the mount is displayed with rifle. The stock of the rifle is also marked with a red number : 32451. The meaning of this is unknown and it is a feature shared with the M39/43.