Vintage Saturday: An American Mosin in Paris…or Somewhere

An American Mosin-Nagant

Yup, the aftermath of the Gun Industry Bailout of 1918, when the Feds bought a bunch of Mosins they didn’t like to save Remington and Westinghouse when those pesky Bolsheviks refused to pay up.

On another note, I would like to congratulate Cyrus for willing our Mosin-Nagant Timney Trigger Giveaway! He will be using the trigger in a 1928 Ishevsk.

Thanks to everyone who emailed me an entry – we had great participation. If you’re not Cyrus, you should definitely condsider picking up one of the triggers anyway – you won’t regret the improvement in your Mosin.

7 Comments

  1. I think your picture is from Nicaragua some time in the early 30’s-late 20’s. The US Marines dumped off a few there to people working for Uncle Sam. Also look at the ammo belt/bandolier pure pre-WWII US.
    Dean from Idaho

  2. Very interesting and unusual photo! Thanks for posting.
    @Dean: Maybe it was taken in Nicaragua, but the tallest lady in the group does not look to be from Central America at all…
    R.

  3. While a lot of the US Mosins went back to Russia with US forces, some of them were also given to National Guard units. I expect that’s what we’re seeing in this photo. I don’t know enough about older uniforms to be sure, though.

  4. Actually, I’d be inclined to think that the photo is a member of the Guardia de Asalto [Assault Guards] in Republican Spain during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. The Soviet Union sold lots of Mosin-Nagant rifles to the Ejército Popular Republicano and other security forces of the socialist and communist-led Spanish Republic. It is true that Nicaraguan rebels led by August César Sandino used Mosin-Nagant rifles in the war against the USMC and auxiliary Nicaraguan forces. These U.S.-contract Mosin-Nagants were apparently provided by Mexican nationalists and the left-wing of the Mexican revolution in the 1920s.

    As for the U.S. ammunition belt, I have no idea, but it might be WWI surplus from France or something like that.

    • Hello, actually that photo is framed in Mexico. Russian contract Mosin Nagants made by Remington and Westinhouse were sold to Alvaro Obregon´s government to put down with Adolfo de la Huerta´s coup back in 1924.

      The picture belongs to president Obregon´s funeral service on july, 1928.

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