Today we are shooting a rifle with an amazing history. It would seem to be another Mauser. One of millions, nothing special. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Its history begins in 1930, when it was produced as one of the first newly introduced into the armament of the Polish Army as the kbk wz.29 at the Polish FB Radom, with the rare K29 designation typical of the very beginning of production. Later, after Poland lost the September campaign in 1939, it was seized and conscripted for further service in the occupation units of the Third Reich. After the Second World War, it ended up in Czechoslovakia, from where, in 1947, it was bought by the Jewish Agency, which purchased post-German armaments to arm the Haganah, which evolved next into the Israeli Defence Force. The Israelis refurbished the rifle to the late K98k standard, and in the 1950s replaced the barrel from a Mauser 7,92 to a NATO 7.62. This was dictated by the standardisation of rifle calibres following the introduction of the FN FAL into service. The rifle has been through a lot, the barrel has pitting, nevertheless the thread is sharp all the way through. Extractor needs replacing, I will do this in my own time. The rifle served in the IDF (training, auxiliary units) until the 1980s. Then it was exported with other Israeli Mausers to the world and ended up with me :)
A rifle with a remarkable and fascinating history. A silent witness to the Second World War, a participant in the Israeli War of Independence, the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War. If only it could talk....
The rifle comes with a rare ex-Nazi World War II bayonet after Israeli refurbishment.
Today, as the sun sets, marks the 76th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence. Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut!
29 сен 2024
