M44L: The Experimental Midlength Folding-Bayonet Mosin Nagant
Forgotten Weapons
•
8m 45s
Courtesy of The Mosin Crate, we have a Soviet "M44L" today. This was an intermediate length (24 inch barrel) pattern of the Mosin Nagant rifle with an M44-style permanently attached folding spike bayonet. Developed in 1944, it was intended to serve as a universal replacement for the Mosin Nagant rifles and carbines in service, but trials did not begin until after the German surrender in 1945 and the program was dropped.
Total production is not known, although the initial order was for 1,000 rifles in this infantry configuration plus 200 more without bayonets for use as snipers' rifles. When development ceased, the existing guns were refurbished, put into storage, and eventually distributed with other Mosins as military aid to allied nations. This example was imported from Bulgaria by Century, and is imported marked by them as an "M44". The term "M44L" has been adopted by the American collector community in lieu of knowing a proper Soviet designation for the pattern.
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle, History a...
The M40 was the final and largest iteration of the recoilless rifle in American military service. Designed to fix the shortcomings of the 105mm M27 that preceded it, the M40 was light and powerful, and added a .50 caliber spotting rifle to assist in being able to make first-round hits. The massiv...
-
M1 Carbine: A Whole New Class of Weapon
The United States developed the M1 carbine very quickly at the beginning of World War Two, once the German "blitzkrieg" made it clear that highly mobile enemy forces could threaten rear echelon troops in a modern war. The M1911 pistol was seen as a difficult weapon to use well, and a light carbin...
-
Luxembourg Model 1884 Gendarmerie Nagant
The military of Luxembourg chose to purchase Nagant revolvers in the 1880s, and they got three different models. The most interesting of these was the Model 1884 for the Gendarmerie, which was chambered for the black powder 9.4x22mm cartridge and fitted with a long barrel so it could mount a tiny...
