Chiang Kai-shek mauser

[KenG]

My Chinese made rifle. Its a mix master of parts, which was not unexpected. Stock has been sanded, obviously. If I could get more info on it that would be wonderful. Date on receiver is gone. One thing I am interested in is the "X" marks in front of the serial numbers. They look very similar to Russian capture marks. Please correct me if I am wrong

[KenG]

one more of the stock.

[SonofWWIIDI]

Nice!

[TRAP55]

Looks like a RC "X", but I've never seen one stamped in front of the serial number like that, or stamped on the barrel too. My best WAG would be a re-arsenal mark.
I would bet that stock wasn't made in China, looks to be off one of the contract Banner Mausers.

[Cessnapilot89]

That is way too cool!

[G-Man WC]

Thats a version now you don't see every day.
Thanks for sharing.
-g

[Spartan301]

Chinese Mauser

Wow! The striping on the stock is very cool, great markings!
Update: Looks like a Chinese Model 1935 Short Rifle in 7.92x57, The top mark on the receiver is a Chinese Ordnance mark and the bottom one is the Hanyang Arsenal crest. There should be a year # under the crest.

[19K]

Clearer pictures of the "X" please?

I thought my cz82 had an X. Was reading about it and it was actually two crossed swords. I look at mine closely and sure it enough it was two crossed swords. Maybe this is the same thing?

[Milsurp Collector]

One thing I am interested in is the "X" marks in front of the serial numbers. They look very similar to Russian capture marks. Please correct me if I am wrong

It is possible the X is the serial number block. Rifles were serial numbered say up to 9999 and then a new block of serial numbers was started with a letter suffix or prefix - A1, A2, A3, etc. After that serial number block was completed at A9999 a new block was started with the next letter of the alphabet B1, B2, B3, etc.

The serial number on my Chinese Type 24 Zhong Zheng Shi (Chiang Kai-shek type) rifle begins with E. The 31-12 date mark means it was made in December 1942.

[SVT-40]

Pic's of mine.

[hambam105]

That isn't the rifle that killed Steve Maqueen in the movie, Sand Pebbles, is it?

[bv141]

Can someone confirm that these Chinese rifles were typically manufactured in 8mm Mauser or did they manufacturer in another caliber?

I have no idea what the Chinese military standard rifle cartridge was in the 1930s.

By the time of the Korean war, the Chinese had Japanese rifle, US military supplies arms (from the Nationalists), and Russian arms.

(Ultimately, it becomes a logistics nightmare to support should a large number of non-standard calibers..)

[KenG]

I shall try to get better pics when I can. But it could be the "X" s are a letter prefix. The date under the receiver crest is worn off.

[penguin0123]

Not sure about the top 3 characters. All I know is that the first one is "south".
The bottom three are: soldier, service, bureau. So I'm guessing a division/corp?

Interesting to note that old-timey chinese is read in a column, right to left like:
5 1
6 2
7 3
8 4


The charaters on the stock is read in the modern manner:
1 2 3
4 5 6

[penguin0123]

Got an update. Let's map the characters this way:
1 2 3
-----
4 5 6


1 = South
2 = ? Illegible to everyone in my family, would appreciate higher res photos
3 = County
4&5 = soldier
6 = Bureau

So I'm guessing those 6 characters denote a particular military district this rifle was assigned to.

What is interesting is that the character in 3, "县" is simplified Chinese. The traditional Chinese character would be "縣". I can't really see when your receiver was made, but the fact that it says "中正式" means it was made under KMT control. And simplified characters didn't come about until after the '49 Red Chinese victory. It would also explain the modern way the characters were arranged (e.g. the same order as English).

I guess your rifle was made while KMT was in power, and it fell into Communist hands. After things like the Type 56 began being issued to first line units, this Mauser was given to local militias. Hence stamp on the stock. It is a real shame half the stamp above this was removed by sanding. It looks like the first 3 are characters, and the last 4 are Arabic numerals. If so, the use of Arabic numerals further reinforce the theory that the Red Chinese made those marks, as earlier numbers were all Chinese characters (e.g. the marks on the broomhandle Mausers).