This happened historically, but in the post-Soviet space, many people still think that the “three-line” rifle and the Mosin rifle are two completely different types of weapons. It's a shame that this error continues to be passed from father to son for several generations. It's time to stop and get to know the story. For which it is not a shame. Which you need to be proud of. About which you need to talk. After all, whoever does not know his past is not worthy of his future. And for general development it will be interesting enough to know what kind of Mosin rifle it is, why the “three-ruler”, and how it turned out that it became the most massive weapon produced in the first half of the twentieth century.
The background of the legendary weapon
By the end of the XIX century, the Russian army was technically poorly equipped, significantly inferior to the enemy. Constant external challenges demanded new types of weapons for the tsarist army. The use of a single - shot Berdan rifle of American manufacture did not promise the victories of the Russian army. It required a multi-shot weapon with a reliable mechanism.
The grand tender announced by the Russian Tsar is described in many historical documents and had no equal at that time. Not every state has offered gold for the development and delivery of a multi-shot rifle to the conveyor. The prototypes presented to the commission had many drawbacks. The phrase “would have crossed the best samples, which is at the same price”, accidentally dropped by one of the members of the commission, ended the contest for the choice of weapons. It was decided to install a five-shot magazine with a cartridge feeding mechanism, developed by the Nagan brothers, in the Mosin’s three-line rifle. Looking at the photo, many are wondering: "Why is the rifle called a" three-ruler? "
Three rulers?
The name of the rifle was given to ordinary soldiers who found it difficult to pronounce the full name of the weapon: "a three-line rifle of the 1891 model." How many difficulties, this certainly needs to be sorted out.
- According to the agreement between the Nagan brothers and tsarist Russia, the name of the rifle is forbidden to indicate the name of only one creator, that is, the "Mosin rifle" is not possible, but the "Mosin-Nagan rifle" is possible. It is not known which general came up with the patriotic idea, but until the middle of the twentieth century, the weapon was proudly called the “three-line rifle”. Why such a name? All thanks to the caliber of the bullet.
- The Russian measure of length “line” was 2.54 mm and was used in the separation of wheat grains for sowing. The width of a good wheat grain is one line. The caliber of the Berdan rifle was 4 lines - 10.16 mm. To improve the tactical and technical characteristics of the rifle, it was decided to reduce the caliber. There were no centimeters or millimeters, what should be reduced? On one line! As a result, the caliber of the rifle became 7.62 mm, and the name of the weapon contains a complete decryption.
Device and specifications
There is one peculiarity, because of which the “three-ruler” was adopted for the imperial army. The rifle's technical specifications are practically the same as those of many competitors, as evidenced by photos taken by reporters from around the world. However, this is the only weapon in the world that can be quickly disassembled and assembled on the battlefield. All thanks to the simplicity of the design - there are no complex mechanisms in it. The mainspring along with the striker is located in the bolt. Its compression occurs at the moment the shutter is unlocked. At the moment of its locking, a striker platoon occurs. To put the rifle on the fuse, you need to pull the trigger located on the rear edge of the shutter, pull it back to the stop and turn it counterclockwise. With the same trigger, the “three-ruler” can be put into a fighting position, pulling it to failure.
It is noteworthy that the “three-line” rifle demonstrates decent shooting characteristics only with an attached bayonet. The thing is that a heavy, forty-centimeter bayonet is a counterweight when firing, preventing the barrel from flipping up during the shot - this problem was eliminated only in 1938 by Russian gunsmiths.
Modifications to the design of the bullet
The cartridge for the “three-ruler” was developed by the Russian designer Vetlishchev, taking Lebel’s sleeve as the basis. A bottle shape with a protruding rim cost Russia much cheaper than sleeves with an annular groove, which are subject to higher demands during processing. With the blunt bullet borrowed, as it turned out in the analysis of the photo, the French also had certain problems. First of all, when she fired, she quickly lost speed and was ineffective at long distances. In 1908, it was decided to use a pointed form. Thanks to this change, the “three-line” rifle received a range of about two kilometers. Later, under the pointed bullet, which became operational, other types of small arms were developed - the Maxim machine gun, SVD, SVT-40.
Mosin Infantry Rifle
The rifle "three-ruler", created for the infantry, had a long barrel equal to 800 mm. Given the bayonet and the butt, the total length was 1738 mm. Given the weight of the rifle (4.5 kg), it can be noted that the weapon was quite bulky. Since firing from a Mosin rifle without a bayonet was ineffective, the weapon had to be used at short distances. During the Russo-Japanese War, along with the high destructive power of the “three-ruler,” a number of shortcomings were discovered. First of all, it turned out that with frequent shooting the barrel heats up very much, burning the arrow of the hand. The second significant drawback was the unreliable mount of the bayonet, which broke from frequent blows. At the end of the war, it was decided to stop the production of infantry rifles.
"Three-line" Dragoon and Cossack model
Along with rifles for infantry, the production of "three-ruler" for cavalry and Cossacks with a barrel shortened by 70 mm was produced. Slightly losing bullets in the initial speed, the weapon showed good results with both a bayonet and without it. The three-line Dragoon rifle was nevertheless equipped with a bayonet, but the Cossack cavalry obviously did not need it. Having a half-kilogram difference in weight and a length shorter than an infantry rifle by half a meter - this was a completely different “three-ruler”. Light, compact and lethal weapons immediately became popular among soldiers, as evidenced by multiple photos of that time. Although there were minor flaws in the form of a strange placement of the ramrod and the inconvenience of wearing only on the left shoulder, but they were overlapped by the tactical and technical characteristics of the weapon. Positive feedback from soldiers using shorter rifles forced gunsmiths to rethink their designs and make design changes. So there was a single Mosin rifle - a “three-ruler” of 1930 model.
Mosin rifle in the service of sailors and the police
It is noteworthy that the tsarist army was worried about arming soldiers serving in the navy and the police. Along with revolvers "Nagan", the sailors and law enforcement officers were put "three-ruler." The rifle was delivered without a bayonet and was significantly shortened. The proud name "Mosin carbine" bore a weapon. With a barrel of 510 mm, the total length of the rifle was about one meter. The weight of the weapon with full ammunition did not exceed four kilograms. And even though the initial velocity of the bullet was lower than that of long-barreled rifles, the carbine still showed good shooting performance both at short and long distances. Weaknesses were also discovered - a very short shutter handle in the closed position was pulled to the side, creating inconvenience when carrying the carbine and during firing.
Several modernizations of the "three-line"
Taking into account the reviews of the soldiers about the advantages and disadvantages of all types of weapons, the “three-line” rifle was finalized. At first, in 1923, as a base, it was decided to leave the dragoon rifle. In 1930, the entire aiming system changed. The aiming bar began to graduate in meters, and the front sight received an annular fuse. The length of the wooden frame was increased almost the entire length of the trunk. This innovation protected the hands of soldiers from accidental burns. The modified weapon was rightfully called the Mosin rifle. In 1944, the mounts of the ramrod and bayonet changed, the “three-line” had constant problems with which. The bayonet rifle got a hinged sideways, as with German weapons of the time.
Modifications "three lines" for special forces
The Mosin rifle (“three-ruler”) during the years of World War II was popular among snipers: just look at the photos of famous war heroes. The performance characteristics of the weapon made it possible to conduct a battle from a distance of the order of two kilometers. Good firing range and high lethal force became fundamental criteria when choosing weapons for snipers. At first, the developers of the rifle used the fourfold optical sight of the PE copied from the Germans. However, the high cost and complexity of its manufacture led to the fact that in 1942 a 3.5-fold PU sight was put into service, which proved to be the best in battles. Scouts also liked the "three-ruler." The rifle for this kind of troops was equipped with a special silencer, which was developed by the Russian brothers Mitin (device "Bramit"). Also, weapons with a silencer and optics were used by sabotage units of the Soviet army.
Interesting myths of the USSR about the "three-rulers"
Why Mosin rifle is called a "three-ruler", we figured out. It remains to understand what myths are still passed on by word of mouth for almost a century, not only about the fact that Russians ride bears, but also about pasta and cigarettes of 7.62 mm caliber. Like, in case of war, production can be instantly converted to produce cartridges for Mosin’s “three-line” rifle. Is that really true?
The Russian measure was also actively used after the fall of the tsarist regime, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The country was built and raised to its feet all types of industry. It came to the production of food and cigarettes. The technologists were mainly adults who were not particularly willing to switch to a new measure of length, so they used the same lines in production. It is enough to imagine pasta and cigarettes in sizes of 4 or 2 lines, and everything will fall into place. Taking into account that in many areas of industry technology has not changed since the construction of factories, you can draw conclusions about myths yourself.