M44 Carbine from Vietnam

Guys, I think you are really going to enjoy this.

A friend of mine gave me this M44, and with it, quite a story. First, the rifle. Here are pics of it.

My friend served in the U.S. Navy and when I pressed him for more details about the rifle, after he tantalized me by telling me he received it as a recognition of his service in Vietnam, here are the details about how he obtained this M44 in Vietnam.

How did a Russian rifle find its way to China and then to a lone VC in Quang Tri province in the RVN in 1966? You asked about the story behind it, so let me fill in some details. I was an advisor to Coastal Group 11. I was assigned to USNAVFORV under MACV which was commanded by General William Westmoreland. The coastal patrol groups were a quasi-military group associated with the RVN navy. Our base was located just south of the DMZ on the Quang Tri river at a spot called Cua Viet. I and another officer or a couple of senior enlisted men were assigned to advise this group of about 85 Vietnamese irregulars. We would spend a month at the base and then return to Danang for a couple of days to have a shower, eat some American food, and get our laundry done. At the time we were the only Americans within hundreds of square miles. Our job was to patrol the coastal waters and intercept shipments from North Vietnam to local VC units. We used 32’ wooden patrol boats developed by the US. They had a GM diesel engine for propulsion and a top speed of about 8 knots. They were called Yabutas and were painted gray with the requisite eyes on the bow. I began my tour in June 1965 and left in July 1966. You have to realize that the Republic of South Vietnam started from ground zero and had no navy to speak of, so our base commander was an old army officer. He hated going on coastal patrol. He was much happier patrolling through the local villages, patrolling the river up to Quang Tri and back, and setting ambushes. One of the ambushes resulted in the death of the VC whose rifle I now have. At the end of my tour, since I was the first American that had stayed with them for the entire time he was in country, the base CO gave me the rifle as a going-away gift. It fires a round a little larger than the 7.62 mm stuff the Americans were using at the time. However, it would fire a standard 7.62 mm round whereas the American weapons could not fire the rounds developed for this weapon which was a decided advantage for the VC and NVA. I used to have all sorts of documentation that allowed me to bring it back to the United States, but I’ll have to hunt to find it. Thanks for the identification. I’ve always wondered what it was. By the way there is a date stamped on it of 1960. I couldn’t get it to show up in the pictures.

John


Then he added, oh, by the way, I always carried an M2 Carbine when in country. I loved that rifle.

It seems like it is in very good condition for having been in a major war? Did you or your buddy refinish it at some point?

Shooting a "standard" 7.62 round in that Mosin would be very unhealthy for gun and shooter.

Here is a good article on the Chinese M44:

The Chinese Type 53 Carbine

tom

Nope, my buddy stuck it in his closet when he got home and didn't touch it, and neither have I. Best I can tell it is a Type 59 Chinese M44 variant and didn't get much use after the guy shooting it was killed during the firefight.

---------- Post added at 12:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 PM ----------

What kind of ammo can be shot in it? I'm not sure I'm much interested in actually shooting it, it's keepsake value is worth far more to me than using it as a shooter. And, I've already got a Mosin M44 and 91/30.

Just wanted to follow up...my wife hid the rifle away until Christmas.

It's in really quite good condition, and...all matching serial numbers: Receiver, bolt, magazine, even same number stamped on stock.

Great rifle and story to go along with it. Document the story keep it with the rifle. Someone will appreciate it down the road.

John, Great rifle. Thanks for posting. What is that metal near the trigger guard at the wrist right side?? I would plead for him to look for the paperwork as well as have him sign the written story. NICE. The Chinese type 53, as well as the Soviet M44 was widely used in Vietnam. Most Soviet block countries provided arms. This is one thing in the movie the Green Berets, which was accurate. When the weapons specialist is ask by Jenson why should we be the only country involved in Nam he pointed out the communist blocks' contribution/involvement.

Many of the PU snipers captured in Nam were of Hungarian origins. I have one without papers which looks the part, papers or not. Here are a few pics. The scope is scrubbed of its Soviet markings from factory 297 in Yoshkar-Ola(Hungarian PU's often were fitted with Soviet optics) in effort to conceal country of origin. O2 is the code for Hungarian origins. The in country teak stock repair and the mud looking finish is seen on many rifles captured in Nam. The scope has lots of fungus and mold growing inside it, but it still is functional.