rifle

Deactivated Turkish Mosin-Nagant rifle captured in Mesopotamia by the 2nd battalion Norfolk Regiment. Of Russian design, 7.62mm Petkhotniya vintovka obr. 1891g, known in the West as a '3 line Mosin-Nagant 1891' (1 line = 1/10 inch). Manufactured by the New England Westinghouse Company in East Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. Its accompanying cleaning rod and socket bayonet are missing. The left butt-stock is stamped with a circle containing the cyrilic letters for 'ANGLIYSKIY ZAKAZ', meaning 'ENGLISH CONTRACT', though contracts were only ever placed with the American firms, Westinghouse and Remington Arms. The right butt-stock is marked with the cyrillic for 'GK'. The top of the receiver originally bore an Imperial Russian eagle and the maker's name 'NEW ENGLAND WESTINGHOUSE COMPANY 1915T No '. This inscription has been largely obliterated. The weapon houses 5 rounds in a single-row, protruding magazine and measures 1.75 M (69") long with the socket bayonet attached, which it usually was. A new, longer range, pointed bullet, the 'Type L', was introduced in 1908 after combat experience in the 1904-5 Russo-Japanese War. The original rear sight-base marked 4,6,8,10,12 was retained and a new, curved leaf sight, designed by Konovalov, added. This was marked from 13 to 32. These numbers are hundreds of 'arshini' - Russian cubits each measuring 28 inches (71.12 cm). A hundred arshini equals 78 yards (72 M).