- Joined
- Jul 14, 2002
- Messages
- 9,444
Here is another rifle I just got. Its a M28 "Ski Trooper" rifle from Finland. During World War I Finland captured alot of Mosin Nagants from the Russians and after the war they bought as many as they could from other countries. Sometime in the '20s it was decided by the Finnish that the M91 Russian rifle needed an update. The Finland Army adopted the M27 rifle in 1927 and in the following year the Finland Civil Guard (like our National Guard) adopted the M28. However unlike our National Guard the Civil Guard saw ALOT of combat (no offense to our National Guard).
With a great amount of competition between the service branches, the Civil Guard wanted to adopt a design that was in their eye’s a superior weapon to the M27. Plans were ordered from the Civil Guard's weapons engineers and arms designers to have specifications for an improved shorter barreled rifle design for production testing. This trial design was to be ready by mid 1927 at the latest. At this time frame in the military capacity of the Civil Guard, they had not yet gained the capacity to produce their own rifle barrels for the weapons they were equipped with. They looked abroad to the Swiss firm of Schweizerische Industrie-Gessellschaft or SIG for short to produce the new M28 rifle barrles.
The earliest versions of the M28 incorporated a second set of sling slots above the normal lower slots. These slots were added just below the comb of the rear buttstock. These additional slots were added to the first 6,000 stocks produced and were intended to allow the Guardsmen to carry the rifle across his chest while on ski’s or mounted. There are M28s in M27 stocks and vice versa but these are rifles that were returned for refurbishment/repair during the Winter War and Continuation War when the Army was in control of all weapons and their repair-not standard production variants. Many if not all M28s will also bear the Army’s boxed SA stamp [SA]. This is due to the Army’s absorption of all Civil Guard weapons during the Continuation War 1941-1944 and marking them as army/government property.
If you are wondering how a Ski Trooper worked. During the war they would ski through the Russian camps at night, grenading the kitchens, and shoot people as they sat by the fires to strike fear in the enemy. Before the Russians knew what were going on the Finnish troops would be gone. They also would ski through convoys and stop the front and rear cars to trap the convoy in the narrow trails through the woods. Another noted thing they would do is tie puukko (a type of knife) to their ski's and go past enemy soldiers and slit their throats as they passed.
With a great amount of competition between the service branches, the Civil Guard wanted to adopt a design that was in their eye’s a superior weapon to the M27. Plans were ordered from the Civil Guard's weapons engineers and arms designers to have specifications for an improved shorter barreled rifle design for production testing. This trial design was to be ready by mid 1927 at the latest. At this time frame in the military capacity of the Civil Guard, they had not yet gained the capacity to produce their own rifle barrels for the weapons they were equipped with. They looked abroad to the Swiss firm of Schweizerische Industrie-Gessellschaft or SIG for short to produce the new M28 rifle barrles.
The earliest versions of the M28 incorporated a second set of sling slots above the normal lower slots. These slots were added just below the comb of the rear buttstock. These additional slots were added to the first 6,000 stocks produced and were intended to allow the Guardsmen to carry the rifle across his chest while on ski’s or mounted. There are M28s in M27 stocks and vice versa but these are rifles that were returned for refurbishment/repair during the Winter War and Continuation War when the Army was in control of all weapons and their repair-not standard production variants. Many if not all M28s will also bear the Army’s boxed SA stamp [SA]. This is due to the Army’s absorption of all Civil Guard weapons during the Continuation War 1941-1944 and marking them as army/government property.
If you are wondering how a Ski Trooper worked. During the war they would ski through the Russian camps at night, grenading the kitchens, and shoot people as they sat by the fires to strike fear in the enemy. Before the Russians knew what were going on the Finnish troops would be gone. They also would ski through convoys and stop the front and rear cars to trap the convoy in the narrow trails through the woods. Another noted thing they would do is tie puukko (a type of knife) to their ski's and go past enemy soldiers and slit their throats as they passed.
Last edited by a moderator:
