JimZ

Very interesting thread. I think that from a commercial/manufacturing point of view it makes sense to offer to use common dies and then change enamelling and central medallion. That way the 'extra die costs' are only for the central medallion. Its like wearing the same colour shirt with a different tie. This is someting that would not be possible in the case of ODMs that are of single piece construction. As for the post above, common ideology, rather than common dies are evidently the reason for the similarity. Keep them coming!!! Jim :cheers:

Hi Gordon, I am outside my comfort zone with wound stripes but could I suggest that he wore the stripes in the sequence they were awarded (which is not usual as these are usually grouped I know that there are red stripes for heavy wounds, yellow for lighter ones and aparantly, even blue ones. See thread: http://gmic.co.uk/in...-stripe-wonder/ for various other photos of wound stripes that might help. Post 61 shows an interesting combination. In the Avdeyev photo I also seem to make out one yellow over three stripes followed by a yellow stripe over two more! Jim :cheers:

Question number 11 I was a Soviet pilot and I have done what no other pilot like me has, although in doing so, I lost my life. My better half was also a pilot dying in combat two years later. Who am I? What was my rank/title? What did I do that was so unique? Again, I'll let you look around for a while and if it turns out to be tough, I'll drop some hints. Jim :cheers:

A-ha!! Thanks Dan. I was looking for that detail towards the butt not the stock!!! That explains it. That yours Dan? Jim :cheers:

The score is presently as follows with JimZ asking the next question i.e. question 11. 3 points - Hauptmann (Dan) 3 points - JimZ 2 points - Harvey 1 point - Valter 1 point - kapten_windu Soon guys.....let me get some inspiration! Jim :cheers:

Thanks Dan.... The hunting comment threw me on the right track and I knew that what I had to look was a rifle..... but that detail!!! Do you have a full pic or is that the only one...I've been searching Moisin Nagant pics for the last half hour trying to find that detail but Zilch!! I would daresay that the Moisin Nagant was one of the most popular and I dare say, reliable sniper rifles!! Deadly in the hand of a good sniper. Jim :cheers:

Would have almost said this was a backgammon set but that is way older than 1891:-) What am I Moisin-Nagant... a warrior and hunter and not as famous as Kalashnikov (AK series). Yes, not as famous as Kalashnikov (take the AK47) but I am sure, in some remote region of the world it still sees action. 1891 means that it saw the fall of the Tsars and the rise of the Soviet empire, used on all fronts. And here I use wiki.... How did my family get started: The 3-line rifle, Model 1891, its original official designation, was adopted by the Russian Military in 1891. There have been several variations from the original rifle, the most common being the M1891/30, which was designed in 1930. Some details were borrowed from Nagant's design. One such detail is the attachment of the magazine spring to the magazine base plate. In Mosin's original design the spring was not attached to the base plate and, according to the Commission, could be lost during cleaning). Another detail is the form of the clip that could hold five cartridges to be loaded simultaneously into the magazine. The other is the form of the "interrupter", a detail in the feeding mechanism preventing stoppages due to feeding two cartridges at the same time. The initial rifle proposed by Nagant lacked an interrupter, leading to numerous failures to feed. This detail, as well as the new configuration of the feed mechanism, was introduced in the rifle, borrowing from Mosin's rifle. Although the form of the interrupter was slightly changed, this alteration was subsequently borrowed back by the Commission for the Model 1891 Mosin Nagant. During the modernization of 1930 the form of the interrupter was further changed as the part had turned out to be one of the least reliable parts of the action. Only the clip loading cartridges and the attachment of the magazine spring to the magazine base plate in subsequent models were designed by Nagant. Considering the rifle could be easily loaded without using a clip, one cartridge after another, the magazine spring attached to the magazine base plate is the only contribution of Nagant to all rifles after 1930. My history: Despite the failure of Nagant's rifle in the patent trial he claimed he was entitled to the sum the winner was to receive. It also appeared that Nagant was the first to apply for the international patent protection over the "interrupter", although he borrowed it from Mosin's design initially. The reason why Mosin could not apply for a patent was that he was an officer of the Russian army and the design of the rifle was owned by the Government and had the status of a military secret. A scandal was about to burst out with Nagant threatening he would not participate in trials held in Russia ever again and some involved officials proposing to expel Nagant from any further trials as he borrowed the design of the "interrupter" after it was covered by the "secrecy" status given in Russia of that time to military inventions and therefore violated Russian law. Taking into consideration that Nagant was one of the few producers not engaged by competitive governments and generally eager to cooperate and share experience and technologies, the Commission paid him a sum of 200,000 Russian roubles equal to the premium that Mosin received as the winner. The rifle did not receive the name of its real inventor Mosin in order not to provoke further debates with Nagant. This turned out to be a wise decision as in 1895 Nagant's revolver was adopted by the Russian army as the main side weapon. However for the same reason and because of Nagant's attempts to use the situation for publicity the "Mosin-Nagant" cliche appeared in the western literature (the rifle was never called this in Russia). The cliche is deficient from the legal point of view (taking into consideration the legal provisions of Russian law at that time, i.e. the law of the country to adopt the rifle) and from technical point of view as none of the borrowings from Nagant's design even if removed would prevent the rifle from firing. Moreover from the technical point of view the rifle that can be called "Mosin-Nagant" (or "Nagant-Mosin") is the design proposed by Mosin, as further amended by Mosin with some details being borrowed from Nagant's design. Production of the Model 1891 began in 1892 at the ordnance factories of Tula Arsenal, Izhevsk Arsenal, and Sestroryetsk Arsenal. An order for 500,000 rifles was placed with the French arms factory, Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Châtellerault.[2] By the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, approximately 3.8 million rifles had been delivered to the Russian army. Initial reactions by units equipped with the rifle were mixed, but any adverse reports were likely due to poor maintenance of the Mosins by infantrymen more familiar with the Berdan who were not properly trained on the Mosin-Nagant. Between the adoption of the final design in 1891 and the year 1910, several variants and modifications to the existing rifles were made USSR Variants include: - Model 1891 Infantry Rifle - Dragoon Rifle - Cossack Rifle - Model 1907 Carbine - Model 1891/30 - Model 1938 Carbine - Model 1944 Carbine - Model 1891/59 Carbine Now I am either spot on....or this is something else and I am completely off....LOL!!! I still have not figured which part of the rifle this might be though...... !!! Jim :cheers:

When I used to participate in the quiz in previous years, I use to love to ask my questions in this format.....hiding subtle hints that lead you onto a treasure hunt. They usually sound more complicated than they are, but then if you take them apart and sprinkle some some common sense onto my words, the answer is usually staring you in the face :-) Only problem is that these questions tend to be tougher for those whose first language isn't English. Yes - a very sad story. And to think that he may easily have moved on to be a Marshal of the Russian Federation, were it not for him becoming totally disillusioned by the collapse of Communism. Think of how many individuals, whose credo was communism must have felt the same (and even gone the same way). Anyway, well done to both Dan and Harvey once again!!!! Jim :cheers:

The score is presently as follows with Haputmann Dan asking the next question i.e. question 10. Dan is also presently the leader! 3 points - Hauptmann (Dan) 2 points - Harvey 2 points - JimZ 1 point - Valter 1 point - kapten_windu Regards, Jim :cheers:

LOL Harvey!! What goes around comes around. Interesting how sometimes, dwelling on replying correctly those few minutes more makes the difference between a hit or a miss! Well done nevertheless Harvey!!! Jim :cheers:

Excellent Dan!!! Congratulations!!! You could not have given a better answer. What was the most useful clue? I thought the number 41 should be the most helpful hint pointing you in the direction of Marshals and then its just a question of finding which one had committed suicied.... .... but then again you never know which hints work best! Jim :cheers:

They needed something to drop when they ran out of bombs! Wish we'd know something more about this....

Question 9: I am one of a group of 41. Some of us had grand careers, though others were executed! 4 of us are still alive today. I died in Moscow by my own hand. Question: Who am I? What is my rank/position/title? Other background: Please tell my story - recounting 1) a WW2 incident as well as 2) the incident/reason that led to my death. Good luck. If I see that we're getting stuck I'll start dropping hints. Jim :cheers:

The score is presently as follows with JimZ asking the next question i.e. question 9. 2 points - Hauptmann (Dan) 2 points - Harvey 2 points - JimZ 1 point - Valter 1 point - kapten_windu Regards, Jim :cheers:

Hi Valter.... I was on the verge of giving up! Each of the people was an HSU and a Sturmovik pilot or gunner and each wrote some form of memoir!!! Actually I stumbled ona page with so many pilot memoirs that I though it impossible to list each one of them!!! Its also interesting that he used the name Shakov instead of Maresyev.... Sounds to me that Maresyev was not quite too happy about his "superstar" status and preferred to be just an ordinary person. Perhaps this is why the name was changed!?! Jim :cheers:

Ok Valter... this is my last attempt: Is it Vasily Emelianenko, HSU, pilot with the 7th Guards and author of the book "Red Star Against The Swastika"? Beyond this I leave the secondary question to someone else. Jim :cheers:

Here's another try Is it by any changce Georgy Afanasevich Litvina who wrote the book "Я был воздушным стрелком" which I would translate as "I was the (air) gunner" I did not manage to match Viktor Shakhov links to this book so again, I am unsure if it the right one. I did however find a couple of references on a site to Viktor Shakhov wondering why he was not included in lists of pilot amputees. Seems that the book which renamed Maresyev as Shakhov caused some confusion!!! Jim :cheers:

The top one says: Podpolkovnik (Lt.Col) Avdeyev Alexandr Matveievich Commander 254, 256 Guards Regiment, 56 Guards Division. I think we were spot on there. The bottom one says: - Sergeant E. Leonavichyoc. Participant of the storm on berlin This makes me wonder whether he's navy or not. Those epualettes look totally navy to me.... which is why I proposed Starshina 1. Pehaps someone more familiar with the uniforms can chip in here. Notwithstanding, we got the rank or its equivalent correct.... Re the ribbon bar, I cannot only guess that the first one may be an order of the red banner with its distinctive red/white/red ribbon. The rest is just too blurred... Hope that helps Gordon!! Jim :cheers:

I agree with Rayjin 1st photo: старшина́ 1-й статьи (Starshina Pervi Stati) which is a Petty Officer 1st class - 3 stripes on what must be navy epualettes. This is more or less equivalent to a seargeant's three stripes. 2nd photo: подполко́вник (Podpolkovnik) which is a Lieutenant Colonel. Wears a guards badge on his right breast which probably means he was attached to a guards unit. Any chance of getting a close up of his ribbon bar or is that the best it can be displayed - seems to have a touch too much light on it... Regards, Jim

Ok,,,I'll shoot again after searching... Is it Alexei Mikhailovich Batievsky, also HSU, also Sturmovik pilot - apparantly he also published his memoirs, but at this stage I did not dig up anything much about him..... Jim :cheers:

Thanks Valter... searching again...... Unfortunately her story is the story of most Soviet POW's. Not only did they fight and endure capture for the Soviet union, but when they returned back home, they were, more often than not, treated as traitors and even executed or sent to Gulags. That's Stalins paranoid version of gratitude!! Jim :cheers:

To try to answer part two.... and I guess there are several Sturmovik aces who were awarded an HSU...but not as many who wrote their memoirs, I'd suggest Anna Timofeyeva-Yegorova, author of "Red Sky, Black Death". I am not sure this is the person you are looking for and if not, I'll have to search a bit more Lt. Anna Alexandrovna Timofeyeva-Yegorova (September 23, 1916 – October 29, 2009) was a pilot in the Red Army Air Force (VVS) during the Second World War (or the Great Patriotic War, as it is known in Russia). She learned to fly and became a flight instructor before the war, then volunteered for the front when Germany invaded. In 1941-2, she flew reconnaissance and delivery missions for the 130th Air Liaison Squadron in a wooden biplane, the Polikarpov Po-2. After being shot down, she transferred in 1943 to the 805th Attack Aviation Regiment and flew more than 270 missions in the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, including battles above the Taman Peninsula, Crimea and Poland. During an August 1944 mission to destroy German forces at the Magnuszew bridgehead near Warsaw, Yegorova's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Her tail gunner was killed, and the plane was heavily damaged and crashed. Rolling inverted, Yegorova was burned as she left the plane at a low altitude; her parachute only partially opened and she suffered broken bones and other internal injuries on hitting the ground. She was given first aid by the German captors, then taken to a prisoner of war camp where her wounds were tended by Dr. Georgy Sinyakov Back at her air base, Yegorova was presumed dead and 'posthumously' granted the status of Hero of the Soviet Union. On January 31, 1945, Yegorova was liberated after Soviet forces overran the Kustrin prisoner camp where she was being held. Arrested by the NKVD, Yegorova was suspected as a potential traitor and interrogated continuously for eleven days. (Stalin and Soviet law viewed any Soviet who was captured alive as a traitor, subject even to the death penalty or to a term in a penal battalion). After other POW inmates vouched for her injuries and her conduct, she was released, but still suffered persecution and suspicion for many years. She was invalided out of the VVS for medical reasons in 1945. Yegorova was the subject of a feature article in the Literaturnaya Gazeta in 1961, and in 1965, she was finally awarded her Hero of the Soviet Union medal. Jim :cheers: