Gunner 1 Posted August 29, 2011 Posted August 29, 2011 It looks like a Kalashnikov Ak47 and it must have been manufactured in the Soviet Union (Russia) or it would not be part of a question in a Soviet quiz. http://www.ntechz.com/ Gunner 1
Harvey Posted August 29, 2011 Posted August 29, 2011 It is not a Kalashnikov AK-47 - but it is a variant. It was not produced by Russia, but was manufactured in one of the Soviet satellite republics. And no disrespect to the website you linked, but that picture is not an AK-47, although the specification picture below does show an AK-47.
Harvey Posted August 30, 2011 Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) Jim - you are correct, sir! The AMD-65 (Automata Módosított Deszantfegyver 1965; or Automatic Modified Landing Assault Weapon) was the Hungarian version of the AKMS, the upgraded, folding-stock variant of the venerable AK-47. It was intended for use by paratroopers and armored vehicle crewmen, since its compact shape and short barrel length made it easy to parachute with and was ideal for use in the cramped confines of a vehicle. Of note is the fact that no wood is used in the manufacture of large numbers of AMD-65s. The front handguard area is made of perforated sheet metal and typically has a gray plastic vertical foregrip (seen in the pictures) attached to assist in controlling fully automatic fire from this short weapon. In addition, the vertical foregrip has been canted forward to lessen interference with magazine changes, as the standard 30-round magazine tends to get in the way. Interestingly, the vertical foregrip is physically identical to the rear grip, with the former simply mounted backwards with respect to the rear. Edited August 30, 2011 by Harvey
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 Hi Harvey, Yes it does have several distinguishing features but is was not the easiest weapon to trace if you do not exactly know what you are looking for. Did you also get the chance to fire it apart from handle it? Jim :cheers:
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 To keep things going..... The score now stands as follows: 14 points - JimZ 11 points - Harvey 8 points - Hauptmann 3 points - Valter 2 point - kapten_windu 2 point - Gunner 1 1 point - Christophe Question 41 to follow!!! Jim
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 Question 41 All will eventually be revealed. It will start hard and get progressively easier, but this question is only possible thanks to a trip to Moscow, a visit to a museum, and several mobile phone photos! I was not sure if I could take regular pics so the quality is not as good as I would like it to be. So behold: Part of a group in a museum. But who did this group belong to?? For every serious attempt at an answer I will reveal another part of the pic. By serious attempt I mean rather than just try to guess the owner of this group, you should give me reasons as to why you believe the group belonged to him (or her)? If no attempts are made I will reveal other parts of the group every 24 hours. The 6th pic will reveal the full group in all its glory. Good luck!! Jim
Harvey Posted August 31, 2011 Posted August 31, 2011 Ok, to help get this going, here's what I have for the medals: Row 1: Order of October Revolution (1967) Order of the Red Banner (3x) Row 2: 20th Anniversary of the Red Army (1938) Defense of Moscow Victory over Germany 20 years of Victory in Great Patriotic War (1965) Capture of Berlin 30 years of Soviet Army & Navy (1948) 40 years of Soviet Army & Navy (1958) 50 years of Soviet Army & Navy (1968) So we have someone who served for at least 30 years (1938-68) and participated in WWII - defending Moscow & helping in the capture of Berlin. Other than the 3 Orders of the Red Banner, there's nothing too distinguishing about this group that I can see as of yet.
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 Indeed Harvey. Well as far as Soviet medals on a 5 sided kolodka (suspension) are concerned - that's all there is. For some this will be useful information but admittedly, not yet enough to identify the recipient. The next picture will reveal several foreign awards and may already start to indicate who the recipient may be. In fact it will reveal another 21....yes 21 more awards. If someone can add more information or make an informed guess, I'll upload the second picture to give you more to go on. Jim :cheers:
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 OK - I'm planning on having an early night so I'll leave you with the next post rather than post tomorrow morning! Lots of foreign decorations. Some may help shortlist the recipient and I think an educated guess or two could now be made. Of course, the black patch hides the rest of the Soviet Orders that will help identify the recipient. If I wake up to a reply tomorrow I will hardly be surprised....but I do hope its a touch more difficuilt than that Enjoy the hunt...... Jim:cheers:
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 Again, pls excuse the quality - old nokia phone with no flash and lots of museum attendents all over the place. Bright spots are the reflection of lights...... But I did not get caught!!! Jim :cheers:
Christophe Posted August 31, 2011 Posted August 31, 2011 Hi Jim, What would you say of : Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky (Russian: Васи́лий Дани́лович Соколо́вский) (July 21, 1897 - May 10, 1968) ? Cheers. Ch.
Christophe Posted August 31, 2011 Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) Better pic... I have a high definition pic of his awards, but not the software complying with the maximum size asked by the Forum... BTW, these awards are displayed in the Central Armed Forces Museum of Moscow... Ch. PS : Jim, just a few RRoubles to pay, you get a nice orange or pink bracelet, and you are allowed to take as many pics as you wish... Easier, no ? :cheeky: Edited August 31, 2011 by Christophe
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 Just as I was shutting down... Well done Christophe! When I was at the SAF museum there was no one else around.........so I was not sure you could take photos and did not ask You are of course correct And welcome back!!! Your point! Jim :cheers:
JimZ Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 The score now stands as follows: 14 points - JimZ 11 points - Harvey 8 points - Hauptmann 3 points - Valter 2 point - kapten_windu 2 point - Gunner 1 2 point - Christophe Question 42 belongs to Christophe!!! Jim
Christophe Posted August 31, 2011 Posted August 31, 2011 Thanks Jim.... Need a little bit time to find a new question... Meanwhile, a few words about Sokolovsky (from Wikipedia, sorry...) : "Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky (Russian: Васи́лий Дани́лович Соколо́вский) (July 21, 1897 - May 10, 1968) was a Soviet military commander. Sokolovsky was born into a peasant family in Kozliki, a small town in the province of Grodno, near Białystok in Poland (then part of the Russian Empire). He worked as a teacher in a rural school, where he took part in a number of protests and demonstrations against the Tsar. He joined the Red Army in February 1918. He began his formal military schooling in 1919, but was frequently called up by the Red Army and forced to leave his schoolwork. He graduated in 1921 and was made the chief of staff of a division stationed in Turkmenistan. During a battle near Samarkand, he was wounded, and subsequently decorated for bravery. After the Russian Civil War, he held a number of staff positions, eventually becoming the chief of staff for the Moscow Military District and then the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, the position he held at the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. In December 1941, when German forces were a mere 20 kilometers from Moscow, Sokolovsky was made the chief of staff of the Western Front, where he was able to help co-ordinate the Soviet winter counter-attacks that pushed the Germans away from Moscow. He remained in this position until February 1943, when he became the commander of Western Front. He led this front through the Kursk battles, until April 1944, when the Western Front was broken into two, and Sokolovsky was made chief of staff of 1st Ukrainian Front. He remained in this position until the end of the war. As the chief of staff of 1st Ukrainian, Sokolovsky helped plan and execute the Berlin operation, among others. After the war, Sokolovsky was the deputy commander in chief of Soviet forces in East Germany, until July 3, 1946. On that day Sokolovsky was promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and also made commander in chief of Soviet forces in East Germany. In 1949 he was made the Deputy Minister of Defense, a position he held until 1952, when he was made the Chief of the General Staff. In 1960, Sokolovsky was made the Inspector-General of the Ministry of Defense. He retained this position until his death on May 10, 1968. Sokolovsky became widely known in the West with the publication in 1962 of Military Strategy, a book that contained rare detail on Soviet thinking about war, particularly nuclear war. Sokolovsky was a key member of the Soviet war command during World War II as an excellent planner and a fine military leader. He was particularly well trusted by Marshal Georgy Zhukov. The urn containing Sokolovsky’s ashes is buried in the Kremlin. Sokolovsky was a prominent figure in William T. Vollmann's 2005 National Book Award winning novel, Europe Central." Ch.
Christophe Posted August 31, 2011 Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) Let's try an easy one... Question # 42 : Who am I ? If no one finds, I will give more details later.... Good hunt and good luck !! Ch. Edited August 31, 2011 by Christophe
Harvey Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 It looks like Colonel-General David Dragunsky, author of "A Soldier's Memoirs."
Christophe Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 Sorry Harvey, it is not him... First hint : our man is twice Hero of Socialist Labor (and not Hero of the Soviet Union, as the portrait could let think...). Ch.
Harvey Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 (edited) Well, after searching for awhile, I thought it might be this guy: Victor Yakovlevich Litvinov But he wasn't "special" enough, so a little more sleuthing revealed our Twice Hero of Socialist Labor to be.... ...Artem Mikoyan! Edited September 1, 2011 by Harvey
JimZ Posted September 1, 2011 Author Posted September 1, 2011 How about Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan, Armenian by birth and designer of several MIG Aircraft as well as missile systems for Migs. MIG infact is the acronym for the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau which was later renamed as Mikoyan. The Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau was founded by Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan and Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich. Regards, Jim :cheers:
JimZ Posted September 1, 2011 Author Posted September 1, 2011 Sigh!! Same thing that happened to you and Dan has now happenned to me. Wasted too much time to post! Your point Harvey....but must wait for Christophe to confirm In the meantime start planning the next one Jim :cheers:
Harvey Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 Sorry, Jim.... I had just posted the pic of Litvinov, but something didn't seem quite right. So I kept searching the archives (Mikoyan isn't too far behind Litvinov, fortunately) and finally found him. A quick Google Image Search of his name revealed the same picture Christophe posted. And to think I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to sort through the archives!
JimZ Posted September 1, 2011 Author Posted September 1, 2011 (edited) It happens I actually stumbled upon him pretty fast but wanted to get the padding to the answer correct.... Should have just gone along with the name. But this is what makes this quiz fun. Even when you know the answer, you never know if you're going to score the point Jim :cheers: Edited September 1, 2011 by JimZ
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