Soviet M44s

The M44 carbine is the last model developed by the Soviet Union on the Mosin Nagant action. It replaced the M38 carbine and the only difference between the two models is the attached folding bayonet. It's design grew out of the need for a short, handy carbine with a bayonet for use in urban fighting as the Soviet Army pushed the Germans back to Berlin. Although adoption was in 1944, there were approximately 50,000 M44s produced in 1943 for testing, which took place in actual battles. Primary production was at Izhevsk through 1948 with a small run at Tula in 1944.

As with the M91/30 and M38, older receivers were used to build M44s during the later years of WWII. This 1945 Izhevsk M44 is built on a hex 1927 Izhevsk receiver.

This 1944 Tula M44 is built on a low wall 1937 Izhevsk receiver. It's difficult to judge how many of these might be in US collections because they are not immediately recognizable to the casual collector. There are new production low wall M44 receivers, but they are dated 1946 or later and have minor differences from the earlier low wall receivers. For more information on see the Mosin Nagant Rifle Receiver Variations page.

After WWII the M44 continued to serve the Warsaw pact in different ways. Many second line weapons were sent to East Germany by the Soviets and this included M44s. The DDR property mark is a "1 in a triangle" and is found on Nagant revolvers, M38s, M44s and M91/30s. The mark can be found anywhere on the barrel shank and shouldn't be confused with the similar Izhevsk "arrow in a triangle". A "1 in a triangle" mark is also found on stocks, but is not believed to be related to the DDR mark. M44s were also transferred to the internal security forces of the Ministry of Defense and marked with the initials "M.O." For more information on this marking, see the Mosin Nagant MO Marks page.

Yugoslavia was another beneficiary of Soviet aid in the form of weapons. M44s were refurbished in Yugoslavia and can be recognized by several features. The stocks are sanded and have an oil type finish rather than the usual shellac. "1.TRZ" will be stamped on the butt along with the Soviet markings. It is usual to find a lined out serial number on the buttplate and new one stamped to match the rifle. Presumably the stocks were removed en mass for refurbishment and no attempt was made to match them back to the original carbine. The top of the rear sight leaf will also be "in the white" (bluing removed).

Some M44s have been exported from Syria. This example is a 1948 Izhevsk in a laminated stock with a Syrian rack number stenciled in white paint. In the 1950s the M44 design was produced by Poland, Hungary, Romania, and China. These countries also passed the carbines on as aid to other countries. The M44 on the right is a 1955 Romanian with a small Bosnian "shield" just above the woodline on the barrel shank. For more M44s used by other countries see Romanian Instructie and Exercitiu Rifles, Viet Nam Capture M44, and Hungarian Marked Izhevsk M44.

As seen by these examples the M44 is a historical weapon with many unusual variations to keep the collector interested.

Return to Mosin Nagant Virtual Museum