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LOT 332
Historic Vietnam War Era Chinese Type 53 Bolt Action Carbine with Bayonet, Presentation Plaque to Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak and Copy of the Book “Brute” by Robert Coram - Serial no. B9875, 7.62x54 R cal., 20 1/2 inch round bbl., blue finish, hardwood stock. This carbine was manufactured in China and patterned after the Russian Mosin-Nagant M44 carbine. The carbine is fitted with a hooded post front and tangent rear sights graduated to 1,000 meters, standard folding cruciform spike bayonet, and cleaning rod. The barrel shank is dated “1960” below the factory “26” marking. The bolt is numbered to the gun. Mounted on a hardwood stock with grasping
grooves and sling loops. The carbine is mounted on a hardwood plaque with two screws. The hardwood plaque has a smaller plaque attached to it that is marked “To LT. General VICTOR_H_KRULAK/COMMANDING GENERAL F.M.F. PACIFIC/WITH BEST WISHES/AND HIGH REGARDS/From B. General NGUYEN-CHANH- THI/COMMANDING GENERAL I CORPS/VIETNAM JULY 1965”. Victor Krulak served in both World War II and the Korean War as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. From 1962-1964, while the U.S. was providing advisors to the South Vietnamese military in their fight against the Viet Cong, he served as special assistant for counter insurgency activities to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In March of 1964 he was promoted to lieutenant general and placed in command of the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. Early in the war, Krulak presented his “Spreading Ink Blot” strategy of small units pacifying South Vietnam village by village while relentlessly bombing the North, which was rejected by General Westmoreland in favor of employing overwhelming firepower. Nguyen-Chanh-Thi was the commanding general of the first of South Vietnam’s four corps, and was often cited as leading the corps more as a warlord than a commanding officer. After a long term power struggle with the South Vietnamese prime minister and Air Marshal, Thi was removed from command and eventually exiled to the United States where he lived until his death in 2007. There is a small label in the upper left of the large plaque marked “CHICOM 7.62mm CARBINE TYPE 53”, a stripper clip with three drilled “dummy” cartridges below the carbine, and there are three unit emblems attached in the lower right. Also included with the lot is printed information pertaining to the two men discussed above, a print of a photograph that appears to show Thi presenting a similarly mounted carbine to Richard Nixon, and a copy of the Victor Krulak biography called “Brute” by Roberta Coram. CONDITION: Fine, retains 60% plus of the arsenal blue finish with extensive scattered speckling of brown patina/oxidation throughout and the balance mostly a smooth grey patina. The wood is also fine with some minor dings and dents scattered throughout. Mechanically excellent. The plaque is very good with a few hairline cracks and some mild handling/storage wear. A historic Vietnam War presentation piece! Estimate: 3,500 - 8,000
LOT 333
Historic Documented Early Vietnam War/Special Forces Trophy Chinese Type 53 Bolt Action Carbine with Bayonet and DD603 War Registration Papers - Serial no. E4439, 7.62x54 R cal., 20 1/2 inch round bbl., blue finish, hardwood stock. Manufactured at Factory 26 in China in 1960, the Type 53 was effectively a 1:1 perfect copy of the Soviet M44 Mosin-Nagant Carbine. As China adopted more advanced SKS and AK pattern rifles, the older Mosin-Nagant based weapons ended up in second line service, as well as being slated for export, with many becoming part of North Vietnam’s inventory. A set of October 1965 dated DD603 registration documentation is made out for this item as a “Chicom 1944 Carbine”, identifying it by serial number as a war trophy and personal property of First Lieutenant Donald Sladkin, originally of Meadowbrook, Virginia, but at that time of Detachment B-32 of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Vietnam, then in Tay Ninh Sector. Among the first American units deployed to Vietnam, 5th SFG(A) would serve both in the advisory/trainer role as well as acting as an independent combat unit. A printed letter noted as coming from Sladkin describes his role in Tay Ninh as a “Deputy District Advisor”, which involved himself and a SF captain organizing and leading local forces against the Viet Cong; located near the Cambodian border in South Vietnam, Tay Ninh was a major terminus point for the “Ho Chi Mihn Trail”, and was a hotbed of clandestine activity. Per the letter, this carbine was captured during a mission, though the particulars are not recorded. The carbine itself features a hooded pin front sight and tangent rear sight, with the “26” factory mark, date and serial number on the chamber, matching numbers on the bolt, floorplate and buttstock, hinged side-folding bayonet, and a straight wrist stock with a flat buttplate. The left side of the stock is marked in white paint “13.5.65”, suggesting Sladkin picked up about May. A small hole has been drilled through the buttstock to accommodate a metal bolt to secure it to an included hardwood frame (a second bolt passes through the sling cutout in the forearm). CONDITION: Fair, showing wear and tear consistent with other documented Vietnam War field trophies; the jungle is not kind to wood and steel, and a jungle during a war even less so. Most of the metal surface has turned a mixed brown and gray patina, with original blue visible on the bayonet and magazine, mild spotting and light handling marks. The wood is in similar condition, with some chipping around the screw hole, rounding of the toe, and mild scuffs and stains. Mechanically excellent. Estimate: 2,500 - 4,000
LOT 334
Very Scarce World War II German Proofed Karabiner 457(r) Soviet Izhevsk M44 Carbine with Bayonet - Serial no. 6308, 7.62x54 R cal., 20 1/2 inch round bbl., blue finish, hardwood stock. This is a very scarce example of a late World War II German proofed Soviet Mosin- Nagant M44 carbine. This was likely captured on the Eastern Front towards the tail end of the war and would have been designated the Karabiner 457(r) as hastily pressed into German military service. One possibility of how this rifle could have ended up in German hands is the Vistula-Oder offensive, in which the Red Army made a major advance into German held territory between January 12th, 1945-February 2nd, 1945, capturing Krakow, Warsaw and Poznan. The Germans answered back with Operation Solstice, Operation Conrad, and finally Operation Spring Awakening, which ultimately failed by March 16th, 1945. The carbine is dated “1945” on top of the breech and has various German proofs located on the left breech of the barrel, right of the receiver, on the bolt, and on the left of the magazine housing consisting of an eagle/swastika above “(SS runes)/Wa1/63”. Faint German eagle stamps are visible in the stock behind the trigger guard. Features a hooded blade front sight, ladder rear sight, and a right side mounted folding spike bayonet. Includes a green canvas sling with leather ends. Absent cleaning rod. Transliterated original serial number: RG6308. CONDITION: Very fine, retains 98% arsenal refurbished blue finish with a few light handling marks. Stock is fine as arsenal refinished, with some scattered light scratches and handling marks. Mechanically excellent. Estimate: 1,800 - 2,750
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