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LOT 1566
Very Fine British M47C No. 4 Mk. I (T) Enfield Bolt Action Sniper Rifle with Scope, Scope Case, Transit Case and Scout Regiment Scope - Serial no. B36193, 303 cal., 25 inch round bbl., matte black finish, hardwood stock. Dated 1944 on the butt socket above a “TR” stamp, this is a fine No. 4 Mk. I (T) sniper rifle. The 4 Mk. 1 (T) was Great Britain’s go-to military sniper rifle for World War II and the opening of the Cold War. Blade front and folding peep rear sights, the latter with the fixed battle sight properly cut off to accommodate the scope, and a pair of bases mounted to the left side of the receiver. Matching numbers are present on the bolt, receiver, magazine and forearm, and the top of the wrist is numbered “20071” to match the scope. A raised cheekpiece has been mounted on the buttstock with a brown leather sling and a smooth alloy buttplate. The No. 32 Mk. 3 scope is marked with a red paint “W” and numbered to match the buttstock, with leather lens caps, “730” and “731” marked rings and a “B/36193” marked ring base. A #15 Mark I transit chest is included, finished in OD green with some transit markings overpainted in tan, and a tan painted #8 scope case (numbered to a different rifle/scope set). Inside the transit case is an extra magazine, some small parts and cleaning tools, and a socket bayonet with a sheath and tan canvas belt frog. A Mark IIs “Scout Regiment” telescope is also included, sans endcaps, brass construction with leather covers; this was a traditional (but often absent) piece of British sniper kit, to be used for target identification and observation in support of the mounted optic on the rifle. Also included with the grouping is a number of military items, including a British field compass in a 1929 dated leather case, a small tin containing a folding can opener and a grenade pin (grenade not included), canvas bandolier with stripper clips, M1 Garand style cleaning rod, 1950 dated “ABL” pocketknife, and a post-WWII “Union Jack” flag. CONDITION: Very fine, with 80% of the matte black finish overall, with some areas of wear and flaking, mixed brown and gray patina on the exposed steel, and mild handling marks. The stock shows mild dents and scuffs. Both the included scopes have solid optics, with the sniper scope showing minor external wear and the scout scope showing a number of dents and scuffs on the body, with the internal rear lens cover absent. The cases show wear and tear appropriate to age, with a few of the screws securing the carry handles to the transit case coming undone. Mechanically excellent. Estimate: 7,000 - 9,000
LOT 1567
Historic Vietnam War Era Chinese Type 53 Bolt Action Carbine with 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 1000 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: 5,000 - 10,000