SKS-FILES FORUM

SKS Carbines => Unaltered SKS Rifles => Russian SKS => Topic started by: running-man on November 23, 2015, 12:16:38 AM

Title: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: running-man on November 23, 2015, 12:16:38 AM
Here's an off the wall topic that I've been contemplating posting for several months now.  I happened to stumble upon a very lucky find while doing a simple Google search for:

Aртиллерийская База Вооружения

Which loosely translated is "Artillery Base Weapons" and is condensed to the acronym "AБВ" (ABV in English) used in the various 'known' Soviet era refurb facilities such as 1871st ABV in Liski (our /1\ ex-ex-DDRs) or the 1827th ABV in Nizhyn. 

Anyhow, it turns out that there was an ABV near Moscow that is long abandoned.  Various hardware still exists inside it and various members of "urban explorer" groups go out (possibly illegally, they mention evading guards and whatnot), enter these abandoned sites, and take photos to post on their blogs.

I found a site that describes one of these bases in detail, complete with lots of neat old photos (note, all of these photos taken and owned by alexdoomer2009):

http://alexdoomer2009.livejournal.com/180547.html (http://alexdoomer2009.livejournal.com/180547.html) (in original Russian)
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Falexdoomer2009.livejournal.com%2F180547.html&sandbox=1 (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Falexdoomer2009.livejournal.com%2F180547.html&sandbox=1) (translated to English via Google translate)

Nice thing about this one is it has a description caption for each photo.  Anyhow, not a ton on SKSs or weapons in general there at all.  There were lots of photos of optics though, and we know many optics went through refurb at these types of facilities:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/0_a5f2e_5e48b25_XXL.jpeg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/0_a5f2f_7edc18d4_XXL.jpeg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/0_a5f32_1c0fba15_XXL.jpeg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/0_a5f38_cffb0bfa_XXL.jpeg~original)

and large piles of old helmets:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/0_a5f40_351429a0_XXL.jpeg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/0_a5f21_b54594a3_XXL.jpeg~original)

That last image made me think, there can't be tons of piles of helmets so I started searching for that specifically and then came upon this next site that has a collection of photos from various different contributors (you may want to make sure to update your virus checker and whatnot, I'm not saying I don't trust .ru websites, but I think it's certainly prudent to tread carefully):

http://urban3p.ru/object19051/ (http://urban3p.ru/object19051/) (in original Russian)
https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ru&u=http://urban3p.ru/object19051/ (https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ru&u=http://urban3p.ru/object19051/) (translated to English via Google translate)

The site has numerous links to what are probably very neat sites all around Russia, but they all seem to be open to members only.  I have no idea how I happened onto this page that is open to the outside world as everything else is closed, but there are a boatload of images in there (including either of the same ones from the above link, or photos taken by a different camera of the exact same piles of helmets, hardware, etc.) and that's where our favorite SKS finally starts to peek through just a little bit.  There's no certainty that they were serviced here, but it's certainly a possibility.  Again the following photos are not mine and appear to be from various contributors over at urban3p.ru.

First the piles of helmets again, they are clearly the same piles at the same location:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/helmets.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/helmets_outdoors.jpg~original)

Next piles of optics cases:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/binocular_cases.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/binocular_cases2.jpg~original)

Next we find out it is indeed near Moscow like the first link author stated (the title of the map is "ПОДМОСКОВЬЕ" which Mr Google says means "Moscow Region"):
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/moscow_map.jpg~original)

In some of the rooms we see that yes, they did service weapons!  SKS is on the poster on the lower right along with a Dragunov, some flavor of Mosin Nagant, a PPS, and a couple DP Degtyaryovs.  The poster it titled "СТРЕЛКОВОЕ ОРУЖИЕ" which Mr Google wants to translate into "Small Arms":
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/gun_posters.jpg~original)

And then we find stuff like these AK mags and buttstock cleaning kits:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/ak_mags_cleaning_kits.jpg~original)

Then we see what I believe to be pistol holsters and ammo belt pouches.  these look exactly like the 7.62x39 / stripper clip ones that came with our favorite SKSs:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/ammo_pouches.jpg~original)

Tools we'd expect to have been used in a shop like this.  Lathes, vertical/horizontal mills, and woodworking machines:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/larger_lathes.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/large_lathe2.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/large_lathe3.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/vertical_mill.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/slot_cutter.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/woodworking_tools.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/woodworking_tools1.jpg~original)
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/woodworking_tools2.jpg~original)

This one was an interesting bit of safety signage.  If any of you guys have ever worked in a machine shop, these three images will be pretty familiar to you!  I can't remember how many stories of guys I've worked with telling how they stuck a dial indicator with a mag base, lathe chuck wrench, or a screwdriver that they forgot to pull off the machine through a <insert part of building here> when they spun it up. chuckles1
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/lathe_safety.jpg~original)

So that's perhaps a small glimpse into a possible SKS refurb facility.  Very reminiscent of US military facilities from the cold war era that I've been to actually.  If you have a few hours to kill, look through the photos on both those sites and then take some of the links that lead elsewhere.   There are some very neat glimpses into the old Soviet way of doing things out there.  thumb1
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Shotz90s on November 23, 2015, 12:58:49 AM
Thanks for posting this, its fascinating. I know what I'll be looking at tomorrow!
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 23, 2015, 06:40:06 AM
HOLY CRAP, I WANNA GO THERE!

You miss the sks in the pics? 

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/mrcoinring/mrcoinring001/Screenshot_2015-11-23-06-33-51.png)
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 23, 2015, 06:47:46 AM
There is a full blown wood shop....  You dont make wooden optics. 

Absolutely fascinating!
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: pcke2000 on November 23, 2015, 07:51:47 AM
HOLY CRAP, I WANNA GO THERE!

You miss the sks in the pics? 

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/mrcoinring/mrcoinring001/Screenshot_2015-11-23-06-33-51.png)

2nd line left side is SKS
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 23, 2015, 08:01:45 AM
Vid search is fun....   

https://youtu.be/PwcssODoFlM



Vostoks and Taigas oh my!!!   


(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/mrcoinring/mrcoinring001/Screenshot_2015-11-23-07-58-07.png)
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 23, 2015, 08:06:08 AM
Same place RM showed...

https://youtu.be/IOFaEMjixVU



https://youtu.be/uzt1PkckFRM
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: running-man on November 23, 2015, 08:59:49 AM
HOLY CRAP, I WANNA GO THERE!

You miss the sks in the pics? 

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/mrcoinring/mrcoinring001/Screenshot_2015-11-23-06-33-51.png)

No I saw it, that picture was what made me want to post this in the first place.  thumb1
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: running-man on November 23, 2015, 09:15:32 AM
Man that's a familiar looking crate design in that second to last video you posted.  I guess there's only so many ways to make a crate, but sure reminds me of the Slovenian ones we've got.

(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/crates.jpg~original)

The first video you posted shows they are still making them too.  thumb1
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 23, 2015, 09:35:33 AM
Could be a russian sks crate in your pic...   They are actually more sqaure then the yugo.   The shorter vid I posted shows many of them stacked in the basement.

(http://shopecotrex.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Russian-Military-Weapons-Crate.png)
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 23, 2015, 09:45:39 AM


I dunno...  Slightly dif..


(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/mrcoinring/mrcoinring001/Screenshot_2015-11-23-09-44-06.png)
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: martin08 on November 23, 2015, 10:25:13 AM
By the looks of the squalor, the Russians had far less pride than the North Vietnamese.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 23, 2015, 11:59:06 AM
By the looks of the squalor, the Russians had far less pride than the North Vietnamese.

   
Nothing says 'pride' better then a straw hut in the middle of a rice patty.    russian1
 rofl

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/mrcoinring/IMG952619_zpsc6bd8d6c.jpg)
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Dannyboy53 on November 23, 2015, 05:09:23 PM
Wow running-man, some very fascinating stuff! From the early '70s to the early '80s I worked in various machine shops.The first photograph of lathes is the largest of those shown. I estimate this one having a swing of maybe 26-30 inches and a 16- 18 feet long bed, capable of doing some fairly large work.

What I found especially fascinating was the photo of the milling machine with the shaper in the background, now that shaper is an ancient machine! The milling machine has a rotating index head mounted on the table, used to cut the teeth on gears.

Thanks for posting some very interesting info RM!




Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Bunker on November 27, 2015, 08:23:51 PM
Very interesting stuff...thanks for posting RM!
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Phosphorus32 on November 28, 2015, 03:14:46 PM
Cool stuff  8) That'd be a fun tour to go on, or better yet, a fire sale  :)

It looks like they demiltarized all of the helmets by punching/drilling a large hole through them.

It also points out how atrocious Google Translate is with Russian, e.g.: "Many rooms slaughtered electric measuring apparatus, voltmeters, rectifiers, cables, etc."  rofl I think they may have got the verb wrong.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Carl in CT on November 30, 2015, 03:54:54 PM
Very neat stuff! How fun would that be to dig around in there?

When I was a landscaper on Fisher's Island NY our building was an old WWII communications building. Most of the equipment was gone but the building itself was like a time capsule. There were a few odds and ends still kicking around like some old phones, metal cases, some electrical insulators if I recall, stuff like that.

The best part was that there were still several tunnels into the hills that we could explore after work. Out on the West end of the island there were 2 or 3 huge concrete pits where enormous guns on turrets sat. These pits could swallow up houses, just ginormous. There were tunnels running between them and to ammo bunkers. Last time I was there they were all sealed off as they started to have trouble with homeless people living in them. Fun memories though, these pics reminded me of those old military buildings and tunnels.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Dannyboy53 on November 30, 2015, 07:03:38 PM
Very neat stuff! How fun would that be to dig around in there?

When I was a landscaper on Fisher's Island NY our building was an old WWII communications building. Most of the equipment was gone but the building itself was like a time capsule. There were a few odds and ends still kicking around like some old phones, metal cases, some electrical insulators if I recall, stuff like that.

The best part was that there were still several tunnels into the hills that we could explore after work. Out on the West end of the island there were 2 or 3 huge concrete pits where enormous guns on turrets sat. These pits could swallow up houses, just ginormous. There were tunnels running between them and to ammo bunkers. Last time I was there they were all sealed off as they started to have trouble with homeless people living in them. Fun memories though, these pics reminded me of those old military buildings and tunnels.

That would be too cool to see Carl! We had something similar to that about 5 miles from where I grew up in central Louisiana, Camp Livingston. It was an Army training camp during and just prior to WWII.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on November 30, 2015, 09:58:30 PM
Sounds like alot of fun!      Seems there are many abandoned military installations throughout the US.  Explore them all!   :)
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Phosphorus32 on April 23, 2016, 06:35:00 PM
A thread worth reviving  :)

And then we find stuff like these AK mags and buttstock cleaning kits:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/ak_mags_cleaning_kits.jpg~original)

Those AK mags will still work  rofl

Could probably get $100 for the relic slab sides on fleecebay  :o
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on April 24, 2016, 08:29:46 AM
Slab-sides that rare?
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Phosphorus32 on April 24, 2016, 09:06:50 PM
Slab-sides that rare?

I was exaggerating a bit, especially about the relic, but yeah, slab side Russian mags are relatively rare and go for considerable cash. I'm not really an AK mag collector but I think they go for at least $80.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Dannyboy53 on April 26, 2016, 07:00:10 PM
A thread worth reviving  :)

And then we find stuff like these AK mags and buttstock cleaning kits:
(http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q647/jelucer/Russian/ABV/ak_mags_cleaning_kits.jpg~original)

Those AK mags will still work  rofl

Could probably get $100 for the relic slab sides on fleecebay  :o


Phosphorus scroll down to "Chapter 14" for a look at some very early AK carbines (some experimental models) and these slab side magazines.

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://coollib.com/b/195891&prev=search
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Phosphorus32 on April 26, 2016, 08:05:21 PM
Nice link  thumb1

Yup, the slab side mags were the earliest type. Ribbed ones emerged quite quickly.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on January 28, 2019, 11:07:11 PM
This thread is just too cool to not be a sticky.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Bob_The_Student on January 29, 2019, 07:22:17 AM
Amazing stuff. I'm a little nervous to hit those links though. HA!
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Matchka on January 29, 2019, 04:36:42 PM
HOLY SMOKES! What a find! In '98 I came across a similar site in Kosovo. Serbs had a small arms and ammo facility outside of Pristina. Loaded with abandoned goodies. Snapped up a pristine JNA helmet and an AK bayonet.
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Phosphorus32 on January 29, 2019, 06:39:10 PM
HOLY SMOKES! What a find! In '98 I came across a similar site in Kosovo. Serbs had a small arms and ammo facility outside of Pristina. Loaded with abandoned goodies. Snapped up a pristine JNA helmet and an AK bayonet.

I caught that...a pristine helmet from Pristina  :))
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Matchka on February 01, 2019, 07:51:30 PM
Anecdote : one of the helmets I picked up had a bullet hole in it - some dried fragments of the previous owner 'decorated' the webbing and metal. The local guard force guys went ape-****e over it - put on display in their CP!
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Loose}{Cannon on March 10, 2019, 12:25:49 AM
Lets play a game of (Identify these rifles).   You go first. 


(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/mrcoinring/mrcoinring001/Screenshot_2015-11-23-07-58-07.png)
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: 100Acre on October 16, 2020, 10:34:48 PM
I want to move to Mother Russia now Da! WOW!
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: Phosphorus32 on December 26, 2020, 03:06:57 PM
Update: Alexander Yushchenko recently posted some of these photos as well as others and has identified the facility as the Moscow Military District Armament base, No. 38. This is a refurbishment facility that used the famous "MO" marking on Mosin Nagants, which for years was speculated to be some special marking, but much like the /1\ "ex-DDR" marking, has been uncovered as another refurbishment facility marking. It's located in Pavlovska Sloboda, a village west of Moscow.

https://www.m9130.info/repair-depot-markings
Title: Re: Artillery Weapons Base - Moscow Region (pic heavy)
Post by: pcke2000 on December 26, 2020, 11:22:26 PM
I bought a copy of Chumak's new book on markings. Still waiting for the delivery (It's been more than one month already)