What do you want to know about the Albanian SKS?

[BishopofBling]

Hello all,

I introduced myself in the new member area and mentioned I have a distant relative that worked in arms manufacturing in Albania during the Socialist era. I can't 100% guarantee he will be an encyclopedia of knowledge but he apparently worked as an engineer so I assume he's got a lot of info.

What type of questions would you guys like answered?

[Direct Connection]

How many Albanian SkS's Were imported to America.? Thanks and welcome to the Files SkS boards👍😊

[Bob_The_Student]

I'd like to know:

- If he can put an actual number on how many total were manufactured.

- If he can verify the serial number blocks by years (kinda will go with above)

- Were there any known to be stamped 1966 or earlier or even prototypes.

This is to solidify the info listed here  (https://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=384.0) by these fine gents that poured their time and knowledge into webpages to make us smartified on these here Files. 

[Boris Badinov]

How many Albanian SkS's Were imported to America.? Thanks and welcome to the Files SkS boards👍😊

Steve Kehaya could probably answer this question. He's SteveK over on gunboards. He worked with Classic on the Romanian and Albanian imports. And then again with the earliest Sino-Banian type56s from 2012-13.

Pretty sure he mentioned having played an integral role in the importation of most or all of the Albanian imports.

[firstchoice]

1.) What's the story on the "No-Date" Albanian SKS'? (The one's with the serial number only, no date stamp.) When were they manufactured and how many were manufactured with no date stamp? Were the no-date's only produced one year or were they spread out over more?

2.) What types of wood were used for the stocks, to the best of his knowledge? 

3.) Who made the replacement Alby stocks? And were they summarily beaten afterwards?   

firstchoice

[BishopofBling]

Unfortunately, he probably won't have the answer for the importations of the SKS but I'll give it a try. He was basically an engineer not a businessman or leader of the plant. Post-Communism the country got pretty messy because in 1997 the country collapsed due to a Ponzi scheme and the armories were looted. Post-1997 was much more stable and I doubt he was around then as he immigrated to another Western Euro country.

The serial number ranges or production numbers are definitely a possibility. I was going to write a list of my own questions but I figured its good to get a pool of questions from a larger audience. Sometimes you get questions you don't even think of.

Does anybody on here have PDF copy of the manual "Pushka Gjysem Automatik Model - 1956"? I was hoping to add that to a list of works I could translate but I can't find a copy. So far I got a book about Tanks, the Type 54 pistol, Type 63 Assault Rifle, DP-28, Type 56 LMG (RPD), Tanks, Grenades and Molotov Cocktails and Mortars. To my knowledge I'm missing a manual on the SKS and the AK rifle. And regarding the title, here's a little lesson in Albanian, gjysem translates to "half" so gjysem-automatik literally translates to "half-automatic" which in English we'd just call "semi-automatic"

I could also open up another thread on SKS general usage in the Albanian army where you guys can post questions and I can call them and ask. I have at least two family members that served. One did his two year conscription while the other served for 35 years. He was around through the Soviet aid and then he wasn't able to continue his training in the USSR as we switched ideological camps to the Chinese.

[Phosphorus32]

What was the official Albanian name of the Albanian-made SKS? Was there a nickname? Same questions for the Albanian AK?

If he was there early in production, were there Chinese advisors, technicians, or workers of any type present?

What other small arms were produced?

What was the full name and nicknames of the arms factories?

[BishopofBling]

Unfortunately, the engineer in question is pretty frail and he isn't able to talk on the phone, I would have to go back to Europe to meet him. I'll see if I can somehow communicate with him through video call. We'll see, worst case scenario I can see if I can make a trip back to Europe. It is tough with work and school though.