Chinese Sino Soviet

[Phosphorus32]

That is a beautiful 1959-60 letter gun. I do have a special fondness for the early Type 56s with blade bayonets etc. the stock on your rifle is exceptional 

[Direct Connection]

That is a beautiful 1959-60 letter gun. I do have a special fondness for the early Type 56s with blade bayonets etc. the stock on your rifle is exceptional 

Okay Thanks Phos. Been awhile since I visited the documentary pages of the facts and data. My only other Sino Soviet letter is one which the stock was replaced ie non numbered. This one is also in the 1959 60 production era ? Thanks for the update. 

[Phosphorus32]

That is a beautiful 1959-60 letter gun. I do have a special fondness for the early Type 56s with blade bayonets etc. the stock on your rifle is exceptional 

Okay Thanks Phos. Been awhile since I visited the documentary pages of the facts and data. My only other Sino Soviet letter is one which the stock was replaced ie non numbered. This one is also in the 1959 60 production era ? Thanks for the update. 

Yes, another letter gun 

In brief: The /26\ symbol for Jianshe didn’t appear until April 1957, after ~214K Type 56s had been manufactured. The rear side sling swivel (on original letter gun stocks) is consistent with an even later era of manufacture. The letter guns simply couldn’t be the first Type 56s and ended up being logically placed after the 1958 3 million series. The Type 53 Mosin carbine letter guns (same A#### style of SN) were produced in 1960 (apparently they weren’t manufactured from 1957-59), consistent with the Type 56 letter guns.