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VZ 52 brought back from Grenada


chils123
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I was able to pick this up from a local vet who approached me at the last show I was set up displaying at back in January. He served with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which was on their way to Beirut when they were diverted to Grenada. He told me the paperwork wasn't done until the unit returned in Spring 1984. The few Grenada papers I have seen are dated May 1984, though this one is not dated. Correct style to others I have seen, and even the same officer signing off on this one as a few others I've saved.|

I'll be meeting back up with the vet to audio record his experiences while in the Marines.
The rifle itself is in nice shape, with a mismatched stock. Still has grease in the action and the vet said he had never shot it. He also gave me a pouch with magazines, though I have no idea what the country of origin is on the pouch itself.
Really glad I was given the chance to purchase this!

 

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Thanks for posting this amazing piece! I just checked the capture papers on my captured Czech VZ 52 and the paperwork is virtually identical.

 

Is your rifle the 7.62 x 45 or the 7.62 x 39?

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Great item. Congratulations. I crossed paths with the Authenticating Officer during my career. He was a Lieutenant Colonel when I interacted with him. Good man.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Doctorofwar

What a great addition to your collection, thank you for sharing!

It is a shame that vet bring back firearms have been curtailed in recent conflicts through myriad regulations denying future generations of such interesting historical artifacts. It is a fitting tradition that a victor should be able to take home an enemy weapon to commemorate his service.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I

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Thought I would add this picture of a vz. 52 captured in Grenada. 28 Oct 1983 photo by PH2 D. Wujcik.

I had to HEAVILY shrink the image to meet the forum file size limit. Here is the original which is high enough resolution you can see the Izhevsk mark on the AK and almost read the serial.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6395928

 

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  • 2 months later...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I

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Seized weapons on display are: (clockwise from back) Soviet made 82 mm M-36 mortars, 5 Soviet 7.62 mm PK general purpose machine guns, two Bren light machine guns, 7.62 mm ammunition, two AK-47 assault rifles, an RPG-2 portable rocket launcher, a 7.62 mm Mosin-Nagant rifle, a Czechoslovakian made Model-52 7.62 mm rifle and a US made.45 cal. M-3A1 submarine gun 10/28/1983 Country: Grenada (GRD) Scene Camera Operator: PH2 D. Wujcik, USN

 

I've tried on and off a little to find where the ammo pouches originated with no luck. But here they are in Grenada. The easy way out is to say they are made in Grenada, which does have a large textile industry for their size. 

 

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A cache of weapons seized by Marines during Operation URGENT FURY. Members of the Battalion Landing Team A command group were deployed from Grenada when informed that members of the Peoples Revolutionary Army were on the island 11/2/1983 Subject Operation/Series: URGENT FURY Base: Carriacou Island Country: Grenada (GRD) Scene Camera Operator: JO1 Peter D. Sundberg

 

The caption is a bit vague, but suggests these three crates of Vz. 52s and M44s were captured by the BLT, perhaps one of these is your rifle. 

 

 

 

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