Iraq Gulf War Bringback Chinese AK furniture +

[Mr. Scratch]

Well, some smooth jarhead uh, I dunno....keistered back somehow....a set of Chinese AK-47 furniture, along with a folding bayonet and a couple of magazines. 

I've gone ahead and rebuilt the original rifle they came off as accurately as I could using a US commercial Chinese parts kit and a custom receiver with Chinese military-style selector and trunnion markings, and an Iraqi "djeem" military acceptance mark.

Inscription on the stock reads:

Captured by Collins, HC [service number]
Desert Storm 1991
8th Tnk Bn
A Co. Ft Knox KY


Given the probable age of production and that the Iraqis did not contract for Chinese AKs (and the Iranians did), I suspect this would have started off as an Iranian weapon, captured by the Iraqis during the Iran-Iraq War and reissued to Iraq forces, before being captured again by the Marines.

 

[Mr. Scratch]

Stock close-ups, right and left side (service number redacted):

 

[agate hunter]

Very nice

[Mr. Scratch]

I haven't been able to find out the specific movements of 8th Tank in Desert Storm, but I managed to get a decent grunts-eye account of the action in this BN in the book This Ain't Hell But You Can See It From Here by Barry McWilliams.

In the account of 8th Tank, it actually mentions the tankers obtaining captured AKs (pg 139). This set was presumably from one they picked up along the way like this.

 

[Mr. Scratch]

Some more on that...