text:
From Vic Thomas
With production
of the m/28 rifle for Civil Guard issue nearing the
final stages of its contract, it was deemed necessary
to make some improvements over the previous rifles
sights and fittings. The final order of barrels from
Tikkakoski for the m/28 rifle was being delivered
in the last half of 1932 and imagesin Ase-ja Konepaja
Oy abbreviated as SAKO was looking to
begin domestic production at its own facility, instead
of relying on contracted barrels from other firms
like Tikka and SIG. SAKO had begun a limited run
of barrels at the tail end of the m/28 production
in 1932 and was now ready to begin large scale production
for the new rifle altogether.
The first order
of business would be to make improvements to the
sighting system of the m/28 rifle, this task being
addressed by a Civil Guard Ordnance Captain Harry
Mansner. In 1930-31 he under took the task to develop
a modernized sighting system and produce a replacement
that would be an improvement on the old Russian based
Konovalov rear sight of the m/91 rifles. The old
Konovalov sight had received some minor modifications
based primarily on the sight picture of the rear
notch. Finnish armourers had ground off the rear
notch in most cases and attached an L shaped
plate to the rear of the sight with a U shaped
notch which presented a much better sighting picture
with the flat topped front sight blade. Its primary
fault was that it was too delicate in design, unprotected
from any abuse that could damage it, as well as being
totally unadjustable for windage. Some of the rear
sights of the m/28 had received a rather rudimentary
windage adjustable system by modifying the plate
to include a screw on each side to drift the notch
left or right slightly. While this was marginally
effective it was not the answer to the problem and
it did not address the vulnerability of the sighting
system to damage at all.
A new sighting
system was required and the development of the program
was given to images Capt. Mansner. His first designs
drawings that were submitted for examination only
dealt with the rear sight assembly. In a drawing
submitted to the General Staff of the Civil Guard
dated September 29th 1931, Mansner developed
a sight that would use a flat sliding bar to move
the sight up for increasing distances. This sight
used a series of small holes located on the right
side of the solid sight bar that were placed at distances
that corresponded to a change in height for every
100m of distance. Only one side of the sight was
indented like this and the sliding distance bar was
depressed on the left side only with a spring loaded
plunger to engage these holes. General Malmberg accepted
the proposed design on April 28th of 1932
and a field trial was planned for the new m/32 rear
sight. SAKO undertook the trial production of the
m/32 sight and 19 test pieces were produced. These
new rear sights were fit to existing m/28 rifles
from the serial number block of 20820 to 20848 and
shipped out to various Civil Guard districts for
testing. In addition a new safety system was tried
on the bolt. The bolts were fit with a Mauser inspired
flag safety system that was developed by Major A.E.
Saloranta who would later go on to develop the LS-26
Light machine gun in conjunction with Aimo Lahti.
He would provide many other important contributions
to the weapons program of the Finnish armed forces.
In a meeting the
committee organized to look at improved front sights
for rifles on March 22nd 1933, an engineer
from the State Cartridge Factory (VPT), Mr. J Mantsas
presented his drawings of a new front sight adjustment
tool for windage adjustment for a proposed improved
new front sight blade that was being considered for
the current rifles m/27 and m/28. This new front
sight blade assembly would replace the current version
and would be used with the protected front sights ears of
the m/27 and m/28 rifles. The front sight block adjustment
tool was equipped with fine tuning screws on either
side. While being adjusted, the front sight blade
of this new sight base would move diagonally like
on the Swiss short rifle model 1911. Seeing this
new tool, Capt. Mansner was inspired to develop a
new front sight assembly for the Civil Guard rifles.
Instead of a new blade assembly that required a special
tool to adjust windage, he would incorporate the
screw adjustable feature into the front sight assembly
itself. It was far more convenient and economical
to do away with a separate tool when it all could
be incorporated into one assembly. In co-operation
with SAKO's Department Chief Onni Paronen, he soon
designed a better front sight with this idea in mind
and submitted this for trials production soon after.
In the summer of
1932 the first series of the new improved rear sighting
system based on improvements made to the protected
rear tangent sight graduated in meters was produced
and ready for further testing. The first of 30 improved
m/32 rear sights were installed on m/28 rifles again
and by early 1933 they were ready for testing. Initial
tests found that additional modifications would be
in order. These changes were basic to ease production
and some improvements based upon the proper setting
of the battle sight range of 200 meters. Also refinements
were incorporated from last minute recommendations
made from a member of the committee that was organized
to look into the improvements. Inspector of the Infantry
Gen. Ernst Löfström favored the idea to increase
the range scale of the rear sight leaf to 2000 meters.
This change forced the earlier sight design to be
modified from the solid one piece 1000 meter marking
arraignment marked in the center of the solid sight
leaf in 100 meter increments, to be moved to the
right side of a now split design. The new design
allowed the sight to be lifted up and the greater
distances are marked on the rear of the graduated
sight leaf like the earlier Konovalov set up. Also
the sights finish itself was changed from a blued
finish that proved difficult to differentiate the
numbers stamped upon it, to that of a polished finish
with the sight graduation numbers now placed on the
right side of the leaf. These numbers would be blued
upon the polished sight leaf for a stark contrast
easy to see under field conditions. In addition,
the rear sight graduations were impressed on the
sight bases left side in a stylized font for quick
reference for the soldier. At first, just the rear
sight was changed on the m/28 rifles that were designated
for improvement. This total numbered only 2700 rifles
altered in 1933 after the subtle changes were made
to the first style Mansner designed sights. The new
sight proved to be a success and it was decided that
production at SAKO would continue with the new rear
sight and would also incorporate the improved adjustable
front sight assembly. The rifle would be redesignated
the model 28-30 to reflect the improved nature of
the sighting system. The 28 referring
the model of the rifle and 30 designating
the improvements initial proposal date. These first
2700 rifles were refit with the front sight assemblies
in the spring of 1933 (April) and the first rifle
to incorporate these improvements was delivered on
May 10th 1933 to the Jyväskylä district.
The new rear sight units were at the outset apparently
produced off site from SAKO. It is not entirely clear
but evidence suggests that the first 7750 or so of
the rear sight units may have been sub-contracted
to a firm associated with Mansner or the workshop
that he worked with in development.
These early sight
bases bear separate serial numbers from that of the
gun, identifying production numbers with the SAKO
gear wheel located just in front. Also the left side
of the rear sight base is marked in a stylized font
of 2, 4, 6, and 8 that in this stylized font, only
appears on the early serial numbered sights. These
features disappear on the 1935 produced versions
that now lack the serial number but bear the SAKO
gear wheel logo alone. It is my opinion that these
early sight bases were sub-contracted to a firm outside
of SAKO for the above mentioned reasons as well as
the style of the serial numbers marking. There is
a subtle difference in location and alignment indicating
to me that each sight was numbered by hand. This
would be very unlikely for a serial production process
of the sight bases. When these serial numbers disappear
in late in production of 1934 to early 1935, the
stylized side sight graduation markings also loose
their fancy font. The font is now a more deliberate
clear simple font that was easy to replicate with
a serial production stamping. This would be an indicator
to me that SAKO was moving into full time mass production
of the m/28-30 sight bases and sights for the new
rifle. The cost of the new sight system was expensive
but the rifle committee decided that the 120 Fmk
(Finnish Markka) per Mansner sighst was an acceptable
cost in improving the older m/28 rifles. A cardboard
sighting wheel or chart was developed that translated
the bullet trajectory and type with the range markings
on the new sight. This was used for quick reference
when setting the sights at known ranges with a known
bullet type.
It was decided
as well that in order to accommodate the new rear
sight block, a new style handguard would be needed.
The older m/28 handguard was fit to the rounded shape
of the front of the Konovalov sight base. The new
sight base was flat at the front edge and the handguard
would need to be changed to accommodate this. The
new 28-30 model handguards would not be made at SAKO
but be subcontracted out to firms that specialized
in these wood working contracts. The m/28-30 handguards
would be made by two firms that had a long association
with the Finnish army and weapons production, the
firms being Malmin Puujalostus Oy and Palmin Lestitehdas
located in Porvoo. Another minor change that would be made was the creation of dimples on
the magazine body. This was done by pressing the
magazine body at the center reinforcement rib. This
simple modification would help prevent the rims of
the 7.62x 53mm (Russian designation of 7.62x54R)
rimmed shells from interlocking and create a failure
to feed due to a rim jam. The dimples
forced the shells into an alignment that was proper
for the disrupter to align the shells and prevent
the jams.
At this time testing
and review of the rifle dictated some other minor
modifications in the rifle that would prove to be
beneficial in further production. The first change
would be to change the supplier of the material for
the rifles barrels. Early Finnish weapons production
lacked the quality steel and ability to manufacture
rifle barrels and after 1930, domestic production
was now able to address this need. The steel used
for producing the rifle barrels was purchased from
abroad-Sweden to be exact. This quality steel from
the Swedish Fagersta works was excellent but a domestic
source was needed-especially in the time of war when
an outside source may not be possible to contract
with or safely receive shipments. The new barrels
of the m/28-30 would from now on be constructed with
Finnish high quality steel from the Lokomo steel
works. Another change would be an improved front
and rear sights that was capable of fine windage
While the rear
windage adjustment plate that was used on the earlier
m/28 was workable, it was preferred that the front
sight be the base for adjustment as was normal on
the other rifles. The protective front sight ears
were modified so that now the front sight blade could
be moved from side to side by screw adjustable drift.
The front sight blade was moved left or right by
unscrewing the left screw slightly and tightening
the corresponding right screw until snug. This effectively
moved the front sight blade in a controlled measurement
and was finely adjustable to tune the impact point.
The left side of the front sight ears was marked
with small dots in a circular fashion around the
screw to indicate a set measurement of movement.
One turn of the screw slot to align with the next
dot would move the point of impact approximately
5 centimeters at 300m distance in that direction.
Counter clock wise or a loosening movement
made a correction to the left while a clockwise or tightening direction
moved the point of impact to the right.
Another modification
was made to the trigger arrangement and style. While
earlier m/28 rifles used the standard m/91 trigger
that was added by a spring to create a crisp take
up of the slack in the trigger to improve trigger
function, the 28-30 would continue with the added
spring and modify the shape of the trigger slightly
to create a better trigger pull. The magazine also
would now be manufactured new directly from the production
facility with the dimples factory placed
and pressed as the initial 2700 m/28 rifles modified
were that were tested earlier on in production. These
new factory magazines would be marked with a HV-an
abbreviation of the Finnish word Häiriövapaa to
denote that they were specially produced to the improved
standard and be jam free.
In another effort
to improve the stability of the barrel and ease production,
the nosecap of the rifle was altered and improved.
The early m/28 used a two part nosecap with a separate
plate to center the cleaning rod and stabilize the
front portion of the nosecap. This was changed to
a solid style nosecap of one piece design late in
production and this style nosecap would be used on
the m/28-30. Also an improved cleaning rod retention
nut would be used in the stocks instead of the older
m/91 style used on the m/28 and model of 1924 rifles.
In order to place the barrel properly in the new
solid faced nosecap, a design technique borrowed
from the Swiss was incorporated into the new m/28-30.
An aluminum sleeve with a flange at the front was
placed on the barrel and fit into the stock at the
nosecap area. This acted in a fashion to float the
barrel and prevent any interference in the nosecap
on sighting of tension in the stock as the rifle
was fired and the barrel became heated. These modifications
were quickly adopted into the assembly line of the
m/28-30 by April of 1934 the first rifles with all
of these new improvements began to roll off the production
floor. The first rifle to be produced with these
final changes would be serial number 35,710. With
the production of the rifles now being done completely
with Finnish supplied materials and parts, the SAKO
weapons work would continue to be the primary production
facility for the Civil Guard issued rifles. Production
would continue into 1934 with other subtle changes
being made, primarily to the markings which will
be discussed later in the text.
The m/28-30 was
now being produced on a full time basis by the SAKO
works located in Riihimaki. 1935 would be the first
year that would include all the changes mentioned
above and would be the stable platform that would
carry the m/28-30 throughout its continuing production.
The only flaw that remained to be addressed with
the m/28-30 was its use of the modified m/91 stocks.
The increase in barrel depth in the earlier m/91
thin forend of the modified stocks created a weak
point. These same problems had plagued the Army in
their m/27 service rifle and to such a degree that
production had to be halted in 1935 until a suitable
correction could be found. While the m/28-30 did
not experience the problems of the forend splitting
when the rifle was fired with the bayonet affixed
or during bayonet fighting, it did prove enough of
a distraction to the Civil Guard in watching the
Armys folly with that problem, that a solution
was looked into as a preventative measure. Just as
the Army had decided on a new reinforced nosecap
that would prevent the torque from the bayonet twisting
on the thin forestock, the images high command decided
that its one piece nosecap was sufficient but that
the thin modified stocks should be changed. In 1935
new m/28-30 rifles began to appear with a slightly
modified stock. It was now of a two piece spliced
construction with the familiar finger groove of
the Finnish stocks of the time. This heavier/thicker
forend addressed the susceptible thin forend of the
earlier m/91 modified stocks. These new forend pieces
were ordered from Malmin Puujalostus Oy (Malmi´s
Wood processing Ltd) in an initial contract for 2000
pieces. These were ordered as early as 1933 and assembly
was begun thereafter on splicing the
older m/91 rear portion of the stock with the thicker
forends of the contracted pieces much like the Army
had been doing on its m/91 and m/27 stocks. When
these first couple thousand of stocks were found
to be of sufficient quality through testing, the
order was continued. In October of 1935 it was decided
as well to add a small crossbolt approximately 7cm
to the rear of the nosecap. This crossbolt was knurled
to prevent rotation and passed through the stock
where it was set by a slotted screw on the left side.
The whole unit was flush with the exterior of the
stock. This crossbolt connected/passed through two
small metal plates that were inset into the stocks
barrel channel, providing an enhanced strengthening
effect in relation to torque from fighting or firing
with the bayonet affixed. Just as in other Finnish
rifles of the pre war, wartime and post war period,
three different stock styles were used. The first
m/28-30 stocks were of one piece design and of modified
m/91 stocks. The immediate pre war and Winter War
produced stocks were of the new two piece finger
spliced design. Stocks made postwar for replacement
of damaged or worn stocks in the 28-30 configuration
are again the two piece design but the shape of the
finger grooves has changed just as with the m/39
stocks. Now a square finger joint spine is used instead
of the wartime rounded end finger splice. The stocks
and handguards of new production were undertaken
as mentioned above by Malmin Puujalostus Oy and Palmin
Lestitehdas but during the wartime additional facilities
made stocks and handguards for replacement of damaged
parts on rifles. These firms were Oy Haikka Ab and
later army weapons depot #1 ( AV1). These stocks
and handguards can be easily identified as they are
not usually made of birch but made of pine and are
blonde in color under a simple oiled surface. In
1937 SAKO itself began to produce new rear sections
of the stock to be used with the spliced forends.
These new rear sections were made from birch and
be of a slightly heavier construction than the thinner
m/91 sections used prior. The stocks that were deemed
to be of first quality where then branded
with the Civil Guard Sk.Y logo of an S with
three fir sprigs over it inside of a shield. The
date of production was then stamped branded below
the shield. The first stocks to be so marked are
seen in 1938.
The finish applied
to the birch m/28-30 stocks was first a stain to
seal and color the wood. Stocks made from walnut
wood were not colored in any way. A departure from
the armys style was that the m/28-30 would
have the barrel channel of the stock varnished for
hardness. After the varnish in the barrel channel
had dried it was then coated again with hardener
of a lacquer base. The outside of the stock was also
finished with a protective coating. Two coats of "Four
hour Pomo-lacquer" (pomo translates literally
to boss) was added as a final finish.
This lacquer gave the stocks a reddish tint in its
color as well as a hard durable surface that was
weather resistant.
The m/28-30 would
gain its fame on two occasions during the late 1930s
and 1940s. With the World Shooting Championships
being held in Helsinki in 1937, SAKO was ordered
to produce m/28-30 rifles for the competition. As
each participant would be using the m/28-30 rifle
in the event, over 440 rifles were ordered and produced
to exacting standards to ensure that each rifle was
identical. Prior to 1966, the shooting championships
were held using the host countrys service rifle
in a center fire caliber. For the 1937 championships
the m/28-30 of the images (Civil Guard) was chosen
over the Armys m/27 because of its excellent
quality, adjustable sights and exceptional accuracy.
These rifles were marked with a special indicator
of MM prior to the serial number of the
rifle and marked with a small brass plaque on the
right side buttstock. The serial number block that
was used for the championship was between 48791 and
49467. Of these rifles 83 of them were picked to
be used in the competition, from serial numbers 48963
to rifle number 49466.
The event was opened
by the former President of Finland himself P.E. Svinhufvud,
an avid shooter. When the event had closed it was
the Finnish team left standing on the winners
podium and holding the championship cup. This team
was led by the individual gold medal winner-Olavi
Elo, a long time competitive shooter and previous
winner of many shooting events. It is said that he
was 72 years of age at the time of his win at the
1937 world championship in Helsinki. The m/28-30
rifle that he used was serial number 49334 of the
83 chosen for competition. After the event, the 83
participating rifles from the event were donated
by the images to the Finnish Sports Museum and the
remaining rifles sent back into inventory for distribution
to guard units. With the onset of the Winter War
in November of 1939, the m/28-30 proved itself in
combat. Well liked by the troops it was issued to,
it served valiantly and earned it reputation as a
deadly accurate rifle while in combat. The m/28-30
remained in the inventory of the Civil Guardsmen
well into WW2 (Continuation War) when it was then
absorbed into the inventory of the regular army in
1942 and served on.
The m/28-30 went
through 6 different identifying barrel markings or
lack thereof. As mentioned previously in the text,
the first marking used on the m/28-30 rifles was
actually that of the earlier m/28 series. A stylized
SY marking was the identifying mark on the m/28.
With the first 2700 m/28-30s actually being
m/28s with upgraded sights, the marking was
not changed.
The second marking
used was on the initial production of barrels especially
for the m/28-30 and bearing the new Sk.Y markings.
These were made from early 1933 and bore the thin
lined Sk.Y marking with a simple engravers
type font with serifs on the letters. This marking
was placed above the SAKO gearwheel logo on the barrel.
The serial numbered appeared on the woodline of the
left side of barrel as on earlier m/28 rifles. The
Civil Guard issue district was stamped on the right
side woodline. There is no date stamped on the first
rifles produced in the first months of production
in 1933 as was the case on the earlier m/28 production.
The third variation
of markings would appear in the summer of 1934. The
width of the letters was changed slightly to an ever
so slightly more prominent size. In addition the
date was added below the serial number on the rifle
barrels shank as would be the custom on Finnish barrels
to come. The font was not changed in any significant
degree at this time. It still remained a simple single
line stamping with serifs of the Civil Guard headquarters
organization or Sk.Y. The SAKO logo was however moved
at this to above the Sk.Y logo to accommodate the
space required to stamp the date of manufacture on
the barrel.
This marking would
again be changed again in the following year of 1935
to an even more stylized version of the letters and
again in a bolder font. The SAKO gearwheel was still
placed above the Sk.Y identification marking and
below that the serial number and finally the date
of production. This change would affect both the
logo and the serial number style/look and be used
from 1935 until the final m/28-30 rifle was produced
in 1940. This style of markings and location was
also continued on into the SAKO production of the
m/39 series of rifles for the Civil Guard during
the Continuation War (1941-44) and the last of wartime
production during the Lapland War of 1945 with retreating
German forces. This conflict was forced upon the
Finns by the Peace document signed with Russia to
cease hostilities against Finland in August of 1944.
The fifth logo
or lack there of is the late date m/28-30s
produced during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Information from Finnish sources indicates that these
rifles were used for Officer Marksmanship training
and competition. The rifles are of m/28-30 configuration
and or often shimmed and bedded for accuracy. The
barrel shank is devoid of markings completely but
for a serial number or will simply have the serial
number and date below and will bear SAKO pressure
proofs on the wood line. They will lack the Sk.Y
markings or the SAKO gearwheel. The Sk.Y was ordered
to cease and desist at the close of the Second World
War and the weapons manufacturing plant at Riihimaki
(SAKO) that produced the m/28-30 and later the m/39
would be sold to the Red Cross to avoid its seizure
by Russian authorities in violation of the peace
agreement in producing military weapons.
The final marking
was a version placed on a standard production model
but included an identifying logo to indicate a civilian purchase.
The program to buy an individual weapon was begun
in 1934 and continued on through the entire production
schedule of the m/28-30 terminating in 1941. The
extra markings of the word SAKO without
any serifs was stamped below the SAKO gearwheel logo
and the word Riihimaki below that was added to these
rifles, then the serial number of the rifles and
the date as normal. These rifles bore the special
serial number range as well being from 100,000 to
Other markings
found on the m/28-30 are as follows. In the first
guns of 1933 were serial numbered as the earlier
m/28 rifle was-on the left side of the barrel just
above the woodline. The inspectors marking of <KE> was
found in the area as well above the serial number
and was the abbreviation for the chief Civil Guard
ordnance inspector Kosti Eakola. His marking remained
on the rifles until 1935. In 1936 this left side
of the barrel just above the woodline was used for
the SAKO 3600 pressure proof now that the serial
number was placed on the top of the barrel. From
research into the serial numbers and physical examples
examined from the authors collection and others,
it is apparent that the serial number was moved from
the left side woodline area of the barrel like on
the m/28 rifle to the top of the barrel in the area
that it is most identifiable. This move was done
in 1934 and occurred at or about serial number 35,550.
On the right side of the barrel the markings of the
Civil Guard district that the rifle was assigned
to are found just above the woodline. This serial
number was preceded with a capital S for
the abbreviation of the word images.
Therefore this number is often refereed to as an S number.
Each Civil Guard district in Finland was assigned
a serial number range. This system was originated
in 1921. It continued to be placed on rifles contracted
to the Civil Guard until the organization was disbanded
in 1944. In addition to the S number
one or often times two Sk.Y headquarters acceptance
stampings were placed on the right side of the barrel.
These markings consisted of an S with three lines
on each side. Rifles that later were accepted into
Army service after 1942 where additionally marked
with a capitol D to indicate that the
rifles chamber has been modified slightly to accept
the now standard D-166 bullet in use in the Finnish
Defense Forces (FDF).
The Civil Guard
was one of the first in the Finnish military to recognize
the importance of an optically sighted rifle in service.
After the use of telescopically sighted rifles was
found to be of a significant military threat during
the First World War, many of the nations involved
looked into adding optics to there service rifles.
Finland with its small army and limited resources
was late in coming to the table on this matter. It
was not until the advent of a more prominent use
of optical rifle sights were being employed by Finnish
hunters and shooters did the military make an inquiry
into adding scopes to a military rifle in 1927. It
was the images that would actually be the first military
organization to make any serious efforts in this
endeavor and in 1928 thru 1929, a series of optical
sights were obtained from Germany for trials on a
Japanese rifle in inventory. This experiment proved
to be interesting enough that in 1929 an order was
given to mount optical sights in a mounting bracket
on the rifles left side of the newly adopted m/28
. The bracket was
of a wedge shape and was very similar to that of
the Maxim machine gun bracket used on the machine
gun. Upon examination of an example in a Finnish
museum, I am struck by the similarity of the mount
to the later Soviet side mounted version. These rifles
only numbered 11 in quantity and were not continued
on in production. It is not known why, either from
costs or interest but these few rifles were not continued
and were simply issued in Civil Guard service and
remained there until the close of the Continuation
War. This early effort did prove successful enough
to warrant another venture into mounting an optical
rifle sight on the now updated model in service with
the Civil Guard-the m/28-30. Again the images looked
abroad to obtain some quality telescopic sights and
turned again to optical firms in Germany. These initial
scopes were purchased from Zeiss and the Busch optical
firms. Markku Palokangas indicates in his extraordinary
reference material that the scopes were of the Bush
Visar 4.5x Dr. Zf104 models. The order was placed
in September of 1931. The side mounted bracket used
on the m/28 was refined and included a more secure
method of affixing the scope bracket to the weapon
and the stocks were now also modified slightly to
allow for the sight bracket to be slid to the rear
of the rifle to remove it from the base. A ledge
was cut into the rear of the stock on the left side
to create the room for this runway. The
rifles to be used for these sniper rifles were picked
from production and were in the serial number range
of 34,842 to 34,866
This work was begun
on December 30th of 1932 at the SAKO works
and by March 30th of 1933, the rifles
were ready for testing and were issued to Civil Guards
units in the field. These rifles remained in service
with the Civil Guard as well as the 11 earlier m/28
rifles, through the hostilities of 1939-1945. After
the war the remaining examples were sent to the Museums
for display and what few remained are in the hands
of private collectors. I have had the honor to handle
two such rifles and it is known that there are but
a handful of others surviving examples that are intact.
These are truly one of the rarest sniper rifles in
the world. On an interesting side note, a Mosin sniper
rifle with an over the bore mounted scope can not
be loaded with a normal stripper clip of 5rds of
ammunition for speed in reloading. The Civil Guard
developed a special curved stripper clip that when
inserted into the rifle bent around the
mounted scope and allowed the rifle to be rapidly
reloaded. These special clips are almost non- existent
today as such few rifles were produced.
The m/28-30 was
issued with a standard set of accessories as was
the norm for service rifles. The most important was
the sling. Each rifle was issued with a special three
part sling that was originally developed for the
m/28 rifle in 1930. This sling was of brown leather
construction and utilized oval buckles. This design
was upgraded in 1936 to a similar three part design
but with wire buckles that were round and used a
roller type insert to ease in adjustment and not
chafe the leather of the sling. Three different leather
makers were contracted to produce slings and other
leather goods for the Civil Guard. F. Niskalan Nahka,
the Oy Veljekset Ĺströmin Valjastehtaat leather works
located in Oulu and the famous Friitalan Nahkatehdas
Oy leather works. The initial order for the first
pattern m/30 sling with the oval buckles was delivered
from 1930 to 1935 and numbered 14,300 pieces. The
pattern was changed and the updated m/30 sling with
the square wire roller buckles was produced
from 1936 to 1939 and an additional 24,700 slings
were delivered to the Civil Guard. The final order
for 6000 slings was filled by Oy Veljekset Ĺströmin
in 1940. Other leather goods were manufactured for
the Civil Guard such as equipment straps and belts.
The bayonets used
for the m/28-30 rifles were contracted from the same
two makers of the bayonets that the Army had used
in 1927. Hackman Oy and Oy Fiskars Ab were the primary
bayonet makers for the armed forces. The first m/28-30
bayonet was essentially an m/28 bayonet but with
a slightly refined tip. It was more pointed than
its m/28 cousin. It did differentiate itself in its
grip panels though. Curly or fancy birch
was used that resulted in a stunning grain pattern
of a light color on the grip panels, as they were
not stained darker like the other bayonets in use.
The Oy Fiskars Ab company produced only 7,785 bayonets
for the Civil Guard. These were broken into two separate
contracts. The first contract made the bayonet in
the m/28 configuration by Fiskars but with the modified
tip and a sharper cutting edge. This bayonet did
not have a provision for the oil hole like on the
later m/28-30 bayonets made in the revised m/35 pattern.
These early style blades were delivered on June 3rd 1938.
The second pattern made in the updated m/35 style
with the addition of an oil hole in the pommel for
lubricating and flushing out the attachment groove
was ordered and delivered the following year on March
1st 1939, the last 2000 bayonets from
Fiskars were delivered. These Fiskars made bayonets
are extremely rare in a Sk.Y contracted version.
An interesting side note is that the Fiskars made
bayonets are not marked on the same side of the blades
base as the Hackman made version. They are marked
on the opposite side.
The Hackman made
bayonets were the first of the contract blades for
the m/28-30 and followed suit with the m/28 contract.
These bayonets were first delivered for the m/28-30
on December 29th 1934 with 3,500 blades
in the order. The contract continued in each successive
year with 4,000 blades delivered in June of 1935,
4,500 more the following year in June of 1936 and
3,720 delivered again the following October in 1937.
It was between these last two contracts that two
important changes occurred. The scabbards changed
in the style used and the addition of the oil hole
appeared in the pommel on bayonets made after January
31st 1936. The smooth surface of the Armys
m/35 bayonet would replace the earlier ribbed style
of the scabbards used on Civil Guards bayonets prior.
Also at this time the scabbards of the Civil Guard
bayonets would no longer be painted green, but would
be finished in a durable blued metal finish. Hackman
would skip a year of production and not deliver any
bayonets for the images in 1938 but would finally
fulfill its contract for 20,220 bayonets with a final
delivery of 4,500 blades on February 28th 1939.
In total, the production of bayonets for the m/28-30
rifles never met the total production of rifles made
with approximately 75% of the quota filled.
The leather scabbard
belt hangars or frogs made by the contracting
leather works would be marked with the makers
logo pressed into the top portion. For example,
the frogs made by the F. Niskalan company
of Lapua would mark the bayonet hangars with a simple
Sk.Y 36 marking. The other makers marked them with
just a large S pressed into the leather
or with a series of marks. One example in the authors
collection is marked as being made by AV3, weapons
depot located in Kupio and is made in green leather.
It is additionally marked Sk.Y and the date of 38
marked below that. It is of the style that included
a ricasso strap to retain the bayonet on the scabbard
and prevent it from falling out accidentally. The
hangars would be of brown leather up until 1936 when
the color was changed to green.
Cleaning kits followed
the same basic contents as those of the m/27 and
m/28 rifles. The kit consisted of a wooden handled
combination tool. This reversible blade that fit
into the handle and acted as a small screw driver
for firing pin adjustments and use on the small screws
of the weapon. When it was reversed it yielded a
large bladed screw driver. In the sides of the tool
were cut two notches to assist in the disassembly
of the firing pin from the bolt body. The other contents
found in the early kits were a large square flask
style oil bottle. These came in two versions-one
with the letters Sk.Y pressed into the bottle and
the other embossed onto the bottle. The later came
with an oil dripper in the lid. The third version
and most common of the three is the large round oil
bottle made by either Oy E.M. Nordquist or the K.V.
Karlsson company or Ab ja K.V. Karlsson konetehdas,
two metal working workshops. This zinc coated metal
bottle is marked with a large Sk.Y embossed on the
front. It is my opinion that the large square flask
bottles were not used specifically for the rifle
but were meant for other uses such as on the light
or heavy machine guns like the Madsen, Lahti Saloranta
or Maxim guns in use with the Civil Guard but often
found their way into the standard kit. The other
contents to the kit included the brass jag to hold
the cleaning cloth and the brass rod extension that
would create the extra length in the rod when attached
to reach the chamber of the rifle when cleaned from
the muzzle as was the custom. The cleaning rod handle
was present as was the rod collar. The collar was
not simply a round cylinder like on the armys
kits but had a tapered end to secure and stabilize
the rod when inserted. The final component of the
kit was a coarse bristle bore brush used to clean
the chamber and bore of residue and the muzzle cover/rod
guide. This small cover was made of brass and spring
steel and is outer surface knurled to ensure a firm
grip. It has a small steel finger that when installed
on the muzzle properly, snaps over the leading edge
of the front sight base and engages a small lip to
retain it. The hole in the end for the rod was covered
by a small circular piece of treated leather covering
the hole. SAKO subcontracted these covers to E.M.
Nordquist again and the Lindeöfin Company and 37,200
pieces were fabricated between 1933 and 1939. Flannel
or cotton strips of cloth were often carried in the
tool pouch. The pouch itself was made of khaki cotton
with a drawstring or of a homemade version of various
cloths and styles with a tie string. This was not
uncommon as each guardsman kept his rifle at his
home and some home front kit was often
included with issue items. Those tool bags that were
produced by the state were made by the Womens
Auxiliary workshops located in Helsinki. These ladies
produced and astounding 42,600 tool kit bags in five
years (1934-1939). That concluded the standard Civil
Guardsmens issue tool kit. These are not encountered
in any numbers today as many were scrapped in the
1970s and 80s with other obsolete parts
and equipment and when the guns were surplused or
THE m/28-30
Variants of the
m/28-30 included an official production version that
was made for private purchase as mentioned in the
markings section. This version was a standard production
model but included an identifying logo to indicate
a civilian purchase. The program to buy
an individual weapon was begun in 1934 and continued
on through the entire production schedule of the
m/28-30 terminating in 1941. The extra markings of
SAKO with the word Riihimaki below it was added to
these rifles. They also had there own special serial
numbers that ranged from 100,000 to approximately
102,000. These rifles were either purchased by wealthy
individuals in the guard for their own personal use,
by the local auxiliary units in the districts for
an individual or by a civilian wishing to shoot with
it in competitive shooting matches. Often time the
Lotta Savard would organize a fund raiser to purchase
an individual weapon for a member of the local district
guards. These rifles are extremely rare and hardly
if ever encountered in personal collection either
here or abroad.
Other versions
of the m/28-30 are actually those that were produced
for replacement of older models of the guardsmens
rifle that was returned to SAKO for an upgraded version.
These upgrades varied widely depending on what rifle
was returned to the factory for work to be performed.
The modifications were not done for free but were
paid for by the individual SK guard member. The following
chart defines the guidelines set up for this program
of rifle upgrades:
Depending on what parts and the type of modifications the rifle needed, the
cost for example in 1936 was a fixed amount in regard to codes D - A that
were between 90 to 550 Fmk (Finnish Markka). In those cases the portion
of the cost that the individual soldier/Guardsmen would be liable for was
between 90 to 300 Fmk (Finnish Markka). The costs of these repairs or upgrades
was to be paid upfront or in some cases when the rifle was
picked up from SAKO after the modifications were finished and the rifle
was now a modernized m/28-30.
In such cases as
letters C and D, the Civil Guardsmen was returned
his rifle with same serial number. Examples of this
are found such as the earlier m/28 barrel markings
of SY and possibly the double sling slot stock used
on the m/28 ski trooper models not altered
or the stock replaced entirely, although this would
be very uncommon to have the earlier stock not replaced
with new fittings if ii was sent in for such.
In such circumstances
like the category A and B the old rifle was retained
by SAKO and used as spare parts for other rifles.
The Civil Guardsmen or private purchase individual
would then be sent a brand new rifle from the stock
of weapons off the current production line. Privately
owned rifles m/28-30 that were converted by methods
set forth in category C or D are officially accepted
models even though depart noticeably in their markings.
The rifles upgraded by options A or B are simply
rifles pulled from standard productions batches.
SAKO records indicate that 13,723 rifles were put
through this modernization process. These rifles
or accessories could be purchased directly from the
Civil Guard at one of the stores set up to handle
such transactions. These were called Oy Skoha
Other official
variants of the rifle are those made post war for
use in target shooting competitions. These rifles
are often standard rifles that have had additional
diopter sights added to enhance the sight picture
or have had some modifications done to the stock
and bedding to enhance the accuracy of the rifle.
There are several such examples of these rifles based
upon the m/28-30. The base model used target sights
on a standard m/28-30 in its military form but with
the bolt handle turned down into as recess on the
stock. Later the version had diopter sights replacing
the standard sights and was fit into an m/39 stock
with a pistol grip. It also retained the turned down
bolt but it was flattened on the handle to reduce
weight and space. This rifle was known as the m/28-57.
It was used by military personnel for target competition.
As the popularity of the biathlon increased a slighter
version of the rifle was required. At that time the
biathlon was shot with center fire weapons and not
the smaller, lighter .22 caliber versions we know
today. The stock on the 28-57 rifles was then cut
back just in front of the rear band and tapered.
The weapons depot number 1 or AV1 was commissioned
in the 1970s to produce a more stylized version
of the stock that was suitable for competition. The
result was a sleeker stock with a higher comb and
a more pronounced pistol grip. A rubber recoil pad
replaced the standard steel buttplate of the earlier
models. When the guns were upgraded with these new
stocks the designation was changed to the m/28-57
H. The final version was a m/28-76 that was used
strictly in military shooting events. It was again
an improved version of the 28-57H and was for all
intensive purposes a version of the sniper rifle
but without optics.
The m/28-30 enjoyed
7 years of production and saw over 24,420 rifles
produced from official images placed contracts. See
the chart below for the official order and delivery
dates of the m/28-30 from archival records as reported
in Sotilaskäsiaseet Suomessa 1918-1988 (pg 64)
The last two orders
of this contract (7/39 and 1/40) was actually placed
by the by the staff of wartime "Kotijoukot" (Home
troops) but financed by Civil Guard. This group was
born from the reformed headquarters and organizational
shake up done just prior to the winter war and from
the experiences learned in the winter war. For more
information on this please refer to the History
of the images section (coming
this summer) found in the main
index of the website. The production totals above
are slightly misleading though as the Civil Guard
had many more than 30,000 model 28-30s in the
field prior to the Winter War in 1939-1940 when one
counts the upgraded versions in use not reflected
in the production chart of ordered totals.
These began with
the initial production version meeting the m/28-30
upgrade requirements beginning with serial number
33,710 which was sent to the Jyväskylä district to
the highest recorded serial number of a 1940 dated
example of 72575. This contracted total does not
include the 2000 rifles procured under the civilian
sales program or on upgrades of earlier m/28 rifles
to m/28-30 configuration. Adding in those 2000 rifles
plus the 13,723 rifles returned for upgrade and the
totals rise to approximately 40,143 rifles of the
m/28-30 design. These rifles are one of the most
accurate of the Finnish service rifles and one of
the rarest. With only 22,131 examples left in inventory
in 1951 and the attrition rate of the years since
then, they remain one of the favorite and rarest
examples of Finnish service rifles for collectors.
With the disbanding of the Civil Guard in 1944 and
the transfer of the SAKO works to the Red Cross to
protect it from seizure, the m/28-30 rifles that
were in active service were dispersed throughout
storage depots. 20,521 of these m/28-30 rifles were
placed in Army storage and another 1,530 of them
put into active service with the armed forces in
an active role post war and in training. An additional
80 rifles were secured by the Border Guard units
for active duty at the frontiers. It is also unknown
how many rifles were never turned into the Army after
the war by individual guardsmen who purchased the
rifle on their own and reported it lost.
This was fairly common in the years immediately following
the wars end, found many soldiers making weapons
caches to secure arms in the event the need should
arise that the Soviets would renege on the peace
agreement. Civil Guardsmen were well known for this
type of activity throughout the countryside. Many
of these weapons caches are still being found today.
The rich history of the m/28-30 rifle and its achievements
in competition and combat make this rare rifle one
of the authors favorites and a favorite of
collectors world wide. I hope this article
provided you the reader, with some more insight and
knowledge on the extraordinary history of the Sotilaskivääri
m/28-30 and its variants and accessories.
Good luck in collecting!
Vic Thomas
The m/28-30 was
born from the decision to improve the m/28 and its
fragile sights. On the top is the model 1928 Civil
Guard issued rifle and below the final version of
the m/28-30. On the bottom is a m/28 refit to the
revised m/28-30 standards.
Many m/28's were
later upgraded to the improved m/28-30 standards.
The top photo is a m/28 made in 1930 with a barrel
manufactured by Tikkakoski. The top photo shows the
new improved Mansner sight installed. The bottom
photo shows a side view of the new rear sight and
the typical markings of the m/28 that were not changed
until 1934. The side of the rear sight base was marked
with a stylized font of 2,4,6,8 to indicate at a
quick glance what range the sight was set at in terms
of hundreds of meters. You can clearly see the serial
number and the chief inspectors markings of Kosti
Eakola <KE> above. The Finnish
Army property marking of [SA] can be seen above and
to the right. This was added after 1942 when the
Civil Guard transferred most of its weapons to the
The top photo shows
the markings of a newly adopted m/28-30 made in 1933.
The serial number markings as well as the inspection
markings where still placed on the barrel in the
same location as the earlier m/28. This would change
the following year of 1934.
The bottom photo
shows a typical m/28-30 from 1935. It does however
carry an updated cleaning rod that began to be used
in 1939. On the bottom is a 1940 dated example in
the improved stock style of two pieces and with the
forend crossbolt added for stability. It is depicted
with the its corresponding
m/28-30 bayonet affixed. The improved m/35 pattern scabbard and hangar are
The old m/28 style
rear sight and handguard on the left and the improved
m/32 Mansner rear sight as installed on the upgraded
rifle known as the m/28-30. You can clearly see in
this side by side comparison that the rifles
handgaurd needed to be changed due to the shape of the anterior portion of
the rear sight base. Also this picture illustrates the need to develop a "protected" rear
sight. A good bump directly to the rear sight leaf of the
modified Konovalov sight would could cause it to be damaged and unusable. Of
interest on this m/28 Konovalov modified rear sight is that it has been fit
with the adjustable rear sight bracket to have some rudimentary windage adjustments.
These are considered very uncommon. While it was some what
effective, it lacked the fine adjustments that the new m/28-30 sighting system
would incorporate.
This photo shows
the transition of the rear sight markings on the
Mansner rear sight. In the beginning the sights carried
the SAKO gearwheel logo as well as a separate serial
number to indicate the number of sights produced.
In 1935 this separate serial number marking was dropped
and just the SAKO logo remained as shown in the center
photograph.. By the last year of production no markings
are found at all on the sight base as depicted on
the rifle at the bottom
Top view of the
m/28-30 rear sight showing the range markings in
100 meter increments. It clearly shows the split
design and the sliding adjustment bar that used two
spring loaded "teeth" to engage the serrations
on the sides of the sight to correspond with range
The above photo
shows the sight in a rear perspective view. Note
the sharp V notch for the rear sight picture
and the polished surface in front of the deeply blued
sight plate to reflect any light onto the V for sharp
A close up of the
front sight area. The shape of the front sight blade
can be seen as well as the robust protecting ears
of the "Pystykorvaan" m/28-30. The name
is a slang reference to the shape of the front sight
blade protecting ears. It means "spitz" and
refers to the shape like a dogs ears.
The middle photo
depicts the front section of the rifle in profile.
The range adjustment increments on the front sight
can be seen highlighted in this photo. As well as
the nosecap and older style cleaning rod head used
until approximately 1939. It is not uncommon to find the later cleaning rod
style in earlier guns as replacements.
The third photo
down shows the stocks in profile and exemplifies
the early unreinforced stock of pre 1937 and the
later heavier style that incorporated a forward crossbolt
to stabilize the rifles forend with the bayonet mounted
for fighting or when shooting with the bayonet affixed
which was a taught practice with the Souljeluskunta
The bottom photo
shows a clearly marked front sight base and cleaning
rod indicating production by SAKO for the m/28-30
The top photo shows
the aluminum bushing used to center the barrel in
the stock at the nosecap,. The stock was inletted
in this area to allow this bushing to seat flush
with the nosecap. This procedure was very reminiscent
of the method used by the Swiss on their K11 and
K31 series rifles. It was very effective and more
than likely was copied directly from the Swiss. The
Civil Guard had a long association with the Swiss
weapons maker SIG through contracts from 1924 to
The second photo
on this page shows the updated cleaning rod retention
nut found in the barrel groove of the stock. The
old pattern on the left and the heavier new version
on the right with its beveled insertion point.
The HV marked improved
magazine fit to a m/28-30 rifle. The HV was an abbreviation
for the Finnish word "Häiriövapaa" which
loosely translates to mean "Jam Free".
The bottom pictures
shows the modification to the magazine body. The
new "dimples" pressed into the sides of
the magazine along the center rib, helped to align
the shells in the magazine so that they would not
be locked
in because of rim jams caused by one rounds shell rim being placed in behind
the rim of the shell below it. This modification along with the disrupter proved
to be very effective in this process.
The markings found
on the m/28-30 series production. On the top you
can see the progression of the style and placement
from the far left of a first year 1933 produced rifle
to the modified fonts and new placement of the serial
number and date of manufacture on the 1924 produced
specimen. The third from the left shows the change
in style and font again that took place in 1935 on
the 1939 marked rifle. The far right shows the special
markings placed on 2000 rifles produced for civilian
sale. A special serial number range of 100,000 to
200,000 was issued to these rifles alone. Below you
see the very rare markings of a first year 1933 production
weapon that was sent back to SAKO for upgrades to
its fittings i.e.: new stock and bushing, bands etc...This
was done in 1939 as the added date marking shows
below the SAKO gearwheel logo. Also evident if you
look closely in this picture are two small punch
marks above the "K" indicating that a "hardness" test
was done on the barrel metal before acceptance. To
the right is a last year of production rifle from
1940. Of special interest here is the number 2 found
above the SAKO gearwheel. This marking indicates
that while the weapon showed to be of acceptable
accuracy, it did not produce a "group" worthy
of being a first quality weapon. So the number 2
was added to signify that this gun was a second tier
grade rifle. This marking would be later used on
m/39's in the same capacity. One can also see the
Civil Guard headquarters' acceptance marking of a
=S= marked on the right side of the barrel. Usually
there are two of these present and the second is
out of view in this picture. The last photo
is of a 1968 dated example, which are very uncommon
to see. The last rifle from the Kevin Cordell collection.
The first picture
in this series is an extraordinary example of a retrofit
m/28-30 from 1939. This rifles markings were shown
on the previous page as being a first year marking
of Sk.Y with only a gearwheel. The gun was
retrofit in 1939 and the date added later to the barrel shank. In all probability
this rifle when returned to the owner may never have seen action due to its
fabulous condition. This gun should be used as a reference for
what an untouched pristine m/28-30 should look like! An outstanding rifle shared
with the site by Mala, one of our many friends in Finland.
The next photo shows
the special barrel band cap that was applied to rifles
from the factory at SAKO to prevent the rifles from
being disassembled in the field past normal accepted
maintenance. Since disassembly of the gun from the
stock could affect its accuracy, this special copper
cap was placed over the rear barrel band screw to
prevent its removal. The lower photo shows
a rifle without this cap.
The ultra rare m/28-30-33
sniper rifle. In this rare color photograph taken
at the Finnish War museum in Helsinki, the German
contracted scope and low slightly offset mounting
position can be seen. The scope is a Busch Visar
4x model and is [SA] marked indicating Finnish property.
This gun more than likely was used in combat during
the Continuation War from 1941 to 1944. It is a first
year production version of the m/28-30 as the markings
show and the lack of a date.
The reverse view
showing the mounting bracket and manner the scope
was affixed to the rifle. Note the stock relief to
allow the scope to be slid off its tapered rail to
the rear without interference from the stock. The
method of attachment to the rifle was very robust to say the least. This gun
is apparently from the first m/28-30's 1100 produced in 1933.
The special curved
stripper clip used for the m/28-30-33. Normally the
gun could not be loaded rapidly with the standard
5 round stripper clip due to interference of the
scope. This special curved stripper clip bent around
the mounted scope and allowed the gun to be rapidly
This rare vintage
photograph depicts a Civil Guard rifle squad on field
exercises. Of interest here is that this squad has
been issued one of the 25 m/28-30-33's produced.
The trooper second from the left on the kneeling
row is holding the rifle. The far right kneeling
soldier is apparently equipped with the Lahti-Saloranta
model 1926 light machine gun
The m/28-30 rifles
had the last two digits of the serial number placed
on the buttplate for quick reference when the rifle
was racked horizontally while in barracks.
Another example
of the rifles buttplate matching the rifles as well
as having the stock numbered. This is not the norm
however and is very uncommon and is probably not Finnish done but an add on by a collector in the US
The three styles
of stocks used on the m/28-30 From the left is the
late model stock produced by depots with square finger
splices. In the center is the typical improved pattern
made after 1934 with round finger spliced
indicative of pre war and wartime production. On the far right is the on piece
m/1891 style stock that has been modified to m/28 and m/28-30 configuration
by shortening and altering the barrel channel.
Stock markings found
on m/28-30 rifles. The top is the stock made of birch
produced at SAKO and of "first quality".
These stocks once accepted were branded with the
Souljeluskunta shield and the last two digits of
the date of production placed below. In this case
This stock is of
the earlier design made from a modified 1891 stock.
This gun was issued to 2 different districts as shown
by the two separate "S" numbers branded
into the stock.
A later pattern
m/28-30 stock produced from a blank with either a
repaired heel or a defect in the heel section of
the stock. You can barely see the expertly placed "heel
splice" joint on this buttstcok. A testament
to the
skill of the Civil Guard wood workers.
A M28/30 once used
by KERÄNEN, LAURI ARTTURI. In researching this
former owner it was found he served in the 2nd Machine
Gun Company of the 53rd Infantry Regiment. He
died in 1944 in a field hospital from wounds received
in battle, he was only 22 years old. This photo
from the Owilly collection
Another stock marking
this from a 1937 dated rifle. The meaning
is not known but it is not uncommon to see such markings
on various Finnish issued Mosin Nagants.
The three versions
of the m/28-30 bayonet. The top is a Hackman made
version in its true m/28-30 configuration. In the
center is a Hackman m/28-30-35 with is refined blade
shape and the addition of the oil hole in the pommel.
This was done to lubricate the mechanism and allow
oil to flush out any debris in the slot. On the bottom
is a rare Fiskars made version with its own slightly
different style of m/35 blade shape.
Two m/28-30-35's
made by the two bayonet makers to the Civil Guard-Hackman
on the top and Fiskars on the bottom. Note that the
bayonets are reversed as each maker marked their
logo on opposite sides of the bayonet
The factory markings
of the two bayonet makers for the armed forces. Fiskars
on the left with the Sk.Y ownership marking above
and the Hackman Co. marked bayonet on the right.
It bears the Sk.Y marking above as well indicating
Civil Guard contract. The =S= marking of the General
Headquarters' acceptance of the Civil Guard is placed
on the cross hilt.
The district that
the bayonet was sent to from the general staff was
marked on the bottom of the bayonet between the grip
panels. This was the same as on the rifles and most
m/28-30 bayonets will bear this "S" number.
The pommel would also bear the last two digits of
the rifle it was issued with.
Here you can see
the standard pattern m/28-30-35 bayonet with its
smooth m/35 pattern scabbard with a round "frog" button
to hold the scabbard in the leather belt hangar.
Below is the trials pattern m/42 bayonet. This bayonet
was fashioned in this manner by shortening the blade
and modifying the tip to be of a similar shape and
length to the Sk.Y contracted m/39 bayonets. With
the contracted company Veljekset Kulmalan Konepaja
unable to produce enough bayonets of the m/39 type
to meet requirements, the m/28-30 bayonet
was modified in a trials program in 1942 to see if it was feasible to use existing
stocks of bayonets to meet the need. Only 150 of these predominately m/28-30
and 28-30-35 bayonets were so modified making these
truly one of the holy grails of Finnish bayonet collectors. The special short
m/42 scabbard is below the bayonet and even rarer than the blade in the authors
The later m/35 pattern
scabbard in its leather hangar made at Frittla and
the earlier m/28-30 fluted scabbard that was typically
painted green over the blue. This hangar was made
at AV3 in Kupio and features the leather
retention strap that prevented the bayonet from being accidentally removed
from the scabbard.
The maker markings
of the leather bayonet hangars or "frogs".
The left is one made at F. Niskalan Nahka and marked
36 below the marking. On the right is a later m/28-30
frog fashioned at a depot level at AV3 located in
Kupio. This frog as you can see is marked Sk.Y and
dated 1938. Some leather goods of the Sk.Y were painted
or dyed green as this one.
The bayonet affixed
the rifle with its scabbard and hangar below.
Two tool kits issued
for the m/28-30. On the left is more than likely
a "later" tool bag from the post 1937 rime frame. Its contents
are the later large round round oil bottle embossed with the SkY marking of the Civil Guard., the brass muzzle cover cleaning rod guide for the 28/30 rifle ,
its rod collar, cleaning rod cross bar to be used
a "T" handle when placed through the rod collar and cleaning rod as shown,
the bore brush and two brass cleaning rod sections. One for use as an extension
and the other is the patch jag. The combination screwdriver has two slots for disassembly
and firing pin depth completes the final component. The kit on the right is identical
in content but for the early pattern oil bottles painted Civil Guard green and impressed with the SkY logo. The wooden cylinder on the bottom may be a home front produced item for use in protecting the bore brush from damage. The wire retains the brush in the hollow tube by blocking the hole that the brush slides into. The felt strips under the jags were used to retain the oil or solvent from the bottle while wrapped about the jag. Both bags are more than likely produced by the Souljeuskunta's Helsinki women's auxiliary and are marked with the SkY property marking in ink.
A close up of how the Civil Guard issued jags differes from the standard isue of the Army. The jags knurled prtion is of a different pattern and shorter then that of the army's verion. Notice as well the marking of the army in its boxed [SA] on the tool and the Sky marking stamped onto the Civil Guard issue.
Two pictures of
the improved one piece nosecap and front sight with
the muzzle cover attached and the top view showing
the knurled brass muzzle cover/cleaning rod guide
attached. The blued spring steel catch had a lip
on the end that when seated fully, would snap over
the leading edge of the front sight base and engage
a depression that would secure it.
The 5 versions of
slings issued with the m/28-30. From the top to bottom-the
first pattern m/30 sling with its oval buckles. The
refined m/30 sling with the square wire buckles and
zinc "rollers" to aid in adjustment and
prevent chaffing of the sling when moved. The sling loop attachment portions
of this sling are sewn permanently. The third from the top is the same style
sling but the sling loop attachment sections are secured by a sling keeper
button. This allowed the sling to be used with leather sling loops or with
wire sling hangars. These top three slings I refer to as "Three piece" slings
based on the three leather sections of the sling. The fourth sling down is
the Continuation War sling produced by Oy Veljekset Ĺströmin in 1940 for use
with the m/28-30 but primarily the newly adopted m/39 for Sk.Y use. This was
the final order for Sk.Y slings and 6000 slings were produced in this pattern.
They are of a light brown web construction and marked Sk.Y on the leather tab.
Bottom: Various makers markings of Sk.Y produced slings. From the far left
we can see two slings produced by F. Niskalan Nahka in 1936 and 1938. The third
from the left is the Friitalan Nahkatehdas Oy marking from 1937 and on the
far right the marking used on the 6000 Oy Veljekset Ĺströmin Valjastehtaat
made slings for the m/28-30 and m/39 in 1940.
Each Souljeluskunta
soldier was issued a special box of ammunition. Here
you see that box and its very specific instruction.
I've translated the box marking to English in the
line box below from the original. His name would
be written on the box in the space provided. This
box is unissued
The new sights of
the m/28-30 were explained in this instruction sheet
and a special sight chart wheel was available to
accurately adjust the sights to various bullets and
distances. The charts could be purchased from the
Civil Guard store called "Skoha" in the
envelope pictured. This is an extremely rare accessory
with very few remaining today. In fact the
fine collection above containing so many examples
is almost unheard of. The sheets have instructions
in Finnish on one side and Swedish on the other.
This advertisement
was placed in the Civil Guard published magazine "Hakkapeliitta" in
1935 extolling the new virtues of the m/28-30 and
how to have your older rifle upgraded by SAKO. The
ad as it appeared is on the top
right and I've taken the liberty to translate the ad in its original format
to English in the blow up.
To Finnish Area


text:
Email : email@example.com
For a long time, vitiligo is a stubborn skin disease troubled doctors and patients. So many people called the vitiligo as a incurable disease. In fact, although vitiligo treatment is quite difficult, that doesn't means it is a incurable disease. What causes vitiligo hard to cure?
There are four factors I'd like to enumerate for your reference.
1. Take the medicine without find out the causes, do not receive the scientific treatment.
Many vitiligo patients treated their vitiligo for a long time and still can not get any treatment effects caused by the vitiligo patients desperately want to find a cure for their vitiligo, they see the Chinese doctor in this day, turn to the western doctor in the other day, search for the prescriptions for their vitiligo in every where and do not treat their vitiligo systemically and regularly and can not get good treatment effects after spent a lot of money.
Many vitiligo patients instead of go to see the vitiligo specialist, they search for the prescriptions and irregular medicines to treat their vitiligo which causes their vitiligo misdiagnosed and mistreated. There are also some vitiligo patients do the epidermal skin grafting surgery even their vitiligo is not in the stable stage. After the surgery, their vitiligo expand in large areas causes their vitiligo hard to cure.
2. The vitiligo patients delayed their disease and miss the best treatment time for their vitiligo.
Ignore the vitiligo in the early stage and after it spread to the exposure areas and cause their melanin loss seriously, the vitiligo expand and their vitiligo worsen. In that time, they want to systemic treat their vitiligo, it will increase their vitiligo treatment difficulty.
3. Blindly take medicines to treat their vitiligo.
Many vitiligo patients take the medicines instead of under the doctor's instruction, they will blindly take many medicines used to treat vitiligo and cause their vitiligo pigment loss and cause their vitiligo hard to cure.
4. Not pay attention to their diet.
There are some vitiligo patients like to eat stimulating foods in their daily life such as mustard, seafood, hotpot and so on can cause their vitiligo worsen. So vitiligo patients in their daily life should pay more attention to their diet. If you have any question about vitiligo, welcome mail to email@example.com.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Skype: bjmeidi
WhatsApp: +86 18519108583

subset: commoncrawl


text: The official Star Wars Instagram posted a photo of my 'Rebellious' trooper sculpture and it had a great response (over 120,000 likes), so based on requests/interest I decided to do a super limited run of 5 nearly full sized custom vinyl helmets. I was also really excited to partner with SOL Republic headphones to giveaway the Silver & Black variant on May 4th 2016, which coincided with an interview that ran in 'Pulse'. The initial run sold out pretty fast, so I decided to do a second wave of 5.


text:
Many users download numerous amounts of files such as MP3, videos, softwares everyday. By default many browsers come with their own download managers but they are not optimal as they do not provide you with advanced functions such as resuming downloads, segregating downloads, finding multiple sources etc.
Many a times your Internet connection may stop while you are downloading huge files and in such cases you will have to start downloading the file from start. Imagine cases where you have already downloaded 95% of the file you downloading and you face a Internet connection breakdown. Instead of starting over from 95% you will have start downloading the whole file again.
Download Managers are tools that allow you to resume downloads, pause them, segregate them into different folders and automatically look for multiple sources of the same file. If you look back at the above scenario if you would have used a download manager to download your file the download would start from 95% again.
In addition to that they even boost the speed of your downloads as they download the files as different packets and then rejoin them on the PC making the download faster.
Today we will look at the top 3 download managers that allow you to manage your downloads and are free.
Free Download Manager
Free Download Manager (FDM) is another powerful tool which allows you to manage your downloads. Opposed to the other softwares FDM is completely free and a Open Source software. So every version of FDM has the same features and you do not have to buy the softwares to unlock advanced features.
FDM allows you to download files using the BitTorrent protocol in addition to the regular HTTP and FTP protocol downloads. They also support downloading FLV files from sites like YouTube, Google etc.
FDM comes completely free under a General Public License (GPL) so you are not tied on any of the features they provide with the software.
Free Download Manager also allows you to adjust traffic usage so that you are not using a major chunk of it for the downloads. Likewise you can easily resume and pause downloads in addition to organizing and scheduling them.
If you want to download a whole website you can easily do that with their tool called HTML Spider. So if you are looking at a site that shows you recipes and want it as reference even when you are not online you can easily do that with FDM.
When you are downloading zip files and do not want to download the entire files you can easily do that with FDM. They also provide you with a Upload Manager using which you can easily upload and share your files with family and friends.
The best feature which I liked was that you can control the downloads remotely from another PC, so if you are at office and want to use the downloaded files at home you can easily schedule it a home using this feature.
There are tons of Download Managers, Internet Downloads, Manage Downloads


text:
Latics open pre-season campaign with a win
Finley 73
McCarthy 46, Fortune 63
Well-crafted goals by James McCarthy and Marc Antoine Fortune gave Owen Coyle's Latics reign the perfect start against a side who had only once previously lost to foreign opposition.
In the searing heat of the Mid-West, Coyle was able to field six of his seven new signings – only Thomas Rogne missed out through injury – and they put in a tremendous performance, negating the threat posed by a Crew side in the middle of their season and at a physical peak.
Coyle was delighted with the application of his side and said: "The result was not the priority but it is still very nice to be able to come away with a win after just ten days of pre-season work.
"The players did exactly as they were instructed and showed professionalism, but also a real touch of quality for the goals. Now we need to build on that as we move towards August 3rd."
After a first half in which Crew's threat was totally negated, two of the half-time substitutions combined brilliantly after barely a minute had been played in the second period. Roger Espinoza, playing back in the city where his career begun, got in behind the Crew defence down the left hand side, receiving a great ball from Jean Beausejour. The cross to the far post was exquisite and James McCarthy, with his first touch, headed it back majestically across the face of goal into the net.
A quarter of an hour later and Fraser Fyvie – again with his first touch, sent Fortune through to poke the ball under the onrushing keeper, Daniel Withrow to double the lead.
Crew had rather bizarrely changed ten players at once a minute before and the game lost a little fluency as a result. Nevertheless, Eric Gherig's pulled back cross was met rather fortuitously by Finley and the ball looped over Scott Carson to pull a goal back.
All of a sudden The Crew seemed to find a rhythm and Carson had to twice get down sharply to deny first Finley, then his near namesake Finlay. In truth, those were the only two occasions Carson was called into serious action and an equalizer would have been unfair for a Latics side whose quality had set them apart most of the night.
A really positive start, then and plenty of food for thought for the new manager.
Latics: Carson, Crainey, McCann (Espinoza 46), Watson (Fyvie 63), Holt (Fortune 46), Gomez (McManaman 63), McArthur (Maloney 75), Boyce, Beausejour (Dicko 63), Perch, Buxton (McCarthy 46)
Subs not used: Pollitt, Nicholls, Bingham


text:
Blackheath Bike Week extravaganza
- By London Cycling Campaign on at 11:00pm 27 July 2009
- Posted in: News and blogs
- Tagged with:
Bike and Kite festival to celebrate the start of Bike Week 2009
The Blackheath Kite and Bike Festival took place in South East London on a sunny weekend marking the start of Bike Week on 13th and 14th of June.
The heath was awash with bikes, and, you guessed it, kites. There were also plenty of other activities, stalls and rides, to keep all attendees entertained and suit everybody's tastes.
London Cycling Campaign had a stall at the event to provide people with cycle maps, advice and information and the Greenwich and Lewisham Cycling Campaigns joined forces to offer guided rides on quiet, cycle friendly routes to various destinations.
Cycling around Greenwich Park, the Thames path, and towards Surrey Docks
With the help of several marshals the local LCC groups assisted novice and nervous riders to discover new cycling routes taking in Greenwich Park, the Thames Path and other off-road environments to arrive at the Surrey Docks City Farm, the O2 centre and the 2012 Olympic Site.
Rosie Tharp, Community Cycling Officer joined the Sunday ride to the farm and was really impressed with the route:
"It was a great afternoon ride with a good mix of people of varying cycling abilities. The Thames Path is a fantastic place to cycle particularly if you are a little nervous. We had one couple who came along on their shiny new folding bikes and had hardly ever cycled in London before. They had a great time and we hope that it will encourage them to keep it up."
Exploring the Bike and Kite festival
After a nice coffee at the farm café the group managed to make it back up the hill in Greenwich park where they discovered some of the other delights the festival had to offer including International Kite Fighting displays, a Mountain bike stunt team, cycling activities for young people including slaloms, slow races and limbos.
Cyclists in vintage bikes dating from the 1800s with riders in period dress, and tutorial sessions and hints and tricks on how to make kite flying easier, a 'try before you buy' range of bikes with Get Cycling, and a free Dr Bike service.
We hope that next year's event is even bigger and better and more local and not so local community groups make the trip to Blackheath to enjoy the fun!


text:
Hell on Wheels - TdF Film
An old cycling buddy of mine has pointed me towards a Tour de France documentary film called Hell on Wheels. It was filmed during the 2003 edition and mostly follows the T-Mobile team, so it is not a "Lance Inc." film.
More details: http://www.german-cinema.de/archive/fil ... lm_id=1223
It will be showing for about a week at the Mercury cinema from Sat 21 to Sat 28 May; 7:30 pm sessions with some 5:00pm sessions on the weekend days.
Apparently it was a sell-out at the Adelaide film festival earlier this year.
If anyone is interested, let me know and I could see if we can piggy back on someone else's group booking.


text:
Source Naturals Bitter Melon
Throughout the tropics, this bitter fruit is renowned for its health benefits. Long a mainstay of traditional Chinese herbalism and Ayurveda, modern studies show that bitter melon helps support healthy blood sugar levels already within a normal range and promotes healthy glucose metabolism.
Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 2 capsules
Amount %DV
Calcium 45 mg 5
Bitter Melon Fruit Extract 1 g
Other Ingredients: gelatin (capsule), dibasic calcium phosphate, and silica.
Suggested Use:
2 Bitter Melon capsules twice daily with meals.
Warning: If you are pregnant, may become pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking any prescription drugs, consult your health care professional before using this product.
Disclaimer: The product descriptions and the statements on this page are from manufacturers and/or distributors and have not been evaluated by VitaSprings or the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. VitaSprings does not imply any medical claims from the customer reviews on this Bitter Melon 500 mg product on this website.
Disclaimer: Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
Statements made, or products sold through this website,
have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Read more.
Copyright ©2001-2019 VitaSprings.com Online Store - All Rights Reserved.


text:
Many laptop computers will run off a battery for multiple hours, although most libraries provide electrical outlets to plug in your notebook. Call ahead to check on the library's policies and take along a lock so you can secure the laptop to a desk or table while you retrieve books. A laptop also makes it easy to access the Internet and send and receive e-mail while you travelprovided you have access to a phone jack and your Internet access provider has a local phone number for your location or a toll-free access number.
While laptop computers are convenient for the researcher on the road, they do have a few tradeoffs. First, a laptop will cost about twice as much as a desktop computer with the same features. Second, a laptop's keyboard is smaller and harder to type on. Finally, while desktop computers usually have lots of room inside the case for adding new components, laptops are more difficult to open and have limited upgrade potential. So you'll probably get fewer years of productive use out of a laptop before you'll want to buy a new computer.
Laptop computers range from ultra-lightweight models weighing only 2 pounds to desktop replacements tipping the scales at 7 pounds or more. The smallest models will easily fit in your briefcase and have a longer battery life, but they have smaller screens and may lack an internal CD-ROM drive. Larger notebooks are less convenient if you travel a lot, but bigger screens, keyboards and hard drives make them more suitable substitutes for your desktop.
A handheld computer (also called a personal digital assistant or PDA) or a smartphone is another option for the traveler, but you'll still want either a desktop or notebook computer. Then you can use genealogy software on your main computer to enter your data and copy it to the handheld computer/smartphone for reference on the road.
Buying New: Get a desktop computer if you won't be doing much research away from home. Go for a larger laptop with a big screen if you want one computer that will work well both at home and on the road.
Upgrading: If you already have a desktop computer, you might consider getting an inexpensive, lightweight laptop for research trips and family reunions.


text:
Select a design, then select the device that you would like to style.
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The Matte finish is a non-glossy, satin-type finish that give Skins an arty look and feel (art pieces, professional photos, canvases are usually matte). It is fingerprint and smudge resistant, and looks gorgeous with most designs.
The Gloss finish is a shiny finish that gives Skins an expensive, classy and sophisticated look (like a really shiny car). Designs look more vibrant with a gloss finish.
View your Shopping Cart or Style Another Device with "Button Flowers"
Very efficient service, I live in South Africa and the skin I ordered arrived the next week from my order date. I have used istyles in the past and will definitely use them again and will recommend them to everyone lookin for a skin for their mobile. The skin itself is also of a high quality and is very durable. Thanks istylesStacy Norman-Hector, South Africa


text:
Part I. Glacial Geology of the Farm (first printed July 20, 2010)
|Lake Hitchcock spanned much of the current Connecticut Valley.
Farmers don't have much time to go to the beach (unless it's biking to Puffer's Pond!) during the summer, but we know that life is a beach at Simple Gifts Farm. In fact, the farm really is along the shore – that is, if you were to transport back in time about 15,000-12,000 years ago. Back then, the last ice age was ending, and the glaciers were in retreat. The Connecticut Valley formed the basin of the brilliantly blue Glacial Lake Hitchcock. At its maximum, this lake stretched from the dam at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, all the way north to St. Johnsbury, Vermont (find out more here). The water level fluctuated, but it appears that the farm progresses into the lake from the shore from east to west. The west end of the farm by North Pleasant Street has finer-textured soils, including some clays. The field visible from Pine Street is closer to the shoreline, and the soils have a gravelly to sandy texture. Our house, or perhaps the woods behind our house, is on a one-time beach, delta or sandbar. Indeed, when we had the foundation dug for our house in 2006, our kids were smitten with the sandbox-quality sand in the hole. As you continue east down Pine Street its intersection with Sand Hill Road (there's a reason for that name!), you'll be traveling by a river outlet with a delta formation. The current Mill River is what remains of this once-larger stream and delta. This includes the Town sand/gravel pit just east of the farm.
We are inland (east) from the world-famous Hadley silt loams, formed from fine-textured lake bottom deposits and more recent river deposits. Those soils are amazingly rich and fertile. The soils of our farm are dominated by Hinckley loamy sand. These are more coarse-textured than the Hadley loam, and a major challenge is that these sandy-gravelly soils do not hold nutrients or water well. These soils are fine for agriculture when they overlay level ground, as they do here, but we have to work hard to supply the crops with sufficient fertility. Rain percolates quickly through the coarse soil, and we need to constantly correct soil fertility with targeted applications that the crops can take up quickly before they wash down through the soil profile. In addition to strengthening long-term nutrient holding capacity by building organic matter via pasture rotations and incorporating cover crops and compost, we add organic nutrients into our drip irrigation, and apply foliar sprays. On the plus side, the rapidly drying soil allows us to prepare fields for planting earlier in the season, and we can ride through extremely wet years – like the one we've had so far this season – better than a farm with wetter soils. In addition, although it takes more work to continually adjust the fertility balance, it is relatively easier to correct imbalances than on soils that retain everything strongly.
We like our shoreline location, and knowing about the geology of the farm improves both our daily management and our appreciation of this place on earth.
Part II. Shorebirds of the Farm (first printed July 2009)
|A killdeer shows its famous broken wing display.
Who jeers at hard-working farmers and thinks living at the farm is just a life at the beach? Killdeer, of course! While the rest of its kin are shorebirds, these inland members of the plover family thrive in farm fields and wide-open areas. Often seen running in starts and stops across the field, or circling overhead, these noisy birds brighten our days. Killdeer (Charaduis vociferous) are named for their loud, repeated call of kill-deeah. Their vocal repertoire also includes a rising dee-ee and low trills. By sight, they can be identified by their handsome black double breastband (chicks have one band) and the white wing stripe that is visible in when the bird is in flight.
Killdeer are ground foragers, mainly eating insects and other invertebrates, along with some seeds. They are also ground nesters, starting off the mating season with a "scraping ceremony" in which one the bird hollows out one or more trial nest sites before choosing the final site. The nest is nothing more than a shallow depression, perhaps with some pebbles added. The buff eggs with blackish-brown markings blend in perfectly with fields, pebbles and gravel. After 22-28 days, the clutch of 4-6 eggs hatch out chicks who hit the ground running – full feathers and open eyes. If you get too close to the nest, the parent may lure you away from them with a classic rendition of the broken wing trick . . . feigning a hurt wing, the bird hobbles just out of your reach until it finally takes flight, cackling "kill-deeah!"
The farm is an ecosystem designed by and for humans, but it includes a whole gang of organisms and processes that transcend our human needs of the place. The killdeer is at home in these human-modified habitats, and is a welcome, wild companion.
For everyone of Simple Gifts Farm – Audrey


text:
Flash flood warning in effect until 5:45 a.m. for Central Texas
1:55 a.m. update: A severe thunderstorm watch for several Central Texas counties, including Travis, Williamson and Hays has been extended until 4 a.m., the National Weather Service said.
1:45 a.m. update: The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for Travis, Williamson and Hays counties until 5:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The service is warning residents of possible flooding as strong thunderstorms and heavy rain continue Wednesday morning.
More than 2 inches of rain have fallen in Jollyville, according to rain gauges monitored by the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Authorities are urging drivers to avoid flooded roadways Wednesday. Several low-water crossings along Spicewood Springs Road in Northwest Austin have been closed. Click here for a complete map of road closures.
1:20 a.m. update: Austin and several Central Texas cities along the Interstate 35 corridor are seeing lightning, heavy rain and in some cases pea-sized hail early Wednesday morning.
Over 750 strikes of cloud to ground lightning were recorded in the last five minutes along the I-35 corridor.
In San Marcos and Leander, residents have reported heavy rainfall followed by pea-sized hail, officials said.
The number of Austin Energy customers without power doubled to 800 in the past half hour, according to the agency's outage map.
12:40 a.m. update: A flood advisory has been issued until 5 a.m. for several Central Texas counties, including Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop, according to the National Weather Service.
The service is warning of possible flooding as heavy rain and thunderstorms continue moving over Central Texas early Wednesday morning.
About an inch of rain was recorded by 12:33 a.m. and 1 to 3 inches of additional rainfall are expected in the next hours, the service said.
Central Texas is also under a severe thunderstorm watch until 2 a.m. on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
Forecasters said a cell of strong thunderstorms possibly carrying dime size hail and causing strong winds was moving north at about 35 mph.
7:15 p.m. update: A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued until 2 a.m. on Wednesday for several counties, including Hays and Burnet, according to the National Weather Service.
The service expects possible thunderstorms, high winds and large hail starting Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.
The alert covers 23 counties in South and Central Texas such as Hays, Burnet, Blanco, Caldwell, and Gillespie, the service said.
Earlier: Austin, and particularly the area stretching for several counties east of Interstate 35, are probably in for thunderstorms tonight, with high winds and large hail possible, according to the National Weather Service.
A low-pressure system moving in from the west will probably collide tonight with a stew of other meteorological phenomena in the Austin area, including moist air, with those storms resulting, Weather Service meteorologist Steve Smart said. Some of the storms could be severe — winds of 58 miles-per-hour or more; hail the diameter of a quarter; and the possibility, if slight, of tornadoes.
Expect one to three inches of rain as well, with as much of five inches possibly falling over pockets of the area. That means there is a slight chance of flooding, according to the Weather Service.
A front that rolled through the Austin area yesterday dropped a little rain last night and this morning, but gave way to sunny mid afternoon weather that should give way some time in the evening to the incoming storms. The thunderstorms could last through the end of the week, according to the Weather Service.
Smart said people in the Austin area should "continue to monitor the situation closely … everyone has a responsibility to keep themselves safe, and staying informed is a big part of that."
The Weather Service web site and Twitter feed provide updates, as does the Statesman weather app, which can be downloaded for Android or iPhone. Those who want to submit weather reports by tweeting directly to the Weather Service or use the hashtag #eWXspotter.


text:
About Us
ESA launches misdirected Wall of Protest
posted: 10/18/2007 8:42:00 PM
More On:
EIC Ramblings
The Video Game Voters network (the ESA's semi-knock off of Moveon.org) has created a virtual "
Wall of Protest
" where gamers can post their objection to video game legislation. It's a nice thought and sentiment but as I've
said before
the ESA needs to focus on educating parents and the general population on their rating systems and how it works. Right now the ESA is attacking the result of a problem rather than the problem itself.
The problem as I see it is two fold. The first is that most people think that video games are something only for children. That video games are just collections of large blocky pixels that beep and boop as they move across a screen. A lot of people don't realize how far games have evolved and how much more realistic the games have become and that games are now dealing with much more mature themes than in the past.
The second part of the problem is that people still seem blissfully unaware of the ESRB's rating system and how good it really is. I think the ESRB has a fantastic rating system that does a great job of describing what's in each game but a lot of people don't know how to read the ratings on the box and I place the blame for that squarely on the ESA for not having any kind of nationwide ad campaign to educate people on the ratings system.
The culmination of these two problems is that you have an unaware populace who respond very negatively to change and are shocked when they find out that video games are so much more graphic than they used to be. These people contact their local politicians and local news (who are always looking for something sentationalistic) and you have the crap video game legislation that the ESA is trying to fight.


text:
Jewish World Review Jan 10, 2014/ 9 Shevat, 5774
A purge for the books
By Paul Greenberg
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
In his latest and most sensational move, the latest Kim in that dynastic line of Communist dictators had his own uncle denounced, stripped of all his titles, arrested and paraded out of a party conference in
There is a protocol in these matters. It was not enough that this once powerful official be executed. Any trace of him in official records had to be extirpated. Officially he is now lumped in with "anti-party elements," his name unmentionable, his image airbrushed out of party annals, TV documentaries, wherever else it might appear in
Comrade Jang Song Thaek, once No. 2 in the regime's power structure, isn't even a face in the crowd any more. To use the newspeak of George Orwell's "1984," he has become an unperson. Not only has he ceased to exist. Officially he never existed. Not just the man but any memory of him must be effaced. No wonder the regime's elite is all a-tremble, not knowing who will be next, let alone why. That's the very purpose of a purge: to terrorize.
A classic purge in a totalitarian society doesn't portend fear and trembling just at home. It can be a sign the Fuehrer, Generalissimo or Outstanding Leader is harrowing his ranks in preparation for war abroad. Just as Hitler's night of the long knives and Stalin's Yezhovshchina presaged the next world war. What better way for Outstanding Leader to ready his country for another strike at the other Korea, whose freedom and prosperity are a constant reproach to his own deluded rule? And this time his nuclear-tipped missiles might actually work.
It's all so familiar. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the totalitarian state and state of mind will recognize what's happening in
The treatment of Nikolai Bukharin in successive editions of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia is instructive. In the first edition, published in 1927, he was described as "an outstanding theoretician of communism, an economist and a sociologist." By the second edition, there was no entry for Bukharin, Nikolai. There was no longer any such person, never had been.
Why these painstaking measures to erase any evidence of Comrade Bukharin and his like? Because the very existence of such people, let alone what they said or did or thought, might give others ideas. And in a totalitarian state, only the omniscient Party is allowed to have ideas. And official history must contain nothing to the contrary. In the not so fictional "1984," poor
What happens when history isn't controlled? People may realize the Party isn't what it says it is, and Big Brother -- or in
All it may take to sow such subversive thoughts is one little detail somebody forget to omit from the official record, one photograph somebody neglected to throw down the memory hole. Which is how
If you think these games with the past are safely confined to totalitarian societies, think again, It can happen here. Back in 1998,
The quotation from the irrepressible Mr. Truman remains a jewel -- a diamond in the rough, just as
It would take another decade before Mr. Bumpers would halfway confess that omitting the quotation from the official record hadn't been the work of some anonymous aide, but that he himself had excised it. Conscience may sleep, and for the longest time, but it can stir back to life, too. Even after years.
The moral of this story: To blue-pencil history is to confuse what isn't important with what is. It's not the party line or the political fate of this or that public figure that matters so much, but the truth. Especially the historical truth. For without it, we are cast into the darkness without a glimmer of light, the kind of light only Clio, muse of history, can provide. We tamper with History at our peril, and our country's. Which is why purging the historical record should not be dismissed as just a harmless little rhetorical device. It is a grave offense. And a continuing danger to a free country. No matter who does it.
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The Floater is a small boat in the second episode for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony. There are no main missions where the Floater is needed, although they can be used during the Drug Wars minigame and the Triathlon minigames. They can mostly be found boating along the Humboldt and West River.
- The name Floater is probably a reference to the term "Floater", which means a floating piece of fecal matter, or a dead body floating in water.