Samgin S. (2016). Kratkij obzor sovetskoj shashki obrazca 1927 goda [A Brief Review of the Soviet Cavalry Sword of 1927 Year Pattern]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 4, pp. 37 — 50.

Samgin S.

Abstract: Despite the large number of samples of the soviet cavalry sword of 1927 year pattern year pattern, preserved in the museums and private collections, the history and features of this Russian long-bladed weapon have been studied poorly. The little available information is scattered across the focused primary sources, which were put out in limited editions though, and electronic media. The present situation obstructs not only the studying of the weapon history, but even the attribution of several its systems. The main idea of this review is to summarize and systematize all the available information on this weapon.

The review includes the general data on the cavalry sword of 1927 year pattern, the structural dynamics, its decorative scheme, and marks on it during 1928-1946 as well as information on “non-standard” cavalry swords which were produced during the World War II (The Great Patriotic War for the Soviet Union) both at the plant in Zlatoust and at the other factories in the USSR – in the Ordjonikidze city (today the city of Vladikavkaz), Ziryanovo (Kazakhstan), Gulay-Pole (Ukraine), Tambov. The author describes the dynamics of the cavalry sword structure, the particular qualities of the weapon systems manufactured in various years and places, the specific marks among which the most prominent are the ones of the maker, as well as the validation, acceptive and field marks that were put in the process of manufacturing and field exploitation. To make them easy to see in the paper all the marks were organized in the table and provided with images.

The so called “non-standard” cavalry swords which were produced at the plant in Zlatoust on the special orders, and cavalry swords of 1927 year pattern started being manufactured with the beginning of the World War II (The Great Patriotic War for the Soviet Union) at different soviet factories were put in specific separate groups. The photo of the cavalry sword with the hilt of aluminum polymeric was published for the first time. The samples of this weapon are often found by voluntary searching groups working near Stalingrad.

Keywords: the 1927 pattern Soviet shashka, shashka, blade, sheath, hilt, marks, stamp, non-standard shashkas.