Lithuanian Model 24L Mauser

The history of early Lithuanian small arms usage is hard to trace, as most records were destroyed over the course of a German invasion, two Russian invasions, and a 50-year communist occupation. When Lithuania gained its independence after the collapse of the Russian Empire, it chose to standardize on the 8mm Mauser cartridge. The first rifles for the Lithuanian Army were vz24 Mausers purchased from Brno. These purchases apparently included a significant supply spare parts, and by the 1930s the Army had far more parts than it thought necessary. When a purchasing commission visited Fabrique Nationale looking for pistols, they discovered that FN was happy to sell them both complete rifles and also receivers and other core components with which they could assemble complete rifles form their existing stockpile of parts. This eventually led to between 75,000 and 80,000 FN Mauser rifles being delivered right up until the Russian occupation of the country. The FN rifles were technically Model 30s, but designated Model 24L to have the same number as the earlier Brno model.

Today, there rifles are very rare, but show up in the most unexpected places. During World War Two, some of the rifles were taken by German forces, and ended up mixed in with surplus German arms sold all over the world. Russian forces also took many of them, and those were mixed with arms supplied to Russian client states. As a result, they pop up today in places as disparate as Vietnam, Africa, and Europe.

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