Karabiner-S: The East German Unicorn SKS
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- čas přidán 13. 06. 2024
- This rifle will be sold at Rock Island in their Spring 2019 Premiere auction - it was moved after this video was filmed. Sorry!
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One of the rarest patterns of the SKS is the East German type - the Karabiner-S. Total production quantity is not known, but their survival rate is quite low and most of the examples in the US are Vietnam War bring backs. At any rate, the Karabiner-S is not quite an exact copy of the standard SKS. While it does share all the same mechanical features, the East Germans opted to leave out the butt trap cleaning kit, the cleaning rod, and to cut a German style sling slot in the stock instead of using sling swivels. These differences make the gun relatively easy to spot. Markings are a bit cryptic, with a 2-digit year of production in from of the serial number, followed by a letter prefix and a 4-digit serial number. Not all letters were used as prefixes; in fact only 6 have been documented: A, E, F, L, N, and U. Whether these have specific meaning or if this was a scheme to make production look larger than it really was (akin to the Czech vz.52 pistols) is not clear.
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As a former East-German i can answer the Question about the Production Reasons: AK`s where meant for the NVA (Nationale Volksarmee) and the SKS where simply for arming the Bordertroops who had no need for assault rifles, the police and other non-military organs like Betriebskampfgruppen (Civilian fighting groups) and as a second line gun of some sort. the east german society was highly militarized down to the students in middle school. not in an obvious way ofcourse.
Makes sense. The USSR had the resources to manufacture an enormous amount of weapons, they diversified! This is why they also refurbished thousands of surplus WW2 rifles. Just in case they were ever required.
So ein Unsinn, die normalen Grenzer waren auch mit der Kalaschnikow ausgerüstet gewesen.
@@MakotoAtava Mein Vater wurde auf SKS und AK ausgebildet und beide wurden in der Waffenkammer gelistet und ausgegeben. Und ja, auch an der Grenze. Also nix da Unsinn. Lies den ganzen Kommentar und welche Institutionen ich abseits der Grenzer aufgelistet habe.
@@Daniel-tv9tb exactly. and you dont hand people in 10th grade a fullblood assaultrifle if all the need to learn is to shoot straight. shit, even the sports events in school used obvious grenade shaped weights for throwing competetion.
@@AlexHalt100 das mit den Granaten stimmt, es wurde aber gemacht weil sich diese Gewichte besser werfen ließen als die meisten anderen Wurfgewichte die heute an Schüler ausgegeben werden. Kausalität und Korrelation..
Und ja,ein Großteil der Jugend wurde an KK Waffen ausgebildet, war das schlimm? Nein, ich fands ganz lustig.
Sold for $11,500 back in 2019. Not bad ...
And I got a type 56 Chinese for $200!!
@@LtJackboot maybe you did in 2010
My numbers matching norinco cost $80. Still has the cleaning kit and it's actually nice. Lol
ridiculous
@@kingjoe3rd if people want to bitch about other people they should look at themselves because if you are over the age of 20 you should know that people value different things. Go back to twitter
Thats a slick bayonette.
Some Russian Sks's have spike bayonets.
Everytime i see a SKS and see the bayonet i wonder it can be used closed,swinging it like an axe or a glaive
@@junichiroyamashita the sides of an sks bayonet aren't sharp at all. It wouldn't really be any different than smacking someone with the barrel at that point.
@@TylerHulan that is really disapponting
@@TylerHulan I can see why, it'd be really easy to nick your hands on the blade, when it's not in use.
Give Germans a blueprint for a any rifle and they gonna make a Mercedes version of it. There's so much dedication and pride in each and every single thing they ever crafted.
This SKS looks like it has a 401k and drives a BMW.
In Germany, we don't have 401k. We have publicly mandated pension funds we take with us from job to job and pay in in equal part with our employer over the entire course of our working life and fill up something of a "point system" by paying into the system, which entitles us to a certain rent in retirement (think of it as a percentage of a standardized sum of pension), which is publicly raised every few years to account for inflation. So, when you did hold a (or several) medium income job over the duration of 40 years and gained 1 pension point each year of paying into the system, you get 100% of the standardized pension in retirement. When you had a higher income job, you might have gained 1.5 points or even 2 points in the system and therefore you get 150% or 200% of that standardized pension.
Also, in Germany we don't make jokes about these things.
In other words, everybody relies on Social Security in Germany. It's probably not insolvent from paying people who never paid in (as it is in the US), although that could change with the flood of migrants from the middle east, North Africa, Greece, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Spain, and elsewhere.
@@EightiesTV On the contrary: there is a difference between those social security systems of pensions and unemployment relief. The pension system is its own system which depends on people paying in for those people who are currently receiving payments. It is a form of insurance, not a form of individual fund. Therefore the system gets stressed more and more while the big generations go into pension (babyboomer generation of the 50s and 60s) and people live longer and longer and less and less people actually work and pay into the system because the years after 1980 and especially after 1990 had less and less births.
Therefore migration of people of working age is the only thing that can help these systems. Germany is in acute need for workers over the course of the last few years and industry is desperately searching for trainees for blue collar jobs since the german youth are all going into college and not intro job training or vocational schools.
That exact point is what has been driving migration into germany ever since the 50s: first Italian workers for the industry, then turkish people, later east european. Problematic over teh last years was the fact that wages in germany have been too low and therefore skilled workers from east europe (like nurses or craftsmen, construction workers even) have not come to germany to work but instead traveled on to western europe because wages were way higher.
Ermak hilarious comment!
@@cavalrymajor Donny Reisdorf do you even English, bro?
Also, the sentence about not joking about these things was, in fact, a joke about the very common trope of Germans taking everything literally, very serious and answering to it in a technical and precise way.
Which seemed to have slipped your seemingly very flimsy grasp of the English language.
But then again, it seems that you want to expell sociologists from Germany and think the study of sociology is a threat for Germany, so why do I even bother?
East Germans didnt use cleaning kits contained in the rifle much at all. For their ak47s and Akm, they used a cleaning kit wallet "RG57", much like the German RG34 used in the 30s and 40s. Same goes for their ak74s. Neither their ak47s nor ak74 came with trapdoors for a cleaning kit
It's similar in the Bundeswehr. We had the cleaning kits in the barracks. You don't need them in the field if you're not trying to invade foreign countries.
my guess is that they issued a cleaning kit with a brush on a chain to pull through the barrel in place of a cleaning rod, this would fit nicely into a small box along with other stuff needed for cleaning it and if you make the brushes interchangable you can easily outfit any soldier with a cleaning kit that would clean any gun the situation required.
@@windhelmguard5295 we had these in West Germany to clean the rifles. Fun times... cleaning...
More efficient to have it in the stock then a wallet I cant think of,a reason to keep it off the rifle besides what Ian said
@cody sonnet US are just a bunch of invaders, period.
their entire history started as them beeing aggressive invaders culling the natives lmao
As having some friends that served in the NVA, I can tell you, the SKS was used for border guards and mostly for parade units and parade use. You can still see them used by the guards when they "change the guard" before the parlament in video clips.
In Canada, an SKS and a tin of surplus 7.62x39 is the most fun you can have for 300 loonies.
@@TheMotorick it's half a toonie
@@TheMotorick it's slang for a type of coin, not sure how much it's worth though
Canadian dollar.
@@TheMotorick Basically, he's saying you can buy a Chinese surplus SKS for about $230, or about $250 if you want the Russian-made ones. I think every gun store in Canada has a couple of these on the shelf.
A couple of years back, they are selling SKS for CDN$150 at the Canadian Tire store.
Besides the German preference for a pull through cleaning tool, would a hole for a butt trap cavity have interfered with the sling slot? Nobody needs two butt holes.
webtoedman - nice...
I am certain that Chuck Schumer has two.
Excuse me! I very much need ... wait, excuse me, no I could lose one.
EXCEPT FOR....a MAN WITH THREE BUTTOCKS!!!
(Monty Python reference)
Speak for yourself, I’m so full of sh!t I could use two.
Nice video! I remember in Cuba we used to get this type of rifle for ceremonial use only. They were called "carabinas" and used in funerals, receiving foreign visitors ect. I think that confirms your theory. Was like changing uniforms, you got a combat uniform for every day (AK - m) and a nice one for ceremonies ( Carabina) very nice videos in general.
Makes sense that most of them would be for parade & ceremonial use. Drill instructors all over the World hated assault rifles.
My granduncle has 4 of these. Had them for a long long time. I just didnt know they were german made until watching this
Davis Tuck any chance he wants to sell one? lol
@@Thebrokenjar294 i honestly have no clue. Doubt it tho
Your family member has 4 SKS's or 4 GDR SKS's?
@@John1911 well i thought they were just normal sks's. But after watching this im like 99% sure theyre not just normal sks's. Cuz they do have weird serial numbers and the german sling.
@@John1911 they all look exactly like this one. Except one has a slightly different color stock
Germans used a pull through type kit back then in the field. Major cleaning was done at base.
Some day I'm going to win the lotto and I'll be clicking those links to place bids.
1a is a saying in German for excellence.
Q: How was your Bratwurst Hans?
A: 1A!
"EinsA"?
@@Tarik360 yes "Eins A"
trust me no german weapon would ever have an old "slang" term engraved on it right out of the factory^^
It's more likely a bureaucracy thing, as germans love bureaucracy.
@@d.f.9140 could one be the origin of the other?
maybe, but in factory series the A stands for berlin in the most instances.
I’m not sure what it is but I enjoy the lighter wood finishes on these guns
Me too
Same. It makes the grain show up more, which I think looks very snazzy.
I can't stand them,
light wood makes me think of those garbage RAS-47's and the new lower-quality WASR-10/2015's.
The Germans often used Birch.
Blonde is sexy
Beautiful SKS. The Germans really know how to put quality in every firearm they make.
@ TheWolvesCurse
Yup. The Trabant also came with a note in the glovebox that read "Congratulations, you are now the owner of a Trabant. Please seal the following spots with a waterproof sealant..."
Laughs in g41 and g43
@@evancrosley2857 Thats the point: a GOOD chinese one. This was a byproduct, nothing of high importance, and it still beats other countries usual standards..... At least I think that was the point...
@@evancrosley2857 this DDR sks is far better than PRC sks because chinese steel is pure shit, the tecnique is shit and of course it will shoot but after 3k rounds is gonna explode, while the DDR after 20k is gonna need only a new barrel.
@@jamesramirez85 hilariously wrong
I actually find the SKS to be one damn sexy looking rifle. Always been one of my favorites.
also the "this object was moved to the spring 2019 auction" makes me imagine the owner seeing Ian's video and 'oh shit'ing', not realizing what he had. XD
Asked my father...
He said it was more or less just a "Repräsentationswaffe" aka parade rifle.
No real usage in the NVA because of the AK.
I don't know if that's right but he was a soldier in the NVA back in the 70s.
So at that time it should be right.
Well, your father was right...the SKS was issued to the '''Wachregiment Friedrich Engels''
@Isaac Woolley
Boarder Guards usually used an AK (or in German the Maschinenpistole K later the Maschinenpistole KM, also known as AKM)
the sks especially was used for marksmanship training, equipment for the first border troops and ceremonial show offs. the reason why there are no holes for cleaning equipment on the gun is because the proud troopers of erich mielke had stowed their brushes, oil...seperated in small boxes.
the DDR sold (by a company called IMES GmbH which was founded by the east german intelligence) all kinds of used arms to ohter nations (e.g. irak and iran) and the small arms even to right-wing parties in south america. but all of the weapons the NVA (Nationale Volksarmee) and STASI (Ministerium fuer Staatssicherheit) had in stock in 1989 were sold to other countries in 1991/92. including planes tanks smallarms and ammo. nice to see these cool little rifles survived to these days. thank you for sharing this with us ian :)
Can you tell more about selling firearms by DDR to right-wing south american parties? It sounds very interesting historical plot twist
@@Nacjo_Farmer most of the documents were destroyed in ´89. not even the russian brothers knew about the deals or the imes gmbh in general because it was one of the highest classified state secrets. i found an old article written in ´91 in a german journal called "Spiegel" where the trade with nicaruagian "contras" is mentioned. sorry that is all information that i am able to confirm.
My dad recovered crashed/ broken down Dutch trucks in the late 70's, he has some interesting photos of a pile of what I believe among others to be SKS rifles, cut up on an East German airbase.
His story with this was that a Dutch truck crashed into a highway bridge near the airbase, which after a lot of effort got loaded up late at night. He was guided to a storage yard for some sleep/ waiting for the neccesary papers to be signed off.
He woke up, smoked a cigarette next to his truck, and saw a pile of scrapped guns in a corner of the storage yard. He grabbed a handfull of parts, "will look nice on the mantle" was his train of thought. After the papers were signed he left the airbase, but got a search for contraband. The guards found the cut up guns in the back of the cabin, my dad could've got in a lot of trouble but he got away with bribing the guards.. All he got was a few pictures, and a lesson that in the EU, even cut up and smashed guns are considered firearms.
Will try to get a proper look at the pictures, but contact with my dad is once- yearly at average.
He should have taken them over the border and recovered them later.
Back in the days our "Betriebskampfgruppen" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Groups_of_the_Working_Class) had SKS. I can't remember if it was this type or Soviet production. It was a paramilitary organisation with a similar role like the NATO "stay behind groups" but not as secretive. They was also trained to fight civil unrest.
This groups also used older AK-47 from the military, probably surplus stuff. Can't remember in detail because I was 19 when the whole thing collapsed.
interesting, thanks for sharing.
Folding bayonets are....cool. If not useless.
the Kampfgruppen never had an SKS, they were issues and MPi41 (PPSch-41) or an AK47...
@@harryhirsch8527 We had SKS in Plauen, about 1/3. A hand full had scopes mounted. Kampfgruppen offen got surplus equipment from the army. Maybe the reason was the close proximity to the border and the special duty came with it. All I remember the group designated to the train station and checkpoint of Gutenfürst was equipped with SKS. All others had PPShas or AK.
Basically it was for National Guard troops here in the US
these videos are so calming
Ian could describe cleaning his septic tank and I think I'd still listen to it
7:42 after the reunification of germany most arms of the NVA were given to the west german bundeswehr. When i had to do service we used old AKs for training purposes and i assume most if the SKS rifles ended up in some bundeswehr depot
The 1a-Mark could have been an adaption of the Q1-Mark for excellent quality used at sporting rifels made in Suhl
SKS is definitely one of my top 5 favourite rifles.
i like the mounting of the sling. its simple to repair in the field, cheap and also silent. no rattling metal parts.
Great video as always Ian. Thanks for the great work. Please keep them coming.
You are a GUN GOD, I love the in depth info you find out on guns an the historical nature of your channel, thank you.
Because parading around using an SKS in NVA uniform; Way cooler than anything else.
I've also noticed that on the East German SKS the field-strip lever for the gas tube is a different shape and the gas block also looks slightly different.
I own a Russian one and it's a ton of fun to shoot.
In the GDR they were mainly used for ceremonial duties, because in parades SKS's are sexier than AK's.
Therefore they didn't need cleaning kits too much...
finally someone got it right...that rifle was issued to the Wachregiment Engels
Classic sks's are so much sexier than AK's.
I disagree. Aks are better looking.
@@coyotevigilant How dare you disagree with me on subjective views of what is visually appealing or not O_O.
Much more fun too (shaky shaky)
Bro, you ever seen pics of 74's being used in Afghanistan? The plum furniture and well worn plum mags? Absolutely A E S T H E T I C
_Trav_Cole, I see your Pathans, and I raise you oodles of Chinese propaganda posters. Mongols on horseback wielding SKS, FTW... 😎
What a beautiful piece of equipment.
nice to discover something new everyday
Thank you , Ian .
The stock does it for me! Wood grain is beautiful, never seen anything like it on any other SKS!
That's got to be about the nicest SKS variant I've laid eyes on, and quite the interesting and somewhat mysterious history behind it, too! :D
What a beautiful rifle!
Of course I enjoyed the video Ian!!!
Ian, I saw them in use as late as 1990 by the East Germans at Memorials and such. I was US Army stationed in Berlin when the wall came down. I saw them on both East Germans and Russians at war memorials. One that comes to mind was the Russian War memorial in Berlin. Was odd to see but though I would share that. If not mistaken I saw at the Russian War Memorial in Berlin the Russians with them with the bright blond wood and chromed metal. They were very shiny and looked from what I can remember to have been chromed for this high profile memorial.
Thanks for showing!
To me that looks well made, surfaces seem to be nicely finished.
The “confusing” serial number scheme reminds me of how the maps there were often deliberately wrong, which apparently was done to confuse invaders.
When I’m making CAD drawings for punched metal parts, we avoid using letters like B,C,D,I…;and so on in order to avoid confusing them with any numbers in the DIM callouts.
That "K96 stamp in a box" looks awfully like a K95 though, Ian!
The stamp at 5:20 is K95 not K96
I was going to mention that as well. Probably hard to read when he was recording it, but easier for us to see through the eyes of the camera.
Ian needs glasses, just admit it.
This is not the first time Ian misread a faint stamp. Odd that he does not correct himself later by adding a caption, he does it when he goofs up dates but not the stamps.
Something else Ian needs to do. Ian has never done a segment where he breaks down a SKS and shows us how they work.
That's awesome you noticed he made that mistake, do you know what it means or just saying ?
Omg I was just thinking about when you'd do this video! What a coincidence!
That is one beautiful rifle.
that has the nicest finish i have seen on an sks.
Great video I love SKS carbines they are beautiful firearms.
I knew a man years ago in new Hampshire that had one of these bad larrys. Nice rifle
Suhl, the place of production of this thing, was and is a very well known place of gun producing in the GDR (DDR in German). You mentioned that the works were named Simson at one point, well it kind of continued. Although i am not completely sure abour the history, the same production plant not only made these and other sporting rifles but also was part of the IFA and made the Simson Mopeds (basicaly small motorbikes around 50ccm, with variants at 60 and 70 ccm). Those are popular today (despite being build around the 70s-90s) especially with the youth since they are able to go 60km/h and you may drive them with 15 years old, but only in the part of Germany, which once was the GDR.
In gorgeous condition too!
I got them in parts, & they magically started shooting😁
Interesting seeing this guns from Suhl travel around the world. Just ~30km away where I live this rifle was made. It's a small world. xD
Love the foregrip bayonet. Very practical ;-)
This looks like a very finely machined and finished SKS. I'm pretty sure you could pick it out even if it was lacking its stock.
One of the possible reasons Karabiner don't have it's cleaning kit slot in stock is that they used to have it weared in pouch included in belt tackle system. Likewise MPi-Km didn't have a straight cleaning rod underneath the barrell cause there was flexible one inside the pouch
Thank you for this cool video. East German long guns have some cool and obsecure history. Can you make a video about the SSG 82?
Love your videos.
While crude, the SKS design I believe is one of the best combat military rifle designs ever made.
Great video. Thank you sir.
It's condition does seem to *suggest* that it's a parade (ceremonial) example. I would guess that there's a possibility that they were designed as parade pieces right from the get go, the biggest hint being the absence of the butt trap door [even if the Germans preferred 'pull throughs' they would have wanted a 'kit' and storage space]. Now I'm not sure about East German parade drill - I've only seen photos - BUT if they included any exaggerated ceremonial drill moves like bashing the butt on the floor to make a nice noise during 'order arms' (or German equivalent) then having a trap door (and possibly a rattling tin kit) would not be wanted.... Just a guess. Great video, beautiful SKS.
It looks like it also uses laminated wood for the stock/upper handguard, same as later war K98k's and G-43's, which is another detail that sets it apart form other variants of the SKS. Looks really nice, definitely gives it a similar look to German rifles from WW2.
Another beautiful rifle from my mum's hometown.
I've seen pictures of units of the KdA or Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse (Combat Groups of the Working Class) use SKS's alongside PPSH-41's well into the 70s.
The KdA was a paramilitary group not counted with the NVA. They were given outdated equipment but tasked with guarding factories and doing inland patrols the regular army didn't do. Or at least didn't do much of.
The shiny bolt and buttplate seem to indicate the ceremonial use of the rifle. Our Polish SKS used by the honor guards have this too, it's used to give a loud cracking strike when placing the butt on the ground in parade drill
Wow Ian nearly a million subscribers congratulations man! I came on at about 200k or so & knew you'd blow up over the other popular but not very informative or educational at all & now with Google trying to make them basically turn into clickbait for them or they can't run ads, etc,. Anyway Happy Thanksgiving hope you get to a million before Christmas but if not then hopefully by the new year!
Thats a very good looking rifle indeed
I really like the SKS and find it to be a practical rifle from a civilian stand point. If I were designing a new variant for civilian sales, I'd replace the folding bayonet with a folding bipod, and switch the blade rear sight with an appature, but leave the rest alone. I actually replace the sights on my yugo with a Magwedge appature and KNS front post, and it's amazing just how accurate that gun is.
Thanks bro great video. Love sks's
Oh my god that wood is gorgeous! 0.0
Looks like a nice rifle and sweet bayonet
This looks more badass than my Yugo 59/66 SKS. That bayonet is way different than the others.
You mention that the sling is in the loosest position, but it looks to me like that would be the tightest position.
The stud is affixed to the middle of the sling. Moving the sling tighter would leave a tail. Notice the key slots.
I love the folding bayonet on rifles
Link to the auction on the forgotten weapon site is wrong goes to a mosin
Sounds like Ian wants this one for himself. 😉
HAVING MOSIN IS NEVER WRONG COMRADE! FANCY HIGH CAPACITY RAPID FIRING SKS IS IMPERIALIST NONSENSE!
Actually I cannot find this SKS at RIA at all, maybe it was withdrawn from the auction or something.
I looked into this. Turns out it was moved at the last minute into our 2019 May Premiere.
Han Yolo that’s kinda dumb considering the Mosin was designed pre communist and the SKS was designed during communism.
Oh wow you guys are in my home town cool!
The bayonette is gorgeous
It amazing sir
The rarest SKS version is small batch of Yugoslav Zastava-produced prototypes. They were "AK-alike" (very similar on the first glance) but with SKS-based mechanics inside. IIRCC, its designation was M-64, which was later (incorrectly) used in the West for early M-70 AK-derivative with milled receivers.
The SKS' the NVA (the GDR one) still had at reunification mostly got transferred to the Bundeswehr probably. From there on they were probably either destroyed or put into some kind of reference collection. Some probably got smuggled out of the NVA and maybe even out of the county too.
Recall seeing '90s era footage after wall fell and German unification, of a long row of these SKS being run over and crushed by a tank, in 'the interest of peace'.
You said it. It was a ceremonial weapon.
I dare you to find a honour guard/parade picture of the GDR NPA where they don't have the SKS.
East German Weapon….. Reminds me of the Wieger 940 Platform. Would really love a Video about this Forgotten Weapon by Ian.
My grandfather was a border guard from '60 to' 63 and he he was actually armed for the first time of his service with the Karabiner S. He said that they very rather awkward and cumbersome to use and were quickly replaced with the PPSh. But he did have them issued for his normal border duty.
I love the SKS, I love German guns, this is like my dream rifle.
now i'm jealous 🥺 great video ian
"Unicorn" and "SKS" rarely go together.
Beautiful
Sees new FW vid at 4 in the morning, "Well who needs sleep anyways?"
The SKS there was issued for the '''Wachregiment Friedrich Engels''
That's beautiful.
I'm not aware of any german military rifle which has a cleaning kit in the stock or anywhere else. The reason for this is simple: every german soldier recieves a cleaning kit as part of their kit and it is normally carried in a pouch on your belt/tactical webbing
The hole or slot in the strap that is like a hole with a straight cut leading out one side is called a Pippin for a "Stud And pippin fasting system"
Nice. My grandpa had a motorcycle made by Simpson.
Made remind of the rare and very expensive 1958/59 build Gibson Les Paul Standard electric guitars..they go for some 500.000+ dollars today. I think those aution houses are profitting quite nice with these presentations of Ian...must be rewarded I say
Looks good!
Had a heart attack when you showed the "missing" parts. Felt relieved when you showed all of the serial numbers. Like thank God, they're still German.