Sergei Ivanovich Mosin (, - February 8, 1902) was a Russian Major General,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, and the main contributor to the design of the 3-line rifle, Model 1891 (Russian: "трёхлинейная винтовка образца 1891 года"), colloquially known as the

Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, Bolt action, bolt-action, Magazine (firearms), internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891, in Russia and the former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle (, ISO 9: ) and inform ...

Early life

Mosin was born in Ramon, in the

Voronezh Governorate Voronezh Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1708 (as ''Azov Governorate'') to 1779 and again from 1796 to 1928. Its capital wa ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1849. He entered into a military academy at age 12 where he excelled as a young officer. In 1867, he entered the Alexandrovskoye Military High School in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Upon leaving Alexandrovskoye in 1870, he decided to go to the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

branch and transferred to the Mikhailovskoye Artillery Academy. He graduated in 1875 and transferred to the

Tula Arsenal Imperial Tula Arms Plant () is a Russian weapons manufacturer founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia in 1712 in Tula, Russia, Tula, Tula Oblast as Tula Arsenal. Throughout its history, it has produced weapons for the Russian Sovereign state, state. I ...

where he became the head of the

machining Machining is a manufacturing process where a desired shape or part is created using the controlled removal of material, most often metal, from a larger piece of raw material by cutting. Machining is a form of subtractive manufacturing, which util ...

division.

Mosin–Nagant

It was at Tula where Mosin began his career as a weapons designer by first making improvements to the Berdan II and later collaborating with Nagant to design the Rifle of Three Lines of the Year 1891. Some details in Mosin's rifle were borrowed from Léon Nagant's design. One such detail is the attachment of the magazine spring to the magazine base plate. In Mosin's original design the spring was not attached to the base plate and, according to the commission, could be lost during cleaning. Another detail is the form of the clip that could hold five cartridges to be loaded simultaneously into the magazine. Another detail is the form of the "interrupter", a specially designed part within the receiver, which helps prevent double feeding. The initial rifle proposed by Mosin lacked an interrupter, leading to numerous failures to feed. This detail was introduced in the rifle borrowing from Nagant's rifle.

Later life and Death

Mosin eventually rose to the rank of Major General and was appointed as the director of the

Sestroretsk Sestroretsk (; ; ) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Sestra River and the Sestroretskiy Lake northwest of St. Petersburg. Po ...

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. He died on February 8, 1902, and was buried in Sestroretskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosin, Sergei Ivanovich 1849 births 1902 deaths People from Voronezh Oblast People from Voronezhsky Uyezd Russian military engineers Inventors from the Russian Empire Engineers from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian Army generals Weapon designers Firearm designers

Early life

Mosin–Nagant

Later life and Death

See also

References