This article describes the Suhl biathlon rifles of the models 626/626-1 and 628.
Since 1978, small bore rifles have been used in the international sport of biathlon. Initially, the large-caliber rifles used until then were simply downsized. Later, attempts were made to shorten shooting times by redesigning special biathlon rifles. In the former GDR, the Suhl biathlon rifles of models 626/626-1 and 628 were developed in the 1980s. Rifles of these models were used to win many international titles at World Championships and Olympic Games as well as victories and podium finishes in the World Cup. The article describes the models in detail on the basis of two real specimens. Not all "secrets" of these weapons could be revealed yet. Nevertheless, with this contribution I would like to offer an in-depth look at these interesting pieces of sports and weapons history. This article continues the article about the model 626-1 (cf. also Model 626-1), considers all Suhl biathlon rifle models and will be updated as more is learned.
A total of 18 still existing copies of both models are known to me and can be considered verified. Of these, 10 weapons are documented. These are nine weapons of the model 626-1 and one weapon of the model 628. No weapon of the model 626 is known to me.
The verified guns range in serial number from VO630 to VO790. I do not know which pattern was used to assign serial numbers to the rifles and in which range of serial numbers the documented specimens are located.
Via the documented serial numbers, 162 weapons are indirectly verified, insofar as all serial numbers have been used or assigned.
On one documented weapon, the date of manufacture was not stamped under the proof mark on the barrel as on all others, but on the system case (cf. the following figure). In two documented weapons, the manufacturing dates do not match the serial number when placed in a row with the other documented weapons.
The Suhl biathlon rifles are based on the Model 150 -Standard- small bore rifle [2]. The trigger assembly was adopted in its entirety. The system case was the starting point for the system cases of the biathlon models. The lineage is also clearly recognizable on the bolt head.
Aus der Literatur ist die Produktion von ca. 171 Gewehren des Modells 626/626-1 und ca. 41 des Modells 628 bekannt [1]. Die Modelle 626 und 626-1 unterscheiden sich äußerlich durch ein seitlich im Winkel von ca. 135° zur Vertikalachse eingesetztes Magazin beim Modell 626. Das Nachfolgemodell 626-1 (erste dokumentierte Waffe 9/86) hat wieder einen „konventionellen“ Magazinschacht. Beide Modelle sind sogenannte Unterspanner. Das Modell 628 unterscheidet sich durch den Repetiermechanismus. Bei diesem wird von einem Seitenspanner gesprochen.
My research has shown that there was no serial production of weapons as we imagine it today. The weapons should have been produced more or less in individual production or very small series when there was a corresponding need for athletes moving up into the top range.
I would like to present the models 626 and 626-1 on the basis of a real specimen of the model 626-1. This real example has the serial number V0693. The condition of the specimen can be described as heavily used. Especially the various stock parts describe clear signs of wear. There is also some evidence of repeated reworking, especially of the pistol grip and the shoulder rest.
It is ready for use when the carrying system and the support strap with hand stop are attached.
The following descriptions are based on the direction of firing.
The receiver houses the barrel, sight, trigger group, bolt, action mechanism, magazine well, and buttstock assembly.
The receiver is basically round. However, in the front area the upper side was worked out as a three-sided prism. The serial number and the lettering "Suhl-Biathlon" and the proof marks are applied to the left surface. On the upper surface is the Suhl Waffenschmied symbol. The right surface is free of markings.
Weapons are documented which, unlike the one presented here, have a completely round system case.
Behind the ejection port on the upper side of the receiver is the mount for the rear sight.
On the left and on the right there are elongated openings, worked out in a form of control section/curve for the transverse pin of the bolt.
The locking mechanism on the left and right is pinned behind these openings.
Below the rear open end of the receiver, a plate with a slope was welded on, to which in turn a short tube is welded to hold the buttstock.
The magazine well is screwed on. The same applies to the trigger group.
The tube is clamped in the front area of the system sleeve with two screws. It is not additionally screwed.
In addition, there are two welded threads in which the forend is screwed.
The bolt is basically cylindrical in shape. In the front area, it is not quite half recessed at the bottom. Here there is a rail in which the ejector runs. On the bolt head, two extractor claws are present at an acute angle and symmetrically. The firing pin tip is in the 12 o'clock position on the bolt head and thus on the cartridge edge.
The firing pin is designed as a "solid" component and forms a functional unit with the bolt itself. It is not evident that it could be replaced by the athlete. In this case, only the replacement of the entire unit - bolt/firing pin - could be considered.
The action mechanism is a so-called toggle-lock action mechanism. This locks by bringing a "linkage" beyond a "bend line" and thus can no longer be opened by simple pressure from the front. Unlocking is achieved by overcoming this buckling line in the opposite direction by "external" influence on the linkage. In the present case, the control of the toggle-lock action mechanism is performed by a triangular plate and the lever, which is hidden in the pistol grip. The mechanism is symmetrically designed on both sides of the receiver and guides the bolt through a pin, which connects both sides of the mechanism and the bolt continuously. The pin runs in the corresponding recesses of the receiver, the linkage with the triangular plate controls the closing/locking and the unlocking and full opening of the bolt. The recesses in the receiver serve as a control cam. For complete opening, the lever with the pistol grip must be moved approx. 30° forward downward. To close completely, pull back accordingly to the starting position. The movement thus takes place around the pivot point of the bolt system without generating a lateral moment on the gun. When operating the pistol grip, the unlocking and locking point can be clearly felt.
The lever is mounted asymmetrically on the right side. Since the locking mechanism runs and operates outside the receiver, it is protected at the top by a sheet metal cover. This is hooked into two protruding screws on the receiver and held in place by a "spring effect".
The trigger group is attached to the receiver with two screws and was obviously largely adopted from the Model 150. The adjustment possibilities are practically the same. It is possible to adjust the preferred trigger slack (reduction to single-stage trigger possible), the take-up weight, the trigger pull, the trigger travel and the longitudinal position of the trigger blade [2]. The trigger guard was adapted in the right rear area so that the trigger finger can remain in front of the trigger blade during the repeating process and also does not touch the rifle when the trigger is pulled.
The left side of the barrel is stamped "Kal 22 lang für Büchsen" (22 caliber long for rifles) and behind it is the proof mark. Three eights are stamped under the proof mark. The eights represent the date of manufacture. In this case August (8) 1988 (88). In the rear third of the barrel, the number 51474 is stamped on the bottom. The five has been re-struck or has been stamped incorrectly. This further number on the tube could not be assigned to any reference so far.
The barrel is clamped in the receiver with 2 screws. In addition, there is another grub screw and a threaded hole on the right side of the barrel clamp. The function has not yet been clarified, including whether a screw is actually missing from the real piece.
There are clear machining marks at the muzzle of the barrel, possibly from cutting to length. The caliber muzzle was set cleanly and relatively deep or far back. The direct transition to the barrel profile is clearly chamfered. The "bullet exit" is thus extremely well protected against external damage.
The front end of the barrel is flush with the front sight carrier, which is slid on and clamped with screws. It has a spring-loaded protective flap. This in turn has a covered bullet hole in case the sportsman forgets to open the flap.
The stock consists of the forearm, the pistol grip and the buttstock. All three parts are independently attached to the rifle and made of wood. The pistol grip also serves as the bolt action lever.
The holder for four magazines, the mounting for the carrying device and the the hand stop attachment are integrated into the forend. It has plastic anti-slip inserts at critical points. A magazine guide made of red plastic has been fitted in the area of the magazine well. It is fastened to the receiver with two screws of different lengths.
The buttstock has an end cap with a lower mandrel and accommodates the two carrying straps in recesses underneath. The shoulder support is slid onto a threaded tube welded at an angle to the system and screwed into place. The screw is concealed by the end cap.
The buttstock and the pistol grip were basically delivered in a raw form and then adapted to the respective sportsman. Therefore, the buttstock, for example, does not have an adjustable cheek piece or butt plate.
The existing sight consists on the one hand of the front sight and the rear sight. The front sight is screwed into the front sight tunnel and can be changed accordingly. The front sight carrier with the front sight tunnel is in turn screwed to the front end of the barrel. The sight is an Anschütz sight and probably not original. This one clamps on the gun without retaining screws. It does not have a snow guard. Other documented weapons also carry an Anschütz sight. In addition, there are also documented examples that carry original sights. It can be assumed that the original sights were replaced at some point during the use of the weapons.
As accessories, the gun has a carrying frame and four magazines. The magazines are made of plastic and have an attachment for holding three spare cartridges. This in turn serves as a holder for the magazine base, which consists of a thin metal plate. At the time of development and production of the weapon, the spare cartridges were always placed at the shooting range before shooting. To do this, a spring can be operated on the magazine and the three spare cartridges fall out of their holder.
There are also documented magazines that have only a plastic magazine base instead of a holder for the spare cartridges (see the figures).
The magazines are inserted straight into the magazine well and locked by a spring-loaded plate from the rear to the front against a small hook on the magazine well with their lower end. To remove the magazine, it only needs to be grasped and pulled out of the gun with slight pressure against the direction of firing.
Further accessories were certainly available (e.g. comparable to the Model 150), but are unfortunately no longer available with the present real copy.
Another documented example was still packaged in its original condition and had the accessories shown in the pictures.
The real specimen used here to present the Model 628 rifles bears the serial number VO735 and was manufactured in June 1989 (689).
This gun is the documented example that bears the date of manufacture on the system case and not on the barrel. Possibly this was a distinguishing feature between the two model series. This assumption is based on the fact that all other documented weapons belong to the 626-1 model series and bear the serial number under the proof mark on the barrel.
The main difference with the weapons of the models 626 and 626-1 is the way of the bolt action. The models of the 628 series are called side repeating. Weapons of this model were produced according to previous findings because some sportsmen had challenges with the handling of the lower repeating mechanism. Probably the most successful user of such a weapon was Frank Luck [5].
The system sleeve also largely corresponds to those of the 626/626-1 models. The front upper part of the system sleeve of this real specimen is also prismatic.
In the rear area, the system sleeve has received design-related adaptations. It is only equipped with a guide for the locking system on the right-hand side and is completely closed on the left-hand side. At the rear end, it has a type of end cap that accommodates one of the bearings/anchor points of the locking mechanism.
The design of the bolt is basically the same as for the models of the 626/626-1 series. This applies in particular to the solid design, the bolt head, the ejector guide, the extractor claws and the firing pin spring unit. The action mechanism, however, required a different attachment to the bolt, which resulted in particular in design adaptations in the rear bolt section.
The action mechanism is also a so-called knee-joint action, as in the 626/626-1 models, but it is simpler on the 628 model and rotated by 90°. The repetition process is initiated by "pulling back" the "operating block". However, this describes an arcuate movement, first breaks the lock and then pulls the bolt into its rearmost position via the toggle linkage. This practically reveals the entire action system on the right side of the weapon. If the "operating block" is pressed forward again with the thumb, it also describes an arc and completely closes the system again and comes to "rest" on the right side of the weapon.
The trigger mechanism of the present rifle, just like that of the Model 626/626-1, corresponds to that of the Model 150 -Standard- small-bore rifle [2]. It was also attached to the system case of the Model 628 with two screws.
The tube of the present real specimen corresponds in its design and fastening in the system sleeve to those of the models 626/626-1. The tube of the real specimen under consideration has the number 0176 stamped on the six o'clock position.
The stock of the presented model 628 was obviously made from the whole for design reasons. However, this means that the flexible interchangeability of stock parts, as with the 626/626-1 models, is lost. However, the main features in the area of the front handguard, the magazine well, the butt plate or butt plate end and the attachment to the system case are kept the same. From a purely visual point of view, the stock of the present real example appears much more harmonious than the split stocks of the other models. In addition, this stock describes significantly fewer signs of use than the stock of the presented real example of the 626-1 model.
The present weapon has the same front sight carrier as the weapons of the other series. However, on the weapon there is an "original" sight. This also has a snow cap. The sight is said to have had the designation Stolzen-Diopter. This weapon is one of two documented weapons that carry this sight. Further information is not yet available.
There are no findings regarding the accessories of the Model 628 weapon that differ from those of the weapons of the other model series. However, the magazine holder on the forearm also contained two magazines, which only have a plastic base without a holder for spare rounds.
Overall, the investigation of the existing real specimens so far provides interesting details, but also leaves some questions unanswered. Now it is necessary to clarify the open exciting questions. Further examination of the weapons and research will certainly help.
I am particularly concerned with the question of how many weapons have actually survived to the present day.
Of course, every reader is very welcome to contribute with his knowledge to the further "research" of this interesting part of the sport and weapon history. Of course, this also applies to corrections of my assumptions or previous results.
[1] Dieter, Ernst G.: Im Zeichen des Waffenschmieds (Alamanach der modernen Schusswaffenfertigung in der Region um Suhl/Thüringen, Teil 2 Erfindungen, Patente, Konstruktionen, Kuriositäten), Bad Liebenstein, Federal Republic of Germany: Ernst G. Dieter Selbstverlag 2010
[2] VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk Ernst Thälmann Suhl: Operating instructions small caliber rifle model 150 -Standard-, Suhl, GDR.
[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Luck, accessed 05.10.2022
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