Rifles used for PTAP

[cuski]

OK guys, I was too young to ever make it to the PTAP firing sessions, I was wondering what kind of rifles they used for that.

(PTAP acronym stands for "preparation of youngsters for the defense of the motherland" in Romanian).

[Dr_V]

From what I know, in schools were used compressed-air 4.5 mm (or, less often, 5.5mm) rifles. Most of these were Chzeck "Slavia" and "CZ" and Romanian Cugir manufacture.

The PTAP sessions in some highschools and in factorys employed 5.6mm rifles. Not 22cal (Hornet), but reduced-power 5.6mm, special for target practice. The guns were made at Cugir and the model was commonly named "JECO".

PTAP in some factorys and women pseudo-military training (their 3 or 6 months stage was also named PTAP) was using old ZB military rifles, remains from WW2.

Only police schools and military highschools were shooting with modern war weapons (as the PM, Romanian version of the Kalashnikov), but theese were not designated as PTAP training.

[Florin]

Dr. V wrote an accurate and comprehensive text.

I was in that PTAP once.
The participation was decided by teachers, and if your parents were not too solid on the social ladder, you did not have the guts to refuse the "honor".

It was a s...t. (Excuse me). So here you are, in the nuclear age of the 80's, and some pumpkin head yells at you to make the right step for a nice parade. You spend 10 days or 2 weeks in that s...t to fire once just few shots with the pneumatic rifle. The rest: parade training and the sermon of the pumpkin head preaching to re-ensure himself that he is able to articulate words.
Every day when I went to the kitchen, under the glass covering the painting reproductions hanging on the walls, there were still roaches staying there. I thought they are dead. One day at the end, I had the curiosity to push the glass on one painting. The roaches started to move with energy!
Another day, as I walked with my tea cup from the distribution line, I sensed something on my arm. It was a roach. The surprise and repulsion made me to throw the cup like a projectile. It hit the floor with big noise, and I draw the general attention. Fortunately the cup was made from stainless steel.
There was a party in the end, with some dance with the girls around.
The girls were not bad at all, but the best were anyway conquered by the higher grades. (I just ended in that moment the 1st grade in high school - 9th class in other words.) From these higher grades the pumpkin head, officer in the Army, chose a "surrogate pumpkin head", as his right hand. The "surrogate pumpkin head" was at the end of the 3rd grade (11th class). Feeling himself important, he immediately started to flirt with the most beautiful girl there. I guess the story continued after that training.

Now, generally speaking... As many totalitarian regimes, due to its pure selfishness the Ceausescu regime initiated the "whole nation fight" doctrine. This means in the case of the war women and children are also expected to fight. This is a very bad doctrine, because the enemy get the excuse of not making differences between civilians and the military, and feels justified to kill both altogether.

[cuski]

QUOTE

PTAP in some factorys and women pseudo-military training (their 3 or 6 months stage was also named PTAP) was using old ZB military rifles, remains from WW2.

Interesting... AFAIK, ZBs were actual Mauser K98k manufactured in Czechoslovakia, labeled as VZ24 for Czech use, or ZB for export to Romania. Anyone got more info on that?

[Dr_V]

[

QUOTE

b]cuski:[/b] Interesting... AFAIK, ZBs were actual Mauser K98k manufactured in Czechoslovakia, labeled as VZ24 for Czech use, or ZB for export to Romania. Anyone got more info on that?

I don't have more info about the ZB guns, but I can tell you 2 funny related things.

At womens PTAP training there were a few ZB rifles with small scopes mounted on. The most gifted shooters were selected and trained as "snipers" on those guns. They even got a sniper diploma attached to their PTAP training papers. My mother has such a diploma, she told me that they were shooting only laying on the grownd, as the ZB rifle was much too heavy for a woman to shoot with a scope from standing position.

The same ZB rifles were in the "arsenal" of the "strategic factorys" during the communist age in Romania. In case of an airstrike on the factory, the workers were "trained" (actually very poorly) to strike-back, using the old ZBs as AAA.
During the Romanian Revolution in '89 there were many cases of factorys where the workers took those rifles and shooted on the "American" or "Russian" airoplanes that they thaught they were seeing above at night. As there was a grate fear of a foreign intervention/attack on Romania, they continued shooting at stars 'till they ran out of ammo. :laugh:

[cuski]

Since we're at funny PTAP stories, my father was telling me about one student that turned around with a rifle, pointed at the rest of the lined up students and the instructor, continuously pulling the trigger and going 'Tovarashe instructor, this one doesn't shoot!' :loool:

As for funny stories during the revolution, I have quite a few of those myself... perhaps a new thread dedicated to them is in order.

[Florin]

[quote] ...... During the Romanian Revolution in '89 there were many cases of factorys where the workers took those rifles and shooted on the "American" or "Russian" airoplanes that they thaught they were seeing above at night. As there was a grate fear of a foreign intervention/attack on Romania, they continued shooting at stars 'till they ran out of ammo. :laugh:[/quote]

You were 12 years old in those days.

People were enthusiastic, and willing for self-sacrifice. Foreign airplanes were in the Romanian air space, in those days. This is for sure.
I wouldn't laugh about those events.

About shooting at starts... Of yes, I saw some images that I would never forget in my life. That was while I was on the roof of the Electrotechnics (Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest), with a Kalashnikov in my hands and 110 bullets near me (60 in 2 magazines, 50 in 2 boxes).
I did not fire any bullet, but I had to yell as loudly I could to the neighboring students from the roof of the Automatics to don't continue to shoot against the neighboring military unit. Fortunately the military did not return the fire. Maybe because I yelled so loud. (This is what I wanted - to don't confuse the military. I also intended to wake up the dumbies from the Automatics.)
This was not the cool part. You live in Bucharest, so you know that the Electrotechnics and the Automatics are on the top of a hill, compared with the rest of the city. If you are on a roof there, you can see all Bucharest as if you keep it in your palm. Oh, God! If I would have the camcorder I have today... I would make history in cinematographic documentary!

PS: Your English is OK. You'll not find "dumbies" in dictionary. I just invented the word. :?

[Victor]

I know a case from the Precision Engineering Faculty, where, during the night, one of the professors on guard emtied his Kalashnikov in abush where he saw something move. The following morning they found a dog shot to pieces.