C&R · IV · 188
Russian 50mm mortars PM-38 to PM-41
Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 87 ↗
Russian, mortars, cal. 50mm, models PM38, PM39, PM40 and PM41.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1939–1943.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 87 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “50-мм ротные миномёты образца 1938 и 1940 годов” ↗, maker: developed at Plant No. 7; wartime production also at the Tallinn Arsenal and the Krasny Profintern locomotive works (evacuated to Krasnoyarsk), all Soviet state plants
- 2. Wikipedia, “RM-38” ↗, years: the article covers RM-38, RM-39, RM-40 and RM-41: RM-38 approved 1938 and entered production in 1939; RM-41 in production until 1943; ru: production 1939–1943, stopped July 1943, 181,675 made
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 1 change · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passYears: 1938–1943 → 1939–1943. En and Russian Wikipedia date production 1939–1943 (1938 is the adoption year)
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “50mm Company Mortar M1938 (RM-38).jpg” by Ain92, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “RM-38”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The RM-38 was a Soviet 50 mm light infantry mortar. The barrel was clamped at two elevation angles only - 45 and 75 degrees. Range variations were made by altering a sleeve round the base of the barrel. This sleeve opened a series of gas ports which bled off exhaust gases and so determined the range.