Soviet MPL-50 Shovel Entrenching Tool, with Shovel Cover - Carrier, 1984, OTK-1, Cold War Russian, Malaya Pekhotnaya Lopata , Small Infantry Shovel, Общественный Товарищеский Контроль

We took a look at at two of the old style Russian shovels, so I figured it was about time to dig out one of the more recent versions.  So here it goes.

This shovel is a 1984 dated, Soviet shovel, known as the MPL-50.

MPL is the abbreviation for "Malaya Pekhotnaya Lopata", or "Small Infantry Shovel".  The "50" stands for the standard length of the shovel in centimeters.

These shovels were produced after the end of WW2, and were in regular military use well into the 2000's.  Officially they have been made obsolete by the new "Ratnik" 6E5 shovels that were officially accepted in to the Russian ground forces in 2013.  The funny thing is, these "new" 6E5 shovels are actually just the "same old shovel" as the MPL-50, just made to a higher standard, and with a more pronounced pointed blade.

You can read more about the new Russian "Ratnik" military equipment here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratnik_(program)#Production_history

There first modern MPL-50 style shovels appeared during WW2, and were the official shovel of the Russian forces during the war.  The WW2 shovels are essentially the same as the post war shovels, just made heavier.  However, as we read about in my previous post, the Russians introduced the "Simplified Small Infantry Shovel", back during the WW1 era, and this appears to be the "prototype" shovel that the later MPL-50's were based on.  You can jump back and read about that shovel here:
https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2020/01/finland-entrenching-tool-shovel-re.html

After WW2, the USSR settled into the Cold War,  with a full-blown communist economy.  This resulted in poorer construction methods, lighter materials, and generally poor construction.  They settled for old style, simple designs, made cheaply.

When I say "cheap", I think you can see what I mean in the photo above.  The handle is rough, and and fastened to the blade with two wood screws.  The socket is formed by rolling the metal and fastening with a single rivet.  The entire blade and socket is formed from a single piece of metal.  Cheap, easy, and fast to construct.

This particular shovel is very representative of the Cold War era shovels used by the USSR, and then Russia, after the USSR break-up.

This shovel is "new old stock" and was never issued.

The blade is stamped with the common "3 Trees" stamping and the date 1984 (the small "r" after the year date is the Russian way of signifying a year).

The blade also has the stamping "OTK-1".  OTK is the abbreviation for Отдел технического контрол , or "Department of Technical Control, aka Mil-Spec".

You can find these shovels being sold all over the place these days.  Russia must have cleared out warehouses full of these shovels now that the Ratnik shovels are now standard issue.  If you are interested in picking up one of these shovels, do it soon.  Prices are already rising for them, and that means the sources are about to dry up! 

The handle is stamped with the Russian manufacturer and specification, acceptance stamp.  This is always a nice addition to a shovel!  I would imagine that these stamps were sanded off, or wore away quickly once they were issued out. 

The cover is the basic, Soviet style, cloth cover that has been used since the 1940's, in one form or another.  The cloth cover has a webbing strap that fastens the shovel into the cover.   These covers are lightweight, but seem to do the job they were designed for.  They do it basically, and inexpensively.............

 There is not much more to say about this iconic piece of Soviet-Russian gear, so let's take a closer look at it.  Oh yes, be sure to go back to my last two blog posts to brush up on a couple of its predecessors.