The Road to Forgotten Hope 2.66 Red Christmas - Part 1

Hello and welcome back to another Forgotten Hope 2 update.

As we get closer to summer, Forgotten Hope will provide some fine refreshments to cool you down. We are excited to announce that our update 2.66 Red Christmas will be released on:

Tuesday 17th June 2025

To start our usual stream of "Road to" news gently, we propose a new addition to the Soviet hand weapon arsenal.

In the mid-1920s, the Soviets were interested in developing a sniper rifle program and started a series of trials with ordered German commercial scopes like the Zeiss Zielvier and Busch Visar N°5 scopes, attached to their M/91 Dragoon rifles. While those German manufacturers started producing modified scopes and mounts following Russian demands, local designers such as A. Smirnsky developed a top mount for the scopes. In early 1930, the Main Artillery Directorate selected the Busch Visar scopes on the Smirnsky mount. The Busch Visar was favored notably for its windage adjustment options.

Following improvements, the Soviets started the production of their own copy, designated as "Rifle Scope Model 1931" with a 3.87x magnification. In 1933, the scope would get its final appearance, with the central box shape being rounded at the corners and external locks removed. Mass production then started for the scope, now coded "PE". Approximately 47,237 scopes were produced between 1933 and 1937, when the simplified version of the scope, known nowadays as "PEM", was preferred.

Soviet M91/30 rifles with PE scopes were the most numerous captured sniper rifles in Finnish inventories from the Winter War through the Continuation War and were designated Tarkka-ampujakivääri M/30. German troops would also use them under the name Zielfernrohrgewehr 256(r) . Our PE scope was made by Frimenitnet and Ashton, mounted on the Mosin Nagants made by Seth Soldier.

That's all for today, but be sure to come back next time for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our Discord, our public forums, our subreddit, and/or Facebook pages to discuss this update and other news.