9,00 mm LAHTI PISTOL
MODEL L-35
(Picture source: "Talvisodan Historia 1",
p.167)
The L-35 was designed by Aimo Lahti who has also
designed the famous submachine gun SUOMI M-31.
It was designed in 1935 and it became the official
pistol for the Finnish armed forces. The L-35 was originally planned
in both 7.65 mm and 9.00 mm caliber, but the former remained a
prototype.
The Lahti pistol gave a good service in the Winter
War, when it was found to be reliable even in very low temperatures.
At first look, the Lahti pistol does have a lot
of resemblance to the Luger, but actually the mechanism is quite
different. The L-35 fires from a closed breech, the bolt being
unlocked after a brief rearward travel and going on to complete
the usual cycle. The mechanism incorporates a bolt accelerator-,
a curved arm which is designed to increase the rearward velocity
of the bolt.
The L-35 was also used by the Swedish army, where
it was called the M-40, and it was manufactured by Husqvarna in
Sweden. The Finnish manufacturer was Valtion Kivääritehdas VKT
(State Rifle Factory) .
CHARACTERISTICS OF MODEL L-35 LAHTI PISTOL
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9.00 mm Parabellum
Recoil, semiautomatic
239 mm ( 9.41 in )
119 mm ( 4.69 in )
1.25 kg ( 2.76 pounds )
6 groove, r / hand
8-round box magazine
Fixed
Approx. 335 m/s ( 1100 f.p.s. ) |
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7.65 mm and 9.00 mm
M /23 PARABELLUM ( PO8 ) LUGER PISTOL
(Picture source: "Talvisodan Historia 4",
p.286)
The Luger is one of the best known pistols
in the world. It was first adopted as a service pistol by Switzerland
in year 1900, and this model was chambered for the bottlenecked
7.65 mm Luger cartridge.
The 9 mm Parabellum cartridge appeared in 1902 and was adopted
by the German Navy in 1904. In 1908, it was adopted by the German
Army ( P08 ) and remained as the standard service pistol until
1938.
When the Winter War started in 1939, there were
well over 10 000 Luger pistols in Finland. The M /23 Parabellum
service pistol was the most widely used handgun in the Finnish
combat units throughout World War II. The total numbers reduced
by about half during the wars (1939 - 1944) , due to wear and
losses.
There were at least 35 variations of the Luger
in existence.
The Luger is a fine-hanging pistol, very pleasant
to shoot and it introduced an exceptionally fine cartridge, the
9.00 mm Parabellum. It also has a few disadvantages, being prone
to stoppages if mud or sand gets into the action.
CHARACTERISTICS OF M/23 PARABELLUM LUGER PISTOL
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7.65 mm x 21 mm Parabellum
Recoil, semiautomatic
210 mm ( 8.27 in )
96 mm ( 3.78 in )
890 g ( 1.96 lb. )
8-round box magazine
Blade
"V" notch |
9.00 mm Parabellum
Recoil, semiautomatic
222 mm ( 8.75 in )
103 mm ( 4.06 in )
875 g ( 1.93 lb. )
8-round box magazine
Blade
"V" notch |
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7.62 mm Model 1895
NAGANT REVOLVER
The M/95 Revolver was produced in both
single-action and double-action version and is somewhat unusual
in that the cylinder moves forward before the hammer falls, and
the forward end of the chamber aligned for fire telescope the
barrel.
The cartridge, which outwardly resembles a blank
cartridge, has its bullet seated below the cartridge case mouth.
The purpose of these design feature is to prevent gas leakage
at the joint between the cylinder and barrel.
The first Nagant revolvers came to Finland before
World War I, as a service pistol of the Imperial Russian Army.
In 1918 considerable numbers fell to Finnish hands and these guns
were used in the War of independence by both sides.
After the war large numbers of these guns were
retained by private citizens. Only a few hundred M/95 revolvers
were returned to state depots. During Winter War, the Nagants
in store were taken into service due to the serious shortage of
pistols.
CHARACTERISTICS OF M/95 NAGANT REVOLVER
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7.62 mm Nagant
Double-action revolver
244 mm ( 9.06 in )
144 mm ( 4.33 in )
770 g ( 1.65 lb. )
7-round cylinder
Blade
"U" notch
272 m/s ( 892 f.p.s. ) |
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