Today we have a guest post by Peter Rasmussen on some of the history of the Husqvarna M40 pistol, also commonly called the Lahti. We will cover the mechanical aspects of the pistol in a later post, but this information from Peter is an excellent overview of the different markings found on different batches of the pistols. Thanks, Peter!
Also, Peter is currently working on researching Bergmann pistols, and would appreciate hearing from owners of various models. If you contact him at petermandrasmussen@mail.dk, he can add your pistol to his catalog, and possibly be able to tell you where it was originally delivered.
The Husqvarna M 40 Pistol
by
Peter Rasmussen
This pistol used the Bergman locking system but looked like a Luger, it replaced the Bergman pistol in the Danish army. As a weapons officer in the Danish armed forces I have handled and repaired the Lathi pistol that was a substitute standard pistol at the time. I had a lot of information in my archive that is source for this article. I had for many years contact with an old historical interested Husqvarna employee Gunnar Granquist; his nephew Bertil Granquist has taken over his archive and he has been most helpful.
The Swedes adopted the Finnish Lahti Pistol in 1940 when Walther became unable to deliver more P38 pistols. Call the m/39 by the Swedes, only a very few Finnish L 35 pistols were brought in Sweden – probably less than 20.
This example was used by the Finnish Navy before the Swedes got it
In 1940 two representatives from the Swedish army (Magnus Hedenlund and Charles Holmgren) managed to buy the production rights from Eimo Lathi in Finland, who at the time worked for the Tikkakosky factory. Unfortunately the Swedes needed cannons too, so all the alloy steel went to cannon production. Cannons were in short supply, my grandfather was commander of a cannon team on the harbor of Hälsingborg 1939 to 1941, his cannon was made of a telegraph pole and two wagon wheels, all painted nicely grey, it could be seen from passing ships and from Elsinore just 4 km away, where the Germans kept a strict eye after April 1940.
The Swedish production m/40 pistol was downgraded and was made of molybdenum steel that resulted in many blow ups. I was on a pistol course with 5 other staff sergeants in Sweden, in just a week we blew up 9 pistols, the submachine gun ammo was too strong for them. First the Swedes made a more comfortable loading (M39B) for the pistols, then sold them out and reissued the Browning 1907 pistol.
Originally the pistol production was intended to take place at the Rosenfors factory near the town of Hultsfred on the east cost of Sweden, but they were not able to produce the pistol. One witness remembers a heap of discarded pistols in the factory with a sign saying: “Here lies the result of unskilled peoples’ work.” The task was then transferred to Husqvarna in March of 1941. An order for 60,000 pistols was placed, and the first the pistols were made with a loaded chamber indicator, but that was soon removed and the holes for it welded over. All pistols had slot for shoulder stock but these were never issued, only a very few was made for test purposes.
The first batch of pistols delivered had no nut at the beginning of the barrel. Upon receiving the pistols in the Eskiltuna army storage facility, just 300 meters through the woods from the Husqvarna factory, the pistols were controlled by an army officer who stamped his initials just above the lanyard loop.
Army
A crowned SS, is Sture Stenmo before 31./3. 1946
A crowned NS is Niels Salihn from 1946 to 1948
These pistols usually had an additional regimental Marking, followed by a number:
Infantry
I 11 in Växjö
I 12. in Jönkjöping
I 13 in Falun
I 14 in Gävle
P 4 in Skövde
Armoured units
P 4 in Skövde
Artillery
A6 Jönkjöping
Coastal Artillery
KA 1 in Sokholm
KA 2 in Blekinge
KA 3 in Gotland
KA 4 in Göteborg
Air Force
An encircled SÅS is Sven Åke Sundhagen, who controlled pistols for the Air Force. Most, if not all, of these pistols have the regimental markings followed by a number:
F 1 Västerås
F 2 Hägernes
F 3 Linköping
F 5 Ljungbyhed
F 7 Skaraborg
F 9 Göteborg
F 14 Halmstad
F 16 Upsala
F 18 Tullinge
F 20 Upsala
22/7 1943 Husqvarna delivered 300 pistols
28/7. 1943 Husqvarna delivered 500 pistols
Usually the regimental markings were on a round washer inserted in the grip.
Navy
The Navy never discarded the Browning 1907 pistols, and thus never adopted the Lahti.
The End in Sweden
In 1991 all shooting with these pistols was prohibited in the Swedish Army and the stock of 50 000 M 40 pistols were sent to destruction. By 1993 the last pistols were discarded from the Swedish Army.
Danforce
Danforce was a unit of Danish fugitives, meant to prevent a communist take over when the Germans withdrew. From Denmark they got their pistols direct from Husqvarna and a Danish officer named Einar Roth controlled the pistols, he stamped with a crowned HV. A similar unit of Norwegians was formed, but they got there pistols from Swedish military stores. The Danes got 3500 pistols, most delivered after 1946. Einer Roth also controlled these pistols. The Danish army used the M40S (as the Danes called it) up to 1950, where the SIG 210 was issued. Some were left over in the home guard and smaller units.
Neutral Pistols
The Swedish military intelligence service had several hundred M 40 pistols made in strict secrecy that had no Husqvarna markings at all, even the Husqvarna logo in the grips were dug out of the mold.
These pistols were given to agents and high ranking resistance personnel; the idea was properly to make it possible for the Swedes to deny all knowledge of the person, encountered with such a pistol, and not to offend the Germans. These pistols had five digit serial numbers, and most surfaced in Norway, plus a few in Denmark.
The foreman at the Husqvarna factory who oversaw this production was Arthur Hytting. He states that there was made less than 400 such neutral pistols, with serial numbers from 31600 to 32000. A few were made with a different barrel length. Neutral Swedish cartridges,without headstamps, are also known to exist.
There was a batch of 400 M 37/39 submachine guns made up in the same way. They were shipped across Oeresund to Denmark in fishing boats, placed in Danish fish cases. It was impossible to find such cases in Sweden at that time, so the man in charge of the transport simply went down to the fish case factory claiming he was from AB Svensk film, and they were making a movie that should look like taking place in a harbor in Denmark. In that way he got his cases for the 400 submachine guns for the waiting Danish military groups. In Copenhagen Harbor as they were transferred to a lorry one case slipped, and submachine guns and cartridges were scattered on the ground – but the German soldiers guarding the harbor helped to repack the goods. Some sort of agreement must have been made between the Germans and the resistance movement to let these weapons in.
The fishing boats were purchased Swedish ones, remarked with Danish registration numbers. The transports started in Rya habor in Göteborg.
In the Husqvarna records it says that all these neutral weapons were sold to a suspicious firm: Scania Steel Company, which was led by a man called Algot Vigot Tonman, who was a part of the secret organization called the C-Bureau – which later became the technical department of the Swedish military intelligence service.
The H Prefix Pistols
Husqvarna made a few pistols for the civilian market – they had an H in front of the serial number. This pistol was in the factory catalog listed as the Model 600. A total of 42 samples were made, numbered from H1 and up.
The D Prefix Pistols
The Danish police ordered 10,000 pistols in 1946 from Husqvarna. They were received in the spring of 1947, some were taken from stock and pistols with the control marks NS, SS and HV is encountered in this lot. Some of these pistols were used by the Danish security police, and were marked RPLT S and a number from 1 and to around 50.
Others were used by dog patrols for training the dogs and were threaded on the muzzle, for a red painted nut with a 3 mm hole, for shooting blanks. The chambers of these pistols were lengthened 2 mm from 19 to 21 mm, to fit the Danish military blank cartridges.
The VP Prefix Pistols
In 1978 the firm V Pabst and Son brought the police Lahti pistols and the spare parts from the police workshop, of these they made up a few pistols VP 100 to VP 105. These were resold in Germany.
The PS Prefix Pistols
The Swiss firm Poul Schafrot also made up a few pistols from spare parts, numbered PS 1 to PS 20.
Swedish Railway Pistols
200 pistols were sold to the Swedish Railways, they are stamped SJ and a number.
Made in Sweden Pistols
Some of the Danish police pistols resold by Pabst were on buyers’ request stamped with “Made in Sweden” if the country of origin was important in the receiving country.
Triangle Stamps on Barrels
The Swedish military stamped 1 to 3 triangles on the underside of rusty barrels – 3 for the most rusty.
Dot Stamping
Some of the pistols have 1 to 3 dots stamped in the rear part of the frame, meaning that modification 1 to 3 has been made on the pistol.
4 mm Trainers
The Swedish Army used 4 mm insert barrels for training purposes.
Cleaning Equipment
A 4 mm thick iron cleaning rod with a flat eye and a 5 cm high double aluminum oil bottle were issued.
Combination Tool
Each pistol was issued with a combination tool made of sheet steel. This tool had a built-in screwdriver and fitted over the magazine to facilitate loading.
Holsters
Several types of holsters are encountered:
1) Black or brown pigskin, with room for 2 magazines, cleaning rod and the combination tool.
2) Identical holster in cow hide – these are officers holsters, sometimes with a Swedish regimental button.
3) Canvas holster, with or without compartments, made by the Danish firm Kitt-Catt, with a lift-the-dot type closure. Swedish officers and civilians could also buy a luxury holster, made of brown cow hide.
Israeli Pistols
Some Lahti pistols turned up in Israel, they were Finnish L35 model, which the Irgun (an offshoot of the Haganah) got 600 of. They made canvas holster for the guns.
Correction: There were just under 900 examples made during the war with an “H” prefix.
Great write-up.
I was issued the M40 as a service pistol in the early 80’s. It was nicknamed “the iron stove”, as the milled upper and receiver was square and very heavy. The pistol was intended for the Swedish M39 9mm luger cartridge, but typically used the M39B, a variant with a sturdy steel jacket creating very high pressure and mussle speed. The M39B round was developed for use in submachine guns, and here the high penetration of the hard jacket was desired. When used in the M40 it was known to cause catastrophic failures. http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2567/9x1950km.jpg.
If any owner of one is interested, Stockholms Vapenfabrik (Weapons Factory) makes replicas of the Shouldersstocks tested but never issued. Quite pricey, coming from a small company trying to make a living, but interesting pieces none the less.
There are two versions available, one with stock and holster
http://www.stockholmsvapenfabrik.se/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=401
And shoulder-stock only
http://www.stockholmsvapenfabrik.se/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=400
The company also sells and produces beautiful replicas of Mauser-rifles, and has lots of spare parts ect for older Swedish weaponry.
Very intresting! Thanks You!
Thanks a lot for the excellent information.
Hi Bob thanks for the correktion, the number 46 is from Husqvarnas arcive, could be the ones for the prewar civilian marked, in the war time, more peaple needed a pistol and it would be natural, that more pistols for the comercial marked were made.
Peter
Hi, You gave info on most prefixs, but do you have any info on the A prefix. Thanks John
Dear Friends,
another piece of European fireamrms history….: here again I can bring my personal witness… I have a Swedish good friend whom I met during a business trip a dozen years ago, he was president of the pistol shooting club of Sweden, he is a retired army office and he got degreed in mechanical engineering during the academy….
Jan has one of these pistols, for which he machined a new slide with longer barrel and rounded-up rifling.
I personally shot this pistol one full afternoon with a lot of fun….: accuracy and light recoil at its utmost…. I almost fainted when he told me that the Swedish Forces brought some thousands of those guns under the press, before that, the Gov’t sold them for approx.
80 U$, each….. if you ever have a chance of buying one, do not miss it… they are wonderful guns, thanks to an accelerator they are able to shoot at -30°C and they are much cheaper than the Lahti M35.
Good shooting everybody
Sorry, I forgot, one piece of history related to the Husqvarna M40…. a famous history in Scandinavia.
Sweden was much fearing a nazi invasion and extensively helped Norwegian partisans, one day one of those partisans was trying to flow away from 2 german soldiers who were after him, all 3 on cross-country skis, hi,…. the 2 Germans only had pistols (P38) and the Norwegian partisan was carrying our M40…. Germans were faster than him and were shooting at him without success while approaching, at a certain point, the 2 Germans ran out of ammo and suddenly the situation turned viceversa with the Norwegian running after the Germans…he killed them both, thanks to the M40….you see what happens when you carry a better gun….
Peter Rasmussen has written a truly fascinating and highly-informative article that has covered a very wide range while leaving out little. It is easy to tell that he put a great deal of time and effort into this project, and should be lauded for it. Thank you, Peter, for sharing this so freely with the rest of us — it is much appreciated. And many thanks to Ian for enabling this on a great web site.
Peter and Ian,
Many thanks for this post. I’ve been very interested in Lahti pistols for at least 30 years, and this is the most information I’ve ever seen about them.
I owned an M40 for a few years during the 1980s, It was a lovely pistol to fire, even if (in my opinion) the rear sight notch could have done with being four times bigger.
I allowed myself to be scared by stories of structural failures, although the only half reliable story of a failure was an L35, that supposedly the bolt came out of
– possibly a failure of the post that the recoil spring guide passes through.
Failures interest me -not for any joy in destruction, but because of the lessons they can teach us, so any information on the type of failure and the conditions under which it happened would be very interesting, for example, did failures tend to occur during frosty weather?
Also, much has been repeated about the different metallurgy of the Swedish made pistols, but your reference to Moly steel is the only detail which I’ve ever seen!
Any info on the compositions and heat treatment of the steels would be very interesting – was it lack of alloying elements (e.g. nickel) and / or the effects of higher levels of impurities like sulphur, phosphorus and oxide inclusions, which the presence of nickel (and silicon) would tend to minimise the bad effects of?
– and also any detail changes between the critical strength parts of the pistol between Finnish and Swedish manufacture, were there for example smaller radii and fillets at the base of that little post at the back of the grip frame?
I’m really looking forward to part 2
Such beefy looking pistols and they would have blowups? Hard to believe; I was impressed with them looking at detailed pictures some time in past. As implies from Peter’s writeup, it was to blame on SMG ammunition, if I understand it right. Czechs had similar issue with their Vz.52s when using ammo for Vz,24/26 SMGs. I wonder how Russian Tokarev’s stood up their presumably universal ammunition shared with PPSh.
Hi, Denny :
Your comments are most interesting, and worthy of respect, as always. Please correct me if I have gotten this wrong, but I thought the vz.52 pistol was properly stressed to fire the “hot” 7.62mm x 25 Tokarev-based M48 Czech ammunition that had a 20%-25% higher loading than the standard 7.62mm x 25 Tokarev cartridge from which it was derived. As far as I have been able to ascertain, the Sa 24 ( vz.48a/52 ) and Sa 26 ( vz.48b/52 ) SMG’s were also designed around the M48 cartridge, which provides greater muzzle velocity and energy ( and also greater recoil impulse and energy ). This “hot” Czech round is definitely not recommended for weapons specified only for the standard 7.62mm x 25 Tokarev round, eg., the TT33 pistol.
On the other hand, the standard 7.62mm x 25 Tokarev cartridge, used in the TT33 pistol and PPSh-41 and PPS-43 SMG’s, generates less recoil energy and velocity than the M48 cartridge, and can safely be fired from a vz.52 pistol or vz.24 /26 SMG.
On the side, some good references regarding this subject are as follows :
1. http://www.harringtonproducts.com/7.62x25mm/ ( this is also a good site for cz.52 enthusiasts )
2. http://www.ammoguide.com ( you’ll have to click on the cartridge type and follow the links as needed )
3. http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-609567.html — of particular interest are the posts by Carl N. Brown on August 20, 2011 @ 9:37 P.M. and August 20, 2011 @ 10:03 P.M.( if this doesn’t work, you can still go to http://www.thehighroad.org and pull up the topic “7.62×25 and 7.63 Mauser” to access the information ).
Hope this helps to clarify things a little and spur further in-depth discussion.
Hi Earl and Denny.
There was a thread on “the high road” a few years back, by a character who’s hobby was to gradually overload guns until they broke.
(he’s breaking perfectly good pistols and here’s me in a place where there’s the threat of five years plus in a state cage for anyone caught with a pistol, hmmm).
The character claimed that it didn’t take much above the standard Czech loadings to get a VZ52 barrel to rupture at the roller cut outs.
He claimed that TT33s would take much heavier loads of the same powder and bullet that had burst Vz52s.
Aside from obvious questions of how the character assessed the actual pressures curves achieved by the Czech military loads, and what the utility is in battering the recoil stop surfaces of a semi auto pistol with gross overloads, when actual magnum revolvers and magnum autoloaders are available for anyone wanting higher muzzle energies…
It does appear that the TT33 barrel will contain higher pressures without rupturing than a VZ52.
With regard to 9mmp SMG loadings, I’ve heard of a P08 Luger going full auto after bending parts with SMG loads, and I’ve heard of Walther P38s cracking slide rails at the locking cut outs.
United state issue Berretta service pistols didn’t even seem to need SMG loads to suffer slide separations, and in the initial form, no one had thought to put a means of retaining the rear end of a snapped slide on the gun – two signs of a very poor design – one which relies on high strength materials – and when the materials used are sub standard, doesn’t fail in a safe mode.
Cont.
True Keith,
they were all ‘cracking’ in more than figurative sense of the word. Beretta in particular had a serious snag in that sense during testing for future American service pistol. They has discovered metallurgy issue and even invented lovely new term to interpreted it – “fracture toughness” (sounds like BS to me). How they made it thru and still had gotten service pistol (M9) out of it is beyond me. Now after many years of service, the M9 is eventually fairly good gun with deserved reputation. I do not think it is any better than P-38 though, which Americans could readily adopt with little risk. One can only guess what is on bottom of it.
Just to add on subject of Vz.52 pistol that much: I did not experience any failure on it personally neither was aware of it happening during my service time, but I know that they were failing on occasion. The typical mode of failure was demonstrated by swelling of slide side walls. It is not known to me that the gun would ever come out of battery in process of this happening. Apparently the material is very tough and sufficiently ductile at the same time to prevent it. Well, what can we say, Poldi-steel at its best; just like Sheffield or Solingen.
I personally (and this is more than my opinion) that Vz.52 pistol design is NOT suitable to its powerful round in long term use. It was originally intended for 9mm Luger. TT33 on the other hand, albeit visually more ‘dainty’, is gun which take it in stride. Another testimony to Russian formulation of Browning’s genius.
Cont:
Among the interesting questions, are, what is the nature of SMG loadings compared to loads intended for a locked breech pistol?
An SMG typically has around 10″ barrel length, compared to around 4 or five inches for a service pistol.
Service pistol loads are likely going to be achieving peak pressure at about the point where the bullet has just entered the rifling, and expand adiabatically from that point.
This is where larger cases operating at the same peak pressure such as .38 super gain additional velocity compared to 9mmP, as they are able to have a greater volume of gas at that pressure to expand behind the bullet – so, although the peak pressures are the same, the pressures after the peak remain higher for the bigger case.
For the same case but with a longer barrel, it becomes possible to use a heavier weight of a slower burning powder, so that the peak pressure occurs further down the barrel (say half an inch or an inch as a wild arsed guess) and although the peak does not exceed the pressure of the pistol load (because the bullet has moved further so the volume is bigger), the greater mass of gas gives higher pressures all the way down the barrel after the peak.
Addition of inert salts (say sodium or ammonium bicarbonate) which cool the powder burning temperature and contribute additional gas, can (assuming the same peak pressure level) contribute to higher post peak pressure levels for the remainder of the bore. Unfortunately sodium ions in the hot gas emerging from the bore give a bright orange coloured flash – which might be what some people are confusing with a hot load.
The effect of a heavier charge of slower burning powder – in a pistol, may (depending on the area under the pressure versus bullet travel graph for that length of barrel) be a higher muzzle velocity, or even a lower velocity
but
remaining pressure at the time of bullet exit will be higher, and chamber pressure during unlocking and initial extraction will be higher, leading to greater wear on locking surfaces, and higher slide veloceties.
Unless some means of buffering has been built in to soak up the energy from the slide – such as a stack of Belleville washers which convert some of the the impact energy into frictional heat
then the stop surfaces will end up taking more of a battering than they were designed for.
Cont 2
In a pistol with an enclosed browning slide such as a 1911 or a GP35, that might lead to peening and eventual stretching of the slide, this is described in the article by Pat Yates which Big Al kindly linked toa week or two back, describing Yates’ experiments with radically cut down 1911s which became the “Detonics” guns
http://www.biggerhammer.net/detonics/detonics_history_patyates.html
In guns like the L35 and M40 Lahtis, which incorporate a separate accelerator to transfer energy from the recoiling slide and barrel to the separate bolt, higher slide velocities result in the accelerator, its pivot, and the pocket where its pivot attaches in the slide, being stressed more.
In toggle locked actions such as the Maxim and Furrer MGs and in the Borchardt and Luger pistol derivitives of them, the accelerator function is implicit in the design,
the cam which breaks the toggle functions as an accelerator, transferring energy from the recoiling slide to the unlocking bolt
MG designers such as Browning and Lahti who had been engaged in designing none toggle replacements for Maxim type MGs, appeared to understand this, and incorporated separate accelerators into their designs.
A Browning pistol slide cleverly avoids the need for an accelerator, as the whole mass of the slide and combined breech bolt recoil all of the way together, avoiding the need for energy from one to be transfered to the other.
also, as the combined slide and bolt is heavier than a bolt alone, it can achieve the same momentum for cocking hammers, extracting sticky cases and chambering the next round, with less speed – allowing more time for the top round to rise in the magazine, and with more momentum, there is less tendency for the pistol to hang up just before it goes into battery – which my M40 used to do occasionally.
Actual stopping of the recoiling bolt in a Browning style pistol occurs when the back of the drop down recoil spring housing at the front end of the slide impacts the frame under the barrel chamber
In both perts, there is an ample surface area and a thick web of material to absorb the impact.
In the Lahti design, bolt recoil is taken on a little skinny post on the back of the frame.
Hi Earl!
Thank you for your kind and respectful comment. Just to be clear about my source of information: I was trained as armourer thru 2.year of my compulsory military service. That gave me some hands-on practical knowledge. However, my greater awareness of this technology comes from several decades of personal interest and eventually being able to work for number of years in firearms industries on this continent. So, that’s for my ‘resume’.
Now, the details I mentioned about variety of loadings for Czech 7.62×25 cartridge were from chats from page valka.cz(war). I went back to the discussion which follows the introduction page on Vz.24 and 26 SMGs, but could not locate the piece of discussion I was looking for.
http://forum.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/title/CZK-Samopal-24-a-26/t/16961 (page has English version as well)
The people who contributed to this web were of more professional nature by their long-term occupations – either military or police officers or armourers with continuous professional service with these branches.
When you click on red label of cartridge designation, you will be directed to dedicated page where is wealth of data and pictures incl. original Russian drawing supplemented with even pressure-time curve. So that’s for that. Good luck in your search!
If anyone is curious, here is a picture of a WWII Swedish commercial version with “H” prefix – Serial H464.
http://www.adamsguns.com/605b.jpg
Peter: That’s very interesting that Husqvarna shows 46 “H” prefix guns made before the war! That will give me something else to look for!
Very good photograph that gets the point across — thanks! Is this of a pistol in your personal collection? It appears to be in mint condition and is very well-made.
Years ago, I acquired several of these “H” prefix pistols in near new condition directly from Sweden. Sorry to say I sold them – but still have this photo.
Thank you Peter R. for a interesting article! Lot’s of new info for a finn like me.
I’d like to add some details, please accept them as positive feedback, I’m not out to diss a good article;
* according to Finnish sources (Arma Fennica etc.) the number of Lahti M/35s sold to Sweden were 50, sold in December 1940. Buyer was the Swedish Air Force.
* a further 10 were exported to Swizterland during the summer 1943
* The name of the constructor is Aimo Lahti. Not “Lathi” or any other variation. This might not be of any great cosmic importance, but since this is a site for collectors I thought it would be ok to add a note on correct Finnish spelling…
The first picture shows a Husqvarna or Rosenfors made pistol, not a Lahti. The larger trigger guard and barrel shank differ from the Lahti.
The second, third and fourth pictures are intriguing; the 50 pistols sold to Sweden in 1940 were from the series 1 S/N 1100 – 3700 block. The last L-35 pistol delivered to Finnish Armed Forces (series 3 in 1945) had S/N 6731. The pistol in the pics have a number only just above this block! The [SA] property stamp of the FDF was used from 1942 onwards and, if the pistol in the fourth picture is the same as in #2 and 3, it has the post war replacement slide from the early 1950ies. I.e. well outside the time frame associated with M/35s being traded with Sweden. There is still much to learn about these pistols, so “common knowledge” here in Finland might be incomplete. I’d love to see more pics of this example!
@Keith; the failures the L/35 was known for were due to SMG ammo, the slides cracked at the side. This was so common that it spoiled the pistols reputation, even here in it’s homeland most wannabe pistoleros know only that the L/35 “will crack and blow up”. Sigh…
Hello
I need to tell you that there is no complete pistol m/40 made at Rosenfors factory, the only remains was parts like bolt and internal small parts and eventually some frames that could be used. When HVA tock ower.
When you find differences on HVA m/40 compare Lahti L-35 you will find many differences, in fact I like to call them 2 different pistols. The Receiver is not the same, they are not built on the same material (steel mixture) because of the wartime circumstances. Rosenfors had lack of knowledge and machinery, but the style was looking like Lahti. HVA have done many changes after the introduction, five different receivers, bolt changes and a lot of adjustments.
The pistol hade failures and broke dawn! The problem was that many times the user used wrong ammo, that was made for Submachine. The ammo m/39 and m/39B is loaded exactly the same expect for thickness of the bullets metal jacket, that increases the pressure. Anybody could get military ammo m/39 B without problems. I was in the service 1965 and at that time we used the pistol ammo, and was told NOT to use 39B (the RED marked bullet, ammo) After that I have been shooting with pistols and m/40 for 40 some years, and thousands of cartridges every year, but I have NOT break any m/40.
Another thing you have to do: take away the accelerator, it helps the pistol to stand the recoil better when you don’t speed up the slide unnecessary . It will not be as cold as minus 40 here in the middle of Sweden, and if it do, I won’t go out..
Since I feel slightly uncomfortable by swaying from the subject in my previous posts, I want to make it up a bit. Here is article by Mr. Williams, man of profound knowledge in firearms and ammunition: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Lahti.html
Elsewhere I also read that the accelerator was added as an afterthought to overcome rigours of tough northern winters. I consider this to be a masterpiece by genius of Aimo Lahti – true Finnish patriot.
And yes, it had been also mentioned elsewhere and in accord of Peter’s narrative, that the Swedish version was not as high quality as the original.
Hi Denny,
Thanks for the link, I think I’ve still got the original Guns Review magazine with the article in it.
Somewhere in that original article, there was a photograph of Lahti’s 1929 prototype pistol, which appeared to have a round section slide and bolt. Unfortunately I cannot find a picture of that gun on the net.
Given Lahti’s background, of having modified maxim type toggle action machineguns, and having developed non toggle successors to them, I think that Lahti (like Browning) was very aware of the accelerator function which is performed by the cams in a toggle lock.
I also think that Lahti’s design aim, was to produce a reliable gun, as much in the image of the Luger, which was the Finnish side arm at the time he started, as he was able to.
Although Lahti came up with a much bigger and much heavier gun than a Luger, he retained its long sight radius and made the improvement of having the rear sight rigidly attached to the same structure as the barrel, he also retained the grip style of the Luger
In the absence of documents and early blue prints (Peter’s article is the most info I’ve seen on Lahti pistols) I think the inclusion of the accelerator was likely to be an original design idea, again carrying over from the accelerator implicit in the Luger’s toggle, and Lahti’s work on toggle locked machineguns and the non toggle replacements for them, which require accelerators.
Interestingly, re reading the article, I think the reason for the very strong mag springs was as much or more to speed up the rising of the top round in to get it in place to be fed by the fast moving, light bolt,
as it was to do with overcoming the greater friction due to the raked grip angle.
While I was looking for a photo of the L29 pistol prototype, I found this article which gives some info on the development, production history and variations of the L35
http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/PISTOLS1.htm
I tend to believe what you are saying regarding the accelerator. I just picked it somewhere… I cannot tell now. But, to really know for sure would be nice to see operating diagram or something of this sort. I know you are meticulous in digging out this kind of info, perhaps you will have lucky hand.
@ Denny & Keith :
Thanks so much for your most valuable insights and additional links — this certainly helps to add weight to the issues surrounding usage of the “hot” Czech M48 round in the vz.52 pistol, even though Carl N. Brown on the http://www.thehighroad.org web site seems to have a compelling argument to the contrary. Dan Brown of Czechpoint-USA ( http://www.czechpoint-usa.com ) also specifically states that the vz.52 was designed around the M48 cartridge. Balanced against this are real-world professional user experiences such as Denny’s.
In conclusion, I would rather be safe than sorry, so firing the standard, lower-powered 7.62mm x 25 round through the vz.52 would be the order of the day for long-term use unless absolutely proven otherwise. The standard round already has very high muzzle velocity and energy, and is still one of the best-performing pistol-caliber cartridges in the world anyway, certainly far more than adequate to get the job done on the battlefield.
On another note, the Beretta M9 controversy is not surprising, considering the long and, should we say, rather colorful history of the military procurement process, complete with political convolutions.
@ Keith :
RE : Your “Cont.” & “Cont 2” Posts
Thanks for the in-depth comparative analyses — very comprehensive and informative! They make the mechanical aspects of recoil absorption and stress much clearer for a lot of different pistol designs.
Thanks Earl,
I put the info up in the hope that it might be of interest. I’ve never seen the subject covered anywhere, and I’ve enjoyed spending the time working it out – usually when I should have been thinking about something else…
If it is useful, that’s great.
I am also joining in with praise for Keith’s contributions. He did verbally what picture would do. I just happen to be more ‘graphically biased’ as a result of my occupation. Lack o imagination, you may say. =)))
I think you are far too modest — but that’s also a wonderful character trait :).
Thaks boys,
it was a lovely discusion about evrything.
I like Lahti and Suomis. Here in Greece we have a cuple
of Suomis from the 18th SS Polizei Div. during the antipartisan war of 1943-44.
Great pieses of machinery.
Hi Dimitris, do you know of any pictures of the Suomis in Greece back then? There are a few pictures of the Suomi smg in Warsaw 1944 but I’ve never seen any of these in Greece?
Sorry Christian,
no photografic evidens of the Suomi only the Suomis itself.
There is a blur photo from the Olympous area during 1944 but
it is very dificult to say,..yep its a Suomi.Its like some russian stuf.Any way,now i am in vacance, when i come buck i send you the photo via Ian.
Pictures from Suomi you can find from the Italin and Serbian front during the summer of 1944.
In the posting I have copied, the price and informatoon is is swedish, can anyone translate it for this stupid american.
Carolus
August 16, 2013 at 7:08 am · Reply
If any owner of one is interested, Stockholms Vapenfabrik (Weapons Factory) makes replicas of the Shouldersstocks tested but never issued. Quite pricey, coming from a small company trying to make a living, but interesting pieces none the less.
There are two versions available, one with stock and holster
http://www.stockholmsvapenfabrik.se/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=401
And shoulder-stock only
http://www.stockholmsvapenfabrik.se/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=400
The company also sells and produces beautiful replicas of Mauser-rifles, and has lots of spare parts ect for older Swedish weaponry.
Those no-marking pistols for Swedish intelligence use seem like a pretty silly idea. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to just issue something foreign-made instead of a pistol that was closely associated with Sweden?
Though generaly described as “Bergman type Slide Lock” Lahti’s version has some
distnictive features from what of Bergman’s;
– Locking piece is fully closed in Bergman’s as compared open at bottom at Lahti’s,
– Breechbolt is locked with a raised locking piece in Bergman’s as compared
unlocked at Lahti’s,
– Lahti’s breechbolt gets locked at top and Bergman’s, at contrast, at underside.
And lastly, Lahti’s inverted “U” shaped lock piece, by the light of common similarity mistake, gives a thought that current Italian/Russian “Strike One”
pistol’s “Y” shaped lock piece, is derived from Bergman Lock System, which in fact,
being only a shrinked P38 Type.
Hej fellows
listen to Bob Adams when it coms to “H” prefix
exact 843 was made, he knows
After reading the info about the Swedish Railway serie, I must say, more than 200 was delivered in the 23xxx serie.And later another 100 was added.
I had a few of them but none was marked SJ together with serial nr.
The pistols I had was in never used conditions, with holster and parts.
Regarding the article
First of all: I will not point fingers ! Your article is interesting. I have some info that can be added, if you like.
The pistol you call “Neutral” was ordered by “ AB Skandiastål” a fake company registered by Överstelöjtnant Carl Petersén. Chef för C-byrån 1940-1946.
All of the pistols (500) was delivered to different Air Force depots in the west part of sweden Together with the pistols was ammunition without head stamps delivered.
Any notes of longer barrel than standard is not in the factory journal.
Algot Törneman working private as Lowyer and Agent at C-byrån.
The economy regarding the purchase of the “Neutral” pistol was supported by a German gun dealer who also was a major stock owner in AB Skandiastål.
After the war C byrån changed name to T-kontoret Thede Palm. Vid C-byrån 1943-1946. Chef T-kontoret 1946-1964
Hy friends, I actually came to know about the destruction of those so many wonderful pistols from a good friend a high-ranking Pistolskytte member and a retired Swedish Army colonel; I really never understood why the Swedish gov’t sent them under the press rather than bringing those good irons to the surplus market. Anyway my good friend Jan was also so lucky to get a university degree in mechanical engineering during his mil service and made a one-of-a-kind M40 pistol for himself, new slide with longer barrel and the rifling was machined from inside to have rounded egdes, I shot it and it was a nearly recoilless, accurate and marvelous pistol. The amazing thing about the project -not sure whether this particular detail was included in the Finnish project or was a Swedish add-on – is the striker accelerator which will enable the gun to shoot even if iced-up…. something wonderful, ha ! Anyway over here in Italy there are some around and we normally get them modified into 9x21mm since the original 9×19 Para is considered military ammo by the law and prohibited on the civilian market. All in all their price ranges between 700/900 Euro and they are normally in pretty good conditions, whereas the Swedish gov’t released them for approx 60 Euro…only !
Keep up boys,
greetings from Venice
Hello Normann
Answer on your question: If Aimo Lahti made the accelerator , YES !! from the beginning on L-29 pistol. It is not a HVA invention, but HVA redesigned the accelerator.
The accelerator giv the bolt a higher speed/force at start, so the power was able to reload a new cartridge in to the chamber at minus 40 Celsius. It might be necessary when cold, but in summer condition it is not necessary .
You do understand in summer heat with submachine cartridges and a pressure much higher than it have to be. And with submachine ammo = Catastrophe !
Many of my fellow pistol-shooters just pulled them out and kept them for the day they sold the pistol. But don’t use the submachine cartridge if you like the pistol. The pricing you presented for a m/40 pistol is to low in my opinion. The highest I heard about was a Norwegian unmarked m/40 sold for 3800 US dollar in 2013. Now they have come up in the right level…
Happy New Year fellows
Hi, Does anyone have info 0n A series m/40 pistols.
John,
the A-series are mentioned here:
http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/m40/pist40_4.htm
…as a series issued to non-commissioned officers.
-Sven
Hello John and Sven
If any of you owns an A prefix pistol I like pictures
As the old article writer of Swedish army pistols, Arne Tell told: The first 100 pistols was for education program at Officer, and war shool. He write probobly the truth, beause non A prefix is found with serial number above 100. The first 100 pistols delivered, was to education and training program in 1942.
So i agree, until other facts is presented.
arne
Sven, Thanks for info on A series. Arne, I do have an A series m/40 numbered under 100 and has the ground off marks on the slide were the load chamber was. I will try to get some photos in the next few days to post. Thanks all for info. John
Arne, I can get photos, but I am not sure how to upload them or show them online. Any options? Thank you again, John
Hello John
I am sorry to say I dont know, I tried to ad a test picture but i couldent get i there….I dont think you can ad pictures
Do yoy know howe to contact the webmaster ??
Or send it directly to me.. arne.bergkvist@glocalnet.net
Ps make the pictures about 200-300 kb
hear from you later
arne
John – If you would like to email me the photos (admin@forgottenweapons.com) I will be happy to add them to the page. Thanks!
Hallo fellow collectors
I have a question: Why do many of you call the HUSQVARNA m/40 pistol for LAHTI ?
Aimo Lahti invented the system with “help” from Bergmann, but we still call it Lahti.
The LAHTI L 29-35 is divided in so many models(like HVA) so it is difficult to keep track on them even if you are a serious collector and have many to compare with.
Browning invented the barrel lock up system, and most of the worlds makers used it, but you will never hear someone call a SIG SP47, Radom VIS, STAR, PETTER, or TOKAREV for Browning.
The HUSQVARNA m/40 is remodeled many times from the first production serie, so in my opinion it is a HUSQVARNA pistol m/40 for the military serie or
HUSQVARNA AUTOMATISK REPETERPISTOL m/1940 nr 600 for the commercial serie.(original HVA name)
Make it easy
arne
CORRECTION: I did find a “Duck” or “frog” in the article
from the beginning under ARMY: Sture Stenmo is wrong
Stenmo,Sten Waldemar Captain, Inspection Officer at Carl Gustaf Stads Gevärsfaktori until Mars 31,1946
Thanks
Best solutions for all
Is it OK for all of us to do so, when needed ?
arne
I’m a lefty, and the safty digs into my hand when I fire my Lahti. Can I remove the safty, without changing the rest of the functioning of my gun?
Many thanks, John
I own 2 with holsters , clips and clip loader , plus cleaning rod. 1 is supposed to be prtty special as it has 1 sets of numbers on it , 1 set in white !
sorry the one has 2 sets , one set in white.
Were these pistols “surplused” over time? I inherited a M40 from dad, which he bought at least 55 years ago in very minty condition. Would the markings on it shed any light on why it was in the U.S. in the 1950’s? I’ve shot mine some, with either light loads or with the accelerator removed, and it shoots well, though the grip is somewhat uncomfortable, contorting the wrist unnaturally, as might be expected of a gun modeled on the appearance of the Luger!
Hi Gents
I have a Husqvarna Lahti 9mm
With the markings Rptl.S 5777 and stamped S.S under the rear of the slide….any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
Derek
To get you better info I appreciate if you send a few photos of the pistol, and serial number to Ian, (admin@forgottenweapons.com)so he can pass it on to me.
Your pistol is 1 of 13776 delivered from Sweden in 4 different orders during 1945 and 1946
That’d be great Arne! The pics I can send now….I may have one with the SN# visible. I appreciate the info….thank you very much!
Derek
Just trying to get a little information on a Husqvarna M40 owned by my Dad for many years, SN 674xx. Above the grip on the right side, beautifully engraved with Rplt. S 5820. He purchased it back in the mid-1970s…
Your M/40 is one of 2000 pc delivered from Husqvarna 3 okt 1945 to Danish Police Force
I HAVE 2 COMPLETE WITH HOLSTERS , CLIPS , SCREWDRIVER CLIP LOADER , AND ONE CLEANING ROD , AND I WAS TOLD BY THE MAN THAT ONE WAS ISSUED TO THE POLICE AS IT HAS TWO SETS OF SERIAL NUMBERS ON IT , ONE IN WHITE!
Hello Thomas
On the left side of gun, at receiver under Husqvarna logo is the factorys serial number. At the opposite side is the Danish Police ( Rplt S xxxx number).
These pistols are well known for its good quality, because they are made late in the production and all of the small problem was corrected.
If there is any other number on the pistol, take a picture of it and send it to (admin@forgottenweapons.com)and they will pass it on to me.
Many in this series was sold to, and can today be found in USA
Arne
THANK YOU FOR THAT, WILL CHECK FOR ANY OTHER NUMBERS
the only other number is on the butt above the lanyard ring and below the back of the ejector and it is a crown with 3s on it
Have been looking at all the great information on this site. Thought I would show a photo of my original board stock I found in Belgium. This seller said it was from the Danish contract to purchase these from Husqvarna originally intended for the M-40 pistol. ATF lists the shoulder board stock on pg. 39. The pistol is alot of fun to shoot with the shoulder stock. Was able to acquire a couple od these stocks. Would sell one of these stocks if there is any interest.
Hi, I saw your info on the lahti stocks, and would like more info on them. I dont see any photos and also would like a cost for one. Any other info as to markings or wood type is helpful.
Thanks John
If you send an e-mail address I will send a photo of the Danish contract stock for the Lathi pistol. Have an extra stock.
Hello Thomas
At the back of frame, above the laynard ring is the place the inspectors marked there proof, with there initials capitol letters, under the crown mark.
Your pistol is inspected by Sten Waldemar Stenmo, Captain, Inspection Officer at Carl Gustaf Stads Gevärsfaktori until Mars 31,1946
Many believes that the SS is a German proof mark, but its not.
Any other questions I can try to answer for you ?
ty for the info , it’s nice to know when it was used last , the other one has a crown with AS on it plus 3 long columns of numbers on the bottom of the barrel behind the front site!
Tom, in this matter I cant answer. Is it a Husqvarna made gun ? Probably a replacement barrel.
Can you take pictures also on serial number and send it to (admin@forgottenweapons.com)for possibility to solve the question
it is a husqvarna vapenfabriks A.B serial#86130 on the slide and on the body above the grip and hand etched on the top of the butt of the slide behind rear site and it has black grips and the police one has brown grips
Serial number after 80090 shall be marked by Nils Sahlin ,Chef of Gvt control dpt 1946-48. Sten Stenmo left march 31, 1946. Rest of the production is marked with NS. If your pistol sn. 86130 have SS under crown, stamped at the back, must the marks been stamped before S Stenmo left the factory. If parts like frames, receivers and bolt was stamped before they was put together as a pistol, is also a possibility. The bolt have been noticed to be hand etched.
When it comes to marks on barrel. The only marks should be 1, 2, or 3 triangles, telling the level of rust and wear of the barrel. 1=OK 3=bad.
That is why I am interested to se or to read the lines of letters under the barrel of your pistol.
Your pistol is very late in production and company journals ends before 85xxx, but for a numbers of years ago we run in to a pile of pistols in sn. 88xxx stored in a military storage. So anything can happens.
Thank you all for all the information and facts.
I have an M 40 in beautiful condition serial number 684xx
inspector stamped crown SS.On right side is beautifully engraved
Rplt. S 654. The holster is black with 2 spare mags and tool.
It is stamped MADE IN SWEDEN and 3 crowns.
It lacks the cleaning rod. Would anyone know where I could
purchase original cleaning rod.
Thank you
Jim H
Jim
if you send your address to Ian at (admin@forgottenweapons.com)he can pass it on to me and I will help you to get the proper rod.
If something els is on your “x-mas list” let me know.
Arne
Arne
Thank you for your reply and assistance in regards to obtaining
a cleaning rod for M 40. I will cover any costs.
Respectfully
Jim Herdendorf
I have an Husqarna Nr 8022
And I looking for retur spring for this gun.
If I cant get parts for This gun, I want to sell this gun!
Tommy
if you send your address to Ian at (admin@forgottenweapons.com)he can pass it on to me and I will help you to get the proper spring
Is there any other parts you are missing ?
Arne
just found a one with the serial # of L N 2 4586 on the barrel is stamped 8295 and on the side is7208 FTB can anyone tell me about it?
ftb
thank-you
Kevan
The serial number is located on the receiver under the HUSQVARNA VAPENFABRIKS AB name. If you cant find it, take a picture on both side of the gun and send it to me, and I might be able to tel you what it is and when it is made. The numbers you refer to on the barrel, is not standard according to my knowledge
Arne
7209ptb
the # is L4586
the # is l4506
Kevan
I must say it is confusing ! To solve the question without a photo is not easy. I must be certain about a few things.
First: Is it one or three pistols we are investigating ?
Second: Is it HUSQVARNA m/40
Third: The location on the serial number is on LEFT side of the gun. If the number is on the right side, it is NOT the s/n.
The only prefix known is : “A”xxx “D”xxx “VP”xxx, “PS”xxx and “H”xxx. The Danes police pistols is marked RPLT Sxxx. Other markings can occur, but is not s/n
Lets give it a new try, best is with a photo.
Arne
I have two Husqvarna M 40 pistols with consecutive serial numbers 68xx4 and 68xx5. They have RPLT numbers S5xx1 and S5xx2 respectively. The xx5 pistol appears unfired and has no sign of holster ware anywhere on the pistol. The xx4 pistol would be considered at least 95% showing slight bluing ware at the muzzle, top of front site and base of safty lever. Both pistols have very lightly stamped “Ridgefield N.” on the front of the frame beneath the barrel. The xx4 pistol has a lightly stamped “SA.C” on the frame just above the Ridgefield N. stamp. The xx5 pistol does not have this stamp. There are “crown” proof marks on frame, receiver, bolt, slide, trigger and take down lever. There are “SS” inspector stamps on rear of the frame and inside the receiver just behind the accelerator lever. Both pistols have brown plastic grips with the “H” beneath the crown.
I have one brown leather holster containing two magazines, one loading assist/screw driver tool and a cleaning rod. There is a circular stamp inside the flap but is un-readable.
I purchased these pistols during the mid 70’s and I have fired both pistols only once just to make sure they functioned properly, knowing one day they would be worth much more that I paid for them. Both fed, fired and ejected properly. I’ve enjoyed reading the good info you and others have provided above and would enjoy corresponding with other folks who enjoy the Swedish M 40 pistol. I do not intend to sell or trade either pistol. These will go to my grandsons along with the excellent Husqvarna 6.5 x 55 mm M 96 Swedish Mauser rifle dated 1918 in the collection. I purchased the rifle about the same time I purchased the pistols. I only wish I’d purchased more at that time.
Keith
Do you have more information about M40 s with the Ridgefield stamp?
Good info on the 7.62×25 mm ammo for the Cz52 and Tokorev 30/33 pistols. I have two Cz52 pistols that I shoot on occasion. They are fine shooters and hit to point of aim at about 25 yards. I do not have a 7.62×25 mm Tokorev 33 sorry to say. I do have a Norinco copy of the Tokorev in 9mm that shoots good.
I have a semi auto version of the Russian PPS 43 submachine gun chambered in 7.62x25mm that is hell on wheels against water filled milk jugs and steel gongs. I currently use hot imported corrosive ammo in these guns. It cronos. about 1600 fps from the Cz52 and almost 1750 from the PPS 43. I take the guns completely down for thorough cleaning immediately after shooting them. I have some modern non-corrosive 7.62x25mm ammo I purchased for my C96 Broomhandle pistol that I intend to try in the Cz52 and the PPS 43 when weather permits, just to see how it functions.
I purchased reloading dies, brass and bullets to reload for the 7.62×25 mm and intend to work up from the Broomhandle recommended load to good ballistics for the pistols and PPS 43 but not as hot as the imported stuff. I’ll carefully well mark these cases so as not to use them in the Broomhandle.
I’m retired now and finally have time to spend in such nonsense things as reloading and shooting vintage pieces. Anyone else who likes such nonsense please let me know what you like and spend time doing. I’m not into 1/4 minute of angle nonsense, I’m into it for the fun and the joy of burning powder.
Keith
Keith
I am glad you like my comments and you are welcome to write directly to me.
if you send your address to Ian at (admin@forgottenweapons.com) I am sure he will pass it on to me.
Arne
I am glad then I fund Mr Schafroth in the 70th in Switzerland and he give me the Number PS 20-Pistol.
Now I must sell it, because I am to old an can’t good look.
Also I have holster and parts.
Can send pics.
Pleace help me.
I have a Husqvarna m40 but it has the “D” I was told that’s for Danish. I inspected it closely and it’s not cracked.
Bigbill, If you give me the serial number on your pistol, You will get what batch it belongs to, and delivery day, and info about extra, if there is any.
Most of the Danish pistols was in almost “new in box” order when they sold them. Congratulation !
Arne
Charlie,
Thanks for reply and info. Please send photos and we will be in touch. Thanks John
Hello
I’m in Milwaukee , Wisconsin
I have Husqvarna M40 pistol
SN : D 13628 …
—————————
This is a Police pistol ?
how old is it …? Thank you
David
according to purchase order:
Delivery April 14-19,1945 from HUSQVARNA to Denmark Police Force
Price: 195,38 DK./unit.
All pistols in this series have a letter “D” ahead of the serial number
In about 6 month you can have a 70 year old party !
Hey Arne, may I send you my serial as well? It is D12500
Carl
Your pistol is in the same “batch” as Davids. These pistols is made outside HUSQVARNAs regular serie
and I am interested (for keeping track) to find out if the gun have RPLT-S stamp on right side and also the number.
on most of guns is “Sweden” or “Made in Sweden” stamped ahead of ejection port. Is yours ?
The guns without RPLT stamp was used by the Danish haer = Army.
The holster that comes with the gun is stamped Made in Sweden at the front of lid, and comes black or brown in color, and includes 2 spare magz, cleaning rod and mag reloader/screwdriver, all under lid.
Arne
Arne
Mine is not stamped RPLT-S. It is a Danish army pistol. It also did not come with any holster or accessories, just the mag in it. It is not marked “Made in Sweden” or “Sweden” anywhere. But it has a very light “Sarco Ridgefield NJ” import mark on the front of the trigger guard under the barrel.
Thanks Carl
Sometimes Sweden stamps can be found, but not all the time. I try to find out if RPLT stamped guns have the Sweden export stamp. SARCO can be read on many of the D prefix pistols.
Thank you so much, now you know what to look for when you hold a Danish m/40 in your hand.
Arne
There is also one of these for sale at a shop near me. I do not remember the serial but it has no prefix, and the back is marked SS. A Swedish army gun perhaps? It also has the “4th type” slide according to this site.
http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/m40/pist40_2.htm
I can examine it again and get more info if you would like.
Carl
If you like to check ,I like serial numbers and export/import stamps. The SS on back is control officers stamp. His name was Sten Stenmo, captain.
Arne
Hello Arne,
I finally bought this pistol. It it interesting. On the upper, there is no HUSQVARNA stamp, only a serial number matching the lower. I believe this upper was made later to replace a broken or cracked one. But there are some odd things I have not seen before. First, the bolt has a matching serial, next to the crown inspection stamp on top of the handle. I have not seen a Husqvarna bolt with a serial number before. Second, there are letters and numbers stamped onto the side of the upper in the square section of the locking block housing, right above the safety and in front of the bolt handle. Do these have any meaning? There may be other marks and an import stamp too, I did not check. I will check and take pictures when I pick the gun up from the store.
I also believe the person “kevan brown” above me is trying to describe a similar thing. He describes letter-letter-number, with a 4 digit number after, which is what the extra stamp on mine is also.
hello Arne,
thank you for the article. I couldn’t find anything on this pistol that I have. I have a Husqvarna Vapenfabriks A.B. with serial number D 8295. It seems to have a crown on the back with HV inscribed underneath it as well as 2 “dots” on the back grip. I am assuming this is a Danish police pistol but could you please offer any other info on it? deliver date, manufacturer date, when it was delivered and to whom? and any other info you can think of?
Thank, Dave C
Hej Dave C.
The crown at the back indicates army. Your gun belongs to Forth delivery to Denmark. Purchase order from Denmark Police Force for 10.000 pc dated April 14-19, 1945. 3 weeks before ww2 ended. Designated as m/40-S in Denmark. Exact delivery date from Sweden is for me unknown, but fall 1945- spring 1946 is my believe. Glad you notice the 2 dots at grip, do you know why they are there? Hope you come up with more questions about your gun
Arne
Hey Arne,
Thank you for the response. From what I understand the dots indicate “upgrades” that were done. I believe there were 3 upgrades available (3 dots) al the way down to 1 upgrade. I don’t know what the actual upgrades were but I did read that is what the dots indicate. I also read that the Swedish government recalled many of the pistols and destroyed them due to the possibility of the frames failing. How many lot these pistols were made total (m-40’s and also L-35’s) and how many were destroyed (both m40 and L35) and lastly how many are estimated to be left over?
I happened onto this pistol from a collector and really enjoy it. Just for fun I even open carry it sometimes with the original holster.
David
You are right when you talk about ”upgrade” referring to the dots at the grip. I am only aquatint with 2 dots, but there might be more. The frame and the receiver are the parts of the pistol where the change, upgrade or improvement was done. There are 3 different frames, and 5 different receivers. The most important upgrades is shorten of the recoil stop from 13,5 mm to 9mm. At the same time change firing pin with a radius on 1,0 mm to 0,75mm was done to gain function and prevent sprain on bolts rear part (firing pin hole). Left side of frame shall have capitol letter “S” stamped to indicate SAFE when safety lever is pointing on S. If all is done according to order TLB nr 7 Ao nr Jan.23,27.1944 and VaB/525 022:5 Feb 22, 1944 shall the grip have 2 dots stamped at the back for information.
Hello all,
I have read that many of the Husqvarna m40 firearms were recalled due to possible damage or cracks in the frames. Does anyone have any info on what to look for in terms of early signs of damage or stress signs that may indicate possible failure? also I have read if you use “sub machinegun” ammo it may aggravate the problem. What is “sub machinegun” ammo? Is that just power plus ammo or “hot” rounds? Am I safe to use regular run of the mill 9 mm ammo? Any info would be nice. Thanks!
I am back…
First, many m/40 interested collector or dealer are disappointed at material problems and break down on the m/40 pistol. HUSQVARNA had nothing to do with the material, they received blueprints and a list of demands. Don’t forget that HUSQVARNA was more or less forced to take over the production after S.A.V. company collapse in ROSENFORS factory. Choice of material was already taken by Government. Steel mixture with Nickel was common for HUSQVARNA to work with in there hunting guns or military weapons program, but in these days the need of Nickel/steel for rifle and machine gun barrels was of higher interest than to use in a pistol for officers and people in command. Molybdenum mixture steel was piled up, but could not be used in barrels, and Sweden was low on Nickel steel, easy choice, Government decided.
To be sure about to fire the pistol, check barrel locking and ..you know what I mean. On m/40 you look for cracks on receiver around the locking block outside and inside. Depending the receiver model, you might have problem with the cracks on the same side as serial number (late mod are reinforced there.)
Any cracks visible.. Dont Fire! Dont use machine gun ammo or ammo like +P.
the pressure they give is not god for any pistol, and definitely NOT for m/40.
LAHTI L-35 might be stronger, but I know shooters that also say that thy crack.
Hi Arne,
This is all great info. I have just taken possession (here in Australia) of an M40 Danish Police issue (s/n: 68303, Rplt S 900). It has the usual crown over SS on the rear of the frame. It was one of three up for sale on a local gun dealers website. The other two had gone before I got there. Of those, one had a later 7xxxx serial number and the other was D prefixed.
It’s a great pistol which I have shot only once (last weekend) and I’m trying to determine a suitable target load using hard-cast 132gn coated projectiles. It shoots a bit low and left at 25m but seems to be more accurate with lighter loads. The trigger is a bit gritty despite a bit of a clean out with compressed air before I shot it. I’ll disassemble the hammer and sear in due course and see if a light dressing/polish will sort that. Otherwise the pistol has a delightfully short and not too heavy pull for a military/service firearm. I also found a gentleman in Greece on eBay who is selling complete brown leather holster rigs with lanyard, cleaning rod, loading tool/screwdriver and oil bottle ( no mags unfortunately) for not much money. He has a lot of them for sale still (at mid-Jult 2017) and responds quickly. The one he sent me has no identifying marks but is in good condition and has come up well after a cleanup with saddle soap.
I thought it worth mentioning that a Belgian website has an e-book on the Lahti M35 and Husqvarna M40 which is very informative and very well illustrated with a complete strip-down of the pistol; the author is Gerard Henrotin: http://www.hlebooks.com/ebook/lahtload.htm. It is well worth the USD7.95 asking price.
BTW the “dotting” on the frames is explained by Rasmussen in his article above though not what each dot means.
Best regards,.
Apologies, the holster has the three crown stamp under the strap at the brass loop.
Congratulations Bob G for a great shooter.
I have waiting for Mr Rasmussen to answer your questions, but I will try to help you.
First, Your pistol is from the second and third delivery In October 3 1945. Why delivery 2 and 3
Is together, because 3 different series was used for putting together a delivery with 2000 pistols.
At the moment they could not send 2000 in a s/n row.
Second: You like to use it and already you find it to be a accurate shooter.
I can support you with a drawing, that help you to make a crisp and clear trigger pull.
It includes a steel sheet ,explained in the drawing. It will help you to get the great accuracy m/40 pistols have, if you get the proper ammo. NO SUB-MACHINE ammo.
Third: The 2 punch mark at rear of grip, tell you that the recoil beam is shorten of, the rear hole for firing pin is adjusted and S for SAFE is visible at left side of frame.
Give your mail address to Ian, the webmaster, and hopefully he will send it on to me, and I will translate the drawing for you.
Arne
Many thanks Arne, I’ve sent Ian an email (and am now a Patron). I hope he will send it on to you.
Regards, Bob G
Another point Arne, I could not find the 2 punch marks you mentioned. Do I have to strip the pistol to find them?
Regards, Bob
For other readers of this thread, I found the two punch marks Arne spoke of on the upper part of the back strap.
Bob
I enjoy reading as there is much to be learned from all of you. I have an m-40 also complete with holster and accessories. Serial number 57xx small trigger guard ramp style front sight and no barrel nut. Other marks are ss under a crown also a crown on right side in front of ejection port. Comments will be appreciated.
Dick
Locks that nobody got time for your questions in pre x-mas time.
Your m/40 is delivered from Husqvarna factory July 10. 1943 together with 419 other m/40 pistols, to Infantry Regiment No 1 Depot in Stockholm.
The control officer stamp is SS under crown , representing kpt Sten Stenmo from Carl Gustaf.
The pistol is probably not used to much, due to the fact that barrel is not changed to hexagon type.
Most common holster at the time, was inprinted brown leather with 2 mag pouches, rod and screewdriver/mag filler under the lid.
Merry X-mas
arne
Arne Thankyou very much for the information that sort of thing is interesting to me. The holster is black pigskin if I am any judge of that sort of thing. DICK
Just aquired a Husqvarna M40. Condition is almost perfect. Serial # D7600 has crown and HV stamp.. 2 dots on backstrap. “S” stamped safety, large trigger guard. Under barrel stamped SA.CO. Ridgefield N. Included black leather holster with medal belt clips, 2 magazine pockets but no pocket for mag clip or rod. Any additional info appreciated.
RUSS T.
Happy you, for finding a pearl !
The fourth Danish series. “D” prefix
Before the ww 2 was over, the Danish government ordered from Sweden, to be delivered from HUSQVARNA VAPENFABRIK AB, 10.000 pistols for the National Police Force, “Rplt”. Designated as m/40 S in Denmark. Your pistol was a part of that delivery. Your description of the pistol is sufficient for me to know what you got.
All HV marked pistols is marked after quality control at the HUSQVARNA factory, by Danish control officer Einar Roth.
All 10.000 are marked with capital letter “D” ahead of serial number.
The serial number is in D 5000 – D 15.999 series.
Concerning the SA.CO name under the barrel: American Import companies must mark the guns they imported, with Company name and production country.
The holster that comes with it, seems to be a m/40 pattern holster, plain black cowhide with 2 mag pockets under flap, when closed. To secure the holster at the belt, there are 2 aluminum spring loaded hooks that’s fit on the belt. At front on flap, near edge, holster marking say MADE IN SWEDEN. If so, that is the original holster to the gun, made for Denmark.
Arne
Thank You, Arne
My gun does not have the Rplt stamping. But I did come across couple other stamps. On the locking block where the arrow is there’s also a “N” and a crown. Under the barrel on the block near accelerator there are 2 dots and a symbol that I’ll discribe as a reverse “J”. Holster doesn’t have Made In Sweden but it looks older than my M40. Researching the holster shows its either a officers holster or Air Force holster? Do you have a manufacture date for D7600?
Mr. Bergkvist, thank you for the wealth of information you have provided for the Swedish M40. After looking for a resonably priced excellent condition Swedish military example, I recently acquired an Air Force (F14 38) pistol which I received today. It has been very lightly used with an excellent bore. However I can’t disassembly it. I’ve removed the magazine, pushed the barrel assembly back slightly, rotated the takedown latch and attempted to slide the barrel assembly forward off the frame. I moves forward about 15mm and stops.
What to you think the problem might be?
Ron
I always like hearing about ones that escaped military destruction. Mine is F12 1069, and has the replacement upper made by Carl Gustaf and is not marked “Husqvarna Vapenfabriks A B.” Mine is rather heavily used though.
For the disassembly issue, does it make a difference if the takedown lever is completely removed? After rotating it down, it comes out the left side of the frame, exactly the same as on a Luger. Might be a little tight so pushing it from the right helps. Looking at mine.. one thing I can see that would stop it at 15mm is if your accelerator piece (or the pin holding it) broke and is interfering on the inside front of the frame, or takedown lever. Can you see it either trying to disassemble it, or with it fully assembled and the bolt locked back? Should be very visible and centered in its cutout next to the chamber mouth when the bolt is locked back.
I was able to get it apart this morning by applying more pressure than Ithought sould have been necessary. It took a while to find the rear bottom of the bolt was tight against the portion of the frame the sticks up to support the firing pin. I wonder if the gun was ever field stripped because it is a real bear to disassemble and assemble. A little work this a small fine whetstone should solve the problem.
RUSS T
If your holster seems to be older than the gun, it might have been used more. Holsters that follows the Danforce party was used during the education and training program. Some holsters come direct from factory to be placed in Danish depots, and might never be used. So the outside differs.
Holster can be black or brown with 2 mag pockets, leather lops or metallic hooks. If they are ordered by Denmark, they shall be marked MADE IN SWEDEN at the front of lid.
All pistols was not for Police. Seems to be more guns for the Army, without the Rplt stamp.
According to factory journals, no production or delivery to Swedish Gvt toke place after May 15, 1945. Production started again in February 1946 by smaller backorders , to a total stop in the fall of 1946. There are a few contradictory figures about total production. Journal sais 83373 p/c but I have examine pistols with number high over 88XXX .
Factory production speed was 1800 – 5000 pistols / month. It should be possible to produce 10000 pistols in 5 month and the Danish Army/Police was ordered April 14 and the invoice adjusted Aug 1 1945.
All together with the Danish orders,( not included in factory journals) the production of m/40 passes 100 000 pistols.
No delivery date of 1945 deliveries is by me, known for the Danish order. But I am open for proposals.
Hope this give you something
Arne
I also recently purchased a HUSQVARNA VAPENFABRIKS A.B manufactured M40, s/n D 14827, which has a crown and HV stamp on the back of the receiver and 2 dots on backstrap. On the right side just forward of the ejector opening is stamped “MADE IN SWEEDEN”.
It came with an original holster that is stamped with a crown, “HV”, and “MADE IN SWEDEN”. The holster contained the magazine loader tool, one extra magazine, and the cleaning rod.
Just curious — how do you properly use that loading tool? Are you supposed to depress that sharpe tab with your thumb?
The easiest way I found for using the loading tool is to place the bottom of the magazine against a surface, then grab the sides of the tool, and press down against the surface. Then use your other hand to load. The tool has lines on the side to help with grip. Easier than pressing the sharp tab, which is just a screwdriver to remove the grips.
… another mystery solved — a screwdriver, clever!
Thanks
I don’t love this design, even though I’m Swedish, but the holsters, plentiful and cheap after their intended contents were melted, make excellent holster-re-sizing tutorials for aspiring cobblers. I made a form-fitting holster for a beloved S&W 38 out of one.
I got a lot of them Austrlian m40 black holsters in used condtion
i got 105 like to sell in one lot
1350.00 or best offer
free shiping to the lower 48 states in the usa
Hi everybody, to everybody that posted a wealth of information on the M40 pistol I would like to say “thanks”. I have just recently acquired a M40 pistol ser#56xxx3 accompanied with a brown cow hide holster, 2 spare mags,cleaning rod and loading tool.I have a few questions that I hope someone might be able to answer.My pistol has no letter prefix with the serial#, it has the usual Husqvarna name on the slide above the serial# but then further to the back of the slide it has F12 and below that 1086. What is the meaning of letter prefix and all the #’s? Next question is how do you remove the firing pin for inspection and I can not seem to remove the left grip, do you need to remove the safety lever and how is that accomplished? Lastly if anyone can tell me the production date I would appreciate that as wel. This pistol is in very good condition and has the 2 dots for refurbishment near the top of the grip strap and the crown over SS on the top of the rear grip strap. Again, enjoyed reading all the people’s comments and hopefully someone will be able to answer my questions. Regards Eric.
You sir have a relatively rare genuine Swedish Air Force issued pistol with unit markings. F12 is the fighter unit, I forget the name. Weapon number 1086.
Hi Carl,Sorry did not see these replies before I posted the earlier reply. Regards Eric B.
The firing pin is removed by punching out a small retaining cross-pin in the bolt, you can see one end on the opposite side of the bolt from the extractor.
The safety does need to be removed to remove the left grip. Stick an appropriate sized punch into the hole in the safety, and use the punch as a lever to CAREFULLY bend the safety up and over the little stop stud on the frame. Rotate the safety until it points straight back, and it should lift right out of the frame.
As I noted in a previous comment, you might want to look at this ebook from Henrotin Publishing. Great animations and drawings with complete stripping instructions. The parent website has a ton of similar books on Lugers, Colts, etc.
http://www.hlebooks.com/ebook/lahtload.htm
It will tell you all you need to know.
Bob
Hi Bob, Thank you for the link, I will look into this and delve into some info.
Regards Eric B.
The firing pin is removed by punching out a small retaining cross-pin in the bolt, you can see one end on the opposite side of the bolt from the extractor. This is the end that the cross-pin comes out of, and is inserted into four installation.
The safety does need to be removed to remove the left grip. Stick an appropriate sized punch into the hole in the safety, and use the punch as a lever to CAREFULLY bend the safety up and over the little stop stud on the frame. Rotate the safety until it points straight back, and it should lift right out of the frame.
This site is a good resource on these pistols. http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/m40/pist40_1.htm
Agreed.
Hi Carl,I have read the link you posted and found it a good source Thank you. Regards Eric B.
Hi Carl, thank you for the information regarding the firing pin and grip panel removal it is appreciated, now just to find out about those numbers on the end of the slide.
Regards, Eric B.
Hi, and thanks for all the information! I have one of the Scandia Steel Companies pistols, sn 31738. Good to know! I bought the gun from a former officer collegue of mine in the norwegian army 25 years ago. He mentioned something about wartime and norwegian resistance and something about his father had been active in the resistance and had been in Sweden in the «norwegian police forces». The history got a lot of blank spots, but nevertheless quite possibly his father had obtained the gun sometimes during the war or shortly after. Anyway, the fact that the pistol is one of the Scandia batch makes the pistol much more interesting to me.
The pistol differs from the article photo in one object, the sideplates have the Husqvarna logo, it has not been «dug out». In the photocollection of the norwegian army museum I see more «neutral» versions that looks the same as mine. It makes me wonder if mine is an original anomaly, or the plates has been changed later on. Anyone that can fill in on that?
I shoot with the pistol, the ergonometrics fits me. The trigger is on the right place, so to speak. I also like the weight. It makes it more stable, and reduses the recoil. I use soft loadings, but want to try it without the accelerator. Anyone that can give me a short hint on how to safely remove and install the accellerator?
Regards
Ole B
I have a Lahti M40 that I inherited from my father. I have the original paperwork advertising and the invoice from when he purchased it in the US, from a company called Klines Sporting Goods, in Chicago, IL. The letter is dated Jan 10, 1951. He apparently purchased this for $30.00 according to the receipt. I have kept it in my safe for years, and do not believe is has been fired in many years. I remember being told that it uses 9mm parabellum ammo just like the Lugar uses. I have the Lugar as well and shot it many times over 50 years ago. Your article is very interesting.
I believe the reputation of the m /40 cracking is based solely on the fact that the m/39b submachinegun ammunition was often used rather than the original m/39 pistol and submachinegun round. Even the venerable SIG P210 or m/49 is known among many shooters to crack, when shooting the m/39b.
The swedish military would sponsor shooting clubs with ammunition during several decades, making the m/39b widespread and practically free to use. Nowadays ammunition and other equipment is scrapped when storages are cleared out and supply of the well produced old military ammunition is slowly dwindling.
Hello all, I am normally a Luger and other WWII weapons collector, ran across a different looking holster rig, so picked it up. It is an Airforce M40 Holster Rig with Holster, belt, shoulder strap and lanyard. It is stamped F40, the Rig is black leather and the holster is early variation without Brass button and without cleaning rod pouch. Am i correct in thinking that a ‘correct’ M4- pistol to go with the Rig would also be stamped with an ‘F’ designating Airforce ?, also anyone have a good lead on a pistol ?
Sir, I just got a Swedish Pistol m/1940 kit from SARCO NJ in pieces a plastic bag. Of course, the first thing I do is look at its condition and serial numbers on all parts to know some of the histories of the pistol. The first is the frame and I find no serial number from the manufacturer but only what was placed on it by SARCO on the right side in order to sell it to me in the US. – ‘L322 above SARCO STIRLING NJ’. The right side of the frame also has ‘HUSQVARNA SWEEDEDEN M40’ which I am sure is the original manufacturer’s markings but no other number. No information on the left side. No other numbers or markings on the frame at all. I looked up all other configurations and prefix serial numbers but do not see how this frame falls in place.
Question: Could this pistol have not been given a serial number from the manufacturer when it was produced?
Please let me know if you have any information on this M40 frame.
Thank you for your time.
SPWALKER
Someone who could have given you a definitive answer was arne bergkvist. His last post here was 5 years ago. I know he was/is very elderly and I have been unable to get back in contact with him over the last few years. I regret that he may no longer be with us.
We are losing our ‘gurus’ who are not being replaced by others. Another name which springs to mind I’d Joe Leiper who was extremely knowledgeable about Russian firearms, particularly the Nagant M1895 service pistol and the Margolin target pistol. His platform was a gunboards.com forum.
Sorry I can’t help you with your query Stephen, but hopefully someone else can. You might have to be patient though. As an afterthought, can’t someone at Sarco explain why there are no serial numbers?
BobGee:
Sir, Thank you for your response.
Yes, the previous generation and their knowledge is a loss to us all. I know my Dad and Granddad were walking encyclopedias when it came to gunsmithing and the history of military firearms. I will call SARCO and ask them what they know like you recommended and see what can be found out. I will also make an effort to contact the names mentioned and see what can be discovered.
V/r
SPWalker
Hi Stephen, you won’t have any luck with Joe: he passed away a few years ago (which was my point). If you manage to get in touch with Arne, please let me know but I think you will draw a blank there too. I had a fairly frequent interaction with him which suddenly stopped and which I have been unable to revive. As I said, I think he has passed on too.
Hi
Interesting article.
I have a lahti /Husqvarna.
Without any markings, only serial number 31799..could be interesting to know the history of this, probably Husqvarna used by agents during ww II….
This forum thread dead?
Not if something interesting comes up. I’m no expert on these pistols so could not answer your query last year. This interesting link, page 4 suggests that a Husqvarna with serial number but no prefix was regular army issue. Hope this helps.
http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/m40/pist40_4.htm
Bob
Or maybe, as you suggest, it’s a very rare and unusual variation: completely unmarked but serial numbered pistols m/40, which were made by Husqvarna during the war and used by the Swedish Military Secret Service called “C-bureau” during WW2.
Bob
Tnx for replying.
Hard to tell, so that’s why I’m curious.
Anyway it’s a nice weapon. And it was found in a house, where people /agents from the Norwegian resistance stayed in.
Hope some with knowledge might respond…