World War II saw a great development– and probably not so great – small hands. In the submachine gun class, the U.S. military had Thompson, the Germans MP40, the Soviet PPSh-41, and the British Sten Gun.

While StenGun is arguably at the bottom of most lists, the Soviet PPSh-41 is often considered one of the best submachine guns used during the war. The recoil weapon was reliable, robust, and had a blistering rate of fire of over a thousand shots per minute. It was not uncommon for German soldiers to use a prisoner for their own weapons.

However, the success of the PPSh-41 can be traced back to the battle of the Red Army in 1939.–40 “Winter War” with Finland. The Soviets led by Joseph Stalin expected a quick victory – probably one that would reflect Germany’s rapid loss to Poland from the early fall of the same year. However, the Finns proved tough, and although they lacked armored vehicles or planes that the Red Army could throw at them, they had Finland KP / -31.

Officially known as Finland submachine gun For the “Finland submachine gun” or literally for the “Finland submachine gun”, it was introduced in 1931 and has been described as one of the most successful submachine guns of the Second World War.

Its design dates back to 1922 and was based on a prototype known only as the “M-22”, from which the KP / -26 developed. This gun was a chamber for a 7.63 millimeter Mauser bag and had a curved magazine. The development of the weapon is unique in the sense that the domestic arms industry was slowly built in Finland in the 1920s and 1930s. The nation recently gained independence from Russia when an alliance of farmers, middle-class and upper-class strata of society, known as the White Guard, defeated the Finnish red of industrial and agricultural workers in a short but bloody time. civil war.

With the rise of the Soviet Union, the Finnish government knew war would come sooner or later and seek to develop weapons to combat such a threat. Although KP / -26 was a good first attempt, Finland had become a “capable nation” that knew it could do better. The designers returned to the drawing board.

The result was Finland KP / -31.

It had a typical rifle-style wooden frame that held the receiver and other internal work components. Unlike the KP-26, the KP / -31 was a chamber for a standard 9×19 mm Parabellum cartridge.

It was by no means a sophisticated weapon. It weighed just over ten pounds and had a simple straight-back function. More importantly, it was durable, continued to operate in the worst winter conditions, and, thanks to its simple trigger mechanism and weight, made it easier to control and more accurate than the later Soviet PPSh-41.

Although it could be used with a detachable box magazine for twenty, thirty-six, forty, and even fifty cartridges, the gun was largely used with a drum magazine that could hold seventy-one cartridges. The latter option gave Finnish soldiers an advantage when facing the waves of the Red Army, as the Finns could “spray and pray” towards the attackers without having to recharge them so often. As stated, it was accurate and deadly at close range.

What is also unique about the KP / -31 is that it was a machine with a replaceable barrel– and this feature proved crucial in the intense battle during the Cold Winter War. When other weapons may overheat from a long fire, Finnish soldiers could change the barrel and continue detonating! No other machine of the era allowed such a quick barrel change.

KP / -31 proved to be ideal for the conditions of the Winter War and was used throughout the Continuation War (1941).–44), when it was then used against the Germans in the short Lapland War at the end of the great World War II.

To help deal with high production costs, Finland had exported the weapon and used it in both Bolivia and Paraguay during the Chaco War, while both sides also used the KP / -31 in the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, when Finland joined Nazi Germany to fight the Soviets in the ensuing war, Finland delivered about three thousand to its Axis partner, many of whom used the Waffen-SS and other Norwegian volunteers. In addition to being a reliable weapon in the cold winter conditions, the machine proved to be as reliable in the dry and hot conditions of the Middle East as it was used in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

However, its enduring legacy may have been how the design and use of the drumhead may have allowed the Soviet Red Army to develop its PPD machinery and create an improved PPSh-41.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites. He has written several books on military headgear, including Army Headwear Gallerywhich is available at Amazon.com.

Image: Wikimedia Commons