Lahti L-39
| Lahti L-39 | |
|---|---|
 A Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle. | |
| Type | Semi-automatic anti-tank rifle |
| Place of origin |  Finland |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Finland |
| Wars | Winter War, World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1939 |
| No. built | ~1,906 |
| Variants | L-39/44 anti-aircraft |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 49.5 kg (109 lb) |
| Length | 88 in (2,200 mm) |
| Barrel length | 51.2 in (1,300 mm) |
| Cartridge | 20 x 138 B |
| Caliber | 20 mm |
| Action | Gas-operated |
| Rate of fire | max. 30/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 800 m/s (2,600 ft/s) |
| Feed system | 10 rounds box magazine |
The Lahti L-39 is a Finnish 20 mm anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It had excellent accuracy, penetration and range, but its size made transportation difficult. It was nicknamed "Norsutykki" ("Elephant Gun"), and as tanks developed armour too thick to be penetrated by even this large, powerful rifle, its uses switched to fields such as long range sniping, tank harassment and an improvised anti-aircraft weapon.
Development
Aimo Lahti had doubts about the original idea of a 13 mm anti-tank machine gun and started working on a 20 mm design. Officers who wanted smaller calibre anti-tank weapons believed that the muzzle velocity of 20 mm shells was insufficient to penetrate armour and a weapon with a higher rate of fire and in a smaller calibre would prove useful. As a result Lahti designed two competing anti-tank weapons: a 13.2 mm machine gun and a 20 mm rifle. After test firing both weapons in 1939, they found that the 20 mm rifle displayed better penetration.
Usage
Winter War
During the Winter War Finland lacked anti-tank weaponry. Only two 20 mm rifles and a few 13.2 mm machine guns made it to the front, where the 13.2 mm machine guns were found to be ineffective and unreliable while the larger 20 mm rifles proved successful against Soviet armour. Because of this, Finland finally settled on the 20 mm design and started production.
The gun was also widely used in the "Cold Charlie" technique, where the Finns would use a mannequin to pose as an officer sloppily covering himself, Soviet snipers would fire upon it, and the Finns would use the Lahti L-39 to fire at the Soviet sniper.[1]
Continuation War
Although the weapon was not able to penetrate newer Soviet tanks like the T-34 and KV-1, it still proved to be quite effective against bunker loopholes/embrasures, long range targets, and even aircraft. A fully automatic version of the L39 was made in small numbers that served as an anti-aircraft gun. Other good targets were snipers, and several weak spots on tanks, such as open top hatches, especially with phosphorus ammunition. It was even able to damage tank turrets and pin them to stop traversal of the cannon.
Users noticed the L-39 was heavy and difficult to move in the battlefield. Even its magazine weighed almost two kilograms more than the Finnish Suomi M-31 submachine gun. The whole weapon weighed some 50 kilograms and it was usually towed by horses, but could be carried by several men. In the field, a two man team was assigned to the gun to move and fire it. Some of the rifles were simply abandoned in the heat of battle. They were easy to replace, however. By the end of the war over 1900 of the L39's, manufactured by VKT (Valtion Kivääritehdas, "State Rifle Factory", modern day Patria), had been produced and put in the field.
After World War II
Several of the rifles remained in service after World War II serving as an anti-helicopter weapon, while many others were sold to collectors, mostly in the United States. Today the rifles, especially those in working condition, are quite rare and highly sought after. Some deactivated (a steel bar welded into the chamber) weapons have been reactivated due to their value. Ammunition is rare. Often they are rechambered to .50 BMG to lower the cost of use. In the United States of America, civilian ownership remains possible, depending on state and federal laws. Because the weapon fires rounds larger than .50 calibre, it is considered a destructive device and is subject to the 1934 National Firearms Act. Civilian ownership is dependent on compliance with this law and whether one's state law prohibits civilian ownership of destructive devices.
Bibliography
- Käkelä, Erkki: Marskin panssarintuhoojat. WS Bookwell Oy, Porvoo, 2000
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