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SVT-40: The Soviet Standard Semiauto from WW2 (Ad-free)
🕑 Added 2024-01-10 12:00:03 +0000 UTCThe Red Army was interested in developing a semiautomatic rifle clear back to the mid 1920s, and they spent about 15 years running trials and development programs to find one. First in 1930 a Degtyarev design was adopted, followed by the Simonov AVS-36, and then Tokarev won out in 1938 with the SVT-38. Combat experience in the Winter War led to an upgrade program to reduce the weight of the rifle, and that created the SVT-40. Between April 1940 and mid 1942, about 1.4 million SVT-40s were produced in three different factories. They were supposed to be the new standard infantry rifle and also the sniper's rifle - although they ultimately failed to really be either.
In 1942, production shifted to the AVT-40, identical to the SVT-40 but with a trigger group capable of fully automatic fire. Another roughly 500,000 of these were produced by the end of the war, but the focus of small arms issue had changed to Mosins and submachine guns - options that were a lot cheaper to produce.
Related videos:
SVT-38: https://youtu.be/BGLZ7Mt8kpA
AVS-36: https://youtu.be/E1TsIRFpML0
AVS-36 at the Range: https://youtu.be/1UMBQPrWXZE
Comments
Jan Chvojka
1st Czechoslovak Independent Infantry Batalion in his first battle on Eastern Front (Sokolovo 1943) was equiped with 553 SVT-40, 192 Mosin-Nagant, 47 PPSh-41, 40 DP-27 & 12 Maxims 1910. Quite big share of SVTs!
Magnus
Muzzle devices are a fascinating thing. Like how much does high pressure gas contribute to the overall recoil of a gun with no kind of muzzle device? Say a bolt action, no reciprocating mass of a bolt or so on. Seems like it would be simply a Newtonian equal and opposite reaction. The gas blasting out the front isn't taken into account. It's not significant compared to the mass of the projectile being launched. Except big muzzle breaks/compensators are really effective. Is the actual hot gas escaping out behind the bullet a somewhat significant contributor to the overall recoil of a gun? If it's not, why do comps work so well?
Flygon Nara
my fav soviet-made rifle, this was a good watch
Guido Schriewer
far from forgotten. man what a musket... makes me klike my sks way more. wouldn't mind a 762by54r though.
