Lahti L-36

Lahti L-36
Type	Semi-automatic rifle
Place of origin	Finland
Service history
Used by	Finland
Wars	World War II Winter War
Production history
Designer	Aimo Lahti
Designed	1934
Produced	1936-1940
No. built	Unknown
Specifications
Mass	5 kg
Length	1130 mm
Barrel length	540 mm
Cartridge	7.62×54mmR
Caliber	7.62mm
Action	Gas-operated
Feed system	5 round stripper clips

The Lahti L-36 also simply known as the L-36 was a Finnish gas operated semi-automatic rifle that was designed shortly before the outbreak of World War II.^[1]

History

In October 1934, the main designer of small arms for Finnish military, Aimo Lahti was tasked to design a semi-automatic rifle for the Finnish military.^[2] In 1936, he presented his first prototype designated as the L-36.^[3]

Design

The L-36 was chambered in 7.62×54mmR and could hold 5 rounds in Mannlicher-like designed, non-detachable box magazine which was similar to the magazine design of the Mannlicher M1895.^[4] The L-36 had an awkward loading mechanism which required the loader to turn the rifle upside-down, open up the non-detachable box magazine, load a 5-round stripper clip, close magazine cover and arm the rifle by pulling back the lever on top of the rifle. Finnish soldiers found this process hard to do while under fire.^[5] Finnish soldiers preferred the Soviet AVS-36 which was lighter at 4.3 kg, had a 15-round detachable box magazine, select fire capability and was more widely available.^[6]

References