Lahti L-39

Infobox Weapon|is_ranged=yes


caption=
name=Lahti L-39
type=Large caliber rifle
origin=Finland
era=World War II
design_date= 1939
prod_design_date=1939-1944
serv_design_date=1939-1960 (-1988)
used_by=Finland
wars=Winter War, World War II
spec_type=Anti-tank rifle
caliber=20 mm
part_length=51.2 inches (130,05 centimeters )
cartridge=20 mm x 138 mm Solothurn Long
feed=10 Rounds
action=semi-automatic
rate= max. 30/min
velocity=800 m/s (2,624 ft/s)
weight=49.5 kg
length=88 inches
variants=L-39/44 anti-aircraft
number=~1906
range=

The Lahti L-39 20 mm Anti-Tank Cannon is a Finnish anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It had a semi-automatic action and a large magazine. As a result of its large and powerful ammunition the gun had considerable recoil (the perceived recoil, when firing the gun correctly, was actually very tolerable [http://guns.connect.fi/gow/QA2.html] ), and its size made transportation difficult. It gained itself the nickname "Norsupyssy" ("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 higher rate of fire of a smaller calibre weapon would prove useful. As a result Lahti designed two competing anti-tank weapons: 13.2 mm machine gun and 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.

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 watchholes/loopholes/embrasures, long range targets, and even airplanes. With the rifle's superior accuracy, a skilled sniper could kill the pilot or at least the gunner of a low-flying IL-2 Sturmovik (flying low to avoid being seen), but such cases were rare. A fully automatic version of the L39 was made in small numbers that served as an anti-aircraft gun. Other good targets were snipers, mostly by smoking them out of cover with phosphorus or HE shells, 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 SMG. The whole weapon weighed some 50 kilograms and it was usually towed by reindeer or horses (but could be carried). In the field, a two man team was assigned to the gun's use 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"), had been produced and put in the field.

After World War II

Several of the rifles remained in service after World War II even 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 rarely even available, and costs around 80 dollars for each round when sold ( 2008 price ). Often they are rechambered to .50 BMG to lower the cost of use. 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

External links

* [http://www.antitank.co.uk Anti-Tank Rifle History and Collecting]
* [http://www.winterwar.com/Weapons/FinAT/FINantitank2.htm#20 Winterwar.com]
* [http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/AT_RIFLES1.htm AT-RIFLES PART 1: Finnish domestic designs]
* [http://kbarrett.cotse.net/idiot/index.php?title=shooting_a_lahti_atr&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 Shooting a Lahti ATR]