SVT-40

In the early 1930s, the Soviet Union requested the development of a semi-automatic rifle to replace the Mosin-Nagant, taking inspiration from the Mexican Mondragón rifle. The design was left up to two individuals, Sergei Simonov and Fedor Tokarev. Simonov, who had experience in developing the Fedorov Avtomat, created a prototype for the AVS-36 in 1931. The rifle was used during the Winter War but was removed from service in 1941 due to design flaws. The SVT-38 is a gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke, spring-loaded piston above the barrel and a tilting bolt, The SVT-38 was equipped with a bayonet and a 10-round detachable magazine. The receiver was open-top, which enabled reloading of the magazine using five-round Mosin–Nagant stripper clips. The stock, made of Arctic Birch, was prone to cracking in the wrist from recoil. This was generally remedied by drilling and inserting one or two large industrial bolts horizontally into the stock just before the wrist meets the receiver. Many rifles were also poorly seated in their stocks, letting the receiver shift on firing. This led to a field modification that selectively shimmed the stock with birch chips, usually around the receiver and in between where the wood stock meets the lower metal handguard. For a sniper rifle, this was unacceptable and production of the specialized sniper variant of the SVT was terminated in 1942. SKT-40 A shorter carbine version SKT-40 (СКТ-40) was designed in 1940 and was submitted to a competitive test with a design of Simonov in the same year; neither was accepted for service. Later, a prototype version chambered for the new, shorter, 7.62×39mm round was developed, but was not accepted for production. AT-44 An assault rifle based on a scaled-down SVT with 7.62×41mm chambering called the AT-44 was also put into development, it came with a bipod and pistol grip. It was competing with the AS-44 design. It failed to be accepted for similar reliability issues as the AVT. ==SVTs outside of the Soviet Union==

The first country outside the Soviet Union to employ the SVT was Finland, which captured some 2,700 SVT-38s during the Winter War, and over 15,000 SVTs during the Continuation War. The SVT saw extensive use in Finnish hands. The Finns even attempted to make their own clone of the SVT-38 designated Tapako, though only a prototype was ever conceived. During the 1940s, Switzerland began looking into equipping its military with semi-auto rifles. Although never officially adopted, W+F Bern produced a clone of the SVT with a 6-round 7.5×55mm Swiss magazine called the AK44. Italy also produced at least one prototype loosely copying an SVT, which is extant in Beretta's collection, but its designation or exact details are unknown. ==Post-war==

After the war, SVTs were mostly withdrawn from service and refurbished in arsenals, then stored. In Soviet service, firearms like the SKS and the AK-47 as well as the later SVD made the SVT obsolete, and the rifle was generally out of service by 1955. Only a few SVTs were exported to Soviet allies and clients. The Korean People's Army reportedly received some before the Korean War. The Finnish Army retired the SVT in 1958, and about 7,500 rifles were sold to the United States civilian market through firearm importer Interarms. This marked the end of SVTs in regular service. In the Soviet Union, some SVTs (without bayonets) were sold as civilian hunting rifles, although other SVTs were kept in storage until the 1990s, when many rifles were sold abroad, along with other surplus military firearms. ==Users==

Current users • : Donated by Russia and used by the Luhansk People's Militia. • : Limited numbers of SVT-40s issued to militias in Luhansk. Former users • • : 1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade in the USSR • Estonian partisans: Used during and after World War II. • : Captured from Soviet troops, AVT-40 version also used. Finnish captured SVT-38s, 40s and AVT-40s have a [SA] property stamp. • : Used during civil conflicts in the 1990s. • • : Captured from Soviet troops, designated as Selbstladegewehr 259(r). • Italian Partisans: Used examples captured from German soldiers. • : Used during the Korean War. • : Lithuanian civil Police used captured SVT-40s during the German occupation. • : Polish Armed Forces in the East • • Ukrainian Insurgent Army: SVT-38 and SVT-40 captured from Germans and Soviets. • == Museum exhibits ==

• One SVT-38 rifle, one SVT-40 rifle and one SKT-40 carbine are in the collection of Tula State Arms Museum in Tula Kremlin • Three SVT-40 rifles and one carbine are on display at the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma • One SVT-40 is on display at the Minnesota Military Museum at Fort Ripley Little Falls, Minnesota == See also ==