Husqvarna · Pistol
Husqvarna m/40
Short recoil (semi-automatic) · 9x19mm Parabellum · introduced 1940
Also known as Pistol m/40, Swedish Lahti, Husqvarna M40
About the Husqvarna m/40
The Husqvarna m/40 was a Swedish licensed copy of the Finnish Lahti L-35 pistol, chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum and manufactured by Husqvarna Vapenfabrik from 1940 to 1946. A locked-breech recoil-operated pistol designed by Aimo Lahti, it retained the L-35's bolt accelerator for reliable cycling in cold and dirty conditions but simplified the design by omitting the loaded-chamber indicator. It served as the standard Swedish service pistol for decades.
The Lahti's bolt accelerator - a small lever that gives the breechblock an extra kick on recoil - was designed so the pistol would keep cycling reliably in the deep cold of Nordic winters, where lesser pistols froze up.
Husqvarna m/40 specifications
General
- Type
- Pistol
- Action
- Short recoil (semi-automatic)
- Firing mechanism
- Single action
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Calibres
- 9x19mm Parabellum
- Magazine capacity
- 8 rounds
- Magazine
- Detachable box magazine
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 120 mm (4.7 in)
- Overall length
- 245 mm (9.6 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 1.22 kg (2.69 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Right hand
- Grooves
- 6
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Slide
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- blued
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 350 m/s (1148 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 456 J (336 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 50 m
History
- Introduced
- 1940
- Discontinued
- 1946
- Production status
- Discontinued
- Country of origin
- SE
- Designer
- Aimo Lahti
Features
- Locked breech
- Concealed hammer
- Bolt accelerator
Safety
- Manual safety
Roughly 84,000 m/40 pistols were produced. Later examples suffered frame cracking when fired with hot submachine-gun ammunition, prompting a recall in the 1980s; Sweden eventually replaced it with the Glock 17.
