СВТ-40: История советской самозарядной винтовки образца 1940 года.

The SVT 40 (Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva, Obrazets 1940 goda, "Tokarev self loading rifle, model of 1940", Russian: Самозарядная винтовка Токарева, образец 1940 года) is a Soviet semi automatic battle rifle that saw widespread service during and after World War II. It was intended to be the new service rifle of the Soviet Red Army, but its production was disrupted by the German invasion in 1941, resulting in a change back to the Mosin–Nagant rifle for the duration of World War II.

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.

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.

An assault rifle based on a scaled down SVT with 7.62x41mm 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.

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.

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.