Sweden's 1940s answer to the British Sten gun spotted in Ukraine
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- Ever heard of the Swedish K? Well just after the Second World War ended Carl Gustaf developed Sweden's answer to the British Sten submachine gun - the Kpist m/45.
It's a simple and well-designed weapon that became known for being durable and reliable.
Initially used by the Swedish armed forces, it later became a favourite with the Americans.
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It’s great to again see Jonathon Ferguson, keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history
If one is going to steal content for one's channel, one should steal from the best.
@@roberthonan3492 Umm that seems like an interview with him.
@@Neojhun When he is interviewed by others, he usually responds to questions and does not monologue the whole time.
@@roberthonan3492 they still probably asked for permission or something, I don't think big news channels would risk `stealing` content
I have fired thousands of cartriges with that gun. I used it when i did my military service in 1974 - 1975. I also joined a schooting club and competed with it in the end of the nineteenseventies. But in 1981 i started with pistol shooting, and then there whas no time for the K-pist. I met it again in Latvia shooting Oskar Kalpaks Memorial many times, last time in 2019. Almost all of those guns, who where in good conditions, where donated to the Baltic states after it went out of service here in Sweden. I think some of these guns where given to Ukraine from the Baltic states.
It was still in use when I did my service in 1992-93 (Karlsborg).
I used it for guard duty in the early nineties. I was in the navy so that was what we had on the ship.
@@superxorn Same here, was Signal/Samband in 92/93 and we had this all service, also did Högvakten in 93 with the broadsword bajonett.
I had it too during my military service (Air Force) 1975-76. When we came to Halmstad (F14) I got one where the barrel was not crooked and won a medal for the best result in the company (abt.160 men) with 145 points from 100 meter.
This was what we had in the navy during my service in 99-00. We got a 30 cm bayonet attached when we did in the Royal guard. The bayonet almost doubled the length of the gun 😂.
I love the swedish name for machineguns. Kulspruta, which translates to Bulletsprayer, and it's usually shortened to KSP. Then we have Submachinegun which is as Jonathan said Kulsprutepistol, meaning Bullet spraying pistol, shortened to Kpist or K-pist. Sounds like these things were named by 40K Orkz.
- Wha' is it?
- It's a machine gun.
- Does it shoot machines?
- Nah, it's sprays a lo' o' bullits.
- Why isn't it called Bulletsprayer then ya git?
Kulspruta can also be translated to "fun syringe" =P
@@lavrentivs9891 Not really, unless you are into särskrivning.
@@Thelemorf It wouldn't be a correct translation, but it could be made^^
The word "spruta" in the original context is a mechanical fire extinguisher/ water pump. These were called "brandspruta" (fire squirter) or simply "spruta" (="squirter").
The word "spray" as some people have suggested, is a mistranslation. The better Swedish translation for "spray" is "stänk", if we are talking late 19'th century meaning of the words.
Early machine guns like the maxim gun resembled fire extinguishers of that same era, so they were called "kulspruta" -they squirt bullets rather than water.
@@Thelemorf It could be (wrongly) translated to "syringe of fun" though (ie a syringe with the "fun" stuff, the stuff you inject when being badly wounded). Except that is supposed to help the person at the business end to surive, which the SMG sure is not.
They are useful though... And a trusted weapon, just like most of the Swedish firearms. It gets used, way beyond what's supposed to it's lifetime, and it still works.
Favourite of the SEALS from Vietnam favoured it to the point that when Sweden stopped supplying them they got S&W to make a copy of it in edition it takes suomi coffin mags to give a capacity increase
The S&W M76. There's a couple Forgotten Weapons videos on both of these.
It was the S&W Model 76.
UN in New York no guns to war zone.❤
Suomi coffin was made by licence. Orig 🇸🇪. Fin used imported 🇸🇪spring’s etc to manufacture mag’s.
@@ThemaxwithnonameI only know about the Smith & Wesson M76 because that's what Heath Ledger's Joker used to play chicken with the Batpod.
Its history and usage with Special Ops and the CIA lends further credence to the theory that the Joker is a wounded war veteran and/or abandoned intelligence agent whose existence has been scrubbed.
My stepdad was a Vietnam vet and he spoke highly of the Swedish K. He said it was reliable and good in the brush, and you could buy one for like $10.00...
@@vardekpetrovic9716 They where used by US special forces in Vietnam. So maybe Sweden did a good business and sold to both countries?😅
@@paulozavala3232Sweden actually stopped selling these to the US because of Sweden's criticism of the Vietnam war.
This led Smith and Wesson to copy the gun and manufacture it for the US special forces.
The m45 was also used by Ireland and they were licence produced in Egypt as "port Said" for the Egyptian army.
Sweden also donated a bunch of m45's to Estonia in the 1990s, as military aid. These are probably the ones that have shown up in Ukraine.
Gotta love a random Jonathan Ferguson Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history appearance.
Oh, in the army, we just called it Kpist. Acronym for Kulsprutepistol.
Bulletspraying-pistol
Just call it the "Swedish-K" simple, straight-Forward If it's cool with Stephen Hunter. Then It's perfectly swell for the kid. Kiss principle man, don't overthink it.Edit Loved the design though Very well built SMG, Before I discovered the name I called it an "Egyption Machine gun" Because it kept showing up in middle eastern photos in the 70s.
@@b.benjamineriksson6030 funsprayer
”Bullet-spray-pistol” Word for word translation
@@jaatam01
The name makes more sence with some historical context.
"Spruta" doesn't perfectly translate to "spray" or "sprayer".
When used as a verb, a better translation is "to hose" or "to squirt".
(The English word "spray" originally refers to the water that splashes up in the air when you are sailing through waves or when waves hit the rocks. The Swedish translation is "stänk".)
As a noun, "Spruta" was the word used for mobile fire extinguishers as they were before the time of modern fire trucks that use the water mains and have motorized pumps. They were referred to as "vattenspruta", "brandspruta" or simply "spruta"
So, the word "kulspruta" (machine gun) is a name that likens that weapon to one of those old fire extinguishers, because the early machine guns like the maxim gun looks like the fire extinguishers used at the time.
The name carried over to the submachine gun as "kulsprutepistol". The word "automatpistol" would be more fitting but that word was already used for semi-automatic pistols.
This was my weapon when I did my military service in Sweden 45 years ago. It was quite accurate. I could easily hit a tea cup at 100 meters. Extremely easy to clean was nice.
Someone just shot my cup of tea out of my hand!!!
So did i 50 years ago my officer Said -this is a close encounter Weapon I could go over there 100 yards dressed in a leather jacket and you wouldnt do me any harm with this weapon. We never got the chance to take his words for it
😂
@@martinnilsson5295 Om jag kommer ihåg rätt är det en gammal myt. Ganska så säker på CG m45 skjuter igenom både läder och mer på 100m. Vill minnas att jag sett en video som testar det. Återkommer om jag hittar den.
@@generalchicken3385Så klart den är dödlig även på 100 meter. Folk som gjorde lumpen på den tiden verkar tro att det är en ärtbössa för att det knappt är någon rekyl. Det är fortfarande 9mm och med högre utgångshastighet än en pistol.
Back in 97 we were the last batch to use them. After turning them in they were going directly to destruction which was really sad.
Everyone else with AK5 was jelaous of how easy it was to clean :)
Yes, the leather jacket is a myth. When I did it they had increased the range from 100m to 300m... lets just say, I would not want to be hit by 9mm from any range, leather jacket or not.
Also the M/39 ammo came in stripperblocks with 36 rounds per block, which was just enough to fill one of box magazines. There was also a speedloader that utilized these stripperblocks. The M/45 is the only gun I know of where reloading mags were pretty much as fast as unloading them :)
You can increase the speed with coins or a double d battery behind the spring.
Dual spring some says also. crazy rapid fire :P
@@martinlund9524 The problem was that it wouldn't stop firing until the ammo ran out.
In the Swedish Army the "K" was gradually more and more used by support personell, like cooks, meachanics etc. I was a staff sergeant
im a signal company of an armoured brigade when I did my military service in the late 70s (and a lot of refreasher courses in the 80s) and was issued the "K". Whereas the infantry quys used the AK4 and later the AK5. When i reached the age of 30 in the late 80s I was transferred to an independent company under the command of a "blocking battallion" whose task was to fight a delaying action against an invading enemy in order for an armoured brigade to launch an attack through our ranks. So in my last refresher course I was issued an "automatkarbin", an assualt rifle instead of a "K".
For a while the officers had K-pist, while the privates and group chiefs had AK4. Wasn't the K-pist quickky phased out when the AK5 was introduced?
We (stabspluton) started off with K and transitioned to AK5 while the infanteri next door kept their AK4. But what year was this, maybe 1992. The kpist was handy and easy to maintain but subtly (and maybe fairly enough) made us feel less like proper soldiers.
Right now the AK24 is beginning to replace that use case. AK5 is being phased out.
@@mellertid AK 5 being phased out is fun (it'll take minimum 15 years at least) because they've reintroduced a slightly updated AK4 again for frontline troops as a stopgap. But stopgaps in Sweden always becomes permanent
@@johan13135 you are right. What a mess. In practice it will probably work out OK; the stakeholders are confused and maybe slightly incompetent but not corrupted. I think.
One of the video clips in this piece shows Arabic markings. That is the Egyptian version of the "K", the Port Said. While Jonathan likes to compare the "K" with the Sten, in my experience there is no comparison. I own versions of both and the Sten is bouncy, rattling, sharp edged piece of sewer pipe compared to the "K". It is hard to hit targets without considerable training. The "K" (or at least mine) points easily, feels immensely solid, and will put rounds consecutively on target(s) with great ease. Back when I did competitive subgun shoots, "K"s, MP5s and MP40s came out on top at most matches...that was until Lage figured out how to make MACs run like the Swedish-K.
The Kpist45B was my service gun in the early eighties as a conscripted soldier in the Swedish Army and yes they’re very sturdy and both easy to shot and maintain. We served as military traffic cop/recon which included riding off-road motorcycles and at that point the 7,26 assault rifle AK4 was way to long and bulky to carry on your back on a bike so we got the 45 Bertil as we called it.
The Port Said was produced under license in Egypt.
Consistent mine was as well, my shooting was also reasonably consisten even if my aim was off.
Three singe shots in succession on a "flip target" ("duellskytte") standing, 100 meters, and I had _never_ fired at that distance as I was an appaling shot and I hit:
two shots in a 10x10 cm are where the target was fixed (ie about 20 cm abover the head) and one hit the end of the rebar 50 cm above the target, bending it 90 degrees and sending the bullet almost above the bullet cacheting bank). If my aim ha been just a little lower that would have been stomach, stomach, adams apple.
It's remarkably accurate. Once you master firing single shots, a competent operator will consistently hit a man-sized target at 200 yards.
@mark__whitfield I can assure you that there were lots of energy left the whole time!
Interesting because I heard stories that new C1 Sterling SMG (also 9mm para) could do that. But by 1980s we could only hit man sized target at 100 yards and some SMGs could up to 150 yards. Anything farther and it was hitting 4 to 6 foot wide depending on SMG condition. Springs and barrels were pretty worn by the 1980s.
@@johnanon6938 The Swedish K fired special ammo with tighter fit and higher muzzle velocity then standard 9mm making it quite easy to hit head sized targets even at 300m.
@@johnanon6938 You could easily put a whole mag within a head sized target at 100 m. I never did get to try longer ranges. But it was issued as service rifle in the airforce late nineties still.
@mark__whitfield zero holdover - it had 100-200-300m flip sight. Muzzle velocity with steel jacketed AP ammo was 425 m/sec (1400 fps).
Main advantage of the gun (compared to other submachineguns) was that it handled +P+ (overpressure) rounds easily and that it handled water and mud really well (even if you lifted it up out of water it could fire almost instantly).
I suspect that reliability in muddy conditions is pretty crucial in Ukraine where there is a return to trench warfare. Just like the Australian Owen that has a similar blowback design performed really well in New Guinea and later in Vietnam.
@@catinthehat906 Though Ukraine has frequently longer ranges than the Swedish K is really comfortable with. In Vietnam and New Guinea the jungle very much limited the range of most engagements, so submachineguns excelled, but in Ukraine you're better off with an AK (most AK variants also handle mud quite well).
@@fiendishrabbit8259The Ukrainians really hate the AK because it does not do well in mud. You'll often see them lay 3-4 AK-74s around the trench because they will fail.
This gun is not really capable of penetrating modern body armor, so even in trench raids at close range, it is not really an option.
I know of the over-pressurized ammo that Sweden developed for these. I don't know if that ammo is powerful enough even, or if these m45's were supplied with that specific cartridge.
In the early weeks of Russia's invasion, Ukraine needed to arm a lot of soldiers and civilians quickly. Then, the old m45's supplied by the Baltic states were better than nothing, better than a pistol or a hunting rifle, but at this point in time, any soldier who expects to see combat should be issued an assault rifle instead, if they are available.
I thoroughly hope that Ukraine will be able to collect all the weapons that are floating around in the country. Something like the m45 is going to be very attractive to the illegal market. It is easy to use, it will never break, it is relatively easy to conceal, and relatively easy to find ammunition for.
Does anyone even know how many thousands of m45's are even out there, and how many are accounted for?
@@JH-lo9ut Sweden did not develope some overpresure ammo. 🙂
they made superior 9mm bullet/ammo. 39Bertil. that got a higher presure because it have a stell jacket.
but that it is overpressure etc is a myth. 38super and other 9mm catrirdges is on the same scale.
BUT I love this myth - because I have been given a lot of 39Bertil from old shooters - because it will destroy a gun...
First - not if You change Your recoilspring a litle moreoften
second I use a Glock - It will eat it 🙂
That was the gun i had when i did my military service in 91-92 😀
We had them in the Navy in the early 2000's
I used it some, in my time in the swedish army. Very reliable. We could swim or vade with it under water. Let the water slowly rinse out, while emerging from the water. And it would fire every time. Ofcoarse preferably to keep it dry with a plastic bag. Back then ”we” where replacing both the ”k” and the AK4 with then, the new AK 5. A singl wepon for the army. I dont know for sure. But alot of the old weapons was donated, or sold to then the baltic states who was freed from soviet control. Thats probably wher they come frome donations to Ulraine. still today. The ”k” would be very good in close quarter combat.
good in a trench, perhaps?
A lot of ak4 went to the Hemvärnet no?
@@b.benjamineriksson6030 They got most of the Ak 4's. But there are still loads of the 45B in stock in secret storages for the FM.
One thing that's worth mentioning is that it handles overpressure rounds very well, in fact the Swedish military 9mm round is somewhat of a benchmark for overpressure tolerance for other 9mm firearms, and it's also armor piercing, will go through a kevlar helmet at 200 meters.
Great description in english. Nifty item that came with the M45, was the speed loader which made the task of refilling the 36 rbd magazines a breeze. It has its own special ammo, similar in dimensions to 9mm parabellum but with much higher gas pressure called M39B. They are known to destroy a SIG Sauer P220 in around 200 rnds fired, as the legend goes. Only use M39B in the M45 submachine gun. It was my service arm many years ago. Please do not carry the M45 submachine gun with the transport safety for the bolt on top of a loaded magazine. The transport safety has been known to work itself loose and then a sudden jolt will fire the weapon...
👀
🐽
I had the Swedish K when i did my military services in the 80ies. We where trained to take it apart and assemble it in complete darkness.
I'm from Eskilstuna, the town where the weapon factory was located (now museum and school). The factory was built in 1812 to move weapon production from the Baltic coast closer to mainland Sweden. At the time there was an exposed risk of being attacked from russian warships. The factory was important for source of work in Eskilstuna and during active production it also produced the Carl Gustaf m/48 and the Ak4. They were produced 60-70 years ago but the m/45 kpist was produced 80 years ago! Kind of a full circle moment how they're being used in Ukraine today against the russians, who instigated us swedes back in 1812.
You didn't mention the speed loader. This device fit onto the 36 mag top, you inserted a frame holding 6x6 rounds of m39/B ammo and just pumped the 36 rounds into the magazine. Refill was done in a few seconds. Wonderful device issued one per rifle squad. Definitely something to get.
How was the speed loader re-filled and used? Did the 6x6 frame come straight out of the box?
Have forgot about that one! Also there was some unathriast mods to the spring. to get higher rate of fire. Maintenece was a breeze compared to the AK4
@@CitroenDS23 The speed loader had a part that fit on top of the mag, then the other end of the loader accepted a square steel frame holding six rows of six rounds. Have you seen stripper clips for a Mauser? Imagine six of those clips, each holding six rounds, welded together side by side. When you inserted the ammo frame in the loader, the first row of six rounds are positioned just on top of the magazine follower. Since the mag is of the zig zag type, the opening is wider than a single cartridge and you use the piston to simply push the first row down the magazine. Then you retract the piston and the frame falls down one row and the next six rounds are ready to be pushed into the magazine. It is much simpler to understand once you see the device in operation.
@@CitroenDS23 yes the ammo was supplied framed, each 36 pack was held in the steel frame and then packaged in a carton box like most military ammunition. 24 or so, I’ve forgotten the exact number, of these 36 packs were then packed in an olive drab crate equipped with a canvas carrying handle.
@@andersnilsson7917 Thank you for the explanations. I'm not familiar in a practical sense with most firearms. In thinking about what you wrote, before I asked the question, it seemed to be the only way that a speedloader would be useful. Imagine having to stock the speedloader one round at a time - may as well just fill the magazine directly! One of the things that often amazes me about firearms is the depth of design thinking and engineering that goes into manufacture.
It was used up until 1989 in the Irish army , it was a feared weapon , you had to be careful handling it with a full magazine on it
Was an Irish Army reservist. I absolutely hated it. As you said, you had to be careful with it. Best option was to remove a loaded magazine from the weapon when getting in and out of vehicles. Give me an FN Fal any day.
I witnessed a member of 4th Battalion, Collins Barracks, Cork at the range in Ballincollig single-handedly get all 30 rounds on target. Allegedly he was barred from competing in various shooting competitions.
I was issued an FN and my brother a K, he wore glasses but was incredibly accurate upto 200m. Old FCA day's in the 80's
I had a guy in a bunker knocking the rear into a wall by mistake and a bullet went off. Bounced around and died in the snow. He was sent home.
The early models and the "modified" version with removable magazine feeding, can take also the Finnish 71 round drum magazines used with Suomi SMG m/31 as well.
The Danish issued type, M/49, was able to use both the 36 and the 50 round mags without any modification. They were born with the 36 round mag, but the old 50 round mags that were in use with the Husqarna SMG with wooden stock.
Yes, all versions of the M/45 can use both types of magazines, what was removed in the B upgrade was the magazine well being swapped out to a fixed one, so it can no longer take drum mags from the Suomi.
Had one in '76...
Good for close up close combat. Easy to handle, good for automatic fire. 9 mm parabellum In Sweden, the cartridge type has been further developed with new projectiles and propellant charges. Above all, an armor-piercing version against body armor has been developed under the designation 9 mm sharp cartridge m/39B. Cartridge m/39B has a sharper bullet with a tombak-plated steel jacket and a more powerful propellant charge
I remember when Swedish police used these back in the eighties in Sweden, and these huge wests and visors looking like medieval knights. They also went SWAT with MP5 and the usual gear shortly after that.
So many experts come across as either arrogant or not really as knowledgeable as they would like you to believe. This guy seems 100% legit; must have a literal Ph.D. in firearms. I'm envious!
Curator for an arms museum, so yes.
That's the honorable Jonathon Ferguson, keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history.
Yet another 'Tube Gun'; at its core it's just a piece of steel tubing. 😎 Simple, reliable--and pleasant to shoot!
I've seen it called a 'Karl Gustav' (like a number of other Swedish weapons); I thought that was where the 'K' came from.
I was in a military that used some Swedish weapons. I agree we called everything from Sweden a Karl G. It did get confusing so we added our own letters to the weapon system we wanted is using anything Swedish. Think about wanting an anti tank Karl G and getting a smg. We changed to only one type very fast.
That would be "Carl Gustaf" with a C.
It refers to "Carl Gustafs stads gevärsfaktori" wich is the name of one of the old Swedish weapon manufacturers. They have supplied the Swedish army and civilian market with weapons (including the m45) for two centuries and that's why so many different weapons are referred to by the shorthand " Carl Gustaf".
It's like referring to a weapon as a "Colt" regardless of wether it is an old west revolver, an automatic pistol or a modern assault rifle.
The full name of the armory translates
"Rifle factory of the city of Carl Gustaf"
and it refers to king Carl X, (1620-1660) and the city of Eskilstuna.
@@JH-lo9ut👍 Thanks!
@@JH-lo9ut you win! Didn’t say spelling was my best. But it does make some sence now kinda. A Sweed did say “everything is a Carl”. But from your explanation I do agree. We didn’t call everything a Colt and I did not mean to insult you I just said my past.
@@petesheppard1709 the "K" comes from the Swedish abbreviation "k-pist", with 'kulsprutepistol' (bullet-hoser pistol) meaning 'machinegun pistol'.
We didn't call it K when I did my military service. It was called m/45 (from 1945). A nickname was "Gamla Bettan" ("old Bettan (Betsy)") taken from the Disney adaption of "Robin Hood" when a vulture taps his crossbow and says - she's safe old Betsy - and it suddenly fires. Not a problem in real life. We had to learn to disassemble it in all its parts in total darkness in under 20 s and then reassemble it in under 20 s. Sometimes it was also called the 'pea-shooter'. Rather nice weapon in close-combat, but the precision wasn't great over 25-30 m.
Nobody called it a Swedish K in Sweden.
When I was in the military we called it a kpist, because we only had one type, or we said 45 Bertil.
Ok so again it's not the weapon itself that makes it great it was the ammo, the Swedish m/39b 9mm.
No one seems to get this no matter who is talking about this weapon.
I trained and served with this gun for along time.
Without the m/39b this gun is just a very slow and mediocre submachine gun.
The m/39B had a tombac-plated steel jacket surrounding the lead core.
While the lands of the barrel can cut into the tombac, the steel jacket resists deformation, thus causes the gas pressure to rise higher than the previous soft-jacketed m/39, giving the 7.0 grams (108 gr) bullet a Vo of 420 m/s (1,378 ft/s) and an impact energy of 600 joules.
The mantle also acts like a penetrator when striking a target, going through up to 50 layers of kevlar, 7 cm of bricks, or 25 cm of wood, allowing the bullet to defeat body armor up to Type IIIA.
This is why the Swedish K was so special.
SO if you do not have the gun loaded with m/39b rounds then as I said this gun is just a slow and pretty inaccurate PoS, really.
Well, the guns was also very reliable, compared to the Sten and the Sterling only the sterling came close to reliability but yes the ammo was the trick.
Bullet squirter...bullet=kula squirt=spruta... Kulsprutepistol...bulletsquirtpistol.
That definition would be "SPRAY".
@@markwarnberg9504 Geez... you don't spray a fire, you hose it down.
Correct form would be "bullet-hoser pistol".
Sidenote, "bullet-hoser" is the Swedish term for machine gun.
@@johanmetreus1268 Bullet Hoser might be the Swedish military slang term such as GRUNT is for the USA Army term or JARHEAD for the Marines but the translation of "Spruta" is "Spary".
@@markwarnberg9504 spray would be 'stänka' in Swedish. 'Kulspruta ' (bullet hoser) is the official term for machine gun.
@@johanmetreus1268 Spruta är Spray på Engelska. Nu för du ger dig!
Close combat gun. We even used to joke that if standing more than 100m away your raincoat would shield you. Not that we tried that trick mind you...
The K is an excellent submachinegun! We have even better assault guns, and heavy guns. (Thanks Bofors)
My service weapon when I did my military service in Sweden on the 1990s. My unit my have been the last ones doing the "Högvakten". guarding the royal palace in Stockholm using the kpist m/45.
Something that foreigner often miss about the capability of the m/45 (K) is in the ammunition the Swedish army use. The combination of the smg and the 9 mm m/39B with a steel jacket was extraordinaire. The m/39B is still used in pistols.
As a PDW, it can fulfill a role for Rear echolon troops that will see action only when something had gone wrong.
Also a more capable option to a pistol, which is how it was used in the end of servicelife in Sweden.
Guards at a ship inside a guarded port, drivers, cooks and mechanics, artillery crewmen, auxillary and military police and the like. People who would otherwise have a pistol.
Hey look guys it's Jonathan Ferguson the keeper firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum, which houses a collection of iconic weapons throughout history!
I remember reading an account about MACSOG (Military Assistance Command) personnel carrying these in Vietnam.
At a dock, in the center of Stockholm, there’s a painted line. The line is white and unfortunately it is now very hard to spot.
That denotes the place where I lost my 32 round mag while in sentry duty during my time in the navy. (Diver never recovered it.)
We carried this one on sentry duty, every fourth hour of every fourth day.
Fired a lot of round through it, but carried around on sentry duty even more. Great gun. Very accurate once you get used to the iron sights.
Used it with the Irish army and on UN service in Lebanon.. What most people didn’t know is that loaded if you dropped the weapon on the stock the bolt would move to the rear and fire off a round. So when we’d be mounted with it we kept the full magazine in your magazine pouch. Other than that it was a nice weapon and VERY easy to use and maintain. Accuracy went wild after about 25 yards though
That is why you have the manoeuvre handle in the safety slot.
@@johanmetreus1268 the slot wears in time, and that causes the action to go forwards. We’d quite a few accidents with it, one resulted in a death. Other than that I liked it, especially good working in vehicles or under armour.
@@bigmartin thankfully that never happened in Sweden with a weapon properly hooked up in the slot, but there were several accidents where a weapon was dropped with the bolt in the forward position.
That's a danger with just about all open-bolt submachine guns and it's what the safety notch is for.
A lot of "pundits" get this wrong: You NEVER hold around the magazine or magazine well. The gun will misfeed and you get a cartridge exploding in the gun - very unpleasant! Very slight, barely visible, damage to the magazine (dual stack) will also lead to misfeed.
The grip shown at 7:29 is the grip the Swedish military taught how to fire this gun and it works perfectly, but never hold the actual mag.
This is only really applicable to more modern weapons, most WW1, Interwar and WW2 weapons necessitate holding by the magazine because there's really nowhere else to put your hand, not to mention they could need the additional force holding them in in some more shoddily produced cases.
It also came with a cute little pouch that automatically caught all the bullet casings :D
The reason why the Americans carried foreign made guns is to have deniability if the CIA or special force member got caught by the enemy. it is not due to the weapon are superior to the US made submachine gun.
Well, it certainly was superior to the S&W m76 ;p
Another reason for the USA using them was for deniability when they were places they shouldn’t be.
everyone knows it was America
Counterpoint to the AKS-74U: while it is indeed a very handy weapon in comparison, it is reportedly an incredibly unpleasant weapon to shoot and to be around when it is shot, the short barrel and muzzle break create a huge amount of concussion, in confined spaces this is definitely not something to be discounted. I imagine vehicle crews would very much prefer a softer-firing SMG as opposed to having to lose their eardrums anytime they dare use the Krink.
I don't know if it goes for every 9mm SMG, but I do believe the m/45 was designed to use overcharged bullets (m/39b) to be able to reach further and penetrate armor. Might be useful trivia to share in this case.
That issued round was loaded hotter than normal, and used a bullet designed to penetrate more through things like flak vests and steel helmets
@@chuckhaggard1584 Bullet was steel jacketed with a thick layer of Tombac to engage the rifling.
@@chapiit08 yes
Isn't that the submachine gun that you can stick a double A battery in the back to increase the fire rate?
It should be mentioned that the 36 round magazine is incredibly reliable and durable. Rather that straight square walls like most others, it has a slight trapezoidal shape when viewed from above or below. This leaves a small gap on the sides that was intended to let snow and frost to pass with less risk of the follower binding up. It does quite a good job with other crud like sand or mud too.
The magazines are also made of fairly thick metal so they can survive conscripts. I have personaly seen one being used to hammer in a small nail with no ill effect. Yes, the guy was an idiot, but the magazine still held up.
Don't grab the mag. Hold on to the top. It prances in auto.
This was my serviceveapon in the military.I intvained two springs insted of one to make it go faster,36 rounds in 3,2 sec.My(job)was gunsmithing and it was almoast no M45 repairs ever made when i was there.
Some to the guys put in a standard flashlight battery to tighten up the spring.
*Joker's gun of choice also*
Carried one during my army service in 1986-87. Great gun, very easy to handle. We trained firing at man-sized targets at up to 150 meters, but mostly at 100 meters, or moving targets at 50 meters. We were required to be able to field strip them in 15 seconds, and put them back together in 20 (an extra 10 seconds were added when doing it blindfolded). We were issued four 36-round box mags, and not the one in the video. With the speed loader, a 6x6 rounds stripper clip could be loaded in 5-6 seconds. In peacetime, a brass catcher was mounted over the ejection port, which could cause the occasional jam if an empty casing bounced back in, but it was rare.
Pros & cons, range is limited but you can carry more rounds. In trenches would think range isn't an issue, also a pistol cartridge isn't such a liability clearing rooms (won't go through walls).
What the guy in photo was carrying was personally owned, not issued maybe?
The K-piste is a weapon for close combat.
In the artillery during the 70s, we used the K-piste as it was easier to carry it in the vehicles.
Kulspruta = bullet sprayer, literarily
When I did my conscription in 90-91 as a mechanic at the Coast Artillery this was my weapon. With a little practice, it is very accurate up to 150-200 meters, also easy to clean and it works in all weathers! But as others have written, never hold the magazine when shooting! And for those of you who think 9mm is too small, each soldier had four magazines with 36 rounds in each! Then you don't want to stand in front of that weapon, trust me! I am still in the armed forces but my service weapon is now an Ak4c in the rest of the world known as the HK G3
Spuhr stock?
@@PersonalityMalfunction Yes exactly.
Only 4 mags?? I had 8 in -90...
This was the gun we was using during basic training in my military service in the 1990s.
It is an excellent gun for beginners and very reliable.
We all carried those around when I did my service in 1968. Very convenient to carry on the back to keep your hands free. You could fasten the leather strip around your upper arm to hold it down when firing bursts. Only once did I see a guy having trouble with his m45. It had been run over by a truck. Unfortunately, they were exchanged against a NATO type 7,62 mm which was very sensitive to dirt and always got in the way.
Im curious what weapon chambered in 762 NATO was intended to fill the same niche as this. You remember the name?
@@martinwinther6013 Probably the FAL or G3 plain old battle rifles, depending on what country he's from.
@@martinwinther6013 Automatkarbin 4 (AK 4), a licence produced derivative of the G3A3.
It replaced all the automatic rifles, self-loading rifles, bolt action rifles and submachine guns in the infantry groups [sections/squads], with the kpist m/45 issued to everyone else, like radio operators, vehicle crews, artillerists and so forth.
@@johanmetreus1268 so not intended to fill the niche that is any soldier who needs a selfdefense weapon; , like radio operators, vehicle crews, artillerists and so forth.
@@martinwinther6013 ok... after wwII, the groups had a mix of rifles and submachine guns. When the AK 4 came, 7.62 NATO became the Swedish standard round for the rifle and machine guns alike.
Those who just were in need of a self-defence weapon got issued the kpist m/45 instead of the AK 4.
Thus the Swedish armed forces went from a dozen infantry weapons to four, as there were two 9 mm pistols (m/07 and m/40) kept in service.
Did that clear things up?
After trying that during my military service, I didnt understand why we had the AK5 since we were a logistics company so shooting were never one of our primary functions (we had a platoon dedicated for close protection of us so the AK5 was just something we just lugged around and never were expected to use. The kpst m745 would be less of a burden)
this particular example seems to a "port said" from egypt
I'm speculating to some extent but think it likely (based on old photos) that the CIA first started using the Swedish-K because of the Agency's late 1950's/early 1960's paramilitary operations in Laos. North Vietnam and the USA had signed an agreement to stay out of Laos, however, both sides soon secretly broke it. The CIA wanted its American paramilitary operators in Laos to wear uniforms and carry weapons that weren't obviously American, to help maintain deniablity if the US was accussed of breaking the agreement. They chose the Swedish-K because it was obtainable, a good weapon, and wasn't made by the US or an ally.
The kpist was used with overloaded ammunition. We had two types of 9mm ammunition. Mod A was normally loaded and used with pistol 45 mod lathi. And then there was the B variant for the kpist. Overloaded and with a steel jacket under the brass jacket. There was a big difference of the punch between them. The B surplus was not allowed to be imported to the US in the eighties because it was listed as a copkiller ammunition. US probably made as bad ammunition but they did not vanted it imported. After 2000 when the real army was disolved the new "professional" soldiers could not keep the B ammunition out of the lathi and there was acidents.
if you happend to have a D battery you could increase the fire speed greatly
Or a spare spring, double springs was the chit!
@@AndyWoohoo666 ah yes that to
After Wagner PMC conquered Bakhmut, in May of last year, they found a cache of weapons in a salt mine just north of the town. There were even crates of brand new Thompson Submachine Guns from back in the Lend Lease program in the late 40’s. All just forgotten about for 70 years or more. Weird to think that Ukrainians were sitting on such a large quantity of small arms and didn’t even know about them.
It was exported tobthe US from Sweden in the 60s then it stoped afyer some time. Because sweden would not export to a nation in war.
Then US made their own Swedish K....the S&W M76 smg
Thi gun used in Vietnam war by US special forces, too.
There's a lot of areas of use where I think SMGs need to be reintroduced. But the big open fields of eastern Ukraine is not one of them. You want range but also the ability to fight close quarters around trenches and fox holes. Thus assault rifles are just better. For tank crews that need a smaller gun to fit in the tank and be ready to use easily, you've got carbines like the AKS-74u.
These featured in the Chuck Norris movie Invasion USA (1985) carried by the Cuban invaders.
You didn't finish your thought about caliber at 3:20; so what caliber WERE they??
As a platoon leader I had the M/49 and it is fantastic out to 100 m, the 9mm at close range is deadly, the recoil is weak so you hit what you aim at. The perfect weapon for urban and trench combat
Super easy to clean, doesn't take up anything.......why it isn't still widespread I don't understand.
Knew a former Force Recon Marine who served in Nam…the Swedish K was his preferred weapon.
Never got to fire one. Would love to remedy that.
That "kulsprute" mean "bullet sprayer" seems to elude all that make films about this gun. It is an absolutely wonderful weapon.
K45B was my gun when I served in the UN Peace Keeping forces (as a Quartermaster 1980-1981). Also as honourable guard at the Swedish castle 1980.
MACV SOG, Operators used them during the Vietnam War[They operated on behalf of CIA and US Special Forces]
Quite good swedish speaking there. By translation: bullet spryaing pistol 😊
As a Marine in VN 68/9, I saw these carried by uniformed personnel, didn't know CIA.
K is for ”kulsprutepistol” i.e. ”bullet spraying pistol”. The Swedish word for bullet, ”kula” is of the same origin as globe, as in round shape.
Famously used by the bank robber that started the Normalmstorg drama that gave us the term “”Stockholm Syndrome”
Why can’t English speakers say “K-pist”? It’s not super hard for moderately intelligent humans. And it’s also its name. Calling it “Swedish K” is for people who call a magazine a clip ;)
You’re wearing black clothes, there are black boxes behind you and you’re also trying to show and demonstrate a black gun?
Swedish WW2 equipment is what you'd get if you could design without a time crunch.
In trench fighting you don’t need a high velocity round but a faster cyclic rate of fire is more useful hence the invention of the Bergman, Thompson,MP 41, Sten and PPSh 41, etc. 🤔 that’s why Navy SEAL’s used Swedish K in the swamps of the Delta.
I'm fairly sure this is the weapon my stepdad had back when he was in the home guard/hemvärnet.
I have 2 sears and robucks guns from the 40s both semi autos I inherited from my grandpa. Pre american serial number requirements guns. Both 100% legal mass production guns but "ghost guns". Like anything mechanical if you take care of it the thing will run forever.
Ukraine is getting WWII Surpluses Stock ,what a joke.
I´ve heard... from a friend... or a friends friend... that you can fit a D-cell battery behind the spring (perfect fit). Wich will increase the rate of fire significally. But it would probably be forbidden, dangerous/unsafe and nothing one should try!
I fired it For Years and Years in the army Thousands of Rounds , also it needs a BFA Blank firing attachment to Fire Blanks . Preferred weapon of the Section Commander Normally Corporal Used by drivers also because of the butt folding in He can drive armed . It Fires high to the right,
And Gobbles 9mm.
Heavy recoil spring back heavy bolt action, safety slot if not Locked will result in it Firing if interfered with.
I could strip it Blind folded .
De commissioned now in our Country long gone.
What should they have that for 9mm cartridges , it's useless in modern War,
I used it in 1990 too 1991 when I was doing my military service
The Swedish K was used in Vietnam by a number of US forces including SOG, a CIA division responsible for direct action. Apparently there is a strong CIA presence in Ukraine right now and it would be wild if these old weapons could be traced back to them.
Used it in my military service (air force in Sweden in the beginnings of the nineties.) Built like a tank, reliable, even after it was thrown in the mud. But the range was not good. And 9 mmP doesn’t have much stopping power
First one I was handed, I did two basic training six month back to back, one with the K-Pist and one with the AK4 because I was going to have both under my command. I stuck with it after the 18 initial months were up and we did carry that AK4 and the K-Pist with us in Kongo, Bosnia, Kosovo and Croatia although the exchange for the AK5 started in the middle of one of those we still kept the AK4 and the K-Pist because we didn't have time to go through a new weapon in the middle of it.
It's super simple, your average village idiot can point and shoot, remove three things and that's a complete disassembly of the weapon. Given the ammo we used (Norma, extra quality checks for FMV and that's the case for all ammo we receive) it's not surprising that there wasn't a single problem with it during all of that time. Only thing that can go wrong is the ammo and because of the special QC from Norma that just doesn't happen.
I don't know what kind of magazine you got on that one though, ours were 36 bullets and very slim. That one is three times the width. At 2:45 you can see the mags we had but something is fucky with the shroud on that one, that's not right.
Edit: Heh, should have watched the entire video before commenting, my bad. Though our magazine wells were, of course, stamped as is and attached permanently.
i used the m45B in the swedish marines, as a backup for the ak5, the K is an exelent weapon for short range, like urban warfare,very reliable and can take any kind of beating,dirt,mud,ice,snow- whatever..the swedish name kulsprutepistol , is litteraly translated to bullet spraying pistol, in swedish short is k-pist
Excuse me, please . But that's just an ugly and cheaper MP40
A human reviewing things that humans use to murder other humans, feels like a parody.
Used the 50 cartridge magazine with no issues for many years - so bu experience no issue - heard those concerns from many weapon TH-camr - I would say - undocumentted fear that the high capacity magazines are faulty.
funny how the guys having this in the Swedish military is the guys in the warehouse or truck drivers.
Very nice video! Thanks! When I did military service here in Sweden, I had one of the early model ones, with this detachable mag well. And it was in this black surface treatment, not green paint as the later models. Very easy to shoot well with, single shots were very easy to manage. Even if there is only a full auto mode, no other option. You learned quickly how to be gentle on the trigger, so only a single shot was fired. Super fun gun! Must be one of the best made super cheap guns ever! 🙂
US armor crews were issued M-3 "grease guns" up thru Desert Storm, in fact.
This was my weapon, although I had the B-model when doing my service and no, you should not hold the magazine when operating it. We taped 2 magazine together with a wooden piece in between.
That meant that you literally had twice the number of rounds. Changing magazine took a second or two. Very reliable and very resistant to dirt. Easy to maintain and clean.