Tag: SMGs

Swedish K In Ukraine – Update

A few of weeks ago I published an article/video detailing the appearance of Swedish Carl Gustaf m/45 9x19mm submachine guns in Ukraine. One notable feature of the guns was that their configuration appeared to sit somewhere between the m/45A and the m/45B.

In the absence of clearer information I referred to these as m/45Bs, the most common variant and one which has the defining fixed magazine housing rather than the earlier removable magazine well seen on the m/45A. The fixed magazine well is an upgrade which was made before the later m/45B refit. It seems that there was some fluidity to how the upgrades were carried out which has led to gun with a mix of features.

An upgraded m/45A with the 41st Mechanized Brigade (Daily Mail)

From Swedish sources I’ve spoken to many of the m/45s seen in the imagery from Ukraine are early spec guns (m/45As) which may have been in storage and were not refit to the m/45B pattern. The m/45B refit was partially necessitated by the need to add an additional retention method to hold the receiver end-cap in place. Some sources suggest this was due to a type of training ammunition then in use, others point to it being simply extra security.

An m/45B (top) and an m/45A (bottom) with the fixed-magazine well upgrade (Henrik Jansson)

Working theories explaining the configuration of the guns seen in Ukraine include: that they are m/45A configuration guns which had been in storage and were retrofitted after the training ammunition left service and the additional end cap retention was no longer needed, so this change to the guns was omitted. As mentioned earlier, another reason may be that these are m/45As which had the magazine well upgrade but were placed in store or transferred before the broader m/45B upgrade was carried out.

As discussed in the initial video, it is thought that Estonia is a likely source for these guns as they received some of these guns in the 1990s and these m/45s have then subsequently been sent to Ukraine. Regardless of origin country the result is guns which do not have the additional end cap retention catch nor the green finish of the Swedish Army’s m/45B. They all feature the fixed magazine housing but there is also a mix of larger (earlier A guns) and smaller (later B guns) perforations in the barrel shrouds.

A combatant in Ukraine with an m/45 c.early 2024 (via social media)

Since the last video a couple of other sources showing the m/45 in Ukraine were shared with me. Including this image of a Ukrainian combatant with a Swedish K which has the smaller barrel shroud holes. On 10 February a Daily Mail report, featured Thunder Company, an element with the 41st Mechanised Brigade. Members of the company show journalist Richard Pendlebury an m/45 that is in their inventory. The company’s deputy commander describes it as a ‘museum piece’. Both guns appear to be of the same configuration generally seen in Ukraine. On 4 March, another short video of a Ukrainian combatant firing an m/45 at what appears to be a range was shared. It’s unclear when or where the video was filmed.

My very special thanks to Henrik Jansson for his time, insights and imagery and to numerous others for their knowledgeable input. Thank you to Weapons_Illustrated for their help sourcing imagery, check them out on twitter.

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Vintage Weapons In a Modern War: Swedish K in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has seen a plethora of vintage weaponry being used by both sides. Everything from M1910 Maxims to TT pistols. One of the more surprising vintage weapons to turn up is the classic ‘Sweden K’. The Kulsprutepistol m/45 (Kpist m/45) perhaps better known as the Carl Gustaf M/45 has appeared in imagery from Ukraine numerous times over the past two years.

The most likely origin of the venerable submachine guns is either Sweden itself, whose home guard ceased using it in 2007, or Estonia, which received a number of the weapons from Sweden in the 1990s and for a time issued them to elements of thier Defence League.

Manufactured by Carl Gustafs stads gevärsfaktori from 1945 through to the mid-1960s the m/45 is a standard blowback submachine gun chambered in 9x19mm. The initial version had a detachable magazine well that enabled the weapon to feed from either a 36-round magazine or from Suomi KP/-31 (m/37-39 in Swedish service) magazines. The later m/45B variant permanently attached the magazine well limiting the weapon to feeding from the standard 36 round box magazines. The m/45B also incorporated a reinforced receiver end cap.

The earliest sighting of a ‘Swedish K’ in Ukraine I’ve found dates to early March 2022 when a member of the Krym Battalion posted a photograph of some of the weapons available to him; an AK-74, a Walther P99, an M7 bayonet and a Carl Gustaf M/45B.

Another image of a Ukrainian serviceman with an M/45 surfaced around the 23 March, but I’ve been unable to find the original source for the image so have little context for it.

In early May an photograph of an older member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was shared on a number of sites, he’s seen sat in a vehicle holding up an M/45 with a sling attatched.

In mid-May 2022 another M/45 surfaced in a photograph from a member of Krym Battalion, which is a part of the International Legion. It’s unclear if this photograph was posted by the same member who shared a photograph of his weapons in March, but the wear marks on the gun appear quite similar.

On 10 November, a daily update post from the Ukrainian General Staff included a photograph of an individual holding an M/45 with a sling, while the unit the individual belongs to isn’t stated given the contents of the post he may have been assigned to a unit on the border with Belarus.

Throughout most of 2023 sightings of M/45s were rare but in mid-June a member of the National Guard posted a short video featuring himself holding a Swedish K as other members of his unit walk behind him, two of the passing men also carry slung M/45s.

On the 28 September, a Swedish volunteer posted a photograph of himself holding an M/45 he came across on the frontline, he captioned the post: “Photo of when I found a mint condition Swedish K with 39B ammo out close to the front. Just an awesome rare Swedish Gun to see in use by a Medic.” The unit where the M/45 was encountered was the 131st Separate Recon battalion. This suggests the photograph may have been taken earlier in the summer of 2023 and also that M/45s may be used by medics. The mention of the Swedish 39B 9mm ammunition which was specifically issued with the M/45 is also interesting. Most notably, however, is the presence of the attachment assembly for an original Swedish spent cartridge case catcher bag.

October saw the first video of a Swedish K being fired. A short clip was shared on Instagram showing an M/45B being fired at the range with what appears to be a red dot optic mounted forward on the perforated barrel shroud.

Several months later, on 11 December, a medic with the 12th Ukrainian National Guard Brigade “Azov” shared a photograph of himself holding an M/45. Later in December a member of the 78th Separate Assault Regiment ‘Herts’ shared a photo, on 21 December 2023, with the caption ‘lend lease again’, he’s holding up a behind him can be seen several DP-27 light machine guns and some AK-pattern rifles.

Interestingly, none of the M/45s have the green paint finish which was used on some of the Swedish Armed Forces’ guns but have clearly shipped with original slings and in one case a brass catcher attachment. Also none of the guns in the imagery from Ukraine appear to have the end cap reinforcement typically see on the Swedish Army’s M/45Bs. While the guns have the M/45B’s fixed magazine well they don’t seem to have the characteristic pair of rivets and hooked end cap. It’s difficult to positively identify the variant as the guns’ markings aren’t visible in any of the imagery. With little context for some of the imagery and relatively few sightings of the guns in Ukraine its difficult to pinpoint the types of unit which are receiving them but it is conceivable that the guns have been decimated amongst a number of different types of unit including frontline elements of the Ukrainian National Guard, International Legion and Army.

Update – 21/01/24: From Swedish sources I’ve spoken to these M/45s are early spec guns which may have been in storage and were refit later. Retrofitted with fixed magazine wells but not the reinforced end cap as the ammunition that necessitated this was no longer in use.

Update – 22/01/24: Another photograph posted November 2023.

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Bibliography:

thank you to the researchers at Weapons Illustrated, Cloooud and Ukraine Weapons Warfare

https://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artiklar/kpist/swede_45.htm