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 sourcesI’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 Mailreport, 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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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.
— Matthew Moss | Historical Firearms (@historicfirearm) January 22, 2024
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The fighting in Ukraine has frequently drawn comparisons with the Cold War and while plenty of Eastern Cold War vehicles have been seen in use one of the interesting Western Cold War warriors seen action is the Saxon armoured personnel carrier.
Knocked out Saxon APC (via social media)
The AT105 Saxon was developed by the UK in the late 1970s to provide some protected mobility for British forces deploying from Britain and moving up to the front line after an anticipated Communist offensive. Based on the Bedford TM series of trucks, the four-wheeled Saxon was slated to protect against small arms fire (up to NATO B7 standard to withstand 7.6x51mm) and shrapnel. With a welded steel body and blast deflecting chassis plate the Saxon is powered by a 6 cylinder diesel engine. Primarily designed as a battle taxi it could carry up to 8 men and a driver. They were armed only with an L7 general purpose machine gun. Entering service with the British Army in the mid-80s the Saxon saw service in the Balkans, Iraq and Northern Ireland. It was finally removed from service in 2005.
The British Army appears to have begun disposing of them in the late 2000s with many gifted to other countries and some sold to private dealers. In 2013, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense purchased 75 second-hand Saxons from a private dealer, these were delivered in two shipments in 2015. Sources suggest the vehicles were bought for around £50,000 each or a total procurement cost of $3.8 million. The first 20 arrived in February and were handed over the the Ukrainian National Guard for testing. Oleksandr Turchynov, then Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said the vehicles would be upgraded by Ukroboronprom and fitted with machine guns. The second batch of 55 vehicles were delivered in June.
Still from 1985 British Army equipment video (British Army)
With the news of the transfer General Richard Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff, told the Telegraph newspaper that “My Concern is the inadequate nature of these vehicles which I ordered out of British Army front line service when I was Commander in Chief Land Command 2005-2006. They were withdrawn from Iraq and never deployed in souther Afghanistan. To suggest that the UK is making a significant gesture of support by supplying vehicles which we took out of service ten years ago, because we deemed them unsafe, seems bizarre at best and downright dangerous at worst. They are quite useless semi-armoured lorries that should be nowhere near anyone’s front line.” The UK MoD responded saying that “they offer protective mobility to personnel… but they are not close combat vehicles.”
While arguably obsolete the Ukrainians themselves reportedly felt they were fairly decent vehicles with the armour providing the expected level of protection. Ukrainian National Guard testing in February 2015 showed that the armour could withstand B-32 7.62x54mmR API. There was a well reported accident involving a pair of Saxons with on overturning and another hitting the central barrier on a motorway in March 2015. Its clear that the Ukrainians thought at the time they were cost-effective, capable vehicles which they wisely didn’t push into close combat roles.
Saxon APCs outfitted with a DShK and two PK-pattern machine guns, c.March 2015 (Ukrainian MoD)
Contemporary reports suggest that a number of the vehicles, perhaps 10 or 20, received additional armour for the troop compartment and mounts for as DShK heavy machine gun and a pair of PK medium machine gun positions. The work reportedly took about two weeks. The majority, however appear to have been rerolled as command or MEDEVAC vehicles and were reportedly initially assigned to 25th Airborne Brigade, 79th, 81st and 95th Airmobile and 36th Naval Infantry Brigades. Though it is unclear if or when they were reassigned from these units. They saw action in Donbas for the first time in June 2015.
In a September 2015 Ukraine Today report on the Saxons a member of the 81st airmobile brigade said: “it’s a really beautiful vehicle and the armour is good. for evacuating personnel the APC is great.” When asked if the vehicles were difficult to work with he replied “yes, but that’s normal.” Other pre-February 2022 adaptations include at least one of the vehicles outfitted with slat armour in an effort to protect against RPGs.
A captured Saxon ambulance (via social media)Captured Saxon ambulance (via social media)Captured Saxon ambulance (via social media)Captured Saxon (via social media)
With the Russian invasion in February the Saxons have seen in a number of photographs, mostly in flat green paint, though at least one had the Ukrainian digital camouflage pattern. The majority of the sighted vehicles have been ambulances and all of the photographs have been of either captured or knocked out vehicles. One of the captured vehicles, which appears to be the same vehicles as in image #2 in the block of photographs above, also appeared in a Zvezda TV report being driven around a depot. Narrator reportedly explains it is a captured ambulance, which originated from the UK and the presenter explains that it has an automatic gearbox and is quite fast and now will be transferred to Separatist DNR troops.
According open source intelligence analysts Oryx a total of 5 Ukrainian Saxon’s have been visually confirmed lost. There have not been any recent sightings of the Saxons and the UK and other supporting nations have now transferred or promised more modern and capable vehicles.
Thanks to Volodymyr for sharing some of the pre-war photographs of the Saxon in service.
Update 4/5/23: the Ukrainian Army shared a video about the 80th Air Assault Brigade’s operations during summer 2022. The footage featured numerous Saxon APCs still in frontline use.
Elements of the 80th Air Assault Brigade last summer operating old British Saxon APCs.
— Historical Firearms | Matthew Moss (@historicfirearm) May 4, 2023
Update – 28/11/23:Photos of destroyed Saxon APC, c.2/7/22 07/02/22 in Severodonetsk, Lugansk region.
Update – 15/1/24: Recently shared clip of a Saxon in Ukrainian service believed to have been filmed Winter 2023.
What a treat for us. New (I think, lot of archival stuff being posted as fresh at the moment) video of a Saxon APC in #Ukraine! No info on location/date sadly.
— Matthew Moss | Historical Firearms (@historicfirearm) January 15, 2024
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Bibliography
“Useless” Saxon Vehicles Surprisingly Useful In Ukraine, Defence24, (source) The Not So Secret Life of the Saxon, Think Defence, (source) ‘Saxon’ armored vehicles to enter service after improvement and test procedure, Censor, (source) UK’s Delivery of Saxons to Ukraine “Nothing Short of Immoral”, ForcesTV, (source) Attack On Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine, Oryx, (source) General Sir Richard Dannatt condemns armoured vehicle transfer to Ukraine, The Telegraph, (source) Saxon armored personnel carriers were first used in real combat operations, Military Informant, (source) Ukraine tested the delivered British Saxon armored vehicles, Military Informant, (source) British Saxons in Action, Ukraine Today, (source) Captured Saxon, Zvezda, (source)
The Armourers Bench 