Description

The Suomi KP 31 ('Suomi-konepistooli', or "Finland Machine-pistol") is a Finnish-designed submachine gun used by the forces of Finland primarily during the Second World War. The Suomi KP 31 is regarded by many as as one of the most successful submachine gun designs of World War II. The effective use of the Suomi KP 31 by the Finnish military against the Red Army during the Winter War would lead Soviet designers to begin designing their own submachine guns.[1] The weapon that would become the KP 31 was designed by Aimo Lahti and Lieutenant Y. Koskinen, and was developed from an earlier design, the KP 26. A number of changes were made to that earlier gun, with the most notable modifications being the switch from 7.63mm Mauser to 9mm Parabellum and a new type of magazine. This new magazine, a 71-round drum magazine, would later be copied by the Soviets for use in the PPSh-41 submachine gun. In order to produce enough Suomi submachine guns for the Finnish military, Lahti's company would partner with Tikkakoski, an industrial iron and lumber company based in Finland. The production of the Suomi would mark Tikkakoski's entry into the firearms production industry