| Suomi KP/31 | |
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| General Historical Information | |
| Place of origin | Finland |
| Designer | Aimo Lahti |
| Manufacturer | Tikkakoski |
| Produced In | 1931–1953 |
| Type | Submachine gun |
| Effective range | 200 m. |
| Rate of Fire | 900 rounds/min |
| Magazine | 20, 40, 50 or 71-round capacity |
| Ammunition | 9x19mm Parabellum |
| General Ingame Information | |
| Used by | Finland |
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The Suomi KP/-31 was the standard submachine gun of the Finnish army during World War II. It is regarded by many as one of the most successful submachine guns of that period, it had great firepower, accuracy and reliability. It was easy to disassemble and the barrel could be changed quickly. Frontline experience during the Winter War both made Finnish army realize its potential and in response made the Soviets develop the PPD-40 and PPSh-41 and to start mass production of submachine guns. While feedback by the Finnish soldiers was very positive, some pointed out that the muzzle would start to climb from the recoil as it was fired. A solution was the M/31 SJR variant which added a muzzle brake (SJR is an acronym for muzzle brake in Finnish), the game model is modelled after this variant which was produced from 1943 for the Finnish army.
The first submachine gun of the Finnish army was the Bergmann M/20, a variant of the MP 18 chambered in 7.65 x 21 mm. The Finnish inventor Aimo Lahti saw flaws in the design and took the opportunity to make an improved and less expensive submachine gun. The Suomi KP/-31 went into serial production in 1931 by Tikkakoski Oy and most of these weapons were bought by the Finnish Defence Forces. The first two types of magazines made for it were 20 round box magazines and 40 round drum magazines, these were phased out during WWII for 50 round box or casket magazines and the iconic 70 round drum magazine that would be copied by the Soviets.
In the game the Suomi KP/31 is the only primary weapon of the Finnish officer kits. These may have any of the four magazine types but the 71 drum magazine is the most common. Anti-tank kits with this gun are limited to the 20 round magazines and two of some type of Kasapanos. There is also a kit that exclusively has a Soumi KP/31 with a underbarrel flame thrower.
Flame thrower M/44[]
The Flame thrower M/44 was made to attach to the submachine gun without any modification. It is possible to use the flame thrower and submachine gun at the same time but the range of the flame thrower is limited to 15 meters, Soviet flame throwers had a range of 30 metres. Nevertheless, this combination makes it the deadliest close quarters weapon. The prototype Flamethrower M/44 was made as a solution to the problems with the flame throwers the Finnish army used at the time. They were large and heavy which limited the options for secondary weapons to just a pistol. The Finnish army saw the potential and field tests went well, though it was noted that the limited range limited its use to fighting in trenches. One of the first combat tests did not go as well, the seven man strike team eqiupped with three of these flame throwers suffered three wounded. It was believed that the pilot light neccesary to ignite the fuel gave away their location to the entrenched Soviets in that night raid. Though, as they kept developing it to make improvements only a few dozens were made. They would be the last flame throwers of the Finnish army.
Credits[]
The Suomi KP-31 was first modelled by Montoya and textured by McGibs for the Forgotten Hope mod. It has then been remodelled into the original production model that did not have a muzzle brake and in addition to the 71 drum magazine three new magazines have been made by yuuya for FHSW. The M/44 Flame thrower variant of the weapon was made by FHSWman.
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