The Lahti-Saloranta M/26 is a machine gun made by VKT.
History[]
The M/26 was selected for the Army's usage after it won a competition. Production was then started at VKT in 1927, where it lasted until 1942. More than 5000 weapons were produced during this timespan. China ordered 30,000 of these weapons chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser, but only 1,200 were delivered due to Japanese diplomatic pressure.
Due to problems, the gun was not used as often as captured Soviet Degtyaryov machine guns. Due to this, there were only 3000 M/26s compared to the 9000 DPs on the field.
Design Details[]
The M/26 was infamous for being hard to clean, due to it having 188 parts, is heavy and had a low capacity. Due to this, it was nicknamed "Kootut virheet", meaning "Assorted mistakes". In spite of it having that many parts, proficient gunners took a liking to it due to its exceptional accuracy. With oiling adapters for Winter usage, the M/26 turned out to be very reliable.
Variants[]
The M/26 has one major variant, the M/26-31, which could fit a 75-round drum magazine.