Husqvarna ~ M40 Lahti ~ 9mm Luger

With World War II underway and needing a more modern handgun to replace the dated Browning Model 1903, Sweden adopted the only slightly modified L-35 pistol of Scandavanain neighbor Finland in 1940. A design of Finnish gun maverick Aimo Lahti, the L-35 was chambered in 9mm Luger and, while it looks a lot like a P08 Luger on the outside, on the inside it is very different, using a locked breech, single-action system rather than the curious toggle-action of its more famous doppelganger. The Swedes tapped the L-35 for local production by Husqvarna, dubbed the M40 or Automatpistol M/1940 in Swedish service. By 1946, the company had produced some 80,000 of the guns both for the Swedish military and, later, for the Danish police. Although Sweden was able to remain warily neutral during WWII, their military went on to remain on the cautious sidelines of the Cold War as well as being very active in UN peacekeeping operations that sometimes got rather warlike. Through that, the M40 remained in service, only being fully replaced by the Glock 17 in 1988 at which time the HVA-made 9mm was sold as surplus. This example is in good shape and comes with one magazine. Hold it in your hand and you'll notice the weight is much more than the Luger with which it is often compared. A neat collectable handgun that you don't see very often.