Maxim M/32-33
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| 7,62 mm Maxim M/32-33 | |
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| Type | Machine gun |
| Place of origin | Finland |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1933 to 1950 |
| Used by | Finland |
| Wars | WWII Winter War, Continuation War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1931 |
| Produced | 1933 to 1944 |
| Number built | ~ 1200 |
| Variants | - |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 24 kg, M/33 tripod: 30 kg |
| Length | 1180 mm |
| Barrel length | 721 mm |
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| Cartridge | 7.62 x 54 mm R |
| Caliber | 7.62 mm |
| Action | recoil |
| Rate of fire | 650-850 round/min |
| Muzzle velocity | - |
| Effective range | 2000 m |
| Feed system | 200 round continuous metallic belt |
The Maxim M/32-33 is a Finnish modification of the Russian M1910 Maxim, developed by Aimo Lahti in 1932. The weapon was able to fire at the rate of 850 rounds/min, while the old Russian M1919 and earlier Finnish M09-21 were capable to fire only at the rate of 600 rounds /min. The reason was not only that Aimo Lahti was ordered to develop the weapon with a new metallic ammunition belt but also because of other improvements, such as accelerator mechanism and muzzle booster. Other improvements had Maxim M/32-33's whole handle part were redesigned and installation point for optical sight was added. Because of these improvements, Maxim M/32-33 is considered to be the best Maxim machine gun ever made.
Unlike all the other Finnish Maxims, the Maxim M/32-33 was designed to be suitable for anti-aircraft usage from the beginning. Tripod M/32 was designed and issued with extra parts allowing it to be easily modified as anti-aircraft mount and accessories for anti-aircraft shooting were included.
The last improvement to the M/32-33 was adding a snow filling cap to the water jacket, this way snow could be used instead of water in winter-time. Thereby there was no need of carrying and taking care of 3 kg of coolant water in winter. This was feature was copied to the late Russian WW2 Maxim variant.
Some few hundred early M/09s were modified into M/32s by Gun Depot 1 between 1933-1935. These weapons have also been called M/09-32s.
[edit] External links
- 7,62 mm Maxim M/32-33 - Jaegerplatoon.com
| Finnish infantry weapons of World War II |
|---|
| Side arms |
| Lahti L-35 |
| Rifles & carbines |
| M/27 Pystykorva | M/39 Ukko-Pekka |
| Submachine guns |
| Suomi M-31 SMG |
| Machine guns & other larger weapons |
| Maxim M/32-33 | Lahti-Saloranta M/26 LMG | Lahti L-39 AT-rifle |
