Hello bajtársak and fellow forumdwellers, today I present to you the pride of Estonia´s interwar small arms manufacturing, the Arsenal Tallinn submachine gun.
The story of Arsenal M23 began on December 1 1924 when the Estonian underground, associated with the Comintern, attempted a coup d’etat against the Estonian government.
One of the major targets of the Communists was the military school on street Tondi to seize weapons for further hostilities.
However the communists assaults were stopped by a brave cadet using a “9mm submachine gun” buying enough time for the other cadets to arm themselves and repel the attack.
The submachine is commonly believed to have been a German Mp18 though it is possible that it was actually a SIG 1920 which was more common in the Baltic countries at that time.
This battle has demonstrated the usefulness of submachine guns to Estonia and though the popularity of Communism fell sharply in Estonia following the failure of the coup, extinguishing the internal threat, but the external communist threat still loomed over Estonian independence as the sword of Damoclase.
Estonian soldiers enjoying their launch, on the bottom left a soldier is sitting with an A. T. M23
Arsenal M23 was designed by Johannes Teiman and like most interwar European submachine guns followed the successful design of the Mp18.
However the Arsenal M23 is chambered for the 9x20 mm SR Browning which is a very unusual calibre for a submachine to say the least. This choice was made because the Browning Long was already in Estonian service. Because of the unique cartridge choice, M23 received its distinctive appearance with a uniquely slender 40 rounds magazine.
The name Arsenal Tallinn M23 actually originates from the name of the factory producing the weapons though it was actually more like a repair depot for the Estonian army though they handled everything from fire arms maintenance to building armoured cars.
However it’s not clear where the “M23” from the designation comes from since its development lasted between 1925-26 and the weapon was adopted in 1927.
Though Estonia had high hopes for the submachine gun, its limited budget and modest industrial might coupled with the expensive design of the gun restricted production.
Though international sales were attempted, no country was interested in placing an order, only the Estonian police purchased the Arsenal M23 besides the army.
No more than 600 submachine guns were produced before production ended in the mid 1930s.
The Estonian army had acquired more modern and less expensive Soumi Kp submachine guns instead and the army sold their surplus to Latvia and the Spanish Republicans.
With the end of the Spanish civil war Arsenal once again became undesirable thus finding their way to collectors, most surviving M23s today were in Spain.
While the submachine guns still in use with the Estonian police and the Latvian army fell into the hands of the red army in 1940.
CHARACTERISTICS
Total length: 809 mm
Barrel length: 210 mm
Caliber: 9x20 mm SR Browning
Unloaded weight: 4,1kg
Loaded weight: 4,35kg
Rate of fire: 600 rounds/min
Magazine capacity: 40 round
Initial muzzle velocity: 365 m/s
An Arsenal Tallinn M23 that found its way to Italian CTV in the Spanish civil war.
In game
The Arsenal M23 would be the first gun in the game to use 9x20 Browning.
Gameplay wise it should function similarly to the SIG 1920 currently sitting in the Japanese tech tree. Thus naturally it would be BR3.
The only faction the Arsenal Tallinn M23 would make sense to add to is the Soviet faction.
In my humble opinion it should be in the tech tree as it would give USSR a unique 9x20 submachine gun instead of the usual 7.62x25 high fire rate submachines.
Though I have no doubt that the stick mag Ppsh41 will remain the better and overall more used submachine gun, the Arsenal Tallinn would still be a worthy alternative suiting different playstyles.
I know some people dislike the idea of non mass produced weapons making it to the tech tree but by Estonian standards, it is mass produced and any alternative Soviet weapons that could be added to the tech tree were produced in even lower numbers.
The Arsenal also has a little brother, the Arsenal Tallinn M38
The Arsenal M38 was developed as a contender against the Soumi Kp however it has only reached prototype stage.
This is the only picture to date of the Arsenal M38
It was a very advanced submachine gun for its time featuring a fire selector for semi-auto and full-auto firing, a fire rate selector for 700 and 900 rpm respectively and an easy and quick to swap barrel.
Unlike the M23 the new M38 was chambered for the 9x19 parabellum from a 30 round magazine and had a high initial muzzle velocity.
CHARACTERISTICS
Caliber: 9x19 parabellum
Unloaded weight: 4,6 kg
Loaded weight: 5,2 kg
Total Length: 970 mm
Barrel length: 350 mm
Rate of fire: 700/900 rounds/minute
Magazine capacity: 30
Initial bullet velocity: 415 m/s
I had to dig quite deep for this information as the only reliable source is the Laidoneri muuseumi aastaraamat 2002 yearbook on the Estonian War Museum´s website.
If an Arsenal M38 still exists today, it’s somewhere in Russia, lost in the only thing greater than the steppes, the vast Russian bureaucracy.
In my humble opinion the Arsenal Tallinn M38 should be a battle pass weapon like most other obscure guns.
Interestingly, its featured in “Mombaeh”s mod in Ravenfield.
- Yes
- No
- Yes, in the tech tree
- Yes, as premium
- Yes, as battle pass weapons
- No
Sources for the M23
Tallinn Model 1923 (Arsenal M23): Photos, History, Specification
German in Estonian. Submachine gun Tallinn-Arsenal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h_H1HeS2QM
Sources for the M38
Yearbooks of the Laidoner Museum - Estonian War Museum
(once on the site, look for this:) Laidoneri muuseumi aastaraamat 2/2002 Koostaja Leho Lõhmus
Thank you for your time and attention!
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