Finland's Prototype Belt-Fed GPMG: L41 Sampo

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During the 1930s, there was interest in Finland in replacing the Maxim heavy machine gun with something handier and more mobile. There were experiments with large drum magazines for the LS-26 light machine gun, but these were not satisfactory. Aimo Lahti began to work on a gas-operated GPMG, but lack of funding and competing priorities led to it having slow progress until the eve of the Winter War. By the time the gun was completed and the first preproduction batch ready for troop trials, the Continuation War was underway.
Twenty eight of the L41 Sampo machine guns were sent out to a variety of units for field testing in the fall of 1942, and the guns were generally well liked, although not perfect. Before improvements and full-scale production could begin, though, the Finnish military was basically distracted by an alternative possibility of procuring MG42 receivers from Germany and building them into complete guns in 7.62x54R. At least one such prototype was completed, and that project caused the L41 program to stall. By the time it might have progressed, the war was going rather badly for Germany and the possibility of getting receivers was basically gone. The L41 never did see further refinement or production, although the trials guns remained in service with their units, in a few cases right until the end of the war.
Mechanically, the L41 is a fascinating hybrid of Bren/ZB and Maxim elements, and incredibly sturdily built. Only seven are know to survive today, six in Finland and this one in the UK. Thanks to the British Royal Armouries for giving me access to it to film for you!
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[@chriscasperson5927]

The Sampo, a magic mill that dispenses gold, salt, flour, and (apparently) lead.

[@douro20]

Fitting that they have the Sampo brand of agricultural machinery.

[@jcole77]

SAMPO!

[@spikymikie]

"BRING ME THE SAMPO! " I love a good Sampo.....

[@MrReded69]

How many Americans first heard that term in a MST3K episode where they riffed on a Finnish fantasy movie? I admit I'm one of them!😏

[@QuellicheilMarza]

@@MrReded69 I'm not American, but I came across the Sampo in a rare Don Rosa's Uncle Scrooge adventure and was curious to know where other people have heard it first

[@Shiroiji]

the Nokia of machine guns: made in Finland and breaks the floor when you drop it

[@clothar23]

The floor hell that thing would break spines.

[@boxbox0000]

it's probably more effective as a bludgeoning weapon than a hammer and mace

[@jameswilliams2958]

I really appreciate the fact that your videos' transcripts are so clear and correct. Makes it a lot easier to identify terms I might not be familiar with or spelling of names for future reading.

[@Vin_San]

And also nice for non native English speakers! It clearly helped me to better understand both global English and firearm in general!

[@hoilst265]

Dude even puts brackets in for the asides.

[@pablo4yu]

Bro hates accents

[@rantanen1]

I'm hard of hearing and I really appreciate good subtitles, like sometimes people start a sentence one day, and decide differently mid way through the sentence, it's in the subtitles here. It makes it harder to follow when sometimes subtitles ignore the exact wording the person uses to 'fix' a sentence etc, rather than following it exactly.

[@cerjmedia]

@@Vin_San even better because youtube has an Auto-Translate feature, which will basically use Google Translate to try it's best to translate the text. Obviously it's not 100% correct all the time, but it's pretty damn good

[@kawaiiarchive357]

You know it's a rare weapon when Ian is wearing gloves

[@Ultrajn-yj6rn]

HE SAID IT! KONEKIVÄÄRI!

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

When he says is, is sounds like Japanese trying to speak Russian.

[@hoilst265]

Every time I see one of these old honkin' guns, I am reminded of the words of the great Ian V. Hogg: "...you made it by taking a block of steel and removing every bit of it that wasn't a gun".

[@LD-Orbs]

“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti

[@KriLL325783]

Seems more like they removed just enough metal to make it a gun, leaving a lot of metal that could have been removed but wasn't.

[@HandleMyBallsYouTube]

I like to call this the dwarven approach to gunsmithing, why build a city when you can carve it out of a fucking mountain?

[@glynwelshkarelian3489]

I probably borrowed more books by Ian V. Hogg from my local library than any author, possibly even Tolkien!

[@KarsenKeith]

The great warrior poet Ian Hogg

[@ROBERTNABORNEY-jx5il]

In Finnish mythology, the Sampo (pronounced [ˈsɑmpo])[1] is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucopia) of Greek mythology. When the Sampo was stolen, Ilmarinen's homeland fell upon hard times. He sent an expedition to retrieve it, but in the ensuing battle it was smashed and lost at sea.

[@anteshell]

For anyone interested, read Kalevala for more information. I have no idea to what languages it have been translated to, but I'd be surprised if you cannot find it at least in English, considering even Don Rosa made a huge Donald Duck story about it.

[@juhokuusisto9339]

Uncle Scrooge built it back together and got too greedy, until Väinämöinen himself took it away.

[@darkwaveatheist]

@@anteshell I've read the Kalevala in English. I usually read Norse mythology but it's pretty wild and interesting at the same time.

[@Sahtoovi]

@@anteshell Kalevala is the 31st most widely translated book according to wikipedia with translations in at least 61 languages

[@jcole77]

The ONLY reason I've heard of all of this before is MST3K. SAMPO!

[@dndboy13]

Ilmarinen was absolutely finished playing around

[@notmilandia8461]

Apparently Aimo Lahti didn't have any formal education in metallurgy and strenght of materials. I have read that he just decided to use so much metal in critical places and components that it will not fail. That might explain the excess weight of some of his designs.

[@MrMokkeli]

True, also he didn't have any knoweledge about large scale manufacturing. The material losses in his guns were just enormous. BUT he had the basic idea from the mechanisms he would like to use in his guns. Without ideas, even the most educated engineer can't do nothing.

[@recoilrob324]

@@MrMokkeli This is where a team approach works so well. You have the 'ideas' guys who dream up the guns, then you have the 'production' guys who figure out how to make them and then the 'improvement' guys who take those working examples and whittle them down to weight while also tackling any problems that have cropped up. This works in every discipline really well.

[@okaro6595]

He had only six years of school. Then he went to work and with his first paycheck he bought a surplus Berdan II.

[@stephencolley334]

​​@@recoilrob324 Sure! This works real good when you have the advantage of NOT being under seige! Free from restraints of time it is MUCH easier to implement these processes /procedures. But under "make it now, make it cheap, make it so it ALWAYS works, and the parts are interchangeable, WOW!🤪🤪🤪

[@dwaneanderson8039]

Browning did something similar, which is why some of his designs, like the BAR, were heavier than necessary. But they sure were durable.

[@tubeToBeFree]

Seriously you got to appreciate Ian's pronunciation, he almost says it correctly. Huge effort to make it sound like a Finn and does it like a pro.

[@Broadsword999]

That's what comes of hanging around with the bad boys and girls from Varusteleka.

[@petesheppard1709]

His Finnophilia runs a close second to his Francophilia. 😉

[@tnesp]

But he says "kkvk"-62 when he should say "kvkk" 🤭

[@ihcfn]

What really gets me about these breach mechanisms is that they do that ten times a second!

[@williamromine5715]

I, almost, can't believe the rate of fire of a machine gun. But,then, take into account how much is going on in a car engine at 6,000 rpms. It just seems like magic to me.

[@NotALot-xm6gz]

That makes an FN MAG look light.

[@AndrewGivens]

It was when we were looking at the side-on and Ian's hand came in to move the lever - and his hand looked so tiny!

[@possumpatrol45]

They should do a remake of "The Day the Earth Froze" where Lemminkäinen defeats the witch with a belt-fed.

[@AshleyPomeroy]

"Sampo this, you witch!"

[@idontknow164]

MST3K fans saw "Sampo" and went "I know what I must do."

[@jussi3378]

"It was too big to be called a light machine gun. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was a heap of raw iron."

[@Boyracer73]

Wow, never heard of this gun before... And I'm a Finn. The shame 😬

[@jukkatalari3896]

Not many have, even here in Finland. First mention I saw about L41 Sampo was in Jalkaväen vuosikirja 198?, second time in discussion in some gun forum more then a decade later. This is the fourth or fifth time I see it mentioned.

[@5anjuro]

Quite ahead of its time. Predates the PK/PKM series by twenty years.

[@user-kr7yh8vw9m]

The L41 Sampo has got to be one of the most unique and frankly imposing guns i've ever seen and you're right Ian, this machine gun would have been a huge melee weapon. The Sampo is indeed a very majestic machine gun and Royal Armories did well to show it to us because they know you like firearms.

[@AshleyPomeroy]

Imagine it with a sword bayonet.

[@thejamppa]

L41 would have been probably been able stop T-26's and BT-5's... in melee...

[@GenaTrius]

"BRING ME..... A SAMPO!!!"

[@ez33kiel6]

This gun was way more interesting and cool than i thought! Never even heard of it before

[@inductivegrunt94]

Looks stunningly amazing. The Finns have always had a knack for making some seriously incredible firearms.

[@Hawkeyej26967]

Yes it does another fantastic invention of westernkind.

[@villesaarenketo2506]

Well we kinda had one designer. Aimo Lahti😅

[@Lyzrinn]

As part of my game project I had to take a close look at the Sampo and make a 3D model of it. First off, I'm actually impressed about the internal workings of the gun. I use a lot of your videos for references to my 3D artists. Since there were none on the Sampo when I worked on it, I had to eyeball it from photos found online on shady forums, and I can indeed confirm that there is one somewhere in Russia, it even has the Mount/Tripod that goes with it. No idea how original the mount is, but I had to use these photos as my primary references to make the 3D model myself.

[@justinterestedmusic]

Any link to this photo?

[@Victor-hg1lo]

Well, that answer the question, I never knew where you had found the sources for making the Sampo in Karelia! Always pleased to see that some of you are listening to gun Jesus preach. Anyways, good game, keep it up!😊

[@StahortheDark]

@@justinterestedmusic img(dot)allzip(dot)org/g/36/orig/10282095(dot)jpg

[@Lyzrinn]

@@Victor-hg1lo Glad to see you there ! Thank you for enjoying the game man. Have fun !

[@Lyzrinn]

@@justinterestedmusic sorry KZbin does not allow one to post links in comments and apparently even detects when I’m trying to modify a link. The post can be found on a forum called -forum guns ru- A fellow by the name of Gorgul apparently inquired on the gun and a user called Kadett confirmed that he knew someone that had the gun. Finally a third user named Costas apparently had pictures of it and posted them in the thread. The forum post is 36/1402636 on the website, im pretty sure you can figure it out from there ! Making a game sure requires a lot of exploration on the shady sides of the internet lmao

[@AshleyPomeroy]

My background's in computer programming, and the description of the operation at 11:55 onwards - with the curving tracks and the chomping extractors - is fascinating. The mechanism of operation is like a pair of carefully-timed for-next loops, but made out of metal instead of code.

[@stephencolley334]

Excellent comparison! Fast cycling machine parts and computer "loops". 😁😁😁😁😁

[@warrenpeace0]

I love the interaction of the feed mechanism. Something about all those little parts moving together so intricately makes my brain happy.

[@stephencolley334]

As do ALL the parts as noted by @ihcfn above moving at the cyclic rate of 10 times per second!😃😃 Holy Wily Coyote, that is fast!🤪🤪

[@nylonsheep6520]

It's up there with the an94 and the m134 in terms of mind-bending feed mechanisms

[@MrChispa06]

Really gives me FN Mag/M240 Vibes with this gun. Almost makes me think it was a precursor or an inspiration for its development, definatly ahead of its time.

[@scottrobinson3281]

Beautiful engineering to behold. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

[@codygranrud6212]

What a fascinating bolt carrier/feed system.

[@scottmcfall4561]

I think you've just introduced me to a new top ten favourite gun. I love that chambering mechanism! The chunkiness of the whole thing really appeals to me. I'd hate to have to move it around under stress though 😰 Wonderful piece of iron, and another fantastic video. Thanks, Ian!

[@paidwitness797]

Under stress with adrenaline is probably the only time to move it, anything casual and relaxed just wont cut it! 🦾

[@stephencolley334]

"Large", "clunky" parts, cycling extremely rapidly, through a repeating, interconnected, sequence?😳😳😳 YES, very impressive!😃

[@VompoVompatti]

Sampo looks indestructible and I am quite happy that those things never really were adopted by the FDF because those things would still be in service.

[@TorquilBletchleySmythe]

My Finnish dad told me that many things were overbuilt in Finland, similar to Russian designs, so if need be, they could be produced by semi-skilled workers in small workshops in remote locations. Finely engineered, high tolerance weaponry is often harder to produce in sub- optimal conditions, i.e., when being invaded by the Red Army.

[@lyedavide]

Now that's one heck of a machine gun! From the looks of it, my guess is that it would probably outlast any of its users. Thanks again for another very interesting video!

[@clothar23]

It's the kind of thing a Sole Survivor could use.

[@PalKrammer]

An astonishing amount of craftsmanship and machining skill is evident in this weapon. I admire even the small machined parts such as the gas block adjustment and the latch for removing the buttstock.

[@dootdoot6236]

it's so cool that they let you sampo this fine GPMG

[@AndrewGivens]

See what you did there.

[@_droid]

Some engineer(s) had a lot of fun with that one. The sheer amount of machining required. Wow! Thanks!

[@01ZombieMoses10]

Fascinating. That action is practically an assembly line in miniature. Or rather a disassembly line, I suppose. It's remarkably elegant.

[@JanoTuotanto]

About one of those being in Russia, Lahti claims he gave them one of his prototype LMGs. This was post armistice, a Soviet inspector visited his office with request to share "new secret weapon development". Lahti did not have anything really new, but just for the show he gave them one redundant prototype ( or at least the plans for one)

[@oliverschurr46]

And a big thank you to Mr. Jonathan Ferguson for letting Ian play around with that beast!

[@mattsgrungy]

I think you'd charitably describe that design as "sturdy" and uncharitably as an "absolutely honking great bastard".

[@tomwinterfishing9065]

It’s a grut’un.

[@marblewaffles5262]

It looks stunning, as all guns do.

[@marblewaffles5262]

I don't know why but everytime I look at this guns I kinda feel nostalgic, it's amazing to see something this cool.

[@combloc_bakelite-simp_ak-u6466]

Calm down

[@vos2693]

Overbuilt weapons of Interbellum era, like Chicago Typewriter, have that unique brutal charm.

[@MorangRus]

I read somewhere that some militaries' reluctance to adopt gas-operated firearms was because the idea of drilling a hole in the barrel was repulsive to some officials.

[@Mattebubben]

Yes! I have been looking forward to this video ever since the L-34 Video!

[@peterconnan5631]

Fascinating. Wish I could see how that cam track in the receiver was cut...

[@stephencolley334]

Via tracer mill??

[@Darth-Nihilus1]

It’s like a weird mix of modern and classic, this LMG is impressive 😎

[@ElChris816]

What a beautifully designed weapon. I love the way the bolt works during use using tracks, extractors, etc. I always watch these in the mindset that this was high tech during this time period. Great video.

[@stumpythedwarf8712]

What a beast of a gun! It gave you a workout for sure Ian. Thank you for the video, as always.

[@jamesjohnson8601]

Great video. Truly a forgotten weapon.

[@ianray8823]

Royal Armouries, home to thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history or however the Jonathan Ferguson bit goes

[@AndrewDasilvaPLT]

Thank you for your work.

[@plutothe9th361]

Costco has free sampos on the weekend.

[@finnishamericanstudies3956]

Yeah but they get mad when you keep coming back

[@johnmitchell3831]

What a great video!!! I’ve heard of this gun but to see it explained in such detail and so clearly is a testament to you the work you have put into your content. Outstanding!!!

[@jeromethiel4323]

I would call that bottom "extractor" a de-linker. As it is removing the round from the belt, thus de-linking it. Assuming a disintegrating link belt. But even on a cloth or strip "belt", it is still removing the round from said belt or strip to enable it to be loaded.

[@thezieg]

Fine work

[@markkeyser]

Beautiful machine work!

[@laurentdarcq5624]

Excellent vidéo ! Congratulations !

[@FIVEBASKET]

I was avoiding shots from these in Frontline karelia as a soviet sapper

[@LGbaSS-bi2ml]

We need another in depth cei-rigotti video! I think Royal Armouries has one!

[@salvadormelendez9749]

Finnish guns are just awesome.

[@pasikymalainen7478]

Absoletely great video!

[@TMFShooting]

Another Great Video Ian 💯 , Thanks for Sharing this rare Firearm with us 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

[@AndromedatheBasshead]

Great video, informative as always :)

[@emepantti]

Holy shit that's an immensely large gun

[@boychoboychev67]

hi Ian. I am wondering if you have ever heard about captain Hristo Nikolov - this is bulgarian, who invented the only bulgarian mashine guns - heavy and light. Of course they were never approved by the bulgarian millitaries due to notorious bulgarian corruption. as far as I know there are two light mishine guns survived nowadays - one in Bulgaria and another in Russia if I remember that correct

[@boomslangCA]

The concept might be a bit wacky but you can't deny the Finn's craftsmanship. As usual, beautiful work.

[@williamjensen4531]

Thanks

[@simonpharand7427]

I have always loved guns but ian just is the best to talk about them!

[@heirepo]

So, that Headstamp Publishing book on Finnish WW2 firearms is coming along nicely, I take it?

[@PavewayJDAM]

That thing is massive!

[@jankusthegreat9233]

It's beautiful

[@Sugarmountaincondo]

Very cool & rare gun and yes it was a treat.

[@minuteofcan]

In times of trouble. The dust cover can be made into a dirk by local blacksmiths! Coolest bolt and bolt carrier I've ever seen!

[@razeel2000]

Oh lawd he comin'!

[@randyhavard6084]

Looks like a beast

[@christophercripps7639]

The locking mechanism is like the ZB VZ-26/30/Bren in how the locking block is actuated. But the VZ-26 uses a tilting bolt. Is the locking block akin to the Bergmann MG-10/-15 n/a of WW I era? The feed mechanism is an ingenious solution of using a rimmed cartridge with a belt where a “push through” belt would be difficult or even impossible. Reported Maxim 1910s have been pulled out (of storage? museums?) for use in Ukraine. Still shoot as long as fed water and 7.62x54R. Only the 8x57 mm and probably the .303 (derivatives) have been in service longer than the 7.62x54R.

[@sampo3101]

As a Sampo, I can confirm this gun is very good

[@jpenna1976]

Before even watching, quite a moon rock video. Hard to even find good pictures of Sampo!

[@xum-26]

what a behemoth !

[@tonyneo6100]

Very neat!

[@be-noble3393]

All I ever learned about the Sampo was from MST3K

[@distalradius8146]

Finnish Ord Dept to Aimo Lahti: "Forge a Sampo."

[@chpet1655]

Well that was certainly a different ummm “thing”. Ian says chunky a few times and it really does look heavy but a maxim is still heavier and with that shoulder strap set up I think you’re still way ahead in the weight/mobility department compared to Maxims.

[@LordSilimar]

Love the gun, it looks amazing. But I do have to say, that I can’t wait to hear these words. Hi I’m Ian MacCollum from forgotten weapons and today we’re looking at this THE AK-50.

[@critterjon4061]

It looks like that time I tried to draw a FN-mag in 3rd grade

[@HellbirdIV]

Good lord that bolt is massive. It literally looks like it's a dual bolt system for some kind of monstrous double-barreled SuperBren.

[@Epikman557]

Great videos, gun jesus!

[@MorbidChivo69]

Although its a big block of steel,its a very good looking MG.

[@devinflint5554]

All the kids come running for the rich flavor of Sampo!

[@kingfish4575]

Bring me a Sampo.....😂 Deep cut here.

[@YungShooter-eg3vc]

Only heard of this gun from Steel Division 2, was shocked to see Finnish recon squads rocking a modernish looking belt fed. Very little info online about the Sampo!

[@michaeldunn7716]

Just an incredible design! So interesting. Especially when you consider how this could have evolved if given the opportunity. God bless all here.

[@fjallaxd7355]

What a cool gun.

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

There is no way he is just keep finding these things. He must be summoning them.

[@vincentmueller3717]

Who, Gun Jesus? Let that sink in for a minute.

[@STREET24000]

I mean it is theorized (by at least one person in an older video) that Ian’s lap is a bottomless pit of weird and obscure weapons from history.

[@mikeycoolx]

I always like the videos before i even watch them

[@gagemason3865]

I just realized the only thing needed to bullpup the Maxim would be a trigger forward of the ejection port and link it to the sear in the back…..@Brandon Herrera

[@leftnoname]

Ordnance said they wanted a new lighter gun, but not too new and not too light. That's what they got.

[@marttimattila9561]

As a Finn I lerned something new here, I have hold Lahtis 20 mil. it had a gas piston.

[@Afrohare]

Another my native Finnish gun I had never heard of before... Edit: Ian's Finnish pronunciation has really improved!

[@peabase]

Aimo Lahti, who was self-taught, had a reputation for wrapping a lot of iron around a hole.

[@Skeppo1]

Too bad that Aimo Lahtis brother - Arno Lahti did not design his push-through belt for MG-42 earlier to be used with this gun - combination would have been great and so L-41 action would have been simplier and lighter.

[@rancemuhammitz9226]

Sampo? That thing that makes gold and salt and stuff?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Yes.

[@IamOutOfNames]

Apparently it spits out lead as well.

[@andersjjensen]

This concept, with a lot of development, could be very successful, as it saves on stroke length to have this "upstairs/downstairs" system. If the cartridge lift height could be brought down to just, say, 5-6mm more than the footprint of the case the receiver would also be less tall. All in all, I could see mechanism be developed into a very compact general purpose machine gun.

[@-r-495]

what a location. probably absolutely no reception in that location. Aladdin’s Cave