Finland's Prototype Belt-Fed GPMG: L41 Sampo

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@Pyhantaakka]

This is only a prototype. The production model would be considerably more rigid!

[@dennisyoung4631]

“They wanted it to *work no matter what…”*

[@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" 🤭

[@Tunkkis]

I've noticed that the name "Lahti" specifically causes problems for many, almost every English-speaker pronounces it as "Lhathi". Even Ian does it to some extent, though mostly everything else is very accurate.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@TheThingInMySink]

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

[@kawaiiarchive357]

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

[@parkerdavidson5868]

Not necessarily, he's said before that his use of gloves most often depends on the preference of the host/owner of the gun

[@OmahaLasse]

Really appreciating Ians pronunciation getting better every time he does a new look into a Finnish weapon. Cool gun with an interesting history and design.

[@dndboy13]

Ilmarinen was absolutely finished playing around

[@Ultrajn-yj6rn]

HE SAID IT! KONEKIVÄÄRI!

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

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

[@codygranrud6212]

What a fascinating bolt carrier/feed system.

[@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.

[@Goc4ever]

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...

[@dootdoot6236]

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

[@AndrewGivens]

See what you did there.

[@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

[@inductivegrunt94]

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

[@Westernfilmenjoyer28]

Yes it does another fantastic invention of westernkind.

[@villesaarenketo2506]

Well we kinda had one designer. Aimo Lahti😅

[@Khmaryappels2]

​@@villesaarenketo2506yeah he did everything lol. Carl Pelo did something too but people are not talking abt him much 🤔

[@ez33kiel6]

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

[@5anjuro]

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

[@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.

[@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!😃

[@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

[@Mattebubben]

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

[@01ZombieMoses10]

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

[@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.

[@AndrewDasilvaPLT]

Thank you for your work.

[@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!

[@_droid]

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

[@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."

[@stumpythedwarf8712]

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

[@scottrobinson3281]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!!!

[@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."

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@Khmaryappels2]

I have Aimo Lahti book, and L41 is mentioned there a lot, also AL 43 and his other less known projects

[@jamesjohnson8601]

Great video. Truly a forgotten weapon.

[@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.

[@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". 😁😁😁😁😁

[@GenaTrius]

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

[@oliverschurr46]

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

[@analogludite9575]

I just think it's so cool that one of them went from being "that new machine gun they gave us for testing & evaluation" to being "the machine gun we have, right here, right now", and was in service to the end of the war. It obviously passed the long term durability test.😉👌

[@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)

[@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!

[@markkeyser]

Beautiful machine work!

[@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.

[@Darth-Nihilus1]

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

[@Landsersajer]

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

[@anthonyburke5656]

I had a Brother in Law, a really brilliant engineer, he was in awe of my Father, who could make anything, but wasn’t so good at innovation. My Father would say “Never be afraid to steal someone else’s good idea”. So far as I know, my Father only designed 2 completely new things in his life, both ideas/designs were immediately stolen from him. One was a winch design for yachts and the other was a really innovative design for Diesel/Electric trains. No resentment from my Father who often said we are all midgets standing on the shoulders of giants.

[@boomslangCA]

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

[@TMFShooting]

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

[@jpenna1976]

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

[@LGbaSS-bi2ml]

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

[@ianray8823]

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

[@Sugarmountaincondo]

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

[@laurentdarcq5624]

Excellent vidéo ! Congratulations !

[@thezieg]

Fine work

[@peterconnan5631]

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

[@stephencolley334]

Via tracer mill??

[@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.

[@peabase]

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

[@Texas_Red_01]

Once the 3rd extractor moves the new round up to the top position, what is the action that hands the new round off to the top extractor, to be fed into the chamber? In other words, as the 3rd extractor starts moving back to its down position, what prevents the new round from going with it? What makes the new round stay at the top, with the 1st extractor?

[@suntti6]

I’d say that the top extractor is of a tighter vrince than the ”lifter’s” extractor and would thus keep the round there

[@MD-4]

Bolt mechanism is very complicated and incredibly interesting.

[@cnb1971]

I was going to say this looks like an M60, Bren and GPMG had a baby. 🤣🤣

[@razeel2000]

Oh lawd he comin'!

[@jankusthegreat9233]

It's beautiful

[@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.

[@rickv1007]

How are the internal tracks on guns like that made? I don't see a large amount of room to fit a milling cutter into. Looks like there will be a large pile of metal shavings left from all the machine work on that receiver.

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

Do you mean 10:00 Looks like that the cuts are on a side panel somesort.

[@spanuehspanueh7216]

Those radial-tracks appear to be made on another piece of steel and press-fit and staked into place; similar to the locking-shoulder on top of the receiver. Before CNC, broaching machines, shapers, planers, and lathes, were also used besides mills; especially to machine those hard to reach places.

[@rickv1007]

@@XtreeM_FaiL At 10:30 you see the track that the bolt pin will ride in. That track is what I was wondering how they milled that track. It would have to be some type of right angle head to fit down inside the receiver and run a cutter.

[@causewaykayak]

My question exactly. Is it a removable panel perhaps. Like an old fashioned trade test when you are shown a made object and have to write a machining order for it.

[@rickv1007]

@@spanuehspanueh7216 Watching video again you are right. I see the seam when Ian rotates the receiver.

[@TakNuke]

Reminds me of darne machine gun and another italian or was it austro hungarian or hk21 machine gun which has belt below.

[@emepantti]

Holy shit that's an immensely large gun

[@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!

[@ReijoRitari]

19:45 I want to correct one think, it's KvKK not KKvK

[@PavewayJDAM]

That thing is massive!

[@marttimattila9561]

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

[@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.

[@xum-26]

what a behemoth !

[@michaeldunn7716]

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

[@AndromedatheBasshead]

Great video, informative as always :)

[@CorpusCrispy]

You know it’s serious when the gloves come out

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

Just standard museum practice 😊

[@skyelight9848]

Honestly the sampo looks super modern for the age it was brought in. Hell, if I was drunk I'd probably think it was from the 60s or 70s

[@randyhavard6084]

Looks like a beast

[@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.

[@zacharywranovsky]

I believed this was exactly the case in the US rifle trials during the 20s that adopted the Garand. Eventually they realized that it was fine, but originally the Garand was primer actuated and the Pedersen, the main competitor, was toggle locked.

[@jasongarland3165]

Ian talks about how heavy the Sampo is and all I can think about is Boris, the Russian arms dealer in Snatch. "Heavy is good. Heavy is reliable."

[@mikeycoolx]

I always like the videos before i even watch them

[@salvadormelendez9749]

Finnish guns are just awesome.

[@plutothe9th361]

Costco has free sampos on the weekend.

[@finnishamericanstudies3956]

Yeah but they get mad when you keep coming back

[@heirepo]

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

[@StarSurfer55]

Every time I watch one of these I realize that machine guns are the most steampunk devices ever

[@zombieranger3410]

This thing is like one giant metal amusement park it’s just tracks on tracks on tracks on tracks.

[@distalradius8146]

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

[@avnrulz8587]

The designer was pretty optimistic about someone carrying this in combat.

[@causewaykayak]

Incredible amount of machining. How on earth did they make the curved track Inside the receiver. Access looks impossible. All those marvels !! Maybe one or two of these are in one of those time capsule stashes we occasionally hear about 🤔❤️

[@Lappmogel]

9:25 Did they mill a dustcover?

[@Armgoth]

It would be amazing if you could take this to a range for comparison.

[@Speedyskyfly]

9:48 I see the term "svelte" is making the rounds in the youtube gun community, first Jonathan Ferguson, now Ian Mcollum, I wonder who is going to start using it next

[@FIVEBASKET]

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

[@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.

[@anzichovy1389]

In it’s feed system arrangement (the tray between the barrel and gas tube) it looks like a finnish Darne machinegun (at least to me)