Deactivated WWII Winter War Captured Russian DP28

This is a genuine Winter War (1939 to 1940) captured WWII Russian DP28 machine gun with Finnish property stamps. In 1939 Russia invaded Finland with the intention of claiming land for "security reasons". With significantly superior forces Russia expected to overwhelm the relatively small armed forces fielded by Finland. However they were not prepared for the harsh weather conditions and tenacity of the Finnish forces, who inflicted heavy losses on the Russian's which eventually led to their withdrawal in March 1940. This crushing defeat in part also led to Hitler's decision to invade Russia in 1941 (Operation Barbarosso).

Guns that were captured by the Finns and accepted into their inventory were marked with "SA" within a square. This DP28 is dated 1938 and is one of those guns captured during this wartime conflict. After its capture this gun was sent to the Finnish state rifle factory "Valtion Kivääritehdas" and stamped with their initials VKT as can be seen of this gun. The magazine also bears the same initials. Note the stock has been modified, this is also only found on Finnish captured Russian DP's. A fascinating gun that saw service with both Allied and Axis forces during WW2. Deactivated with a working action.

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