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The Winter War

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
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The Winter War (1989)

The Winter War (Talvisota) is a Finnish movie from 1989. The film begins with the mobilization of the Finnish Army in October 1939 and ends on 13th of March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. We follow a few soldiers from their mobilization through the trench warfare and massive Soviet artillery barrages until their surrender. It's the most costly Finnish film to date and its historically very accurate considering they interviewed Finnish veterans prior to the filming.



The following guns were used in the movie The Winter War:

Mosin Nagant M1891/30

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Full-length, Soviet Mosin Nagant M91/30 - 7.62x54R

The Mosin Nagant M1891/30 is the main rifle used by Red Army soldiers throughout the film. The rifle is also seen in the hands of some Finnish soldiers. Historically the Finnish Army during the war had a severe lack of equipment and weapons and they used Russian weapons whenever practible. Movie-wise it is also possible that there was a lack of the Finnish produced M/39 rifles so the producers had to use Russian rifles instead.

Finnish Mosin-Nagant Rifle

The Finnish soldiers use a slightly varied version of the Mosin-Nagant rifle. A very large number of Russian Mosin-Nagant rifles became available during the Russian withdrawal from Finland in 1917 and the subsequent Finnish Civil War of 1918. It was decided in the 1920's to modify the existing rifles for further use with the Finnish Civil Guard and the Regular Army rather than purchasing brand new rifles. Changes included a shorter barrel, different bayonet, slightly different stock, new forward sight etc etc. When the war broke out the most common version was the Model 1939, simply called M/39.

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M39 Rifle - 7.62x54mm R
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Martti Hakala (Taneli Mäkelä) fires his rifle at the advancing Russians.

Suomi KP/-31

The standard SMG of the Finnish Army were theSuomi KP/-31 and is frequently seen during the movie.

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Suomi M/31 - 9x19mm Parabellum
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Corporal Erkki Somppi (Antti Raivio) fires his Soumi SMB.
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Another view of the "Soumi" SMG.

Lahti-Saloranta LS/26

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Lahti-Saloranta LS/26 - 7.62mmx54Russian

Lahti-Saloranta LS/26, the standard light machine gun of the Finnish army in that period, is used by the Finnish soldiers.


Degtyaryov Dp-27/28

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Degtyarev DP-28 machine gun, 7.62x54mm R

The DP LMG is used by both the Red Army soldiers and the Finnish soldiers.

Mauser C96

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C96 "Broomhandle" Mauser fitted with holster/stock combo - 7.63x25mm.

The holster of a Mauser C96 can be seen on the belt of a Finnish officer in few scenes.


FN Model 1903 / Husqvarna m/1907

2nd Lieutenant Jussi Kantola (Vesa Vierikko) carries what is most likely a Swedish manufactured FN Model 1903 which was named Husqvarna m/1907. In the movie it is very difficult to determin if the gun used by Vierikko is an original FN Browning 1903 or a Swedish M/1907. Historically the Swedish Army put this gun into service in 1907 and remained thus until the 1970's. The Swedish goverment also sold alot of equipment and some weapons (including anti-tank guns such as is featured in the movie) to Finland. About 9 000 Swedish volonteers also fought on the Finnish side.

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FN Browning Model 1903 Pocket - 9 x 20mm Browning Long
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2nd Lieutenant Jussi Kantola (Vesa Vierikko) on the right is seen thawing his pistol near the stove so it can function properly. During the Winter War (dec 1939 - march 1940) the cold was a major concern. The temperatures often dropped to -40 degrees C. (-40ºF).