The Tokarev family of semi-auto rifles began w/the SVT38 which was mfg into 1940, saw action in the Russo-Finn war, redesign to correct deficiencies resulted in the SVT40 which was produced from 1940-1945. Both rifles were designed w/integral rails for an optical mount/scope & some were used as snipers rifles. illustrated in this album are both models, SVT 38 & SVT 40, including SVT40 variants, early/late & original snipers rifles.
Album by willyp. Photos by willyp. 1 - 61 of 61 Total. 28083 Visits.
Side view of 2 SVT38's w/2 variant bayos This pic shows 2 SVT38's w/the original SVT38 pattern bayonet, a long blade bayonet, steel scabbard w/integral leather or canvas hanger, 1 of the bayonets shown here has a polished finish, the other is blued. There is also a shorter blade variant, similiar to the SVT40 blade but w/the cutting edge up as are the SVT38 long bayonets
SVT38's w/long & short blade bayonet Most of the SVT38 rifles in the US were imported from Finland in the 60's, a few may have been brought back as war trophies but very few as the SVT38 was withdrawn from service fairly early in WW2 & not provided to any other countries, Finland had a small number which were captures during the Russo-Finn war.
Action detail of 2 SVT38's Here you can see the 2 pc stock, w/cleaning rod mounted on the side of the SVT38, the rod had a swivel head when removed from the groove which could be used as a handle, the SVT40 used a more standard rod mounted under the stock, here you can also see the SVT38 mag, again a bit different from the SVT40, the 38 also had differences within the parts of the trigger group.
2 SVT40's, 1 SVT38 w/bayonets Here are 2 SVT40 models (top 2) w/shorter blade bayonets, 1 blued finish & 1 polished, on the bottom is an SVT38 w/the original 38 pattern long blade bayonet.
Closer view of the same rifles
3 SVT40's (top), SVT38 bottom This is the same rifles as previous w/the addition of the top rifle which is another SVT40 variant, note the rear buttstock which has a Mosin-Nagant style stock slot rather than the usual metal sling swivel.
Buttstock view of 4 previous rifles here's a closer view to compare the buttstock details of the "slotted" stock SVT40 (commonly referred to as the Marine variant), 2 standard SVT40's & an SVT38 (bottom)
40 late, 40 early, 38 Muzzles Here's a pic (T-B) SVT40 late (or AVT40, select fire SVT40) 4 port muzzle break, SVT40 early, 12 port muzzle break (another difference between early/late guns was the early guns had a 2pc front swivel on the left of the band, later guns had a fixed loop as part of the band), also note the different stock/cleaning rod & metal covers on the 38 versus 40's.
40 late, 40 early, 38 W/bayos affixed Here's a closer view of the bayonet mountings on the 3 different rifles. Interstingly on the 2 38's & 7 40's I've had, the SVT40 bayonets will not fit the 38's, the "tongue" of the bayonet lug appears to be a bit too wide, I'm not sure if this is indicative of all or just w/these 2.
3 SVT model bayonets Top is the standard SVT40 bayonet, short blade, cutting edge on bottom, fullers angled slightly up, shown w/later wartime scabbard) Middle is the late 38, early 40 style w/short blade, cutting edge on top & fullers angled down (as in the long 38 pattern), shown w/the early style scabbard. Bottom is the SVT38 polished long blade bayonet. Bottom
SVT38-40 bayonets left view Here are the 2 short blade variants alng w/2 SVT38 long blade models, 1 polished, 1 blued. The SVT40 bayonets are also found polished or blued although the blued blade 40's are generally thought to have been blued during arsenal refurb, original production having been polished. The long 38 pattern is questionable to me though as the 38 rifles were taken out of service fairly quickly & none have ever shown up in arsenal refurb condition (compared to the SVT40 refurbs which were imported in fair numbers to the US a few years back), unless the 38 bayonets were done haphazardly w/the 40's.
Same bayonets w/different scabbards Here are the scabbard variants to be found w/SVT bayonets, top: standard production SVT40 bayonet, late scabbard, stamped folded over (compare to next one down) Second-top: Early pattern scabbard, better quality mfg w/ball finial on end Bottom two: long SVT38 pattern, basically the same as the early pattern 40 but longer.
Scabbards, same order as previous pic Here you can see the (in this case) leather hangers which are an integral part of the scabbard.
SVT 38 (left), 40 (right) mags The 38 & 40 used mags with different mfg features, 38 used a cup style floor plate, also note the small"hole" on the side compared to the 40 mag on the right, both the mags are interchangeable between the rifles though.
Rear (spine) of 38 (left), 40 (right) mags
SVT38 cleaning rod head this is the head of the cleaning rod as folded when affixed to the stock slot of the rifle.
SVT38 rod head open
SVT38 rod head open side view
SVT40 sniper rifle The SVT38-40 has always been a fairly rare item in the US (especially the 38), the only ones in the US until the 90's were the few guns from Finland (not all the Finn guns were SA mkd), in the 90's there were a fair number of SVT40's imported, these were arsenal refurbed guns, some of the distinguishing features are: 1/ importers mkgs, usually very small & on the side of the recvr, along w/an importer serial (usually begins w/t1xxxx8 etc) on the recvr. 2/ most bolts were a "plum" color 3/ most parts are pencil etched matching (all original guns had bright bolts & the full serial, including crylic prefixes were stamped on the recvr, trigger guard, bolt carrier, bolt & stock) 4/ Most had mixes of early/late features, bands, muzzle breaks, stocks etc.
SVT40 sniper set Included in the imports were a few (reportedly around a 100) original snipers rifles which have a small "notch" on the top rear of tlocks the mount to the receiver in addtion to the scope rails. Most SVT40's were mfg w/scope rails as part of the design (although there are some found that don't have them) so the rails alone DO NOT id the rifle as a snipers rifle. Here's the rifle w/scope/mount, action cover & leather lens covers. This particular rifle is a 1941 Tula, has a correct "notch", proper early style stock, narrow wrist w/safety groove only on left, early 2 piece moveable front swivel, 12 port break & all parts that have an arsenal mark visible are Tula star marked. Typical of the refurbs it is etched matching & has the "plum" colored bolt.
41 Tula sniper w/o scope/mount
Rearsenaled sniper, butt right side On this rifle there are no markings on the right side (it's been rearsenaled & probably removed then), originally there would be a Soviet acceptance stamp on the right buttstock, a Star/date for Tula rifles & a concentric circle w/crylic markings within for Ishevsk. You will also find stocks stamped w/a large A which is a later stock mfg for the select fire version of this rifle the AVT40.
Importer serial & "notch" location
Right side action
Action right w/scope/mount removed Here the scope/mount areshown removed from the rifle. Not the odd configuration of the mount, it has 2 horizontal "rails" that slide into the rooves on the receiver, there is an opening in the rear of the mount to allow use of the iron sights when the scpe is fitted.
Field action cover
Receiver mkgs right side various proof/insoectors mkgs, also note crylic S (C) stamped facing rear
Forend, right side
Muzzle detail right side Note small t-shaped fitting on side of bayonet lug which is the release for the cleaning rod & the gas regulator, small protrusion at front of upper vented metal handguard.
Muzzle deail left. The SVT40 cleaning rod is very similiar to the Mosin Nagant rod except it has a collar a few inches down from the tip that catches on the rlease in the bayonet lug.
Forend detail left
Bottom of forend, marking This marking, A (or possibly V) is on the bottom of the forend half way between front/rear.
SVT40 rear sight
Bolt carrier etched number Here is the electric pencil etched number markings found on the arsenal refurbed guns, also note the remains of the Tula star stamp on the carrier handle.
Scope mount & scope markings. hammer/scicyle, date 1941 & serial.
Bolt etched number The number etched on the bolt, the bolt numbers on the SVT rifles is visible through the bottom of the mag well w/the mag removed.
Recvr marking from the top Here it's Tula (star), date of 1941, Ishevsk rifles would have a triangle w/an arrow within.
Receiver marking left side.
Action, left side w/lens covers on Note lever behind trigger, this is the safety, it manually blocks the trigger from moving far enough to the rear to release the hammer. On the semi-auto guns it would only rotate to the left (fire) where it would lie in the groove visible. On AVT40's there is another groove on the right side of the stock & the safety lever would rotate to the right for the full auto position. There are a few rifles around where the full auto safety was used & it will rotate to the right but these guns ARE NOT auto, there are other differences in the trigger groups.
Left action, w/scope/mount removed
Left action w/field cover
Left side action
Wrist area from bottom This view shows the single groove alongside the trigger group for the safety lever & the thinner wrist area on the earlier rifles. There are also 2 different trigger guard styles found, this one, in the pic, is the "thicker" version, the width of the trigger guard loop is the same as the base, the "narrow" version has the loop a bit thinner than the base.
Triggerguard etched number
Markings, bottom of stock-rear Note again the crylic S (C) which apperas to be the same font & size as the 1 on the right of the receiver.
Same markings as previous This is a "wider" shot of the markings in the previous pic to illustrate their location on the stock.
Stock number Number is stamped in buttstock on left side.
Stock marking, top of comb This marking, a 2 is stamped on top of the comb just in front of the buttplate.
Buttstock left view
Buttplate Flat w/o doors, on some of the SVT40 refurbs I've seen the rifle number (just the numbers, no crylic prefixes) is stamped in the wood under the buttplate.
SVT40 sniper left view
Left view w/scope/mount removed
Scope & mount Scope is very similiar to the Mosin PU scope, actually it's the forerunner of the PU, mechanics & optics appear to be identical the only apparent physical difference is the rear of the tube is a slightly larger diameter whereas the PU is the same all the way thru. The SVT? scope will fit in a PU mount but a PU scope will not fit in a Tokarev mount.
Scope marking
Scope marking This is a repair facility marking (thanks VicT & gunboards members).
Mount Bare Here's the mount w/the scope removed, note the hinged U clamps, also note the transverse hole in the upright body of the mount, this is for the "key" that locks the mount onto the receiver by sliding thru the rear receiver notch.
Another view of the mount This is an original Soviet mount, there are also decent repros available so be careful when paying for one of these, don't pay original prices for a repro!
Mount inside top
Mount markings
Inner mount markings These markings are found on the inside of the mount looking through the bottom.
Lens Covers Scope lens covers, these would be the same as covers used w/PU scopes, these covers have stitched seams & are a tan leather but I have covers that are riveted & in different colors, dk brown, black, reddish etc.