Tallinn Model 1923 (Arsenal M23)

History of the 1923 Tallinn Model (Arsenal M23)

In the mid-1920s, the Estonian army received a new submachine gun - a domestic product known as the "Tallinn Model 1923" (or "Arsenal M23"). The gun came from the Estonian arsenal in Karjama, Tallinn, hence the name.

This little-known weapon emerged after World War I, with fewer than 600 completed (sources say around 570 were made). The series was used by the Estonian army and police forces and fought under the banner of the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and gained new life.

Johannes Teiman's design work began in 1926 and the result was a submachine gun borrowed in many forms and functions from the German Bergman MP18/1 - a World War I The development of the late German Empire, at that time and became the world's first practical submachine gun.

The Estonian version of this weapon includes a chamber for the 9x20mm SR Browning cartridge, making it consistent with the Army's FN M1903 semi-automatic pistol (as it uses the same ammunition). The overall length is 809mm and the barrel is 210mm long. The internal action is recoil, and ammunition is fed from a 40-round detachable magazine. The rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute and the muzzle velocity is 365 meters per second.

Iron sights have a range of up to 600 meters.

Like Bergmann's design, the Model 1923 used a single piece of wood to form the front end, receiver base, grip and shoulder rest. A perforated jacket (horizontal slot) was placed around the barrel for enhanced air cooling, and additional cooling fins were milled directly onto the barrel. Unlike the Bergman, a revised bolt was installed, with a smaller front view. Added suspender loops under the running jacket and under the shoulder rests.

The trigger assembly hung below in a manner typical of submachine guns of the time.

The Tallinn Model 1923 entered service in 1926 and remained in use until about 1940, some of which were eventually sold to Latvia. However, it was abandoned by Estonia sometime in the early 1930s and never made a comeback when the army switched from Finland to the long-lived Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun.

The Model 1923 then went down in firearm history - one of the few firearms from Estonia.

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