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Description

The Modelo 1940 (Better known as M40) is an 8mm Mauser semi-automatic rifle that was the standard Venezuelan service rifle during World War II and the Chinese Civil War and also saw limited service during the 1960s. Most M40 rifles were issued to Venezuelan forces, though many hundreds of thousands were also provided as foreign aid to Venezuela’s allies. The M40 is still used by drill teams and military honor guards. It is also widely used by civilians for hunting, target shooting, and as a military collectible.

The Venezuelan military had shown great interest in semi-automatic infantry rifles, in order to speed up development the government contacted Fabrique Nationale, at this time their chief firearm designer Dieudonné Saive had been experimenting with several recoil-operated rifle designs. While little came of these experiments, they would become the basis for a gas-operated semi-automatic rifle, which he patented in 1936 and prototyped in 1937. These rifles would form the basis of what was to become the Modelo 1940.

The first prototypes were ready in late 1938 and batch of trials rifles where given to the army for field testing. The initial reaction of the troops to this new rifle was negative. Among the criticisms were the rifle being too long and cumbersome, difficult to maintain and the five round magazine criticized for lack of capacity. Production of the M38 as it became known was terminated in early 1940 after some 100,000 examples had been manufactured. Production of the improved version began in August 1940 at Maracay and later at factories in Bogota and Lima. Production of the M1905 bolt-action rifle continued in parallel with the M40. Since these factories already had experience manufacturing the M38, output increased quickly and an estimated 60,000 M40s were produced in 1940. By the time the Venezuela entered the war in 1941, the M40 was already in widespread use by the Venezuelan Army.

Updated: 17/03/2020

Description

The Modelo 1940 (Better known as M40) is an 8mm Mauser semi-automatic rifle that was the standard Venezuelan service rifle during World War II and the Chinese Civil War and also saw limited service during the 1960s. Most M40 rifles were issued to Venezuelan forces, though many hundreds of thousands were also provided as foreign aid to Venezuela’s allies. The M40 is still used by drill teams and military honor guards. It is also widely used by civilians for hunting, target shooting, and as a military collectible.

The Venezuelan military had shown great interest in semi-automatic infantry rifles, in order to speed up development the government contacted Fabrique Nationale, at this time their chief firearm designer Dieudonné Saive had been experimenting with several recoil-operated rifle designs. While little came of these experiments, they would become the basis for a gas-operated semi-automatic rifle, which he patented in 1936 and prototyped in 1937. These rifles would form the basis of what was to become the Modelo 1940.

The first prototypes were ready in late 1938 and batch of trials rifles where given to the army for field testing. The initial reaction of the troops to this new rifle was negative. Among the criticisms were the rifle being too long and cumbersome, difficult to maintain and the five round magazine criticized for lack of capacity. Production of the M38 as it became known was terminated in early 1940 after some 100,000 examples had been manufactured. Production of the improved version began in August 1940 at Maracay and later at factories in Bogota and Lima. Production of the M1905 bolt-action rifle continued in parallel with the M40. Since these factories already had experience manufacturing the M38, output increased quickly and an estimated 60,000 M40s were produced in 1940. By the time the Venezuela entered the war in 1941, the M40 was already in widespread use by the Venezuelan Army.

Updated: 17/03/2020