The newly-independent state of Estonia
established a domestic arms programme in the early 1920s to supply their
military and irregular forces. The Tallinn Model 1923 was the first
submachine gun to be produced in Estonia, designed by Johannes Teiman and
manufactured by Tallinn Arsenal. The basic design was copied from the
Swiss SIG Model 1920 submachine gun, which had been exported to the
Baltics in the early 1920s. However it was not chambered in 7.65mm, as the
SIG was, but instead took the 9x20mm Browning cartridge (and is indeed one
of the only submachine guns to have been built around this cartridge). The
magazine was based on the SIG type but took 40 rounds instead of 50. The
barrel was also modified with cooling fins, which apparently did little to
prevent overheating, and a barrel jacket with rectangular cooling slots.
Production lasted from 1926 to 1930, during which time only around 530
examples were made. They were used by Estonian militia fighters in the
1920s and early 1930s but by the mid - late 30s, Estonia licensed
production of the far superior Suomi submachine gun from Finland and the
Tallinn SMG was deemed surplus. A large portion of the small production
run was sold to the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
Tallinn Model 1923 submachine gun with
40-round magazine.
Interesting photo of a captured Tallinn submachine gun in use by the
Italian CTV in Spain.
