View source for SVT-40

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = SVT-40
| image_size         = 300
| type               = [[Semi-automatic rifle]]
| origin             = [[Soviet Union]]
| designer           = [[Fedor Tokarev]]
| design_date        = 1938 (updated 1940)<ref name="MF">[http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl06-e.htm Modern Firearms article on SVT-40] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031216033834/http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl06-e.htm |date=16 December 2003 }}</ref>
| production_date    = 1938–1945<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.m9130.info/svt-40 | title=SVT-40 Tokarev semi-auto rifle }}</ref>
| service            = 1938–present (SVT-38)<br/ > 1940–present (SVT-40)
| used_by            = See ''[[#Users|Users]]''
| wars               = {{plainlist|
* [[Winter War]]
* [[Continuation War]]
* [[World War II]]
* [[Guerrilla war in the Baltic states]]
* [[Korean War]]
* [[Vietnam War]]
* [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]}}
| part_length        = {{convert|625|mm|in}}<ref name="MF"/>
| cartridge          = [[7.62×54mmR]]<ref name="MF"/>
| feed               = 10-round detachable [[magazine (firearms)#Box|box magazine]]<ref name="MF"/>
| action             = [[Gas-operated reloading#Short-stroke fixed|Gas-operated short-stroke piston]], tilting bolt<ref name="MF"/>
| rate               = 
| velocity           = {{convert|830|-|840|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on|sigfig=3}}<ref>
* [http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/tokarev_m1940/index.html May 1946 (U.S.) Intelligence Bulletin on Tokarev M1940] gives 2720 ft/s
* Семен Федосеев, "Самозарядная винтовка Токарева", ''Техника и вооружение'', June 2005, p. 16, gives 840 m/s</ref> (light bullet arr. 1908)
| weight             = {{convert|3.85|kg|lbs}} unloaded<ref name="MF"/>
| length             = {{convert|1226|mm|in}}<ref name="MF"/>
| variants           = SVT-38, SVT-40
| number             = SVT-38: 150,000<ref>{{cite web |last1=Suciu |first1=Peter |title=Ranked: Which World War II Semi-Automatic Weapon Was the Best? |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ranked-which-world-war-ii-semi-automatic-weapon-was-best-176332 |website=National Interest|date=13 January 2021 }}</ref> <br />
SVT-40: 1,600,000<ref name = "kehaya">{{cite book|title = The SKS Carabine (CKC45g)|author = Steve Kehaya|author2=Joe Poyer |year = 1996|publisher = North Cape Publications, Inc.|isbn = 1-882391-14-4|page = 10|edition = 4th}}</ref><ref name = "ezell">{{cite book|title= Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms|author = Edward Clinton Ezell|year = 1983|publisher = Stackpole Books|isbn = 0-8117-1687-2|pages = 894|edition = 12th}}</ref>
| is_ranged          = yes
| range              = {{convert|500|m|yd}}, {{convert|1000|m|yd}}+ (with scope)
| image              = File:Tokarew SWT40 noBG.png
| caption            = SVT-40 from the [[Swedish Army Museum]], Stockholm
}}
[[File:RIAN archive 613474 Red Army men attacking.jpg|thumb|Soviet soldiers with SVT-40 rifles.]]

The '''SVT-40''' ({{langx|ru|Самозарядная винтовка Токарева, образец 1940 года|Samozaryadnaya vintovka Tokareva, obrazets 1940 goda|Tokarev's self-loading rifle, model of 1940}}) is a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[semi-automatic rifle|semi-automatic]] [[battle rifle]] that saw widespread service during and after [[World War II]]. It was intended to be the new [[service rifle]] of the Soviet [[Red Army]], but its production was disrupted by [[Operation Barbarossa|the German invasion in 1941]], resulting in a change back to the [[Mosin–Nagant|Mosin–Nagant rifle]] for the duration of World War II although both rifles served concurrently.

== History ==
In the early 1930s, the Soviet Union requested the development of a semi-automatic rifle to replace the Mosin-Nagant, taking inspiration from the Mexican [[Mondragón rifle]]. The design was left up to two individuals, [[Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov|Sergei Simonov]] and [[Fedor Tokarev]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Pegler|first=Martin|title=Sniping Rifles on the Eastern Front 1939-1945|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2019|pages=28}}</ref> Simonov, who had experience in developing the [[Fedorov Avtomat]], created a prototype for the [[AVS-36]] in 1931. The rifle was used during the [[Winter War]] but was removed from service in 1941 due to design flaws.<ref name=":0" />

=== SVT-38 ===
[[File:SVT-38 - Ryssland - AM.045576.jpg|thumb|left|SVT-38]]

In 1938, Tokarev's rifle was accepted for production, under the designation ''SVT-38'' with hopes that it would become the new standard-issue rifle of the Red Army. Ambitious production plans anticipated two million rifles per year by 1942. Production began at [[Tula Arms Plant|Tula Arsenal]] in July 1939 (production at [[Izhmash]] began in late 1939).<ref name="nuggets">{{Cite web |url=http://www.mosinnagant.net/USSR/svt401.asp |title=The Red Army's Self Loading Rifles: A Brief History Of The Tokarev Rifles Models of 1938 and 1940. By Vic Thomas Of Michigan Historical Collectables |access-date=25 June 2010 |archive-date=30 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130064919/http://www.mosinnagant.net/USSR/svt401.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The SVT-38 is a [[Gas-operated reloading|gas-operated]] rifle with a short-stroke, spring-loaded piston above the barrel and a [[tilting bolt]],<ref name="MF" /> a system that would later be used in the [[FN FAL]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Pegler|first=Martin|title=Sniping Rifles on the Eastern Front 1939-45|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2019|pages=29}}</ref> The SVT-38 was equipped with a [[bayonet]] and a 10-round detachable [[Magazine (firearms)|magazine]]. The receiver was open-top, which enabled reloading of the magazine using five-round Mosin–Nagant [[stripper clip]]s.<ref name=":1" /> The sniper variant had an additional locking notch for a see-through [[scope mount]] and was equipped with a 3.5×21 [[PU scope|PU telescopic sight]].<ref name=":1" />

The SVT-38 saw its combat debut in the 1939–1940 Winter War with Finland. The rifle had many design flaws, as its gas port was prone to fouling, the magazine would sometimes fall out during use, and it was inaccurate, only being effective up to 600m.<ref name=":1" /> Production of the SVT-38 was terminated in April 1940 after some 150,000 examples had been manufactured.

===SVT-40===
[[File:1940 Tula SVT40.jpg|thumb|left|SVT-40]]

With the removal of the SVT-38 from service, an improved design, the SVT-40, entered production. It was a more refined, lighter design incorporating a folding magazine release and lightening cuts. The hand guard was now of one-piece construction and the cleaning rod was housed under the barrel. Other changes were made to simplify manufacturing. Production of the improved version began in July 1940 at Tula and later at factories in Izhevsk and Podolsk. Production of the Mosin–Nagant M1891/30 bolt-action rifle continued, and it remained the standard-issue rifle to Red Army troops, with the SVT-40 more often issued to non-commissioned officers{{Citation needed|reason=Is there documentary evidence that this is the case, or is it an extrapolation from other contemporary armies?|date=December 2021}} and elite units like the naval infantry. Since these factories already had experience manufacturing the SVT-38, output increased quickly and an estimated 70,000 SVT-40s were produced in 1940.

By the time of [[Operation Barbarossa]], the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, the SVT-40 was already in widespread use by the Red Army. In a Soviet infantry division's [[table of organization and equipment]], one-third of rifles were supposed to be SVTs, though in practice they seldom achieved this ratio. The first months of the war were disastrous for the Soviet Union; they lost hundreds of thousands of SVT-40s. To make up for this, the production of the Mosin–Nagant rifles was reintroduced. In contrast, the SVT was more difficult to manufacture, and troops with only rudimentary training had difficulty maintaining it. [[Submachine gun]]s like the [[PPSh-41]] had proven their value as simple, cheap, and effective weapons to supplement infantry firepower. This led to a gradual decline in SVT production. In 1941, over one million SVTs were produced but in 1942 Izhevsk arsenal was ordered to cease SVT production and switch back to the Mosin–Nagant 91/30. Only 264,000 SVTs were manufactured in 1942 and production continued to diminish until the order to cease production was finally given in January 1945. Total production of the SVT-38/40 was around 1,600,000 rifles, of which 51,710 were the SVT-40 sniper variant.<ref name="MF"/><ref name = "kehaya"/><ref name = "ezell"/>

[[File:1941 Tula SVT-40 Sniper Configuration noBG.png|thumb|A 1941 Tula SVT-40 with [[PU scope|PU 3.5×21 telescopic sight]] in original sniper configuration]]

SVTs frequently suffered from vertical shot dispersion; the army reported that the rifles were of "flimsy construction and there were difficulties experienced in their repair and maintenance".<ref>Small Arms of the World by W. H. B. Smith 9th Edition Revised by Joseph E. Smith 1969 p.&nbsp;583</ref> The stock, made of Arctic Birch, was prone to cracking in the wrist from recoil. This was generally remedied by drilling and inserting one or two large industrial bolts horizontally into the stock just before the wrist meets the receiver. {{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Many rifles were also poorly seated in their stocks, letting the receiver shift on firing. This led to a field modification that selectively [[Rifle bedding|shimmed the stock]] with birch chips, usually around the receiver and in between where the wood stock meets the lower metal handguard.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} For a sniper rifle, this was unacceptable and production of the specialized sniper variant of the SVT was terminated in 1942.<ref name="MF"/> Milling scope rails in the receivers of standard SVT rifles was also discontinued. Other production changes included a new, simpler muzzle brake design with two vents per-side instead of the six on the original.

=== AVT-40 automatic rifle ===
To supplement the Red Army's shortage of [[machine gun]]s, an SVT version capable of full-automatic fire (designated the ''AVT-40'') was ordered into production on 20 May 1942; the first batches reached the troops in July.<ref name="Bolotin1995_111" /> It was externally similar to the SVT, but its modified safety also acted as a fire selector allowing for both semi-automatic and fully automatic fire modes. When fired automatically the rifle had a rate of fire of approximately 750 RPM, faster than the [[DP machine gun]] which fired the same cartridge at 550 RPM. To better resist the stress of automatic fire, the AVT featured a slightly stouter stock made of hardwood usually distinguished with a large “A” engraved in it; surplus AVT stocks were later used on refurbished SVTs. The automatic fire was largely uncontrollable, and the rifles often suffered breakages under the increased strain. Documents discovered after the war indicated that during testing, under continuous automatic fire, an AVT-40's barrel would be "shot out", meaning the rifling in the barrel would be completely worn down, in as little as 200-250 rounds.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} The use of the AVT's automatic fire mode was subsequently prohibited, and production of the rifle was relatively brief; none were made after the summer of 1943.<ref name="Bolotin1995_111">{{cite book|first=David Naumovich |last=Bolotin |others=trans. Igor F. Naftul'eff |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Walter |editor2-first=Heikki |editor2-last=Pohjolainen] |title=Soviet Small-arms and Ammunition |year=1995 |publisher=Finnish Arms Museum Foundation (Suomen asemuseosäätiö) |location=Hyvinkää |isbn=9519718419|page=111}}</ref>

=== SKT-40 ===
A shorter carbine version ''SKT-40'' (СКТ-40) was designed in 1940 and was submitted to a competitive test with a design of Simonov in the same year; neither was accepted for service.<ref name="Bolotin1995_112">{{cite book|first=David Naumovich |last=Bolotin |others=trans. Igor F. Naftul'eff |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Walter |editor2-first=Heikki |editor2-last=Pohjolainen] |title=Soviet Small-arms and Ammunition |year=1995 |publisher=Finnish Arms Museum Foundation (Suomen asemuseosäätiö) |location=Hyvinkää |isbn=9519718419 |page=112}}</ref> Later, a prototype version chambered for the new, shorter, [[7.62×39mm]] round was developed, but was not accepted for production.<ref name="Bolotin1995_111" /> A [[Silencer (firearms)|silenced]] variation was also experimented with, though it  too ended in failure.<ref>[https://survival.com.ua/razvitie-glushiteley-zvuka-vyistrela-ustroystvo-glushitelya-vintovki-svt-40-karabina-mauzer-98/ Развитие глушителей звука выстрела, устройство глушителя винтовки СВТ-40, карабина Маузер-98К и пистолета-пулемета Ингрэм]</ref><ref>[https://www.kalashnikov.ru/medialibrary/1a2/pbs.pdf В продолжение данной темы публикуем материал об]</ref>

=== AT-44 ===
An [[assault rifle]] based on a scaled-down SVT with [[7.62x41mm]] chambering called the AT-44 was also put into development, it came with a [[bipod]] and [[pistol grip]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-18 |title=Автомат Токарева АТ-44: последняя попытка перегнать Калашникова (2020) смотреть онлайн в хорошем качестве |url=https://voenhronika.ru/publ/vtoraja_mirovaja_vojna_sssr_khronika/avtomat_tokareva_at_44_poslednjaja_popytka_peregnat_kalashnikova_2020/22-1-0-7980 |access-date=2024-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918195625/https://voenhronika.ru/publ/vtoraja_mirovaja_vojna_sssr_khronika/avtomat_tokareva_at_44_poslednjaja_popytka_peregnat_kalashnikova_2020/22-1-0-7980 |archive-date=18 September 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-10-03 |title=Автомат Токарева АТ-44: последняя попытка - YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/embed/XetSLXUKRas |access-date=2024-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003095656/https://www.youtube.com/embed/XetSLXUKRas |archive-date=3 October 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Автомат Токарева АТ-44: последняя попытка |url=https://archive.today/20240404214538/https://kalashnikovgroup.ru/media/istoriya/avtomat-tokareva-at-44-poslednyaya-popytka}}</ref> It was competing with the [[AS-44]] design. It failed to be accepted for similar reliability issues as the AVT.<ref>[https://raigap.livejournal.com/359121.html Опытный автомат Токарева АТ-44 (СССР. 1944 год)]</ref>

==SVTs outside of the Soviet Union==
[[File:A young Estonian volunteer with a SVT-40, Finland 1944 (31872676647).jpg|thumb|Estonian soldier with an SVT-40 in Finland, 1944]]

The first country outside the Soviet Union to employ the SVT was Finland, which captured some 2,700 SVT-38s during the [[Winter War]], and over 15,000 SVTs during the [[Continuation War]]. The SVT saw extensive use in Finnish hands.<ref name="Finland">{{cite book|title=Finland at War 1939–45|series=Elite 141|first1=Philip |last1=Jowett|first2= Brent|last2= Snodgrass|date= 5 Jul 2006|isbn=9781841769691|publisher=Osprey Publishing|page=48}}</ref> The Finns even attempted to make their own clone of the SVT-38 designated ''Tapako'', though only a prototype was ever conceived.<ref name="Jaeger"/> The Finns would continue to experiment with producing their own SVT based rifles until the late 1950s with the introduction of the [[RK-62]].[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-198-1394-18A, Russland, Soldat mit russischem Gewehr Recolored.jpg|alt=German soldiers with a capture SVT-40 rifle|thumb|German soldier with a captured SVT-40 rifle]]Germany captured several hundred thousand SVTs from the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. As the Germans were short of self-loading rifles themselves, SVT-38 and 40s, designated respectively as Selbstladegewehr 258(r) and Selbstladegewehr 259(r) by the [[Wehrmacht]], saw widespread use by Germany. The study of the SVT's gas-operated action also aided in the development of the German [[Gewehr 43]] rifle.<ref name="Bishop1998">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Tokarev rifles|encyclopedia=The encyclopedia of weapons of World War II|pages=218–219|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuGsf0psjvcC|isbn= 9780760710227|editor-first=Chris|editor-last=Bishop|publisher=Barnes & Noble|year=1998}}</ref>

During the 1940s, Switzerland began looking into equipping its military with semi-auto rifles. Although never officially adopted, [[W+F Bern]] produced a clone of the SVT with a 6-round [[7.5×55mm Swiss]] magazine called the AK44.<ref>[https://www.forgottenweapons.com/ria-prototype-wf-bern-ak44-copy-of-the-svt/ RIA: Prototype W+F Bern AK44 Copy of the SVT]</ref>

Italy also produced at least one prototype loosely copying an SVT, which is extant in Beretta's collection, but its designation or exact details are unknown.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCollum |first=Ian |date=2016-07-15 |title=Pavesi Prototype SVT Copy (Video) |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/pavesi-prototype-svt-copy-video/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=Forgotten Weapons |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Post-war==
After the war, SVTs were mostly withdrawn from service and refurbished in arsenals, then stored. In Soviet service, firearms like the [[SKS]] and the [[AK-47]] as well as the later [[Dragunov sniper rifle|SVD]] made the SVT obsolete, and the rifle was generally out of service by 1955.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} Only a few SVTs were exported to Soviet allies and clients. The [[Korean People's Army]] reportedly received some before the [[Korean War]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=North Korean Small Arms (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)|magazine=Small Arms Review |volume=16|issue=2 |date=June 2012|url=https://smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1108}}</ref><ref name="Korea">{{cite book|title=Korean War Almanac|first=Paul M.|last=Edwards|isbn=0-8160-6037-1|publisher=Facts On File|chapter=Communist weapons, infantry|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816060375/page/498 498-499]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5gYCm0bM68sC&q=SVT|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816060375/page/498|year=2006}}</ref> The Finnish Army retired the SVT in 1958, and about 7,500 rifles were sold to the United States civilian market through firearm importer [[Interarms]]. This marked the end of SVTs in regular service.

In the Soviet Union, some SVTs (without bayonets) were sold as civilian hunting rifles,<ref>М. Блюм, А. Волнов. Охотнику о СВТ // журнал "Охота и охотничье хозяйство", № 11, 1989</ref> although other SVTs were kept in storage until the 1990s, when many rifles were sold abroad, along with other surplus military firearms.

==Users==
[[File:Grupa żołnierzy niemieckich na Kaukazie ogląda zbodyczny karabin radziecki (2-820).jpg|thumb|right|A trophy SVT rifle being inspected by German troops, 1942.]]
* {{flag|Independent State of Croatia|name=Croatia}}<ref>{{cite book|title=World War II Croatian Legionaries: Croatian Troops Under Axis Command 1941—45|author=Vladimir Brnardic|isbn=978-1-4728-1767-9|page=9|date=22 November 2016|publisher=Bloomsbury USA }}</ref>
* {{flag|Czechoslovakia}}: [[1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR|1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade in the USSR]]<ref>{{cite web|title=1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade|url=https://www.czechpatriots.com/en/1st-czechoslovak-independent-brigade.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204122254/https://www.czechpatriots.com/en/1st-czechoslovak-independent-brigade.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 February 2019|website=czechpatriots.com|first=Michal|last= Gelbič|access-date=3 February 2019}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Estonia}} [[Forest Brothers|Estonian partisans]]: Used during and after World War II<ref>{{cite book|title= Germany's Eastern Front Allies (2): Baltic Forces|series=Men-at-Arms 363|last1=Nigel|first1= Thomas|first2=Carlos |last2=Caballero Jurado|date= 25 Jan 2002|isbn=9781841761930|page=40|publisher=Osprey Publishing}}</ref>
* {{flag|Finland}}: Captured from Soviet troops, AVT-40 version also used.<ref name="Jaeger">{{cite web|title=Rifles, part 4 |date=15 January 2017 |url=https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/RIFLES4.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523064116/https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/RIFLES4.htm|archive-date=May 23, 2023}}</ref> Finnish captured SVT-38s, 40s and AVT-40s have a [SA] property stamp.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
*{{flag|Georgia|1990}}: Used during civil conflicts in the 1990s<ref name="SAS 1998 4">{{cite book|author=Small Arms Survey|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/B-Occasional-papers/SAS-OP06-Georgia.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112185639/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/B-Occasional-papers/SAS-OP06-Georgia.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 January 2011|title=Politics From The Barrel of a Gun|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1998|pages=40|author-link=Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* {{flag|East Germany}}{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
* {{flag|Nazi Germany}}: Captured from Soviet troops, designated as Selbstladegewehr 259(r).<ref>{{cite book|title=Desperate Measures: The Last-Ditch Weapons of the Nazi Volkssturm|page=61|author=W. Darrin Weaver|year=2005|publisher=Collector Grade Publications|isbn=0889353727}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Italian Committee of National Liberation.svg}} [[Italian resistance movement|Italian Partisans]]: Used examples captured from German soldiers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gianluigi |first1=Usai |last2=Riccio |first2=Ralph |title=Italian partisan weapons in WWII |date=January 28, 2017 |publisher=Schiffer Military History |isbn=978-0764352102 |page=167}}</ref>
* {{flag|North Korea}}: Used during the [[Korean War]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lai |first1=Benjamin |last2=Guoxing |first2=Zhao |title=Ground Forces in the Korean War 1950–53 (1): The North Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army |date=2024 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-6102-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2rxEAAAQBAJ |page=25|language=en}}</ref>
* {{flag|Lithuania}}: Lithuanian civil Police used captured SVT-40s during the [[German occupation of Lithuania during World War II|German occupation]].{{sfn|Nigel|Caballero Jurado|2002|p=46}}
* {{flag|Luhansk People's Republic}}: Donated by Russia and used by the [[Russian people's militias in Ukraine|Luhansk People's Militia]].<ref name="historicalfirearms">{{Cite web |title=A very interesting video showing a range of obsolescent small arms including a Polish PPS-43, a PPSh, an M1 Thompson, an SKS, SVT-40, an RPK and a Mosin-Nagant. |url=https://twitter.com/historicfirearm/status/1679450112014053377 |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Twitter |language=en|archiveurl=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/ad5Sn|archive-date=September 30, 2023}}</ref>{{self-published source|date=January 2025}}
* {{flag|Poland|1928}}: [[Polish Armed Forces in the East]]<ref name="mcnab2002">{{cite book |last=McNab |first=Chris|title=20th Century Military Uniforms |year=2002 |edition=2nd |publisher=Grange Books |location=Kent |isbn=1-84013-476-3|page=191}}</ref>
* {{flag|Russia}}:Limited numbers of SVT-40s issued to militias in Luhansk.<ref name="historicalfirearms"/>{{self-published source|date=January 2025}}
* {{flag|Soviet Union}}
* {{flag|Ukraine}}: On November 23, 2005, the government signed an agreement with the [[NATO Support and Procurement Agency]] to begin the destruction of excess stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in exchange for material and financial assistance. As of August 6, 2008, the Ministry of Defense had 11,500 SVT rifles in storage (10,000 serviceable and 1,500 destined for disposal);<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-04 |title=Про затвердження переліку військового майна Збройних ... {{!}} від 06.08.2008 № 1092-р (Сторінка 1 з 27) |url=http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1092-2008-%D1%80 |access-date=2023-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304234534/http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1092-2008-%D1%80 |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> as of August 15, 2011, 1000 units remained in the storage of the Ministry of Defense,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-25 |title=Перелік військового майна Збр... {{!}} від 15.08.2011 № 1022-р |url=https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/22%D0%B0-2011-%D1%80/#Text |access-date=2023-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125104917/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/22%D0%B0-2011-%D1%80/#Text |archive-date=25 January 2022 }}</ref>  On February 29, 2012, a decision was approved to dispose of 180 rifles. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-19 |title=Про утилізацію стрілецької зброї {{!}} від 29.02.2012 № 108-р |url=http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/108-2012-%D1%80#Text |access-date=2023-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119050355/http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/108-2012-%D1%80#Text |archive-date=19 November 2021 }}</ref> Seen modified with suppressor and scope during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peep the suppressed SVT-40 battle rifle |url=https://twitter.com/CalibreObscura/status/1510774283731148807 |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Twitter |language=en|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901150001/https://twitter.com/CalibreObscura/status/1510774283731148807|archive-date=September 1, 2022}}</ref>{{self-published source|date=January 2025}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]: SVT-38 and SVT-40 captured from Germans and Soviets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SVT-40 Tokarev semi-auto rifle |url=https://www.m9130.info/svt-40 |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=m9130.info |language=en|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230930161704/https://www.m9130.info/svt-40|archive-date=September 30, 2023}}</ref>
* {{flag|Vietnam}}<ref>{{cite book | title=Britain and the Wars in Vietnam: The Supply of Troops, Arms and Intelligence, 1945-1975 | publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers]] | author=Prenderghast, Gerald | year=2015 | pages=288 | isbn=9781476620916}}</ref>

== Museum exhibits ==
* One SVT-38 rifle, one SVT-40 rifle and one SKT-40 carbine are in the collection of Tula State Arms Museum in [[Tula Kremlin]]<ref>"''Кроме переданных в музей Ф. В. Токаревым опытных образцов и поступивших с военных складов штатных самозарядных винтовок образца 1938 г. и 1940 г. в коллекции есть оружие, имеющее мемориальное значение. ... Самозарядный карабин Токарева СКТ-40, редкий на сегодняшний день образец, был личным оружием В. Г. Жаворонкова, секретаря Тульского областного комитета ВКП (б), председателя городского комитета обороны Тулы осенью 1941 г.''"<br />[http://www.museum-arms.ru/collections/automat-battlearms/ Оружие боевое автоматическое] / официальный сайт Тульского государственного музея оружия</ref>
* Three SVT-40 rifles and one SKT-40 carbine are on display at the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma
* One SVT-40 is on display at the Minnesota Military Museum at Fort Ripley Little Falls, Minnesota

[[File:JMDavisSVT.jpg|thumb|center|SVT rifles at the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum]]

== See also ==
* [[FG 42]]
* [[List of Russian weaponry]]
* [[M1 Garand]]
* [[M1941 Johnson rifle]]

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons category|SVT-40}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031216033834/http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl06-e.htm History and technicalities of the SVT-40]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091113091311/http://50ae.net/collection/svt40/ SVT-40 Pictorial]
* [http://www.kalashnikov.ru/upload/medialibrary/3fb/50_56.pdf СВТ трудная судьба] {{In lang|ru}}, ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2001/6, pp.&nbsp;50–56

{{WWIIUSSRInfWeapons}}

[[Category:7.62×54mmR battle rifles]]
[[Category:7.62×54mmR semi-automatic rifles]]
[[Category:Semi-automatic rifles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Short stroke piston firearms]]
[[Category:Tula Arms Plant products]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1940]]
[[Category:World War II battle rifles]]
[[Category:World War II semi-automatic rifles]]
[[Category:World War II infantry weapons of the Soviet Union]]