Happy National Vinyl Record Day!
Finnish soldiers play a gramophone they found on 8 August 1941 in recently-liberated Jaakkima, Finland (today’s Yakkima, Russia), during the opening offensive of the Continuation War. The Karelian village had been lost to the Soviets in 1940 during the Winter War.
“Vallatulla gramofonilla soitetaan.” Via Sa-Kuva
The gentleman in the center three of the four helmeted men to the left appear to have the new Finnish M40 turtle-style helmet while the three to the center-right have Hungarian M38s. If you notice the man almost totally behind the NCO, standing by the tree, has a Stalhelm complete with a Great War style add-on brow plate, an item that was almost universally despised by those who wore one due to the added weight. There is also a Mosin rifle in the back. The undersergeant to the right with the cigarette looks to have a Polish wz. 33 (Granat Obronny) “screw top” grenade on his belt, no doubt captured by the Germans in 1939 and passed on as military aid. Meanwhile, the gentleman in the center, possibly a machine gunner, has a Lindholmin-style universal holster for the Lahti L-35 9mm pistol, or a rarer m/23 Luger in .30-caliber. Also, note the two brand-new Soviet SVT-40s which have been given a new home.
Can you imagine the struggle being a QM in the Finnish Army in 1941? We’ve talked about the confusing variety of helmets used by the force previously.