During the Continuation War, the Finnish Army used specialized railway rolling stock including a 3-axle artillery wagon mounted with a 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun. These armed rail platforms provided mobile air defense for armored trains along vital operational routes. The Bofors, designated as the 40 ItK/39 B was manufactured in Finland originated from the 40mm L/60 Bofors anti-aircraft gun. The gun platform was built on a heavy 3-axle rail flatcar chassis, modified with protective plating and fitted to carry the 360-degree rotating anti-aircraft automatic cannon and was assigned to units like Finland’s 1st Railway Anti-Aircraft Battery to shield troop trains and strategic rail junctions from Soviet air attacks. As secondary armament it had seven 7.62mm Maxim M/09 machine guns mounted inside defensive side portholes for surface combat.
It was Equipped with a distinctive observation turret built directly onto the roof.
The 3-axle artillery wagon in the photo’s was originally captured from a Russian heavy armored train during the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The wagon underwent a radical transformation prior to the Continuation War. Originally built with a fully enclosed, heavy artillery turret designed for ground-to-ground combat (housing a Russian 76mm field gun), the Finnish military found ground-assault guns poorly suited for modern operations. Because the primary threat to rail networks shifted to Soviet aircraft, the Finns cut away the restrictive closed turret. It is the sole surviving wagon from that specific captured fleet to see front-line service in World War II.
