SVT-40

The Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva, Obrazets 1940 goda (Tokarev Self-loading Rifle, Model of 1940), or SVT-40, is a Russian semi-automatic rifle featured in Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 2, and Call of Duty: World at War.

Call of Duty: United Offensive
The SVT-40 semi-automatic rifle appears in United Offensive and holds 10 rounds per magazine. It has good accuracy and can kill with two to three shots to the torso or from one shot to the head. However, it has harsh recoil that makes it difficult to focus on the player's target after firing. It's iron sights are cramped and hard to aim with, making it difficult to get precision shots. It can be used in close quarters, but the recoil might make it difficult to continuously fire on a target.

Strangely, the SVT-40 reloads faster from an empty magazine than reloading it while there are still rounds in it. However, upon further viewing of the reloading animation it becomes clear that due to the cocking handle being held to the rear after running out of ammunition it is not necessary for the player to fully cock the weapon, only release the handle before firing.

The SVT-40 is named the "Tokarev SVT-40" in Call of Duty.

Call of Duty 2
The Call of Duty 2 SVT-40 had everything that was wrong with it in UO fixed. It has much more manageable recoil, making it much easier to get a bead on a target after firing. The iron sights are much more open, giving the firer some breathing room while he's trying to find a target and make accurate shots, and it has the accuracy and damage (two to three chestshots or one headshot for a kill of its UO counterpart). Those changes make the CoD2 SVT-40 a very worthy rifle.

Singleplayer
The weapon is available in the later stages of the Soviet Red Army Campaign missions. Mainly "Heart of the Reich" and "Downfall" contain this weapon. It is used by some Soviet troops (the weapon replaces the Mosin-Nagant in "Heart of the Reich" but in "Downfall" the Mosin-Nagant is still present) while other Soviet troops will use the PPSh-41 extensively. The SVT-40 has had an unfortunate reputation for being a cumbersome and some what inaccurate semi-automatic rifle.

Multiplayer
This is the rifle obtained at level 1 in multiplayer, and is a good starting weapon.

Many players will be at a stalemate when attempting to find the best rifle. It is only up to preference if the player chooses the SVT-40 or the Gewehr 43, as neither, minding attachments, are very different from each other.

The Aperture Sight for the weapon appears to increase recoil, as the Aperture Sight will bounce back and then snap right back into place. However, this is merely a visual effect and does not affect accuracy whatsoever. With the Telescopic Sight, the SVT-40's chevron-shaped sight is slightly smaller than on the Gewehr's telescopic sight, for more accurate shots, and has a slightly larger viewing area, for a broader view when scoped.

The SVT-40 has high accuracy, low recoil, and good power (30-40). However, it has a relatively low ammo capacity of 10 rounds, which is paired with its qualities as a semi-automatic. Restating the fact, the SVT-40 can attach a Flash Hider, an Aperture Sight, and a Telescopic Sight. Combined with Stopping Power the SVT-40 can take most opponents out in two shots.

Trivia

 * In the official game guide (which was released before the actual game) states that one can earn the SVT-40 upgrade making the magazine bigger and adding a fully automatic capability. It seems as if this was originally intended for the game but was scrapped.
 * The icon shown when picking up the SVT-40 shows the magazine is way farther up the rifle than it should be.
 * The magazine is much farther forward in the game than in real life, as shown when AI soldiers put their hand behind the magazine
 * There is also archive film footage of the SVT that shows it with a sword/knife type bayonet mounted, as this is an attachment in WAW for other rifles it is unusual that this was not included for the SVT.
 * When reloading in WAW, it appears as though the magazine does not fit in the weapon properly, as there is a pause before the clip is locked in place.
 * The SVT-40 shares ammo with the Mosin-Nagant, but the Mosin-Nagant does more damage, much like the Springfield and the M1 Garand, this is likely for balance. If you were shot by these weapons you would not notice a difference between the two.