This is a unique example of a pre-WWII M38 Swedish anti-tank gun that was manufactured by the A.B. Bofors company, Sweden. The gun was initially designed by Swedish manufacturer Bofors, mainly for export purposes, with the first prototype built in 1932. In 1935, the Netherlands were the first to purchase approximately 12 pieces with several other countries also placing orders. Licensed copies were also produced in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Poland. The Bofors gun saw combat in the Spanish Civil War, (circa 1937) where it could easily destroy lightly armored tanks. During the German invasion of Poland in 1939, during the battle of Mokra, the Wolynska Cavalry Brigade, equipped with the Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun successfully defeated the German Panzer Divisions that consisted of the early Panzer MK I and MKII tanks. The Finnish version was also successfully used during the 1939 Winter War, with the Soviet Union where it could successfully defeat the early Soviet T-26, T-28 and BT tanks. However later on it proved to be ineffective against the improved T-34 and KV tanks primarily due to the improvements of tank armor. A British version was also used in North Africa, where it made up for the lack of the QF 2-pounder anti-tank guns. By 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, the M38 cannon was declared obsolete. It was manufactured with a monobloc type barrel with a semi-automatic, vertical sliding breech block with a barrel mounted small muzzle brake. The top of the cannon tube is marked with the Swedish "Crown/W" and farther down it is stamped with the "Three Swedish Crowns/Nr351". It was mounted on a wheeled, split trail carriage which had suspension and metal wheels with rubber tires. The right side of the carriage is fitted with a small brass nomenclature plate that read "A.B. BOFORS/37mm/Kan/Nr.351". To give the crew some protection from small arms and shell fragments, the mount was equipped with a 5 mm thick angled front shield, with a folding lower plate. As noted this exciting weapon is complete with huge amount of original accessories to include the noted original matching wheeled carriage, an original M43 optical sight, that is graduated for 200-2,400 meters, 21 original unloaded brass cartridge cases, approximately 40 practice projectiles, (bullet tips) a partial box (approximately 10 used and five unfired) primers, several original Swedish proofed (empty) cloth powder bags, and one full powder bags with two small bags of original powder, 58 steel projectiles, a field armorers repair kit (mostly complete) and a gun mount field repair kit, and a cleaning rod. These had an effective range of approximately 4,000 meters and a maximum range of 6,500 meters. The cannon tube has blue/black painted finish with the complete wheeled carriage having a desert tan camouflage painted finish.

Very fine with nearly all of the current desert tan painted finish overall showing only minor edge wear. The cannon tube and breech are all complete and fully functional with an intact rifled barrel. The breech mechanism has a very strong internal spring and locks open and crisply snaps shut. The M43 optical sight is complete and functional with clear sharp optics. This is a really neat example of an early pre-WWII Swedish Bofors anti-tank cannon. NOTE: This Destructive Device is a National Firearms Act (NFA), fully transferable Class 3, which is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (BATFE) under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 478.