By the end of the 30s, almost all participants in the coming world war had formed common directions in the development of small arms. The range and accuracy of the attack was reduced, which was compensated by the greater density of fire. As a consequence of this, the beginning of mass rearmament of units with automatic small arms - submachine guns, machine guns, assault rifles.
Accuracy of fire began to fade into the background, while the soldiers advancing in a chain began to be taught shooting on the move. With the advent airborne troops There was a need to create special lightweight weapons.
Maneuver warfare also affected machine guns: they became much lighter and more mobile. New types of small arms appeared (which was dictated, first of all, by the need to fight tanks) - rifle grenades, anti-tank rifles and RPGs with cumulative grenades.
Small arms of the USSR World War II
Rifle division of the Red Army on the eve of the Great Patriotic War was a very formidable force - about 14.5 thousand people. The main type of small arms were rifles and carbines - 10,420 pieces. The share of submachine guns was insignificant - 1204. There were 166, 392 and 33 units of heavy, light and anti-aircraft machine guns, respectively.
The division had its own artillery of 144 guns and 66 mortars. The firepower was supplemented by 16 tanks, 13 armored vehicles and a solid fleet of auxiliary vehicles.
Rifles and carbines
Three-line Mosin
The main small arms of the USSR infantry units of the first period of the war was certainly the famous three-line rifle - the 7.62 mm S.I. Mosin rifle of the 1891 model, modernized in 1930. Its advantages are well known - strength, reliability, ease of maintenance, combined with good ballistics qualities, in particular, with an aiming range of 2 km.
Three-line Mosin
The three-line rifle is an ideal weapon for newly recruited soldiers, and the simplicity of the design created enormous opportunities for its mass production. But like any weapon, the three-line gun had its drawbacks. The permanently attached bayonet in combination with a long barrel (1670 mm) created inconvenience when moving, especially in wooded areas. The bolt handle caused serious complaints when reloading.
After battle
On its basis it was created sniper rifle and a series of carbines of the 1938 and 1944 model. Fate gave the three-line a long life (the last three-line was released in 1965), participation in many wars and an astronomical “circulation” of 37 million copies.
Sniper with Mosin rifle
SVT-40
At the end of the 30s, the outstanding Soviet weapons designer F.V. Tokarev developed a 10-round self-loading rifle cal. 7.62 mm SVT-38, which after modernization received the name SVT-40. It “lost weight” by 600 g and became shorter due to the introduction of thinner wooden parts, additional holes in the casing and a decrease in the length of the bayonet. A little later, a sniper rifle appeared at its base. Automatic firing was ensured by the removal of powder gases. The ammunition was placed in a box-shaped, detachable magazine.
The target range of the SVT-40 is up to 1 km. The SVT-40 served with honor on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. It was also appreciated by our opponents. Historical fact: having captured rich trophies at the beginning of the war, among which there were many SVT-40s, the German army... adopted it for service, and the Finns created their own rifle on the basis of the SVT-40 - TaRaKo.
Soviet sniper with SVT-40
The creative development of the ideas implemented in the SVT-40 became the AVT-40 automatic rifle. It differed from its predecessor in its ability to fire automatically at a rate of up to 25 rounds per minute. The disadvantage of the AVT-40 is its low accuracy of fire, strong unmasking flame and loud sound at the moment of firing. Subsequently, as the troops enlisted en masse automatic weapons it was removed from service.
Submachine guns
PPD-40
The Great Patriotic War was the time of the final transition from rifles to automatic weapons. The Red Army began to fight, armed with a small number of PPD-40 - a submachine gun designed by the outstanding Soviet designer Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev. At that time, PPD-40 was in no way inferior to its domestic and foreign counterparts.
Designed for a pistol cartridge cal. 7.62 x 25 mm, the PPD-40 had an impressive ammunition load of 71 rounds, housed in a drum-type magazine. Weighing about 4 kg, it fired at a rate of 800 rounds per minute with an effective range of up to 200 meters. However, just a few months after the start of the war it was replaced by the legendary PPSh-40 cal. 7.62 x 25 mm.
PPSh-40
The creator of the PPSh-40, designer Georgy Semenovich Shpagin, was faced with the task of developing an extremely easy-to-use, reliable, technologically advanced, cheap to produce mass weapon.
PPSh-40
Fighter with PPSh-40
From its predecessor, the PPD-40, the PPSh inherited a drum magazine with 71 rounds. A little later, a simpler and more reliable sector horn magazine with 35 rounds was developed for it. The weight of the equipped machine guns (both versions) was 5.3 and 4.15 kg, respectively. The rate of fire of the PPSh-40 reached 900 rounds per minute with an aiming range of up to 300 meters and the ability to fire single shots.
PPSh-40 assembly shop
To master the PPSh-40, a few lessons were enough. It could easily be disassembled into 5 parts made using stamping and welding technology, thanks to which during the war years the Soviet defense industry produced about 5.5 million machine guns.
PPS-42
In the summer of 1942, the young designer Alexey Sudaev presented his brainchild - a 7.62 mm submachine gun. It was strikingly different from its “bigger brothers” PPD and PPSh-40 in its rational layout, higher manufacturability and ease of manufacturing parts using arc welding.
PPS-42
Son of the regiment with a Sudaev machine gun
PPS-42 was 3.5 kg lighter and required three times less manufacturing time. However, despite its quite obvious advantages, it never became a mass weapon, leaving the PPSh-40 to take the lead.
DP-27 light machine gun 
By the beginning of the war light machine gun DP-27 (Degtyarev infantry, 7.62mm caliber) was in service with the Red Army for almost 15 years, having the status of the main light machine gun of infantry units. Its automation was powered by the energy of powder gases. The gas regulator reliably protected the mechanism from contamination and high temperatures.
The DP-27 could only fire automatically, but even a beginner needed a few days to master shooting in short bursts of 3-5 shots. Ammunition of 47 rounds was placed in a disk magazine with a bullet towards the center in one row. The magazine itself was mounted on top of the receiver. The weight of the unloaded machine gun was 8.5 kg. An equipped magazine increased it by almost another 3 kg.
Machine gun crew DP-27 in battle
It was powerful weapon with an aiming range of 1.5 km and a combat rate of fire of up to 150 rounds per minute. In the firing position, the machine gun rested on a bipod. A flame arrester was screwed onto the end of the barrel, significantly reducing its unmasking effect. The DP-27 was serviced by a gunner and his assistant. In total, about 800 thousand machine guns were produced.
Small arms of the Wehrmacht of World War II
The main strategy of the German army is offensive or blitzkrieg (blitzkrieg - lightning war). The decisive role in it was assigned to large tank formations, carrying out deep breakthroughs of the enemy’s defenses in cooperation with artillery and aviation.
Tank units bypassed powerful fortified areas, destroying control centers and rear communications, without which the enemy quickly lost their combat effectiveness. The defeat was completed by motorized units of the ground forces.
Small arms of the Wehrmacht infantry division
The staff of the German infantry division of the 1940 model assumed the presence of 12,609 rifles and carbines, 312 submachine guns (machine guns), light and heavy machine guns - 425 and 110 pieces, respectively, 90 anti-tank rifles and 3,600 pistols.
Weapon The Wehrmacht generally met the high demands of wartime. It was reliable, trouble-free, simple, easy to manufacture and maintain, which contributed to its serial production.
Rifles, carbines, machine guns
Mauser 98K
The Mauser 98K is an improved version of the Mauser 98 rifle, developed at the end of the 19th century by the brothers Paul and Wilhelm Mauser, founders of the world famous arms company. Equipping the German army with it began in 1935.
Mauser 98K
The weapon was loaded with a clip of five 7.92 mm cartridges. A trained soldier could shoot 15 times within a minute at a range of up to 1.5 km. The Mauser 98K was very compact. Its main characteristics: weight, length, barrel length - 4.1 kg x 1250 x 740 mm. The indisputable advantages of the rifle are evidenced by numerous conflicts involving it, longevity and a truly sky-high “circulation” - more than 15 million units.
At the shooting range. Mauser 98K rifle
G-41 rifle
The self-loading ten-shot rifle G-41 became the German response to the massive equipping of the Red Army with rifles - SVT-38, 40 and ABC-36. Its sighting range reached 1200 meters. Only single shooting was allowed. Its significant disadvantages - significant weight, low reliability and increased vulnerability to contamination - were subsequently eliminated. The combat “circulation” amounted to several hundred thousand rifle samples.
G-41 rifle
MP-40 "Schmeisser" assault rifle
Perhaps the most famous Wehrmacht small arms of the Second World War was the famous MP-40 submachine gun, a modification of its predecessor, the MP-36, created by Heinrich Vollmer. However, as fate would have it, he is better known under the name “Schmeisser”, obtained thanks to the stamp on the store - “PATENT SCHMEISSER”. The stigma simply meant that, in addition to G. Vollmer, Hugo Schmeisser also participated in the creation of the MP-40, but only as the creator of the store.
MP-40 "Schmeisser" assault rifle
Initially, the MP-40 was intended to arm the command staff of infantry units, but later it was transferred to the disposal of tank crews, armored vehicle drivers, paratroopers and special forces soldiers.
A German soldier fires from an MP-40
However, the MP-40 was absolutely unsuitable for infantry units, since it was exclusively a melee weapon. In a fierce battle on open area having a weapon with a firing range of 70 to 150 meters meant for a German soldier to be practically unarmed in front of his enemy, armed with Mosin and Tokarev rifles with a firing range of 400 to 800 meters.
StG-44 assault rifle
Assault rifle StG-44 (sturmgewehr) cal. 7.92mm is another legend of the Third Reich. This is certainly an outstanding creation by Hugo Schmeisser - the prototype of many post-war assault rifles and machine guns, including the famous AK-47.
The StG-44 could conduct single and automatic fire. Its weight with a full magazine was 5.22 kg. At a target range of 800 meters, the Sturmgewehr was in no way inferior to its main competitors. There were three versions of the magazine - for 15, 20 and 30 shots with a rate of up to 500 rounds per second. The option of using a rifle with underbarrel grenade launcher and an infrared sight.
Creator of Sturmgever 44 Hugo Schmeisser
Not without its shortcomings. The assault rifle was heavier than the Mauser-98K by a whole kilogram. Her wooden butt couldn't stand it sometimes hand-to-hand combat and just broke down. The flame escaping from the barrel revealed the location of the shooter, and the long magazine and sighting devices forced him to raise his head high in a prone position.
Sturmgever 44 with IR sight
In total, before the end of the war, German industry produced about 450 thousand StG-44s, which were used mainly by elite SS units.
Machine guns
By the beginning of the 30s, the military leadership of the Wehrmacht came to the need to create a universal machine gun, which, if necessary, could be transformed, for example, from a manual one to an easel one and vice versa. This is how a series of machine guns was born - MG - 34, 42, 45.
German machine gunner with MG-42
The 7.92 mm MG-42 is rightly called one of the best machine guns of World War II. It was developed at Grossfus by engineers Werner Gruner and Kurt Horn. Those who experienced its firepower were very outspoken. Our soldiers called it a “lawn mower,” and the allies called it “Hitler’s circular saw.”
Depending on the type of bolt, the machine gun fired accurately at a speed of up to 1500 rpm at a range of up to 1 km. Ammunition was supplied using a machine gun belt with 50 - 250 rounds of ammunition. The uniqueness of the MG-42 was complemented by a relatively small number of parts - 200 - and the high technology of their production using stamping and spot welding.
The barrel, hot from shooting, was replaced with a spare one in a few seconds using a special clamp. In total, about 450 thousand machine guns were produced. The unique technical developments embodied in the MG-42 were borrowed by gunsmiths from many countries around the world when creating their machine guns.
Content
Based on materials from techcult
MP 38, MP 38/40, MP 40 (abbreviated from German Maschinenpistole) - various modifications of the submachine gun of the German company Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA), developed by Heinrich Vollmer based on the earlier MP 36. Were in service with the Wehrmacht During the Second World War.
The MP 40 was a modification of the MP 38 submachine gun, which, in turn, was a modification of the MP 36 submachine gun, which was combat tested in Spain. The MP 40, like the MP 38, was intended primarily for tankers, motorized infantry, paratroopers and infantry platoon commanders. Later, towards the end of the war, it began to be used by German infantry on a relatively large scale, although it was not widespread.//
Initially, the infantry was against the folding stock, as it reduced the accuracy of fire; as a result, gunsmith Hugo Schmeisser, who worked for C.G. Haenel, a competitor to the Erma, created a modification MP 41, combining the main mechanisms of the MP 40 with a wooden stock and trigger, made in the image of the MP28 previously developed by Hugo Schmeisser himself. However, this version was not widely used and was not produced for long (about 26 thousand units were produced)
The Germans themselves very pedantically name their weapons according to the indices assigned to them. In special Soviet literature during the Great Patriotic War, they were also quite correctly identified as MP 38, MP 40 and MP 41, and MP28/II was designated by the name of its creator, Hugo Schmeisser. In the Western literature on small arms, published in 1940-1945, all then German submachine guns immediately received the common name “Schmeisser system”. The term stuck.
With the onset of 1940, when the Army General Staff ordered the development of new weapons, MP 40s began to be received in large quantities by riflemen, cavalrymen, drivers, tank units and staff officers. The needs of the troops were now more satisfied, although not completely.
Contrary to popular belief imposed by feature films, where German soldiers“watered” from the MP 40 with continuous fire “from the hip”, the fire was usually conducted in targeted short bursts of 3-4 shots with the extended butt resting on the shoulder (except for cases when it was necessary to create a high density of unaimed fire in combat at the closest distances) .
Characteristics:
Weight, kg: 5 (with 32 rounds)
Length, mm: 833/630 with stock extended/folded
Barrel length, mm: 248
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum
Caliber, mm: 9
Rate of fire
shots/min: 450-500
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 380
Sighting range, m: 150
Maximum
range, m: 180 (effective)
Type of ammunition: box magazine for 32 rounds
Sight: non-adjustable open at 100 m, with a folding stand at 200 m
Due to Hitler's reluctance to begin production of a new class of weapons, development was carried out under the designation MP-43. The first samples of MP-43 were successfully tested on the Eastern Front against Soviet troops, and in 1944, more or less mass production of a new type of weapon began, but under the name MP-44. After the results of successful frontal tests were presented to Hitler and approved by him, the nomenclature of the weapon was again changed, and the model received the final designation StG.44 ("sturm gewehr" - assault rifle).
The disadvantages of the MP-44 include the excessively large mass of weapons, too high sights, which is why when shooting while lying down, the shooter had to raise his head too high. Shortened magazines for 15 and 20 rounds were even developed for the MP-44. In addition, the butt mount was not strong enough and could be destroyed in hand-to-hand combat. Overall, the MP-44 was quite a good example, providing effective fire with single shots at a range of up to 600 meters and automatic fire at a range of up to 300 meters. In total, taking into account all modifications, about 450,000 copies of MP-43, MP-44 and StG 44 were produced in 1942 - 1943 and, with the end of the 2nd World War, its production ended, but it remained until the mid-50s of the twentieth century. 19th century was in service with the police of the GDR and the airborne troops of Yugoslavia...
Characteristics:
Caliber, mm 7.92
The cartridge used is 7.92x33
Initial bullet speed, m/s 650
Weight, kg 5.22
Length, mm 940
Barrel length, mm 419
Magazine capacity, 30 rounds
Rate of fire, v/m 500
Sighting range, m 600
MG 42 (German: Maschinengewehr 42) - German single machine gun from the Second World War. Developed by Metall und Lackierwarenfabrik Johannes Grossfuss AG in 1942...
By the beginning of World War II, the Wehrmacht had the MG-34, created in the early 1930s, as its only machine gun. For all its advantages, it had two serious drawbacks: firstly, it turned out to be quite sensitive to contamination of mechanisms; secondly, it was too labor-intensive and expensive to produce, which did not make it possible to satisfy the ever-increasing needs of the troops for machine guns.
Adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1942. Production of the MG-42 continued in Germany until the end of the war, and the total production was at least 400,000 machine guns...
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 11.57
Length, mm: 1220
Cartridge: 7.92×57 mm
Caliber, mm: 7.92
Operating principles: Short barrel stroke
Rate of fire
shots/min: 900–1500 (depending on the bolt used)
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 790-800
Sighting range, m: 1000
Type of ammunition: machine gun belt for 50 or 250 rounds
Years of operation: 1942–1959
Walther P38 (Walter P38) is a German self-loading pistol of 9 mm caliber. Developed by Karl Walter Waffenfabrik. It was adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1938. Over time, it replaced the Luger-Parabellum pistol (although not completely) and became the most popular pistol in the German army. It was produced not only on the territory of the Third Reich, but also on the territory of Belgium and occupied Czechoslovakia. The P38 was also popular with the Red Army and allies as a good trophy and a weapon for close combat. After the war, the production of weapons in Germany at long term was discontinued. Only in 1957 did the production of this pistol resume in Germany. It was supplied to the Bundeswehr under the P-1 brand (P-1, P - short for German “pistole” - “pistol”).
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 0.8
Length, mm: 216
Barrel length, mm: 125
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum
Caliber, mm: 9 mm
Operating principles: short barrel stroke
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 355
Sighting range, m: ~50
Type of ammunition: magazine for 8 rounds
The Luger pistol (“Luger”, “Parabellum”, German Pistole 08, Parabellumpistole) is a pistol developed in 1900 by Georg Luger based on the ideas of his teacher Hugo Borchardt. Therefore, the Parabellum is often called the Luger-Borchardt pistol.
Complex and expensive to manufacture, the Parabellum was nevertheless distinguished by fairly high reliability, and for its time was an advanced weapon system. The main advantage of the Parabellum was its very high shooting accuracy, achieved due to the comfortable “anatomical” handle and easy (almost sporty) trigger...
Hitler's rise to power led to the rearmament of the German army; All restrictions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were ignored. This allowed Mauser to resume active production of Luger pistols with a barrel length of 98 mm and grooves on the handle for attaching an attached holster-stock. Already in the early 1930s, designers of the Mauser weapons company began working on the creation of several versions of the Parabellum, including special model for the needs of the secret police of the Weimar Republic. But the new model R-08 with an expansion muffler was no longer received by the German Ministry of Internal Affairs, but by its successor, created on the basis of the SS organization of the Nazi party - RSHA. In the thirties and forties, these weapons were in service with the German intelligence services: the Gestapo, SD and military intelligence - the Abwehr. On par with creation special pistols based on the P-08, the Third Reich at that time also carried out structural modifications of the Parabellum. Thus, by order of the police, a version of the P-08 was created with a bolt delay, which did not allow the bolt to move forward when the magazine was removed.
During preparations for a new war, with the aim of concealing the real manufacturer, Mauser-Werke A.G. began to apply special marks to her weapons. Previously, in 1934-1941, Luger pistols were marked “S/42”, which was replaced by the “byf” code in 1942. It existed until the production of these weapons by the Oberndorf company was completed in December 1942. In total, during the Second World War, the Wehrmacht received 1.355 million pistols of this brand.
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 0.876 (weight with loaded magazine)
Length, mm: 220
Barrel length, mm: 98-203
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum,
7.65mm Luger, 7.65x17mm and others
Caliber, mm: 9
Operating principles: recoil of the barrel during its short stroke
Rate of fire
rounds/min: 32-40 (combat)
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 350-400
Sighting range, m: 50
Type of ammunition: box magazine with a capacity of 8 rounds (or drum magazine with a capacity of 32 rounds)
Sight: Open sight
Flammenwerfer 35 (FmW.35) is a German portable backpack flamethrower of the 1934 model, adopted for service in 1935 (in Soviet sources - “Flammenwerfer 34”).
Unlike the bulky backpack flamethrowers previously in service with the Reichswehr, which were serviced by a crew of two or three specially trained soldiers, the Flammenwerfer 35 flamethrower, whose loaded weight did not exceed 36 kg, could be carried and used by just one person.
To use the weapon, the flamethrower, pointing the fire hose towards the target, turned on the igniter located at the end of the barrel, opened the nitrogen supply valve, and then the supply of the combustible mixture.
Having passed through the fire hose, the flammable mixture, pushed out by the force of compressed gas, ignited and reached a target located at a distance of up to 45 m.
Electric ignition, first used in the design of a flamethrower, made it possible to arbitrarily regulate the duration of shots and made it possible to fire about 35 shots. The duration of operation with continuous supply of a combustible mixture was 45 seconds.
Despite the possibility of using a flamethrower by one person, in battle he was always accompanied by one or two infantrymen who covered the actions of the flamethrower with small arms, giving him the opportunity to quietly approach the target at a distance of 25-30 m.
The initial stage of World War II revealed a number of shortcomings that significantly reduced the possibility of using this effective weapon. The main one (besides the fact that a flamethrower that appeared on the battlefield became the primary target of enemy snipers and shooters) was the rather significant mass of the flamethrower, which reduced maneuverability and increased the vulnerability of the infantry units armed with it...
Flamethrowers were in service with sapper units: each company had three backpack flamethrower Flammenwerfer 35, which could be combined into small flamethrower squads used as part of assault groups.
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 36
Crew (crew): 1
Sighting range, m: 30
Maximum
range, m: 40
Type of ammunition: 1 fuel cylinder
1 gas cylinder (nitrogen)
Sight: no
Gerat Potsdam (V.7081) and Gerat Neum?nster (Volks-MP 3008) represent more or less exact copy English submachine gun "Stan".
Initially, the leadership of the Wehrmacht and the SS troops rejected the proposal to use captured English Stan submachine guns, which had accumulated in significant quantities in Wehrmacht warehouses. The reasons for this attitude were the primitive design and short sighting range of this weapon. However, a shortage of automatic weapons forced the Germans to use Stans in 1943–1944. for arming SS troops fighting partisans in German-occupied territories. In 1944, in connection with the creation of the Volks-Storm, it was decided to establish production of Stans in Germany. At the same time, the primitive design of these submachine guns was already considered a positive factor.
Like their English counterpart, the Neumünster and Potsdam submachine guns produced in Germany were intended to engage manpower at ranges of up to 90–100 m. They consist of a small number of main parts and mechanisms that can be manufactured in small enterprises and handicraft workshops.
9mm Parabellum cartridges are used to fire submachine guns. The same cartridges are also used in English Stans. This coincidence is not accidental: when creating “Stan” in 1940, the German MP-40 was taken as the basis. Ironically, 4 years later the production of Stans began at German factories. A total of 52 thousand Volkssturmgever rifles and Potsdam and Neumünster submachine guns were produced.
Performance characteristics:
Caliber, mm 9
Initial bullet speed, m/sec 365–381
Weight, kg 2.95–3.00
Length, mm 787
Barrel length, mm 180, 196 or 200
Magazine capacity, 32 rounds
Rate of fire, rds/min 540
Practical rate of fire, rds/min 80–90
Sighting range, m 200
Steyr-Solothurn S1-100, also known as MP30, MP34, MP34(ts), BMK 32, m/938 and m/942, is a submachine gun developed on the basis of the experimental German Rheinmetall MP19 submachine gun of the Louis Stange system. It was produced in Austria and Switzerland and was widely offered for export. The S1-100 is often considered one of the best submachine guns of the interwar period...
After World War I, the production of submachine guns like the MP-18 was banned in Germany. However, in violation of the Treaties of Versailles, a number of experimental submachine guns were secretly developed, among which was the MP19 created by Rheinmetall-Borsig. Its production and sale under the name Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 were organized through the Zurich company Steyr-Solothurn Waffen AG, controlled by Rheinmetall-Borzig, the production itself was located in Switzerland and, mainly, Austria.
It had an exceptionally high-quality design - all the main parts were made by milling from steel forgings, which gave it great strength, high weight and a fantastic cost, thanks to which this sample received the fame of “Rolls-Royce among PP”. The receiver had a lid that hinged upwards and forwards, making disassembling the weapon for cleaning and maintenance very simple and convenient.
In 1934, this model was adopted by the Austrian army for limited service under the designation Steyr MP34, and in a version chambered for the very powerful 9×25 mm Mauser Export cartridge; In addition, there were export options for all the main military pistol cartridges of that time - 9×19 mm Luger, 7.63×25 mm Mauser, 7.65×21 mm, .45 ACP. The Austrian police were armed with the Steyr MP30, a variant of the same weapon chambered for the 9×23 mm Steyr cartridge. In Portugal it was in service as the m/938 (in 7.65 mm caliber) and m/942 (9 mm), and in Denmark as the BMK 32.
The S1-100 fought in Chaco and Spain. After the Anschluss in 1938, this model was purchased for the needs of the Third Reich and was in service under the name MP34(ts) (Machinenpistole 34 Tssterreich). It was used by the Waffen SS, logistics units and police. This submachine gun even managed to take part in the Portuguese colonial wars of the 1960s - 1970s in Africa.
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 3.5 (without magazine)
Length, mm: 850
Barrel length, mm: 200
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum
Caliber, mm: 9
Operating principles: blowback
Rate of fire
shots/min: 400
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 370
Sighting range, m: 200
Type of ammunition: box magazine for 20 or 32 rounds
WunderWaffe 1 – Vampire Vision
The Sturmgewehr 44 was the first assault rifle, similar to the modern M-16 and Kalashnikov AK-47. Snipers could use the ZG 1229, also known as the "Vampire Code", also in night conditions, due to its infrared night vision device. It has been used for last months war.
Developed by Wertchod Gipel and Heinrich Vollmer at the Erma plant (Erfurter Werkzeug und Maschinenfabrik), the MP-38 is better known as the "Schmeisser", in fact, weapons designer Hugo Schmeisser was responsible for the development of the MP-38 and Mr 40 German Wehrmacht machine gun of World War II war photos, has no relation. In literary publications of the time, all German submachine guns were mentioned as being based on " Schmeisser system" Most likely this is where the confusion came from. Well, then our cinema got down to business, and crowds of German soldiers, all armed with MP 40 machine guns, went for a walk on the screens, which has nothing to do with reality. At the beginning of the invasion of the USSR, about 200,000 thousand MP.38/40 were manufactured (the figure is not at all impressive). And during all the years of the war total production amounted to about 1 million barrels; for comparison, PPSh-41s were produced in 1942 alone, more than 1.5 million.
German submachine gun MP 38/40
So who armed the pistol with the MP-40 machine gun? The official order for adoption dates back to the 40th year. Armed infantrymen, cavalrymen, tank and armored vehicle crews, drivers vehicle staff officers and several other categories of military personnel. The same order introduced the standard ammunition load of six magazines (192 rounds). In mechanized troops there are 1536 rounds of ammunition per crew.
incomplete disassembly of the MP40 machine gun
Here we need to go a little into the background history of creation. Even today, more than 70 years after the end of the war, the MP-18 is a classic automatic weapon. Caliber chambered for a pistol cartridge, operating principle - blowback. The cartridge's reduced charge meant that it was relatively easy to hold, even while firing in full-automatic mode, whereas lightweight hand-fired weapons were nearly impossible to control when firing in bursts using a full-size cartridge.
DEVELOPMENTS BETWEEN WARS
After military depots with the MP-18 went to the French army, the pistol was replaced with a 20- or 32-round box magazine, inserted on the left, with a “disc” (“snail”) magazine similar to the Lugger magazine. 
MP-18 with snail magazine
The 9 mm MP-34/35 pistol, developed by the Bergman brothers in Denmark, was very similar in appearance on MP-28. In 1934, its production was established in Germany. Large stocks of these weapons, made by the Junker und Ruh A6 plant in Karlsruhe, went to the Waffen SS.
SS man with MP-28
Until the very beginning of the war, machine guns remained special weapons, used primarily by secret units.
A very revealing photo of the weapons of the SS sd and police units from left to right Suomi MP-41 and MP-28
With the outbreak of hostilities, it became clear that this was a uniquely convenient weapon for universal use, so it was necessary to plan the production of a large number of new weapons. This requirement was met in a revolutionary way by a new weapon - the MP-38 assault rifle.
German infantryman with an mp38\40 machine gun
Not much different mechanically from other automatic pistols of the period, the MP-38 did not have the well-made wooden stock and intricate details inherent in automatic weapons of earlier designs. It was made from stamped metal parts and plastic. It was the first automatic weapon equipped with a folding metal stock, which reduced its length from 833 mm to 630 mm and made the machine an ideal weapon for paratroopers and vehicle crews.
Photo of a German MP38 assault rifle in service with the Wehrmacht
The machine gun had a protrusion under the barrel, nicknamed the “rest plate,” which made it possible to conduct automatic fire through machine loopholes and embrasures, without fear that vibrations would move the barrel to the side. Due to the sharp sound made when firing, the MP-38/40 assault rifle earned the inelegant nickname “belching machine gun.”
German soldier with MP 40
Design disadvantages: Mr 40 German Wehrmacht machine gun of the Second World War photo
mp-40 German machine gun of the Second World War
The MP-38 entered production, and soon, during the 1939 campaign in Poland, it became clear that the weapon had dangerous flaw. When cocking the hammer, the bolt could easily fall forward, unexpectedly initiating shooting. An improvised way out of the situation was a leather collar, which was put on the barrel and kept the weapon cocked. At the factory, the easiest way was to make a special “delay” for safety in the form of a folding bolt on the bolt handle, which could be pinched by a recess on the receiver, which would prevent any forward movement of the bolt.
The soldiers were colder than the MP 40 machine gun
The weapon of this modification received the designation “ MP-38/40».
The desire to reduce production costs led to the MP-40. In this new weapon, the number of parts requiring processing on metal-cutting machines was reduced to a minimum, and stamping and welding were used wherever possible. The production of many parts of the machine gun and the assembly of the machine gun were located in Germany at the Erma, Gaenl and Steyr factories, as well as in factories in the occupied countries.
soldier armed with a submachine gun MP 38-40
The manufacturer can be identified by the code stamping on the back of the bolt box: “ayf” or “27” means “Erma”, “bbnz” or “660” - “Steyr”, “fxo” - “Gaenl”. At the beginning of World War II, slightly less MP38 assault rifles were produced 9000 things.
stamping on the back of the bolt: "ayf" or "27" means Erma production
This weapon was well received by German soldiers, and the machine gun was also popular among Allied soldiers when it was given to them as a trophy. But he was far from perfect: while fighting in Russia, soldiers armed MP-40 assault rifle , found that Soviet soldiers armed with a PPSh-41 assault rifle with a 71-round disc magazine were stronger than them in battle.
Often German soldiers used captured PPSh-41 weapons
Not only did Soviet weapons have greater firepower, they were simpler and proved to be more reliable in field conditions. Bearing in mind problems with firepower, Erma introduced the MP-40/1 assault rifle at the end of 1943. The assault rifle had a special configuration that included two disc magazines with 30 rounds each, placed side by side. When one ran out, the soldier simply moved the second magazine in place of the first. Although this solution increased the capacity to 60 rounds, it made the machine heavier, weighing up to 5.4 kg. The MP-40 was also produced with a wooden stock. Under the designation MP-41, it was used by paramilitary militarized forces and police units.
In war as in war
By the end of the war, more than one million MP-40 assault rifles were produced. It was reported that communist partisans used the MP-40 to shoot the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, taking him prisoner in 1945. After the war, the machine gun was used by the French and remained in service with Norwegian Army AFV crews in the 1980s.
Shooting from MP-40, no one shoots from the hip
With the front line approaching for Germany, under pressure from both the East and the West, the need for simple, easy-to-manufacture weapons became critical. The answer to the request was MP-3008. A weapon very familiar to British troops is the modified Sten Mk 1 SMG. The main difference was that the store was placed vertically down. The MP-3008 assault rifle weighed 2.95 kg, and the Sten - 3.235 kg.
The German "Sten" had a muzzle velocity of 381 m/s and a rate of fire of 500 rounds/min. They produced about 10,000 MP-3008 assault rifles and used them against the advancing Allies.
MP-3008 is a modified Sten Mk 1 SMG for manufacturability
The Erma EMR-44 is a rather crude, crude weapon made of sheet steel and pipes. The ingenious design, which used a 30-round magazine from the MP-40, was not put into mass production.
During the Second World War, a lot of new weapons were invented, tested and used, some of which are still very famous. But there were also weapons that did not achieve the glory they deserved. Below are some weapons you probably haven't heard of. We will not talk about developments, but about directly used weapons
V-1, V-2 and V-3 (V-3 is also called “Centipede” and “English Cannon”) are Nazi projects under the general name “Weapons of Vengeance”. The V-3 was a huge artillery piece built on a hill and could, from France, bombard London across the English Channel. The gun had a total length of 124 m, and the gun barrel consisted of 32 sections with a length of 4.48 m; each section had two charging chambers located along the barrel and at an angle to it. During testing in May 1944, the gun showed a firing range of 88 kilometers, and during tests in July 1944, the projectile flight was 93 kilometers. Two V-3 guns were built, and only one of them was used in practice. From January 11 to February 22, 1945, approximately 183 rounds were fired. The target was Luxembourg, recently liberated from the Nazis. But the weapon only demonstrated its ineffectiveness. 143 shells reached the target, with which, fortunately, only 10 people were killed and 35 were wounded.
Super-heavy railway artillery guns "Dora" and "Gustav"
The Nazis definitely had an obsession with big guns. These two 807 mm guns were simply gigantic. And in fact, these were the most big guns in the world. Each of them could only be transported in parts, then they had to be assembled and installed on pre-prepared platforms - all these procedures required about 4,000 people. The Nazis launched a full-fledged anti-aircraft regiment to protect the guns, and special forces protected them from partisans. Only "Gustav" was used in action. This gun fired 42 rounds during the siege of Sevastopol in 1942. Destructive force its huge shells (each weighing 4800 kg) were enough to destroy an ammunition depot, which was protected by a 30-meter rock. There were plans to use rockets with this weapon, which could hit targets at a distance of 145 kilometers. Weapons expert Alexander Lüdecke called the guns a "technological masterpiece" but also said they were a "waste of manpower and materials."
Rat bombs
After France's surrender, Winston Churchill vowed to "set Europe on fire." After this, British special agents adopted various disguised explosive devices that would surprise even James Bond. The bombs were disguised as soap, shoes, bottles of wine, suitcases and even rats.
Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka
To increase the effectiveness of kamikazes, the Japanese launched the Ohka in 1944, a projectile aircraft flown by a suicide pilot. This jet, specially designed for kamikazes, was equipped with 1.2-ton warheads. These aircraft were transported by a Mitsubishi G4M bomber. When the target came within range, the Ohka would separate from the bomber, the pilot would fly as close to the target as possible, then launch jet engines and with enormous speed crashed into the designated target. The troops of the anti-Hitler coalition quickly learned to neutralize bombers before the projectile aircraft separated from them, which negated their effectiveness. But still, one case was recorded when Ohka sank an American destroyer.
Soviet anti-tank dogs
When our troops were in extremely difficult situations on the Eastern Front, we had to look for new and desperate means of combat - including the use of so-called anti-tank dogs. These dogs were specially trained to deliver a bomb to the desired target, activate it with their mouths and run back. Unfortunately, very rarely the dogs were able to correctly carry out the required tasks, so a more primitive strategy had to be used - simply blowing up the dogs. These suicide dogs were trained to find food at the bottom of the tank. Therefore, they were deliberately kept hungry, 12-kilogram bombs were tied to them and released on the necessary targets. They ran up to the tanks, trying to find food, unaware of their future fate. When the dog ran under the bottom of the tank, the bomb was activated by a fixed lever that struck the tank. Thus, the dogs performed their tasks quite effectively, so some Germans made it a habit to shoot at any dogs in sight. During the war, our army used about 40 thousand dogs to perform military tasks. According to undocumented estimates, about 300 enemy tanks were destroyed in this way.
Hobart's "Toys": In preparation for the Allied landings in Normandy, quite a lot of unusual equipment was developed, some of which were named after military expert Percy Hobart. Here are some examples of such equipment - Sherman Crab
AVRE Bridgelayer
Radio controlled bomb FritzXRuhustahlSD 1400
This bomb was intended to destroy heavily armored naval targets and was developed from the SD 1400 armor-piercing bomb, but featured improved aerodynamics, four 1.3-meter wings and a tail section. But the bomb had to be dropped directly over the target, which created an additional threat to the bomber. This was a very formidable weapon against the anti-Hitler coalition. On September 9, 1943, the Germans dropped several of these bombs on the battleship Roma, sinking it with 1,455 people on board. These bombs also sank the British cruiser Spartan, the destroyer Janus, the light cruiser Newfoundland and damaged many other ships. In total, about two thousand of these bombs were produced, but about 200 were used. The big problem was that the bombs could only fall strictly vertically, which created difficulties for the bombers, who suffered heavy losses.
Guided aerial bomb HenschelHs 293
This bomb was one of the most effective in World War II, and was used to sink and damage many destroyers and merchant ships. After the release, the rocket accelerator accelerated the bomb for 10 seconds, then the planning stage began towards the target, using radio command control. A beacon was installed on the bomb's tail so that the gunner could monitor its location and flight, both day and night. It was first used in August 1943, sinking the British sloop Egret. Towards the end of the war, the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition learned to intercept its radio frequencies and interfere with radio control, which significantly reduced the effectiveness of these bombs. Non-rotating projectiles This is one of those ideas that looks good on paper but turns out to be terrible in practice. Non-rotating shells were a British invention, anti-aircraft launchers that fired shells that burst in the air and released parachutes and wire with small bombs on the ends. The idea was to create a small air minefield. The plane caught on the wires, attracted bombs, and they exploded. The problem is that strong winds could blow this trap away. the right place(for example back to the salvo installation). But despite this, this weapon was used quite widely in the first days of the war.
Midget submarines
These tiny four-person submarines, invented by the Italians, could sail distances of up to 2 thousand kilometers, dive to a depth of 100 meters and sail at speeds of up to 6 knots. The displacement of such submarines was only 30 tons. They only had one hatch, which created big problems in emergency situations.
Self-propelled mine "Goliath"
Such devices were first used by the Germans in 1942 to deliver 75-kilogram bombs to targets (most often tanks, dense concentrations of infantry, bridges or buildings). The wedge was controlled by wire at a distance and exploded when approaching the target. 4,600 of these self-propelled mines were manufactured, including an enlarged version that could carry 100-kilogram bombs. Unfortunately for the Germans, these devices were very slow, poorly controlled, and had a low carrying capacity. But this idea itself was clearly ahead of its time. “Goliaths” are a kind of predecessors of some modern robots, but at that time the technology for them was simply not sufficiently developed.
War almost always takes you by surprise and immediately requires a lot of weapons. And the civilian rear begins their military work, performing a task that is impossible for peacetime: under tight deadlines, a shortage of materials and equipment, with general decline qualifications of workers “forging weapons of victory.” The Great Patriotic War was no exception in this sense. And in the difficult, catastrophic first year of the war, its main striking force - the infantry - still received its rifles and machine guns.
Weapon system
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the small arms system of the Red Army generally corresponded to the conditions of that time and consisted of the following types of weapons: personal (pistol and revolver), individual weapons of rifle and cavalry units (magazine rifle and carbine, self-loading and automatic rifles), sniper weapons ( magazine and self-loading sniper rifles), individual weapons of submachine gunners (submachine gun), collective weapons of rifle and cavalry squads and platoons (light machine gun), machine gun units (heavy machine guns), anti-aircraft small arms(quadruple machine gun mounts and heavy machine guns), small arms of tanks (tank machine gun). In addition, they were armed with hand grenades and rifle grenade launchers. Based on the above list, we can conclude that the existing types of weapons met the needs of various branches of the military. But in reality it turned out differently and, despite the variety of types of samples, it was clear even to a non-specialist that some of them solved absolutely similar problems: 2 samples of personal weapons, 4 samples of individual weapons, 2 sniper rifles, 2 heavy machine guns. The samples recently put into production and poorly tested in service had to be duplicated with old ones, proven by combat practice.
On the eve of the war, the army was in a state of reorganization and rearmament, as can be seen from the plan of military orders for 1941: 1,800,000 rifles (of which 1,100,000 self-loading), 160,000 Nagan revolvers and 140,000 pistols, 200,000 submachine guns Shpagina, 3,000 Maxim machine guns, 39,000 DP and DT machine guns, 4,000 DShK machine guns. As for the rearmament of the infantry with automatic weapons, which was given much attention at that time, it can be judged by the following figures: as of June 1941, in the Kiev Special Military District, rifle formations had from 100 to 128% of the staff light machine guns, submachine guns up to 35%, anti-aircraft machine guns 56% of the staff. As you can see, there were very few anti-aircraft weapons and submachine guns. But there were virtually no infantry anti-tank close combat weapons.
The beginning of the war, as is known, was associated with extremely large losses in personnel and weapons. The loss of weapons in the Red Army for June-December 1941 was: rifles and carbines 5,547,000, pistols and revolvers 454,100, submachine guns 98,700, light machine guns 135,700, heavy machine guns 53,700, 12, 7- mm 600 machine guns. These were the largest losses of weapons during the entire war, and a significant part of them remained on the battlefield in usable condition. But during the rapid retreat, when in some areas they fought stubbornly, and in others the retreat turned into flight and surrender, the troops simply did not have time to assemble and repair weapons. The collection service for weapons, including captured weapons, had to be established during the war. And in the first period of the war, the absence of such a gathering had a very negative impact, especially during a powerful counter-offensive near Moscow.
The rifles and carbines (1,567,141), submachine guns (89,665) and machine guns (106,200) produced in the first six months did not cover the losses.
The People's Commissariat for Armaments (NKV) under the leadership of the youngest People's Commissar D.F. Ustinova then carried out great and difficult work to expand military production both at existing weapons factories and among civilian enterprises transferred “to a military footing.” Thus, the main manufacturer of PPSh was the former bobbin factory in the city of Vyatskie Polyany. In addition to this plant, PPSh were also produced at Moscow plants, including ZIS, as well as in Tbilisi and even in Tehran (since 1942, several tens of thousands of PPSh were supplied from Iran to the Red Army); trunks for them were supplied from Izhevsk. The main production of DP light machine guns remained at the plant named after. K.O. Kirkizh in Kovrov, but already in 1942 it was duplicated in the city of Stalinsk (now Novokuznetsk) and in Leningrad, production of DShK in Kuibyshev. In the same year, production of Maxims, in addition to the Tula arms and machine-building plants, was organized in Zlatoust and Izhevsk (on the basis of the Motorcycle Plant). SVT production was evacuated from Tula to the city of Mednogorsk.
As you know, weapons production is one of the most metal-intensive, therefore it is customary for weapons factories to develop their own metallurgy and forging and press production. This specificity played a special role in wartime, since the mobilization readiness of arms factories ensured not only their own increase in production, but also the rapid repurposing of civilian industrial enterprises. In addition, the rapid production of weapons in wartime was facilitated by the successful pre-war development of the metallurgical industry and machine tool industry in general, as well as the extensive training of engineering and technical personnel. Separately, it is worth mentioning the technologies of mass production, borrowed from other industries. They made it possible not only to save materials in the weapons industry, but also to reduce some of the requirements for workers’ qualifications during cold stamping of parts from steel sheets, barrel burnishing, and spot welding. And yet the quality of processing had to be sacrificed. The finishing treatment of the external surfaces of parts not involved in the operation of automation and the varnishing of wooden parts were canceled (this was the path, we note, followed by the arms industry of all the warring states). The operating time of the weapon was also reduced, and its supply of spare parts and accessories was significantly reduced. So, for a DP light machine gun, for example, instead of 22 discs, 12 were attached.
In total, during the war years, Soviet industry produced about 13 million rifles, 6.1 million submachine guns, 1.7 million pistols and revolvers, 1.5 million machine guns of all types, 471.8 thousand anti-tank rifles. For comparison, in Germany over the same period, 8.5 million rifles and carbines, 1 million submachine guns, and 1 million machine guns were produced.
War always accelerates the development and introduction of new models. Front-line experience and data on enemy tactics and weapons were analyzed in detail and became the basis for new tasks for developers. Such a " Feedback"strongly stimulates the development of weapons. During the war, 6 new and 3 modernized models of small arms, 7 models of grenades were adopted. Testing of new models took place not only at the scientific testing ground for small arms and mortar weapons in Shchurovo and at the training ground for the “Vystrel” course, but also directly at the fronts. To work in authorities State Committee The Defense and NKV attracted prominent scientists and engineers. Thus, the most authoritative specialist V.G. Fedorov in 1942-1946 worked first as a consultant and then as deputy chairman of the technical council of the NKV.
Twice during the war the Red Army was actually rearmed - at the end of 1941 and the beginning of 1942, when the losses of the first half of the war were made up, and in 1943 - 1944, when new types of weapons were supplied to the army in increasing quantities.
The need for ammunition also grew sharply, especially since a significant part of their reserves was lost in the very first months (the Western Front, for example, by July 10, 1941, lost it was lost, not used up according to some sources, 67,410,500 rifle cartridges ).
In 1942, the output of cartridges amounted to 136% of the output of 1940, and in 1945 224%. Such production rates are largely explained by the fact that the scarce brass in the manufacture of cartridges was replaced by steel and bimetals. Steel was also replaced by lead in bullet cores. The bullets began to be called “surrogated”. The introduction of automatic rotary machines by L.N. also played an important role. Koshkina.
In general, the enterprises of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition produced 22.7 billion pieces of cartridges of all types, about 138 million anti-personnel and 21 million anti-tank grenades. The consumption of cartridges can be judged from the following data from the State Autonomous Administration: in 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, 500 million cartridges of all types were spent, the same amount in 50 days Battle of Kursk, for the Berlin operation 390 million.
Allied supplies under Lend-Lease in terms of small arms were very small - 151,700 “barrels”. It can be said that the Red Army used significantly more captured small arms than those supplied under Lend-Lease. True, American and British small arms were also supplied complete with tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft, and in this capacity they were used more widely than infantry weapons themselves. The most significant assistance of Lend-Lease in this industry, perhaps, was the supply of gunpowder, scarce metals and industrial equipment.
About new infantry tactics
The 1942 Infantry Combat Manual (BUP-42), which embodied the experience of the war, stated: “Fire, maneuver and hand-to-hand combat are the main methods of infantry action.” The infantry achieved fire superiority over the enemy primarily by increasing the density of rifle and machine gun fire and mortar fire. If in August 1941 the German infantry division was three times superior to the Soviet rifle division in the total number of submachine guns and machine guns, and twice as many in mortars (and also had 1.55 times more personnel), then by the beginning of 1943 this number approximately equal. At the beginning of 1945, an ordinary Soviet rifle division was approximately twice as superior to the German infantry both in submachine guns and machine guns, and in mortars, with approximately equal numbers of personnel (the change in the ratio of various types of small arms in the main unit, the rifle company, can be seen from the table presented).
The first months of the war showed that most mid- and junior-level commanders had little idea of how to organize and control fire in battle. Already at the end of 1941, the People's Commissar of Defense ordered the management of the Vystrel courses to train 1,000 rifle battalion commanders who would know tactics modern combat, knew how to lead a battalion in battle and owned all the standard weapons of the battalion. This release took place in February 1942.
The war required a revision of the infantry training system and its tactics. It was necessary to abandon the division of the battle formation into “fettering” and “shock” groups: now the striking force of the attack was ensured by the participation of the entire unit and its weapons, and the stability of the defense was given by the fire of all fire weapons. In addition, maneuver and fire control were simplified for the commander. The basis of the battle formation in the attack again became the chain; To suppress the enemy, fire was used on the move with rough aiming at objects or lines. Attacking with tanks and self-propelled guns (self-propelled artillery installations), infantry often moved on their armor.
Since 1942, when storming fortifications and in urban battles, assault groups and detachments were widely used, in which riflemen, submachine gunners, machine gunners, armor-piercers, sappers, chemists (with flamethrowers and smoke agents), mortar crews and anti-tank guns worked together.
Since the battle became more mobile, greater mobility was expected from the infantry. It is no coincidence that since the beginning of 1942, demands have been put forward to lighten various types of small arms.
During the course of the war, both the Soviet and German armies gradually moved to a trench defense system, to the creation of strong strongholds and adaptation settlements to a perimeter defense. Moreover, the main task in such a defense system was to ensure “multi-layered” fire and rapid maneuvering of fire weapons.
Separately, it should be said about this important indicator, like the density of fire. Before the war, the Red Army considered the necessary density of rifle and machine-gun fire in defense to be 5 bullets per minute per 1 linear meter of front. In July 1941, when the defense had to be carried out on a wide front, the average fire density did not exceed 2.5 bullets per 1 meter. In December 1942 it increased to 3.9 bullets, and in December 1944 to 7.6 bullets. By maneuvering fire weapons, it was possible to achieve greater densities. Thus, in the defensive operation near Kursk in the summer of 1943, the fire density in some areas reached 8 x 10 bullets per 1 meter. The density of fire and its effectiveness were facilitated by the widespread use of flank, oblique, and cross fire. In addition, in tense moments of the battle, in order to increase the density of fire, the Red Army revived volley fire from riflemen, mainly with magazine rifles. This maneuver also disciplined the fighters and made it easier for the commander to control fire.
If on the eve of the war they tried to increase the range of single and automatic fire, then already in the first few months, when close combat was recognized as the main task of the infantry, the opposite trend appeared - a reduction in the range of fire with an increase in its density at close ranges.
The increasing role of artillery and mortar fire in defeating the enemy, the wider use of tanks, self-propelled guns and attack aircraft reduced the requirements for the firing range of machine guns. The shift of machine-gun fire “backward” made it possible to change the range limits of individual weapons, with the exception of snipers. Thus, BUP-42 established the most favorable firing ranges for a heavy machine gun at 800 x 1,000 m (or better “sudden fire from a distance of 600 m and closer”), for a light machine gun at 800 m, for excellent shooters at 600 m, for all shooters at 400 m.
Shooters and machine gunners
The war gave rise to many new soldier specialties, and even the traditional “specialty” of a marksman was now divided into two: “shooters” with rifles or carbines and “machine gunners” with submachine guns. This division was caused by the different capabilities of the weapons and, as a consequence, by the different tactical uses of the units that were equipped with them.
The rifle with a bayonet remained the main and most popular infantry weapon in all the warring armies (magazine 98 and 98k Mauser in Germany, Type 38 and Type 99 Arisaka in Japan, Mannlicher Carcano models 1938 and 91/38 in Italy, No. 4 Mk I "Lee Enfield" in the UK, self-loading M1 "Garand" and magazine M1903 "Springfield" in the USA). Despite all the advantages of the self-loading rifle, the role of the main weapon in the Red Army remained with the magazine model. 1891/30. This fact is often explained by the fact that the self-loading rifle (SVT) was “bulky, inconvenient and unreliable.” They also say that the failures of the beginning of the war are associated with this rifle. Perhaps these versions are not without foundation, but the weapon, which clearly did not satisfy the troops, would hardly have remained in production until January 1945. True, the volume of this production turned out to be much lower than planned before the war, when self-loading rifles were allocated main role. Be that as it may, from the beginning of 1942 they began to increase the production of repeating rifle mod. 1891/30 and by the summer, for example, at the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant they brought it up to 12 thousand rifles per day. In the same year, the production of repeating rifles and carbines was 13.3 times higher than the production of SVT. The decisive factors in “debunking” the SVT were the complexity of its production and the difficulty of operation, because the majority of infantry personnel had a poor understanding of the technology and did not have time for training. Whereas the good old “three-line” was not only easy to use, but also 2.5 times cheaper to produce. Note that the Germans, who generally widely used captured weapons (especially automatic ones), highly valued captured SVTs, and the design of their G.43 automatic rifle had obvious traces of the influence of SVTs.
In general, the transition to the mass production of repeating rifles and submachine guns, in fact, saved the situation then, made it possible to arm the army and create stockpiles of weapons.
The production of the “three-ruler” also had to be simplified: the receiver was made without top edges, the trigger button was reduced, the brass parts of the device were replaced with steel, the swivels were replaced with slots in the stock, the stocks were made of birch instead of walnut, they were not polished or varnished.
And in May 1942, the Tokarev AVT automatic rifle with a fire safety switch was put into production (in the army, some craftsmen themselves converted the SVT into automatic). It would seem strange: after all, only on the eve of the war they abandoned the production of such a variant. Even then, the operating experience of the ABC-36 showed that even with the most successful weapon system, automatic fire from a rifle chambered in a powerful cartridge with a relatively light barrel and a small weapon weight is ineffective. But the release of the AVT-40 at that moment was associated with a shortage of light machine guns and therefore did not last long.
As for magazine weapons, by the end of the war, preference was increasingly given to the carbine, a more compact weapon (340 mm shorter and 0.4 kg lighter than a rifle), convenient for combat in trenches, in tank landings, and urban combat. The sighting range of the carbine was lower than that of a rifle, but noticeably superior to a submachine gun. True, the carbine arr. 1938 did not have a bayonet for hand-to-hand combat. And although it was obvious that future small arms must necessarily be automatic, at that time it was necessary to proceed from real opportunities and adapt existing weapons to the shooters’ requirements as best as possible.
So, repeating rifle mod. 1891/30 served for a long time military service, until January 1944 before the adoption of the repeating carbine mod. 1944 with an integral folding bayonet N.S. Semina. In the same year, the good old “three-line” was discontinued.
The most accurate
Snipers played an invaluable role during World War II. Their fire had a noticeable impact on the actions of the units. The truth here is simple: the success or failure of companies and platoons often decides the outcome of the entire battle.
World War II sniper rifles were a new generation of sniper weapons. They were still carried out on the basis of “linear” ones, but were manufactured specially, on separate lines and with special precision, and were equipped with optical sights produced according to military standards.
By the beginning of the war, it was planned to equip Soviet snipers with a sniper version of the SVT with optical sight PU. However, the sniper version of the rifle mod. 1891/30, and with the beginning of the war the PU sight was adapted to it. And although the “three-line” as a base for a sniper rifle was less successful than, say, the German “Mauser”, the Soviet sniper rifle proved itself well during the war. Production of the SVT sniper was stopped in October 1942, not to mention the greater complexity in production; this rifle was inferior to the magazine rifle and in terms of accuracy of fire.
Weapons of submachine gunners
During the war, we called submachine guns “machine guns,” and to this day this inaccuracy in the name often causes confusion. The submachine gun took on the role of the main automatic weapon of the Second World War, in general, by accident: being considered an auxiliary weapon before the war, during the war it turned out to be the simplest and most accessible means of increasing the density of fire.
By the beginning of the war, the Red Army had a Degtyarev submachine gun (PPD) of several modifications - mainly it was a PPD mod. 1940 with a 71-round drum magazine and a split stock.
When did G.S. Shpagin proposed a submachine gun made by stamping, many accepted it with skepticism: how can you stamp an automatic weapon, what kind of accuracy can stamping give? Among the doubters was V.A. Degtyarev, but very soon, having appreciated the merits of the idea, he most actively contributed to the adoption of the Shpagin model. PPD, with satisfactory combat qualities, required extensive mechanical processing of parts, and this made it difficult to widely introduce it into the troops. Already at the end of 1940, B.G. submachine guns were tested in comparison with serial PPD-40. Shpitalny and G.S. Shpagina. In terms of combat and production-technological properties, Shpagin’s model turned out to be the best, and on December 21, 1940 it was put into service under the designation “submachine gun mod. 1941 Shpagina (PPSh-41).” In addition to the widespread use of cold stamping and spot welding, the PPSh was distinguished by a very small number of threaded connections and press fits. The weapon turned out to be outwardly crude, but the reduction in labor intensity, metal costs and time made it possible to quickly replenish the loss and increase the saturation of troops with automatic weapons. If in the second half of 1941 submachine guns made up about 46% of all automatic weapons produced, then in the first half of 1942 it was already 80%. By the beginning of 1944, the active units of the Red Army had 26 times more submachine guns than at the beginning of 1942.
When the production conditions were maintained, the PPSh provided both reliable operation and sufficient accuracy. The latter depended to a large extent on its massiveness and muzzle brake-compensator. But the same massiveness, coupled with the bulkiness of the drum magazine, also caused complaints from the troops; with wearable ammunition, the PPSh weighed about 9 kg, and it was not easy to crawl with it and change it.
The modernization of the PPSh at the beginning of 1942 was designed to simplify production. The sector sight, notched up to 500 m, was replaced with a reversible sight up to 200 m; then the fire of submachine guns was ineffective, and the infantry developed the greatest density of fire at ranges up to 200 m. In addition to the drum one, a box magazine (“horn” was adopted in February 1942 ) for 35 rounds, but its widespread use began later. Submachine gunners valued compact, easily replaceable and less rattling “horns” when moving, more than “discs”, and often carried spare “horns” in the pockets of their overcoats, padded jackets, and behind the tops of their boots.
As in the systems of most submachine guns, in the PPSh system the shot was fired from the rear sear. The bolt, released from combat cocking, moved forward, sent the cartridge into the chamber and broke its primer with a hard striker. Hence great danger spontaneous start of firing when dropped or hit, especially if the safety lock is weak or the sear is worn out. The PPSh was disassembled, breaking in half, and when spontaneous openings of the bolt box cover occurred, the recoil spring simply flew out. This was a big drawback.
Almost simultaneously with the modernization of the PPSh, at the beginning of 1942, a competition was announced for a lightweight submachine gun, designed to complement the PPSh in service. New sample it was supposed to weigh no more than 6 x 6.5 kg with ammunition, be convenient for all branches of the military, and also be more technologically advanced. The competition turned out to be one of the most widespread: developers - both famous designers Degtyarev, Shpagin, Korovin, and little-known Menshikov-Shkvornikov, Zaitsev, Goroneskul, Pushkin, Volkov-Chukhmatov - presented up to 30 samples. Many projects came from active army, which in itself showed the relevance of the issue. After the first tests in February and March 1942, the attention of specialists was attracted by the sample of Lieutenant Bezruchko-Vysotsky. But it also needed significant improvement. As a result, the development of this sample was proposed to military engineer III rank A.I. Sudaev, who served at NIPSVO. Upon completion of the work, the participation of Bezruchko-Vysotsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and the merits of Major Sudaev Stalin Prize II degree.
Samples from G.S. reached the finals. Shpagina (PPSh-2) and A.I. Sudaeva. According to the test results in July 1942, the teaching staff was recognized as the best; at the end of the same year, the Moscow Plant named after. Kalmykova staged his production. Sudaev himself was sent to besieged Leningrad, where he is based on the evacuated Sestroretsk plant named after. Voskov, plant named after. Kulakov and the Primus artel established the production of teaching staff in 3 months. This event became a unique case in the history of weapons: as soon as possible The performances of its production speak of the thoughtfulness and manufacturability of the design. The PPS tests took place right there on the Leningrad Front and received the best assessment from the soldiers.
On May 20, 1943, the 7.62 mm submachine gun mod. 1943 Sudaeva (PPS-43). Cold stamping, a minimum of closed holes, the use of a recoil spring rod as a reflector, a simple shock absorber and other solutions greatly simplified production, although in 1942-1945 the factories of Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi gave the Red Army 765,773 PPP. The rate of fire reduced to 650 x 750 rounds per minute (versus 1,000 x 1,100 for the PPSh) and the favorable location of the pistol grip and magazine neck made the PPS “more manageable.” The submachine gun was durable, reliable, and quickly ready to fire. The fuse was more reliable than that of the PPSh. For disassembly, the PPS was also broken in half, but the return spring was attached differently here and did not pop out arbitrarily. Not inferior to the PPSh in combat qualities, the PPS was much more convenient for the crews of combat vehicles, reconnaissance officers, paratroopers, and partisans. It became the best submachine gun of World War II.
The enemy understood this too. The Finns already in 1944, under the designation M44, began producing a copy of the PPS chambered for the 9-mm cartridge. The Germans also tried to produce simplified copies (after the war, they did this in Spain, and since 1953, the gendarmerie and border guards of the Federal Republic of Germany were armed with the DUX-53 submachine gun, which was not much different from the PPS).
The massive use of submachine guns made the 7.62 mm TT pistol cartridge the second most popular after the rifle cartridge and required a transition to surrogate bullets. And for night combat they began producing cartridges with a tracer bullet.
Extremely simplified designs were not uncommon during the war - during the siege of Tula, for example, S.A. Korovin created a very simple submachine gun for the Tula Workers' Regiment. The variety of designs of partisan samples (both original and assembled from different models) cannot be counted. A number of popular legends are associated with German submachine guns. Home almost universal arming of the Wehrmacht with them. In fact, throughout the war the number of submachine guns in the Wehrmacht was much less than 98k Mauser carbines (Belgian and Czech Mausers and old rifles were also used). The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 prohibited Germany from having submachine guns, but German gunsmiths continued to develop and produce this type of weapon. They supplied it to other countries and to “police” units, which did not bother the authors of the Treaty of Versailles, who feared the growth of revolutionary uprisings in the center of Europe. In 1936 (shortly after the formation of the Wehrmacht began), the German Armaments Directorate proposed to supply the crews of combat vehicles and motorized infantry with submachine guns. This was also evident in the new appearance of the MP.38 submachine gun, which was put into service in 1938. It was distinguished by its small size, folding butt, open barrel without a fore-end (the second hand held the weapon by the magazine or by the plastic bottom of the bolt box), a hook for firing from combat vehicle installations and on top of the sides. To speed up preparation for firing, the bolt handle was placed on the left right hand they held the pistol grip of the weapon and cocked the bolt with their left hand (because of this, by the way, they preferred to wear the submachine gun on the side rather than on the chest). Both here and among our former allies, the MP.38 model and its successors are often called “Schmeissers,” although the creators of the MP.38 were G. Vollmer and the director of the Erma company, B. Geipel, and not H. Schmeisser. Apparently, by the end of the 1930s, thanks to previous designs, the name "Schmeisser" was perceived as the name of a type of weapon. MP.38 was quite simple; one copy required 10.7 kg of metal and 18 machine hours. For comparison: PPSh required 13.9 kg and 7.3 hours, and PPS 6.2 kg and 2.7 hours.
At the beginning of the war, the MP.38 was used along with the old MP.18/I, MP.28/II, MP.35/I, and the Austrian MP.34 (o), experience pushed the Wehrmacht to a more active and widespread use of submachine guns and, Accordingly, it required modernization. The MP.40 differed from the MP.38 primarily in its simplification and reduction in cost. It eliminated milled parts and replaced aluminum in the design with steel. And the new bolt handle, which made it possible to lock it in both the rear and forward positions, reduced the likelihood of an accidental shot when the weapon was dropped. Changes were also made to the MP.38 already released; these submachine guns received the designation MP.38/40. Wide application of stamping, reliability, compactness, close to optimal pace shooting were the advantages of the MP.40. German soldiers nicknamed it the “bullet pump,” and the American soldiers called it the “belching rattle,” but they treated this weapon with respect. True, the experience of fighting on the Eastern Front required increasing shooting accuracy, which H. Schmeisser tried to do by adding a permanent wooden stock to the MP.40 and a translator for conducting single fire, but few such MP.41s were produced. In total, from 1940 to 1945, more than 1 million MP.40 were produced (for comparison: 10,327,800 rifles and carbines were produced, assault rifles 450,000). It is not surprising that already in the middle of the war, German soldiers were “re-armed” with Soviet PPSh. And by the end of the war, German models brought to primitiveness appeared; they tried, for example, to “simplify” the British “Stan” even more.
Even on the eve of World War II, the British military leadership “did not see the need for gangster weapons,” so called submachine guns. But after the disaster of 1940, when obsolete weapons were urgently removed from warehouses, and there were very few automatic weapons, the attitude towards them changed. The USA urgently purchased Thompson submachine guns, but these weapons were expensive and ended up mainly in commando and SAS units. In general, the Allies needed a simpler, lighter model, designed for mass production with the involvement of small subcontractors. It was developed at the beginning of 1941 by R.V. Shepard and H.J. Turpin at the Royal Small Arms in Enfield. The weapon was named “Stan” (STEN) after the first letters of the designers’ last names and the first syllable of the name of the city. The Stan MkI was produced by Birmingham Small Arms and several other factories. Subsequent modifications mainly featured further simplifications. The most popular “Stan” Mk II was produced in the UK, Canada and New Zealand (in Australia they preferred their “Owen” design) in quantities of more than 2 million units. In total, more than 3 million different “Stans” were released (they were also copied in Denmark, and later in Israel). They were really simple and cheap, but they were not particularly accurate or convenient, and deservedly received the nickname “hole punchers.”
Simultaneously with the Stan, J. Lancaster developed a submachine gun similar to the German MP.18/I, but it was both heavier and more expensive than the Stan, produced in smaller quantities and only for the Royal Navy.
At the beginning of the war, the Americans also had to solve the issue of a submachine gun on the fly. The same "Thompson" was purchased in small quantities for the army and Marine Corps, but the cost was too high. In 1941, its simplified modification M1 with automatic action based on blowback recoil appeared, then the even more simplified M1A1. And yet the Thompsons, like another model, the M50 Raising, did not solve the problem. And only by 1944 did the Americans put into mass production the M3 submachine gun, developed by J. Hyde and F. Sampson. In addition to the widespread use of stamping, it was distinguished by the sealing of the bolt box - the extraction window was closed with a hinged lid, and the bolt was cocked with a swinging lever, a massive bolt that provided sufficient stability when firing, a retractable butt that could be used instead of a cleaning rod, as well as the possibility of quick conversion from the 45 ACP cartridge chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The disadvantage of the M3 was its unreliable fuse. In the M3A1 modification that appeared later, the bolt was cocked simply with a finger inserted into the recess of the bolt. Other armies also had their own submachine guns. The Italians, for example, had a good Beretta 1938A model originally designed by T. Marengoni, but it required careful machining, and modifications 38/42 and 38/44 made it somewhat simpler.
Machine guns of enemies and allies
The issue of a light heavy machine gun in the Red Army had not been resolved by the beginning of the war. Complaints from the troops and new tests of the DS-39 machine gun revealed that he had whole line disadvantages low survivability of parts, ruptures of cartridges in the chamber, dismantling of the cartridge in the receiver. With the start of the war, there was no more time for fine-tuning, and production of the DS-39 was stopped in favor of the Maxims. The DS-39 machine gun has been called “unsuccessful” more than once, but the ideas and solutions contained in it were unlikely to be so. To simplify production and operation at TOZ (Tula Arms Plant), engineers I.E. Lubenets and Yu.A. Kazarin under the leadership of chief engineer A.A. Tronenkov in June 1941 once again improved the Maxim. Its characteristic features are now a wide neck for filling the barrel casing with snow and ice, and a simplified sight.
The German army entered the war with a single MG.34 machine gun, and the experience of combat use completely confirmed the correctness of the concept of a single machine gun used as a light machine gun, easel machine gun, anti-aircraft gun, or tank gun. But already with the start of serial production of the MG.34, German engineers began work on a more technologically advanced model, then, based on the experience mainly of the Eastern Front, they added the requirements of low sensitivity to clogging and lubrication conditions. The new design was developed with the participation of a number of companies, but the work was led by Dr. Gryunov at the Grossfuss company, hitherto unknown in the arms industry, but with experience in stamping and welding of metal parts. In 1942, the MG.42 machine gun was adopted by the German army; five large companies and several small subcontractors were involved in its production. The widespread use of stamping and large tolerances on the dimensions of parts ensured its rapid production. The suspended position of the automation parts, the roller locking system, and the push-pull belt feed ensured the reliable operation of this machine gun, and the high rate of fire, belt feed, and a barrel that could be changed in 4-6 seconds ensured a high intensity of fire. Due to its speed (up to 1,200 x 1,300 rounds/min) and the characteristic sound of firing, the MG.42 received the nickname “Hitler’s saw.” The MG.42 is considered the best machine gun of World War II.
At the beginning of the war, the British army made its main machine gun the “Bran”, created on the basis of the Czech ZB30 “Zbroevka Brno”. In addition to the conversion carried out by Czech designers V. and E. Holek and A. Marek from the 7.92-mm Mauser cartridge to the British cartridge of .303 caliber "British Service", the machine gun received a shock absorber, which improved the accuracy of fire, and a magazine for 30 rounds. The machine gun began to be produced in Enfield hence the name “Bren” (BREN BRno-ENfild). The weapon turned out to be successful; the British even consider it the best light machine gun of World War II. Yet the Bran was poorly suited for mass production and required a lot of metal and machining. As a result, to improve manufacturability, it had to be modernized and additional production installed in Canada and Australia. "Bran" was also supplied to other countries, including the USSR and China. Czech light machine guns, which served as the basis for the Bran, were used by the German army. Some features of this machine gun were borrowed by the Japanese in light machine guns"Type 97" and "Type 99". As a result, Czech designs found themselves on almost all fronts, although in terms of production scale they were inferior to both German and Soviet ones. The Czech ZB-53 heavy machine gun of the V. Holek and M. Rolczyk system also found widespread use; the same British, for example, adopted its tank version under the name “Beza”, without even changing the 7.92 mm caliber.
The US Army entered the war with machine guns of the Browning systems - manual BAR, mounted M1917 and M1919 and large-caliber M2NV. The first was distinguished by sufficient reliability and lightness, but the 20-place magazine and non-replaceable barrel limited the combat rate of fire. Perhaps the American use of combat shotguns in World War II was an attempt to compensate for the lack of a successful light machine gun in service. An attempt to convert the easel M1919 A4 into a light machine gun, that is, to repeat the path already taken by German and Soviet designers, yielded a very unsuccessful M1919 A7. The M1919 A4 heavy machine gun on a light tripod was a good-quality weapon, but outdated (the Americans even unsuccessfully tried to make copies of the German MG.34 and MG.42 under their own cartridge). But the 12.7 mm M2 NV Browning turned out to be quite good.
To be continued
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