With a rifled barrel it is the main weapon of a soldier in any army. The American TV channel "Discovery" once again pleased the world with its latest weapons rating, based on the results of which it was chosen best rifle XX century. Despite some bias and bias in the Military Channel programs, I believe that it is always useful to get acquainted with a foreign perspective on a topic that interests us.
Each model was evaluated by military experts for accuracy of fire, combat effectiveness, originality of design, ease of use and reliability. The presented weapon models were created throughout the twentieth century, which did not bother the experts at all - in their opinion, good weapon used in the regular army for decades, and then gets a second life in regional conflicts, which abound in the 20th century. To be convinced of the validity of these words, it is enough to recall the Mosin “three-line” model of 1891, the Kalashnikov assault rifle or the legendary “Colt” M1911 - the index speaks for itself, but even after 100 years the pistol does not seem like an anachronism and is still widely used throughout to the world.
10th place - A rifle that strikes on the spot.
Automatic rifle M14
Caliber: 7.62 mm
Muzzle velocity: 850 m/s
Rate of fire: 700-750 rounds/min.
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds
During World War II, the American army faced a major problem: each infantry platoon used three types of small arms with different ammunition: the standard M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle (caliber 0.30-06), the .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun and the manual machine gun "Browning" M1918 (7.62 x 63 mm). The result of work on the topic “universal small arms” was the creation of the M14 automatic rifle; the weapon was put into service in 1957 (complete with an M76 under-barrel grenade launcher). The M14 used a full-size 7.62 caliber cartridge (powder charge 1.5 times greater than that of the AK-47), giving the rifle a longer effective firing range and high lethality of the ammunition.
However, in practice, the new rifle turned out to be of little use for combat: the extremely powerful ammunition did not allow firing in bursts without the use of a bipod - at a distance of 100 meters, the 3rd bullet in the burst went 10 meters above the initial aiming point. Most rifles were issued to soldiers with the fire mode translator removed - firing in bursts from the M14 was nothing more than a waste of ammunition. After suffering with the M14 for several years, the Americans adopted a new automatic weapon chambered for a low-impulse cartridge. In 1964, the combat career of the M14 as the main army rifle ended, but the high power and excellent accuracy of this unsuccessful machine gun made it possible to create a line of special rifles based on it - the M21 self-loading sniper rifle, precision weapons for special forces - M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle, TEI M89-SR sniper rifle for the Israel Defense Forces, rifle for the Lithuanian Armed Forces, etc.
9th place – First assault rifle
Sturmgewehr 44
Caliber: 7.92 mm
Muzzle velocity: 650 m/s
Rate of fire: 500 rounds/min.
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
Such a unique weapon that its creation was hidden even from Hitler. In the middle of World War II, the Wehrmacht came up with the idea
creating a new small arms that combined the high rate of fire of a submachine gun and the power of a long-barreled rifle. German designers found an ingenious solution - an intermediate cartridge 7.92 x 33 mm. Now the recoil did not tear the machine gun out of the hands, however, the effective range and destructive power of the ammunition were quite consistent with a classic long-barreled rifle. And thanks to the reduction in the mass of the cartridge, the wearable ammunition load has increased.
Alas, Uncle Adolf himself stood in the way of the successful project - fortunately for our soldiers, Hitler did not appreciate the advantages of the intermediate cartridge and closed the project. But the enormous firepower of the machine guns impressed the military so much that in 1943 their mass production began under the “leftist” designation MP-43. During one of the inspection trips, the leader of the German nation was surprised by the request of the soldiers - they needed more assault rifles. Despite the revealed deception, Hitler independently came up with a sonorous name for the new “wunderwaffe” - Sturmgewehr 44 (“Hurricane Rifle”).
Despite the primitiveness of the design, the German machine gun rightfully receives highly appreciated for the innovative nature of the design - there is still debate whether the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle was created under the impression of the StG 44.
8th place – American centenarian
Springfield M1903
Caliber: 7.62 mm
Muzzle velocity: 820 m/s.
Rate of fire: 10 rounds/min.
Clip capacity: 5 rounds
American rifle of the early twentieth century, one of many successful designs created at that time. Accurate and reliable weapon.
In 1941, American soldiers went into battle with the same rifles that their fathers had used 20 years earlier. There were simply not enough new M1 Garand rifles, and the Marines had to use the Springfield M1903 in battle, but objectively, the rifle at that time was not at all outdated, surpassing all Japanese models in its main characteristics. It was also used in Vietnam as a special sniper rifle (“What was there in this Vietnam!” the reader will exclaim, and he will be right - weapons from all over the world, from different time periods, fought there). Nowadays, “Springfields” are carefully kept in many American families.
A good weapon, but, in my opinion, the creators of the show could have found more interesting things for the rating. The Americans paid tribute to their traditions, and they have the right to rate them.
7th place - Back to front
Automatic rifle Steyr AUG
Caliber: 5.56 mm
Muzzle velocity: 940 m/s
Rate of fire: 650 rds/min
Magazine capacity: 30 or 42 rounds
The exotic design and technology of the Austrian Steyr AUG rifle became a real challenge to army traditions. The Armee Universal Gewehr small arms complex, which appeared in 1977, represented a new direction in the design of small arms - bullpup assault rifles, in which the magazine and bolt assembly are located behind the fire control handle and trigger. This made the rifle light and compact, and also increased the accuracy of fire. Other interesting features of the Steyr AUG include: a set of quick-release barrels of different lengths (replacement takes a dozen seconds), a built-in low-magnification optical sight, the absence of a fire mode translator (the selection of modes is carried out by the depth of the trigger press), a choice of the direction of ejection of cartridges - for the first time, a weapon has been adapted for right-handers and left-handers.
But, despite its outstanding technical characteristics and excellent Austrian quality, the Steyr is not widely used in the world - in addition to the Austrian army, it is produced under license in Australia and is used in some Arab countries and the US Coast Guard. The unusual appearance of the machine scared off most potential customers.
By the way, the experts were wrong - the first automatic rifle built according to the bullpup design was the Korovin assault rifle, created in 1945. Unfortunately, the unfinished design and the overall low technical level of performance did not allow it to successfully pass tests.
6th place - Hitler's favorite rifle
Bolt-action rifle Mauser K98k
Caliber: 7.92 mm.
Muzzle velocity: 860 m/s.
Rate of fire: 10-15 rds/min
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds
The Mauser K98 rifle, adopted by the Reichsheer in 1898, absorbed the most promising achievements of the then weapons science. These included smokeless powder, clips of cartridges that could simply be inserted into the magazine, and, finally, the bolt-action bolt action—quick and simple, still used in most hunting rifles today.
It is not surprising that the rifle pleased the young corporal A. Hitler. In 1935, a shortened version of the Mauser K98 was adopted by the Wehrmacht army, receiving the name Mauser K98k.
In 1943, when preparing the assassination attempt on Hitler (it was planned to land two elite snipers in the area of Hitler’s Alpine residence), British intelligence was faced with the question: which rifle to use in the operation. The answer was clear: only the Mauser M98k due to its high accuracy. Gradually the situation changed, and along with it, plans to eliminate the mustachioed Fuhrer changed. In 1944, the British canceled the operation altogether: Hitler, with his stupid orders, was causing more harm to Germany than good.
On May 9, 1945, the history of the Third Reich ended, but the history of the Mauser K98k continued. The kosher rifle became the main small arms of the Israel Defense Forces (although the Americans are disingenuous - in the first years of the IDF’s existence, its small arms were a hodgepodge from all over the world, and the Mauser was far from the main one there, but not the last).
5th place – Right hand of the free world
Automatic rifle FN FAL
Caliber: 7.62 mm
Muzzle velocity: 820 m/s.
Rate of fire: 650-700 rds/min
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds
The FN FAL assault rifle has become a symbol of the struggle of Western civilization for the ideals of freedom and democracy - the weapon was supplied to 70 countries around the world, and is still produced in the USA. The “Big Belgian Barrel” was originally designed for shortened ammunition, but due to the standardization of weapons within the NATO bloc, it was converted to a powerful American cartridge of 7.62 x 51 mm. Despite the excessive power, the Fabric National engineers managed to achieve more or less acceptable accuracy of fire in automatic fire mode. The result is a heavy classic rifle with enormous destructive power, reliable and easy to use.
The FN FAL was the main small arms of the Israel Defense Forces during the Six-Day War, and was used in the jungles of Vietnam by units of the Canadian and Australian armies, where it showed itself better than the American M16. A funny embarrassment happened during the Falklands conflict - British marines and Argentine soldiers shot at each other from FN FAL.
4th place – Weapons of the winners in World War II
Semi-automatic rifle M1 "Garand"
Caliber: 7.62 mm
Muzzle velocity: 860 m/s
Rate of fire: up to 30 rounds per minute.
Clip capacity: 8 rounds
A true legend, a symbol of that great generation of Americans. A soldier armed with an M1 felt real power in his hands - a semi-automatic eight-shot rifle was the best weapon in the world for an infantryman at that time.
The M1 Garand, named after Canadian engineer John Garand, entered service in 1936 and remained the primary rifle of the US Army until 1957.
World War II poster - US flag has 48 stars (missing Alaska and Hawaii)
When millions of American soldiers went to fight on foreign shores, the M1 rifle suddenly developed a curious drawback: to increase the rate of fire, John Garand used automatic ejection of an empty pack in his weapon - after the eighth shot was fired, the clip instantly flew out of the rifle's bolt mechanism with a clang. A very convenient function in peacetime, but enemy soldiers quickly realized what a specific sound meant - the American GI was unarmed. But not everything is so simple - perhaps the cunning Marine clicked the spare clip on the bolt and threw the pack on the ground, waiting for the deceived Japanese to raise his head from cover.
Seriously speaking, the M1 Garand showed itself to be the best in a variety of climatic conditions– in the jungles of tropical islands, the sands of the Sahara or the snowdrifts of the Ardennes. There were no complaints about the reliability of the rifle. The Garand was simple, powerful and had excellent shooting accuracy. Soldiers armed with the M1 fought on all fronts of World War II; the rifle was used in Korea and, despite being officially retired, was often seen in the jungles of Vietnam.
3rd place – In the service of the Empire
Bolt-action rifle Lee-Enfield SMLE
Caliber: .303 British (7.7 mm)
Muzzle velocity: 740 m/s
Rate of fire: 20-30 rds/min
Magazine capacity: 10 rounds
Afghan Mujahid with Lee-Enfield SMLE, Kunar Province, 1985
For non-automatic rifles, the Lee-Enfield SMLE had a simply terrifying rate of fire thanks to a successful bolt design and a high-capacity magazine capable of holding 10 rounds (in this indicator, the Lee-Enfield SMLE was the leader throughout the first half of the 20th century). A trained shooter could fire up to 30 shots from it in a minute, turning a target into a sieve at a distance of 200 m. The “Crazy Minute” was one of the most spectacular numbers during the demonstration performances of the British Army.
The Lee-Enfield SMLE's fire density is comparable to that of modern semi-automatic rifles and carbines. It is not surprising that these weapons survived two world wars and were used all over the world for a long time, protecting the interests of British Empire. Between 1907 and 1975, 17 million of these killer rifles were produced.
2nd place - Black rifle
Automatic assault rifle M16
Caliber: 5.56 mm
Muzzle velocity: 1020 m/s.
Rate of fire: 700-950 rds/min
Magazine capacity: 20 or 30 rounds
In 2003, alarming information began to arrive from the territory of occupied Iraq - too many Iraqi soldiers were killed by head-shots. The results of numerous brutal reprisals against prisoners are evident. But why are the bodies of the murdered lying everywhere? Did the experienced punishers really not even bother, at least for the sake of decency, to remove the evidence in the face of numerous international observers? Iraqi soldiers were shot in the head where they made their last stand, leaning out of tank hatches and house windows, in trenches and on barricades. Often in equipment and with weapons in their hands.
The Coalition Forces command explained this paradox by the superior accuracy of the M-16 rifles and the excellent training of American snipers. Thousands of people around the world stopped breathing thanks to the M16.
Comic for American soldiers: how to properly clean and disassemble the M16, 60s. Tastefully decorated
.For 50 years, the M16 has been an indispensable attribute of the American soldier. Despite the lower barrel energy, the power of the low-pulse 5.56 x 45 mm cartridge was quite enough to stop a person; often, when it hit the body, the bullet began to tumble unimaginably, further enlarging the wound channel. At the same time, recoil was reduced and shooting accuracy increased. The design of the automatic rifle is made of plastic and alloyed aluminum, thanks to which the M16 had a minimum weight - only 2.88 kg without a magazine.
"Black Rifle" - nickname given to the M16 American soldiers in Vietnam, but despite its stylish appearance, there were many problems with the new weapon. The machine mechanism did not tolerate dirt and sand. The problem was solved by sealing the rifle, for example, the window for ejecting cartridges is closed with a spring-loaded curtain. In a word, you need to try to get dirt inside the M16.
The Americans admit that the M16 has excellent shooting accuracy, but this “toy” also requires careful handling from its owner. The American assault rifle is not suitable for a partisan detachment; it is created for a professional army, in which cleaning and lubricating the weapon is the daily duty of every soldier. In return, the M16 makes it possible to shoot an enemy in the head from 500 m.
1st place – Thirty charges of rock and roll. The bad guys' weapons.
Automatic assault rifle AK-47
Caliber: 7.62 mm
Muzzle velocity: 710 m/s.
Rate of fire: 600 rds/min
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
Universal killing machine, the most lethal weapon of all ever created by man - according to statistics, the number of people killed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle is many times greater than the number of victims of atomic bombings or killed by any other method. 1/5 of the world's small arms reserves are Kalashnikov assault rifles. Countless clones and modifications, 60 years of combat service in all hot corners of the planet. In terms of the number of armies that have adopted this weapon, Kalashnikov can only compete with the FN FAL. The AK-47 appears on the national flag of Mozambique.
How did the Russians manage to achieve SUCH an impressive result? American experts smile and shrug – this is probably the only time America lost to smithereens to the Soviet Union. The reasons for the wild popularity of the Kalash are low cost, ease of maintenance, reliability, reliability and once again RELIABILITY.
Osama Bin Laden and his Kalashnikov
Covered with rust and dirt, buried in sand or thrown with all its might onto the ground - the Kalashnikov assault rifle continues to fire in any conditions. All you need to service it is a finger and a rag. It is no coincidence that experts compared shooting from a Kalash to the game of rock and roll: the same drive, the same reckless hacking without stopping. True, experts found a “flaw” in the legendary assault rifle - a not very attractive design (but for some reason the ugly appearance of the Kalashnikov assault rifle did not at all affect its worldwide commercial success). Thanks to its simplicity and effectiveness in any conditions, the Kalash has become a faithful companion of bandits, partisans and terrorists around the world. “Kalash” was promoted with all its might in the United States - Hollywood specially worked to create its negative image: clearly, “Kalash” is the weapon of the bad guys.
Note: Many phrases and statements in this text may seem strange to you. The author just translated the funniest opuses of Military Channel experts.
Rifles deserve special attention. Operating rifles does not require as much training as, for example, driving a tank or piloting an airplane, and even women or completely inexperienced fighters can easily handle them. The relatively small size and ease of operation have made rifles one of the most widespread and popular weapons for warfare.
M1 Garand (Em-One Garand)
The Em-One Garand was the standard US Army infantry rifle from 1936 to 1959. The semi-automatic rifle, which General George S. Patton called “the greatest weapon of war ever created,” gave the American army a huge advantage in World War II.
While the German, Italian and Japanese armies still issued bolt-action rifles to their infantry, the M1 was semi-automatic and highly accurate. This caused the popular Japanese strategy of "desperate attack" to become much less effective, as they were now faced with an enemy that fired quickly and without missing. The M1 was also available with add-ons such as a bayonet or grenade launcher.
Lee Enfield
The British Lee-Enfield No. 4 MK became the main infantry rifle of the British and Allied armies. By 1941, when mass production and use of the Lee-Enfield began, the rifle had undergone a number of changes and modifications to the bolt action mechanism, the original version of which was created back in 1895. Some units (such as the Bangladesh Police) still use the Lee-Enfield, making it the only bolt action rifle in service for such a long time. In total, there are 17 million Lee-Enfield products of various series and modifications.
The Lee-Enfield has a similar rate of fire to the Em-One Garand. The sighting slit of the sight was designed in such a way that the projectile could hit the target from a distance of 180-1200 meters, which significantly increased the firing range and accuracy. Lee-Enfield fired 303 British cartridges with a caliber of 7.9 mm and fired up to 10 shots at a time in two bursts of 5 rounds.
Colt 1911 (Colt 1911)
The Colt is undoubtedly one of the most popular pistols of all time. It was Colt who set the quality bar for all pistols of the twentieth century.
The standard weapon of the US Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986, the Colt 1911 has been modified for use today.
The Colt 1911 was developed by John Moses Browning during the Philippine-American War because troops needed a weapon with high stopping power. The Colt 45 caliber coped with this task perfectly. It was reliable and powerful weapon US infantry during World War II.
The first Colt - Colt Paterson - was created and patented by Samuel Colt in 1835. It was a six-shot revolver with a cap action. By the time John Browning designed his famous Colt 1911, Colt's Manufacturing Company was producing at least 17 Colt models. At first these were single-action revolvers, then double-action revolvers, and starting in 1900 the company began producing pistols. All the predecessor pistols of the Colt 1911 were small in size, relatively low in power, and were intended for concealed carry, for which they were nicknamed “vest pistols.” Our hero won the hearts of many generations - he was reliable, accurate, heavy, looked impressive and turned out to be the longest-lived weapon in the United States, serving faithfully in the military and police until the 1980s.
The Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-41) is a Soviet-made assault rifle used both during and after World War II. Made primarily from stamped sheet metal and wood, the Shpagin submachine gun was produced in quantities of up to 3,000 daily.
The Shpagin submachine gun replaced the earlier version of the Degtyarev submachine gun (PPD-40), being a cheaper and more modern modification. "Shpagin" fired up to 1000 rounds per minute and was equipped with an automatic loader with 71 rounds. With the advent of the Shpagin submachine gun, the firepower of the USSR increased significantly.
Submachine gun STEN (STEN)
The British STEN submachine gun was developed and created in conditions of a massive shortage of weapons and an urgent need for combat units. Having lost great amount weapons during the Dunkirk operation and with the constant threat of German invasion, the United Kingdom needed strong infantry firepower - at short notice and at low cost.
STEN was perfect for this role. The design was simple, and assembly could be carried out in almost all factories in England. Due to the lack of funding and the difficult conditions in which it was created, the model turned out to be crude, and the military often complained about misfires. However, it was the boost to arms production that Britain so desperately needed. STEN was so simple in design that many countries and guerrilla forces quickly mastered its production and began producing their own models. Among them were members of the Polish resistance - the number of units of STENs they produced reached 2000.
During World War II, the United States produced more than 1.5 million Thompson submachine guns. Thompson, which would later become known as a weapon American gangsters, during the war years it was highly valued for its high effectiveness in close combat, especially among paratroopers.
The mass production model for the US Army beginning in 1942 was the M1A1 carbine, which was a simpler, cheaper version of the Thompson.
Equipped with a 30-round magazine, the Thompson fired .45 caliber cartridges, very popular in the United States at the time, and exhibited excellent stopping characteristics.
Bren light machine gun
The Bren light machine gun was a powerful, easy-to-use weapon that could always be relied upon, and was the main weapon for British infantry platoons. A licensed British modification of the Czechoslovak ZB-26, the Bren was introduced into the British Army as the main light machine gun, three per platoon, one for each rifle station.
Any problem that arose with Bren could be solved by the soldier himself by simply adjusting the gas spring. Designed for the 303 British cartridge used at Lee-Enfield, the Bren was fitted with a 30-round magazine and fired 500-520 rounds per minute. Both Bren and his Czechoslovakian predecessor are very popular today.
The Browning M1918 Automatic Rifle was a light machine gun in service with the US Army in 1938 and was used until the Vietnam War. Even though the US never set out to develop a practical and powerful light machine gun like the British Bren or the German MG34, the Browning was still a worthy model.
Weighing between 6 and 11 kg and chambered in .30-06 caliber, the Browning was originally intended as a support weapon. But when American troops faced heavily armed Germans, tactics had to be changed: for each rifle squad, at least two Brownings were now given, which were the main elements of the tactical decision.
The MG34 single machine gun was one of the weapons that made up Germany's military might. One of the most reliable and high-quality machine guns of World War II, the MG34 had an unsurpassed rate of fire - up to 900 rounds per minute. It was also equipped with a double trigger, which made both semi-automatic and automatic firing possible.
StG 44 was developed in Nazi Germany in the early 1940s, and its mass production began in 1944.
The StG 44 was one of the main weapons in the Wehrmacht's attempts to turn the war in its favor - factories of the Third Reich produced 425 thousand units of this weapon. The StG 44 became the first mass-produced assault rifle, and significantly influenced both the course of the war and the further production of weapons of this type. However, it still did not help the Nazis.
Sniper rifles of the Second World War period belonged mainly to the second generation of sniper weapons. Now the rifles were not assembled from a ready-made batch of linemen, but were manufactured - based on the same standard military rifle - with best quality and some differences in details. They moved from “adapting” commercial sights to producing special ones that met “military” requirements.
Let's take a look at what weapons were used by snipers from different armies.
USSR
In 1929–1930 in the USSR, a modernization of the 7.62-mm magazine rifle model 1891 (“three-line”) was carried out. They took the dragoon model as a basis ( infantry rifle with a longer barrel length were discontinued in 1923). The mechanical sight was changed, the front sight became cylindrical and received a fuse, instead of a box-shaped clip, a lighter and more convenient plate clip was introduced, and the device and accessories were improved. This modernization in Once again extended the career of the 7.62 mm rifle cartridge model 1908. And in 1931, a 7.62 mm sniper rifle entered service with the Red Army. From a linear rifle mod. 1891/1930 it was distinguished by the mounting of the optical sight, the quality of manufacture of the barrel and receiver, their fastening in the stock and debugging of the mechanisms.
Mounting a PU sight on a rifle model 1891/30 and a sighting reticle
The rotary, longitudinally sliding one consisted of a bolt stem, a combat cylinder, an ejector, a trigger, a firing pin, a screw mainspring and a connecting strip. The combat cylinder has two symmetrical combat protrusions that fit into the grooves of the receiver when locked. On a sniper rifle, the bolt handle was bent downwards so that when reloading it would not catch on the optical sight. A firing pin with a mainspring is mounted inside the bolt, and a trigger with a “button” is screwed onto the tail section of the bolt. The firing pin is cocked when the bolt is unlocked, which increases safety when reloading. The trigger mechanism is mounted on the receiver and is very simple in design. The sear, which holds the firing pin in the cocked position, is made at the free end of a leaf spring passed through the slot of the trigger, swinging on an axis. When you press the hook, he presses the trigger spring down, removing the sear from under the cocking hammer; the firing pin, under the action of the mainspring, moves forward and pierces the cartridge primer.
Sniper rifle mod. 1891/30 with PU sight. The position of the bolt handle in the locked state and the position of the sight eyepiece relative to the butt are clearly visible
The trigger could be pulled back and rotated 90°, thereby putting the rifle on safety. This operation was provided for all shooters, especially when running with a loaded weapon, although pulling the trigger required a lot of effort, and the system quickly wore out. A sniper rifle was aimed without a bayonet, and did not have one - hand-to-hand combat was considered an extreme case for a sniper (although he was supposed to be armed with a knife or dagger) - therefore, the front sight of sniper rifles was slightly higher than that of linear ones. Rifle mod. 1891/1930 had a rather tight descent. Although in sniper rifles the trigger was adjusted to a lower force (2–2.4 kgf), it was not as convenient as a trigger with a warning (self-adjustment of the trigger force is possible by bending the spring, smoothness of the trigger - by filing the sear, filing the upper edge of the trigger slot it was possible to give the descent the character of a descent with a warning). But the corresponding proposals for the “three-line” were made back in 1911 and several times later.
In the box-shaped permanent middle magazine, the cartridges are arranged in one row, which made it necessary to have a special spring cut-off reflector that prevents double feeding of cartridges. A solid stock with a straight butt neck was initially made of walnut, but over time it was necessary to switch to less scarce birch wood for sniper rifles. To improve shooting accuracy, the position of the barrel in the stock was adjusted using the receiver shank pin so that the gap between the barrel and the fore-end was maintained along the entire length of the barrel - the absence of contact between the barrel and the fore-end contributes to the constant vibrations of the barrel when firing, the influence of which is easier to compensate for when zeroing. For the same purpose, it was possible to select excess wood using a chisel or simply a sleeve with a sharpened edge. Although back in 1929 a variant with an improved stock was tested (a “cheek” butt and a neck with a pistol lug), production rifles had a stock of a conventional shape. True, rifles with a shortened “sports” stock were produced in small quantities - such a sniper rifle, for example, was presented to I.V. by Tula gunsmiths in 1934. Stalin.
Apparently, a deeper modernization of the basic rifle would have provided a better basis for a sniper, but it was abandoned in the USSR, since it was expected that an “automatic” rifle would soon be adopted.
Work on a rifle optical sight for its own production began in 1925 at the Podolsk Optical Plant (in 1927–1928 transferred to Pavshino, Moscow Region, later Krasnogorsk), and German specialists participated in the work. The development task changed several times. Finally, in 1930, the sight was adopted for service under the designation “optical rifle sight mod. 1930", he also received the PT index.
Sniper rifles mod. 1891/30, which entered service with the Red Army, were initially equipped with a sight mod. 1930 (PT) with 4x magnification, mechanisms for introducing horizontal and vertical corrections and a coupling for diopter adjustment of the eyepiece. However, the PT sight did not satisfy the specialists of the Artillery Directorate, and the All-Union Association of Optical-Mechanical Industry, created in 1930, received in 1931 the task of creating a sight based on it with more advanced mechanisms for introducing corrections (again, based on the German Bush sight). , The improved sight was adopted for service under the designation “rifle sight model 1931.” and received the PE code. Abbreviation “V.P. arr. 1931" gave rise to another designation found in the literature - “VP sight”. With the PE sight, the sniper rifle model 1891/1930 was actually adopted in the same 1931.
The PE sight had a magnification factor of 3.87x, a field of view of 5×30, an exit pupil diameter of 7.6 mm, an exit pupil relief of 85 mm, a weight of 620 g, and range settings of up to 1400 m. The disadvantages of the sight include a violation of the tightness of the focusing mechanism, insufficient fixing the drums of the mechanisms for introducing horizontal and vertical corrections.
The Dynamo society, which was under the jurisdiction of the OGPU/NKVD, actively developed shooting in those years. In collaboration with the German company Genschow, the company has developed options for installing a Zeiss sight with a 4x magnification on a rifle mod. 1891 - these installations are known under the designations D2 and DZ (“Dynamo”, the second and third samples, in the literature you can find the designation D III). The optical sight itself had an upper drum setting up to 1000 m, and a side drum was used to introduce lateral corrections. The sighting reticle was made according to the “German” type and consisted of a central stump and two horizontal lines.
Sniper version 7.62 mm self-loading carbine Tokarev (SKT), a modification of the SVT rifle that did not go into production. The SKT is also equipped with a PU sight
Until 1935, two main options for installing an optical sight were tested - on top of the receiver and on its left side. The first system was proposed by the famous shooting enthusiast A.A. Smirnsky (it was similar to the American Belding and Muhl system, but one can hardly speak of a direct borrowing of the American system), the second was based on a system presented by the German company Genschow und Co. According to the Smirnsky system, a base was attached to the receiver in front of its window with six screws, onto which the sight bracket was placed. The sight itself was mounted on such a single-base bracket with two clamps.
In 1936–1937, after the transfer of optical sight production from plant No. 69 (Krasnogorsk) to the Progress plant (in Leningrad), a new modification appeared. The PE sight lost its diopter coupling, and was installed on the rifle according to the “side” mounting scheme, which has become standard since 1936. A bracket of the type proposed by the German company Genschow (Geco) was used. However, the German-style brackets did not satisfy the Soviet military, and their own were created for the PE. To the left of the receiver window there was an overlay - the base. The sight bracket was placed on it using a dovetail mount and secured with two screws. The PE sight also served as the basis for the “civilian” optical sight PO-1, which was installed on small caliber rifles and hunting rifles.
Red Army sniper pair: one of the snipers (in this moment the acting sniper-observer) is armed with an SVT rifle with a PU optical sight, the other (fighter sniper) is armed with a rifle mod. 1891/30 with PE sight. 1941
Production of sniper rifle mod. 1891/ 1930 and brackets for sights were produced by the Tula Arms Plant since 1932 (from 1936 - plant No. 173, from 1939 - after the reorganization of the defense industry - plant No. 314).
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SNIPER RIFLE REV. 1891/1930.
Cartridge – 7.62x54R (model 1908)
Weapon weight – 4.7 kg (with PE sight)
Weapon length – 1232 mm
Barrel length – 729 mm
Initial bullet speed – 865 m/s
Muzzle energy of the bullet – 3591.5 J
Magazine capacity – 5 rounds
The range of a direct shot at a chest target was 550 m, at a height target - 770 m. The length of the barrel was such that its oscillation unit when fired was located near the muzzle, which helped reduce the dispersion of hits. The permanent middle magazine was loaded with cartridges one at a time - the optical sight mount did not allow inserting a clip.
The last two pre-war years, as is known, were a time of large-scale, high-quality rearmament of the Red Army. This also affected the small arms system, including sniper weapons. Since the repeating rifle was to be replaced by a self-loading rifle as a mass-produced small arms weapon, a sniper version of the latter was also introduced. In 1939, Tula Plant No. 314 produced 35,376 sniper rifles mod. 1891/1930 under the PE sight, in 1940 - 7970 - production was transferred to a self-loading rifle.
As a matter of fact, work on such rifles began much earlier - with the development of extensive work on automatic and self-loading rifles chambered for a rifle cartridge in the second half of the 1920s. It was obvious that the new mass-produced rifle should also have a sniper version. Already in 1928, one of the experimental 7.62 mm automatic rifles by V.G. Fedorov (more precisely, the team of designers - Fedorov, Degtyarev, Kuznetsov, Bezrukov) - this rifle was tested at the shooting range of the Shot course.
The “7.62-mm self-loading rifle mod.” also received an option with the installation of an optical sight. 1930" systems V.A. Degtyareva, which underwent military trials in 1933–1934. F.V. Tokarev installed the TsKBSV-63 optical sight mount on his experimental TsKBSV-55 automatic carbine. But in 1936 the S.G. automatic rifle was adopted for service. Simonova (ABC). It also had a sniper version (with a PE sight), produced in small quantities in 1936–1939. in Izhevsk by plant No. 180 (since 1939 - plant No. 74). Such rifles found use during the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–1940. and in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War.
When the F.V. self-loading rifle was finally chosen to rearm the army before the war. Tokarev model 1940 (SVT-40), a sniper version was also created. The drawings and technical specifications for it were approved on April 8, 1940. Note that the Red Army was the first to adopt a self-loading sniper rifle as a mass-produced rifle. The sniper version differed from the standard SVT in better barrel finishing and protrusions on the sides of the receiver for attaching a curved bracket for the PU optical sight. Sniper SVT has become much more widespread than sniper ABC.
The SVT automatics had a gas engine with the removal of powder gases through a transverse hole in the barrel wall into a gas chamber located above the barrel and with a short piston stroke. The chamber was equipped with a gas regulator that changed the amount of exhaust gases; this made it possible to widely adapt the operation of the automation to the conditions of the time of year, the condition of the rifle and the type of cartridge, although working with the regulator was not very convenient. A gas piston with a rod and a separate pusher transmitted the impulse of the powder gases to the bolt and returned forward under the action of its own spring. The absence of a permanent connection between the gas piston rod and the bolt and the partially open receiver at the top made it possible to equip the magazine from a clip.
A multi-slit reactive muzzle brake was attached to the muzzle of the barrel. The barrel bore was locked by tilting the bolt downwards. A firing pin and a spring-loaded ejector are mounted in the bolt frame; a return spring with a guide rod and tube is inserted into the stem channel. Trigger mechanism trigger type is assembled on a detachable base (trigger guard). Descent comes with a warning. The self-timer served as an automatic safety device that blocked the trigger until the barrel bore was completely locked by the bolt. The guide rod of the mainspring served as a disconnector - when the hammer was turned forward, the rod, pressing the trigger rod, lowered the rod, its protrusion jumped off the ledge of the rocker arm, and then, under the action of the mainspring, it returned with the upper end forward and was ready to capture the cocking of the hammer when the moving system rolled back.
Store – detachable, box-shaped sector shape with a staggered arrangement of 10 rounds. A cartridge with a protruding rim of the cartridge case forced a number of measures to be taken to prevent the cartridges from clinging to each other when feeding - the radius of curvature of the magazine box was selected, the surface of the feeder was profiled so that the rim of each upper cartridge is in front of the rim of the lower one, protrusions were made on the inner walls of the magazine body to hold the cartridges from axial displacement. The stock is wooden, solid, with a pistol neck protrusion; in front of the fore-end, the barrel and gas piston are covered with a perforated metal casing. There was also a wooden barrel guard. To reduce the thermal effects of the barrel and heating of wooden parts, to reduce weight, through holes are made in the metal casing and in the receiver lining.
For the sniper SVT, the “optical rifle sight model 1940” was adopted, created at the NKVD plant No. 3 in Kharkov. Despite its “origin,” the sight was intended not only for the NKVD troops, but also for the People’s Commissariat of Defense. Its production was also carried out by the Progress plant (plant No. 357 of the People's Commissariat of Armaments), where its refinement continued.
The sight received the PU index, had a 3.5-fold magnification, a field of view of 4’30, a weight of 270 g, and allowed shooting at a range from 100 to 1300 m with the most effective range of up to 600 m. The sighting reticle was similar to the PE. The upper drum with a distance scale and the side drum with a lateral correction scale were fastened with semi-countersunk screws - by unfastening these screws, the sniper could correct the position of the drum when shooting. To install an optical sight, there were grooves on the sides of the receiver. The PU optical sight was mounted in such a way that it would not be hit by a spent cartridge case flying out of the receiver window. The curved bracket was fixed with a pin and equipped with a spring-loaded buffer that prevented longitudinal displacement of the sight.
In terms of shooting accuracy, the self-loading sniper SVT was inferior to a repeating rifle. But since during testing the SVT was compared with other “automatic” rifles, attention was not immediately paid to the deterioration in accuracy compared to a magazine rifle. Their comparative tests were carried out only in preparation for mass production. The accuracy of fire of a self-loading rifle at ranges from 800 to 1200 m turned out to be 1.6 times worse, the separation of the first bullet from the dispersion ellipse at a distance of 100 m reached 10–15 cm, and the direct shot range was 20 m less. The reason for this was the imbalance due to the movement and impacts of the movable automation system before the bullet left the barrel, vibrations caused by this movement, and the revealed longitudinal displacement of the barrel and receiver in the stock.
Nevertheless, the sniper SVT was launched into production at Tula Plant No. 314, hoping to improve its parameters during the production process. This could not be done in a short time. In addition, by the beginning of the war, the troops were poorly familiar with the new model.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SVT SNIPER RIFLE
Cartridge – 7.62x54R (model 1908)
Weapon weight – 4.5 kg (with PU sight)
Weapon length – 1226 mm
Barrel length – 625 mm
Number of rifling – 4 right-handed
Initial bullet speed – 840 m/s
Combat rate of fire – 10 rds/min
The repeating sniper rifle was discontinued from production. “The plan for current orders of NKOs, NKVMF and NKVD” already for 1940 provided for the production of only 3000 rifles mod. 1891/1930 and only for the People's Commissariat of the Navy.
The scale of production of sniper rifles (and, accordingly, the need for them) at the beginning of the war can be judged by the following figures - in July and August 1941, approximately 7 thousand sniper rifles were produced at the Tula plant.
In 1941, of the planned 1,176,000 linear and 37,500 sniper SVT-40s, 1,031,861 and 34,782 were manufactured, respectively (according to other sources - more than 38,000). In October 1941, the production of SVT was interrupted due to the evacuation of plant No. 314 - from Tula, the production of SVT was evacuated to the Urals, in the city of Mednogorsk, where production was resumed in March 1942. In the SVT troops, according to soldier tradition, it received the unofficial nickname “ Sveta,” they began to attribute capriciousness to her female character. The rifle really required much more careful care and better preparation than the three-line magazine rifle. The complexity of the system and the presence of small parts also led to a high percentage of failure due to loss of parts (31%, while for the repeating rifle model 1891/30 it was, of course, much lower - only 0.6% ). In addition, its production was much more difficult, which affected the fate of the rifle. However, in the hands of qualified users, including snipers, SVTs worked quite reliably.
At the beginning of 1942, at Izhevsk Plant No. 74 (Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant), and from 1943 at Tula Plant No. 536 (on the site of the evacuated Plant No. 314), production of the magazine sniper rifle mod. 1891/30 The repeating rifle was modernized at the beginning of the war, but not to improve shooting accuracy, but to simplify production. The receiver was made without top edges, the trigger button was reduced, the brass parts of the device were replaced with steel, the finishing of the steel parts was simplified, the stock was not polished or varnished. The combat qualities of the rifle, including shooting accuracy, were also affected by the transition to making stocks from birch blanks, which were more fragile than the previous walnut ones, and gave a leash when exposed to moisture, and the variation in the characteristics of wartime cartridges.
There were also single-shot rifles mod. 1891/30 with a covered magazine box - obviously, to speed up production and with the expectation that the sniper often loads the cartridge manually, keeping spare cartridges in the inner pocket (so as not to cool the powder charge).
Although there remained stocks of PE sights, which were initially used on the newly released sniper rifles model 1891/30, the more compact and durable PU sight became the main one. The production of this sight was carried out by factories No. 357 (evacuated from Leningrad to Omsk), No. 296 (former plant No. 3 of the NKVD, evacuated from Kharkov to Berdsk at the beginning of the war), No. 237 (in Kazan), No. 297 (in Yoshkar-Ola), No. 393 (in Krasnogorsk). Factories made their own changes and improvements to the design and materials of the sight. Despite some deterioration in the optics (during the war, we had to switch to new clay for melting optical glass), the sights retained good quality and fully justified themselves. The decision to install a launcher on a rifle mod. 1891/30 was adopted in the spring of 1942. For this purpose, in Izhevsk, the famous gunsmith designer D.M. Kochetov developed a new bracket, which was attached with its front protrusion to the same base on the left side of the receiver and was fixed with pins and two screws; there were additional screws to prevent self-unscrewing. This mount allowed the use of an open sector sight at a distance of up to 600 m. The sight tube was fixed on the bracket with two couplings. Since the PU tube was noticeably shorter than that of the PE, the eyepiece was very far from the shooter’s eye, so many shooters had to crane their necks when shooting.
In August 1942, comparative tests of SVT sniper rifles with PU and mod. 1891/30 with PE and PU sights. Based on the test results, continued production of the SVT sniper was considered inappropriate, and it was discontinued on October 1, 1942 (production of linear rifles continued). Sniper rifles accounted for only about 3.5% of total number issued by SVT. Kochetov bracket for installing PU on a rifle mod. 1891/30 was adopted for service as a “bracket mod. 1942."
When shooting from a rifle model 1891/30. at a distance of 100 m with a PU sight, all hits had to fit into a circle with a diameter of 7 cm, 200 m - 15 cm, 400 m - 36 cm.
In 1943, Izhevsk Plant No. 74 produced 159,600 repeating sniper rifles with PU sights, Tula Plant No. 536 - 59,112, in 1943 - 127,020 and 24,362, respectively (according to B.V. Davydov and S.A. Savenko). By 1943, this amounted to 5.7% of the total production of rifles and carbines, by 1944 – 7.3%. Evidence of the great attention paid to sniping in the Armed Forces.
The PU sight was later used on anti-aircraft machine gun mounts, they tried to install it on 14.5 mm anti-tank rifles, especially since many snipers, along with a standard sniper rifle, mastered anti-aircraft guns for shooting at long ranges or at protected targets. After the war, PUs with corresponding brackets were installed on small-caliber hunting rifles.
Production of the PE sight was also resumed during the war, but only in besieged Leningrad at plant No. 349.
Partisans operating behind enemy lines, groups and special forces of the NKVD and GRU often used a rifle with a silent and flameless shooting type "Bramith" (systems of the brothers V.G. and I.G. Mitin). The device included a cylindrical expansion chamber, blocked at the front and back with rubber plugs and was designed for only a few shots.
During the war, attempts to modernize the rifle continued: in 1943, a version with a shortened fore-end and a raised butt was tested, and in 1944, a shortened version was tested. After the war, a slightly modernized version was produced. The “Three Line” also served as the basis for the 7.62 mm AB and AVL sports rifles, which were used not only by athletes, but also for training snipers.
Sniper rifle mod. 1891/30 was in service with a number of armies of countries Warsaw Pact, Albania, China, North Korea, Vietnam and other countries. It turned out to be perhaps the most “long-fighting” among its contemporaries - for a decade and a half it has been used in local conflicts on the territory of the former USSR (sometimes snipers prefer well-preserved or restored self-loading SVDs).
Germany
At the beginning of World War II, the German Wehrmacht did not have a satisfactory standard sniper rifle. True, back in the late 20s, the Germans planned to have an optical sight for “every fifth or eighth shooter,” but this was rather a desire to highlight the best shooters and aroused interest not so much in sniper rifles as in selected carbines with optical sights.
Mauser-Werke produced a sniper version of the 7.92 mm repeating carbine (“short rifle”) 98k; the 98k carbine, which appeared in 1935, became the main small arms of the Wehrmacht. The best carbines from the production batch were equipped with lugs on top of the receiver with grooves for attaching an optical sight bracket. Commercial scopes with 4x and 6x magnification were used. The effective firing range was 400–600 m, the maximum sighting range was 800 m.
In 1939, the Zf.Kar.98k sniper model with the ZF.39 sight (“sighting tube 1939”) of fourfold magnification was adopted for service. The sight was mounted on two posts above the receiver window. Such sniper rifles found use already in 1939 in Poland. A number of complaints about the ZF.39 sight received from parts forced us to give preference to the 1.5x ZF.40 and ZF.41, which was more consistent with the capabilities of the carbine. The 1.5x sight weighed only 450 g with bracket. The sighting range was set from 100 to 800 m using a rotating coupling. The sight bracket was fixed on the rifle using a lever device with a latch; two spring-loaded rollers of the bracket eliminated its swing. To install the bracket on the block of the standard sector sight on the left, a T-section was made. At least some of these carbines had a “cheek” on the butt.
Sniper pair of SS troops. Both snipers are armed with a 7.92 mm Zf.Kar.98k repeating rifle (carbine) with a ZF.39 optical sight
Attaching the bracket to the sighting block freed up the receiver window and made it possible to use a standard sight (this type of mounting of an optical sight on a shortened rifle is reminiscent of the later American idea of a Scout-type rifle). But at the same time, the distance of the eyepiece from the shooter’s eye turned out to be too far and the field of view of the sight narrowed. Such sniper carbines played a supporting role.
From 1942, up to 6% of all Kar.98ks had to be made with bosses for attaching the optical sight mount. However, it was not always possible to maintain this ratio.
Overall, the Mausers were convenient and effective weapons. It’s worth paying special attention to his system, since it still serves as a model for the creation of repeating rifles, including sniper rifles. Its characteristic features were: shutter design; a magazine that does not protrude from the stock with a staggered arrangement of cartridges and a stepped feeder; comfortable stock with a pistol grip on the butt neck. The Mauser's rotating longitudinally sliding bolt had two lugs on the cylinder and one near the handle - the latter prevented the bolt from moving and self-unlocking. When the barrel bore was locked, the combat lugs entered the annular groove of the receiver and were located in a vertical plane - this distribution of the recoil effect on the box reduces the sideways movement of the weapon.
7.92 mm repeating sniper rifle (carbine) 98k with ZF.40 optical sight. The sight mount is visible
Combat and safety cockings were carried out on a trigger mounted on the tail of the firing pin. When the bolt was turned to unlock, the firing pin mounted in it was cocked due to the interaction of the inclined surfaces of the bolt stem and the hammer, compressing the screw mainspring, so that during the entire reloading process the firing pin did not protrude above the bolt mirror. At the rear of the bolt there was a safety lever in three positions: right - blocked by the hammer, vertical - blocked by the trigger (used only during disassembly) and left - “fire”. A wide spring ejector pressed the cartridge against the bolt mirror, but did not rotate with the bolt, being held in the longitudinal groove of the receiver. This ensured reliable direction of the cartridge during chambering and removal. For the passage of a rigid reflector, there is a cutout in the left lug of the bolt.
The 98k bolt handle is bent down at an angle of 90°. In addition to reducing the transverse dimensions of the weapon and bringing the handle closer to the shooting hand - in the locked position, the handle is in the recess of the stock directly above the trigger guard, which speeds up reloading - this also prevented snagging when reloading with the handle of the optical sight. When the optical sight was located above the receiver window, it had to be placed on high brackets so as not to interfere with the extraction of the cartridge case and work with the fuse box.
Training 5.6-mm KKW carbine, made like the combat Mauser 98k, but chambered for .22 LR, and equipped with a ZF.41 optical sight
Descent comes with a warning. When the trigger was pressed, its rear protrusion reached a stop, the sear dropped slightly, and the arrow had to make a short movement to release the striker, which did not interfere with aiming much.
All this made the Mauser a good basis for creating a sniper rifle. However, optical sights were often simply placed on rifles and carbines, which did not allow for the accuracy required for sniper weapons.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 98k CARBINE
Cartridge – 7.92×57
Weapon weight without sight – 4.3 kg
Weapon length – 1110 mm
Barrel length – 600 mm
Number of rifling – 4 right-handed
Initial bullet speed – 745 m/s
Muzzle energy of the bullet – 3698 J
Magazine capacity – 5 rounds.
Mountain ranger carbines “33/40 (t)” of the Mauser system (Czech production) were also converted into sniper ones - a bracket was attached to the left side of the receiver, on which a 4x20 type sight was mounted. For training snipers, a 5.6-mm KWK carbine was used, repeating the 98k design, with a 2x optical sight. Expansion type silencers were produced for sniper rifles.
The Germans also failed in their attempt to create a self-loading sniper rifle. The basis for this was initially the 7.92-mm self-loading rifle G.41 (W) with an original gas engine design - ZF sights were installed on this rifle. 40 and 41. Having failed to develop the G.41 (W) “Walter” and G.41 (M) “Mauser”, in the middle of the war the Germans adopted the G.43 chambered for the same 7.92×57 “Mauser” cartridge – an independent system, but bearing certain traces of the influence of the Soviet SVT (layout of the gas outlet unit, short piston stroke, detachable magazine).
The G.43 had an automatic gas engine with removal of powder gases through a side hole in the barrel wall and a short piston stroke. The barrel bore was locked by two lugs moved to the sides. The reloading handle was located on the left. The impact mechanism is trigger. There was a non-automatic fuse. The cartridges are fed from a detachable box magazine. The G.43 was mainly used as a sniper with a ZF.4 sight, mounted on a special lug on the right side of the receiver. The ZF.4 sight (also referred to as KaKZF.43) had a 4x magnification. Created with the expectation of installation on a self-loading rifle, it was also installed on magazine rifles - here you can also see an analogy with the SVT sniper.
A sniper version of the Kag.43 carbine was also produced, which differed from the G.43 in its length reduced by 50 mm and with an enlarged trigger guard. G.43 and its Kag.43 did not become widespread in the German army - in 1943–1945. released about 349,300 linear G.43 and Kag.43 and 53,435 sniper (13% of the total - it is worth noting that the Germans attached great importance to self-loading rifles with optical sights).
7.92 mm self-loading sniper rifle G.43 with ZF.4 optical sight
It is no coincidence that captured sniper SVTs, designated SI GewZf260(r), were popular among German soldiers. A “Russian self-loading rifle with an optical sight” was listed, for example, as one of the “best weapons” for anti-partisan “yagdkommandos”. Magazine sniper rifles mod. 1891/30 As for the G.43 and Kag.43, after the war they were used for some time by the Czechoslovak army.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SNIPER G.43
Cartridge – 7.62×57
Weapon weight without sight, kg – 4.33 kg
Weapon length – 1117 mm
Barrel length – 558 mm
Number of rifling – 4 right-handed
Initial bullet speed – 746 m/s
Combat rate of fire – 15–20 rounds/min.
The automatic 7.92-mm rifle FG.42, created for parachute units, even with an optical sight, was more reminiscent of a light machine gun than a sniper weapon. The FG.42 had automatic operation with a gas engine, the barrel bore was locked by turning the bolt, it could conduct single and automatic fire, and was equipped with a folding bipod. A 20-round magazine was attached to the left.
7.92 mm FG.42 automatic rifle, equipped with a ZFG.42 optical sight
The option with the installation of the ZF.4 optical sight also had a 7.92-mm assault rifle (assault rifle, “assault carbine”) MP.43/1 of the X. Schmeisser system chambered for the 7.92×33 Kurz cartridge. With a mass of about 6 kg, the MP.43/1 gave good accuracy of fire at short ranges and was quite suitable as an “ersatz” sniper carbine. The ZG.1229 “Vampire” illuminated night sight was also installed on it. However, its use was severely limited by the weight of both the sight itself with an IR illuminator, and the backpack with batteries and a gas cylinder for cooling the OOP.
Thus, the German army simultaneously had several sniper and “ersatz sniper” rifles and carbines, and sometimes different types of troops had their own.
Finland
In the Finnish army, snipers were armed with 7.62 mm rifles M/28-30 and M/39 - repeating rifles of the Russian system produced in Finland - with an optical sight mounted on top of the receiver. In general, before 1939 there were few sniper rifles in the Finnish army. Nevertheless, our troops were able to evaluate the effectiveness of the work of Finnish snipers, armed with hastily converted rifles, in northern, sharply rugged, wooded terrain in the winter of 1939/1940. During this war, by the way, a surprisingly persistent rumor arose about Finnish “cuckoos” - snipers and machine gunners who allegedly occupied camouflaged positions in the trees. Although the Finns themselves deny the existence of such “cuckoos”. During the war of 1939–1940 and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (for the Finns this is the “Long War”), the Finnish army replenished its “sniper arsenal” with captured Soviet rifles. Sometimes the Finns adapted Soviet optical sights to their rifles, sometimes they were forced to modernize trophies - for example, adapting a PU sight to a PE bracket.
7.62 mm M39 repeating sniper rifle with M43 "Ayak" optical sight
In 1942, the Finns ordered about 2,500 Ajak sights with a 4x magnification from Germany, but they were able to receive only part of the order. The Väisälä Society has developed its own version of the sight, compatible with German brackets. The sight managed to receive the designation M/44, but Finland left the war before its mass production began.
Italy
The few Italian snipers used mainly the old 6.5 mm Model 1891 Mannlicher-Carcano rifles, equipped with an optical sight. Despite the clearly outdated cartridge with a mortar-point bullet, it had a highly flat trajectory and good accuracy thanks to its small caliber, heavy bullet and progressive barrel rifling.
The rifle was developed in 1890–1891. under the leadership of Colonel Carcano and General Paravicino, based on the bolt of the “Belgian Mauser” of 1889 and Mannlicher’s stacked middle magazine. Carcano introduced an original fuse in the form of a bushing with a flag attached to the firing pin - by pulling the flag back and turning to the left, it was possible to block the firing pin in the cocked position, the protrusion of the fuse went into the transverse groove of the stem, and its tube did not allow the trigger to move forward, and the flag blocked the aiming line . It was possible to turn off the safety without lifting the butt from the shoulder, and the mainspring was additionally pressed. Descent comes with a warning. Solid stock (walnut or beech) - with a straight butt neck. By the beginning of World War II, the rifle was already outdated, but for sniper work it was the most suitable of what the Italian army had - the rest were mainly 7.35- and 6.5-mm carbines and shortened rifles of the same system with worse ballistics. By the way, in the case of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, the 6.5-mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifle featured a shortened Model 91/38, i.e., much worse accuracy and accuracy, and even with an ineffective Japanese sight - this one of the main reasons for doubts about the official version of the murder.
Japan
Questions in Japan combat use snipers were understood in the Field Manual of 1928, but the 6.5 mm sniper rifle with an optical sight was officially adopted only in 1937. It was a 6.5 mm rifle Type 97 (Type 2597, i.e. models 1937) of the Arisaka system, which was distinguished by a simple and rational design of the shutter, the presence of a special shutter cover to prevent clogging. The barrel bore was locked by a bolt stem with two lugs in the front part.
6.5 mm Type 97 repeating sniper rifle. The bolt of the rifle is moved to the rear position, its handle is visible behind the optical sight
In the locked position, the bolt lugs were located in a vertical plane. The impact mechanism is of the striker type; the firing pin was cocked when the bolt was locked. Working with the shutter was simplified by its elongated handle. The fuse was the bolt coupling. The rifle was put on safety with the striker cocked. To do this, it was necessary to press the notched head of the coupling with the palm of your hand and turn it clockwise 1/8 of a turn - in this case, the protrusions of the coupling would simultaneously block the firing pin and the bolt. To switch to the “fire” position, the clutch head had to be turned to the left. The trigger mechanism ensured descent with warning.
The Type 97 rifle was created by the Kokura arsenal and differed from the “classic” Type 38 primarily in the mounting of an optical sight on the dovetail on the left side of the receiver, so as not to interfere with loading a magazine from a clip and using an open frame sight. The sight had a magnification of 2.5x and a field of view of 10°, a reticle in the form of a crosshair, a rubber eyecup, was not equipped with an adjustment mechanism, and was worn on the march in a special bag over the shoulder; its mount was individually adjusted to a specific rifle. The shutter handle was slightly bent down. Shooting with an optical sight was carried out at ranges of up to 800 m. The rifle was equipped with a wire bipod, hingedly attached to the lower stock ring and pressed against the fore-end in the folded position. The small muzzle flash of the 6.5 mm rifle contributed to the secrecy of the actions of shooters and snipers. The complexity of manufacturing and the high cost of such weapons limited production to 19,500 pieces - not much for a mass army.
Snipers Japanese army They were also armed with a sniper version of the Type 99 rifle, which was part of the 7.7-mm “branch” of Arisaka rifles. The main reason for the transition to a larger caliber can be considered the need to increase the power of machine-gun fire and expand the range of special bullets (incendiary, armor-piercing incendiary), which were then easier to carry out in a larger caliber than 6.5 mm. The Type 99 rifle differed from the Type 38, in addition to the caliber, by a slightly modified bolt of shorter length and weight, but its most characteristic features were a sight with a diopter rear sight and a lightweight folding wire bipod attached to the lower stock ring. In 1942, for the complete standardization of infantry weapons, the 7.7 mm Type 99 sniper rifle was adopted. The sight was also mounted on the left side, and the bolt handle was bent downwards. At first, the Kokura arsenal installed the same 2.5-fold optical sight Type 97 on it, then the arsenal in Nagoya began installing Type 2 sights that met sniper requirements with a magnification factor of 4x and a field of view of 7° (the Japanese appreciated the value of sights with higher magnification during the battles on Khalkhin Gol river in the summer of 1939, when Soviet snipers fired at ranges of 700–800 m, and the Japanese no further than 300 m). By the end of the war, improved Type 4 4x sights with an adjustment mechanism appeared. In total, as indicated in the literature, no more than 10 thousand of these rifles were produced.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TYPE 97 SNIPER RIFLE
Cartridge – 6.5x50SR (Type 38)
Weight of weapon without cartridges and bayonet – 4.0 kg
Weapon length without bayonet – 1275 mm
Barrel length – 810 mm
Number of rifling – 4 or 6 right-handed
Initial bullet speed – 730 m/s
Magazine capacity – 5 rounds
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TYPE 99 SNIPER RIFLE
Cartridge – 7.7×58 (Type 99)
Weight of weapon without sight, cartridges and bayonet – 3.96 kg
Weapon length – 1270 mm
Barrel length – 800 mm
Initial bullet speed – 725 m/s
Magazine capacity – 5 rounds
UK and Commonwealth countries
The British, who were among the pioneers of sniping, did not neglect it in World War II. In this case, the Enfield rifles No. 3 MkI (T), SMLE (Lee-Enfield) No. 4 (T) and No. 4 (T) A were used - the T index meant “telescopic”, i.e. the presence of an optical sight. They were carried out under the .303 British Service cartridge.
Among the features of the British SMLE rifle (Lee-Enfield) were the presence of 5 rifling in the barrel instead of the usual 4, the bolt design and magazine capacity. The lugs are located not on the bolt cylinder, but in the middle part of its stem. The lugs fit into the grooves of the receiver, which had an inclined surface, so that when the bolt began to rotate, it also began to move backward and preliminarily remove the spent cartridge case, and when chambering the cartridge, it began to rotate even before reaching the extreme forward position.
7.71 mm repeating sniper rifle SMLE No. 4(T) with scope No. 32
Having moved the bolt to the forward position, the shooter turned the handle down, while the bolt moved forward a little more, supported the bottom of the cartridge case and locked with its lugs in the receiver. The combat larva is non-rotating. A spring-loaded ejector is mounted on the cylinder. The downward curved bolt handle was integral with its stem and was located behind the receiver and trigger guard. The firing pin was cocked when the bolt was locked. A hammer was attached to the protruding tail of the firing pin, allowing the firing pin to be cocked when the bolt was locked. The trigger carried the combat platoon. A non-automatic flag safety was mounted on the left side of the receiver, the front position of the flag corresponded to the “fire” state, the rear position corresponded to the “fuse” (the trigger was blocked). The trigger mechanism ensured descent with warning. A permanent box magazine for 10 rounds was loaded from a clip. The stock is a wooden compound with a long fore-end and a barrel lining, up to the muzzle of the barrel, and a straight butt. Behind the neck of the butt there was a lug-rest for the shooter's hand.
Introduced on February 12, 1942, rifle No. 4(T) was based on the SMLE No. 4 linear rifle. About 25 thousand No. 4 Mkl linear rifles with the best accuracy indicators were selected, and the famous London company “Holland-Holland” was involved in converting them into sniper rifles. . The resulting rifles were distinguished by the fit of the barrel to the stock, a sector sight, a “cheek” on the butt, and were equipped with sight No. 32 with a magnification factor of 3x and a field of view of 9°. Both the optical sight and its mount were previously created for the Bran light machine gun, so the sight was shifted to the left (the machine gun had a magazine mounted on top), but this only facilitated loading the magazine from the clip. “Lee-Enfield” No. 4(T) was also used by the armies of the British Commonwealth countries - in Canada, for example, it was equipped with a C67 3.5x sight. In service English army it lasted until the end of the 1950s and served as the basis for the creation of subsequent models. Select rifles, as stated in the literature, at a distance of 800 m gave a dispersion diameter of about 23 cm, i.e., the accuracy was within one minute of arc.
New Zealand sniper with 7.71 mm SMLE No. 4(T) repeating rifle, 1944.
Rifle No. 4 (T) was distinguished from the linear rifle by the manufacture of the barrel and its fit to the stock.
SMLE No. 4(T) was equipped with sight No. 32 (type 3x40) of the same magnification, but with a field of view of 9°, as well as with a “cheek” on the butt.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS "LEE-ENFIELD" No. 4(T)
Cartridge – 7.7×56 (.303 “British service”)
Weapon weight without sight – 4.11 kg
Weapon length – 1128 mm
Barrel length – 640 mm
Number of rifling – 2 or 5 right-handed
Initial bullet speed – 740 m/s
Muzzle energy of the bullet – 3086 J
Magazine capacity – 10 rounds
The 7.71mm Enfield No. 3 Mkl rifle was a different system. Being a British development, it was in 1915–1917. was produced under British contracts in the USA by Remington and Winchester, and became known as “Patent No. 14” (P14). With the outbreak of World War II, they were issued from warehouses - mainly to local self-defense units.
The rotating longitudinally sliding bolt of the rifle is made according to the Mauser type (which is why the rifle is often called the “Enfield-Mauser”), with two lugs on the combat cylinder, made integral with the stem. The bolt handle is also integral with the stem and bent down and back so that in the locked position it is located above the trigger guard. The trigger mechanism is mounted on the receiver and provides a warning release. The non-automatic safety lever was located on the right side of the receiver behind the bolt handle; the front position of the flag is “fire”, the rear position is “safety” (the shutter was blocked when the firing pin was cocked or released). A box-shaped double-row permanent magazine with a capacity of 5 rounds is completely hidden in the stock. On No. 3 MkI (T), adopted in the same February 1942, an optical sight with a magnification of 3x and a field of view of 7.5° was attached. Sniper version No. 3 Mkl (T) has gained popularity due to its good accuracy of fire. Enfield rifles chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge were also adopted by the US Army under the designation M1917. During World War II, the M1917 Enfield with a telescopic sight was used for sniper training. The optical sight was mounted on a groove in front of the receiver window and on the mechanical sight block.
Canadian 7.71 mm repeating sniper rifle "Ross" Mklll with a prismatic optical sight. The rifle bolt is moved to the rear position
Allied sniper rifles - British 7.71 mm magazine SMLE No. 4 (T) and American 7.62 mm self-loading M1D Garand. The sight mount is visible
Canadian snipers, in addition to the common SMLE for the British Commonwealth, also used the Ross Mkl 11 repeating rifle (chambered 303 British Service) from the First World War with an American Warner & Swazy 5.2x scope, similar to the M1913 scope. The rifle was distinguished by Ross's original bolt system - three lugs looked like sectors of a helical surface, and when reloading the handle moved only in a straight line (a "direct movement" bolt). This slightly increased the reloading speed, although the “direct movement” of the handle increased the length of its stroke. The shape of the 5-round magazine was reminiscent of the Mannlicher rifle, but the equipment was made from a Lee-Enfield type clip. The fuse blocking the firing pin in the rear position was located at the rear end of the bolt. Descent comes with a warning. The solid wooden stock had a pistol neck protrusion. The optical sight was attached to the spruce side of the receiver so as not to interfere with the magazine's equipment and to maintain the ability to use the diopter sight. The sniper rifle was also distinguished by a barrel extended to 775 mm. The Ross Mkll rifle was distinguished by good accuracy, comparable to a sports rifle, and ease of handling. Due to their high sensitivity to dirt and dust, linear rifles were removed from army units, but sniper rifles continued to be used for quite a long time.
USA
During the interwar period, the US Army conducted a number of experiments with sniper rifles - 12 optical sight mounting systems alone were tested from 1918 to 1935. However, by the beginning of World War II, the United States still did not have a standard sniper rifle. Weapons for snipers had to be created during the war, “remaking” the 7.62-mm rifles adopted for service under the very powerful 30-06 Springfield cartridge - the self-loading M1 Garand and the magazine-fed M1903 Springfield.
The M1 Garand was automatic with a gas engine and worked by venting powder gases through a side hole in the barrel wall into a gas chamber located at the bottom of the barrel. The barrel bore was locked by turning the bolt with two symmetrically located lugs in the front part. The bolt frame was made integral with the rod and gas piston. The trigger mechanism was assembled on the trigger guard. The impact mechanism is trigger. The trigger mechanism allowed only single fire. A non-automatic safety box was placed in front of the trigger guard, blocking the hammer and trigger. The rifle had a non-protruding permanent burst-loading magazine. The magazine box was combined with the receiver. The magazine was loaded with cartridges using a pack of 8 rounds. A characteristic feature was the use of a return spring located in the bolt frame rod as a magazine feed spring. After the cartridges in the magazine were used up, the bolt stop (shutter stop) held the bolt frame in the rear position. The M1 rifle had an open diopter sight.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS M1
Cartridge – 7.62×63 (.30–09 US)
Weapon length – 1104 mm
Barrel length – 566 mm
Number of rifling – 4 right-handed
Initial bullet speed – 810 m/s
Muzzle energy of the bullet – 3658 J
Magazine capacity – 8 rounds
Sniper variants were equipped with a better-made barrel and a 2.2x optical sight based on a commercial one. Of the 5.5 million Garand rifles produced, about 37,000 were sniper rifles. The installation of the optical sight was tested on an experimental M1E2 rifle. Then, based on the experimental M1E6, they created the M1E7 sniper with the M73 (Lyman Alaskan) or M73B1 (Weaver 330) sight. The sight was shifted to the left so as not to interfere with the ejection of spent cartridges and loading the magazine with a pack. The scope mount base, designed by Griffin & Howe, was bolted to the left side of the receiver. The next M1E8 sniper rifle was equipped with an M81 or M82 sight, the first had a regular reticle in the form of a crosshair of two threads, the second had a triangular aiming mark, as well as an integral bracket. In June 1944, M1E7 was renamed M1C, and M1E8 was renamed M1D. In 1945, a conical flash suppressor began to be attached to the M1C and D barrels, and a leather “cheek” was put on the butt. The bayonet mount was retained. M1D with M84 sight was also used during Korean War. The M1E, which “didn’t make it to the fronts of World War II,” was distinguished by its sight mount, which allowed for its quick installation without mandatory zeroing.
7.62 mm M3 automatic carbine with Sniper night sight and flash hider
Already in 1951, the M1C was modernized by installing the M84 4x30 type sight with easier adjustment and protective cylinder covers. A modification of the MC1952 with the 4XD MC-1 sight was released for the Marine Corps.
They also tried to convert the 7.62-mm M1 and M2 carbines into a “sniper” one chambered for the intermediate type .30 “carbine” cartridge. The M1E7 carbine with an optical sight was not successful. Based on the M2, we made an M3 carbine with a mount for the Sniperscope illuminated night sight in place of the standard open one. To reduce the illumination of the sight by the flash of a shot, the carbine was equipped with a flash suppressor. Only 2100 pieces were produced. On about. Okinawa in early 1945, riflemen using night sights allegedly killed up to 30% of the Japanese killed in all firefights.
7.62-mm M1903A4 "Springfield" repeating sniper rifle with a "Weaver" optical sight
The M1903A4 "Springfield" sniper rifle was a variant of the M1903A3 linear magazine rifle, devoid of a cannon and mechanical sight - the rifle had only an optical sight. The rifle had a rotary sliding bolt with two lugs in the front and a non-automatic safety, reminiscent of the Mauser bolt, which did not protrude and lay out a permanent double-row magazine (the Springfield rifle was also called the Springfield-Mauser). A striker-type impact mechanism was mounted in the bolt, and cocking was carried out on the trigger. The trigger mechanism ensured descent with warning. The bolt stop of the rifle also controlled the feed mechanism: when the flag was raised, the supply of cartridges from the magazine was turned off, when it was lowered, it was turned off, and when the flag was in a horizontal position, it was possible to remove the bolt from the receiver.
As a rule, a “commercial” Weaver 23 °C optical sight with 2.2x magnification or a Lyman, mounted on the receiver using a “bridge” bracket, was installed on the rifle. There were 6 or 4 grooves in the barrel bore. Like the M1903A3, the M1903A4 modification had a number of stamped parts in its design. The M1903A4 sniper was produced until 1944.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS M1903A4 "SPRINGFIELD"
Cartridge – 7.62×63 (.30–06 US)
Weight of weapon without sight – 4.0 kg
Weapon length – 1100 mm
Barrel length – 640 mm
Number of rifling – 4 left-handed
Initial bullet speed – 820 m/s
Muzzle energy of the bullet – 3749 J
Effective range – 545 m
Magazine capacity – 5 rounds
5.6 mm Winchester Model 74 self-loading carbine with optical sight, removable silencer, 14-round magazine
Snipers Marine Corps used the M1903 Springfield with a rather bulky Unertle sight with 8x magnification. Already in 1947, a removable expansion-type muffler with rubber washers was adopted for use with the M1903A4; The muffler was put on the muzzle of the barrel and fixed like a bayonet.
A target modification of the M1903A1 “National Match” rifle chambered for .270 Winchester cartridge with a “Unertl” sight was also used for sniper purposes.
As an example of a special-purpose “sniper” rifle, we can cite the silent modifications of the Model 74 Winchester self-loading carbine. This sporting weapon, in its original role, chambered for a 5.6 mm 22 LR cartridge with a magazine capacity of 14 rounds, attracted the attention of the special services for conversion into a “silent” one. . During the Second World War, on its basis, a “silent sniper rifle” with a removable expansion-type silencer (“Maxim type”) and the installation of an optical sight was manufactured for the British Special Operations Executive. The sighting range of such a rifle was limited to 100 yards (91.4 m), and the rifle was quite bulky - length 1321 mm with a silencer, 1118 mm without a silencer.
A quarter of a century later, a rifle with an integrated silencer and the same sighting range was made for the CIA on the same basis. The length of the rifle with the new barrel-silencer unit was reduced to 1029 mm, the weight was 3.2 kg. True, here we limited ourselves to a simple open sight with a replaceable front sight.
Air rifle "Crossman" Model 102 caliber 5.6 mm (.22). An optical sight could be mounted on the rifle. Variants of “combat” bullets in an air rifle were even developed - incendiary and “armor-piercing”
During World War II, pneumatic weapons tried to compete with silent firearms. And to solve “sniper” tasks, the Americans chose the Crossman Model 102 air rifle with an under-barrel compressor pumped using a lever. To increase the penetrating effect of the bullet, they decided to replace lead with steel, and head part make the bullets pointed, and besides, reducing the mass increased the initial speed (although the loss of speed in flight for a light bullet was greater). So that steel bullet did not spoil the relatively “soft” barrel of the weapon; it was covered with a thin layer of copper. However, in 1944, the Department strategic services The United States ordered the Crossman company together with 1000 Model 102 rifles of 5.6 mm caliber and lead bullets for them, demanding only higher precision in the manufacture of bullets, which indicates the intention to use rifles for “sniping” at short ranges, even with dubious lethality . Part of this batch was sent to Burma to the 101st Special Operations Command unit, which operated against the Japanese army, but the specific use of weapons and its results are not reported. Silent firearms, coming out of adolescence, soon left behind pneumatic competitors.
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 of airborne troops, the need arose 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
On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, the rifle division of the Red Army 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
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. 
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.
On its basis, a sniper rifle and a series of carbines of the 1938 and 1944 models were created. 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.
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.
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 automatic weapons entered the military en masse, they were removed from service.
Submachine guns
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.
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. 
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.
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.
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 was 3.5 kg lighter and required three times less manufacturing time. However, despite the obvious advantages, mass weapons he never did, leaving the PPSh-40 to take the lead.
By the beginning of the war, the DP-27 light machine gun (Degtyarev infantry, 7.62mm caliber) had been 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. 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.
It was a powerful weapon with an effective 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 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.The Wehrmacht's small arms generally met the high wartime requirements. It was reliable, trouble-free, simple, easy to manufacture and maintain, which contributed to its serial production.
Rifles, carbines, machine guns
Mauser 98K
Mauser 98K is an improved version of the Mauser 98 rifle, developed in late XIX century by the brothers Paul and Wilhelm Mauser, the 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.
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.
However, the MP-40 was absolutely unsuitable for infantry units, since it was exclusively a melee weapon. In a fierce battle in open terrain, 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. IN sighting range- 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 an under-barrel grenade launcher and an infrared sight was considered.
Not without its shortcomings. The assault rifle was heavier than the Mauser-98K by a whole kilogram. Its wooden butt sometimes could not withstand hand-to-hand combat and simply broke. 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.
MG-42 caliber 7.92 mm is quite rightly called one of the best machine guns Second World War. It was developed at Grossfus by engineers Werner Gruner and Kurt Horn. Those who have experienced it firepower, were very frank. 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 relatively little big amount parts – 200 and high technology of their production by 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.
The further into the depths of time the years of battles with the Nazi occupiers go, the more myths and idle speculations, often accidental, sometimes malicious, those events become overgrown. One of them is that the German troops were completely armed with the notorious Schmeissers, which are an unsurpassed example of an assault rifle of all times and peoples before the advent of the Kalashnikov assault rifle. What the Wehrmacht small arms of the Second World War actually were like, whether they were as great as they are “painted”, it is worth looking into in more detail to understand the real situation.
The blitzkrieg strategy, which consisted of a lightning-fast defeat of enemy troops with an overwhelming advantage of tank formations covered, assigned motorized ground forces almost an auxiliary role - to complete the final defeat of a demoralized enemy, and not to conduct bloody battles with the massive use of rapid-fire small arms.
Perhaps this is why, by the beginning of the war with the USSR, the vast majority of German soldiers were armed with rifles rather than machine guns, which is confirmed by archival documents. So, the Wehrmacht infantry division in 1940 should have had:
- Rifles and carbines – 12,609 pcs.
- Submachine guns, which would later be called machine guns - 312 pcs.
- Light machine guns - 425 pcs., heavy machine guns - 110 pcs.
- Pistols – 3,600 pcs.
- Anti-tank rifles – 90 pcs.
As can be seen from the above document, small arms, its ratio in terms of the number of types had a significant advantage in the direction of the traditional weapons of the ground forces - rifles. Therefore, by the beginning of the war, the infantry formations of the Red Army, mostly armed with excellent Mosin rifles, were in no way inferior to the enemy in this matter, and the standard number of submachine guns of the Red Army rifle division was even significantly greater - 1,024 units.
Later, in connection with the experience of battles, when the presence of rapid-fire, quickly reloaded small arms made it possible to gain an advantage due to the density of fire, the Soviet and German high commands decided to massively equip the troops with automatic hand-held weapons, but this did not happen immediately.
The most popular small arms of the German army by 1939 was the Mauser rifle - Mauser 98K. It was a modernized version of a weapon developed by German designers at the end of the previous century, repeating the fate of the famous “Mosinka” model of 1891, after which it underwent numerous “upgrades”, being in service with the Red Army, and then the Soviet Army until the end of the 50s. Specifications Mauser 98K rifles are also very similar:
An experienced soldier was able to aim and fire 15 shots from it in one minute. Equipping the German army with these simple, unpretentious weapons began in 1935. In total, more than 15 million units were manufactured, which undoubtedly indicates its reliability and demand among the troops.
The G41 self-loading rifle, on instructions from the Wehrmacht, was developed by German designers from the Mauser and Walther arms concerns. After state tests, the Walter system was recognized as the most successful.
The rifle had a number of serious shortcomings that emerged during operation, which dispels another myth about the superiority of German weapons. As a result, the G41 underwent significant modernization in 1943, primarily related to the replacement of the gas exhaust system borrowed from the Soviet SVT-40 rifle, and became known as the G43. In 1944, it was renamed the K43 carbine, without making any design changes. This rifle, in terms of technical data and reliability, was significantly inferior to self-loading rifles produced in the Soviet Union, which is recognized by gunsmiths.
Submachine guns (PP) - machine guns
By the beginning of the war, the Wehrmacht had several types of automatic weapons, many of which had been developed back in the 1920s, often produced in limited series for police use, as well as for export sale:
Basic technical data of the MP 38, produced in 1941:
- Caliber – 9 mm.
- Cartridge – 9 x 19 mm.
- Length with folded stock – 630 mm.
- Magazine capacity of 32 rounds.
- Target firing range – 200 m.
- Weight with loaded magazine – 4.85 kg.
- Rate of fire – 400 rounds/min.
By the way, by September 1, 1939, the Wehrmacht had only 8.7 thousand MP 38 units in service. However, after taking into account and eliminating the shortcomings of the new weapon identified in the battles during the occupation of Poland, the designers made changes, mainly related to reliability, and the weapon became mass produced. In total, during the war years, the German army received more than 1.2 million units of the MP 38 and its subsequent modifications - MP 38/40, MP 40.
It was MP 38 that was called Schmeisser by the Red Army soldiers. The most likely reason for this was the stamp on the magazines chambered for them with the name of the German designer, co-owner of the arms manufacturer Hugo Schmeisser. His surname is also associated with a very widespread myth that the Stg-44 assault rifle or Schmeisser assault rifle, which he developed in 1944, which is similar in appearance to the famous Kalashnikov invention, is its prototype.
Pistols and machine guns
Rifles and machine guns were the main weapons of Wehrmacht soldiers, but we should not forget about officer or additional weapons - pistols, as well as machine guns - hand and easel, which were a significant force during the fighting. They will be discussed in more detail in the following articles.
Speaking about the confrontation with Hitler’s Germany, it should be remembered that in fact the Soviet Union fought with the entire “united” Nazis, therefore the Romanian, Italian and many other countries’ troops had not only World War II Wehrmacht small arms produced directly in Germany, Czechoslovakia, former real arms forge, but also own production. As a rule, it was worse quality, less reliable, even if it was produced under the patents of German gunsmiths.
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