The history of weapons - from ancient times to the present. Briefly about the most famous weapons designers Battleship-popovka class "Novgorod"
To protect themselves from wild animals and hostile people, they began to use various objects: snags and sticks, sharp stones, etc. It was from those distant times that the history of weapons began. With the development of civilization, new types of it appeared, and each historical era corresponds to more advanced ones than at the previous stage. In a word, weapons, like everything on our planet, have gone through their own special evolutionary path throughout the entire history of existence - from the simplest to nuclear warheads.
Types of weapons
There are various classifications that subdivide weapons into different types. According to one of them, it is cold and gunshot. The first, in turn, is also of several types: chopping, stabbing, percussion, etc. It is driven by the muscular strength of a person, but a firearm operates due to the energy of a charge of gunpowder. Consequently, it was invented precisely when people learned how to get gunpowder from saltpeter, sulfur and coal. And the first to distinguish themselves in this were the Chinese (back in the 9th century AD). The history of weapons does not have exact data on the date of creation of this explosive mixture, however, the year is known when the "recipe" of gunpowder was first described in the manuscript - 1042. From China, this information leaked to the Middle East, and from there to Europe.
Firearms also have their own varieties. It is small arms, artillery and grenade launchers.
According to another classification, both cold and firearms are melee weapons. In addition to them, there are weapons related to weapons of mass destruction: nuclear, atomic, bacterial, chemical, etc.
Primitive weapon
We can judge what the means of protection were at the dawn of human civilization by the finds that archaeologists managed to get in the habitats. All these finds can be seen in various historical and local history museums.
The most ancient types of primitive weapons were stone or bone arrowheads and spears, which were found on the territory of modern Germany. These exhibits are about three hundred thousand years old. The number is, of course, impressive. For what purpose they were used, for hunting wild animals or for war with other tribes - we can only guess. Although the rock carvings to some extent help us to restore reality. But about the periods when writing was invented by mankind, literature, historiography, and painting began to develop, we have enough information about new achievements of people, including weapons. Since that time, we can trace the full path of transformation of these defensive means. The history of weapons includes several eras, and the initial one is primitive.
At first, the main types of weapons were spears, bows and arrows, knives, axes, first made of bone and stone, and later - metal (made of bronze, copper and iron).
Medieval weapons
After people learned how to work metals, they invented swords and pikes, as well as arrows with sharp metal tips. For protection, shields and armor (helmets, chain mail, etc.) were invented. By the way, even in ancient times, gunsmiths began to make rams and catapults from wood and metal for the siege of fortresses. With each new turn in the development of mankind, weapons were also improved. It became stronger, sharper, etc.
The medieval history of the creation of weapons is of particular interest, since it was during this period that firearms were invented, which completely changed the approach to combat. The first representatives of this species were arquebuses and squeaks, then muskets appeared. Later, gunsmiths decided to increase the size of the latter, and then the first appeared on the military field. Further, the history of firearms begins to state more and more new discoveries in this area: guns, pistols, etc.
new time
During this period, edged weapons gradually began to be replaced by firearms, which were constantly modified. Its speed, lethal force and range of projectiles increased. With the advent of weapons, it did not keep pace with inventions in this area. During the First World War, tanks began to appear in the theater of operations, and aircraft began to appear in the sky. In the middle of the 20th century, in the year of involvement in the Second World War of the USSR, a new generation was created - the Kalashnikov assault rifle, as well as various types of grenade launchers and types of rocket artillery, for example, the Soviet Katyusha, underwater military equipment.
Weapons of mass destruction
None of the above types of weapons can be compared with this one in terms of their danger. It, as already mentioned, includes chemical, biological or bacteriological, atomic and nuclear. The last two are the most dangerous. For the first time, mankind experienced nuclear power in August and November 1945, during the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US Air Force. The history, or rather, its combat use, originates precisely from this black date. Thank God that humanity has never experienced such a shock.
Missiles of various purposes are, by definition, a modular design. Photo from the KTRV website
The creation of weapons based on the use of unified units, consisting of an interchangeable set of parts (modules) that perform independent functions, has firmly entered the practice of engineering developments in our country and abroad. Suffice it to mention the construction of promising corvettes of projects 20380 and 20385 for the Russian Navy, in which various modifications of ships are created on a single base platform, differing in the type and number of weapons. On the export versions of the ship, at the request of the customer, it is planned to install not only Russian, but also foreign weapon systems.
Abroad, the German company Blom und Voss even patented a design and construction method called MEKO (Mehrzweck-Kombination - multi-purpose combined ship). The method is based on the division of the ship into approximately equal rectangular parallelepipeds (modules), saturated with various systems, electronics and weapons. From these modules, as in the well-known LEGO constructor, frigates, corvettes and patrol ships of the high seas are “assembled”. The shipyards of the firm and other shipbuilding companies have already built 63 MEKO ships for the navies of 10 states.
The modular method of creating military equipment is not limited to the field of weapons design. The concept of a universal container body is already being developed and implemented, on the basis of which universal modular platforms for logistics, communications and control, medical and radio engineering services are offered. Their introduction into the troops allows solving a number of key issues of logistics and logistics, making a real revolution in these areas, since it makes it possible to significantly reduce the costs and time for creating elements of the rear infrastructure and increase its mobility.
The idea of a modular method for the design and development of weapons is not innovative. It is believed that she was born abroad, which, in particular, is mentioned in many sources. But if in some of them its foreign origin is caught between the lines, then such an author as Oleg Kozarenko in his monograph on modular designs directly indicates: “Thirty years ago, when developing ships of new generations in the United States, they came to the creation of a transport and launch container (TPK) . After the vertical launch installation (UPK) under the TPK was developed, their cruisers and destroyers received a universal missile platform.
Let us turn to the history of the creation of domestic weapons. In the 30s of the last century, the aggravation of the international situation required a sharp reduction in the time for the development of new types of weapons, so the designers of artillery systems rarely went for a radical revision of the design of guns. In order to achieve maximum range with a minimum mass of guns and with the heaviest projectile, the so-called “overlay method” was used, when designers, as a rule, combined a new barrel with a finished carriage or a new carriage was created under an existing barrel. Aleksey Shalkovsky, a researcher on the history of the creation of domestic artillery weapons, drew attention to another feature in the activities of Soviet designers: when creating new artillery systems, they often used the LEGO method - creating a new model of weapons from existing parts and using ready-made solutions. When developing the 107-mm M-60 model 1940 gun, for example, by a group of designers led by F.F. Petrov's shutter was taken from a 122-mm howitzer of the 1910-1930 model; knurler, upper and lower machine tools, swivel mechanism and wheel brake were created with some changes similar to those used in the design of the 122-mm howitzer of the 1938 model M-30; the brake and balancing mechanism, with minor changes, is made according to the type of the 152-mm howitzer of the 1938 model M-10 and the 152-mm howitzer-gun of the 1937 model ML-20.
So the modular method of creating weapons grew and was successfully used on domestic soil much earlier than in the United States: more than 70 years ago. Its application gave a huge gain in time. Characteristic in this regard is the history of the creation of the 152-mm howitzer of the 1943 model D-1. During its development, the design team led by F.F. Petrova combined the two-bed carriage, shield cover, sights and recoil devices of the 122-mm M-30 howitzer with the barrel of the 152-mm M-10 howitzer, providing it with a powerful muzzle brake. The piston valve was borrowed from the 152-mm howitzer-gun of the 1937 model ML-20. It took only 18 days to design, manufacture five prototypes of the gun and test it by shooting by a group. Neither foreign nor domestic practice knew such a pace of development of a new weapon.
The implementation of the modular method seriously reduced the time for mastering the production of new tools. Due to their wide unification with artillery systems that are in mass production, the development of the production of a new howitzer took place in the shortest possible time. So, it took only 1.5 months for the plant No. 9 to switch to its serial production.
The use of unified parts, assemblies and mechanisms, in addition to reducing the time for designing, developing and mastering the production of new guns, significantly reduced the financial costs of them, and the appearance of new guns, in which well-known units predominate, significantly accelerated the development of their troops.
Unfortunately, the experience of wide unification of parts, assemblies and mechanisms of weapons during the period of survival of the domestic military-industrial complex (DIC) was largely lost, and the small-scale production of weapons did not contribute to its unification. Meanwhile, the troops have a significant number of weapons of the same type, which differ only slightly in weight and size characteristics. Their share is especially large in missile weapons, although the design of the latter greatly facilitates the introduction of the modular principle into design and production, since the missile structurally consists of modules: a warhead, a control unit, and a rocket engine. In addition to these advantages, the modular principle will simplify the modernization of missile weapons and their interspecific unification, and the ability to replace the warhead in the field will significantly expand the range of combat missions to be solved. So the use of domestic experience in the modular method of creating weapons, which is a powerful mechanism for interspecific and intraspecific unification of weapons, promises many advantages, and the task of the design corps is to put it at the service of the domestic defense industry.
The creation of weapons has always been relevant for mankind. And in this area of technical creativity, there were both successes, when the novelty was very effective when used against the enemy, and failures, when the new weapon turned out to be much more dangerous for the people using it than for the enemy. It is these potentially dangerous models that will be discussed in our review.
1. Panzer 68
In Switzerland, the PZ 68 tank was built in the 1960s, the purpose of which was to equip the country's army with modern tanks capable of withstanding the latest Soviet armored vehicles. Nearly 400 tanks were built and were eventually used until 2003. In theory, the PZ 68 was a formidable combat vehicle with an innovative computerized fire control system that allowed it to fire more accurately.
Also, the tank was distinguished by good maneuverability. However, this was all in theory, but in practice a number of problems were discovered. In 1979, a Swiss magazine published an "exposure" which substantiated that the tank actually had over 50 defects. Some of them were not critical. For example, the system of protection against radiation, biological and chemical threats did not work properly.
But other problems were more serious. For example, a tank could not move in reverse if it had not previously moved forward. In addition, the tank's turret jerked from side to side when the radio inside the vehicle was turned on: the radio frequencies used interfered with the operation of the tank's electrical control system. And what's more - the tank's gun could spontaneously fire when the heating inside the combat vehicle was turned on.
2. M22 Locust
It was a brilliant idea: a light tank that could be flown to the battlefield in a glider and thus provide paratroopers with more firepower. As a result, the M22 Locust was born - a tank that weighed only 8 tons (it was also only 4 meters long and 2.2 meters wide). The US produced over 100 of these tanks, which were armed with 37mm cannons. However, America never used them.
Many were handed over to the British, and some even took part in the battles of the allies during the crossing of the Rhine in Germany. Tanks turned out to be "terrible" weapons on the battlefield. One of them went down with the glider, and the other rolled over after landing. Even those tanks that landed successfully were so vulnerable on the battlefield that even a bullet from a rifle pierced them. At the same time, 37-mm guns turned out to be useless against tanks.
3. Sticky Grenade
In the late 1930s, the British Army, together with two Cambridge professors, developed an anti-tank grenade launcher, in which the grenade, after being hit, stuck to the armor of the tank, providing greater efficiency in the explosion. Initial testing was extremely disappointing, with the grenades bouncing off the armor. Then World War II broke out and the British were desperate to create an anti-tank weapon that could stop the German tanks.
As a result, they again remembered sticky grenades. Their new design consisted of a flexible outer casing, which was made of wool with an adhesive substance. Inside was a glass capsule. But the new sticky grenade stuck not only to the tank, but to everything, including the hands of the soldiers who tried to throw it.
4. Project X-Ray
The X-Ray project involved using bats to burn down Japanese cities. This concept was conceived by a dentist who was vacationing in Mexico where he saw tens of thousands of these animals. Bats tied with incendiary devices were to be dropped from aircraft over Japanese cities. It was understood that they were supposed to fly to flammable wooden houses, where after a while the explosive devices detonated.
In March 1943, the US government authorized the further development of this strange weapon. Testing proved that the concept worked. But one of the bats accidentally broke free while trying to photograph its movement. Fifteen minutes later, the mined animal exploded, after which almost the entire Air Force base where the tests were carried out burned down.
5. Submarine K-19
K-19 was the first nuclear submarine armed with ballistic missiles. However, the ship turned out to be literally "damned" from the very beginning. Several workers were injured during construction. The electrician was crushed by a fallen part, and the engineer crashed to death, falling into the barrel of a missile silo on a submarine. During the first mission, an emergency happened on a submarine - one of the nuclear reactors went haywire and was on the verge of destruction.
If the reactor melted down, it would kill everyone on board. The captain with 22 volunteers (out of 136 crew members) entered the reactor room to manually turn on the emergency device of the new cooling system. All 22 volunteers died from horrific radiation exposure. The submarine was decommissioned after 10 years when, in 1972, a fire on board killed 28 sailors.
6. Mogami-class cruiser
The Mogami-class cruisers were designed by the Japanese to adhere to the letter (but not the spirit) of the Washington Treaty (regarding the displacement of warships). These cruisers were supposed to be qualitatively superior to the light cruisers of any other country. The displacement of the new cruiser was 10,000 tons, as specified in the contract.
But at the same time, the Japanese tried to squeeze the maximum possible firepower into such a limited space, which made the ships very unstable. When sea trials were carried out, more problems arose. When the ships fired a volley of guns, the welds on the hull parted. After the tests, the gun turrets also jammed and a major overhaul was required.
7. Battleship-priest of the class "Novgorod"
In the 1870s, several Novgorod-class coastal battleship monitors were built in Russia for use in the Black Sea and the Dnieper. The creation of unusual ships was influenced by the calculations of a British shipbuilder, who claimed that the ideal shape of a ship is round. In theory, these coastal round ships allowed the use of heavier cannon armament for a given tonnage, were better protected from enemy fire, and were more manoeuvrable.
However, the reality was very different from the drawings. After the construction of two ships ("Novgorod" and "Kyiv"), a number of problems were discovered that led to the fact that such ships were practically useless. They moved too slowly against the current of the Dnieper, and they were very difficult to maneuver. When firing from guns, the ship completely got out of control and became very unstable. After three decades of service and a decade of inactivity, the Novgorod-class popovkas were scrapped just before the First World War.
8 Ross Rifle
The Ross Rifle, created by Sir Charles Ross, was a very accurate hunting rifle. The authorities of Canada, whose border troops have always been distinguished by enviable accuracy, have adopted this rifle into service. However, it turned out to be completely useless in the conditions of trench warfare (during the First World War). The Ross rifle was much longer than the British standard firearms and was simply too bulky in the trenches.
But these were not all problems. When firing, the bayonet fell off, and the internal mechanisms of the rifle were clogged with dirt in the trenches and failed. Canadians who were sent into battle with these rifles tended to discard them at the first opportunity and pick up the weapons of dead enemies.
9 Flying Bomb Aphrodite
The Aphrodite project was simple. Literally everything was taken out of decommissioned B-17 bombers, leaving only the fuselage and engines. Instead, they were "stuffed" with 5400 kilograms of explosives, thereby turning the planes into giant flying bombs. However, automated systems at that time could not take off on their own. Thus, the pilot and navigator had to take off, then transfer control to an automated radio control system and jump out with a parachute. The drone then flew radio-controlled to the target and destroyed it. This great idea turned out to be much more difficult in practice.
In 1944, the first mission with four aircraft ended in complete failure. One plane crashed and exploded shortly after takeoff in the UK. Two others also crashed, killing the pilots. The fourth plane successfully reached its target, but it crashed before it could do much damage. The second mission involved three aircraft. One of them crashed, and the other was shot down on the way to his goal. The third plane missed its target and fell into the ocean. After a dozen failed attempts, the project was closed.
10. Battleships of the Tegetthoff class
The ships of the Tegetthoff class became the world's first ironclads with three-gun turrets. They were designed and built in Austria-Hungary shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. "Tegetthoff" were distinguished by huge armor (armor belt of 280 mm), and 12 305-mm guns. In practice, they turned out to be useless due to the fact that they gave a dangerous roll during a sharp turn. As a result, the ships mostly stayed in port during World War II. During one of the flights in 1918, these two battleships were attacked by Italian destroyers. One escaped back to port, the other sank.
The development of new, sometimes simply incredible weapons, is ongoing today. It is possible that in the near future they will become a reality.
Chertok Boris Evseevich (03/01/1912 - 12/14/2011) - Soviet scientist in the field of aircraft control systems, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1968), Hero of Socialist Labor (1961). After graduating from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute in 1940, he worked in a number of research institutes and design bureaus. Since 1947 he has been teaching at the Moscow Higher Technical School. N. E. Bauman (since 1966 professor). The main works on automation, aircraft control systems, complexes of large systems. Lenin Prize (1957), State Prize of the USSR (1976). He was awarded 2 orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, 2 other orders, as well as medals.
Sloka Viktor Karlovich - General Designer of OAO RTI. Born February 20, 1932 in Moscow. Graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Sergo Ordzhonikidze in 1958 with a degree in Radio Engineering.Since 1977 to 1996 Sloka V.K. headed the Radiotechnical Institute. Academician A.L. Mintz (RTI). Currently General Designer of OAO RTI.For merits in the creation of the world's largest multifunctional radar "Don-2N" in 1997. he was awarded the high title of Hero of the Russian Federation.Laureate of the State Prize in the field of science and technology (1979), Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1985).Since 1979 Sloka V.K. Head of the Department of Radiophysics of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He formed a scientific school for the development of the theory and technology of complex radio information-measuring and telecommunication complexes, as well as systems for the formation, reception and processing of complex signals.
Severin Gai Ilyich - General Designer, General Director of the Zvezda Research and Production Enterprise (1964-2008), Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, full member of the International Academy of Astronautics. doctor of technical sciences, professor, scientist in the field of development of means of rescue and life support for crews of aircraft, helicopters and spacecraft.
(full text of the interview) Well, I am Severin Gai Ilyich, General Designer, General Director of the Zvezda Research and Production Enterprise, which means that I have been working in the aerospace industry since the age of 47, in particular, for the first 16 years I worked at the Flight Research Institute, from technician to the head of the research laboratory. In 1964, in January, at the beginning of 1964, our Minister Pyotr Vasilievich Dementiev appointed me to the newly organized pilot plant No. 918, now the Zvezda research and production enterprise, as the chief designer and responsible head of this enterprise. Thus, I have been working here for 43 years.
In the photo: Lavochkin Semyon, Nudelman Alexander, Kotin Zhozev.
Jews are the creators of military equipment and weapons.
Colonel General Kotin Joseph Yakovlevich - under his leadership, modifications of the heavy tank KB (KB-lc, KB-85, new tanks IS-1, IS-2.
Designers of Soviet tanks Chernyak B.A., Mitnik A.Ya., Shpaikhler A.I., Schwarzburg M.B.
Vikhman Yakov Efimovich designed tank diesel engines. A powerful V-2 diesel engine designed by Vikhman was installed on the T-34 tank
Gorlitsky Lev Izrailevich was a designer of self-propelled artillery mounts SAU-76, SAU-122.
Loktev Lev Abramovich - designer of anti-aircraft artillery guns.
Artillery guns ZIS-3 were developed in Grabin's design bureau - they were created by designers-developers: Lasman B., Norkin V., Renne K.
Major General Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich - General Designer of fighters. Specialists worked with him: Taits M.A., Zaks L.A., Pirlin B.A., Zak S.L., Kantor D.I., Sverdlov I.A., Kheifets N.A., Chernyakov N. S., Eskin Yu.B.
On the La-5 fighter, pilot Ivan Kozhedub shot down 45 enemy aircraft, and on the La-7 fighter - another 17
Nizhny Vladimir Iosifovich - engine specialist. Died in an engine explosion during engine testing.
Mil Mikhail Leontievich - designer, who in the future became an outstanding creator of a number of helicopters.
Gurevich Mikhail Iosifovich - together with Mikoyan A.I. created a series of high-rise fighters - MIG. Major General IAS.
Izakson Alexander Moiseevich - together with Petlyakov V.M. On the eve of the war, he created the Pe-2 dive bomber. After the death of Petlyakov in 1942, he headed the design bureau that created the Pe-2, Pe-3, Pe-8 (TB-7) aircraft. Buyanover SI worked with him. - chief designer of sighting devices for dropping bombs from Pe-2, Vilgrube L.S., Erlikh I.A. and etc.
Kosberg Semyon Arievich - chief designer of aircraft engines.
Kerber Leonid Lvovich - chief designer. Deputy General Designer Tupolev A.N. Prominent designers and engineers worked with him at the Tupolev Design Bureau: Yeger SM., Iosilovich Ts.B., Minkner K.V., Frenkel G.S., Sterlin A.E., Stoman E.K. They created the Tu-2 tactical dive bomber and other aircraft of the Tu family.
Nudelman Alexander Emmanuilovich - designer of aircraft weapons. Chief designer for aircraft guns at the Izhevsk plant. The most popular Yak-9 fighter was equipped with an automatic 37-mm cannon of its design. Together with him, Richter Aron Abramovich designed air guns.
Taubin Yakov Grigorievich - a talented designer of aviation weapons, was repressed in December 1941.
Galperin Anatoly Isaakovich - the designer of a super-heavy aerial bomb weighing 5.4 tons, which was used to destroy especially important and large enemy targets, and others.
For participation in the development and production of new types of military equipment during the war years, 300 Jewish specialists were awarded the Stalin Prize, 12 - the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, 200 - were awarded the Order of Lenin. In total, orders and medals were awarded to 180 thousand Jewish engineers, business leaders and workers.
Among the test pilots, the names of Gallay Mark Lazarevich, Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, are known. Baranovsky Mikhail Lvovich Gimpel E.N., Izgeim A.N., Kantor David Isaakovich, Einis I.V. and others.
NOTE Song!..
Reviews
Thank you, of course, but it is not clear what the portrait of Stalin has to do with it?
And the second question. And why single out the Jewish creators of military equipment, their creators of the same equipment of other nationalities?
You see, there is my grandfather's name on your list, so I know for sure that he would not like it.
Anastasia, this is all in the context of Victory Day and the annual attacks on her. Moreover, a terrible aggravation this year, when, for example, Gozman and Skobeida performed. Or are you not keeping track of situations? Yesterday TV channel Zvezda aired a story about the Musolini cafe in Italy. And once again glorify your grandfather - it won't hurt.
Facial features? I understand that they beat them in the face, and not in the passport, but often people of a completely different nationality get hit in the face.
Yes, I, in fact, about Stalin ... You can’t forget about this geek, but I wouldn’t hang portraits either.. I wouldn’t.
But this is just my personal opinion and nothing more.
I am sure that 147 (+3 twice) Heroes of the Soviet Union, and your grandfather, thought differently, otherwise everything would have been different for them. And you can't take the words out of the song.