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Weapons of the Second World War (Germans). Mill of Myths: mass weapons of the Wehrmacht Automatic weapons of the Second World War

Second World War was the greatest and bloodiest conflict in human history. Millions died, empires rose and fell, and it is difficult to find a corner on the planet that was not affected in one way or another by that war. And in many ways it was a technology war, an arms war.

Our today's article is a kind of "Top 11" about the best soldier's weapons on the battlefields of World War II. Millions ordinary men relied on him in battles, took care of him, carried him with him in the cities of Europe, deserts, and in the stuffy jungles of the southern part. A weapon that often gave them a bit of an advantage over their enemies. A weapon that saved their lives and killed their enemies.

German assault rifle, automatic. In fact, the first representative of the entire modern generation of machine guns and assault rifles. Also known as MP 43 and MP 44. Could not shoot long bursts, but had much more high precision and the range of the shot compared to other machine guns of the time, equipped with conventional pistol cartridges. Additionally, telescopic sights, grenade launchers, as well as special devices for shooting from cover could be installed on the StG 44. Mass produced in Germany in 1944. In total, more than 400 thousand copies were produced during the war.

10 Mauser 98k

World War II became a swan song for repeating shotguns. They have dominated armed conflicts since the late 19th century. And some armies were used for a long time after the war. On the basis of the then military doctrine - armies, first of all, fought each other over long distances and at open area. The Mauser 98k was designed for just that.

The Mauser 98k was the backbone of the infantry armament of the German Army and remained in production until the German surrender in 1945. Among all the rifles that served during the war years, the Mauser is considered one of the best. In any case, by the Germans themselves. Even after the introduction of semi-automatic and automatic weapons, the Germans remained with the Mauser 98k, partly for tactical reasons (they based their infantry tactics on light machine guns, not riflemen). In Germany, they developed the world's first assault rifle, though already at the end of the war. But it never saw widespread use. The Mauser 98k remained the primary weapon with which most German soldiers fought and died.

9. The M1 carbine

The M1 Garand and the Thompson submachine gun were great, of course, but they each had their own serious flaws. They were extremely uncomfortable for support soldiers in daily use.

For ammunition carriers, mortar crews, gunners and other similar troops, they were not particularly convenient and did not provide adequate effectiveness in close combat. We needed a weapon that could be easily removed and quickly used. They became The M1 Carbine. It wasn't the most powerful. firearms in that war, but it was light, small, accurate, and in capable hands, as deadly as a more powerful weapon. The rifle had a mass of only 2.6 - 2.8 kg. American paratroopers also appreciated the M1 carbine for its ease of use, and often jumped into battle armed with the folding stock variant. The US produced over six million M1 carbines during the war. Some variations based on the M1 are still produced and used today by the military and civilians.

8. MP40

Although this machine has never been in in large numbers as the main weapon for infantrymen, the German MP40 became a ubiquitous symbol of the German soldier in World War II, and indeed of the Nazis in general. It seems that in every war movie there is a German with this machine gun. But in reality, MP4 has never been standard weapon infantry. Usually used by paratroopers, squad leaders, tankers and special forces.

It was especially indispensable against the Russians, where the accuracy and power of long-barreled rifles was largely lost in street fighting. However, the MP40 submachine guns were so effective that they forced the German high command to reconsider their views on semi-automatic weapons, which led to the creation of the first assault rifle. Whatever it was, the MP40 was undoubtedly one of the great submachine guns of the war, and became a symbol of the efficiency and power of the German soldier.

7. Hand grenades

Of course, rifles and machine guns can be considered the main weapons of the infantry. But how not to mention huge role use of various infantry grenades. Powerful, lightweight, and the perfect size for throwing, grenades were an invaluable tool for close-range attacks on enemy battle positions. In addition to the effect of direct and fragmentation, grenades have always had a huge shock and demoralizing effect. Starting from the famous "lemons" in the Russian and American armies and ending with the German grenade "on a stick" (nicknamed "potato masher" due to its long handle). A rifle can do a lot of damage to a fighter's body, but the wounds inflicted fragmentation grenades, it's something else.

6. Lee Enfield

The famous British rifle has received many modifications and has a glorious history since the end of the 19th century. Used in many historical, military conflicts. Including, of course, in the First and Second World Wars. In World War II, the rifle was actively modified and supplied with various sights for sniper shooting. She managed to "work" in Korea, Vietnam and Malaya. Until the 70s, it was often used to train snipers from different countries.

5 Luger PO8

One of the most coveted combat mementos for any Allied soldier is the Luger PO8. It may seem a bit odd to describe a lethal weapon, but the Luger PO8 was truly a work of art and many gun collectors have it in their collections. With a chic design, extremely comfortable in the hand and manufactured to the highest standards. In addition, the pistol had a very high accuracy of fire and became a kind of symbol of the Nazi weapons.

Designed as an automatic pistol to replace revolvers, the Luger was highly regarded not only for its unique design, but also for its long service life. It remains today the most "collectible" German weapon of that war. Occasionally appears as a personal military weapons and at the present time.

4. KA-BAR combat knife

The armament and equipment of soldiers of any war is unthinkable without mentioning the use of so-called trench knives. An indispensable assistant to any soldier for a variety of situations. They can dig holes, open canned food, use them for hunting and clearing the way in the dense forest and, of course, use them in a bloody hand-to-hand combat. More than one and a half million were produced during the war years. Received the widest application when used by US Marines in tropical jungle islands in pacific ocean. To this day, the KA-BAR remains one of the greatest knives ever made.

3. Thompson machine

Developed in the USA back in 1918, the Thompson has become one of the most iconic submachine guns in history. In World War II most widespread received "Thompson" М1928А1. Despite its weight (over 10 kg and was heavier than most submachine guns), it was very popular weapon for scouts, sergeants, special forces, and paratroopers. In general, everyone who appreciated lethal force and vykuyu rate of fire.

Despite the fact that the production of these weapons was discontinued after the war, Thompson still "shines" around the world in the hands of military and paramilitary groups. He was noticed even in the Bosnian war. For the soldiers of World War II, it served as an invaluable combat tool with which they fought through all of Europe and Asia.

2. PPSh-41

Shpagin submachine gun, model 1941. Used in the winter war with Finland. On the defensive at Soviet troops using PPSh was much more likely to destroy the enemy at close range than with the popular Russian Mosin rifle. The troops needed, first of all, high rates of fire at short distances in urban battles. A real marvel of mass production, the PPSh was as simple as possible to manufacture (at the height of the war, Russian factories produced up to 3,000 machine guns a day), very reliable and extremely easy to use. Could fire both bursts and single shots.

Equipped with a drum magazine with 71 rounds of ammunition, this machine gun gave the Russians fire superiority on close range. The PPSh was so effective that the Russian command armed entire regiments and divisions with it. But perhaps the best evidence of the popularity of this weapon was its highest appreciation among the German troops. Wehrmacht soldiers willingly used captured PPSh assault rifles throughout the entire war.

1. M1 Garand

At the start of the war, almost every American infantryman in every major unit was armed with a rifle. They were accurate and reliable, but after each shot they required the soldier to manually remove spent cartridges and reload. This was acceptable for snipers, but significantly limited the speed of aiming and the overall rate of fire. Wanting to increase the ability to intensively fire, one of the most famous rifles of all time, the M1 Garand, was put into operation in the American army. Patton called it “the greatest weapon ever invented,” and the rifle deserves this high praise.

It was easy to use and maintain, with a quick reload, and gave the US Army superiority in rate of fire. M1 served faithfully to the military in active army USA until 1963. But even today, this rifle is used as a ceremonial weapon and is also highly regarded as hunting weapon among the civilian population.

The article is a slightly modified and supplemented translation of materials from warhistoryonline.com. It is clear that the presented "top" weapons can cause comments from fans of military history from different countries. So, dear readers of WAR.EXE, put forward your fair versions and opinions.

https://youtu.be/6tvOqaAgbjs

During the Great Patriotic War, readers wrote about the desirability of a similar article about machine guns. We fulfill the request.

Machine guns at the indicated time became the main striking force of small arms at medium and long ranges: for some shooters, self-loading rifles were gradually replaced by submachine guns instead of self-loading rifles. And if in July 1941 a rifle company had six light machine guns in the state, then a year later - 12, and in July 1943 - 18 light machine guns and one heavy machine gun.

Let's start with Soviet models.

The first was, of course, the Maxim easel machine gun of the 1910/30 model, modified for a heavier bullet weighing 11.8 g. In comparison with the 1910 model, about 200 changes were made to its design. The machine gun has become lighter by more than 5 kg, reliability has automatically increased. Also for the new modification, a new Sokolov wheeled machine was developed.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - tape, 250 rounds; rate of fire - 500-600 rounds / min.

The specifics were the use of cloth tape and water cooling of the barrel. The machine gun weighed 20.3 kg by itself (without water); and together with the machine - 64.3 kg.

The Maxim machine gun was a powerful and familiar weapon, but at the same time it was too heavy for maneuverable combat, and water cooling could cause problems with overheating: fiddling with canisters during a battle is not always convenient. In addition, the Maxim device was quite complex, which was important in war time.

There was also an attempt to make a light machine gun out of the easel "Maxim". As a result, the MT machine gun (Maxim-Tokarev) of the 1925 model was created. The resulting weapon can only be called hand-held, since the machine gun weighed almost 13 kg. This model has not received distribution.

The first mass-produced light machine gun was the DP (Degtyarev Infantry), adopted by the Red Army in 1927 and widely used until the end of World War II. For its time, it was a good weapon, captured specimens were also used in the Wehrmacht (“7.62mm leichte Maschinengewehr 120 (r)”), and among the Finns, the DP was generally the most common machine gun.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - disk store for 47 rounds; rate of fire - 600 rounds / min; weight with equipped magazine - 11.3 kg.

Disk stores became its specificity. On the one hand, they provided a very reliable supply of cartridges, on the other hand, they had a significant mass and dimensions, which made them inconvenient. In addition, they were quite easily deformed in combat conditions and failed. As standard, the machine gun was equipped with three discs.

In 1944, the DP was upgraded to the PDM: a pistol fire control grip appeared, the return spring was moved to the rear of the receiver, and the bipod was made more durable. After the war, in 1946, the RP-46 machine gun was created on the basis of the DP, which was then massively exported.

Gunsmith V.A. Degtyarev also developed an easel machine gun. In September 1939, the 7.62-mm machine gun of the Degtyarev system (DS-39) was put into service, they planned to gradually replace the Maxims.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - tape, 250 rounds; rate of fire - 600 or 1200 rounds / minute, switchable; weight 14.3 kg + 28 kg machine with shield.

By the time of the treacherous German attack on the USSR, the Red Army had about 10 thousand DS-39 machine guns in service. Under the conditions of the front, their design shortcomings were quickly revealed: too fast and energetic shutter recoil caused frequent ruptures of the cartridge cases when they were removed from the barrel, which led to the inertial dismantling of the cartridge with a heavy bullet that popped out of the muzzle of the cartridge case. Of course, in peaceful conditions this problem could have been solved, but there was no time for experiments, the industry was evacuated, so the production of the DS-39 was discontinued.

The question of replacing the Maxims with a more modern design remained, and in October 1943, 7.62-mm machine guns of the Goryunov system of the 1943 model (SG-43) began to enter the troops. Interestingly, Degtyarev honestly admitted that the SG-43 is better and more economical than its development - a clear demonstration of the difference between competition and competition.

The Goryunov easel machine gun turned out to be simple, reliable and fairly light, while production was deployed at several enterprises at once, so that by the end of 1944, 74 thousand pieces were produced.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - tape, 200 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 600-700 shots / minute; weight 13.5 kg (36.9 on a wheeled machine or 27.7 kg on a tripod machine).

After the Great Patriotic War, the machine gun underwent modernization and, like the SGM, was produced until 1961, until it was replaced with a single Kalashnikov machine gun in the easel version.

Perhaps, we also recall the Degtyarev light machine gun (RPD), which was created in 1944 under the new intermediate cartridge 7.62x39 mm.

Cartridge - 7.62x39 mm; food - tape, 100 rounds; rate of fire - 650 shots / minute; weight - 7.4 kg.

However, it entered service after the war and was also gradually replaced by the RPK light machine gun during the unification of small arms in Soviet army.

Of course, we must not forget about heavy machine guns.

So, the designer Shpagin developed a tape power module for the recreation center in 1938, and in 1939 12.7 mm was adopted for service. heavy machine gun Degtyarev - Shpagin model 1938 (DShK_, mass production of which was started in 1940-41 (in total, about 8 thousand DShK machine guns were produced during the war).

Cartridge - 12.7x109 mm; food - tape, 50 rounds; rate of fire - 600 shots / minute; weight - 34 kg (on a wheeled machine 157 kg).

At the end of the war, the Vladimirov heavy machine gun (KPV-14.5) was developed under a cartridge for anti-tank rifles, which made it possible not only to support infantry, but also to fight armored personnel carriers and low-flying aircraft.

Cartridge - 14.5 × 114 mm; food - tape, 40 rounds; rate of fire - 550 shots / minute; weight on a wheeled machine - 181.5 kg (without - 52.3).

The KPV is one of the most powerful machine guns ever in service. The muzzle energy of the KPV reaches 31 kJ, while the 20-mm ShVAK aircraft gun has about 28 kJ.

Let's move on to the German machine guns.

The MG-34 machine gun was adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1934. It was the main machine gun until 1942, both in the Wehrmacht and in the tank troops.

Cartridge - 7.92x57 mm Mauser; food - tape, 50 or 250 rounds, magazine 75 rounds; rate of fire - 900 shots / minute; weight - 10.5 kg with bipod, without cartridges.

A design feature is the ability to switch the power supply to the tape feed both on the left and on the right, which is very convenient for use in armored vehicles. For this reason, the MG-34 was used in the tank forces even after the advent of the MG-42.

The disadvantage of the design is the complexity and material consumption of production, as well as sensitivity to pollution.

An unsuccessful design among the German machine guns was the HK MG-36. The relatively light (10 kg) and easy to manufacture machine gun was not reliable enough, the rate of fire was 500 rounds per minute, and the box magazine contained only 25 rounds. As a result, they were first armed with Waffen SS units, supplied according to the residual principle, then it was used as a training one, and in 1943 it was completely removed from service.

The masterpiece of the German machine gun industry is the famous MG-42, which replaced the MG-34 in 1942.

Cartridge - 7.92x57 mm Mauser; food - tape, 50 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 800-900 shots / minute; weight - 11.6 kg (machine gun) + 20.5 kg (machine Lafette 42).

Compared to the MG-34, the designers were able to reduce the cost of the machine gun by approximately 30%, and the metal consumption by 50%. The production of MG-42 continued throughout the war, more than 400 thousand machine guns were produced in total.

The machine gun's unique rate of fire made it a powerful means of suppressing the enemy, however, as a result, the MG-42 required frequent replacement of barrels during the battle. At the same time, on the one hand, the change of the barrel was carried out constructively in 6-10 seconds, on the other hand, it was possible only with heat-insulating (asbestos) mittens or any improvised means. In the case of intensive shooting, the barrel had to be changed every 250 shots: if there was a well-equipped firing point and a spare barrel, or better two, everything was fine, but if it was not possible to change the barrel, then the effectiveness of the machine gun dropped sharply, shooting could only be in short bursts and taking into account the need for natural cooling of the barrel.

MG-42 is deservedly considered the best in its class machine gun of the Second World War.

Video comparing SG-43 and MG-42 (in English, but there are subtitles):

The Mauser MG-81 machine gun of the 1939 model was also used to a limited extent.

Cartridge - 7.92x57 mm Mauser; food - tape, 50 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 1500-1600 shots / minute; weight - 8.0 kg.

Initially, the MG-81 was used as an airborne defensive armament for Luftwaffe bombers, it began to enter service with airfield divisions from 1944. initial speed bullets compared to standard light machine guns, but the MG-81 had less weight.

But for some reason, the Germans did not bother with heavy machine guns in advance. Only since 1944 did the Rheinmetall-Borsig MG-131 machine guns of the 1938 model, which also have an aviation origin, enter the troops: when the fighters were converted to 30-mm MK-103 and MK-108 air guns, the MG-131 heavy machine guns were transferred ground forces(total 8132 machine guns).

Cartridge - 13 × 64 mm; food - tape, 100 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 900 shots / minute; weight - 16.6 kg.

Thus, we can say that in general, in terms of machine guns from a design point of view, the Reich and the USSR had parity. On the one hand, the MG-34 and MG-42 had a significantly higher rate of fire, which in many cases had great importance. On the other hand, they demanded frequent shift trunks, otherwise the rate of fire remained theoretical.

In terms of maneuverability, the old Degtyarev won: inconvenient disk magazines nevertheless allowed the machine gunner to fire alone.

It is a pity that the DS-39 could not be finalized and had to be discontinued.

In terms of heavy machine guns, the USSR had a clear advantage.

Let's talk about many myths that have long been boring, about true and fictional facts and about the real state of affairs during the Great Patriotic War.

On the topic of the Great Patriotic War, there are many myths directed against Russia, from "they filled up with corpses" and up to "two million raped German women." One of them is excellence. German weapons over the Soviet It is important that this myth is also spread without anti-Soviet (anti-Russian) motivation, “accidentally” – a typical example is the depiction of Germans in films. Often this is highly artistically portrayed as a procession of "blond beasts" with rolled up sleeves, which from the hip water the soldiers of the Red Army from the "Schmeisers" (see below) in long bursts, and they only occasionally snarl with rare rifle shots. Cinematic! This happens even in Soviet films, and in modern ones it can even reach one handle of a shovel for three against sailing "tigers".
Let's compare the weapons that were at that time. However, this is a very broad topic, so let's take for example small arms, moreover, "in a narrow range", mass for the rank and file. That is, we do not take pistols, machine guns - too (we would like them, but the article has a limited volume). We also do not consider specific ones, such as Vorsatz J / Pz curved nozzles, and we will examine the indicated “narrow” nomenclature specifically for mass products, without specifically highlighting early models (SVT-38 from SVT-40, MP-38 from MP-40, for example) . I apologize for such superficiality, but you can always read the details on the Internet, and now we only need comparative review mass models.
Let's start with the fact that the impression from many of the film "almost all the Germans had, unlike the Red Army, automatic weapons" is false.
In 1940, the German infantry division was supposed to have 12609 rifles and carbines, and only 312 submachine guns, i.e. less than the actual machine guns (425 light and 110 easel), and in the Soviet in 1941 - 10386 rifles and carbines (including sniper ones), submachine guns - 1623 pieces (and, by the way, 392 light machine guns and 166 easel, and also 9 large-caliber). In 1944, the Germans per division had 9420 carbines and rifles (including snipers), which accounted for 1595 submachine guns and assault rifles, and in the Red Army - 5357 rifles with carbines, submachine guns - 5557 pieces. (Sergey Metnikov, Confrontation between Wehrmacht and Soviet small arms systems, "Arms" No. 4, 2000).

It is clearly seen that according to the state, the share of automatic weapons in the Red Army was greater even at the beginning of the war, and over time, the relative number of submachine guns only increased. However, it is worth considering that “it is necessary according to the state” and “there was actually” did not always coincide. Just at that time, the rearmament of the army was going on, and a new range of weapons was only being formed: “As of June 1941, in the Kiev Special Military District, rifle formations of light machine guns had from 100 to 128% of the staff, submachine guns - up to 35%, anti-aircraft machine guns - 5-6% of the state." It should also be taken into account that the most big losses weapons fell at the beginning of the war, 1941.

It was in the Second World War that the role of small arms changed compared to the First: long-term positional "trench" confrontations were replaced by operational maneuvering, which made new demands on small arms. By the end of the war, the specializations of weapons were already quite clearly divided: long-range (rifles, machine guns) and for short distances using automatic fire. Moreover, in the second case, the battle at a distance of up to 200 m was first considered, but then the understanding came of the need to increase the aiming range of automatic weapons to 400-600 m.
But let's get down to specifics. Let's start with German weapons.

First of all, of course, the Mauser 98K carbine comes to mind.



Caliber 7.92x57 mm, manual reloading, magazine for 5 rounds, effective range - up to 2000 m, so it was widely used with optical sights. The design turned out to be very successful, and after the war, Mausers became a popular base for hunting and sporting weapons. Although the carbine is a remake of a rifle from the end of the previous century, the Wehrmacht began to arm itself with these carbines en masse only from 1935.

The first automatic self-loading rifles in the infantry of the Wehrmacht began to arrive only from the end of 1941, these were the Walther G.41.



Caliber 7.92x57 mm, gas automatics, magazine for 10 rounds, effective range - up to 1200 m. The main disadvantages are: poor balance (the center of gravity is strongly shifted forward) and exacting maintenance, which is difficult in front-line conditions. In 1943, it was upgraded to the G-43, and before that, the Wehrmacht often preferred to use captured Soviet-made SVT-40s. However, in the Gewehr 43 version, the improvement was precisely in the use of a new gas exhaust system, borrowed just from the Tokarev rifle.

The most famous weapon in appearance is the "schmeiser" of a characteristic shape.

Which has nothing to do with the designer Schmeisser, Maschinenpistole MP-40 was developed by Heinrich Volmer.
We will not consider the early modifications of the MP-36 and -38 separately, as mentioned.

Caliber: 9x19 mm Parabellum, rate of fire: 400-500 rounds per minute, magazine: 32 rounds, effective range: 150 m for group targets, for single targets - generally 70 m, since the MP-40 vibrates heavily when fired. This is just in time for the question of “cinematic versus realism”: if the Wehrmacht had attacked “like in a movie”, then it would have been a shooting range for Red Army soldiers armed with “mosquitoes” and “lights”: the enemy would have been shot for another 300-400 meters. Another significant drawback was the lack of a barrel casing during its rapid heating, which often led to burns when firing in bursts. It should also be noted the unreliability of stores. However, for close combat, especially urban combat, the MP-40 is a very good weapon.
Initially, the MP-40 was only for command personnel, then they began to issue drivers, tankers and paratroopers. There has never been a cinematic mass character: 1.2 million MP-40s were produced during the entire war, more than 21 million people were drafted into the Wehrmacht, and in 1941 there were only about 250 thousand MP-40s in the troops.

Schmeisser, in 1943, developed the Sturmgewehr StG-44 (originally MP-43) for the Wehrmacht.

By the way, it is worth noting that there is a myth that the Kalashnikov assault rifle was allegedly copied from the StG-44, which arose due to some external similarity in ignorance of the device of both products.

Caliber: 7.92x33 mm, rate of fire: 400-500 rounds / min, magazine: 30 rounds, effective range: up to 800 m. It was possible to mount a 30 mm grenade launcher and even use an infrared sight (which, however, required backpack batteries and itself was by no means compact). Quite a worthy weapon for its time, but mass production was mastered only in the fall of 1944, in total, approximately 450 thousand of these assault rifles were produced, which were armed with SS units and other elite units. Let's start, of course, with the glorious Mosin rifle of the 1891-30 model, and, of course, the carbine of the 1938 and 1944 model.


Caliber 7.62x54 mm, manual reloading, magazine for 5 rounds, effective range - up to 2000 m. The main small arms of the Red Army infantry units of the first period of the war. Durability, reliability and unpretentiousness have entered into legends and folklore. The disadvantages include: a bayonet, which, due to an outdated design, had to be constantly attached to the rifle, a horizontal bolt handle (that's real - why not bend down?), The inconvenience of reloading and a fuse.

Soviet gunsmith F.V. Tokarev developed a 10-shot self-loading rifle SVT-38 in the late 30s

Then a modernized version of the SVT-40 appeared, weighing 600 g less, and then a sniper rifle was created on this basis.


Caliber 7.62x54 mm, gas automatics, magazine for 10 rounds, effective range - up to 1000 m operation. In addition, in front-line conditions, there was often a shortage of lubricants, and inappropriate ones could be used. Additionally, the low quality of the cartridges supplied under Lend-Lease, which gave a large soot, should be indicated. However, it all comes down to the need to comply with the maintenance regulations.
At the same time, SVT had a large firepower due to automation and twice as many rounds in the magazine as the Mosin rifle, so the preferences were different.
As mentioned above, the Germans valued captured SVTs and even adopted them as a "limited standard".

As for automatic weapons, at the beginning of the war the troops had a certain number of V.A. submachine guns. Degtyareva PPD-34/38


It was developed back in the 30s. Caliber 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 800 rounds / min, magazine for 71 rounds (drum) or 25 (horn), effective range: 200 meters. It was used mainly by the border units of the NKVD, since, unfortunately, the combined arms command still thought in terms of the First World War and did not understand the significance of submachine guns. In 1940, the PPD was structurally modernized, but still remained of little use for mass production in wartime, and by the end of 1941 was replaced in service with the cheaper and more efficient Shpagin PPSh-41 submachine gun

PPSh-41, which became widely known thanks to the cinema.


Caliber 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 900 rounds / min, effective range: 200 meters (sighting - 300, which is important for firing single shots). PPSh inherited a drum magazine for 71 rounds, and later received a more reliable carob magazine for 35 rounds. The design was based on stamping-welded technology, which made it possible to mass-produce the product even in harsh military conditions, and in total about 5.5 million PPSh were produced during the war years. Main advantages: high effective firing range in its class, simplicity and low cost of manufacture. The disadvantages include significant weight, as well as too high a rate of fire, which leads to an overrun of cartridges.
You should also remember the PPS-42 invented in 1942 by Alexei Sudayev (then PPS-43).


Caliber: 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 700 rounds per minute, magazine: 35 rounds, effective range: 200 meters. The bullet retains lethal force up to 800 m. Although the PPS was very technologically advanced in production (stamped parts are assembled by welding and rivets; material costs are half and labor costs are three times less than those of the PPSh), it never became a mass weapon, although over the remaining years of the war there were about half a million copies produced. After the war, the PPS was massively exported, and also copied abroad (the Finns made a replica of the M44 under the 9 mm cartridge already in 1944), then it was gradually replaced by the Kalashnikov assault rifle in the troops. PPS-43 is often called the best submachine gun of World War II.
Some will ask: why, since everything was so good, the blitzkrieg almost succeeded?
Firstly, do not forget that in 1941 the rearmament was just underway, and the provision of automatic weapons according to the new standards had not yet been carried out.
Secondly, small arms in the Great Patriotic War are not the main damaging factor, their losses are usually estimated between a quarter and a third of the total.
Thirdly, there are areas where the Wehrmacht had a clear advantage at the beginning of the war: mechanization, transport and communications.

But the main thing is the number and concentration of forces accumulated for a treacherous attack without declaring war. In June 1941, the Reich concentrated 2.8 million Wehrmacht troops to attack the USSR, and the total number of troops with the allies was more than 4.3 million people. At the same time, in western districts The Red Army numbered only about 3 million people, and it was in the districts, while less than 40% of the personnel were near the border. Combat readiness, alas, was also far from 100%, especially in terms of technology - let's not idealize the past.



Also, one should not forget about the economy: while the USSR was forced to hastily evacuate factories to the Urals, the Reich used the resources of Europe with might and main, which gladly fell under the Germans. Czechoslovakia, for example, before the war was the leader in arms production in Europe, and at the beginning of the war, every third German tank was produced by the Skoda concern.

And the glorious traditions of weapons designers continue in our time, including in the field of small arms.

May 10, 2015, 03:41 pm

The Second World War is a significant and difficult period in the history of mankind. Countries merged in a crazy fight, throwing millions human lives on the altar of victory. At that time, weapons manufacturing became the main type of production, which was given great importance and attention. However, as they say, a man forges victory, and weapons only help him in this. We decided to show the weapons of the Soviet troops and the Wehrmacht, collecting the most common and famous types of small arms from the two countries.

Weapon army of the USSR:

The armament of the USSR before the start of the Great Patriotic War corresponded to the needs of that time. The 7.62 mm Mosin repeating rifle of the 1891 model was the only instance of a non-automatic weapon. This rifle proved to be excellent in the Second World War and was in service with the Soviet army until the early 60s.

Mosin rifle of different years of release.

In parallel with the Mosin rifle, the Soviet infantry was equipped with Tokarev self-loading rifles: SVT-38 and the SVT-40 improved in 1940, as well as Simonov self-loading carbines (SKS).

Tokarev self-loading rifle (SVT).

Simonov self-loading carbine (SKS)

Also present in the troops automatic rifles Simonov (ABC-36) - at the beginning of the war, their number was almost 1.5 million units.

Simonov automatic rifle (ABC)

The presence of such a huge number of automatic and self-loading rifles covered the lack of submachine guns. Only at the beginning of 1941 did the production of the Shpagin software (PPSh-41) begin, which for a long time became the standard of reliability and simplicity.

Submachine gun Shpagin (PPSh-41).

Submachine gun Degtyarev.

In addition, the Soviet troops were armed with Degtyarev machine guns: Degtyarev infantry (DP); Machine gun Degtyarev (DS); Degtyarev tank (DT); heavy machine gun Degtyarev - Shpagin (DShK); Machine gun SG-43.

Degtyarev infantry machine gun (DP).


Heavy machine gun Degtyarev - Shpagin (DShK).


Machine gun SG-43

The best example of submachine guns during the Second World War was recognized as the Sudayev PPS-43 submachine gun.

Submachine gun Sudayev (PPS-43).

One of the main features of the armament of the infantry of the Soviet army at the beginning of the Second World War was complete absence anti-tank rifles. And this was reflected in the first days of hostilities. In July 1941, Simonov and Degtyarev, by order of the high command, designed a five-shot PTRS rifle (Simonov) and a single-shot PTRD (Degtyarev).

Simonov anti-tank rifle (PTRS).

Degtyarev anti-tank rifle (PTRD).

The TT pistol (Tulsky, Tokarev) was developed at Tula Arms factory legendary Russian gunsmith Fyodor Tokarev. Development of a new self-loading pistol, designed to replace the regular obsolete Nagan revolver of the 1895 model, was launched in the second half of the 1920s.

Pistol TT.

Also, the Soviet soldiers were armed with pistols: a revolver of the Nagant system and a Korovin pistol.

Nagant revolver.

Pistol Korovin.

During the entire period of the Great Patriotic War, the military industry of the USSR produced more than 12 million carbines and rifles, more than 1.5 million of all types of machine guns, more than 6 million submachine guns. Since 1942, almost 450 thousand heavy and light machine guns, 2 million submachine guns and more than 3 million self-loading and repeating rifles have been produced every year.

Small arms of the Wehrmacht army:

The fascist infantry divisions, as the main tactical troops, were armed with magazine rifles with 98 and 98k Mauser bayonets.

Mauser 98k.

Also in service with the German troops were the following rifles: FG-2; Gewehr 41; Gewehr 43; StG 44; StG 45(M); Volkssturmgewehr 1-5.


FG-2 rifle

Rifle Gewehr 41

Rifle Gewehr 43

Although the Treaty of Versailles for Germany provided for a ban on the production of submachine guns, German gunsmiths still continued to produce this type of weapon. Shortly after the formation of the Wehrmacht, the MP.38 submachine gun appeared in its appearance, which, due to the fact that it was distinguished by its small size, an open barrel without a forearm and a folding butt, quickly proved itself and was put into service back in 1938.

MP.38 submachine gun.

The experience accumulated in combat operations required the subsequent modernization of the MP.38. This is how the MP.40 submachine gun appeared, which was distinguished by a more simplified and cheaper design (in parallel, some changes were made to the MP.38, which later received the designation MP.38 / 40). Compactness, reliability, almost optimal rate of fire were justified advantages this weapon. German soldiers called it "bullet pump".

MP.40 submachine gun.

The fighting on the Eastern Front showed that the submachine gun still needed to improve accuracy. This problem was taken up by the German designer Hugo Schmeisser, who equipped the MP.40 design with a wooden butt and a device for switching to a single fire. True, the release of such MP.41 was insignificant.

Petrov Nikita

This essay tells about the achievements of designers, innovators, inventors during the Great Patriotic War, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany.

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MUNICIPAL STATE GENERAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL №15 H. SADOVY

Essay competition

"Achievements of designers, innovators, inventors

during the Great Patriotic War,

dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany.

Nomination: "Innovations and technical inventions of artillery and small arms and its use"

Research

Topic: "Artillery and small arms

during the Great Patriotic War"

Petrov Nikita

Radislavovich

9th grade

MKOU secondary school №15

x. Sadovy

Supervisor:

Gresova Elena Pavlovna

teacher of history and social studies

Mineral water

2014

Introduction

The events and facts of the past Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the most aggressive, most terrible enemy of mankind - German fascism are fading into the past. In each of the 1418 days of the Great Patriotic War, the entire victorious path of Soviet soldiers, their feat of arms was accompanied by the most massive, most common weapon - small arms. Without a doubt, the first shot fired at the aggressor was fired from domestic small arms.

War in the history of the development of any type of military equipment and weapons, including small arms, is the main test of its combat qualities, service performance and technical excellence. The system of small arms of the Red Army created in the prewar years and the models of weapons fully corresponded to the tactical requirements imposed on them and various conditions of use, which was shown by the experience of conducting combat operations. At the same time, the dynamic nature of hostilities, the saturation of troops with various military equipment, further development combat tactics necessitated the development of a number of new types of small arms, as well as the improvement of existing small arms.

The purpose of this study: to determine the role of technical achievements in the field of rearmament of artillery and small arms during the Great Patriotic War. For this, the following tasks were set:

  1. To study the weapons of the Great Patriotic War.
  2. Consider the development of domestic designers of small arms and artillery weapons during the Great Patriotic War.

The victory over fascist Germany depended not only on the selflessness of the soldiers, but also on the armament of the army. By June 22, 1941 Soviet Union had a bloodless army. The command staff was practically destroyed, the army was armed with obsolete equipment. On the contrary, the whole of Europe worked for Germany. Therefore, the beginning of the war was unsuccessful for the USSR, it took some time to mobilize forces and create new equipment.

  1. On the eve of the war

The alarming international situation of the late thirties and early forties required the implementation of urgent measures to strengthen the Soviet armed forces. The rearmament of the troops was set as a priority the latest samples military equipment, paying special attention to the improvement of artillery, armored and aviation technology, as well as automatic small arms. Under these directions, specialized research institutes were organized, design bureaus and laboratories.

At the same time, many wrong decisions were made. The unjustified repressions of a number of highly qualified specialists in science, industry and the central apparatus had a heavy impact on the pace of rearmament of the Soviet Army. It should also be noted that in the course of events negative impact also had the provisions of the then military doctrine. Serious study of the fundamental questions of strategy and tactics was often countered by superficial propaganda and agitation. There were, equally, both capricious moods and excessive overestimation real opportunities probable adversary.

Catastrophic defeats initial period war forced the military-political leadership of the country to rethink the situation. It turned out that the fascist German troops were advancing with the most diverse and far from always first-class equipment, including captured weapons of previously defeated European armies.Most likely, the enemy’s rapid blitzkrieg was ensured mainly by the successful two-year experience in conducting military operations, the professional training of well-trained East Prussian generals, the “correctly” set up ideological work with personnel, and, last but not least, the traditional German punctuality, organization and discipline. We came to the conclusion that, subject to the full mobilization of the remaining scientific, technical and production reserves, it is possible to give a convincing answer to the enemy. However, there is an urgent need to revise the quantitative and qualitative structure, practice combat use various types of weapons.

  1. Weapon

The Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-41) is a submachine gun developed by a Soviet designerGeorgy Semyonovich Shpagin.The PPSh has become a kind of symbol of the Soviet soldier during the Great Patriotic War, just as the MP-40 is strongly associated with the Wehrmacht soldier, and the Kalashnikov assault rifle with the Soviet soldier of the post-war times. PPSh appears in almost all Soviet and foreign films about the Great Patriotic War. The image of the Soviet warrior-liberator, captured in a huge number of monuments installed both on the territory of the USSR and in the countries of of Eastern Europe: soldier in field uniform, helmet, cape, with a PPSh machine gun.

PPS-43 (Sudaev submachine gun) - a submachine gun developed by a Soviet designerAlexey Ivanovich Sudayevin 1942. It was decided to establish the production of new PPS assault rifles, adopted for service, in besieged Leningrad. The supply of weapons there was difficult, and the front demanded replenishment. Not inferior in combat qualities to the Degtyarev submachine gun and the Shpagin submachine gun, it was 2.5 kilograms lighter than them, required 2 times less metal and 3 times less labor during manufacture.

Machine gun ("Maxim") - easel machine gun, developed by the American gunsmith Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1883. The Maxim machine gun became the ancestor of all automatic weapons. Machine gun "Maxim" model 1910 - Russian version of the American machine gun "Maxim" was widely used by the Russian and Soviet armies during the First World War and the Second World War. By the end of the 1930s, the Maxim design was obsolete. Ideal for defense against massive cavalry attacks, in the era tank battles the machine gun was practically useless, primarily because of heavy weight and size. A machine gun without a machine tool, water and cartridges weighed about 20 kg. Machine weight - 40 kg, plus 5 kg of water. Since it was impossible to use a machine gun without a machine tool and water, the working weight of the entire system (without cartridges) was about 65 kg. Moving such a weight around the battlefield under fire was not easy. The high profile made camouflage difficult, which led to the rapid destruction of the crew by enemy firepower. For the advancing tank "Maxim" and his crew were an easy target. In addition, significant difficulties in the summer were caused by the supply of water to the machine gun to cool the barrel. For comparison: a single Wehrmacht machine gun MG-34 weighed 10.5 kg (without cartridges) and did not require water for cooling. Shooting from the MG-34 could be carried out without a machine gun, which contributed to the secrecy of the machine gunner's position.

In 1943, unexpectedly for everyone, an easel machine gun of the system of a then little-known designer was adopted.Petr Mikhailovich GoryunovSG-43 with an air-cooled barrel. JV Stalin demanded that a special meeting be convened at the beginning of May 1943 to make a final decision on the issue of accepting a model of an easel machine gun for service with the troops. Honored V. A. Degtyarev was also invited to this meeting along with the leaders of the people's commissariats. To the question of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, which machine gun to adopt - Degtyarev or Goryunov, Vasily Alekseevich, without hesitation, answered that if we proceed from the interests of the combat capability of the army, then the easel machine gun of the Goryunov system should be adopted, which in terms of reliability of action, reliability in operation and survivability of parts is superior machine gun DS-39.Vasily Alekseevich honestly answered: "The Goryunov machine gun is better, Comrade Stalin, and the industry will master it faster." The fate of the new machine gun was decided. In October 1943, 7.62-mm machine guns of the Goryunov system mod. 1943 (SG-43) began to enter the army.

The troops finally received the long-awaited simple, reliable and relatively light heavy machine gun, which played a positive role in ensuring the offensive combat operations of the Soviet troops in the second half of the Great Patriotic War. The production of the SG-43 machine gun was launched simultaneously at the enterprises in Kovrov and Zlatoust, which contributed to the final solution of the problem of supplying troops with machine guns and the creation of reserves, which by the end of 1944 amounted to 74,000 pieces.

Back in 1924, V.A. Degtyarev offered the GAU his prototype light machine gun. The 7.62-mm Degtyarev light machine gun was much lighter, easier to handle, and most importantly, simpler in design than the recently adopted Maxim Tokarev light machine gun, which made it possible to quickly establish its production. In December 1927, a special commission of the Revolutionary Military Council tested its improved version. The weapon performed well. In the same month, it was adopted by the Red Army under the designation "7.62-mm light machine gun of the Degtyarev system, infantry (DP)". The machine gun automatics worked on the principle of the release of powder gases from the bore, locking was carried out by breeding combat larvae to the sides.

This design feature later became a trademark calling card, embodied in almost all Degtyarev machine guns. Thanks to a simple device, reliability of action, accuracy of fire and high maneuverability, the DP served with honor Soviet soldier for more than twenty years, being the main automatic fire support weapon for infantry in the platoon level. In just 4 years of the war, gunsmiths handed over to the front a little more than 660 thousand DPs, who made their considerable contribution to the defeat of the enemy.

In 1943-1944, a number of improved DP models were created in the Degtyarev Design Bureau, in which, in order to increase the survivability of the weapon, the reciprocating mainspring was transferred to the rear of the receiver, and the bolt details were strengthened. The trigger mechanism is being improved in order to improve the stability of the weapon during firing. After the tests, improved versions of the Degtyarev machine guns, by decision of the GKO on 10/14/1944, are adopted by the Red Army under the designation "7.62-mm Degtyarev light machine gun, modernized (DMP)".

  1. Artillery

The artillery armament of the Soviet Army in the years after the end of the civil war and before the start of the Great Patriotic War underwent a radical modification and was improved on the basis of the latest achievements of science and technology. By the beginning of the war, the army was armed with the most the best artillery, superior in combat and operational qualities to Western European, including German.

Shortly before the attack of fascist Germany, it was decided to stop the production of 45-mm ("forty-five") guns. This decision had dire consequences. The gun was intended to fight tanks, self-propelled guns and armored vehicles of the enemy. For its time, its armor penetration was quite adequate. The gun also had anti-personnel capabilities - it was supplied with a fragmentation grenade and buckshot.

Particular attention should be paid to the simplest type of artillery weapons - 82-mm and 120-mm mortars.Boris Ivanovich Shavyrin.These extremely simple to manufacture and operate, cheap mortars, unfortunately, in the prewar years were not appreciated by either the military command or the leaders of the artillery industry. Meanwhile, under a modest shell - a pipe and a stove, as mortars were ironically called, huge combat capabilities lurked. The hard lessons of the first months of the war taught us to appreciate mortar weapons and their creators. Having escaped arrest in connection with the outbreak of war, B.I. Shavyrin continued to work fruitfully on the development of new designs.

The first months of the Great Patriotic War showed that 70-80% German tanks are tanks of the old type T-2 and T-3, as well as captured French and Czech tanks. It is worth noting that the heavy, for that period of time, T-4 had armor vulnerable to an anti-tank rifle even when firing into frontal armor. In the conditions of a massive offensive by German armored and mechanized units, there was an urgent need to resume the production of anti-tank rifles. Stalin urgently attracted V. Degtyarev and his student S. Simonov to the development of a new PTR. The deadline was extremely tough - a month. It took Degtyarev and Simonov only 22 days to develop new models of PTR. After test firing and discussion of new weapons, Stalin decided to adopt both models - PTRD and PTRS.

There is no single confident version of why the BM-13 rocket launchers began to be called "Katyushas", there are several assumptions:

  • by the name of Blanter's song, which became popular before the war, to the words of Isakovsky "Katyusha". The version is not very convincing, since there is no direct relationship right off the bat (why not call a forty-five or one and a half "Katyusha" then?), but, nevertheless, the song probably became the catalyst for the name under the influence of other reasons.
  • by abbreviation "KAT" - there is a version that the rangers called the BM-13 exactly that - "Kostikovsky automatic thermal", by the name of the project manager, Andrey Kostikov.

Another option is that the name is associated with the “K” index on the mortar body - the installations were produced by the Kalinin plant. And the front-line soldiers liked to give nicknames to weapons. For example, the M-30 howitzer was nicknamed "Mother", the ML-20 howitzer gun - "Emelka". Yes, and BM-13 at first was sometimes called "Raisa Sergeevna", thus deciphering the abbreviation RS (missile).

It should also be noted that the installations were so classified that it was even forbidden to use the commands “plea”, “fire”, “volley”, instead of them they sounded “sing” or “play”, which, perhaps, was also associated with the song “Katyusha”. And for the infantry, the volley of Katyushas was the most pleasant music.

IN German troops these machines were called "Stalin's organs" because of the external similarity of the rocket launcher with the pipe system of this musical instrument and the powerful staggering roar that was produced when the rockets were launched.

The first cars were manufactured on the basis of domestic chassis, after the start of Lend-Lease deliveries, the American Studebaker truck became the main chassis for the BM-13 (BM-13N). The new weapon was first used in battle on July 14, 1941: the battery of Captain I.A. Flerova fired a volley of seven launchers at the Orsha railway station. The frightened Nazis called the weapon a "hellish meat grinder."

  1. The contribution of scientists to the Victory

The Academy of Sciences was instructed to immediately review the topics of scientific and scientific-technical work, to accelerate research. All her activities were now subordinated to three goals:

  • designing new means of defense and offensive;
  • scientific assistance to the arms and ammunition industry;
  • exploration of new raw materials and energy resources, replacing scarce materials with simpler and more affordable ones.

Preparing for war with the USSR, the Nazis hoped to destroy the main part of our fleet with the help of secret magnetic mines. On June 27, 1941, an order was issued to organize brigades for the urgent installation of degaussing devices on all ships of the fleet. Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov was appointed scientific supervisor. Professor Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov voluntarily entered one of the teams.

The work was carried out almost almost around the clock, in the most difficult conditions, with a shortage of specialists, cables, equipment, often under bombing and shelling. A windless demagnetization method was also created, which protected submarines from magnetic mines. It was a heroic victory of scientific knowledge and practical skill! Mikhail Vladimirovich Keldysh found out the cause and created a theory of a very complex and dangerous phenomenon - self-excitation of oscillations with a large amplitude near the wings and tail of the aircraft (flutter), which led to the destruction of the machine - this helped to develop measures to combat flutter.

As a result of research by Doctor of Technical Sciences Nikolai Mikhailovich Sklyarov, high-strength armored steel AV-2 was obtained, containing significantly less scarce components: nickel - 2 times, molybdenum - 3 times! The research of scientists from the Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich and Yuli Borisovich Khariton helped to switch to the use of cheaper gunpowders. To increase the flight range rocket projectile scientists proposed to extend the charge, use more high-calorie fuel or two simultaneously operating combustion chambers.

In the history of the activities of Leningrad scientists there is a heroic episode associated with the "Road of Life": a circumstance, at first glance, completely inexplicable, was revealed: when the trucks went to Leningrad, loaded to the maximum, the ice withstood, and on the way back with sick and hungry people, i.e. e. with significantly less cargo, cars often fell through the ice. Pavel Pavlovich Kobeko, a researcher at the Institute of Physics and Technology, developed a method for recording ice oscillations under the influence of static and dynamic loads. Based on the results obtained, the rules for safe movement along the Ladoga highway were developed. Ice accidents have stopped. Scientists are actively involved in a new job for them. It was a unity of science, creative impulse and a powerful wave of labor enthusiasm.

Conclusion

Great Patriotic War subjected the small arms of the warring countries to the most serious tests. Small arms systems have been further developed and become more complex both in terms of the variety of weapons themselves and in terms of the number of types of ammunition. During the war years, in almost all the armies of the warring countries, the evolution of small arms followed the same paths: by reducing the mass of the main automatic infantry weapon - the submachine gun; replacement of rifles with carbines, and later with machine guns ( assault rifles); creation of special weapons adapted for landing operations; facilitate easel machine guns and their movement on the battlefield into rifle chains. Also characteristic of the small arms system in all armies were the pace and principles of development of infantry anti-tank weapons (rifle grenades, anti-tank rifles and hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers with cumulative grenades).Thus, during the Great Patriotic War, experimental design and research work was carried out in the field of further improvement of small arms, the foundations were laid for the post-war system of small arms in the Soviet Army.

In general, the Great Patriotic War showed that with the creation of the most modern means of armed struggle, the role of small arms did not decrease, and the attention paid to it in our country during these years increased significantly. The experience accumulated during the war in the use of weapons, which is not outdated even today, laid the foundation for the development and improvement of small arms of the Armed Forces for many post-war decades.

And this is the heroic merit of our scientists, designers, engineers, as well as millions of ordinary Soviet people who worked in the rear and forged the weapons of Victory.

List of sources used

1. Isaev A. V. Antisuvorov. Ten myths of World War II. - M.: Eksmo, Yauza, 2004

  1. Pastukhov I.P., Plotnikov S.E.Stories about small arms. M.: DOSAAF USSR, 1983. 158 p.
  2. Soviet Armed Forces. Construction history. M.: Military Publishing House, 1978. p. 237-238; Military-technical progress and the Armed Forces of the USSR. M: Military Publishing House, 1982. S. 134-136.