Domestic small arms of the Second World War. War of engines: weapons of the Red Army before the start of the Great Patriotic War

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 military weapon ever created," gave 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 vehicles of various series and modifications produced.

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 huge quantities of weapons during the Dunkerque operation and facing the constant threat of a 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. The Thompson, which would later become known as the weapon of choice for American gangsters, was highly prized during the war for its 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 Czechoslovakian 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 a soldier himself by simply adjusting the gas spring. Designed for the 303 British cartridges 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 with 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 solution.

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.

The StG 44 was developed in Nazi Germany in the early 1940s and 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.

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 were reduced, which was compensated by the greater density of fire. As a consequence of this, the beginning of mass rearmament of units with automatic small arms - submachine guns, machine guns, assault rifles.

Accuracy of fire began to fade into the background, while the soldiers advancing in a chain began to be taught shooting on the move. With the advent airborne troops There was a need to create special lightweight weapons.

Maneuver warfare also affected machine guns: they became much lighter and more mobile. New types of small arms appeared (which was dictated, first of all, by the need to fight tanks) - rifle grenades, anti-tank rifles and RPGs with cumulative grenades.

Small arms of the USSR World War II

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

Three-line Mosin
The main small arms of the USSR infantry units of the first period of the war was certainly the famous three-line rifle - the 7.62 mm S.I. Mosin rifle of the 1891 model, modernized in 1930. Its advantages are well known - strength, reliability, ease of maintenance, combined with good ballistics qualities, in particular, with an aiming range of 2 km.

Three-line Mosin

The three-line rifle is an ideal weapon for newly recruited soldiers, and the simplicity of the design created enormous opportunities for its mass production. But like any weapon, the three-line gun had its drawbacks. The permanently attached bayonet in combination with a long barrel (1670 mm) created inconvenience when moving, especially in wooded areas. The bolt handle caused serious complaints when reloading.

After the fight

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.

Sniper with Mosin rifle

SVT-40
At the end of the 30s, the outstanding Soviet weapons designer F.V. Tokarev developed a 10-round self-loading rifle cal. 7.62 mm SVT-38, which after modernization received the name SVT-40. It “lost weight” by 600 g and became shorter due to the introduction of thinner wooden parts, additional holes in the casing and a decrease in the length of the bayonet. A little later, a sniper rifle appeared at its base. Automatic firing was ensured by the removal of powder gases. The ammunition was placed in a box-shaped, detachable magazine.

The target range of the SVT-40 is up to 1 km. The SVT-40 served with honor on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Our opponents also appreciated it. Historical fact: Having captured rich trophies at the beginning of the war, among which there were many SVT-40s, the German army... adopted it for service, and the Finns created their own rifle on the basis of the SVT-40 - TaRaKo.

Soviet sniper with SVT-40

The creative development of the ideas implemented in the SVT-40 became the AVT-40 automatic rifle. It differed from its predecessor in its ability to fire automatically at a rate of up to 25 rounds per minute. The disadvantage of the AVT-40 is its low accuracy of fire, strong unmasking flame and loud sound at the moment of firing. Subsequently, as automatic weapons entered the military en masse, they were removed from service.

Submachine guns

PPD-40
The Great Patriotic War was the time of the final transition from rifles to automatic weapons. The Red Army began to fight, armed with a small number of PPD-40 - a submachine gun designed by the outstanding Soviet designer Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev. At that time, PPD-40 was in no way inferior to its domestic and foreign analogues.

Designed for a pistol cartridge cal. 7.62 x 25 mm, the PPD-40 had an impressive ammunition load of 71 rounds, housed in a drum-type magazine. Weighing about 4 kg, it fired at a rate of 800 rounds per minute with an effective range of up to 200 meters. However, just a few months after the start of the war, it was replaced by the legendary PPSh-40 cal. 7.62 x 25 mm.

PPSh-40
The creator of the PPSh-40, designer Georgy Semenovich Shpagin, was faced with the task of developing an extremely easy-to-use, reliable, technologically advanced, cheap to produce mass weapon.

PPSh-40

Fighter with PPSh-40

From its predecessor, the PPD-40, the PPSh inherited a drum magazine with 71 rounds. A little later, a simpler and more reliable sector horn magazine with 35 rounds was developed for it. The weight of the equipped machine guns (both versions) was 5.3 and 4.15 kg, respectively. The rate of fire of the PPSh-40 reached 900 rounds per minute with an aiming range of up to 300 meters and the ability to fire single shots.

PPSh-40 assembly shop

To master the PPSh-40, a few lessons were enough. It was easily disassembled into 5 parts made using stamping-welded technology, thanks to which during the war years the Soviet defense industry produced about 5.5 million machine guns.

PPS-42
In the summer of 1942, the young designer Alexey Sudaev presented his brainchild - a 7.62 mm submachine gun. It was strikingly different from its “bigger brothers” PPD and PPSh-40 in its rational layout, higher manufacturability and ease of manufacturing parts using arc welding.

PPS-42

Son of the regiment with a Sudaev machine gun

PPS-42 was 3.5 kg lighter and required three times less manufacturing time. However, despite the obvious advantages, mass weapons he never did, leaving the PPSh-40 to take the lead.

DP-27 light machine gun

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. The gas regulator reliably protected the mechanism from contamination and high temperatures.

The DP-27 could only fire automatically, but even a beginner needed a few days to master shooting in short bursts of 3-5 shots. Ammunition of 47 rounds was placed in a disk magazine with a bullet towards the center in one row. The magazine itself was mounted on top of the receiver. The weight of the unloaded machine gun was 8.5 kg. An equipped magazine increased it by almost another 3 kg.

Machine gun crew DP-27 in battle

It was 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 served by a gunner and his assistant. In total, about 800 thousand machine guns were produced.

Small arms of the Wehrmacht of World War II

Basic strategy German army- offensive or blitzkrieg (blitzkrieg - lightning war). The decisive role in it was assigned to large tank formations, carrying out deep breakthroughs of the enemy’s defenses in cooperation with artillery and aviation.

Tank units bypassed powerful fortified areas, destroying control centers and rear communications, without which the enemy quickly lost their combat effectiveness. The defeat was completed by motorized units of the ground forces.

Small arms infantry division Wehrmacht
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.

Small arms The Wehrmacht generally met the high demands of wartime. It was reliable, trouble-free, simple, easy to manufacture and maintain, which contributed to its serial production.

Rifles, carbines, machine guns

Mauser 98K
Mauser 98K is an improved version of the Mauser 98 rifle, developed in late XIX century by the brothers Paul and Wilhelm Mauser, founders of the world famous arms company. Equipping the German army with it began in 1935.

Mauser 98K

The weapon was loaded with a clip of five 7.92 mm cartridges. A trained soldier could shoot 15 times within a minute at a range of up to 1.5 km. The Mauser 98K was very compact. Its main characteristics: weight, length, barrel length - 4.1 kg x 1250 x 740 mm. The indisputable advantages of the rifle are evidenced by numerous conflicts involving it, longevity and a truly sky-high “circulation” - more than 15 million units.

At the shooting range. Mauser 98K rifle

G-41 rifle
The self-loading ten-shot rifle G-41 became the German response to the massive equipping of the Red Army with rifles - SVT-38, 40 and ABC-36. Its sighting range reached 1200 meters. Only single shooting was allowed. Its significant disadvantages - significant weight, low reliability and increased vulnerability to contamination - were subsequently eliminated. The combat “circulation” amounted to several hundred thousand rifle samples.

G-41 rifle

MP-40 "Schmeisser" assault rifle
Perhaps the most famous Wehrmacht small arms of the Second World War was the famous MP-40 submachine gun, a modification of its predecessor, the MP-36, created by Heinrich Vollmer. However, as fate would have it, he is better known under the name “Schmeisser”, obtained thanks to the stamp on the store - “PATENT SCHMEISSER”. The stigma simply meant that, in addition to G. Vollmer, Hugo Schmeisser also participated in the creation of the MP-40, but only as the creator of the store.

MP-40 "Schmeisser" assault rifle

Initially, the MP-40 was intended to arm the command staff of infantry units, but later it was transferred to the disposal of tank crews, armored vehicle drivers, paratroopers and special forces soldiers.

A German soldier fires from an MP-40

However, the MP-40 was absolutely unsuitable for infantry units, since it was exclusively a melee weapon. In a fierce battle 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. At a target range of 800 meters, the Sturmgewehr was in no way inferior to its main competitors. There were three versions of the magazine - for 15, 20 and 30 shots with a rate of up to 500 rounds per second. The option of using a rifle with an under-barrel grenade launcher and an infrared sight was considered.

Creator of Sturmgever 44 Hugo Schmeisser

Not without its shortcomings. The assault rifle was heavier than the Mauser-98K by a whole kilogram. Her wooden butt couldn't stand it sometimes hand-to-hand combat and just broke down. The flame escaping from the barrel revealed the location of the shooter, and the long magazine and sighting devices forced him to raise his head high while lying down.

Sturmgever 44 with IR sight

In total, before the end of the war, German industry produced about 450 thousand StG-44s, which were used mainly by elite SS units.

Machine guns
By the beginning of the 30s, the military leadership of the Wehrmacht came to the need to create a universal machine gun, which, if necessary, could be transformed, for example, from a manual one to an easel one and vice versa. This is how a series of machine guns was born - MG - 34, 42, 45.

German machine gunner with MG-42

The 7.92 mm MG-42 is rightly called one of the best machine guns of World War II. It was developed at Grossfus by engineers Werner Gruner and Kurt Horn. Those who experienced its firepower were very outspoken. Our soldiers called it a “lawn mower,” and the allies called it “Hitler’s circular saw.”

Depending on the type of bolt, the machine gun fired accurately at a speed of up to 1500 rpm at a range of up to 1 km. Ammunition was supplied using a machine gun belt with 50 - 250 rounds of ammunition. The uniqueness of the MG-42 was complemented by relatively a small amount parts – 200 and high technology of their production using stamping and spot welding.

The barrel, hot from shooting, was replaced with a spare one in a few seconds using a special clamp. In total, about 450 thousand machine guns were produced. The unique technical developments embodied in the MG-42 were borrowed by gunsmiths from many countries around the world when creating their machine guns.

Content

Based on materials from techcult

By the 30s of the 20th century, world military thought had finally and irrevocably established itself in the idea that a lot of troops is, of course, good, but it is even better if this mass of troops fires as many bullets as possible per 1 km. front. Moreover, the struggle for rate of fire began even earlier. In the Middle Ages, there were peculiar “machine gunners” - English yeomen who could fire arrows with amazing speed, the same can be said about the Mongolian horse archers. If we talk directly about small arms, then by 1910 almost all the leading designers in the world came to the conclusion that it was necessary to develop self-loading automatic rifles.
This trend did not bypass Russia, where work on the development of automatic systems was carried out by many designers, but the most successful of them was Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov. Fedorov came from an ordinary teacher’s family, but fate had in store for him a rather interesting life path. Vladimir Fedorov was the recipient of many awards as Russian Empire, and the USSR, including the unique title “Hero of Labor” - the predecessor of the Hero of Socialist Labor award, he managed to rise to the rank of lieutenant general of the Red Army.

Fedorov assault rifle

Fedorov designed his assault rifle while a captain in the Russian Imperial Army in 1913-196. And he began his first work on a self-loading rifle back in 1906. His first rifle was developed for the standard cartridge of the famous Russian three-line 7.62x54R and was equipped with an integral magazine with a capacity of 5 rounds. It was tested in 1911, and in 1912 the Artillery Committee even approved its release, ordering 150 copies for military testing. At the same time, the designer was working on creating a cartridge that would initially be suitable for automatic weapons. In 1913, he proposed a project for an automatic rifle (the term “automatic” was introduced later, only in the 1920s) chambered for a new cartridge of his own design.

Vladimir Fedorov's cartridge had a pointed bullet of 6.5 mm caliber and a mass of 8.5 g. The initial speed of this bullet was approximately 850 m/s, and the muzzle energy was 3100 Joules. At the same time, the standard Russian rifle and machine gun cartridge 7.62x54R, depending on the equipment version, had a muzzle energy of about 3600-4000 Joules. At the same time, Fedorov’s 6.5 mm cartridge gave a weaker recoil impulse compared to the standard 7.62x54R cartridge and had less mass.

All these qualities, along with lower muzzle energy and the design of the cartridge case without a protruding rim, made Vladimir Fedorov’s cartridge better suited for automatic weapons, allowing it to be reliably fed from large-capacity magazines. Testing of the new product began in 1913, but the outbreak of the First world war made my own adjustments. By 1915, the Russian Imperial Army was experiencing an acute shortage of small arms. This was especially true for light machine guns. As a result, new Fedorov automatic rifles were ordered as light weapons to support infantry units, but chambered for the Japanese 6.5x50SR Arisaka rifle cartridge.

It had similar characteristics to the Fedorov cartridge, and at the same time there were a sufficient number of them in Russia, since Japanese cartridges at the very beginning of the First World War were bought along with Arisaka rifles in order to make up for the army’s losses in small arms. Already produced Fedorov automatic rifles chambered for the Japanese cartridge were converted by installing a special insert in the chamber. It should be noted that both the cartridge for the Arisaka rifle and the Fedorov cartridge were typical rifle cartridges in their ballistic characteristics, although they were distinguished by a smaller caliber and, accordingly, power. They were not an intermediate development, as claimed in a number of sources.

By the summer of 1916, experimental Fedorov assault rifles passed a series of military tests in special company, after which it was decided to arm the team of the 189th Izmail Regiment (158 soldiers and 4 officers), which departed for the Romanian Front on December 1, 1916. The decision to serially produce the “2.5-line Fedorov rifle” was made; they were to be produced at the Sestroretsk Arms Plant. However, in the conditions of a large-scale war, this enterprise could not cope even with the production of its main products (rifles model 1891/10), so mass production of the Fedorov automatic rifle was not established.

It began to be mass-produced only after the revolution at the Kovrov plant (today it is the Degtyarev plant). At the same time, the order was reduced from 15,000 to 9,000 units. Until 1924, when production of the Fedorov assault rifle was stopped, only 3,200 units of this small arms were collected. In 1923, it was modernized; the weapon received a new firing mechanism, sight and magazine. Fedorov assault rifles continued to be in service with the Red Army until 1928. Afterwards, it was decided to remove them from service due to the unification of the cartridges used. All the machine guns were transferred to warehouses, but were still useful to the military. In 1940 they were used in Karelia during Winter War with Finland.

It should be noted that Fedorov’s development could not be used as a mass-produced army small weapon, since it did not ensure reliable operation in complex and difficult operating conditions. In addition, this machine was quite difficult to maintain and manufacture. Analysis of the only reliable source for the operation of the machine available on at the moment time - brochures from 1923, demonstrates that main problem Fedorov's assault rifle was not so much a design flaw as such, but rather the low quality of the structural materials used - metal deposits, sediment of parts, etc., as well as the low quality of the ammunition that was supplied to the troops. At the same time, the Fedorov assault rifle was the first working model of an individual automatic weapon, which, moreover, was used in battle, which is the main merit of this assault rifle, as well as its designer.

Tokarev self-loading rifles - SVT38/40

The first example of individual automatic small arms, which was created and adopted for service in the Soviet Union, was the automatic rifle designed by Simonov - ABC. In competition with another famous Soviet weapons designer, Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev, Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov developed a weapon that was adopted by the Red Army in 1936, and already in 1938, ABC-36 was armed with all infantrymen of the 1st Moscow rifle division. In 1939, ABC-36 was able to receive its first baptism of fire during the war with Finland. However, the main method of firing from the ABC was firing single cartridges; firing in bursts was possible, but only in emergency cases.

On July 17, 1939, guided by the desire to rearm the Red Army with self-loading rifles as soon as possible, the Defense Committee, on the personal instructions of Stalin, decided to concentrate all the efforts of the People's Commissariat of Armaments on another self-loading rifle - the SVT-38. It also played a role that Stalin knew Tokarev quite well, and the name Simonov meant little to him.

The SVT was adopted by the Red Army back in 1938 and received the designation SVT-38; in 1940, a slightly lighter version of the rifle was adopted for service, which received the designation SVT-40; production of the rifle continued until 1945, and in the first half of the war at an increasing pace , and then in smaller and smaller quantities. In total, up to 1.5 million of these rifles were produced, including up to 50 thousand SVT-40, made in the sniper version.

The troops nicknamed this rifle “Svetka”. The rifle was used during the Soviet-Finnish War, as well as during the Great Patriotic War. In a number of units of the Red Army it was the main weapon, but in most cases only part of the infantrymen were armed with it. The general opinion about SVT was quite controversial. On the one hand, in the Red Army the SVT-40 earned a reputation as not the most reliable small arms, which were sensitive to frost and dirt. On the other hand, this rifle enjoyed well-deserved love and popularity among many infantrymen, since it was significantly superior to the Mosin rifle in firepower.

The captured SVT-38/40 was highly valued by German and Finnish soldiers; the Germans even adopted them as small arms of a limited standard. The American military also spoke quite well about the SVT. All this can be explained primarily by the fact that the training of the bulk of the infantrymen in the Red Army was at a low level, as well as the low level of maintenance of small arms in front-line operation conditions (the use of unsuitable or low-quality lubricants), as well as the massive use of American gunpowder in cartridges (supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease), which produced a lot of soot. It is worth noting that 20 years later, similar problems began to plague the young American M16 automatic rifle during the Vietnam War, which, however, did not prevent it from becoming one of the best small arms in its class.

Many units, as well as individual soldiers of the Red Army, who had sufficient level preparation, for example marines, used SVT quite successfully until the end of the war. At the same time, the sniper version of the SVT-40 was inferior in effective range and accuracy to the Mosin sniper rifle mod. 1891/30, therefore, by the middle of the Great Patriotic War it was replaced in production by the less rapid-fire and outdated, but more accurate Mosinka.

The SVT-40, as its name suggests, was a self-loading (semi-automatic) weapon. The rifle worked on the principle of removing gases from the barrel bore and had a short stroke of the gas piston. The barrel is locked by tilting the bolt in a vertical plane. The rifle had a composite wooden stock. The trigger mechanism is trigger. The SVT-40 was equipped with a box-shaped, double-row, detachable magazine for 10 rounds. It was possible to equip magazines both separately from the rifle and in an attached state using standard 5-round clips for the Mosin rifle. The sights are open, consisting of a front sight with a muffler and a rear sight, which could be adjusted in range. The rifle had muzzle brake and a gas regulator, which made it possible to change the amount of gases discharged from the bore of its barrel. Additionally, it was equipped with a bayonet-knife, which could be attached to the rifle if necessary.

The SVT-38/40 was not inferior to the American M1 Garand self-loading rifle and was clearly superior to the later German models G.41(M) and G.41(W). A significant number of automatic rifles Soviet riflemen(about 1 million SVT were produced before the war) came as a surprise to German soldiers at the beginning of the war. In the summer of 1941, a German soldier wrote in a letter home: “The Russians are completely armed light machine guns" The famous commander of the 2nd Panzer Army, Heinz Guderian, in his report on the experience of fighting in the Eastern Freon on November 7, 1941, wrote: “Its (Soviet infantry) weapons are inferior to the German ones, with the exception of the automatic rifle.”

10 May 2015, 15:41

The Second World War is a significant and difficult period in human history. Countries merged in a mad fight, throwing millions human lives on the altar of victory. At that time, weapons manufacturing became the main type of production, which received great importance and attention. However, as they say, victory is forged by man, 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 of the two countries.

Small arms of the USSR army:

The armament of the USSR before the start of the Great Patriotic War met the needs of that time. The Mosin repeating rifle of the 1891 model with a caliber of 7.62 millimeters was the only example of a non-automatic weapon. This rifle performed well in the Second World War and was in service with the Soviet army until the early 60s.

Mosin rifle different years release.

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

Tokarev self-loading rifle (SVT).

Simonov self-loading carbine (SKS)

Also present in the troops were Simonov automatic rifles (ABC-36) - at the beginning of the war there were almost 1.5 million units.

Simonov automatic rifle (AVS)

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

Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-41).

Degtyarev submachine gun.

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

Degtyarev infantry machine gun (DP).

Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun (DShK).

SG-43 heavy machine gun

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

Sudaev submachine gun (PPS-43).

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

Simonov anti-tank rifle (PTRS).

Degtyarev anti-tank rifle (PTRD).

The TT pistol (Tula, Tokarev) was developed at the Tula Arms Factory by the legendary Russian gunsmith Fedor Tokarev. Development of new self-loading pistol, intended to replace the standard outdated Nagan revolver of the 1895 model, was started in the second half of the 1920s.

TT pistol.

Also in service with Soviet soldiers There were pistols: a Nagan system revolver and a Korovin pistol.

Nagan system revolver.

Korovin pistol.

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

Small arms of the Wehrmacht army:

The fascist infantry divisions, as the main tactical troops, were armed with repeating 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

Gewehr 41 rifle

Gewehr 43 rifle

Although the Treaty of Versailles for Germany included 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 its small size, open barrel without forearm and folding butt, quickly established itself and was adopted for service back in 1938.

MP.38 submachine gun.

The experience gained in combat required the subsequent modernization of the MP.38. This is how the MP.40 submachine gun appeared, which featured 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 of this weapon. German soldiers called it the “bullet pump.”

MP.40 submachine gun.

The battles on the Eastern Front showed that the submachine gun still needed to improve its accuracy. This problem was addressed by the German designer Hugo Schmeisser, who equipped the MP.40 design with a wooden stock and a device for switching to a single fire. True, the production of such MP.41s was insignificant.

Let's talk about many myths that have long been boring, about true and fictitious 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 were filled with corpses” to “two million raped German women.” One of them is the superiority of German weapons over Soviet ones. It is important that this myth spreads even without anti-Soviet (anti-Russian) motivation, “accidentally” - a typical example is the depiction of Germans in films. This is often highly artistically depicted as a procession of “blond beasts” with rolled-up sleeves, who from the hips pour long bursts of “Schmeissers” (see below) on the Red Army fighters from the hip, 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 shovel handle for three against sailing “tigers”.
Let's compare the weapons that were available at that time. However, this is a very broad topic, so let’s take small arms as an example, and “in a narrow range”, mass for the rank and file. That is, we don’t take pistols, nor do we take machine guns (we would like them, but the article has a limited scope). We also do not consider specific items, such as Vorsatz J/Pz curved-barrel attachments, and we will examine the specified “narrow” range 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 a comparative review of mass-produced models.
Let's start with the fact that the impression from many in the film that “almost all Germans, unlike the Red Army soldiers, had automatic weapons” is false.
In 1940, a German infantry division should have had 12,609 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 Union in 1941 there were 10,386 rifles and carbines (including snipers), while submachine guns were 1,623 (and, by the way, 392 light machine guns and 166 easel, and also 9 large-caliber). In 1944, the Germans had 9,420 carbines and rifles (including sniper rifles) per division, which accounted for 1,595 submachine guns and assault rifles, while the Red Army had 5,357 rifles with carbines, and 5,557 submachine guns. (Sergei Metnikov, Confrontation between the small arms systems of the Wehrmacht and the Soviet Army, “Weapons” No. 4, 2000).

It is clearly seen that by 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 “statutorily required” and “actually existed” did not always coincide. Just at this time, the rearmament of the army was underway, and a new range of weapons was just being formed: “As of June 1941, in the Kiev Special Military District, rifle formations had light machine guns 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 armaments occurred 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 placed 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, a battle at a distance of up to 200 m was initially considered, but then an understanding came of the need to increase the sighting 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, 5-round magazine, sighting range - up to 2000 m, therefore 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 in 1935.

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

Caliber 7.92x57 mm, gas-operated automatic, magazine for 10 rounds, sighting range - up to 1200 m. The appearance of this weapon was caused by the high assessment of the Soviet SVT-38/40 and ABC-36, to which the G-41 was still inferior. The main disadvantages: poor balance (the center of gravity is very forward) and demanding 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 precisely from the Tokarev rifle.

The most famous weapon in appearance is the “Schmeisser” with its characteristic shape.

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

Caliber: 9x19 mm Parabellum, rate of fire: 400-500 rounds/min, magazine: 32 rounds, effective firing range: 150 m for group targets, generally 70 m for single targets, since the MP-40 vibrates strongly when firing. This is exactly the question of “cinematography versus realism”: if the Wehrmacht had attacked “like in the movies,” then it would have been a shooting range for Red Army soldiers armed with “mosinki” and “svetki”: the enemy would have been shot another 300-400 meters away. Another significant drawback was the absence of a barrel casing when it quickly heated up, which often led to burns when firing in bursts. It should also be noted that the stores are unreliable. However, for close combat, especially urban combat, the MP-40 is a very good weapon.
Initially, the MP-40 was only available to command personnel, then they began to issue it to drivers, tank crews and paratroopers. There was never a cinematic mass appeal: 1.2 million MP-40s were produced throughout the war, in total more than 21 million people were drafted into the Wehrmacht, and in 1941 there were only about 250 thousand MP-40s in the army.

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 and ignorance of the structure of both products.

Caliber: 7.92x33 mm, rate of fire: 400-500 rounds/min, magazine: 30 rounds, effective firing 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 he was by no means compact). Quite decent 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 used by 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, sighting 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 legends and folklore. The disadvantages include: a bayonet, which, due to an outdated design, had to be carried permanently attached to the rifle, a horizontal bolt handle (that’s realistic - why not bend it down?), inconvenient reloading and a safety lock.

Soviet weapons designer F.V. Tokarev developed a 10-round 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-operated automatic, magazine for 10 rounds, sighting range - up to 1000 m. One can often come across an opinion about the capriciousness of the rifle, but this is due to the general conscription into the army: for fighters "from the plow" the Mosin rifle, of course, is easier to use operation. In addition, in front-line conditions there was often a shortage of lubricants, and inappropriate ones could be used. Additionally, one should point out the low quality of the cartridges supplied under Lend-Lease, which produced a lot of soot. However, it all comes down to the need to comply with maintenance regulations.
At the same time, the SVT had greater firepower due to automation and twice as many cartridges 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 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 firing range: 200 meters. It was used mainly by 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 importance of submachine guns. In 1940, the PPD was structurally modernized, but still remained unsuitable for mass production in wartime, and by the end of 1941 it was replaced in service by the cheaper and more effective Shpagin PPSh-41 submachine gun

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

Caliber 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 900 rounds/min, effective range: 200 meters (sighting range – 300, which is important for single-shot shooting). The PPSh inherited a 71-round drum magazine, and later received a more reliable open-arm magazine with 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 production. Disadvantages include significant weight, as well as too high rate of fire, which leads to excessive consumption of ammunition.
We should also recall the PPS-42 (then PPS-43), invented in 1942 by Alexey Sudaev.

Caliber: 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 700 rounds/min, magazine: 35 rounds, effective range: 200 meters. The bullet retains destructive power 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 that of the PPSh), it never became a mass weapon, although during the remaining years of the war there were About half a million copies were produced. After the war, the PPS was massively exported and also copied abroad (the Finns made a replica of the M44 chambered for the 9 mm cartridge already in 1944), then it was gradually replaced by the Kalashnikov assault rifle among the troops. The PPS-43 is often called the best submachine gun of World War II.
Some will ask: why, since everything was so good, did the blitzkrieg almost succeed?
Firstly, do not forget that in 1941 rearmament was just underway, and the provision of automatic weapons according to the new standards had not yet been carried out.
Secondly, handguns in the Great Patriotic War are not the main damaging factor, his 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 specifically in the districts, and less than 40% of the personnel were located near the border. Combat readiness, alas, was also far from 100%, especially in terms of technology - let’s not idealize the past.

We also must not forget about the economy: while the USSR was forced to hastily evacuate factories to the Urals, the Reich made full use of the resources of Europe, 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 gunsmith designers continue in our time, including in the field of small arms.