Soviet machine guns of the Second World War. German “Schmeisser” versus Soviet PPSh: which submachine gun was better during the Second World War

The Second World War left in memory not only tragic events and the death of millions of people. The conflict pushed forward the development of technology. Some examples were revolutionary, and almost all can be found in museums.

But there are weapons, with minor changes, still in use today. Single machine gun MG-42, business card Wehrmacht. Adopted by the military as the main type of infantry support weapon in 1942, it is still relevant today thanks to the qualities described below.

History of creation

The First World War showed that a new, powerful player had appeared on the battlefield - the machine gun. The first models of machine guns were bulky and heavy. They performed excellently in defense, but it was difficult to go on the attack with a 60-kilogram colossus.

The difference between light and heavy machine guns, as well as models for equipment, led to confusion and problems with personnel. The Germans unraveled this tangle quickly and wittily. In the 1930s, the development of a single combined arms machine gun began, which led to the creation and adoption by commissions of the MG-34.

The resulting car turned out to be extremely successful.

Excellent characteristics with relatively low weight, the ability to be installed on a machine and in turrets and caponiers made this machine gun indispensable for the Wehrmacht.

But at the same time, serious shortcomings also emerged. The price of the machine gun was 327 marks, while the Volkswagen Beetle was sold at a price of 990 marks.

Many parts were created by milling, which increased creation time and increased cost. Inspections on the battlefields also revealed design defects.

The parts fitted to each other were afraid of dirt, and problems arose with excessive complexity during assembly and disassembly and replacement of parts. However, even before the MG-34 was put into service, work began on creating a more technologically advanced model, which became known as the MG-42.

The design of the new machine gun

Several German design bureaus received orders for a new machine gun at once. The designers of Rheinmetall coped with the task best. The designers made numerous changes to the scheme, among which the most important were the following:

• replacement of milling with stamping for a number of parts;
• replacing screw connections with riveting or soldering;
• reduction in cost due to the use of lower quality metal;
• reduction of parts by 200 pieces;
• changing the butt from wood to plastic.

The mechanics of the machine gun are based on the recoil of the barrel during a short stroke. Shooting began with cocking the long bolt handle, with the ability to put the safety on if necessary.

The impact mechanism consisted of a return spring. The rear sear ensured the shot. Pressing the trigger lowered the nose of the sear, the spring straightened and sent the bolt back. The bolt, in turn, removed the cartridge from the tape and sent it into the chamber. The shot was fired with the shutter open.

The barrel is locked by two rollers in the combat cylinder. This was quite a revolutionary decision. The parts not only ensure smooth shooting, but also reduce friction. The trigger mechanism is installed in the pistol grip, where the safety is also located.

It was possible to conduct only automatic fire.

Aiming was carried out through an open sight, consisting of a front sight and rear sight. The scale was divided into steps of 100 meters, with the ability to fire from 200 to 2000 meters. The sighting bar clamp moved with a click. It could be exhibited with eyes closed or in complete darkness.

The barrel is cooled from overheating using air masses. The casing is in the form of a rectangle, with large cutouts along the body. On one side there was a hole for quickly changing the barrel.

According to the engineers' recommendations, this part had to be changed every 150 shots to prevent overheating. The main advantage of the MG-42, and at the same time the main headache, is the rate of fire. 1200 rounds per minute guaranteed and quickly killed the barrel.

The second number of the crew had with him a set of replacement barrels and an asbestos glove so as not to burn his hand. A machine gunner replaced an overheated barrel in an average of 5-8 seconds. The regulations prescribed shooting in short bursts of no more than 250 rounds to preserve the barrel. Experienced fighters could fire bursts of 3-5 shots.

Comparative characteristics of MG-42

A complete picture of a weapon can be obtained by looking at its closest competitors. At this time the most common infantry light machine guns there were the English Bran and the Soviet DP-27.

• the mass indicator of the MG-42 is the largest, 12.6 kg, while the Englishman weighs 11.5 kg, and the DP - 10.6 kg;
• weapon length is 121.9 cm, the same figure for Bran and DP is 115 cm and 127.2 cm, respectively;
• the bullet flies out of the barrel at a speed of 750 m/s, for analogues it is 745 and 840 m/s;
• rate of fire 1200 rounds per minute, English model 660, Soviet 600;
• ammunition supply from a tape packed in a “snail” for 50 rounds or from a box for 250 rounds, Bran with a magazine for 30 rounds, the DP has a disk for 47 rounds;
• cartridges, respectively, 7.92x57 for MG-42, 7.7x56 (.303) for Bran and 7.62x53R for DP.

The analysis shows that, compared to its competitors, the German MG-42 is superior in many respects to its counterparts from opposing countries. Coupled with its low cost and successful ergonomics, this made the German a formidable adversary both tactically, on the battlefield, and in the strategic battle of economies.

Use on the battlefield

After testing prototypes in the winter of 1941-1942, the sample was put into service under the designation MG-42. The appearance did not go unnoticed, Soviet intelligence drew conclusions about Germany’s resources coming to an end, not suspecting that the Germans were developing a greatly simplified and cheaper machine gun before the war.

The troops liked the new weapon. The machine gun immediately received several nicknames, mostly related to the circular saw. The sound of the shooting machine really resembled a woodworking machine.

The Allies received the ominous nickname “Widowmaker” for the MG-42. The gloomy name did not prevent the use of a formidable weapon as a trophy, despite the provision on the surrender of captured weapons special units.

The fire of German machine guns created a continuous barrier, through which it was almost impossible for enemy infantry.

Only during the barrel change was it possible to make dashes or maneuvers. This factor caused severe psychological damage to those who had to storm the MG-42 positions.

Produced since the fall of 1942, the MG-42 faithfully served its owners until April-May 1945. After the end of the war, many units of these weapons were in service with underground gangs, as well as in third world countries.

Stopping the production of machine guns

After the crash Hitler's Germany production of machine guns was stopped. The Allies were dealing with the legacy of victory, one of which, of course, was the development of German gunsmiths to improve the MG-42.

Just a few years later, work on improving the German machine gun and creating prototypes in Western countries continued.

The design turned out to be so successful that this machine gun is still in service with the Bundeswehr, although modernized for the standard NATO cartridge 7.62x51 mm. Now it has a new name - MG-3. Besides Germany, this machine gun is used in some European countries as the main one.

Trace in culture

Second world war is widely reflected in artistic culture. The image of the German soldier trying to conquer the world for his Fuhrer is known in all corners of the Earth.

Not a single serious film or book could ignore the topic of MG-42.

A merciless “saw” that fires at both soldiers going on the attack and civilians is found in hundreds artistic descriptions past war.

If you remove emotions, you will be left with an excellent example of weapons, a machine gun, which served as the progenitor of the direction of single machine guns, which is used to this day.

Video

On May 17, 1718, James Puckle patented his gun, which became the prototype of the machine gun. Since that time, military engineering has come a long way, but machine guns still remain one of the most formidable types of weapons.

"Pakla's Gun"

Attempts to increase the rate of fire of firearms were made repeatedly, but before the advent of a unitary cartridge they failed due to the complexity and unreliability of the design, the extremely high cost of production and the need to have trained soldiers whose skills would go significantly beyond the automatic manipulation of a gun.

One of the many experimental designs was the so-called “Pakla gun”. The weapon was a gun mounted on a tripod with a cylinder with 11 charges acting as a magazine. The crew of the gun consisted of several people. With coordinated crew actions and no misfires, a rate of fire of up to 9-10 rounds per minute was theoretically achieved. This system was supposed to be used at short distances in naval battle, however, due to unreliability, this weapon did not become widespread. This system illustrates the desire to increase firepower rifle fire by increasing the rate of fire.

Lewis machine gun

The Lewis light machine gun was developed in the United States by Samuel McClane, and was used as a light machine gun and aircraft gun during the First World War. Despite the impressive weight, the weapon turned out to be quite successful - the machine gun and its modifications are quite long time were held in Britain and its colonies, as well as the USSR.

In our country, Lewis machine guns were used until the Great Patriotic War and visible on the chronicle of the parade on November 7, 1941. In domestic feature films This weapon is relatively rare, but a frequent imitation of the Lewis machine gun in the form of a “camouflaged DP-27” is very common. The original Lewis machine gun was depicted, for example, in the film “White Sun of the Desert” (except for the shooting shots).

Hotchkiss machine gun

During the First World War, the Hotchkiss machine gun became the main machine gun of the French army. Only in 1917, with the spread of light machine guns, its production began to decline.

In total, the easel "Hotchkiss" was in service in 20 countries. In France and a number of other countries, these weapons were kept during the Second World War. Hotchkiss was supplied to a limited extent before the First World War and to Russia, where a significant part of these machine guns was lost during the East Prussian operation in the first months of the war. In domestic feature films, the Hotchkiss machine gun can be seen in the film adaptation of " Quiet Don", which shows an attack by the Cossacks on German positions, which from a historical point of view may not be typical, but is acceptable.

Maxim machine gun

The Maxim machine gun went down in history Russian Empire and the USSR, remaining officially in service much longer than in other countries. Along with the three-line rifle and revolver, it is strongly associated with the weapons of the first half of the 20th century.

He served from the Russo-Japanese War to the Great Patriotic War inclusive. Powerful and distinguished by a high rate of fire and accuracy of fire, the machine gun had a number of modifications in the USSR and was used as an easel, anti-aircraft and aviation one. The main disadvantages of the easel version of "Maxim" were the excessively large mass and water cooling trunk Only in 1943 was the Goryunov machine gun adopted for service, which by the end of the war began to gradually supplant the Maxim. In the initial period of the war, the production of Maxims not only did not decrease, but on the contrary, it increased and, in addition to Tula, was deployed in Izhevsk and Kovrov.

Since 1942, machine guns were produced only with a receiver under a canvas tape. Production legendary weapons was stopped in our country only in the victorious year of 1945.

MG-34

The German MG-34 machine gun has a very complicated story adoption, but, nevertheless, this model can be called one of the first single machine guns. MG-34 could be used as light machine gun, or as an easel on a tripod machine, as well as as an anti-aircraft and tank one.

The small mass gave the weapon high maneuverability, which, in combination with at a fast pace shooting made him one of the best infantry machine guns the beginning of World War II. Later, even with the adoption of the MG-42, Germany did not abandon the production of the MG-34; this machine gun is still in service in a number of countries.

DP-27

From the beginning of the 30s, the light machine gun of the Degtyarev system began to enter service with the Red Army, which became the main light machine gun of the Red Army until the mid-40s. First combat use DP-27 is most likely associated with the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929.

The machine gun performed well during the fighting in Spain, Khasan and Khalkhin Gol. However, by the time the Great Patriotic War began, the Degtyarev machine gun was already inferior in a number of parameters such as weight and magazine capacity to a number of newer and more advanced models.

During operation, a number of shortcomings were identified - a small magazine capacity (47 rounds) and an unfortunate location under the barrel of the return spring, which was deformed from frequent shooting. During the war, some work was carried out to eliminate these shortcomings. In particular, the survivability of the weapon was increased by moving the return spring to the rear of the receiver, although general principle The operation of this sample has not undergone any changes. New machine gun(DPM) began to enter the troops in 1945. On the basis of the machine gun, a very successful DT tank machine gun was created, which became the main Soviet tank machine gun of the Great Patriotic War.

Machine gun "Breda" 30

One of the first places in terms of the number of shortcomings among mass-produced samples can be given to the Italian Breda machine gun, which, perhaps, collected the maximum number of them.

Firstly, the magazine is unsuccessful and only holds 20 rounds, which is clearly not enough for a machine gun. Secondly, each cartridge must be lubricated with oil from a special oil can. Dirt, dust gets in and the weapon instantly fails. One can only guess how it was possible to fight with such a “miracle” in the sands of North Africa.

But even at sub-zero temperatures, the machine gun also does not work. The system was distinguished by its great complexity in production and low rate of fire for a light machine gun. To top it off, there is no handle for carrying the machine gun. However, this system was the main machine gun of the Italian army in World War II.

MP 38, MP 38/40, MP 40 (abbreviated from German Maschinenpistole) - various modifications of the submachine gun of the German company Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA), developed by Heinrich Vollmer based on the earlier MP 36. Were in service with the Wehrmacht during World War II.

The MP 40 was a modification of the MP 38 submachine gun, which, in turn, was a modification of the MP 36 submachine gun, which passed combat tests in Spain. The MP 40, like the MP 38, was intended primarily for tankers, motorized infantry, paratroopers and infantry platoon commanders. Later, towards the end of the war, it began to be used by German infantry on a relatively large scale, although it was not widespread.//
Initially, the infantry was against the folding stock, as it reduced the accuracy of fire; as a result, gunsmith Hugo Schmeisser, who worked for C.G. Haenel, a competitor to the Erma, created a modification of the MP 41, combining the main mechanisms of the MP 40 with a wooden stock and trigger mechanism, made in the image of the MP28 previously developed by Hugo Schmeisser himself. However, this version was not widely used and was not produced for long (about 26 thousand units were produced)
The Germans themselves very pedantically name their weapons according to the indices assigned to them. In special Soviet literature during the Great Patriotic War, they were also quite correctly identified as MP 38, MP 40 and MP 41, and MP28/II was designated by the name of its creator, Hugo Schmeisser. In Western literature on small arms, published in 1940-1945, all then German submachine guns immediately received common name"Schmeisser system". The term stuck.
With the advent of 1940, when general staff the army was ordered to develop a new weapon, the MP 40 large quantities riflemen, cavalrymen, drivers, tank units and staff officers began to receive. The needs of the troops were now more satisfied, although not completely.

Contrary to the popular belief imposed by feature films, where German soldiers “water” continuous fire “from the hip” from the MP 40, the fire was usually carried out in short bursts of 3-4 shots with the butt resting on the shoulder (except for cases when it was necessary to create a high density of unaimed fire in combat at the shortest distances).
Specifications:
Weight, kg: 5 (with 32 rounds)
Length, mm: 833/630 with stock extended/folded
Barrel length, mm: 248
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum
Caliber, mm: 9
Rate of fire
shots/min: 450-500
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 380
Sighting range, m: 150
Maximum
range, m: 180 (effective)
Type of ammunition: box magazine for 32 rounds
Sight: non-adjustable open at 100 m, with a folding stand at 200 m

Due to Hitler's reluctance to begin production of a new class of weapons, development was carried out under the designation MP-43. The first samples of the MP-43 were successfully tested on the Eastern Front against Soviet troops, and in 1944 more or less began mass release a new type of weapon, but under the name MP-44. After the results of successful frontal tests were presented to Hitler and approved by him, the nomenclature of the weapon was again changed, and the model received the final designation StG.44 ("sturm gewehr" - assault rifle).
The disadvantages of the MP-44 include the excessively large mass of the weapon and sights located too high, which is why the shooter had to raise his head too high when shooting while lying down. Shortened magazines for 15 and 20 rounds were even developed for the MP-44. In addition, the butt mount was not strong enough and could be destroyed in hand-to-hand combat. In general, the MP-44 was a fairly successful model, providing effective fire with single shots at a range of up to 600 meters and automatic fire at a range of up to 300 meters. In total, taking into account all modifications, about 450,000 copies of the MP - 43, MP - 44 and StG 44 were produced in 1942 - 1943 and, with the end of the 2nd World War, its production ended, but until the mid-50s of the twentieth 19th century was in service with the GDR police and airborne troops Yugoslavia...
Specifications:
Caliber, mm 7.92
The cartridge used is 7.92x33
Initial bullet speed, m/s 650
Weight, kg 5.22
Length, mm 940
Barrel length, mm 419
Magazine capacity, 30 rounds
Rate of fire, v/m 500
Sighting range, m 600

MG 42 (German: Maschinengewehr 42) - German single machine gun from the Second World War. Developed by Metall und Lackierwarenfabrik Johannes Grossfuss AG in 1942...
By the beginning of World War II, the Wehrmacht had the MG-34, created in the early 1930s, as its only machine gun. For all its advantages, it had two serious drawbacks: firstly, it turned out to be quite sensitive to contamination of mechanisms; secondly, it was too labor-intensive and expensive to produce, which did not make it possible to satisfy the ever-increasing needs of the troops for machine guns.
Adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1942. Production of the MG-42 continued in Germany until the end of the war, and the total production was at least 400,000 machine guns...
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 11.57
Length, mm: 1220
Cartridge: 7.92×57 mm
Caliber, mm: 7.92
Operating principles: Short barrel stroke
Rate of fire
shots/min: 900–1500 (depending on the bolt used)
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 790-800
Sighting range, m: 1000
Type of ammunition: machine gun belt for 50 or 250 rounds
Years of operation: 1942–1959

Walther P38 (Walter P38) - German self-loading pistol caliber 9 mm. Developed by Karl Walter Waffenfabrik. It was adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1938. Over time, it replaced the Luger-Parabellum pistol (although not completely) and became the most popular pistol in the German army. It was produced not only on the territory of the Third Reich, but also on the territory of Belgium and occupied Czechoslovakia. The P38 was also popular with the Red Army and allies as a good trophy and a weapon for close combat. After the war, arms production in Germany was stopped for a long time. Only in 1957 did the production of this pistol resume in Germany. It was supplied to the Bundeswehr under the P-1 brand (P-1, P - short for German “pistole” - “pistol”).
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 0.8
Length, mm: 216
Barrel length, mm: 125
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum
Caliber, mm: 9 mm
Operating principles: short barrel stroke
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 355
Sighting range, m: ~50
Type of ammunition: magazine for 8 rounds

The Luger pistol (“Luger”, “Parabellum”, German Pistole 08, Parabellumpistole) is a pistol developed in 1900 by Georg Luger based on the ideas of his teacher Hugo Borchardt. Therefore, the Parabellum is often called the Luger-Borchardt pistol.

Complex and expensive to manufacture, the Parabellum was nevertheless distinguished by fairly high reliability, and for its time was an advanced weapon system. The main advantage of the Parabellum was its very high shooting accuracy, achieved due to the comfortable “anatomical” handle and easy (almost sporty) trigger...
Hitler's rise to power led to the rearmament of the German army; All restrictions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were ignored. This allowed Mauser to resume active production of Luger pistols with a barrel length of 98 mm and grooves on the handle for attaching an attached holster-butt. Already in the early 1930s, designers of the Mauser weapons company began working on the creation of several versions of the Parabellum, including a special model for the needs of the secret police of the Weimar Republic. But new sample The R-08 with an expansion type muffler was no longer received by the German Ministry of the Interior, but by its successor, created on the basis of the SS organization of the Nazi Party - RSHA. In the thirties and forties, these weapons were in service with the German intelligence services: Gestapo, SD and military intelligence- Abwehr. Along with the creation of special pistols based on the R-08, the Third Reich at that time also carried out structural modifications of the Parabellum. Thus, by order of the police, a version of the P-08 was created with a bolt delay, which did not allow the bolt to move forward when the magazine was removed.
During preparations for a new war, with the aim of concealing the real manufacturer, Mauser-Werke A.G. began to apply special marks to her weapons. Previously, in 1934-1941, Luger pistols were marked “S/42”, which was replaced by the “byf” code in 1942. It existed until the production of these weapons by the Oberndorf company was completed in December 1942. In total, during the Second World War, the Wehrmacht received 1.355 million pistols of this brand.
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 0.876 (weight with loaded magazine)
Length, mm: 220
Barrel length, mm: 98-203
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum,
7.65mm Luger, 7.65x17mm and others
Caliber, mm: 9
Operating principles: recoil of the barrel during its short stroke
Rate of fire
rounds/min: 32-40 (combat)
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 350-400
Sighting range, m: 50
Type of ammunition: box magazine with a capacity of 8 rounds (or drum magazine with a capacity of 32 rounds)
Sight: Open sight

Flammenwerfer 35 (FmW.35) is a German portable backpack flamethrower of the 1934 model, adopted for service in 1935 (in Soviet sources - “Flammenwerfer 34”).

Unlike the bulky backpack flamethrowers previously in service with the Reichswehr, which were serviced by a crew of two or three specially trained soldiers, the Flammenwerfer 35 flamethrower, whose loaded weight did not exceed 36 kg, could be carried and used by just one person.
To use the weapon, the flamethrower, pointing the fire hose towards the target, turned on the igniter located at the end of the barrel, opened the nitrogen supply valve, and then the supply of the combustible mixture.

Having passed through the fire hose, the flammable mixture, pushed out by the force of compressed gas, ignited and reached a target located at a distance of up to 45 m.

Electric ignition, first used in the design of a flamethrower, made it possible to arbitrarily regulate the duration of shots and made it possible to fire about 35 shots. The duration of operation with continuous supply of a combustible mixture was 45 seconds.
Despite the possibility of using a flamethrower by one person, in battle he was always accompanied by one or two infantrymen who covered the actions of the flamethrower small arms, giving him the opportunity to quietly approach the target at a distance of 25-30 m.

The initial stage of World War II revealed a number of shortcomings that significantly reduced the possibility of using this effective weapon. The main one (besides the fact that a flamethrower that appeared on the battlefield became the primary target of enemy snipers and shooters) was the rather significant mass of the flamethrower, which reduced maneuverability and increased the vulnerability of the infantry units armed with it...
Flamethrowers were in service with sapper units: each company had three backpack flamethrower Flammenwerfer 35, which could be combined into small flamethrower squads used as part of assault groups.
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 36
Crew (crew): 1
Sighting range, m: 30
Maximum
range, m: 40
Type of ammunition: 1 fuel cylinder
1 gas cylinder (nitrogen)
Sight: no

Gerat Potsdam (V.7081) and Gerat Neum?nster (Volks-MP 3008) represent more or less exact copy English submachine gun "Stan".

Initially, the leadership of the Wehrmacht and the SS troops rejected the proposal to use captured English Stan submachine guns, which had accumulated in significant quantities in Wehrmacht warehouses. The reasons for this attitude were the primitive design and short sighting range of this weapon. However, a shortage of automatic weapons forced the Germans to use Stans in 1943–1944. for arming SS troops fighting partisans in German-occupied territories. In 1944, in connection with the creation of the Volks-Storm, it was decided to establish production of Stans in Germany. At the same time, the primitive design of these submachine guns was already considered a positive factor.

Like their English counterpart, the Neumünster and Potsdam submachine guns produced in Germany were intended to engage manpower at a range of up to 90–100 m. They consist of small quantity main parts and mechanisms that can be manufactured in small enterprises and artisanal workshops.
9mm Parabellum cartridges are used to fire submachine guns. The same cartridges are also used in English Stans. This coincidence is not accidental: when creating “Stan” in 1940, the German MP-40 was taken as the basis. Ironically, 4 years later the production of Stans began at German factories. A total of 52 thousand Volkssturmgever rifles and Potsdam and Neumünster submachine guns were produced.
Performance characteristics:
Caliber, mm 9
Initial bullet speed, m/sec 365–381
Weight, kg 2.95–3.00
Length, mm 787
Barrel length, mm 180, 196 or 200
Magazine capacity, 32 rounds
Rate of fire, rds/min 540
Practical rate of fire, rds/min 80–90
Sighting range, m 200

Steyr-Solothurn S1-100, also known as MP30, MP34, MP34(ts), BMK 32, m/938 and m/942, is a submachine gun developed on the basis of the experimental German Rheinmetall MP19 submachine gun of the Louis Stange system. It was produced in Austria and Switzerland and was widely offered for export. The S1-100 is often considered one of the best submachine guns of the interwar period...
After World War I, the production of submachine guns like the MP-18 was banned in Germany. However, in violation of the Treaties of Versailles, a number of experimental submachine guns were secretly developed, among which was the MP19 created by Rheinmetall-Borsig. Its production and sale under the name Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 were organized through the Zurich company Steyr-Solothurn Waffen AG, controlled by Rheinmetall-Borzig, the production itself was located in Switzerland and, mainly, Austria.
It had an exceptionally high-quality design - all the main parts were made by milling from steel forgings, which gave it great strength, high weight and a fantastic cost, thanks to which this sample received the fame of “Rolls-Royce among PP”. The receiver had a lid that hinged upwards and forwards, making disassembling the weapon for cleaning and maintenance very simple and convenient.
In 1934, this model was adopted by the Austrian army for limited service under the designation Steyr MP34, and in a version chambered for the very powerful 9×25 mm Mauser Export cartridge; In addition, there were export options for all the main military pistol cartridges of that time - 9×19 mm Luger, 7.63×25 mm Mauser, 7.65×21 mm, .45 ACP. The Austrian police were armed with the Steyr MP30, a variant of the same weapon chambered for the 9×23 mm Steyr cartridge. In Portugal it was in service as the m/938 (in 7.65 mm caliber) and m/942 (9 mm), and in Denmark as the BMK 32.

The S1-100 fought in Chaco and Spain. After the Anschluss in 1938, this model was purchased for the needs of the Third Reich and was in service under the name MP34(ts) (Machinenpistole 34 Tssterreich). It was used by the Waffen SS, logistics units and police. This submachine gun even managed to take part in the Portuguese colonial wars of the 1960s - 1970s in Africa.
Characteristics
Weight, kg: 3.5 (without magazine)
Length, mm: 850
Barrel length, mm: 200
Cartridge: 9Х19 mm Parabellum
Caliber, mm: 9
Operating principles: blowback
Rate of fire
shots/min: 400
Initial bullet speed, m/s: 370
Sighting range, m: 200
Type of ammunition: box magazine for 20 or 32 rounds

WunderWaffe 1 – Vampire Vision
Sturmgewehr 44 was the first assault rifle, similar to the modern M-16 and Kalashnikov AK-47. Snipers could use the ZG 1229, also known as the "Vampire Code", also in night conditions, due to its infrared night vision device. It has been used for last months war.

Thanks to cinema, the Red Army and the Wehrmacht earned at least two symbolic types of weapons. For Germany, this was the MP 38/40 submachine gun, and for Soviet Union- PPSh. These two PPs are incredibly similar, but at the same time completely different. This raises a logical question: whose weapon was better?

"Schmeisser" for the elite

The history of the MP 38/40 began long before World War II. The legendary submachine gun was the fruit of a deep modernization of the VMP1925 assault rifle, created back in 1925. The weapon was developed by the German gunsmith Heinrich Volmer. When Nazi Germany began to rebuild its army for a future campaign of conquest, its command remembered the importance of submachine guns as a very promising type of weapon in the coming war. That's when the MP 38/40 appeared. The machine gun's baptism of fire took place in Spain. Subsequently, the machine gun was modified by another German gunsmith, Hugo Schmeisser, in whose honor, in fact, it earned its “affectionate” name among the Soviet troops.

Despite the fact that the MP 38/40 is firmly rooted in popular culture as perhaps the only weapon of Wehrmacht soldiers, in practice everything was completely different. The main weapon of the German ground forces was the Mauser 98k rifle. The ratio of rifles and the mentioned SMGs in the troops was approximately 1 to 10 (where 1 is MP 38/40). The submachine gun was used mostly by sabotage, airborne, assault units, as well as crews of combat vehicles and security detachments.

“I blinded you from what was”

Before World War II, the Red Army already had its own submachine gun. However, it had a number of shortcomings, which primarily prevented it from becoming truly widespread. As a result, in 1940, the party ordered the development of a submachine gun based on the existing PPD, similar in design, but at the same time adapted for mass production. The task of the gunsmiths was to “not drop” performance characteristics weapons, but at the same time make the machine gun quite cheap. For service legendary PPSh was adopted already on December 21, 1940.

Unlike the Wehrmacht troops, the PPSh from the very beginning laid claim to truly mass weapons ground forces. By the way, it was the experience of Soviet submachine gunner units during the Second World War that proved the undeniable advantage of infantry fully armed with automatic weapons. By the end of the war, about 55% of all fighters were armed with this type of weapon.

From love to hate

The main disadvantage of the MP 38/40 was the ammunition chosen for the machine gun. The 9x19 mm Parabellum cartridge had, to put it mildly, “dubious” ballistic qualities. The bullet had a low initial velocity. In force large area drag she could not step above 400 m/s. This in turn negatively affected the effective firing range.

The second important drawback of the MP 38/40 was the ergonomics of the weapon. She was far from the best. Added a fly in the ointment and a butt. On the one hand, the folding stock made the weapon very compact, which is quite practical. However, the hinge of the Schmeisser stock quickly wore out, and this negatively affected the accuracy of shooting during aimed fire. Finally, the Wehrmacht soldiers simply hated their machine gun for the banal absence of a barrel casing. It was impossible to grasp it with your hand without a glove after shooting.

But the MP 38/40 was still a good weapon. The machine gun had a simple and reliable design (in no way inferior to the Soviet PPSh). Many of the shortcomings were “smoothed out” by subsequent modifications during the war. "Schmeisser" was used in different countries worlds until the 70s of the XX century.

Weapon of Victory

For a whole range characteristics of PPSh beat his competitor from Germany. The effective firing range tended to be 200 meters versus 100-120 for the MP 38/40. The machine gun had much better ergonomics, although it weighed more - 5.3 kg versus 4.8 kg in the case of loaded ammunition, and was not nearly as compact. In terms of rate of fire, the Soviet machine gun also beat its “colleague” - 1000 rounds per minute versus 600-900 rounds. The weapon should be praised for the huge capacity of the selector (drum) magazine of 71 rounds. It was also easier to clean!

Of course, the Soviet machine gun also had its drawbacks. These include difficult magazine replacement, an insufficiently reliable fuse and an increased risk of the weapon accidentally firing if it falls on a hard surface. In the dark, the PPSh was much easier to identify by its characteristic triple muzzle flash. Lastly, it was very noisy. A fighter located on the side of the machine gunner, 2-3 meters away, could have suffered a ruptured eardrum.

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

At this time, machine guns became the main destructive force of small arms at medium and long ranges: among some shooters, self-loading rifles were gradually replaced by submachine guns instead of self-loading rifles. And if in July 1941 the rifle company had six light machine guns, 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, naturally, the Maxim machine gun of the 1910/30 model, modified to accept a heavier bullet weighing 11.8 g. Compared to the 1910 model, about 200 changes were made to its design. The machine gun became lighter by more than 5 kg, and reliability automatically increased. Also for the new modification, a new Sokolov wheeled machine was developed.

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

The specifics were the use of fabric tape and water cooling of the barrel. The machine gun itself weighed 20.3 kg (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 had too heavy weight for maneuverable combat, and water cooling could cause difficulties when overheating: fiddling with canisters during combat is not always convenient. In addition, the Maxim device was quite complex, which was important in wartime.

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

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 the Great Patriotic War. For its time it was good weapon, captured examples 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 magazine for 47 rounds; rate of fire - 600 rounds/min; weight with loaded magazine - 11.3 kg.

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

In 1944, the DP was upgraded to the DPM: a pistol grip fire control 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 exported en masse.

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

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

By the time of Germany’s treacherous attack on the USSR, the Red Army had about 10 thousand DS-39 machine guns in service. In front conditions, their design shortcomings quickly became clear: too fast and energetic recoil of the bolt caused frequent ruptures of the cartridges when removing them from the barrel, which led to the inertial dismantling of the cartridge with a heavy bullet that jumped out of the barrel 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 production of the DS-39 was stopped.

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

The Goryunov heavy machine gun turned out to be simple, reliable and quite light, but production was launched at several enterprises at once, so that by the end of 1944 74 thousand units were produced.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - belt, 200 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 600-700 rounds/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 was produced as an SGM until 1961, until it was replaced by a single Kalashnikov machine gun in an easel version.

Perhaps let us also remember the Degtyarev light machine gun (RPD), which was created in 1944 for the new intermediate cartridge 7.62x39 mm.

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

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

Of course, we must not forget about large-caliber machine guns.

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

Cartridge - 12.7x109 mm; food - belt, 50 rounds; rate of fire - 600 rounds/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 chambered 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 - belt, 40 rounds; rate of fire - 550 rounds/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 that of the 20-mm ShVAK aircraft gun is about 28 kJ.

Let's move on to German machine guns.

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

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

A special feature of the design is the ability to switch power to feed the tape 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 tank forces even after the appearance of the MG-42.

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

An unsuccessful design among 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, it was first armed with Waffen SS units, supplied on a residual basis, then it was used as a training weapon, and in 1943 it was completely withdrawn from service.

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

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

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%. Production of the MG-42 continued throughout the war; in total, more than 400 thousand machine guns were produced.

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 combat. At the same time, on the one hand, changing the barrel was carried out structurally in 6-10 seconds, on the other hand, it was possible only with the presence of heat-insulating (asbestos) mittens or any improvised means. In the case of intense shooting, a barrel change had to be done every 250 shots: if there was a well-equipped firing point and a spare barrel, or better yet two, everything was great, but if it was not possible to change the barrel, then the effectiveness of the machine gun dropped sharply, firing could only be carried out in short bursts and taking into account the need for natural cooling of the barrel.

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

Video comparison of 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 - belt, 50 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 1500-1600 rounds/minute; weight - 8.0 kg.

Initially, the MG-81 was used as an on-board defensive weapon for Luftwaffe bombers; it began to enter service with airfield divisions in 1944. The short barrel length caused a lower muzzle velocity compared to standard light machine guns, but the MG-81 had less weight.

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

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

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

In terms of maneuverability, the old Degtyarev won: the 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 large-caliber machine guns, the USSR had a clear advantage.