Weapons of the Second World War (Germans). The best infantry weapons of the second world war Shotguns from the Second World War

modern warfare it will be a war of motors. Motors on the ground, motors in the air, motors on the water and under water. Under these conditions, the winner will be the one who has more motors and more power reserves.
Joseph Stalin

At a meeting of the Main Military Council, January 13, 1941

During the years of the pre-war five-year plans, Soviet designers created new models of small arms, tanks, artillery, mortars and aircraft. More and more advanced destroyers, cruisers, patrol ships, also paid special attention to the development of the submarine fleet.

As a result, before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR had a fairly modern weapon system and military equipment, and according to some tactics technical specifications even surpassed the German weapons counterparts. Therefore, the main reasons for the defeats of the Soviet troops in the initial period of the war cannot be attributed to miscalculations in the technical equipment of the troops.

TANKS
As of June 22, 1941, the Red Army had 25,621 tanks.
The most massive were light T-26s, of which there were almost 10 thousand vehicles, and representatives of the BT family - there were about 7.5 thousand. A significant proportion were wedges and small amphibious tanks - a total of almost 6 thousand were in service with the Soviet troops. modifications T-27, T-37, T-38 and T-40.
The most modern at that time tanks KV and T-34, there were about 1.85 thousand units.

Heavy tank KV-1

The KV-1 entered service in 1939 and was mass-produced from March 1940 to August 1942. The mass of the tank was up to 47.5 tons, which made it much heavier than the existing German tanks. He was armed with a 76 mm cannon.
Some experts consider the KV-1 a landmark vehicle for world tank building, which had a significant impact on the development of heavy tanks in other countries.

The Soviet tank had the so-called classic layout - the division of the armored hull from bow to stern sequentially into the control compartment, combat and engine-transmission compartments. He also received an independent torsion bar suspension, all-round anti-ballistic protection, a diesel engine and one relatively powerful gun. Previously, these elements were found separately on other tanks, but in the KV-1 they were brought together for the first time.
The first combat use of the KV-1 refers to the Soviet-Finnish War: a prototype tank was used on December 17, 1939 when the Mannerheim Line was broken through.
In 1940-1942, 2769 tanks were produced. Until 1943, when the German "Tiger" appeared, the KV was the most powerful tank war. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he received the nickname "ghost" from the Germans. Standard rounds from the Wehrmacht's 37mm anti-tank gun did not penetrate his armor.

Medium tank T-34
In May 1938, the Armored Directorate of the Red Army suggested that Plant No. 183 (now the Kharkov Transport Engineering Plant named after V. A. Malyshev) create a new tracked tank. Under the leadership of Mikhail Koshkin, the A-32 model was created. The work went in parallel with the creation of the BT-20, an improved modification of the already mass-produced BT-7 tank.

The prototypes of the A-32 and BT-20 were ready in May 1939, according to the results of their tests in December 1939, the A-32 received a new name - T-34 - and was put into service with the condition to finalize the tank: to bring the main armor to 45 millimeters, improve visibility, install a 76-mm cannon and additional machine guns.
In total, by the beginning of World War II, 1066 T-34s were manufactured. After June 22, 1941, the production of this type was deployed at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Uralmash in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), plant No. 174 in Omsk and Uralvagonzavod (Nizhny Tagil). ).

In 1944, the serial production of the T-34-85 modification began with a new turret, reinforced armor and an 85-mm gun. Also, the tank has proven itself due to its ease of production and maintenance.
In total, more than 84 thousand T-34 tanks were manufactured. This model participated not only in the Great Patriotic War, it was in many armed conflicts in Europe, Asia and Africa in the 1950s-1980s. The last documented case of the combat use of the T-34 in Europe was their use during the war in Yugoslavia.

AVIATION
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet aviation was armed with many types of combat aircraft. In 1940 and the first half of 1941, the troops received almost 2.8 thousand modern vehicles: Yak-1, MiG-3, LaGG-3, Pe-2, Il-2.
There were also I-15 bis, I-16 and I-153 fighters, bombers TB-3, DB-3, SB (ANT-40), multipurpose R-5 and U-2 (Po-2).
New aircraft Air force In terms of combat capabilities, the Red Army was not inferior to the Luftwaffe aircraft, in a number of indicators they even surpassed them.

Sturmovik Il-2
The Il-2 armored attack aircraft is the most massive combat aircraft in. In total, more than 36 thousand cars were produced. He was called the "flying tank", the leadership of the Wehrmacht - "black death" and "iron Gustav". German pilots nicknamed the Il-2 "concrete aircraft" for its high combat survivability.

The first combat units that were armed with these machines were created just before the war. Attack aircraft units were successfully used against motorized and armored units of the enemy. At the beginning of the war, the IL-2 was practically the only aircraft that, in the conditions of the superiority of German aviation, fought the enemy in the air. He played a big role in holding back the enemy in 1941.
During the war years, several aircraft modifications were created. Il-2 and its further development - the Il-10 attack aircraft - were actively used in all major battles of the Great Patriotic War and in the Soviet-Japanese War.
The maximum horizontal speed of the aircraft near the ground was 388 km / h, and at an altitude of 2000 m - 407 km / h. The climb time to a height of 1000 m is 2.4 minutes, and the turn time at this height is 48-49 seconds. At the same time, in one combat turn, the attack aircraft gained a height of 400 meters.

MiG-3 night fighter
The design team, headed by A. I. Mikoyan and M. I. Gurevich, in 1939 worked hard on a fighter for combat at high altitudes. In the spring of 1940, a prototype was built, which received the MiG-1 brand (Mikoyan and Gurevich, the first). Subsequently, its upgraded version was named MiG-3.

Despite the significant takeoff weight (3350 kg), the speed of the serial MiG-3 near the ground exceeded 500 km/h, and at an altitude of 7 thousand meters it reached 640 km/h. It was the highest speed at that time obtained on production aircraft. Due to the high ceiling and high speed at an altitude of over 5 thousand meters, the MiG-3 was effectively used as a reconnaissance aircraft, as well as an air defense fighter. However, poor horizontal maneuverability and relatively weak armament did not allow it to become a full-fledged front-line fighter.
According to the famous ace Alexander Pokryshkin, inferior in horizontal, the MiG-3 significantly outperformed the German Me109 in vertical maneuver, which could be the key to victory in a collision with fascist fighters. However, only top-class pilots could successfully pilot the MiG-3 in vertical turns and at maximum g-forces.

FLEET
By the beginning of World War II, the Soviet fleet had a total of 3 battleships and 7 cruisers, 54 leaders and destroyers, 212 submarines, 287 torpedo boats and many other ships.

The pre-war shipbuilding program provided for the creation of a "big fleet", which would be based on large surface ships - battleships and cruisers. In accordance with it, in 1939-1940, battleships of the type " Soviet Union"and the heavy cruisers" Kronstadt "and" Sevastopol ", in Germany acquired the unfinished cruiser" Petropavlovsk ", however, plans for a radical renewal of the fleet were not destined to come true.
In the prewar years, Soviet sailors received new Kirov-class light cruisers, project 1 and 38 destroyer leaders, project 7 destroyers, and other ships. The construction of submarines and torpedo boats proceeded rapidly.
Many ships were completed already during the war, some of them never took part in the battles. These include, for example, the Project 68 Chapaev cruisers and the Project 30 Fire destroyers.
The main types of surface ships of the pre-war period:
light cruisers of the Kirov class,
leaders of the "Leningrad" and "Minsk" types,
destroyers of the "Wrathful" and "Savvy" type,
minesweepers of the "Fugas" type,
torpedo boats "G-5",
sea ​​hunters "MO-4".
The main types of submarines of the pre-war period:
small submarines type "M" ("Malyutka"),
medium submarines of types "Shch" ("Pike") and "C" ("Medium"),
underwater minelayers type "L" ("Leninets"),
large submarines of types "K" ("Cruising") and "D" ("Decembrist").

Kirov-class cruisers
Light cruisers of the Kirov class became the first Soviet surface ships of this class, not counting the three Svetlana cruisers laid down under Nicholas II. Project 26, according to which the Kirov was built, was finally approved in the fall of 1934 and developed the ideas of the Italian light cruisers of the Condottieri family.

The first pair of cruisers, Kirov and Voroshilov, was laid down in 1935. They entered service in 1938 and 1940. The second pair, "Maxim Gorky" and "Molotov", was built according to a modified project and replenished the composition Soviet fleet in 1940-1941. Two more cruisers were laid down on Far East, before the end of World War II, only one of them, the Kalinin, was put into operation. Far Eastern cruisers also differed from their predecessors.
The total displacement of the Kirov-class cruisers ranged from about 9450-9550 tons for the first pair to almost 10,000 tons for the last. These ships could reach speeds of 35 knots or more. Their main armament was nine 180 mm B-1-P guns placed in three-gun turrets. On the first four cruisers, anti-aircraft weapons were represented by six B-34 100 mm mounts, 45 mm 21-K and 12.7 mm machine guns. In addition, the Kirovs carried torpedoes, mines and depth charges, seaplanes.
"Kirov" and "Maxim Gorky" spent almost the entire war supporting the defenders of Leningrad with gunfire. "Voroshilov" and "Molotov", built in Nikolaev, participated in the operations of the fleet in the Black Sea. All of them survived the Great Patriotic War - they were destined for a long service. Latest composition fleet in 1974 left the "Kirov".

Pike-class submarines
"Pikes" became the most massive Soviet submarines of the Great Patriotic War, not counting the "Malyutok".

The construction of the first series of four submarines began in the Baltic in 1930, and the Pike entered service in 1933-1934.
These were middle-class submarines with an underwater displacement of about 700 tons, and armament consisted of six 533 mm torpedo tubes and a 45 mm 21-K gun.
The project was successful, and by the beginning of World War II, more than 70 Pike were in service (a total of 86 submarines were built in six series).
Submarines of the Shch type were actively used in all maritime theaters of the war. Of the 44 "Pike" that fought, 31 died. The enemy lost almost 30 ships from their actions.

Despite a number of shortcomings, "Pikes" were distinguished by their comparative cheapness, maneuverability and survivability. From series to series - a total of six series of these submarines were created - they improved their seaworthiness and other parameters. In 1940, two Shch-type submarines were the first in the Soviet Navy to receive equipment that allowed torpedo firing without air leakage (which often unmasked the attacking submarine).
Although only two "Pike" of the latest X-bis series entered service after the war, these submarines remained in the fleet for a long time and were decommissioned in the late 1950s.

ARTILLERY
According to Soviet data, on the eve of the Great Patriotic War, the army had almost 67.5 thousand guns and mortars.

It is believed that in terms of combat qualities, the Soviet field artillery even surpassed the German one. However, it was poorly provided with mechanized traction: agricultural tractors were used as tractors, and up to half of the guns were transported by horses.
The army was armed with many types artillery pieces and mortars. Anti-aircraft artillery was represented by guns of caliber 25, 37, 76 and 85 millimeters; howitzer - modifications of caliber 122, 152, 203 and 305 millimeters. The main anti-tank gun was a 45 mm model 1937, the regimental gun was a 76 mm model 1927, and the divisional gun was a 76 mm model 1939.

45 mm anti-tank gun model 1937
This tool became one of the most famous representatives Soviet artillery Great Patriotic War. It was developed under the direction of Mikhail Loginov on the basis of a 45 mm 1932 cannon.

The main combat qualities of 45-graph paper included maneuverability, rate of fire (15 rounds per minute) and armor penetration.
By the beginning of the war, the army had more than 16.6 thousand guns of the 1937 model. In total, more than 37.3 thousand of these guns were produced, and production was curtailed only by 1944, despite the presence of more modern models of the ZiS-2 and the M-42, similar in caliber.

Fighting machine rocket artillery"Katyusha"
The day before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army adopted fighting machine rocket artillery BM-13, later called "Katyusha". She became one of the world's first multiple launch rocket systems.

The first combat use took place on July 14, 1941 near the railway station of the city of Orsha (Belarus). The battery under the command of Captain Ivan Flerov destroyed the accumulation of German military equipment at the Orshinsky railway junction with salvo fire.
Due to the high efficiency of use and ease of production, by the autumn of 1941, the BM-13 was widely used at the front, having a significant impact on the course of hostilities.
The system made it possible to carry out a salvo with the entire charge (16 missiles) in 7-10 seconds. There were also modifications with an increased number of guides and other versions of the missiles.
During the war, about 4 thousand BM-13s were lost. In total, about 7 thousand installations of this type were manufactured, and the Katyushas were taken out of production only after the war - in October 1946.

WEAPON
Despite the widespread introduction of tanks and aircraft, the strengthening of artillery, infantry weapons remained the most massive. According to some estimates, if in the First World War the losses from small arms did not exceed 30% of the total, then in World War II they increased to 30-50%.
Before the Great Patriotic War, the supply of rifles, carbines and machine guns to the troops grew, but the Red Army was significantly inferior to the Wehrmacht in saturation with automatic weapons, such as submachine guns.

Mosin rifle
Adopted in 1891, the 7.62 mm Mosin rifle remained the main weapon of the Red Army infantryman. In total, about 37 million of these rifles were produced.

Modifications of the 1891/1930 model had to take the fight in the most difficult months of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Due to the cheapness and reliability of the weapon, it outperformed its young self-loading rivals.
The latest version of the "three-ruler" was the carbine of the 1944 model, which was distinguished by the presence of a fixed needle bayonet. The rifle has become even shorter, the technology has been simplified, and combat maneuverability has increased - it is easier to carry out close combat in thickets, trenches, and fortifications with a shorter carbine.
In addition, it was the Mosin design that formed the basis of the sniper rifle, which was put into service in 1931 and became the first Soviet rifle, specially created for "accurate shooting and destruction, first of all, of the enemy command personnel."

PPSh
The 7.62 mm Shpagin submachine gun was put into service in 1941.

it legendary weapon became part of the image of the victorious soldier - he can be seen in the most famous monuments. PPSh-41 fell in love with the fighters, having received from them the affectionate and respectful nickname "dad". He shot in almost any weather conditions and at the same time managed relatively cheaply.
By the end of the war, about 55% of the fighters were armed with PPSh. In total, about 6 million pieces were produced.

Thanks to Soviet films about the war, most people have a strong opinion that the mass small arms (photo below) of the German infantry during World War II is an automatic machine (submachine gun) of the Schmeisser system, which is named after its designer. This myth is still actively supported by domestic cinema. However, in fact, this popular machine gun was never a mass weapon of the Wehrmacht, and Hugo Schmeisser did not create it at all. However, first things first.

How myths are created

Everyone should remember the shots from domestic films dedicated to the attacks of the German infantry on our positions. Brave blond guys walk without bending down, while firing from machine guns “from the hip”. And the most interesting thing is that this fact does not surprise anyone, except for those who were in the war. According to the movies, the "Schmeissers" could conduct aimed fire at the same distance as the rifles of our fighters. In addition, the viewer, when watching these films, had the impression that the entire personnel of the German infantry during the Second World War was armed with machine guns. In fact, everything was different, and the submachine gun is not a mass small arms weapon of the Wehrmacht, and it is impossible to shoot from it “from the hip”, and it is not called “Schmeisser” at all. In addition, to carry out an attack on a trench by a submachine gunners unit, in which there are fighters armed with magazine rifles, is an obvious suicide, since simply no one would have reached the trenches.

Debunking the Myth: The MP-40 Automatic Pistol

This Wehrmacht small arms in WWII is officially called the MP-40 submachine gun (Maschinenpistole). In fact, this is a modification of the MP-36 assault rifle. The designer of this model, contrary to popular belief, was not the gunsmith H. Schmeisser, but the no less famous and talented craftsman Heinrich Volmer. And why is the nickname “Schmeisser” so firmly entrenched behind him? The thing is that Schmeisser owned a patent for the store that is used in this submachine gun. And in order not to violate his copyright, in the first batches of MP-40, the inscription PATENT SCHMEISSER was stamped on the store receiver. When these machine guns got to the soldiers as trophies allied armies, they mistakenly believed that the author of this model of small arms, of course, was Schmeisser. This is how the given nickname was fixed for the MP-40.

Initially, the German command armed only command staff with machine guns. So, in the infantry units, only the commanders of battalions, companies and squads should have MP-40s. Later, drivers of armored vehicles, tankers and paratroopers were supplied with automatic pistols. Massively, no one armed the infantry with them either in 1941 or after. According to the archives in 1941, the troops had only 250 thousand MP-40 assault rifles, and this is for 7,234,000 people. As you can see, a submachine gun is not at all a mass weapon of the Second World War. In general, for the entire period - from 1939 to 1945 - only 1.2 million of these machine guns were produced, while over 21 million people were called up in the Wehrmacht.

Why were the infantry not armed with the MP-40?

Despite the fact that experts later recognized that the MP-40 is the best small arms of the Second World War, only a few of them had it in the infantry units of the Wehrmacht. This is explained simply: the effective range of this machine gun for group targets is only 150 m, and for single targets - 70 m. This despite the fact that soviet soldiers were armed with Mosin and Tokarev (SVT) rifles, the effective range of which was 800 m for group targets and 400 m for single targets. If the Germans fought with such weapons, as shown in domestic films, then they would never have been able to reach the enemy trenches, they would simply have been shot, as in a shooting gallery.

Shooting on the move "from the hip"

The MP-40 submachine gun vibrates a lot when firing, and if you use it, as shown in the films, the bullets will always miss the target. Therefore, for effective shooting, it must be pressed tightly against the shoulder, after unfolding the butt. In addition, this machine gun was never fired in long bursts, as it quickly heated up. Most often they were beaten in a short burst of 3-4 rounds or fired single shots. Despite the fact that the tactical and technical characteristics indicate that the rate of fire is 450-500 rounds per minute, in practice this result has never been achieved.

Advantages of the MP-40

It cannot be said that this rifle was bad, on the contrary, it is very, very dangerous, but it must be used in close combat. That is why sabotage units were armed with it in the first place. They were also often used by scouts of our army, and the partisans respected this machine gun. The use of light, rapid-fire small arms in close combat provided tangible advantages. Even now, the MP-40 is very popular with criminals, and the price of such a machine is very high. And they are delivered there by “black archaeologists”, who excavate in places of military glory and very often find and restore weapons from the Second World War.

Mauser 98k

What can you say about this rifle? The most common small arms in Germany are the Mauser rifle. Its aiming range is up to 2000 m when firing. As you can see, this parameter is very close to the Mosin and SVT rifles. This carbine was developed back in 1888. During the war, this design was significantly upgraded, mainly to reduce costs, as well as to rationalize production. In addition, this Wehrmacht small arms were equipped with optical sights, and sniper units were equipped with it. The Mauser rifle at that time was in service with many armies, for example, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia and Sweden.

Self-loading rifles

At the end of 1941, the first automatic self-loading rifles of the Walther G-41 and Mauser G-41 systems entered the infantry units of the Wehrmacht for military trials. Their appearance was due to the fact that the Red Army was armed with more than one and a half million such systems: SVT-38, SVT-40 and ABC-36. In order not to be inferior to the Soviet fighters, the German gunsmiths urgently had to develop their own versions of such rifles. As a result of the tests, the G-41 system (Walter system) was recognized and adopted as the best. The rifle is equipped with a trigger-type percussion mechanism. Designed for firing only single shots. Equipped with a magazine with a capacity of ten rounds. This automatic self-loading rifle is designed to carry aimed shooting at a distance of up to 1200 m. However, due to the large weight of this weapon, as well as low reliability and sensitivity to pollution, it was released in a small series. In 1943, the designers, having eliminated these shortcomings, proposed an upgraded version of the G-43 (Walter system), which was produced in the amount of several hundred thousand units. Before its appearance, Wehrmacht soldiers preferred to use captured Soviet (!) SVT-40 rifles.

And now back to the German gunsmith Hugo Schmeisser. He developed two systems, without which the Second World War.

Small arms - MP-41

This model was developed simultaneously with the MP-40. This machine was significantly different from the Schmeisser familiar to everyone from the movies: it had a handguard trimmed with wood, which protected the fighter from burns, was heavier and longer-barreled. However, this Wehrmacht small arms were not widely used and were not produced for long. In total, about 26 thousand units were produced. It is believed that the German army abandoned this machine in connection with the lawsuit of ERMA, which claimed that its patented design was illegally copied. Small arms MP-41 was used by parts of the Waffen SS. It was also successfully used by Gestapo units and mountain rangers.

MP-43, or StG-44

The next weapon of the Wehrmacht (photo below) was developed by Schmeisser in 1943. At first it was called MP-43, and later - StG-44, which means "assault rifle" (sturmgewehr). This automatic rifle appearance, and according to some technical characteristics, it resembles (which appeared later), and differs significantly from the MP-40. Its range of aimed fire was up to 800 m. The StG-44 even provided for the possibility of mounting a 30 mm grenade launcher. For firing from cover, the designer developed a special nozzle, which was worn on the muzzle and changed the trajectory of the bullet by 32 degrees. This weapon entered mass production only in the fall of 1944. During the war years, about 450 thousand of these rifles were produced. So few of the German soldiers managed to use such a machine gun. StG-44s were supplied to the elite units of the Wehrmacht and to Waffen SS units. Subsequently, this weapon of the Wehrmacht was used in

FG-42 automatic rifles

These copies were intended for parachute troops. They combined the fighting qualities of a light machine gun and an automatic rifle. The Rheinmetall company took up the development of weapons already during the war, when, after evaluating the results of airborne operations carried out by the Wehrmacht, it turned out that the MP-38 submachine guns did not fully meet the combat requirements of this type of troops. The first tests of this rifle were carried out in 1942, and at the same time it was put into service. In the process of using the mentioned weapon, shortcomings were also revealed, associated with low strength and stability during automatic firing. In 1944, the upgraded FG-42 rifle (Model 2) was released, and Model 1 was discontinued. The trigger mechanism of this weapon allows automatic or single fire. The rifle is designed for the standard 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge. Magazine capacity is 10 or 20 rounds. In addition, the rifle can be used to fire special rifle grenades. In order to increase stability when firing, a bipod is fixed under the barrel. The FG-42 rifle is designed for firing at a range of 1200 m. Due to the high cost, it was produced in limited quantities: only 12 thousand units of both models.

Luger P08 and Walter P38

Now consider what types of pistols were in service with the German army. "Luger", its second name "Parabellum", had a caliber of 7.65 mm. By the beginning of the war, the units of the German army had more than half a million of these pistols. This small arms of the Wehrmacht was produced until 1942, and then it was replaced by a more reliable "Walter".

This pistol was put into service in 1940. It was intended for firing 9 mm rounds, the magazine capacity is 8 rounds. Sighting range at "Walter" - 50 meters. It was produced until 1945. Total number issued P38 pistols amounted to approximately 1 million units.

Weapons of World War II: MG-34, MG-42 and MG-45

In the early 30s, the German military decided to create a machine gun that could be used both as an easel and as a manual one. They were supposed to fire at enemy aircraft and arm tanks. The MG-34, designed by Rheinmetall and put into service in 1934, became such a machine gun. By the beginning of hostilities, the Wehrmacht had about 80 thousand units of this weapon. The machine gun allows you to fire both single shots and continuous. To do this, he had a trigger with two notches. When you click on the top, shooting was carried out with single shots, and when you click on the bottom - in bursts. It was intended for Mauser rifle cartridges 7.92x57 mm, with light or heavy bullets. And in the 40s, armor-piercing, armor-piercing tracer, armor-piercing incendiary and other types of cartridges were developed and used. This suggests the conclusion that the impetus for changes in weapons systems and tactics for their use was the Second World War.

The small arms that were used in this company were replenished with a new type of machine gun - MG-42. It was developed and put into service in 1942. Designers have significantly simplified and reduced the cost of production this weapon. So, in its production, spot welding and stamping were widely used, and the number of parts was reduced to 200. The trigger mechanism of the machine gun in question allowed only automatic firing - 1200-1300 rounds per minute. Such significant changes adversely affected the stability of the unit during firing. Therefore, to ensure accuracy, it was recommended to fire in short bursts. Ammunition for the new machine gun remained the same as for the MG-34. The range of aimed fire was two kilometers. Work on improving this design continued until the end of 1943, which led to the creation of a new modification, known as the MG-45.

This machine gun weighed only 6.5 kg, and the rate of fire was 2400 rounds per minute. By the way, not a single infantry machine gun of that time could boast of such a rate of fire. However, this modification appeared too late and was not in service with the Wehrmacht.

PzB-39 and Panzerschrek

PzB-39 was developed in 1938. This weapon of the Second World War was used with relative success on initial stage to combat tankettes, tanks and armored vehicles with bulletproof armor. Against heavily armored B-1s, British Matildas and Churchills, Soviet T-34s and KVs), this gun was either ineffective or completely useless. As a result, he was soon replaced anti-tank grenade launchers and reactive anti-tank guns "Pantsershrek", "Ofenror", as well as the famous "Faustpatrons". The PzB-39 used a 7.92 mm cartridge. The firing range was 100 meters, the penetration ability made it possible to "flash" 35-mm armor.

"Panzerschreck". it german lung anti-tank weapons is a modified copy of the American bazooka jet gun. German designers provided him with a shield that protected the shooter from hot gases escaping from the grenade nozzle. Anti-tank companies of motorized rifle regiments of tank divisions were supplied as a matter of priority with these weapons. Rocket guns were exceptionally powerful weapons. "Panzershreki" were weapons for group use and had a service crew consisting of three people. Since they were very complex, their use required special education calculations. In total, in 1943-1944, 314 thousand units of such guns and more than two million rocket-propelled grenades were produced for them.

Grenade launchers: "Faustpatron" and "Panzerfaust"

The early years of the Second World War showed that anti-tank guns could not cope with the tasks set, so the German military demanded anti-tank weapons with which to equip an infantryman, acting on the principle of "shot and thrown." The development of a disposable hand grenade launcher was started by HASAG in 1942 ( chief designer Langweiler). And in 1943 mass production was launched. The first 500 Faustpatrons entered the troops in August of the same year. All models of this anti-tank grenade launcher had a similar design: they consisted of a barrel (smooth-bore seamless pipe) and an over-caliber grenade. An impact mechanism and an aiming device were welded to the outer surface of the barrel.

"Panzerfaust" is one of the most powerful modifications of the "Faustpatron", which was developed at the end of the war. Its firing range was 150 m, and its armor penetration was 280-320 mm. The Panzerfaust was a reusable weapon. The barrel of the grenade launcher is equipped with a pistol grip, in which there is a firing mechanism, the propellant charge was placed in the barrel. In addition, the designers were able to increase the speed of the grenade. In total, over eight million grenade launchers of all modifications were manufactured during the war years. This type of weapon inflicted significant losses on Soviet tanks. So, in the battles on the outskirts of Berlin, they knocked out about 30 percent of armored vehicles, and during street fighting in the capital of Germany - 70%.

Conclusion

The Second World War had a significant impact on small arms, including the world, its development and tactics of use. Based on its results, we can conclude that, despite the creation of the most modern weapons, the role of rifle units is not decreasing. The accumulated experience of using weapons in those years is still relevant today. In fact, it became the basis for the development and improvement of small arms.

In the early days of the Great Patriotic War, fascist troops smashed the Red Army on all fronts. The reason for this was the human factor - the confidence of Stalin and the high command that Hitler would not violate the treaty.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, the USSR accelerated the reorganization and increase in the composition armed forces. By the beginning of the Second World War, there were 5.3 million people in the Red Army. In terms of weapons, the Soviet border districts were distinguished by impressive defensive capabilities, but they were not brought to full combat readiness in time.

The main tactical mistake of our troops was the uncoordinated interaction of different branches of the armed forces: infantry, tanks, aviation and artillery. The infantry did not follow the firing direction of the artillery, breaking away from the tanks. These misses were the main cause of huge losses in initial period war.

In the first hours of the war, German aircraft destroyed most of Soviet tanks and aircraft, leaving behind dominance in the air and on the ground. The bulk of the work to defend the Motherland fell on the shoulders of ordinary foot soldiers.

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

In parallel with the Mosin rifle, the Soviet infantry was equipped with Tokarev self-loading rifles: SVT-38 and the SVT-40 improved in 1940. Simonov automatic rifles () were also present in the troops - at the beginning of the war, their number was almost 1.5 million units.

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

The best example of submachine guns during the Second World War was recognized (Sudaev submachine gun).

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

Throughout the Great Patriotic War military industry The USSR produced 12139.3 thousand carbines and rifles, 1515.9 thousand of all types of machine guns, 6173.9 thousand submachine guns. Since 1942, almost 450 thousand heavy and light machine guns, 2 million submachine guns and more than 3 million self-loading and magazine rifles have been produced every year.

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War confirmed the importance of a good supply of infantry the latest samples small arms. During the war, many different models of automatic weapons were developed and delivered to the army, which ultimately played decisive role in the victory of the USSR over the fascist invaders.

In a movie about the Great Patriotic War, ours are sure to shoot from PPSH submachine guns(Shpagin submachine gun - with butt and round disc). And the Germans go on the attack with the Schmeisser, pouring bursts of water on the partisans from the hip. Was it really so?

What machines were actually used Soviet troops and Nazis? Who invented the first submachine gun? What are the most powerful machine guns in the world, what are the soldiers of modern armies armed with?

The world's first machine

In 1913, the inventor made two prototypes of the new weapon. In terms of combat characteristics, it took an intermediate position between a light machine gun and an automatic rifle. That's why it's called automatic. This first machine gun in the world could fire both bursts and single shots.

However, due to the sluggishness of the Russian bureaucracy, the serial production of Fedorov assault rifles was launched only before the revolution itself. The first at the front to test machine guns was the special team of the Izmail Infantry Regiment on Romanian front. Already after the first battles, it turned out that in many cases the machine gun can successfully replace light machine gun.

The most powerful machines

American automatic rifle M16

The fighting qualities of the rifle were highly appreciated american soldiers during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. However, the war also exposed a number of its shortcomings. Among them - the unreliability of the return spring, sensitivity to contamination.

In the USSR, comparative tests of the M16 A2 and AK-74 were carried out. It was noted that the American rifle is better than the Soviet counterpart in single shooting, and the latter is superior to the American in burst shooting. The recoil of the M16 A2 is a third stronger than that of the Russian machine gun. Besides, soviet weapons far surpasses the American in terms of readiness for immediate use in a variety of conditions.

But the Yankees continue to improve their favorite weapons. The rifle is still in service with the armies of the United States and many other countries of the world.

American automatic rifle FN SCAR

Powerful modern rifle FN SCAR

Mounted on the FN SCAR rifle grenade launcher, which can also be detached and used separately. All modern high-tech sights (optical, laser, thermal imaging, night vision, collimator, etc.) are mounted on it.

At the moment, the FN SCAR is in service with the American Rangers, is used in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has proven its convenience and effectiveness. It is assumed that its light and heavy versions in the near future will replace not only the M16 rifle in special forces units, but also the more powerful M14, the Mk.25 sniper rifle and the Colt M4 carbine.

Powerful german rifles

Automatic rifle NK G36

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The rifle can be equipped with a collimator and optical sights, bayonet knife, grenade launcher. According to reviews Russian specialists, the quality of a single shot from it is higher than from the AK-74.

Automatic rifles NK 41 and NK 416

Submachine gun Degtyarev

Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh)

At the front, the PPSh showed high combat qualities, especially its modification with a carob magazine, which at the end of the war replaced the drum magazine that was originally used. However, its shortcomings were also revealed in the battles.

PPSh-41 was quite heavy, bulky and inconvenient. When the shutter was contaminated with dust or soot, it malfunctioned in firing. When driving on dusty roads, it had to be hidden under a raincoat.

Initially, PPS-42 was produced only for the needs of the Leningrad Front. Then they began to take him along with the refugees along the Road of Life for the needs of other fronts.

A PPS bullet has lethal force at a distance of 800 meters. It is most effective when firing in short bursts.

The production technology of PPS was simple and cost-effective. Its parts were made by stamping, fastened with rivets and welding. The consumption of materials for its production compared to PPSh-41 has decreased three times. During the Second World War, about half a million pieces of teaching staff were produced.

Automatic "Schmeiser"

The machine was released for the command staff of the German army, as well as paratroopers and tankers. It has never been a mass infantry weapon.

Experts note among the advantages of this machine its compactness and ease of use, high striking ability at distances of one hundred to two hundred meters. However, even a small amount of pollution put it out of action.

The most powerful assault rifle - the Kalashnikov assault rifle

The most powerful Kalashnikov assault rifle against the M-16

The Kalashnikov assault rifle received its baptism of fire in Hungary in 1956. In the future, its various modifications were massively supplied to the allies of the USSR, national liberation and revolutionary movements. Its production was also established in many countries under licenses. According to some estimates, total of these machines in the world reaches 90 million pieces.

Its undoubted advantages are the highest reliability, unpretentiousness, insensitivity to moisture, dirt and dust, ease of use, assembly and disassembly. The downside for a long time was the low accuracy of fire. As a single shooting, he was also inferior to foreign counterparts.

Currently adopted by the Russian army latest version the legendary machine gun - AK-12. Experts express the hope that this model, after the final revision, will surpass all previous ones in its qualities.
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Designed by Verthod Gipel and Heinrich Volmer at the Erma factory (Erfurter Werkzeug und Maschinenfabrik), the MP-38 is better known as the Schmeisser, in fact, weapons designer Hugo Schmeisser to the development of the MP-38 and Mr 40 German machine gun of the Wehrmacht of the second world war photo, has nothing to do with it. In literary publications of the time, all German submachine guns were mentioned as being based on " Schmeisser system". This is most likely where the confusion came from. Well, then our cinema took over, and crowds of German soldiers went for a walk on the screens, without exception armed with an Mp 40 assault rifle, which has nothing to do with reality. At the beginning of the invasion of the USSR, about 200 thousand MP.38 / 40 were manufactured (the figure is not at all impressive). And for all the years of the war, the total production amounted to about 1 million barrels, for comparison, PPSh-41 produced more than 1.5 million guns in 1942 alone.

German submachine gun Mr 38/40

So who was armed with a pistol with an MP-40 machine gun. The official order for adoption dates back to the 40th year. Infantrymen, cavalrymen, crews of tanks and armored vehicles, vehicle drivers, staff officers and several other categories of military personnel are armed. The same order introduces a standard ammunition load of six magazines (192 rounds). In mechanized troops on the crew of 1536 rounds of .

incomplete disassembly of the mr40 machine

Here we need to go a little into the prehistory, creation. Even today, more than 70 years after the end of the war, the MP-18 is a classic automatic weapon. Caliber chambered for a pistol cartridge, the principle of action is the recoil of a free shutter. The reduced load of the cartridge meant that it was relatively easy to hold, even when firing in full automatic mode, while lightweight hand-held weapons are almost impossible to control when firing bursts when using a full-size cartridge.
DEVELOPMENT IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN THE WARS

MP-18 with snail magazine

The 9mm MP-34/35 pistol, developed by the Bergman brothers in Denmark, was very similar in appearance to the MP-28. In 1934, its production was launched in Germany. Large stocks of these weapons, made by the Junker und Ruh A6 (Junrer und Ruh A6) factory in Karlsruhe, passed to the Waffen SS.

SS man with MR-28

Until the very beginning of the war, machine guns remained a special weapon used mainly by secret units.

A very revealing photo of the weapons of the ss sd and police units from left to right Suomi MP-41 and MP-28

With the outbreak of hostilities, it turned out that this is a uniquely convenient weapon of universal use, so it was necessary to plan production a large number new weapons. This requirement was met in a revolutionary new weapon - the MP-38 assault rifle.

German infantryman with machine gun mp38\40

Not much different mechanically from other submachine guns of that period, the MP-38 did not have a well-made wooden butt and intricate details inherent in automatic weapons of early designs. It was made of metal stamped parts and plastic. It was the first automatic weapon equipped with a folding metal butt, which reduced its length from 833 mm to 630 mm and made it an automatic weapon. perfect weapon paratroopers and vehicle crews.

Photo of a German submachine gun in service with the Wehrmacht MP38

The machine had a protrusion under the barrel, nicknamed the "rest plate", which made it possible to conduct automatic fire through the loopholes of cars and loopholes, without fear that the vibrations would lead the barrel to the side. For the sharp sound made when firing, the MP-38/40 submachine gun earned the inelegant nickname "burping machine gun".

german soldier with mr 40

Design flaws: Mr 40 German machine gun of the Wehrmacht of the second world war photo

mp-40 german machine of the second world

The MP-38 went into production, and soon, during the 1939 campaign in Poland, it became clear that the weapon had a dangerous flaw. When cocking the trigger, the bolt could easily break forward, unexpectedly initiating firing. An impromptu way out was a leather collar, which was worn on the barrel and kept the weapon cocked. At the factory, the easiest way was to make a special "delay" for safety in the form of a hinged latch on the bolt handle, which could be pinched in a recess on the receiver, which would prevent any forward movement of the bolt.

The soldiers were colder than the mr 40 machine gun

The weapon of this modification received the designation " MP-38/40».
The desire to reduce the cost of production led to the MP-40. In this new weapon, the number of parts requiring processing on metal-cutting machines was minimized, and stamping and welding were used wherever possible. The production of many parts of the machine and the assembly of the machine was placed in Germany at the Erma, Gaenl and Steyr factories, as well as at factories in the occupied countries.

soldier armed with a submachine gun mr 38-40

The manufacturer can be identified by the code stamping on the back of the bolt box: "ayf" or "27" means "Erma", "bbnz" or "660" - "Steyr", "fxo" - "Gaenl". At the beginning of World War II, MP38 assault rifles were produced a little less 9000 things.

stamping on the back of the bolt box: "ayf" or "27" means the production of "Erma"

This weapon is well received. German soldiers, the machine gun was also popular with Allied soldiers when they got it as a trophy. But he was far from perfect: fighting in Russia, soldiers armed MP-40 assault rifle , found that Soviet soldiers armed with a PPSh-41 assault rifle with a 71-round disk magazine were stronger than them in battle.

German soldiers often used captured weapons PPSh-41

Not only did Soviet weapons have more firepower, they were simpler and proved to be more reliable in the field. With firepower in mind, Erma introduced the MP-40/1 at the end of 1943. The machine was specially equipped with two disc magazines with 30 rounds each placed side by side. When one ended, the soldier simply moved the second magazine to the place of the first. Although this solution increased the capacity to 60 rounds, it weighed the machine down to 5.4 kg. The MP-40 was also produced with a wooden stock. Under the designation MP-41, it was used by paramilitary militarized formations and police units.

In war as in war

By the end of the war, more than one million MP-40 assault rifles had been produced. It was reported that the communist partisans used the MP-40 to shoot the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, capturing him in 1945. After the war, the machine was used by the French and remained in service with the AFV crews of the Norwegian army in the 1980s.

Shooting from the MP-40, no one shoots from the hip

With the front line approaching for a Germany under pressure from both East and West, the need for simple, easy-to-make weapons became critical. The answer to the request was MP-3008. A weapon very familiar to British forces is the modified "Sten" Mk 1 SMG. The main difference was that the store was placed vertically down. The MP-3008 assault rifle weighed 2.95 kg, and the Sten weighed 3.235 kg.
The German "Sten" had initial speed bullets 381 m/s and rate of fire 500 rds/min. They made about 10,000 MP-3008 assault rifles and used them against the advancing allies.

MP-3008 is a modified for manufacturability "Sten" Mk 1 SMG

"Erma" EMR-44 is a rather raw, crude weapon made of sheet steel and pipes. The inventive design, which used a 30-round magazine from the MP-40, was not put into mass production.