Germany. Weapons of soldiers of the ussr during the great patriotic war german automatic rifle of the second world

cooking fascist Germany at the start of World War II has become an aspect of serious developments in the field of military technology. The armament of the fascist troops at that time, with the latest technology, undoubtedly became a significant advantage in battles, which allowed the Third Reich to bring many countries to surrender.

The military power of the Nazis was especially experienced by the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. Before the attack on the Soviet Union, the forces of fascist Germany numbered about 8.5 million people, including approximately 5.2 million people in the ground forces.

The technical equipment determined many ways of conducting combat operations, the maneuvering and strike capabilities of the army. After the company in Western Europe, the German Wehrmacht left the best weapons that showed the greatest effectiveness in combat. Before the attack on the USSR, these prototypes underwent intensive modernization, their parameters were brought to the maximum.

The fascist infantry divisions, as the main tactical troops, were armed with magazine rifles with bayonets 98 and . Although the Treaty of Versailles for Germany provided for a ban on the production of submachine guns, German gunsmiths still continued to produce this type of weapon. Shortly after the formation of the Wehrmacht, a submachine gun appeared in its appearance, which, due to the fact that it was distinguished by its small size, an open barrel without a forearm and a folding butt, quickly patented itself and was put into service as early as 1938.

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

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

Germany entered the war with only one machine gun, which was used both in manual and tank, easel and anti-aircraft guns. The experience of its use proved that the concept of a single machine gun is quite correct. However, in 1942, the brainchild of modernization was the MG.42, nicknamed " Hitler's saw”, which is considered the best machine gun of the Second World War.

The fascist forces brought the world a lot of trouble, but it is worth recognizing that they really understood military equipment.

One of the most famous German pistols. Developed by the designers of Walther in 1937 under the name HP-HeeresPistole - a military pistol. A number of commercial HP pistols have been produced.

In 1940, it was adopted as the main army pistol under the name Pistole 38.
Serial production of the R.38 for the armed forces of the Reich begins in April 1940. In the first half of the year, about 13,000 pistols of the so-called zero series were produced. The new weapons were received by officers of the ground forces, part of the non-commissioned officers, the first numbers of heavy weapons calculations, officers of the SS field troops, as well as the SD security service, the Imperial Security Main Directorate and the Imperial Ministry of the Interior.

On all Series 0 pistols, the numbers start at zero. On the left side of the slide is the Walther logo and the model name P.38. The WaA acceptance number on zero-series pistols is E/359. Handles are bakelite black with diamond-shaped notches.

Walter P38 480 series

In June 1940, the German leadership, fearing the bombing of arms factories by the Allies, decided to indicate the letter code of the factory instead of the manufacturer's name on the weapon. For two months, Walther produced P.38 pistols with manufacturer code 480.

Two months later, in August, the plant received a new designation from the letters AC. Next to the manufacturer's code, they began to indicate the last two digits of the year of manufacture.

At the Walter factory, serial numbers of pistols were used from 1 to 10,000. Each after the 10,000th pistol, the countdown began again, but now a letter was added to the number. After every ten thousand, the next letter was used. The first tens of thousands of pistols produced at the beginning of the year did not have a suffix letter in front of the number. The next 10,000 received the suffix "a" in front of the serial number. Thus the 25,000th pistol of a given year had the serial number "5000b" and the 35,000th "5000c". The combination of year of manufacture + serial number + suffix or lack thereof was unique to each pistol.
The war in Russia required a huge amount of personal weapons, the production capacity of the Walter plant was no longer enough to cover this need. As a result, the Walther company had to transfer drawings and documentation for the production of P.38 pistols to its competitors. At Mauser-Werke A. G., production was launched by the autumn of 1942, Spree-Werke GmbH - in May 1943.

Mauser-Werke A. G. received manufacturer code "byf". All the pistols he produced were stamped with the manufacturer's code and the last two digits of the year of manufacture. In 1945 this code was changed to SWW. In April, the Allies seized the Mauser factory and handed it over to the French, who produced P38 pistols for their own needs until mid-1946.

The Spree-Werke GmbH received the code "cyq", which changed to "cvq" in 1945.

LUGER P.08

German mountain shooter with pistol P.08

German soldier aiming with a Parabellum pistol

Pistol Luger LP.08 caliber 9 mm. Long barrel model with sector sight

WALTHER PPK - criminal police pistol. Designed in 1931, it is a lighter and shorter version of the Walther PP pistol.

WALTHER PP (PP is short for Polizeipistole - police pistol). Developed in 1929 in Germany chambered for 7.65 × 17 mm, magazine capacity 8 rounds. It is noteworthy that it was from such a pistol that Adolf Hitler shot himself. It was also produced chambered for 9×17 mm.

Mauser HSc (pistol with self-cocking trigger, modification "C" - Hahn-Selbstspanner-Pistole, Ausführung C). Caliber 7.65 mm, magazine for 8 rounds. Adopted by the German army in 1940.

Pistol Sauer 38H (H from it. Hahn - "trigger"). The letter "H" in the model name indicates that the pistol used an internal (hidden) trigger (short for the German word - Hahn - trigger. Adopted in 1939. Caliber 7.65 Brauning, magazine for 8 rounds.

Mauser M1910. Designed in 1910, it was produced in versions for different cartridges - 6.35 × 15 mm Browning and 7.65 Browning, the magazine holds 8 or 9 rounds, respectively.

Browning HP. Belgian pistol developed in 1935. The letters HP in the model name are short for "Hi-Power" or "High-Power"). The pistol uses a 9 mm parabellum cartridge, magazine capacity 13 rounds. FN Herstal, which developed this pistol, produced it until 2017.

RADOM Vis.35. Polish pistol adopted by the Polish army in 1935. The pistol uses a 9mm Parabellum cartridge, magazine capacity 8 rounds. During the occupation of Poland, this pistol was produced for the German army.

It provides shooting both with self-cocking and manual cocking. The German company Geko for this pistol produced plug-in barrels for firing 4 mm caliber cartridges, while the shutter had to be opened manually, since the power of the cartridge was not enough to ensure the operation of the automation. As an experiment, during the war, a batch of pistols with a frame and a casing-bolt made of aluminum alloy was also released. Pistols R 38 (H) were distinguished by good workmanship, high reliability and shooting accuracy.

During the years of the Second World War, the leading Belgian enterprise for the production of small arms "Fabrique Nacional" manufactured more than 319 thousand pistols for the Wehrmacht, which in the Wehrmacht received the designation P 640 (c) "Browning" mod. 1935 The famous designer John Moses Browning began the development of this pistol immediately after the end of the First World War. In 1934 a new pistol was offered by Fabrik Nacional on the world arms market. The automation of this powerful military pistol works by using the recoil energy of the barrel during its short course. For long-range shooting, it was planned to use a detachable wooden butt, for which there is a corresponding groove on the rear wall of the handle. In addition to the Fabrik Nacional, the Browning pistol arr.

1935 during the Second World War, it was also produced by the Canadian company John Inglis according to the design documentation delivered by the employees of the Factory Nacional, who emigrated from Belgium after it was occupied by Germany. In Canada, about 152 thousand of these pistols were manufactured, which entered service with the armies of Great Britain, Canada, China and Greece. Thus, Browning pistols were widely used on both sides of the front. At the beginning of World War II, experiments were carried out aimed at adapting a conventional smooth-bore flare pistol (flare gun) of the Walter system to fire specially designed grenades. These grenades were intended to destroy enemy personnel and equipment and were warheads of hand grenades for various purposes, connected to special tails , which were inserted into the barrel of a signal pistol. However, a significant increase in accuracy, efficiency and firing range was achieved only after the creation in 1942. based on the signal pistol of a special assault pistol, designated "Z".

Like the original model, this weapon is a single-shot pistol with a breakable barrel and a hammer-type percussion mechanism. Its main difference is The presence of rifling in the bore is due to which an improvement in combat performance was achieved. For this pistol, a high-explosive fragmentation fan “Z” was developed to deal with enemy manpower and an anti-tank grenade 42 LP to deal with armored targets. The cumulative charge of this grenade weighing 0.8 kg pierced armor 80 mm thick. In addition, signal, lighting and smoke grenades were created for the pistol. To ensure the required range of 75m when firing a heavy anti-tank fan 42 LR, an attached shoulder rest was used.

The “Z” pistol was produced in a relatively small series of 25 thousand pieces, since in the fight against manpower it did not have significant advantages over rifle grenade launchers, and faustpatrons had already been developed to destroy tanks. Plug-in rifled barrels for conventional signal pistols, made during the war years in the amount of 400 thousand pieces, were much more widespread. Repeating rifle of the Mauser system arr. 1898 is a further development of the 7.92 mm rifle mod. 1888, created on the basis of the campaigns conducted by the German army in 1864, 1866 and 1870-1871.

From the original model rifle arr. 1898 features a simplified design of the shutter and feed mechanism, as well as modified M way to fill the magazine box. By its design, the rifle belongs to the magazine rifles with a sliding bolt with a turn when locking. For shooting from a rifle, the German industry produced 7.92-mm cartridges of thirteen types. The design scheme of the Mauser rifle was used by designers in many countries when they created their rifles. The most successful of these rifles is the Czechoslovak 7.92 mm rifle mod.

1924 Rifles arr. 1898 produced by the German industry until 1935.

When they were replaced in the production of carbines 98k. Due to the considerable length of the rifle arr. 1898 did not fully meet the requirements of the Wehrmacht, which was actively preparing for combat operations with the widespread use of motorized infantry.

For this reason, as the main small arms for all branches of the military in 1935. carbine 98k was adopted, developed on the basis of a rifle mod. 1898 The letter “k” used in the designation of the carbine was an abbreviation of the German word “kurz”, that is, “short”, which reflects the main difference between the carbine and the rifle - the barrel length reduced from 740 to 600 mm. Thus, the length of the carbine was reduced to 1110 mm. Other changes include a bolt handle bent toward the stock and an improved way to fill the magazine.

Thanks to the new shape of the grooves on the receiver, the shooter was able to easily and quickly install a clip with cartridges, and the removal of an empty clip after loading the carbine was carried out automatically when the bolt moved forward. ka Rabinov 98k, in addition, the design of the feeder has been changed, as a result of which, after the last cartridge from the magazine has been used up, the shutter cannot be closed, which is a kind of signal to the shooter about the need to fill the magazine. Like a rifle mod. 1898, carbines 98k were completed with blade-type bayonets attached to the tip of the bed.

For wearing on a waist belt, the bayonet was invested in a special sheath. Shooting from a carbine was carried out without a bayonet, using Mauser cartridges with bullets for various purposes, but mainly with light and heavy bullets. When using a 30 mm rifle grenade launcher, it was possible to shoot rifle grenades for various purposes from a carbine. Before the start of World War II, 2,769,533 units of the 98k carbine were produced; during the war years (until April 1, 1945), the Wehrmacht received another 7,540,058 units of this weapon. As of the beginning of March 1945, the troops had 3,404,337 carbines 98k, of which 27,212 units were equipped with an optical sight.

By this time, only 2356 carbines were stored in warehouses. In this regard, it should be noted that, despite the shortage of small arms, 258,399 98k carbines were delivered to German-friendly countries, including Portugal and Japan, during the war years. At the end of 1941. Wehrmacht infantry units received self-loading rifles of the Walther G41 (W) and Mauser C 41 (M) systems for military trials. Their appearance was a kind of reaction to the fact that the Red Army had more than one and a half million automatic self-loading rifles ABC-36, SVT-38 and SVT-40, which came to light after the German attack on the USSR. According to the test results, the Walther rifle, adopted by the Wehrmacht under the designation G41, was recognized as the best. The rifle has a hammer type percussion mechanism, its trigger mechanism allows firing only single shots.

To prevent accidental shots, the rifle has a safety lever mounted behind the receiver. The fuse is turned on by turning the flag to the right, while the trigger is blocked. For firing from a self-loading rifle G41 (W) the same ammunition is used as for a repeating rifle mod. 1898 Cartridges are fed from an integral magazine with a capacity of 10 rounds, filled with clips. After using up all the cartridges available in the magazine, the shutter remains in the rear position, which signals the need to fill the magazine. Despite the adoption of the G 41 (W) rifles into service, they were produced only in a small series, as there were complaints from the front-line units about their heavy weight, low reliability and sensitivity to pollution.

The elimination of these shortcomings led to the creation in 1943. modernized rifle G 43 (W), which was produced in the amount of several hundred thousand copies. Before the start of its deliveries, Wehrmacht units widely used captured Soviet rifles SVT-40, which received the German designation 453 (R). The 7.92mm FG 42 automatic rifle was in service with the paratroopers and combined the fighting qualities of an automatic rifle and a light machine gun. The development of the rifle was started by Rheinmetall designer Louis Stange already during the Second World War, when, after large-scale airborne operations carried out by the Wehrmacht, it turned out that the MP 38 submachine guns and 98k and 33/40 carbines in service did not fully meet the requirements of the parachute troops Tests of the rifle were carried out in 1942.

The holiday of the Great Victory is approaching - the day when the Soviet people defeated the fascist infection. It is worth recognizing that the forces of the opponents at the beginning of World War II were unequal. The Wehrmacht is significantly superior to the Soviet army in armament. In support of this "ten" small arms soldiers of the Wehrmacht.

1 Mauser 98k

A German-made repeating rifle that entered service in 1935. In the Wehrmacht troops, this weapon was one of the most common and popular. In a number of parameters, the Mauser 98k was superior to the Soviet Mosin rifle. In particular, the Mauser weighed less, was shorter, had a more reliable shutter and a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute, against 10 for the Mosin rifle. For all this, the German counterpart paid with a shorter firing range and weaker stopping power.

2. Luger pistol

This 9mm pistol was designed by Georg Luger back in 1900. Modern experts consider this pistol the best at the time of the Second World War. The design of the Luger was very reliable, it had an energy-efficient design, low accuracy of fire, high accuracy and rate of fire. The only significant defect of this weapon was the impossibility of closing the locking levers with the design, as a result of which the Luger could become clogged with dirt and stop firing.

3.MP 38/40

This Maschinenpistole, thanks to Soviet and Russian cinema, has become one of the symbols of the Nazi war machine. Reality, as always, is much less poetic. Popular in media culture, the MP 38/40 has never been the main small arms for most units of the Wehrmacht. They armed drivers, tank crews, detachments of special units, rear guard detachments, as well as junior officers of the ground forces. The German infantry was armed for the most part with the Mauser 98k. Only sometimes MP 38/40 in a certain amount as an "additional" weapon were transferred to assault squads.

4. FG-42

The German semi-automatic rifle FG-42 was designed for paratroopers. It is believed that the impetus for the creation of this rifle was Operation Mercury to capture the island of Crete. Due to the nature of the parachutes, the Wehrmacht troops carried only light weapons. All heavy and auxiliary weapons were landed separately in special containers. This approach caused heavy losses on the part of the landing force. The FG-42 rifle was a pretty good solution. I used cartridges of caliber 7.92 × 57 mm, which fit into 10-20 piece magazines.

5. MG 42

During the Second World War, Germany used many different machine guns, but it was the MG 42 that became one of the symbols of the aggressor in the yard with the MP 38/40 PP. This machine gun was created in 1942 and partially replaced the not very reliable MG 34. Despite the fact that the new machine gun was incredibly effective, it had two important drawbacks. First, MG 42 was very sensitive to contamination. Secondly, it had an expensive and labor-intensive production technology.

6. Gewehr 43

Before the outbreak of World War II, the Wehrmacht command was least interested in the possibility of using self-loading rifles. It was assumed that the infantry should be armed with conventional rifles, and for support, have light machine guns. Everything changed in 1941 with the outbreak of the war. The semi-automatic rifle Gewehr 43 is one of the best in its class, second only to the Soviet and American counterparts. In terms of its qualities, it is very similar to the domestic SVT-40. There was also a sniper version of this weapon.

7.StG44

The Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle was not the best weapon of the Second World War. It was heavy, absolutely uncomfortable, difficult to maintain. Despite all these shortcomings, the StG 44 was the first modern type of assault rifle. As you might guess from the name, it was already produced in 1944, and although this rifle could not save the Wehrmacht from defeat, it revolutionized the field of handguns.

8. Stielhandgranate

A safe but unreliable grenade.

Another "symbol" of the Wehrmacht. This hand-held anti-personnel grenade was widely used by German forces in World War II. It was a favorite trophy of the soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition on all fronts, in view of its safety and convenience. At the time of the 40s of the XX century, the Stielhandgranate was almost the only grenade completely protected from arbitrary detonation. However, it also had a number of shortcomings. For example, these grenades could not be stored in a warehouse for a long time. They also often leaked, which led to wetting and deterioration of the explosive.

9. Faustpatrone

The first single-shot anti-tank grenade launcher in the history of mankind. In the Soviet army, the name "Faustpatron" was later assigned to all German anti-tank grenade launchers. The weapon was created in 1942 specifically "for" the Eastern Front. The thing is that the German soldiers at that time were completely deprived of the means of close combat with Soviet light and medium tanks.

10. PzB 38

The German Panzerbüchse Modell 1938 anti-tank rifle is one of the most obscure types of small arms from World War II. The thing is that it was discontinued already in 1942, as it turned out to be extremely ineffective against Soviet medium tanks. Nevertheless, this weapon is a confirmation that such guns were used not only in the Red Army.

Rifles deserve special attention. The operation of rifles does not require such a long training as, for example, to operate a tank or pilot an aircraft, and even women or completely inexperienced fighters can easily handle them. The relatively small size and ease of operation made the rifles one of the most massive and popular weapons for warfare.

M1 Garand (M-One Garand)

The Em-One Garand was the standard US Army infantry rifle from 1936 to 1959. The semi-automatic rifle, which General George S. Patton called "the greatest fighting weapon ever created," gave the American army a huge advantage in World War II.

While the German, Italian, and Japanese armies still issued bolt-action rifles to their infantry, the M1 was semi-automatic and highly accurate. This caused the popular Japanese strategy of "desperate attack" to be much less effective, as they now faced an enemy who fired quickly and without missing. M1 was also produced with additions in the form of a bayonet or grenade launcher.

Lee Enfield (Lee Enfield)

The British Lee-Enfield No. 4 MK became the main infantry rifle of the British and Allied armies. By 1941, when mass production and use of Lee-Enfield began, the rifle underwent a number of changes and modifications to the sliding bolt mechanism, the original version of which was created back in 1895. Some units (such as the Bangladesh Police) still use the Lee-Enfield, making it the only bolt-action rifle in use for such a long time. In total, there are 17 million released by Lee-Enfield of various series and modifications.

The rate of fire at Lee Enfield is similar to Em One Garand. The sighting slit of the sight was designed in such a way that the projectile could hit the target from a distance of 180-1200 meters, which significantly increased the range and accuracy of shooting. Shot Lee-Enfield cartridges 303 British with a caliber of 7.9 mm and fired up to 10 shots at a time in two bursts of 5 rounds.

Colt 1911 (Colt 1911)

The Colt is undoubtedly one of the most popular handguns of all time. It was Colt who set the bar for quality for all pistols of the 20th century.

The reference weapon of the US Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986, the Colt 1911 has been modified to serve it today.

The Colt 1911 was designed by John Moses Browning during the Philippine-American War as the troops needed a high stopping power weapon. Colt 45 caliber coped with this task perfectly. It was a reliable and powerful weapon of the US infantry during World War II.

The first Colt - Colt Paterson - was created and patented by Samuel Colt in 1835. It was a six-shot revolver with a percussion cap. By the time John Browning designed his famous Colt 1911, no less than 17 Colts were being produced at the Colt's Manufacturing Company. First it was single-action revolvers, then double-action revolvers, and since 1900 the company began to produce pistols. All predecessor pistols of the Colt 1911 were small in size, relatively low power and were intended for concealed carry, for which they were nicknamed "vest". Our hero won the hearts of many generations - he was reliable, accurate, heavy, looked impressive and turned out to be the longest-lived weapon in the United States, serving the military and police faithfully until the 1980s.

The Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-41) is a Soviet-made assault rifle used both during and after World War II. Made primarily from stamped sheet metal and wood, the Shpagin submachine gun was produced in quantities of up to 3,000 daily.

The Shpagin submachine gun replaced the earlier version of the Degtyarev submachine gun (PPD-40), being its cheaper and more modern modification. "Shpagin" produced up to 1000 rounds per minute and was equipped with an automatic loader of 71 rounds. The firepower of the USSR with the advent of the Shpagin submachine gun increased significantly.

Submachine gun STEN (STEN)

The British STEN submachine gun was developed and created in the conditions of a massive shortage of weapons and an urgent need for combat units. Having lost a huge amount of weapons during the Dunkirk operation and under the constant threat of a German invasion, the United Kingdom needed strong infantry firepower - in no time and at little cost.

STEN was perfect for this role. The design was simple, and assembly could be carried out in almost all factories in England. Due to lack of funding and the difficult conditions in which it was created, the model turned out to be crude, and the military often complained about misfires. Nevertheless, it was the kind of boost to arms production that Britain so desperately needed. The STEN was so simple in design that many countries and guerrilla forces quickly adopted its production and began producing their own models. Among them were members of the Polish resistance - the number of STENs they made reached 2000.

During World War II, the United States produced over 1.5 million Thompson submachine guns. The Thompson, which would later become known as the weapon of American gangsters, was highly valued during the war years for its high efficiency in close combat, especially among paratroopers.

The mass production model for the US Army starting in 1942 was the M1A1 carbine, which was a simpler and cheaper version of the Thompson.

Equipped with a 30-round magazine, the Thompson fired the .45 caliber rounds that were very popular in the US at the time and showed excellent stopping power.

Bren light machine gun (Bren)

The Bren light machine gun was a powerful, easy-to-use weapon that could always be relied upon and was the go-to weapon for British infantry platoons. A licensed British modification of the Czechoslovakian ZB-26, the Bren was introduced into the British Army as the main light machine gun, three per platoon, one per firing station.

Any problem that arose with Bren could be solved by the soldier himself, simply by adjusting the gas spring. Designed for the 303 British used at Lee Enfield, the Bren was fitted with a 30-round magazine and fired 500-520 rounds per minute. Both Bren and his Czechoslovak predecessor are very popular today.

The Browning M1918 automatic rifle was a light machine gun station in service with the US Army in 1938 and was used until the Vietnam War. Although the US never set out to develop a practical and powerful light machine gun like the British Bren or the German MG34, the Browning was still a worthy model.

Weighing 6 to 11 kg, chambered in 30-06 caliber, the Browning was originally conceived as a support weapon. But when the American troops faced the heavily armed Germans, tactics had to be changed: at least two Brownings were now given to each rifle squad, which were the main elements of the tactical decision.

A single MG34 machine gun was one of the weapons that made up the military power of Germany. One of the most reliable and high-quality machine guns of World War II, the MG34 had an unsurpassed rate of fire - up to 900 rounds per minute. It was also equipped with a double trigger that made both semi-automatic and automatic firing possible.

The StG 44 was developed in Nazi Germany in the early 1940s and mass production began in 1944.

StG 44 was one of the main weapons in the Wehrmacht's attempts to turn the course of the war in their favor - the factories of the Third Reich produced 425 thousand units of this weapon. The StG 44 became the first mass-produced assault rifle, and significantly influenced both the course of the war and the further production of weapons of this type. However, she still did not help the Nazis.