Light anti-tank weapon. Domestic anti-tank guns. Why did our fighters lack PTR

In the autumn of 1941, a new soldier's specialty appeared in the Red Army - armor-piercing. So they began to call fighters with anti-tank rifles (PTR). creation and application of PTR is worthy of a separate and fairly detailed story.

For the first time, anti-tank guns - single-shot 13.37-mm Mauser Tankgewehr - were used by the German Reichswehr in 1918, at the final stage of the First World War. This experience turned out to be rather negative, therefore, in subsequent years, the armies of the leading states of the world intended to hit the enemy with the help of light cannons and "universal" heavy machine guns. However, the scale of the mechanization of troops made the idea of ​​light infantry anti-tank weapons with a range of several hundred meters all the more tempting. In the 1930s, work on PTR intensified, including in our country. By the way, the term "anti-tank gun" is apparently borrowed from the German Panzerbüchse - after all, we are really talking about rifled weapons.

In 1936-1938, 15 different PTR systems of caliber from 12.7 to 25 mm were tested, until it became clear that the requirements for an anti-tank rifle were initially overstated. On November 9, 1938, the Artillery Directorate of the Red Army formulated a new task, which provided for the development of a 14.5-mm self-loading anti-tank rifle, which could be constantly located with units of a rifle company on any terrain and in any combat conditions. Work on a new cartridge of 14.5 mm caliber began at the Scientific Testing Range for Small Arms (NIPSVO) and continued at one of the Moscow factories.

With the expectation of this ammunition, an employee of the same training ground, N.V. Rukavishnikov, designed an anti-tank rifle, which was put into service on October 7, 1939. And yet, by June 22, 1941, the troops did not have serial anti-tank guns. This dramatic situation is often explained by the position of Marshal G. I. Kulik, who headed the Main Artillery Directorate before the war and declared in the spring of 1940 that light anti-tank weapons were ineffective in the fight against "the latest German tanks." The opinion of the marshal probably contributed to the delay in work on the anti-tank guns (as, by the way, and the decommissioning of 45-mm anti-tank guns), but did not stop them. Where technical reasons played a big role - plant No. 2, which was entrusted with the production of the first batch, in the winter of 1939-1940, used the main facilities for the production of PPD. In addition, repeated tests of Rukavishnikov's PTR showed its high sensitivity to pollution, unmasking the position by dust raised by gases from the muzzle brake. The gun needed to be improved and was withdrawn from service on July 26, 1940. Tests of the converted PTR took place in June 1941, and the NIPSVO report on the results is dated the 23rd - the second day of the Great Patriotic War.

MASS SAMPLES

The urgent establishment of the production of anti-tank rifles in the conditions of the outbreak of war, when all the capacities of the existing enterprises of the People's Commissariat of Armaments were loaded, required the solution of many organizational and technological problems. In the meantime, in July 1941, temporary measures are being taken for the speedy supply of the PTR army.

One of them was an attempt to urgently organize the production at the Tula Machine Tool Plant (Plant No. 66) of a 7.92-mm gun modeled on the captured German Pz.B.39. Its armor penetration (at a distance of 300 m, the bullet pierced armor up to 23 mm thick) was sufficient to deal with Wehrmacht light tanks. Yes, and medium tanks of the enemy, it could hit when firing into the side. Plant No. 66 was to produce 5,000 of these PTRs. But even in September there were still problems with the operation of the gun mechanisms. In October, the machine-tool plant was evacuated. According to some data, up to 1 thousand fell into the troops, according to others - only 426 such PTRs. In any case, 7.92-mm guns were used in the defense of Tula (a few pieces were received by the Tula workers' regiment).

They also remembered at that time about 12.7-mm single-shot guns, similar in type to the German Mauser Tankgever - in the 30s they were made in small quantities in Tula to work out a 12.7-mm cartridge, and NIPSVO in 1938 -m proposed to develop on this basis a magazine PTR. Now a proposal has arisen for the production of a single-shot anti-tank rifle chambered for a 12.7-mm DShK cartridge by small workshops (engineer V.N. Sholokhov is called its initiator). Semi-handicraft production began in Moscow in the workshops of the Mechanical Engineering Institute. Bauman, then - in OKB-16. The simple design of the German Mauser anti-tank rifle was supplemented by a muzzle brake, butt shock absorber and a folding bipod. Especially for these guns, 12.7-mm cartridges were produced with an armor-piercing bullet, which made it possible to penetrate 20 mm thick armor at a distance of 400 m.

The refinement of the 14.5-mm cartridge continued: in August, its variant with a BS-41 bullet with a solid core was put into service. This core is often referred to as cermet, although this is not about ceramics, but about the use of powder metallurgy. If the 14.5-mm bullet B-32 at a distance of 300 m pierced armor 21 mm thick, then the BS-41 - 35 mm.

The production of Rukavishnikov's PTR was still a problem. To speed up work on a more technologically advanced 14.5-mm PTR, according to the memoirs of D. F. Ustinov, Stalin, at one of the meetings of the State Defense Committee, suggested entrusting the development to one more, and for reliability - to two designers. At the beginning of July, V. A. Degtyarev and S. G. Simonov received the assignment. Soon, samples ready for testing appeared - only 22 days passed from setting the task to the first trial shots. New anti-tank rifles were supposed to fight medium and light tanks and armored vehicles at ranges up to 500 m.

Degtyarev with the staff of his KB-2 at the tool plant No. 2 in Kovrov developed two options with varying degrees of automation. Already on July 14, working drawings were transferred to production. On July 28, Degtyarev's PTR project was considered at a meeting at the Small Arms Directorate. On July 30, in order to speed up the organization of mass production, Degtyarev was offered to simplify one of the samples, turning it into a single-shot one, because it is the power system that usually gives the greatest number of problems when fine-tuning weapons. A few days later, this option was presented.

On August 28-29, Degtyarev's PTR was tested at NIPSVO. And on August 6-12, Simonov's self-loading PTR (created on the basis of his own experimental self-loading rifle of 1938) and Rukavishnikov's modified PTR were tested here. Simonov's sample showed the best results.

On August 29, 1941, Degtyarev's single-shot rifle and Simonov's self-loading shotgun were adopted under the designations PTRD and PTRS, respectively. This was done even before the end of the PTR tests (survivability tests took place on September 12-13, and the final ones on September 24).

The rotary longitudinally sliding bolt of the Degtyarev gun had two lugs in the front and a straight handle in the back. The percussion mechanism is a striker type with a helical mainspring, the tail of the striker went out behind the bolt and looked like a hook. The drummer was cocked when the shutter was unlocked. The PTRD barrel was equipped with an active muzzle brake, which absorbed up to 2/3 of the recoil energy. The tubular butt contained the shock absorber spring. A witty feature of the design was the principle of automatic unlocking of the shutter when recoiling, creatively borrowed from artillery. After the shot, the barrel with the receiver moved back, the bolt handle ran into the copy profile, mounted on the butt, and turned, unlocking the bolt. After the barrel stopped, the bolt moved back by inertia and got up on the bolt delay, the bolt reflector pushed the spent cartridge case into the lower window of the receiver. The movable system was returned to the forward position by a shock absorber spring. The shutter remained open, and in order to prepare for the next shot, it was necessary to put a new cartridge into the upper window of the receiver, send and lock the shutter. This made it possible to increase the combat rate of fire with the coordinated work of the calculation of two people. The sighting device was moved to the left on the brackets and included a front sight and a flip rear sight at a distance of up to 600 m and more (in the PTR of the first releases, the rear sight moved in a vertical groove).

The butt had a soft cushion, a wooden stop for holding the weapon with the left hand, a wooden pistol grip, and an emphasis for the shooter's cheek. A folding stamped bipod and a carrying handle were attached to the barrel. The accessory included two canvas bags for 20 rounds each. The total weight of the PTRD with ammunition was about 26 kg. In combat, the gun carried one or both crew numbers. Imagine the load on the calculation on the march and in battle.

A minimum of parts, the use of a butt tube instead of a frame simplified the production of anti-tank guns, and this was of decisive importance in those conditions. The production of ATGMs began at Kovrov Plant No. 2: in early October, the first batch of 50 guns was assembled here, on October 28 a specialized production was created - the task for anti-tank weapons was a priority. The first batch of 300 ATGMs was produced in October and sent to the 16th Army of Lieutenant General K.K. Rokossovsky in early November. Later, Plant No. 74 (Izhevsk Machine-Building) was connected to the production of PTRD. By December 30, 1941, 17,688 PTRDs were manufactured, and for the entire 1942 - 184,800. The main production of PTRDs was carried out in Kovrov until November 1943, when plant No. 2 stopped production. But since October 1943, they began to assemble the PTRD in Zlatoust at plant No. 385.

Self-loading PTRS had automation based on the removal of powder gases through a transverse hole in the barrel wall. The barrel bore was locked by tilting the bolt core down. The percussion mechanism is trigger, with a helical mainspring. A double-row magazine with a lever feeder was hinged to the receiver, equipped with a clip (pack) with 5 rounds with the lid folded down. Accessory included 6 clips. When the cartridges were used up, the shutter got up on a delay. The sighting device included a front sight with a fuse and a sector sight notched from 100 to 1500 m. The PTR had a wooden butt with a soft cushion and a shoulder pad, a pistol grip. The neck of the butt was used to hold with the left hand. The barrel was equipped with a muzzle brake, a folding bipod and a carrying handle were attached to it.

The manufacture of PTRS was simpler than Rukavishnikov's PTR (a third fewer parts, 60% less machine hours), but much more difficult than PTRD. It was planned to produce PTRS in Tula, but after the evacuation of part of the production of plant No. 66 to Saratov, the production of PTRS was established there, at plant No. 614 (former Traktorodetal). For the rapid organization of production, there was not enough equipment or capacity. They found a way out in the cooperation of enterprises: the manufacture of the magazine box was entrusted to the combine plant, the striker - to the mechanical workshops of the local university. On November 7, the first PTRS was successfully tested, and its mass production began in Saratov in December. Izhevsk Plant No. 74 was also involved in the production of PTRS: on November 6, he received the task of organizing the production of PTRS, and already on November 11 - additionally for the production of PTRS. In November, the people of Izhevsk produced 36 ATGMs, and the first two PTRSs were only delivered in December. At first, the production of PTR parts was distributed among the workshops of the plant, then separate wooden barracks were built. They used the evacuated production of the Tula Arms and Podolsk Mechanical Plants. On July 1, 1942, on this basis, Plant No. 622 (later the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant) was spun off from Plant No. 74, which also produced anti-tank guns of both systems, and from the middle of 1943, only PTRS.

In 1941, only 77 PTRS were produced, in 1942 - 63,308. The establishment of mass production made it possible to reduce the cost of PTRS - from the first half of 1942 to the second half of 1943, it almost halved.

Since the PTRs were adopted on an urgent basis, the shortcomings of the new systems - the tight extraction of the cartridge case for the PTRD, the twin shots for the PTRS - had to be corrected during production. Due to the tight extraction of the cartridge cases, it was recommended to lubricate the PTR chamber before firing and every 10-12 shots. This, as well as a rather sensitive recoil, reduced the actual combat rate of fire compared to that stated in the manuals. The deployment of mass production in war conditions still required a certain period of time - the needs of the troops began to be sufficiently satisfied only from November 1942.

The production of PTRDs was stopped in Izhevsk at plant No. 622 in July, and in Kovrov at plant No. 2 in November 1943, in Zlatoust at plant No. 385 in December 1944. PTRS were produced in Saratov at plant No. 614 until June 1944, in Izhevsk at plant No. 622 until December of the same year. In total, these five plants produced 471,726 PTRs - 281,111 PTRDs and 190,615 PTRS. 469,700 PTRs of both systems were delivered to the troops. The peak of production - 249,642 units - falls on 1942, when the role of the PTR in the anti-tank defense system was the most significant. The number of 14.5 mm cartridges produced in 1940-1945 is estimated at 139.8 million pieces, the peak of production was 1942-1943.

COMBAT EXPERIENCE

With sufficiently high ballistic data, 14.5-mm anti-tank rifles were distinguished by maneuverability and manufacturability. Of course, they were not a replacement for even light anti-tank guns, but they bridged a significant gap between the "anti-tank" capabilities of infantry and artillery. Although in 1941 the PTR had to play precisely the role of the latter - back in August, 45-mm guns were withdrawn from the battalion and division level and transferred to the formation of anti-tank regiments and brigades.

The troops of the Western Front, who defended Moscow, were the first to receive new anti-tank rifles (here, by the way, a certain amount of Rukavishnikov's anti-tank rifles was also used). The directive of the front commander, General of the Army G.K. Zhukov, dated October 26, 1941, speaking about sending 3-4 anti-tank rifle platoons to the 5th, 33rd and 16th armies, demanded “to take measures for the immediate use of this weapon, exceptional in strength and effectiveness. .. giving them to regiments and battalions. And in his order of December 29, Zhukov pointed out the shortcomings in the use of anti-tank rifles: the use of their crews as shooters, the lack of interaction with groups of tank destroyers and anti-tank artillery, cases of leaving anti-tank missiles on the battlefield.

The most famous during the defense of Moscow was the battle at the Dubosekovo junction on November 16, 1941 of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th regiment of the 316th rifle division, Major General I.V. Panfilov. Of the 30 German tanks that participated in the attacks, 18 were hit, but out of the entire company on the front of which the attack took place, less than 20% of the Red Army soldiers survived. This battle showed not only the ability of PTR crews (there were only 4 crews in the battalion) to fight tanks, but also the need to cover them with riflemen, machine gunners and support with anti-tank and regimental artillery. Anti-tank strongholds have become a form of organizing close interaction between anti-tank artillery, anti-tank missiles, tank destroyers and automatic infantry weapons.

From December 1941, anti-tank rifle companies were introduced into rifle regiments (27 each, then 54 rifles each), and from the autumn of 1942, anti-tank rifle platoons of 18 rifles each were introduced into battalions. In January 1943, the PTR company was included in the motorized rifle and machine-gun battalion of the tank brigade, and the PTR companies will exist here until March 1944. PTR companies were also introduced into artillery anti-tank battalions, and anti-tank battalions - into the anti-tank brigades. Anti-tank rifles, together with light machine guns, ensured the self-defense of artillery batteries from enemy surprise attacks.

It should be noted that the effectiveness of the combat work of PTR crews is assessed in different ways, in the Russian literature of recent years it is customary to focus on their shortcomings and consider that they had only “psychological significance” in the face of a clear shortage of anti-tank artillery. However, the former Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht E. Schneider wrote: “In 1941, the Russians had a 14.5-mm anti-tank rifle ... which brought a lot of trouble to our tanks and light armored personnel carriers that appeared later.” Former Major General F. von Mellenthin noted: “It seemed that every infantryman had an anti-tank rifle or an anti-tank gun. The Russians were very clever at disposing of these funds and, it seems, there was no such place where they would not be. In general, in a number of German works about the Second World War and the memoirs of German tankers, Soviet anti-tank rifles are mentioned as a “worthy of respect” weapon, but the courage of their calculations is also given due. As early as 1942, Soviet commanders noted new features of German attacks involving tanks and assault guns - they sometimes stopped 300-400 meters from the advanced trenches, supporting their infantry with fire from a place. And these are the ranges from which Soviet anti-tank missiles opened fire. As you can see, the fire of anti-tank rifles had more than just "psychological significance."

Having played a big role in anti-tank defense in 1941-1942, anti-tank rifles from the middle of 1943 - with the growth of armor protection of tanks and assault guns over 40 mm - lost their positions. If in January 1942 the number of anti-tank rifles in the troops was 8116, in January 1944 - 142 861, that is, it increased by 17.6 times in two years, then in 1944 it began to decline and by the end of the war the active army had only about 40,000 PTR.

On October 30, 1944, the chief of staff of the 1st Baltic Front, Colonel-General V.V. Kurasov, reported: “The experience of using anti-tank rifles during World War II shows that they had the greatest effect in the period up to July 1943, when the enemy used light and medium tanks , and the battle formations of our troops were relatively less saturated with anti-tank artillery. Starting from the second half of 1943, when the enemy began to use heavy tanks and self-propelled guns with powerful armor protection, the effectiveness of anti-tank rifles decreased significantly. The main role in the fight against tanks is now entirely played by artillery. Anti-tank rifles, which have good accuracy of fire, are now used mainly against enemy firing points, armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers. Unit commanders successfully used the main advantages of the PTR - maneuverability, the ability to constantly be in combat formations of small units, ease of camouflage - both in 1944 and in 1945. For example, when fighting in encirclement, in settlements, when capturing and securing bridgeheads, when it was not possible to use artillery.

PTR was used to fight not only with tanks and armored vehicles. Armor-piercers often silenced enemy bunkers and pillboxes. Snipers used the PTR instead of a sniper rifle to engage the enemy at long ranges or behind closes (attempts to install an optical sight on the PTR were unsuccessful due to too much recoil of the weapon). Anti-tank rifles were also used to fight low-flying aircraft - here the self-loading PTRS had advantages.

In this part, we will talk about the most massive and successful manufacturer of PTR for the entire Second World War.

the USSR

The development of PTR in the USSR has been carried out since 1936. several large KBs at once. As with potential opponents, development was carried out in parallel in several directions, namely:

Development of light anti-tank rifles for powerful rifle-caliber cartridges (7.62x122 and 7.62x155).

And the development of light PTR in more powerful calibers 12.7mm and 14.5mm

In the second half of the 30s, the Soviet command greatly overestimated the armor of the tanks of a potential enemy and immediately decided to design portable large-caliber anti-tank guns of 20-25mm caliber. At the same time, they severely limited the developers in the mass of weapons - up to 35 kg. As a result, out of 15 samples considered before 1938. none were adopted. In November 1938 the requirements of the Main Artillery Directorate themselves were changed, now a cartridge was ready for the new weapon, which had been developed since 1934.

The powerful B-32 cartridge of 14.5x114 mm caliber had excellent characteristics for that time. An armor-piercing incendiary bullet with a hardened core and a pyrotechnic composition left the barrel at a speed of 1100 m / s and pierced 20 mm of armor, at an angle of 70 degrees, at a distance of 300 m.

In addition to the B-32, the BS-41 bullet appeared a little later with even more impressive results. The cermet core allowed the BS-41 bullet to penetrate 30mm armor at a distance of 350m, and from a distance of 100m the bullet pierced 40mm armor. Also, for the purposes of the experiment, a capsule with an irritating substance, chloroacetophenone, was placed in the bottom of the BS-41 bullet. But the idea didn't really take off either.

The first gun to be adopted for the new cartridge was the development of N.V. Rukavishnikov. His PTR-39 made it possible to produce about 15 rounds per minute and successfully passed the tests. However, the PTR-39 did not go into mass production. Head of GAU - Marshal G.I. Kulik, based on erroneous information about new German tanks with reinforced armor, concluded that anti-tank rifles and even 45mm cannons were unsuitable for fighting new German tanks.

This decision (1940) actually left the Soviet infantryman without completely effective anti-tank weapons for June 1941. Let me remind you that on June 22, 1941. The main tank of the Wehrmacht was the PzKpfw III of various modifications - the frontal armor of the most modern of them was a maximum of 50mm, taking into account the overhead armor plates. The maximum armor of the turret and sides of the newest modification for 1941 was 30mm. That is, most tanks with a high degree of probability were hit by a 14.5mm PTR cartridge in almost any projection at distances of 300m or more.

This is not to mention the defeat of tracks, optical instruments, tanks and other vulnerabilities of the tank. At the same time, a huge number of German armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers were quite tough for the Soviet PTR, especially the "forty-five".

The PTR-39 designed by Rukavishnikov was not without flaws - it was rather complicated and expensive to manufacture and sensitive to operate. But still, given that with the start of the war, our army was left without any anti-tank rifle and given that the Sholokhov ersatz gun (cal. 12.7mm DShK) was used - copies of the same one, only with a muzzle brake and a shock absorber, this mistake cost the Red Army a lot Army.

In 1941 at the GKO meeting, I.V. Stalin instructed to urgently develop a new anti-tank rifle for the Red Army. For reliability, the leader recommended entrusting the work to "one more, and preferably two" designers. Both brilliantly coped with the task in their own way - S.G. Simonov and V.A. Degtyarev, moreover, only 22 days passed from the moment the assignment was received to the test firing.

PTRD

July 4, 1941 Degtyarev began the development of his PTR and already on July 14 he transferred the project to production, 2 magazine versions of Degtyarev's PTR were considered on July 28 at the Red Army Small Arms Directorate. In order to speed up and simplify production, one of the options was proposed to be made single-shot. Already in August of the 41st, the cartridge I mentioned with a BS-41 bullet from the Moscow Hard Alloy Plant arrived in time. And in October 1941. in the ranks of the Red Army, a new combat specialty appeared - an armor-piercer.

PTRD - A single-shot rifle with a longitudinally sliding rotary bolt. The rifled barrel was equipped with an active box-shaped muzzle brake. The shutter had two lugs, a simple percussion mechanism, a reflector and an ejector. The butt had a spring for damping recoil, which also performed the role of a return. The shutter in the coupling with the barrel after the shot rolled back, the shutter handle turned on the copy profile fixed on the butt, and when turned, unlocked the shutter. The shutter, after stopping the barrel, moved back by inertia, and got up on the shutter delay, the sleeve was pushed out by the reflector into the lower window.

Sending a new cartridge into the chamber and locking the shutter was done manually. Sights were taken out to the left and worked in two modes up to 400m and more than 400m. The calculation of the gun consisted of two people. The total mass of the PTR and ammunition was about 26 kg (the Degtyarev gun itself weighed 17 kg). For maneuverability, a carrying handle was placed on the gun. The gun was carried either by both, or by one fighter from the calculation. Only during 1942. The Soviet defense industry gave the front nearly 185,000 ATGMs.

PTRS

Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov took a slightly different path. Based on his own developments (for example, ABC-36), he created an anti-tank gun with gas automatics. This made it possible to achieve an excellent practical rate of fire of 16 or more rounds per minute. At the same time, this increased the total weight of the weapon to 22kg.

Simonov's design looks, of course, much more complex against the background of Degtyarev's design, however, it was simpler than Rukavishnikov's design. As a result, both samples were adopted.

So PTRS - Anti-tank self-loading rifle arr. 1941 Simonov systems A weapon designed to fight enemy light and medium tanks at a distance of up to 500m. In practice, it was also used to destroy firing points, mortar and machine-gun crews, bunkers, bunkers, low-flying aircraft and enemy manpower behind shelters at distances up to 800m.

Semi-automatic weapons used for the operation of automation the removal of part of the powder gases from the bore. The weapon is equipped with a three-position gas regulator. Food was supplied from an integral magazine with clips of 5 rounds. USM allowed only single fire. Locking - skewed shutter in a vertical plane, recoil compensation by means of a muzzle brake, softening nozzle on the butt. In this model, a special shock absorber was not needed, since the muzzle brake paired with the semi-automatic system itself was enough to reduce recoil, although the recoil of the PTRD is less noticeable.

In 1941 due to the rather complex and laborious production process, only 77 PTRS were received by the troops, but already in 1942 production was established and 63,000 PTRS went to the front. The production of PTRD and PTRS continued until 1945. During the war years, about 400,000 anti-tank rifles were produced in the USSR.

The combat use of PTR also took place in various parts of the world after the end of WWII. Soviet PTRs successfully penetrated the armor of American tanks in Korea, as well as the armor of the M113 armored personnel carrier in Vietnam.

Separate samples of Soviet anti-tank rifles were confiscated from Palestinian militants in Lebanon. The author saw with his own eyes a Soviet anti-tank rifle in a weaponry at the training base of the Givati ​​infantry brigade in the Negev desert in Israel. The Israelis called this weapon the "Russian Barret".

The cartridge 14.5x114 is still alive and is in service in many countries of the world.

During the Second World War, there were armor-piercing aces who had more than a dozen destroyed enemy tanks and even Luftwaffe aircraft on their account. The weapon played a very significant role in the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany. Despite. that by 1943 it had become extremely difficult to knock out a tank from an anti-tank rifle, the weapon remained in service until 1945. until it was replaced by rocket-propelled anti-tank grenade launchers.

Work was also underway to create a new PTR for a more powerful cartridge, for example, 14.5x147mm with high penetration. To hit the already medium tanks of the Wehrmacht of later series. But such weapons did not enter service, since by 1943 the infantry of the Red Army was fully equipped with anti-tank artillery. The production of PTRs declined, by the end of the war, only 40,000 PTRs remained in service with the Red Army.

In terms of the combination of basic qualities - maneuverability, ease of production and operation, firepower and low cost, Soviet anti-tank missiles significantly surpassed the enemy’s rifle anti-tank weapons. It is worth noting that the early PTR series were not without problems in operation. With the onset of the spring of 1942, both the design flaws and the urgently established production, as well as the lack of proper knowledge regarding operation in the troops themselves, appeared.

But through the efforts of the designers and workers, the shortcomings were corrected as soon as possible, and the troops began to receive detailed, but quite intelligible and simple instructions for the operation of the PTR. Designers Degtyarev and Simonov personally inspected the front-line units and observed the operation, collecting feedback from armor-piercing fighters. Already by the summer of 1942, the guns were finally finalized and became very reliable weapons that work in any climatic conditions.

In conclusion of this part, I will quote the chief of staff of the 1st Baltic Front, Colonel General V.V. Kurasova:

“During the Great Patriotic War,” he wrote on October 30, 1944, “anti-tank guns were used in all types of combat to cover tank-dangerous areas, both by whole units and groups of 3-4 guns. In offensive combat, anti-tank missiles were used in the probable directions of enemy counterattacks, being directly in the combat formations of the advancing infantry. In defense, anti-tank missiles were used in the most tank-dangerous directions as part of a platoon-company, echeloning in depth. The firing positions were chosen taking into account the conduct of flank fire, and in addition to the main ones, there were 2-3 spare positions, taking into account the conduct of group fire with all-round fire.

The experience of using anti-tank missiles during World War II shows that they had the greatest effect in the period up to July 1943, when the enemy used light and medium tanks, and the battle formations of our troops were relatively poorly saturated with anti-tank artillery. Starting from the second half of 1943, when the enemy began to use heavy tanks and self-propelled guns with powerful armor protection, the effectiveness of anti-tank rifles decreased significantly. Since that time, the main role in the fight against tanks has been entirely played by artillery. Anti-tank rifles, which have good accuracy of fire, are now used mainly against enemy firing points, armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers.

At the end of the Second World PTR, they smoothly turned into large-caliber sniper rifles. Although in some local conflicts, both anti-tank missiles of the Second World War and modern home-made ones, handicraft samples are used to combat lightly armored and other equipment, as well as enemy manpower.

This article does not mention all the samples that are classified as PTR. Conventionally, anti-tank rifles can be divided into three categories - light (rifle caliber), medium (heavy machine gun caliber) and heavy (bordering on air cannons and anti-tank artillery). I practically did not touch on the latter, since, in my understanding, they already bear little resemblance to a "gun".

Separately, it is necessary to consider the class of "recoilless", the development of which began in the USSR at the very beginning of the 30s ...

But that's a completely different story.

Anti-tank single-shot rifle arr. 1941 Degtyarev system (PTRD)- Soviet anti-tank rifle of the Degtyarev system, put into service on August 29, 1941. It was intended to fight medium and light tanks and armored vehicles at distances up to 500 m. Also, the gun could fire at pillboxes, bunkers and firing points covered with armor at distances up to 800 m and at aircraft at distances up to 500 m.

PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS ANTI-TANK GUN DEGTYAREV
Manufacturer:	Zlatoust: plant number 385 Izhevsk: factories No. 74 and No. 622 Carpets: Factory No. 2
Cartridge:
Caliber:	14.5mm
Weight without cartridges:	17.3 kg
Weight with cartridges:	17.5 kg
Length:	2020 mm
Barrel length:	1350 mm
Number of grooves in the barrel:	8 left hand
Trigger mechanism (USM):	Impact type
Operating principle:	Sliding gate with automatic extraction
Fuse:	Safety cocking
Aim:	Open, with two range settings at 400 m and from 400 m to 1000 m
Effective range:	800 m
Target range:	1000 m
Muzzle velocity:	1020 m/s
Armor penetration at a meeting angle of 90 °:	300 m - 35 mm, 100 m - 40 mm
Type of ammunition:	single shot
Number of rounds:	1
Years of production:	1941–1944

History of creation and production

At the beginning of July 1941, I.V. Stalin set the task for the People's Commissariat of Armaments of the USSR to create an effective, simple and cheap anti-tank rifle for a fully developed 14.5-mm cartridge within a month. The gunsmiths N. V. Rukavishnikov, V. A. Degtyarev and S. G. Simonov were involved in the work on the creation of anti-tank guns.

On July 16, 1941, a 14.5-mm cartridge with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet with a hardened steel core was adopted by the Red Army under the designation "14.5-mm cartridge B-32".

The development of the PTRD took place in KB-2. V. A. Degtyarev and S. G. Simonov completed the working projects at the same time. For both designers, the development and production of prototypes took 22 days.

The first pre-production PTRD was manufactured and sent for testing in mid-August 1941.

By a GKO decree of August 29, 1941, V. A. Degtyarev’s anti-tank rifle was adopted by the Red Army.

The gun was very technologically advanced in production, almost completely could be made on lathes, so the mass production of PTRD was mastered earlier than the mass production of PTRS.

The production of PTRD was started at the Kovrov Arms Plant, at the end of November 1941, the production of PTRD and PTRS was also mastered by the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (to which drawings, technical documentation and part of the blank parts were delivered), but until the beginning of 1942, the total production of anti-tank rifles in Izhevsk did not exceed 20 pcs. per day.

Serial production of the first ATGMs began on September 22, 1941, in October the first pilot batch was assembled - 50 guns, in total 17,688 were produced in 1941, and 184,800 ATGMs in 1942. Since October 1943, they began to assemble the ATGM in Zlatoust at plant No. 385. The production of the ATGM was discontinued in December 1944, a total of 281,111 units were produced. guns.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the ATGMs were removed from service with the Soviet Army, but remained in storage. In the mid-1950s - 1960s, a certain number of PTRDs in storage were donated from the warehouses of the mobilization reserve of the USSR Ministry of Defense to the hunting farms of the Far North, where they were used for whale hunting.

Design and principle of operation

The barrel has a channel with eight rifling, winding from left to right, a muzzle brake to reduce recoil, in the middle there is a handle for carrying weapons and a groove for attaching bipods. In the front of the barrel there is a front sight base (on which the front sight is planted), and in the back there is a sight bracket.

On the left side of the receiver there is a slide delay, and on the bottom there is a trigger mechanism. Outside, it has: an upper window (for inserting a cartridge), a lower window (for ejecting a spent cartridge case), a platform with a ledge (for connecting with a butt), a cutout (for moving the bolt handle when locking and unlocking the bore). Inside the receiver has: a channel for placing the shutter, two longitudinal grooves and two support ledges.

The trigger mechanism consists of a trigger, trigger, sear and two springs (for sear and trigger).

The sight consists of a bracket, a rear sight with a slot and a spring. In early examples, the bracket has a hole through which the rear sight moves up and down. In the lower position, the rear sight corresponds to firing distances up to 400 m, and in the upper position - from 400 m to 1000 m. m.

The front sight is pushed into the groove of the front sight base and can move left and right when bringing the ATGM to normal combat.

The shutter consists of a shutter core and a percussion mechanism. The shutter frame has: a handle, a cup with a whisk (to place the cartridge head), a channel (for the passage of the firing pin), a groove (for placing the ejector), a socket (for the reflector and its spring), two lugs (for locking the barrel), beveled a cutout (retracting the drummer when the bolt opens), an annular groove (which includes an annular protrusion of the coupling for engaging the percussion mechanism with the bolt frame) and two holes (removing powder gases in case they break through into the bolt). The impact mechanism consists of a striker (having a protrusion with a cocking), a coupling (connecting the impact mechanism to the bolt), a mainspring (sending the striker to the forward position), a restrictive tube (limiting the striker's retreat back), a striker coupling (protecting the striker from disengaging from drummer) and the striker (breaking the primer).

An anti-tank crew with an anti-tank rifle PTRD-41 in a combat position during the battles for Stalingrad.
A Mosin rifle is visible in the foreground.

The stock is attached to the receiver and consists of a shoulder rest (cushion) with an outer tube and a trigger box with an inner tube. The shock absorber spring is located in the outer tube, and on the left there is an emphasis for the gunner's cheek. On the right there is a tide with a curved edge to open the shutter after the shot. A wooden stop is attached to the pillow and the outer tube for holding with the left hand during firing. In the trigger box with an inner tube is the trigger mechanism. A pistol grip is attached to the inner tube for ease of shooting. The trigger box has a platform for connecting the butt to the receiver, a hole for a pin (securing the trigger box with the receiver) and a trigger guard (protecting against accidental pressing of the trigger).

Belonging to the PTRD: a composite ramrod, a key, a screwdriver, a double-necked oiler and a brush. Also, for each gun there are two canvas cartridge bags (for 20 rounds each), two canvas covers (for the breech and muzzle of the gun) and a form (with the results of checking the battle, the number of shots, delays and ways to eliminate them).

To load the PTRD, you must perform the following steps:

1. Turn the bolt handle to the left (the bore is unlocked);
2. Pull the bolt back to failure (the bolt delay rests against the rear plane of the left lugs of the bolt and holds it in the receiver);
3. Put the cartridge on the guide bevel of the upper window of the receiver and send it into the chamber;
4. Send the shutter forward (the shutter advances the cartridge into the chamber, and the cocking of the firing pin, having stumbled upon the sear of the trigger mechanism, stops the firing pin, holding it on the cocking);
5. Turn the bolt handle to the right until it stops (the bore is locked, the mainspring receives the most tension, the ejector hook jumps into the sharpening of the sleeve head, the reflector is recessed into its socket with the sleeve head).

After that, to fire a shot, you only need to press the tail of the trigger. Wherein:

1. The trigger turns the trigger lever, causing the sear to drop and come out from under the cocking of the firing pin.
2. The mainspring, unclenching, presses on the clutch of the striker and with force sends forward the drummer with the striker, breaking the cartridge primer.
3. The barrel with the receiver and trigger boxes and the bolt move back under the pressure of powder gases to the bottom of the sleeve, which causes the shock absorber spring to compress. The shutter handle, having reached the curved edge of the tide of the outer tube, begins to slide along it and turn to the left. The lugs of the bolt come out from behind the support lugs of the receiver and become against the longitudinal grooves. The shutter, moving backward by inertia, is separated from the rear edge of the barrel, and the ejector hook removes the sleeve from the chamber. When the sleeve is against the lower window of the receiver, the reflector pushes it out from under the ejector hook.
4. The shutter stops in the rear position, bumping the left lug on the shutter delay.
5. The shock absorber spring returns the moving parts to the extreme forward position.

To put the trigger on the safety platoon, it is necessary to pull the hook of the drummer back to failure and turn it to the right.

Combat use

The anti-tank rifle PTRD was a powerful weapon - at a distance of up to 300 m, its bullet pierced armor 30–40 mm thick. The incendiary effect of bullets was also high. Thanks to this, it was successfully used throughout the Second World War.

Video

Shooting from PTRD, handling weapons, etc.:

PTRD-41 compilation in HD

By the beginning of the Second World War, the infantry was armed with high-explosive hand grenades and anti-tank rifles, that is, tools that originated in the last years of the First World War. "Anti-tank rifle" (PTR) is not a completely accurate term - it would be more correct to call this weapon an "anti-tank rifle." However, it has historically developed (apparently, as a translation of the German word "panzerbuhse") and has firmly entered our lexicon. The armor-piercing action of anti-tank rifles is based on the kinetic energy of the bullet used, and, therefore, depends on the speed of the bullet at the time of the meeting with an obstacle, the angle of the meeting, the mass (or rather, the ratio of mass to caliber), the design and shape of the bullet, the mechanical properties of the bullet material (core) and armor. The bullet, breaking through the armor, inflicts damage due to incendiary and fragmentation action. It should be noted that the lack of armor action was the main reason for the low efficiency of the first anti-tank rifle - a single-shot 13.37-mm Mauser developed in 1918. The bullet fired from this PTR was capable of penetrating 20 mm armor at a distance of 500 meters. In the interwar period, PTRs were tested in different countries, but for a long time they were treated more like a surrogate, especially since the German Reichswehr adopted the Mauser anti-tank rifle as a temporary replacement for the TuF machine gun of the appropriate caliber.

In the 1920s and 1930s, a light small-caliber gun or a heavy machine gun seemed to most experts the most successful and versatile solution for two tasks - air defense at low altitudes and anti-tank defense at short and medium ranges. It would seem that this view was also confirmed by the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 (although during those battles, both sides, in addition to the 20-mm automatic guns, used the preserved 13.37-mm Mauser anti-tank guns). However, by the end of the 30s, it became clear that the “universal” or “anti-tank” machine gun (12.7 mm Browning, DShK, Vickers, 13 mm Hotchkiss, 20 mm Oerlikon, Solothurn ”, “Madsen”, 25-mm “Vickers”), in combination with its weight and size indicators and efficiency, cannot be used at the forefront by small infantry units. Large-caliber machine guns during the Second World War, as a rule, were used for air defense needs or for shelling fortified firing points (a typical example is the use of the Soviet 12.7-mm DShK). True, they were armed with light armored vehicles, along with anti-aircraft guns, they were attracted to anti-aircraft defense, even included in anti-tank reserves. But the heavy machine gun did not actually become an anti-tank weapon. Note that the 14.5-mm Vladimirov KPV machine gun, which appeared in 1944, although it was created under the cartridge of an anti-tank rifle, by the time of its appearance could not play the role of "anti-tank". After the war, it was used as a means of combating manpower at considerable ranges, air targets and light armored vehicles.

The anti-tank guns used during the Second World War differed in caliber (from 7.92 to 20 millimeters), type (self-loading, magazine, single-shot), size, weight, layout. However, their design had a number of common features:
- high muzzle velocity was achieved through the use of a powerful cartridge and a long barrel (90 - 150 calibers);

Cartridges with armor-piercing tracer and armor-piercing incendiary bullets were used, which had armor-piercing and sufficient armor-piercing action. Note that attempts to create anti-tank rifles for the mastered cartridges of large-caliber machine guns did not give satisfactory results, and the cartridges were developed specially, and in 20-mm anti-tank guns they used converted cartridges for aircraft guns. 20mm PTRs became a separate branch of the "anti-tank machine guns" of the 20-30s of the last century;

To reduce recoil, muzzle brakes, spring shock absorbers, soft butt pads were installed;

To increase maneuverability, the dimensions of the mass and PTR were reduced, carrying handles were introduced, and heavy guns were quick-release;

In order to quickly transfer fire, the bipods were attached closer to the middle, for the uniformity of aiming and convenience, many samples were equipped with a “cheek”, a butt shoulder pad, a pistol grip served for control in most samples, it was provided to hold the left hand for a special handle or butt when firing;

The maximum reliability of mechanisms was achieved;

Great importance was attached to the ease of development and manufacture.

The problem of rate of fire was resolved in combination with the requirement for simplicity of design and maneuverability. Single-shot anti-tank rifles had a rate of fire of 6-8 rounds per minute, magazine - 10-12, and self-loading - 20-30.

12.7-mm single-shot "PTR Sholokhov" chambered for DShK, made in 1941

In the USSR, a government decree on the development of an anti-tank rifle appeared on March 13, 1936. S.A. Korovin M.N. Blum and S.V. Vladimirov. Until 1938, 15 samples were tested, but none of them met the requirements. So, in 1936, at the Kovrov plant No. 2 named after. Kirkizha made two prototypes of the 20-mm "company anti-tank gun" INZ-10 of the M.N. Blum and S.V. Vladimirov - on a wheeled carriage and bipod. In August 1938, eight anti-tank weapon systems for the company level were tested in Shchyurovo at the Small Arms Research Range:
— 20-mm anti-tank gun INZ-10;
- 12.7 mm anti-tank rifle converted by NIPSVO from the German "Mauser";
- 12.7 mm Vladimirov anti-tank rifle;
- 12.7 mm TsKB-2 anti-tank rifle;
- 14.5 mm anti-tank rifle of the Vladimirov and NIPSVO systems (14.5 mm cartridge developed by NIPSVO);
- 25 mm self-loading gun MTs (43-K of the Tsyrulnikov and Mikhno systems);
- 37 mm DR recoilless gun.

Light self-loading gun INZ-10 showed unsatisfactory armor penetration and accuracy. The mass of weapons in combat position was also large (41.9 - 83.3 kg). The rest of the systems were either found to be unsatisfactory or needed major improvements. At the beginning of 1937, NIPSVO tested an experimental Tula self-loading 20-mm anti-tank gun (gun) TsKBSV-51 developed by S.A. Korovin. This gun had a tripod and an optical sight. However, it was also rejected due to insufficient armor penetration, a large mass (47.2 kg) and an unsuccessful design of the muzzle brake. In 1938, B.G. offered his light 37-mm anti-tank gun. Shpitalny, head of OKB-15, but she was rejected even before the start of the tests. The attempt to convert the Shpitalny and Vladimirov’s (ShVAK) automatic 20-mm cannon into a “universal” anti-aircraft anti-tank weapon also failed. In the end, the requirements for anti-tank guns themselves were recognized as inappropriate. On November 9, 1938, new requirements were formulated by the Artillery Directorate. A powerful 14.5-mm cartridge has been finalized, having an armor-piercing incendiary B-32 bullet with a hardened steel core and a pyrotechnic incendiary composition (similar to the B-32 rifle bullet). The incendiary composition was placed between the shell and the core. Serial production of the cartridge began in 1940. The mass of the cartridge left 198 grams, bullets - 51 grams, cartridge length was 155.5 millimeters, sleeves - 114.2 millimeters. A bullet at a range of 0.5 km at a meeting angle of 20 degrees was capable of penetrating 20 mm cemented armor.

14.5 mm PTR Degtyarev arr. 1941

N.V. Rukavishnikov developed a very successful self-loading rifle for this cartridge, the rate of fire of which reached 15 rounds per minute (the self-loading 14.5-millimeter anti-tank rifle developed by Shpitalny failed again). In August 1939, it successfully passed the test. In October of the same year, it was put into service under the designation PTR-39. However, in the spring of 1940 Marshal G.I. Kulik, head of the GAU, raised the issue of the ineffectiveness of existing anti-tank weapons against the "newest Germany", about which intelligence appeared. In July 1940, the production of the PTR-39 was put into production by the Kovrov plant named after. Kirkizh was suspended. Erroneous views that armor protection and firepower of tanks would increase significantly in the near future had a number of consequences: anti-tank rifles were excluded from the weapons system (order dated August 26, 1940), production of 45-mm anti-tank guns was stopped, and an assignment was issued for urgent design of 107- millimeter tank and anti-tank guns. As a result, the Soviet infantry lost an effective close combat anti-tank weapon.

In the first weeks of the war, the tragic consequences of this mistake became visible. However, on June 23, tests of Rukavishnikov's anti-tank rifles showed a still high percentage of delays. Fine-tuning and putting this gun into production would require considerable time. True, individual Rukavishnikov anti-tank rifles were used in parts of the Western Front during the defense of Moscow. In July 1941, as a temporary measure, the workshops of many Moscow universities set up the assembly of a single-shot anti-tank rifle chambered for a 12.7-mm DShK cartridge (this gun was proposed by V.N. Sholokhov, and it was considered back in 1938). The simple design was copied from an old German 13.37 mm Mauser anti-tank rifle. However, a muzzle brake was added to the design, a shock absorber on the back of the butt, and light folding bipods were installed. Despite this, the design did not provide the required parameters, especially since the armor penetration of the 12.7 mm cartridge was insufficient to fight tanks. Especially for these anti-tank rifles, a cartridge was produced in small batches, having an armor-piercing bullet BS-41.

Finally, in July, a 14.5-mm cartridge with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet was officially adopted. To speed up work on a technologically advanced and effective 14.5-mm anti-tank rifle, Stalin, at a meeting of the State Defense Committee, proposed that the development be entrusted to "one more, and for reliability - to two designers" (according to the memoirs of D.F. Ustinov). The task was issued in July by S.G. Simonov and V.A. Degtyarev. A month later, designs ready for testing were presented - only 22 days passed from the moment the assignment was received to test shots.

V.A. Degtyarev and employees of KB-2 of the plant. Kirkizha (INZ-2 or Plant No. 2 of the People's Commissariat for Armaments) on July 4 began the development of a 14.5 mm anti-tank rifle. At the same time, two store options were developed. On July 14, working drawings were transferred to production. On July 28, the Degtyarev anti-tank rifle project was considered at a meeting in the Red Army Small Arms Directorate. On July 30, Degtyarev was offered to simplify one sample by converting it into a single-shot one. This was necessary to speed up the organization of mass production of anti-tank rifles. A few days later, the sample was already presented.

At the same time, work was underway to fine-tune the cartridge. On August 15, a variant of a 14.5-mm cartridge with a BS-41 bullet having a powder ceramic-metal core was put into service (bullet weight was 63.6 g). Bullet was developed by the Moscow plant of hard alloys. 14.5-mm cartridges differed in color: the nose of the B-32 bullet was painted black, there was a red belt, the BS-41 bullet was painted red and had a black nose. The cartridge primer was covered with black paint. This coloring allowed the armor-piercer to quickly distinguish between cartridges. A cartridge with a BZ-39 bullet was produced. Based on the BS-41, an “armor-piercing incendiary-chemical” bullet with a capsule with a HAF gas-forming composition in the rear was developed (the German “armor-piercing chemical” cartridge for Pz.B 39 served as a model). However, this cartridge was not accepted. The acceleration of work on anti-tank guns was necessary, since the problems of anti-tank guns in rifle units worsened - in August, due to a lack of anti-tank artillery, 45-mm guns were removed from the divisional and battalion level to form anti-tank artillery brigades and regiments, the 57-mm anti-tank gun was removed from production due to technological problems.

On August 29, 1941, after a demonstration to members of the State Defense Committee, the self-loading sample of Simonov and the single-shot Degtyarev were adopted under the designations PTRS and PTRD. Due to the haste of the issue, the guns were accepted before the end of the tests - the tests of anti-tank guns for survivability were carried out on September 12-13, the final tests of the modified anti-tank guns on September 24. New anti-tank guns were supposed to fight light and medium tanks, as well as armored vehicles at a distance of up to 500 meters.

14.5 mm PTR Simonov arr. 1941

The production of PTRD was started at the plant number 2 named after. Kirkizha - in early October, the first batch of 50 guns was put into assembly. In the Department of the Chief Designer on October 10, they created a special. documentation group. As a matter of urgency, a conveyor was organized. Equipment and tools were prepared out of turn. On October 28, a specialized production of anti-tank rifles was created under the leadership of Goryachiy - at that time, the task for anti-tank weapons was a priority. Later, Izhmash, the production of the Tula Arms Plant, evacuated to Saratov and others, joined the production of anti-tank rifles.

Degtyarev's single-shot anti-tank gun consisted of a barrel with a cylindrical receiver, a longitudinally pivoting sliding bolt, a butt with a trigger box, trigger and impact mechanisms, a bipod and sights. In the bore there were 8 rifling with a stroke length of 420 mm. The active box-shaped muzzle brake was capable of absorbing up to 60% of the recoil energy. The cylindrical bolt had a straight handle in the back and two lugs - in the front, it installed a percussion mechanism, a reflector and an ejector. The percussion mechanism included a mainspring and a drummer with a striker; the drummer's tail looked like a hook and went out. The bevel of its core, when the shutter was unlocked, took the drummer back.

The receiver and trigger boxes were connected rigidly connected to the inner tube of the butt. The inner tube, which has a spring shock absorber, was inserted into the butt tube. The movable system (bolt, receiver and barrel) moved back after the shot, the bolt handle “ran” onto the copy profile fixed on the butt, and when turned, unlocked the bolt. The shutter after stopping the barrel by inertia moved back, getting up on the shutter delay (left side of the receiver), while the sleeve was pushed by the reflector into the lower window in the receiver. The shock absorber spring returned the movable system to the forward position. Inserting a new cartridge into the upper window of the receiver, sending it, as well as locking the shutter, was done manually. The trigger mechanism included a trigger, a trigger lever and a sear with springs. Sights were carried to the left on the brackets. They included a front sight and a flip rear sight at a distance of up to and over 600 meters (in the anti-tank guns of the first releases, the rear sight moved in a vertical groove).

On the butt there was a soft pillow, a wooden stop designed to hold the gun with the left hand, a wooden pistol grip, a “cheek”. Folding stamped bipods on the barrel were attached with a clamp with a lamb. A handle was also attached to the barrel with which the weapon was carried. The accessory included a pair of canvas bags each for 20 rounds. The total weight of the Degtyarev anti-tank rifle with ammunition was approximately 26 kilograms. In battle, the gun was carried by the first or both calculation numbers.

A minimum of parts, the use of a butt tube instead of a frame greatly simplified the production of an anti-tank gun, and the automatic opening of the bolt increased the rate of fire. Degtyarev's anti-tank rifle successfully combined simplicity, efficiency and reliability. The speed of setting up production was of great importance in those conditions. The first batch of 300 PTRD units was completed in October and already in early November it was sent to Rokossovsky's 16th army. On November 16, they were first used in combat. By December 30, 1941, 17,688 Degtyarev anti-tank rifles were produced, and during 1942 - 184,800 units.

The Simonov self-loading anti-tank rifle was created on the basis of an experimental Simonov self-loading rifle of the 1938 model, which worked according to the scheme with the removal of powder gas. The gun consisted of a barrel with a muzzle brake and a vapor chamber, a receiver with a butt, a trigger guard, a bolt, a reloading mechanism, a firing mechanism, sights, a bipod and a magazine. The bore was the same as that of the PTRD. The open-type gas chamber was fastened with pins at a distance of 1/3 of the barrel length from the muzzle. The receiver and the barrel were connected by a wedge.

The barrel bore was locked by tilting the bolt core down. Locking and unlocking was controlled by the stem of the shutter, which has a handle. The reloading mechanism included a gas regulator with three positions, a rod, a piston, a tube and a pusher with a spring. A pusher acted on the bolt stem. The shutter return spring was located in the stem channel. The drummer with a spring was placed in the channel of the shutter core. The shutter, having received an impulse of movement from the pusher after the shot, moved back. At the same time, the pusher returned forward. At the same time, the cartridge case was removed by the bolt ejector and reflected upward by the protrusion of the receiver. After the cartridges ran out, the shutter got up to stop in the receiver.

A trigger mechanism was mounted on the trigger guard. The trigger mechanism had a helical mainspring. The design of the trigger mechanism included: a trigger sear, a trigger lever and a hook, while the axis of the trigger was located at the bottom. The store and the lever feeder were hinged to the receiver, its latch was located on the trigger guard. The cartridges were placed in a checkerboard pattern. The store was equipped with a pack (clip) with five rounds of ammunition with the lid folded down. The affiliation of the rifle included 6 clips. The front sight had a fence, and the sector sight notches from 100 to 1500 meters in increments of 50. The anti-tank rifle had a wooden butt with a shoulder pad and soft cushion, a pistol grip. The narrow neck of the butt was used to hold the gun with the left hand. Folding bipods were attached to the barrel with the help of a clip (swivel). There was a handle for carrying. In combat, an anti-tank rifle was carried by one or both crew numbers. The disassembled gun on the campaign - the receiver with the butt and the barrel - was transferred in two canvas covers.

The manufacture of the Simonov self-loading anti-tank rifle was simpler than the Rukavishnikov rifle (the number of parts was a third less, the machine-hours were 60% less, and the time was 30%), but much more difficult than the Degtyarev anti-tank rifle. In 1941, 77 Simonov anti-tank rifles were produced, in 1942 the number was already 63,308 units. Since anti-tank rifles were urgently accepted, all the shortcomings of the new systems, such as the tight extraction of the cartridge case from the Degtyarev PTR or the twin shots from the Simonov PTR, were corrected during production or “brought up” in military workshops. With all the manufacturability of anti-tank rifles, the deployment of their mass production in wartime required a certain amount of time - the needs of the troops began to be satisfied only from November 1942. The establishment of mass production made it possible to reduce the cost of weapons - for example, the cost of Simonov's anti-tank rifle from the first half of 1942 to the second half of 1943 fell almost twice.

Anti-tank rifles bridged the gap between the "anti-tank" capabilities of artillery and infantry.

Since December 1941, companies armed with anti-tank rifles (27 each, and later 54 rifles) were introduced into rifle regiments. Since the autumn of 1942, platoons (18 guns) of anti-tank rifles were introduced into the battalions. In January 1943, the PTR company was included in the motorized rifle and machine gun battalion (later - the battalion of submachine gunners) of the tank brigade. Only in March 1944, when the role of anti-tank rifles decreased, the companies were disbanded, and the “armor-piercers” were retrained as tankers (since they were re-equipped with T-34-85, whose crew consisted of not four, but five people). Companies were assigned to anti-tank battalions, and battalions were assigned to anti-tank fighter brigades. Thus, attempts were made to ensure close interaction of PTR units with infantry, artillery and tank units.

The troops of the Western Front, engaged in the defense of Moscow, were the first to receive anti-tank guns. Directive of Army General G.K. Zhukov, commander of the troops of the front, dated October 26, 1941, speaking of sending 3-4 platoons of anti-tank rifles to the 5th, 16th and 33rd armies, demanded “to take measures for the immediate use of this weapon, exceptional in terms of efficiency and strength ... their battalions and regiments. Zhukov's order of December 29 also pointed out the disadvantages of using anti-tank rifles - the use of crews as shooters, the lack of interaction with anti-tank artillery and groups of tank destroyers, cases of leaving anti-tank rifles on the battlefield. As you can see, the effectiveness of the new weapon was not immediately appreciated, the command staff simply had a poor idea of ​​​​the possibilities of its use. It is also necessary to take into account the shortcomings of the first batches of anti-tank rifles.

Degtyarev's anti-tank rifles received their first combat use in the 16th army of Rokossovsky. The most famous battle was a collision on November 16, 1941 at the Dubosekovo junction during the defense of Moscow, a group of tank destroyers of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th regiment of the 316th Panfilov rifle division and 30 German tanks. 18 tanks that participated in the attacks were hit, but less than a fifth of the entire company survived. This battle showed the effectiveness of anti-tank grenades and anti-tank rifles in the hands of "tank destroyers". However, he also revealed the need to cover the "fighters" with arrows and support with light regimental artillery.

To understand the role of anti-tank rifle units, it is necessary to recall tactics. In battle, the commander of a rifle battalion or regiment could leave a company of anti-tank rifles entirely at his disposal or transfer them to rifle companies, leaving at least a platoon of anti-tank rifles in the anti-tank area of ​​​​the regiment in defense as a reserve. A platoon of anti-tank rifles could operate in full strength or split into half-platoons and squads of 2-4 guns each. The anti-tank rifle squad, acting independently or as part of a platoon, in battle had to “choose a firing position, equip it and disguise it; quickly prepare for firing, as well as accurately hit enemy armored vehicles and tanks; during the battle covertly and quickly change the firing position. Firing positions were chosen behind artificial or natural obstacles, although quite often the crews simply took cover in bushes or grass. Positions were chosen in such a way as to ensure circular fire at ranges up to 500 meters, and occupied a flank position to the direction of movement of enemy tanks. Interaction was also organized with other anti-tank formations and rifle units. Depending on the availability of time at the position, a full profile trench with a platform was prepared, a trench for circular firing without a platform or with it, a small trench for firing in a wide sector - in this case, firing was carried out with a removed or bent bipod. Fire on tanks from anti-tank rifles was opened, depending on the situation, from a distance of 250 to 400 meters, preferably, of course, in the stern or side, but in infantry positions armor-piercers quite often had to "hit in the forehead." Calculations of anti-tank rifles were dismembered in depth and along the front at distances and intervals from 25 to 40 meters at an angle back or forward, during flanking fire - in one line. The front of the anti-tank rifle squad is 50-80 meters, the platoon - 250-700 meters.

During the defense, "armor-piercing snipers" were placed in echelon, preparing the main position and up to three spare ones. A gunner-observer on duty remained at the position of the squad before the start of the offensive of the enemy armored vehicles. If the tank was moving, it was recommended to focus the fire of several anti-tank rifles on it: when the tank approached, fire was fired at its turret; if the tank overcame a barrier, scarp or embankment - along the bottom; in case of removal of the tank - in the stern. Taking into account the strengthening of the armor of tanks, fire from anti-tank rifles was usually opened from a distance of 150-100 meters. When they approached the positions directly or when breaking through into the depths of the defense, armor-piercers and "tank destroyers" used anti-tank grenades and Molotov cocktails.

The commander of a platoon of anti-tank rifles could single out a squad participating in the defense to destroy enemy aircraft. This was a common task. So, for example, in the defense zone of the 148th SD (Central Front) near Kursk, 93 heavy and light machine guns and 65 anti-tank rifles were prepared to destroy air targets. Often, anti-tank guns were placed on improvised anti-aircraft guns. A tripod machine created for this purpose at the plant No. Kirkizh was not accepted into production, and this is perhaps fair.

In 1944, a staggered arrangement of anti-tank rifles was practiced in depth and along the front at a distance of 50 to 100 meters from each other. At the same time, mutual shooting of the approaches was ensured, and dagger fire was widely used. In winter, anti-tank guns were mounted on drags or sleds. In closed areas with impenetrable spaces for anti-tank rifle positions, groups of fighters with incendiary bottles and grenades were located in front of them. In the mountains, the crews of anti-tank rifles were located, as a rule, at road turns, entrances to valleys and gorges, while defending heights - on tank-accessible and most gentle slopes.

In the offensive, a platoon of anti-tank rifles moved in rolls in the battle formation of a rifle battalion (company) in readiness to meet enemy armored vehicles with fire from at least two squads. The anti-tank rifle crews took up positions in front between the rifle platoons. During an offensive with an open flank, armor-piercers, as a rule, should be kept on this flank. A squad of anti-tank rifles usually advanced on the flanks or in the gaps of a rifle company, a platoon of anti-tank rifles - a battalion or company. Between positions, the crews moved under the cover of mortar and infantry fire along or hidden approaches.

During the attack, anti-tank guns were located at the line of attack. Their main task was to defeat enemy fire (primarily anti-tank) weapons. In the event of the appearance of tanks, the fire was immediately transferred to them. During the battle, in the depths of the enemy’s defense, platoons and squads of anti-tank rifles supported the advance of rifle subunits with fire, protecting it “from sudden raids by armored vehicles and enemy tanks from ambushes”, destroying counterattacking or dug-in tanks, as well as firing points. The calculations were recommended to hit armored vehicles and tanks with flank and cross fire.

During battles in the forest or settlements, since the battle formations were dismembered, anti-tank rifle squads were often attached to rifle platoons. Moreover, in the hands of the commander of the regiment or battalion, the reserve of anti-tank rifles remained obligatory. During the offensive, anti-tank rifle units covered the rear and flanks of rifle regiments, battalions or companies, firing through wastelands or squares, as well as along the streets. When taking up defense in the city, positions were placed at street intersections, squares, basements and buildings in order to keep alleys and streets, gaps and arches under fire. During the defense of the forest, the positions of anti-tank rifles were placed in depth, so that roads, clearings, paths and clearings were fired upon. On the march, a platoon of anti-tank rifles was attached to a marching outpost or followed in constant readiness to meet the enemy with fire in the column of the main forces. Anti-tank rifle units operated as forward and reconnaissance detachments, especially in rough terrain that made it difficult to carry heavier weapons. In the forward detachments, the armor-piercing detachments perfectly complemented the tank brigades - for example, on July 13, 1943, the advance detachment of the 55th Guards Tank Regiment successfully repulsed the counterattack of 14 German tanks with fire from anti-tank rifles and tanks in the Rzhavets area, knocking out 7 of them. Former Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht E. Schneider, an armaments specialist, wrote: “The Russians had a 14.5 mm anti-tank rifle in 1941, which caused a lot of trouble for our tanks and light armored personnel carriers that appeared later.” In general, in some German works about the Second World War and the memoirs of Wehrmacht tankers, Soviet anti-tank rifles were mentioned as weapons “worthy of respect”, however, due to the courage of their calculations. With high ballistic data, the 14.5-mm anti-tank rifle was distinguished by its manufacturability and maneuverability. The Simonov anti-tank rifle is considered the best weapon of this class of the Second World War in terms of a combination of operational and combat qualities.

Having played a significant role in anti-tank defense in 1941-1942, anti-tank rifles by the summer of 43 years - with an increase in the armor protection of assault guns and tanks over 40 millimeters - had lost their positions. True, there were cases of successful combat between infantry anti-tank formations and enemy heavy tanks in defensive positions prepared in advance. For example, a duel between the armor-piercer Ganzha (151st Infantry Regiment) and the "Tiger". The first shot in the forehead did not give any result, the armor-piercer removed the anti-tank rifle into the trench and, having let the tank pass over him, fired into the stern, immediately changing position. During the turn of the tank in order to move to the trench, Ganzha fired a third shot at the side and set it on fire. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. If in January 1942 the number of anti-tank rifles in the troops was 8,116 units, in January 1943 - 118,563 units, 1944 - 142,861 units, that is, in two years it increased by 17.6 times, then already in 1944 it began to decline. By the end of the war, the active army had only 40 thousand anti-tank rifles (their total resource on May 9, 1945 was 257,500 units). The largest number of anti-tank rifles was submitted to the ranks of the army in 1942 - 249,000 pieces, but already in the first half of 1945, only 800 units. The same picture was observed with 12.7-mm, 14.5-mm cartridges: in 1942 their production was 6 times higher than the pre-war level, but by 1944 it had noticeably decreased. Despite this, the production of 14.5 mm anti-tank rifles continued until January 1945. In total, 471,500 units were produced during the war. The anti-tank rifle was a front line weapon, which explains the significant losses - during the war, 214 thousand anti-tank rifles of all models, that is, 45.4%, were lost. The largest percentage of losses was observed in 41 and 42 years - 49.7 and 33.7%, respectively. The losses of the material part corresponded to the level of losses among the personnel.

The following figures speak of the intensity of the use of anti-tank rifles in the middle of the war. During the defense on the Kursk Bulge, 387,000 cartridges for anti-tank rifles were used up on the Central Front (48,370 per day), and on the Voronezh - 754,000 (68,250 per day). During the Battle of Kursk, more than 3.5 million cartridges for anti-tank rifles were used up. In addition to tanks, anti-tank guns fired at firing points and embrasures of the bunker and bunker at a distance of up to 800 meters, and at aircraft - up to 500 meters.

In the third period of the war, Degtyarev and Simonov's anti-tank rifles were used against light armored vehicles and lightly armored self-propelled guns, which were widely used by the enemy, as well as to combat firing points, especially in battles within the city, up to the storming of Berlin. Often, guns were used by snipers to hit targets at a considerable distance or enemy shooters who were behind armored shields. In August 1945, Degtyarev and Simonov's anti-tank rifles were used in battles with the Japanese. Here, this type of weapon could be in place, especially given the relatively weak armor of Japanese tanks. However, the Japanese used little tanks against the Soviet troops.

Anti-tank rifles were in service not only with infantry, but also with cavalry units. Here, packs for cavalry saddles and pack saddles of the 1937 model were used to transport the Degtyarev gun. The gun was mounted above the horse's croup on a pack on a metal block with two brackets. The rear bracket was also used as a swivel support for shooting from a horse at ground and air targets. At the same time, the shooter stood behind the horse, which was held by the groom. To drop anti-tank rifles to partisans and landing forces, an elongated UPD-MM airborne bag with a shock absorber and a parachute chamber was used. Cartridges were quite often dropped from strafing flight without a parachute in burlap-wrapped caps. Soviet anti-tank guns were transferred to foreign formations that were formed in the USSR: for example, 6786 guns were transferred to the Polish Army, 1283 units to Czechoslovak units. During the Korean War of 50-53, Soviet 14.5 mm anti-tank rifles were used by North Korean soldiers and Chinese volunteers against light armored vehicles and hitting point targets at a considerable distance (this experience was adopted from Soviet snipers).

The improvement of anti-tank rifles and the development of new schemes for them went on continuously. An example of an attempt to create a lighter anti-tank gun can be considered a single-shot 12.7-mm Rukavishnikov anti-tank gun tested in February 1942. Its mass was 10.8 kg. The shutter system made it possible to shoot at a speed of up to 12-15 rounds per minute. It was possible to replace the barrel with a 14.5 mm. Lightness and simplicity prompted the specialists of the range to recommend the new Rukavishnikov gun for mass production. But the growth of armor protection for assault guns and enemy tanks required a different approach.

The search for anti-tank weapons that would be able to operate in infantry units and fight the latest tanks went in two directions - the “enlargement” of anti-tank rifles and the “lightening” of anti-tank guns. In both cases, ingenious solutions were found and rather interesting designs were created. The experienced single-shot anti-tank guns of Blum and the PEC guns (Rashkov, Ermolaev, Slukhodky) aroused great interest in GBTU and GAU. Blum's anti-tank gun was designed for a 14.5 mm cartridge (14.5x147) in which the muzzle velocity of the bullet was increased to 1500 meters per second. The cartridge was created on the basis of the cartridge case of a 23-mm shot of an aircraft cannon (at the same time, a 23-mm shot was developed on the basis of a standard 14.5-mm cartridge to lighten the air gun). The gun had a rotary longitudinally sliding bolt, having two lugs and a spring-loaded reflector, which ensured reliable removal of the sleeve at any speed of the bolt. The barrel of the gun was supplied with a muzzle brake. On the butt there was a leather pillow on the back of the head. Folding bipods were used for installation. RES anti-tank rifles were developed for a 20-mm shot with a projectile having an armor-piercing core (without explosive). The RES barrel was locked by a horizontally moving wedge gate, which was opened manually and closed with a return spring. There was a safety lever on the trigger mechanism. The folding stock with a buffer resembled Degtyarev's anti-tank rifle. The gun was equipped with a muzzle brake-flash suppressor and a wheeled machine with a shield. In April 1943, at the GBTU training ground, the captured Pz.VI "Tiger" was shelled, which showed that Blum's anti-tank rifle was capable of penetrating 82-mm tank armor at a distance of up to 100 meters. On August 10, 1943, both anti-tank guns fired on the Shot courses: this time they recorded penetration of 55-mm armor by a bullet from Blum’s anti-tank rifle at a distance of 100 meters, and 70-mm armor was pierced from RES (at a distance of 300 meters, a projectile RES penetrated 60 mm armor). From the conclusion of the commission: "in terms of armor-piercing action and power, both tested samples of anti-tank guns are significantly superior to the anti-tank guns of Degtyarev and Simonov, which are in service. The tested guns are a reliable means of combating medium tanks of the T-IV type and even more powerful armored vehicles." Blum's anti-tank gun was more compact, so the question of its adoption was raised. However, this did not happen. Small-scale production of 20 mm RESs was carried out in Kovrov - in 1942, factory No. 2 produced 28 units, and in 1943 - 43 units. This is where the production ended. In addition, at plant No. 2, the Degtyarev anti-tank rifle was converted into a “two-caliber” one with an increased initial speed chambered for a 23-mm VYa cannon (mastering the production of a cannon at the plant began in February 1942). In another version of the Degtyarev anti-tank gun with an increased initial speed, the principle of sequential firing of charges along the length of the barrel was used, according to the scheme of a multi-chamber gun, theoretically calculated in 1878 by Perrault. From above, approximately in the middle of the barrel of an anti-tank gun, a box with a chamber was attached, which was connected by a transverse hole to the bore. A blank 14.5 mm cartridge was inserted into this box, locked with a conventional bolt. When fired, powder gases ignited the charge of a blank cartridge, which, in turn, increased the speed of the bullet, maintaining pressure in the bore. True, the recoil of the weapon increased, and the survivability of the system and reliability turned out to be low.

The growth of armor penetration of anti-tank rifles did not keep pace with the increase in armor protection. In a journal dated October 27, 1943, the art committee of the GAU noted: “The anti-tank rifles of Degtyarev and Simonov often cannot penetrate the armor of a German medium tank. Therefore, it is necessary to create an anti-tank gun capable of penetrating armor of the order of 75-80 millimeters at 100 meters, and nailing armor of 50-55 millimeters at an angle of 20-25 °. Even the "two-caliber" Degtyarev anti-tank rifles and the heavy "RES" hardly met these requirements. Work on anti-tank guns was actually curtailed.

Attempts to "lighten" the artillery systems to the parameters of infantry weapons were in line with the Infantry Combat Regulations of 1942, which included anti-tank guns in the number of infantry weapons. An example of such an anti-tank gun can be an experienced 25-mm LPP-25, developed by Zhukov, Samusenko and Sidorenko in 1942 at the Artillery Academy. Dzerzhinsky. Weight in combat position - 154 kg. The calculation of the gun - 3 people. Armor penetration at a distance of 100 meters - 100 millimeters (sub-caliber projectile). In 1944, the airborne 37-mm cannon ChK-M1 Charnko and Komaritsky was adopted. The original recoil suppression system made it possible to reduce the combat weight to 217 kilograms (for comparison, the mass of the 37-mm cannon of the 1930 model was 313 kilograms). The height of the line of fire was 280 millimeters. With a rate of fire of 15 to 25 rounds per minute, the cannon pierced 86 mm armor at a distance of 500 meters and 97 mm armor at 300 meters with a sub-caliber projectile. However, only 472 guns were made - they, like the "reinforced" anti-tank guns, simply did not find a need.

A source of information:
Magazine "Equipment and weapons" Semyon Fedoseev "Infantry against tanks"