It is generally accepted, with the light hand of Soviet historians, that the German fascist hordes that attacked the USSR in 1941 were completely armed with machine guns, that almost every Wehrmacht soldier almost continuously scribbled from his Schmeiser. As it turned out in the last two decades, after an objective study of the facts, this was not entirely true. Firstly, the German submachine gun was called, depending on the modification, MP.38 or MP.40, and secondly, the designer H. Schmeiser did not develop it, but made a number of changes to its design (including a wooden butt), creating the rapid-fire assault rifle that got his name, and that was later. And thirdly, the main weapon of the Nazi invaders throughout the war was the rather powerful Mauser Gewehr-98 rifle. If you carefully look at the chronicle footage of the invasion period, you can see it, like horse-drawn carts, which made up the main form of transport of the Germans. In the Red Army, things were about the same. The three-line Mosin, about which the poet Twardowski mentioned the tarpaulin belt, faithfully served the Motherland for a good half century.
Mauser rifle: prototype and development
Hitler was a conservative. He went through the First World War, and although some of his biographers hint at the rather curious circumstances of his receipt of the Iron Cross, the future “Fuhrer of the German people” had to fight. He didn’t really trust the compact fast-firing weapons and considered Mauser to be the best weapons designer in the world who managed to create an unrivaled model. Therefore, the German rifles of World War II were practically the same as the soldiers of Germany and Austria-Hungary fought in 1914-1918, with minor design changes. Its prototype was Gew.71, developed by the brothers Wilhelm and Peter-Paul Mauser, as is clear from the index, in 1871. Then new, improved models (“88”, “89”, “92” and “94”) appeared, taking into account the proposals for improving the performance coming from the military. Ultimately, all these changes are reflected in the final “Mausers” of 71 years. These were the most massive German rifles of World War II.
History of the Mosin trilinear
Stalin thought more progressively, which yielded results. There were 6 times more machine guns in the USSR than in Nazi Germany (six million against one). But this does not mean that attention was not paid to traditional small arms. The development of new models was underway, they were tested in combat conditions (and there were enough of them: Khalkhin-Gol, the Karelian Isthmus), the advantages and disadvantages were determined. But, oddly enough, the best weapon of the Red Army remained the three-line Mosin, created under the tsar. It was reliable, easy to manufacture and was characterized by a happy combination of excellent tactical and technical data with ease of use.
She has her own story, rooted in the sixties of the century before last. Then the Russian army needed new small arms, and this problem was first unsystematically solved. Then, in 1892, a competition was announced in which many companies willingly, in search of profitable and large orders, participated: the Austrian Manlicher, the Danish Krag-Jorgensen, and the Belgian Nagan. The Russian gunsmith S. I. Mosin did not stand aside. Ultimately, the domestic model won, although the author had to make a number of changes to its design by borrowing them from competitors.
German Mauser carbine
The design idea of the gunsmiths of the late 19th century worked in approximately the same direction. A review of the Gew.98 rifle will not reveal any special revolutionary daring. Is that the circuit of the lever fuse is new, and the five-cartridge magazine is compact in size, due to the two-row arrangement of ammunition. By the way, it was proposed to increase the capacity of the cartridge to seven or even ten charges, but the German General Staff decided that five was enough. The Mauser brothers created their own cartridge, taking care of the marketing of "supplies", and also improving their characteristics (its size is 7.92 x 57). The sight is horizontal, with a range of up to 2 km. And, of course, a bayonet in the form of a cleaver, although other types were offered.
As for the name "carabiner", it practically did not change anything except the method of fastening the belt.
Mosin design
The design characteristic of the Mosin rifle as a whole differs little from the description of the German counterpart. The three-line gauge (0.3``) was the Russian standard, the barrel was long (more than one hundred calibers). The box-shaped magazine is inseparable; its capacity is four cartridges. Recharging is carried out manually, the slide is a longitudinally-sliding type. The fuse is very simple and original in Russian: to avoid an accidental shot, the trigger should be pulled and slightly rotated around its axis, after which the firing pin could no longer hit the capsule. The sight had a slightly greater calibration accuracy due to its two possible positions. The step of each scale is 200 meters.
The bayonet with which the Soviet rifles of the Second World War were equipped deserved special words. It was tetrahedral with a flat tip (it could be used as a tool for disassembly). He was scary: the edges of the wound inflicted by him immediately converged, and an internal hemorrhage occurred. The Russian faceted bayonet was subsequently banned by international conventions.
After 1939, the troops received modernized Mosin rifles, which differed from the prototype in some design features, however, insignificant. The false rings changed, the methods of fixing the bayonet and ramrod, and the graduation of the sight was made metric.
In other countries
Not only in the two main warring countries, but throughout the rest of the world, the attitude towards automatic modes (at that time mainly towards submachine guns) was wary. The re-equipment required a huge investment of funds, and no one could predict the result. The accuracy of the hit and the reliability of the new models were in doubt, development and testing required an increase in defense budgets. In addition, it was clear to everyone that even a considerable load carried by a soldier would become even greater, since you won’t get enough bullets for all these assault rifles. The most massive rifles of World War II were made, except for the USSR and Germany, in the United States (Springfield and Garand), in Britain (Lee Enfield), in Italy (Mk I No. 4) and in Japan (Arisaka) . All of them had flaws and advantages, but in general showed themselves to be quite equivalent. And the main rivals remained Soviet and German gunsmiths.
Automatic ABC-36
These rifles are called rifles because their barrel has a cut that creates a rotational moment for the bullet, which as a result has a smaller deviation from the target. The weapons are good in all respects, but the mass samples, both of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, had a significant drawback - low rate of fire. After the shot, the fighter had to jerk the bolt to send another charge to the chamber, and it took precious time. The Simonov rifle of caliber 7.62, adopted for service in 1936, had a more complex design compared to the three-ruler - it had a self-cocking operating on the energy of powder gases. In addition, the muzzle brake, reducing recoil, increased the accuracy of hits. However, with all these advantages, excessive ammunition consumption worsened the combat properties of the weapon, and the magazine increased its weight by 15 rounds. The command was inclined to the opinion of the advisability of replacing the ABC-36 with a more advanced model.
Tokarev self-loading system SVT-38
The design of Tokarev SVT-38 corresponded to the concept rather self-loading than automatic rifle. Compared with the ABC-36, it compares favorably with a greater aiming range, improved ease of maintenance, but, unfortunately, it was too cumbersome and capricious. These shortcomings were especially apparent during the Winter War, when failures became more frequent at low temperatures. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the sample was discontinued in 1940, the Tokarevsky SVT-38 served during the years of the struggle against the fascist invasion. They were used mainly when accuracy was more important than reliability.
Next design Tokarev SVT-40
Design defects SVT-38 were partially eliminated in the next model of 1940. The designers struggled with bulkiness and overweight by drilling holes and deepening the chamfers where it was possible. The SVT-40 became even lighter than the three-ruler, but inferior to it in its main quality, the most appreciated by soldiers - in reliability. In addition, the poor technical training of the personnel of most of the Red Army prevented the competent maintenance of these rather complex weapons. Accuracy was also limping. But SVT-40 found its application in special units designed for accurate firing. It turned out to be, if not the best sniper rifle, but quite decent. Each "barrel" has its own character and character, and if the shooter was talented, he soon got used to his weapons, adapted to it and achieved excellent results.
Semiautomatic device AVT-40
Production of the machine was more expensive than rifles. Before the war and at its beginning, it was of great importance, therefore Tokarev created something in between and, as it seemed, optimal. A fighter armed with an AVT-40 rifle could fire single shots and bursts. The store housed ten rounds. However, it soon became clear that the receiver does not withstand prolonged shock loads, and automatic shooting was banned. The main advantage of the sample was useless, and in all other respects the sample was inferior to the Mosin rifle.
The weapons of Soviet snipers ...
There is a category of small arms, in the development of which all the usual characteristics of mass samples fade into the background. The main goal of the designer is to ensure the ability of the shooter to get from a long distance exactly at the target. Accuracy is most important. Soviet sniper rifles of World War II were produced in two main systems. In 1931, the same Mosin three-ruler, with a slightly modified shutter handle, and executed with special qualifications, received an optical sight. Outwardly, it differed from the original design in that the stem of its shutter was directed down, and not up, as in the prototype.
Soviet sniper rifles from the Second World War SVT-40 are described above. It remains only to add that in their manufacture the greatest precision of metalworking was manifested and, of course, a bracket for optics was structurally provided.
... and German
At the beginning of the war, the attacking fascists managed to seize significant reserves of Soviet weapons. They did not fail to take advantage of them. As a result, many Soviet rifles of World War II, including sniper rifles, entered service with the Wehrmacht. Despite the simplicity of the design, they were highly appreciated by the enemy, who until 1942 had at their disposal not the most perfect samples. These include the Zf.Kar.98k sniper rifles, which are a somewhat improved Mauser of 1898, and a number of captured units captured in previously occupied countries (Czechoslovakia, France, Belgium, etc.). A very curious attempt to create a hybrid of a machine gun and sniper weapons. The design was called Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 (rifle for a paratrooper). Some experts even tend to believe that it was the best sniper rifle. In any case, at that time it was the most modern development and entered only in the elite units of paratroopers and SS.
After the war
Currently, all over the world, automatic small arms have supplanted rifles. Now only snipers fire from them. The most common special weapon in the entire post-Soviet space and far beyond its borders today remains the Dragunov rifle, developed in 1963. The reason for its popularity is characteristic of all Russian weapons. It is unpretentious, reliable, relatively inexpensive and has excellent characteristics. The design of the SVD combines all the best qualities possessed by World War II sniper rifles, especially Soviet ones. Many design solutions, invented or improved in the 30s and 40s, found application in its scheme.
Comparison with the American counterpart M24, at first glance, confirms the superiority of the American model. Overseas engineers managed to achieve a high level of accuracy by applying a pitch of 320 mm rifling. However, in fact, it turns out that, unlike him, the Dragunov rifle is universal and can shoot all types of ammunition, including armor-piercing incendiary ones. During the operation, there are known cases when even aircraft were able to be shot down from SVD, including such difficult to destroy as UAVs, helicopters and jet attack aircraft.