When we recall the Red Army soldier of the Great Patriotic War, we invariably imagine the pensive, sad warrior who came to Berlin. Behind him are not only thousands and thousands of kilometers traveled, but also a roll of a raincoat-tent, and in his hands is a faithful PPSh. But was the brainchild of the legendary Shpagin the only automatic weapon in the Red Army?
Of course, the PPD and PPS were in service, the last of which many historians and gunsmiths generally consider the best submachine gun of the war. But practically no one knows that there was also a Korovin submachine gun, which in many respects was in no way inferior to its “elder brothers”.
We will talk about him and his inventor as part of this article.
Background
It was a terrible October 1941, when the Red Army retreated in all directions. The Germans sought to break through the defense ring and reach Moscow. The main striking means were tank groups, the vehicles of which approached the capital from three directions at once.
The army of General Boldin defended Tula, from which after terrible and fierce battles there were not so many left. In order to somehow help the military personnel in the difficult task of defending the city, the Workers' Council adopted a resolution on the formation of a militia regiment of 1,500 people. It was here that the difficulties began ... If there were practically no problems with clothing and food for volunteers, then providing weapons quickly turned into a sore point.
Yes, in extreme cases, it could be made
(Tula Arms Factory, after all!), But it took too much time. Nobody was going to provide such a luxury to the defenders.
Weapon selection
However, it was extremely clear that the required weapons were submachine guns. It was at least somehow possible to count on their speedy production. Do not make high-precision rifles from pieces of pipes and metal!
In a word, the Tula people were placed in the same conditions as the British, who “kneeled” to make their “Walls” literally from scraps of water pipes. The engineers were not aware that back in 1930, Sergey Alexandrovich Korovin had already designed such a weapon. It was not only simpler than the English "plumber's dream", but also twice as reliable and more accurate than that submachine gun.
Man of complex fate
Korovin was a rather little-known gunsmith. He took part in almost all test competitions, but only competitors won: they were Degtyarev, Shpagin, Simonov ... The color of the Soviet weapons culture, which created the best weapons of the USSR. It is still unknown whether the great Fedorov really loved his students so much that he awarded them prizes, or whether Korovin’s weapons still had some design flaws.
Korovin was not “his”, that's for sure. He was a student of the Belgian master Browning. Only his pistol of 6.35 mm caliber once went into the series, which until 1936 was freely sold to all Soviet citizens without any documents. The Korovin submachine gun that we described was completely forgotten.
And therefore, the inventor had to be content only with the development of prototypes on an initiative basis. Weapons, which were then dusted on the windows of the Tula arms store. It was there that the authorities found the submachine gun, which Sergei Aleksandrovich had once created to participate in the competition where the PPD had won.
Only a few days were spent on the initial deployment of production, and already at the end of October the first samples saw the light. Near the village of Rogozhinsky arms passed its baptism of fire on October 30, 1941. Once again, the Tula Arms Plant proved that it is capable of manufacturing excellent weapons in any conditions.
The first combat use of PPK
In the early morning, 40 enemy tanks broke through to the factory buildings. They were covered by several squads of machine gunners. Guderian’s tanks decided to take the Tuleks into ticks, approaching them from both flanks. But failure awaited them: brave warriors blew up cars with grenades, bombarded them with Molotov cocktails. The German infantrymen had the opportunity to try the Korovin submachine gun on themselves.
Archival sources indicate that the hot battle lasted more than four hours. The Nazis about five times tried to take the position of the Tula militias. The tanks could not come up to them, and the infantry was mowing fire from Korovin’s weapons. The submachine gun showed itself in that battle from the best side.
Weapon technical features
Simplicity is the key to the success of this product by Sergey Alexandrovich. Korovin's submachine gun, which managed to fight near Tula, was fundamentally different from the weapons that were submitted to the competition. So, he completely did not have a wooden box, which required a long and painstaking cut, and also did not have a barrel casing. The latter required special stamping, which in those conditions simply did not have time.
All parts of the submachine gun (except for the bolt and receiver) were made by primitive cold stamping. To connect them together, welding was used. The receiver itself was made of ... an ordinary pipe (hi, Stan)! In fact, Korovin in a couple of days was able to create a completely new weapon. In the war, any plant (even a semi-handicraft workshop) that could have even the most primitive stamping equipment could produce it.
The "body" of the weapon was 682 mm long. Butt (wire, hinged) added to it another 400 millimeters.
Automation and USM
As you might guess, the principle of automation was based on a free shutter. The initial velocity of the bullet was 480 m / s. The barrel was locked with a bolt of increased mass and a reciprocating spring. The weapon had no safety lock. Its role was played by a cutout on the right side of the receiver, where it was possible to insert and lock the loading handle. It was absolutely impossible to shoot from the control panel in this position, spontaneous falling out of the handle from the fixing slot was excluded.
The trigger mechanism of the weapon allowed the shooter to conduct only automatic fire. The "highlight" was a whisper, significantly pushed forward. Such his position ensured the high accuracy of the first shot. The trigger had a relatively long and smooth stroke, the force on it did not exceed 2.9 kg. A special ejector was responsible for the extraction of the shot cartridge case and for its removal beyond the arms. It was integral to the bottom of the receiver.
The sighting device was open, of the simplest design: there was a rear sight type (100 and 200 meters), as well as a front sight that could be moved in the horizontal direction.
Other features
Due to the large mass of the bolt group (700 grams), as well as the shutter speed of 143 mm, the PPK fired at a very low rate: only 470 rounds per minute. Unlike PPSh, the name of which experienced front-line soldiers deciphered as “Shpagin's cartridge eater”, Korovin’s product made it possible to economically use ammunition. The accustomed shooters made even single shots of weapons without problems, which was impossible to achieve from the same PPSh of military years of release.
In general, if we consider all the submachine guns of World War II, then only the American "Thompson" could normally shoot single cartridges. It’s just that it cost hundreds of times more than even an “unnecessarily complicated PPD”, to say nothing of a penny PPK, which could be made practically from scrap metal.
A recoil pad was attached to a folding wire butt (it could turn). Wooden cheeks were superimposed on the pistol grip of the weapon. Since this weapon in the “military” version did not have a forearm, the fighter held on to a magazine made by cold stamping with his hand. Capacity - 35 rounds, staggered ammunition. Like other Soviet weapons of this class, this Russian submachine gun used the standard Soviet cartridge of the time - 7.62x25.
Undeservedly forgotten ...
Given that the deployment of production took only two days, the weapon turned out to be just fantastically reliable! Of course, there were drawbacks (not too reliable shutter, lack of fore-end), but they can be easily forgiven for all the positive qualities of the control panel. So in the ranking of "Submachine guns of the Second World War" this weapon confidently took first place.
Unfortunately, Korovin never received due recognition. Sergei Alexandrovich still continued to create new weapons, but traditionally did not take prizes in competitions. For his heroism and professionalism near Tula, he received only the Badge of Honor and the Order of the Red Star. Only before his death in the USSR his merits were "noted" nevertheless. The designer was awarded a modest medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War." Actually, this is the only reward for his invention.
Conclusion
Even considering that none of his developments went into series (except for the pistol), it is impossible to deny all of his discoveries, which were later used by other Soviet gunsmiths. Sergey Aleksandrovich’s achievements allowed them to create a new weapon of the USSR with less effort and labor.