Small arms of the Second World War. Small arms of the Wehrmacht of the Second World War - Schmeisser and others
We often find shell casings from the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars in the ground. Almost all of them have some kind of their own difference. Today we will look at the markings of cartridges, which are located on the cartridge capsule, regardless of the brand and caliber of the weapon.
Let's look at some types and markings of Austro-Hungarian types of cartridges from 1905-1916. For this type of cartridge case, the primer is divided into four parts using dashes, the inscriptions are embossed. The left and right cells are the year of production, the top is the month, and the bottom is the plant designation.
- In Fig. 1. – G. Roth, Vienna.
- Fig. 2. – Bello and Selye, Prague.
- Figure 3. - Wöllersdorf plant.
- Figure 4. - Hartenberg factory.
- Fig. 5. - the same Hartenberg, but the Kellery Co. plant.
Later Hungarian ones from the 1930s and 40s have some differences. Figure 6. - Chapel Arsenal, year of manufacture below. Fig. 7. – Budapest. Fig. 8. – Veszprem military plant.
Germany, imperialist war.
The German marking of cartridge cases from the imperialist war has two types with a clear division (Fig. 9) using dashes into four equal parts of the primer and with a conventional one (Fig. 10). The inscription is extruded; in the second version, the letters and numbers of the designation are directed towards the capsule.
At the top there is a marking S 67, in different options: together, separately, through a dot, without numbers. The lower part is the month of production, on the left is the year, and on the right is the plant. In some cases, the year and plant are reversed, or the arrangement of all divisions is completely reversed.
Fascist Germany.
Sleeves and their markings in Nazi Germany(Mauser type) have many variants, because cartridges were produced in almost all factories of the occupied countries Western Europe: Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Italy.
Consider Fig. 11-14, this sleeve is made in Denmark. The capsule is divided into four parts: at the top is the letter P with numbers, at the bottom is the week, on the left side is the year, on the right is the letter S and a star (five-pointed or six-pointed). In Figures 15-17 we see some more types of cartridges produced in Denmark.
In Fig. 18 we see capsules presumably of Czechoslovak and Polish production. The capsule is divided into four parts: at the top – Z, at the bottom the month of manufacture, on the left and right – the year. There is an option where “SMS” is written at the top, and the caliber at the bottom is 7.92.
- In Fig. 19-23 German cartridges G. Genshov and Co. in Durlya;
- Fig. 24. - RVS, Browning, caliber 7.65, Nuremberg;
- Figure 25 and 26 - DVM, Karlsruhe.
More options for Polish-made cartridges.
- Fig. 27 - Skarzysko-Kamienna;
- Figure 28 and 29 - "Pochinsk", Warsaw.
The marks on the Mosin rifle cartridges are not depressed, but convex. At the top there is usually the letter of the manufacturer, at the bottom - the numbers of the year of manufacture.
- Figure 30 – Lugansk plant;
- Fig 31 - plant from Russia;
- Figure 32 – Tula plant.
Some more capsule options:
- Figure 33 – Tula plant;
- Figure 34 – Russian plant;
- Fig 35 – Moscow;
- Rice 36 – Russian-Belgian;
- Figure 37 – Riga;
- Figure 38 – Leningradsky;
- Figure 39, 40, 41, 42 – different factories in Russia.
The Second World War is a significant and difficult period in human history. Countries merged in a mad fight, throwing millions human lives on the altar of victory. At that time, weapons manufacturing became the main type of production, which received great importance and attention. However, as they say, victory is forged by man, and weapons only help him in this. We decided to show off our weapons Soviet troops and the Wehrmacht, collecting the most common and famous types of small arms of the two countries.
Weapon USSR Army:
The armament of the USSR before the start of the Great Patriotic War met the needs of that time. The Mosin repeating rifle of the 1891 model with a caliber of 7.62 millimeters was the only example of a non-automatic weapon. This rifle performed well in the Second World War and was in service with the Soviet army until the early 60s.
Mosin rifle different years release.
In parallel with the Mosin rifle, the Soviet infantry was equipped with Tokarev self-loading rifles: SVT-38 and SVT-40, improved in 1940, as well as Self-loading carbines Simonova (SKS).
Tokarev self-loading rifle (SVT).
Simonov self-loading carbine (SKS)
Also present in the troops were Simonov automatic rifles (ABC-36) - at the beginning of the war there were almost 1.5 million units.
Simonov automatic rifle (AVS)
The presence of such a huge number of automatic and self-loading rifles covered the lack of submachine guns. Only at the beginning of 1941 did the production of the Shpagin PP (PPSh-41) begin, which for a long time became the standard of reliability and simplicity.
Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-41).
Degtyarev submachine gun.
In addition, the Soviet troops were armed with Degtyarev machine guns: Degtyarev infantry (DP); Degtyarev heavy machine gun (DS); Degtyarev tank (DT); heavy machine gun Degtyareva - Shpagina (DShK); SG-43 heavy machine gun.
Degtyarev infantry machine gun (DP).
Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun (DShK).
SG-43 heavy machine gun
The Sudaev PPS-43 submachine gun was recognized as the best example of submachine guns during the Second World War.
Sudaev submachine gun (PPS-43).
One of the main features of infantry weapons Soviet army at the beginning of the Second World War there was a complete absence of anti-tank rifles. And this was reflected already in the first days of hostilities. In July 1941, Simonov and Degtyarev, by order of the high command, designed a five-shot PTRS shotgun (Simonov) and a single-shot PTRD (Degtyarev).
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Simonov anti-tank rifle (PTRS).
Degtyarev anti-tank rifle (PTRD).
The TT pistol (Tula, Tokarev) was developed at the Tula Arms Factory by the legendary Russian gunsmith Fedor Tokarev. Development of new self-loading pistol, intended to replace the standard outdated Nagan revolver of the 1895 model, was started in the second half of the 1920s.
TT pistol.
Soviet soldiers were also armed with pistols: a Nagan system revolver and a Korovin pistol.
Nagan system revolver.
Korovin pistol.
During the entire Great Patriotic War, the USSR military industry produced more than 12 million carbines and rifles, more than 1.5 million all types of machine guns, and more than 6 million submachine guns. Since 1942, almost 450 thousand heavy and light machine guns, 2 million submachine guns and more than 3 million self-loading and repeating rifles have been produced every year.
Small arms of the Wehrmacht army:
The fascist infantry divisions, as the main tactical troops, were armed with repeating rifles with 98 and 98k Mauser bayonets.
Mauser 98k.
Also in service with the German troops were the following rifles: FG-2; Gewehr 41; Gewehr 43; StG 44; StG 45(M); Volkssturmgewehr 1-5.
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FG-2 rifle
Gewehr 41 rifle
Gewehr 43 rifle
Although the Treaty of Versailles for Germany included a ban on the production of submachine guns, German gunsmiths still continued to produce this type of weapon. Shortly after the formation of the Wehrmacht, the MP.38 submachine gun appeared in its appearance, which, due to its small size, open barrel without forearm and folding butt, quickly established itself and was put into service back in 1938.
MP.38 submachine gun.
The experience gained in combat required the subsequent modernization of the MP.38. This is how the MP.40 submachine gun appeared, which featured a more simplified and cheaper design (in parallel, some changes were made to the MP.38, which later received the designation MP.38/40). Compactness, reliability, almost optimal rate of fire were justified advantages of this weapon. German soldiers called it the “bullet pump.”
MP.40 submachine gun.
The battles on the Eastern Front showed that the submachine gun still needed to improve its accuracy. This problem was addressed by the German designer Hugo Schmeisser, who equipped the MP.40 design with a wooden stock and a device for switching to a single fire. True, the production of such MP.41s was insignificant.
German pistol cartridge 9mm caliber for the Parabellum Luger P 08 pistol.
Used in German army World War II for shooting from submachine guns MP-18, MP-28, MP-34, MP-35, MP-38, MP-40. However, this country did not have a monopoly on its use. It is still one of the most popular cartridges in the world. In Russia, they were developed for it newest pistols and a submachine gun "Val".
German intermediate cartridge of 7.92 mm caliber.
Used for assault rifles MP-42, MP-43, MP-44, Sturmgever-44. The average power of this cartridge (compared to rifle and pistol) made it possible to successfully combine a heavy rifle bullet and a small cartridge case, making it possible to increase the ammunition capacity and reduce the recoil of the weapon. After the defeat of Germany in 1945, they were not used. However, cartridges of this type (7.62 mm model 1943) were developed in the USSR and were used in the SKS-45 carbine and in the famous AK-47 assault rifle.
Russian rifle cartridge 7.62 mm caliber for Mosin rifle, manufactured in 1903
The rimmed cartridge is similar to the Berdan cartridge (which made it easier to manufacture), but the caliber is slightly smaller. The bullets in the cartridges of the early twentieth century were blunt-pointed and made of cupronickel. After the Russo-Japanese War, designer Mosin improved his rifle and cartridges for it, and in this form they were produced until the mid-50s. After the Great Patriotic War, such cartridges were used in Kalashnikov light machine guns and SVD-63 sniper rifles.
Finnish rifle cartridge caliber 7.62 mm.
After the revolution of 1917, the Grand Duchy of Finland separated from Russia and declared independence. At the same time, many Mosin rifles were captured, and the production of cartridges was established at the Sako Oi plant. During the Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars, captured ammunition and weapons were widely used. This cartridge with a tracer bullet was used in Lahti-Saloranta-26 machine guns.
Soviet rifle cartridge of 7.62 mm caliber.
During the 1930s and early 1940s, the Soviet Union developed many machine gun systems chambered for standard cartridges. But invention rapid-fire machine gun ShKAS demanded to improve the design of the cartridge. The case and primer were strengthened, and a new armor-piercing bullet was used. The cartridge differed from the usual ones in its color - a red bullet with a black nose, and a black bottom of the cartridge case. In Germany, until the end of World War II, there were no analogues to the Soviet ShKAS.
Italian rifle cartridge 10.35mm caliber Vetterli-Vitali.
In the Second World War Italy entered using not the most modern weapons. The Italian Expeditionary Force, operating on the territory of the USSR, even used something as exotic as the Model 1886 rifle. The cartridge used a new cartridge case and a bullet from an 1881 model revolver. It is noteworthy that the Germans were in no hurry to rearm their allies.
French Lebel rifle cartridge, 8 mm caliber.
Despite the fact that by 1940 this cartridge was considered obsolete, new (and old) weapons were still created for it. Only new types of bullets were produced, but the casing remained the same. The cartridge was used in the Lebel rifle during the First World War, in the Shosh light machine gun and the Hotchkiss easel machine gun. After the capture of France in 1940, the German army made extensive use of the French Hotchkiss Mle 1914 heavy machine guns. These machine guns were old, inaccurate and very inconvenient.
Japanese rifle cartridge 6.5 mm Arisaka caliber.
Designed before Russo-Japanese War, remained in service with the Japanese army until 1945. The only cartridge in the world with a “half-rim”. The small caliber made it possible to increase the shooter's carryable ammunition. In 1916, based on the results of tests of captured cartridges, the Russian designer Fedorov created the world's first machine gun.
German rifle cartridge 6.5 mm, Mannlicher, 1913
During the First World War, many countries considered the 6.5mm caliber to be quite sufficient. In Austria-Hungary, the Mannlicher rifle was adopted, and cartridges for it were also produced in Germany. During the Second World War, Mannlicher rifles were in service with “second-class” troops, legionnaires and volunteers. This cartridge was found at the battlefields of the Latvian SS division.
English rifle cartridge caliber 7.71 mm Enfield.
Developed before the First World War, used for Lee-Enfield rifles, Bren and Lewis machine guns. In Russia, this cartridge is rare, since weapons chambered for it were used in the years civil war forces of the Entente, and were slightly supplied under Lend-Lease in 1942-1944 to the USSR.
By the end of the 30s, almost all participants in the coming world war had formed common directions in the development of small arms. The range and accuracy of the attack was reduced, which was compensated by the greater density of fire. As a consequence of this, the beginning of mass rearmament of units with automatic small arms - submachine guns, machine guns, assault rifles.
Accuracy of fire began to fade into the background, while the soldiers advancing in a chain began to be taught shooting on the move. With the advent airborne troops There was a need to create special lightweight weapons.
Maneuver warfare also affected machine guns: they became much lighter and more mobile. New types of small arms appeared (which was dictated, first of all, by the need to fight tanks) - rifle grenades, anti-tank rifles and RPGs with cumulative grenades.
Small arms of the USSR World War II
On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, the rifle division of the Red Army was a very formidable force - about 14.5 thousand people. The main type of small arms were rifles and carbines - 10,420 pieces. The share of submachine guns was insignificant - 1204. There were 166, 392 and 33 units of heavy, light and anti-aircraft machine guns, respectively.
The division had its own artillery of 144 guns and 66 mortars. The firepower was supplemented by 16 tanks, 13 armored vehicles and a solid fleet of auxiliary vehicles.
Rifles and carbines
The main small arms of the USSR infantry units of the first period of the war was certainly the famous three-line rifle - the 7.62 mm S.I. Mosin rifle of the 1891 model, modernized in 1930. Its advantages are well known - strength, reliability, ease of maintenance, combined with good ballistics qualities, in particular, with an aiming range of 2 km. 
The three-line rifle is an ideal weapon for newly recruited soldiers, and the simplicity of the design created enormous opportunities for its mass production. But like any weapon, the three-line gun had its drawbacks. The permanently attached bayonet in combination with a long barrel (1670 mm) created inconvenience when moving, especially in wooded areas. The bolt handle caused serious complaints when reloading.
On its basis it was created sniper rifle and a series of carbines of the 1938 and 1944 model. Fate gave the three-line a long life (the last three-line was released in 1965), participation in many wars and an astronomical “circulation” of 37 million copies.
The target range of the SVT-40 is up to 1 km. The SVT-40 served with honor on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. It was also appreciated by our opponents. Historical fact: Having captured rich trophies at the beginning of the war, among which there were many SVT-40s, the German army... adopted it for service, and the Finns created their own rifle on the basis of the SVT-40 - TaRaKo.
The creative development of the ideas implemented in the SVT-40 became the AVT-40 automatic rifle. It differed from its predecessor in its ability to fire automatically at a rate of up to 25 rounds per minute. The disadvantage of the AVT-40 is its low accuracy of fire, strong unmasking flame and loud sound at the moment of firing. Subsequently, as automatic weapons entered the military en masse, they were removed from service.
Submachine guns
The Great Patriotic War was the time of the final transition from rifles to automatic weapons. The Red Army began to fight, armed with a large number of PPD-40 is a submachine gun designed by the outstanding Soviet designer Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev. At that time, PPD-40 was in no way inferior to its domestic and foreign counterparts. 
Designed for a pistol cartridge cal. 7.62 x 25 mm, the PPD-40 had an impressive ammunition load of 71 rounds, housed in a drum-type magazine. Weighing about 4 kg, it fired at a rate of 800 rounds per minute with an effective range of up to 200 meters. However, just a few months after the start of the war it was replaced by the legendary PPSh-40 cal. 7.62 x 25 mm.
The creator of the PPSh-40, designer Georgy Semenovich Shpagin, was faced with the task of developing an extremely easy-to-use, reliable, technologically advanced, cheap to produce mass weapon. 
From its predecessor, the PPD-40, the PPSh inherited a drum magazine with 71 rounds. A little later, a simpler and more reliable sector horn magazine with 35 rounds was developed for it. The weight of the equipped machine guns (both versions) was 5.3 and 4.15 kg, respectively. The rate of fire of the PPSh-40 reached 900 rounds per minute with an aiming range of up to 300 meters and the ability to fire single shots.
To master the PPSh-40, a few lessons were enough. It could easily be disassembled into 5 parts made using stamping and welding technology, thanks to which during the war years the Soviet defense industry produced about 5.5 million machine guns.
In the summer of 1942, the young designer Alexey Sudaev presented his brainchild - a 7.62 mm submachine gun. It was strikingly different from its “bigger brothers” PPD and PPSh-40 in its rational layout, higher manufacturability and ease of manufacturing parts using arc welding. 
PPS-42 was 3.5 kg lighter and required three times less manufacturing time. However, despite the obvious advantages, mass weapons he never did, leaving the PPSh-40 to take the lead.
By the beginning of the war, the DP-27 light machine gun (Degtyarev infantry, 7.62mm caliber) had been in service with the Red Army for almost 15 years, having the status of the main light machine gun of infantry units. Its automation was powered by the energy of powder gases. The gas regulator reliably protected the mechanism from contamination and high temperatures.
The DP-27 could only fire automatically, but even a beginner needed a few days to master shooting in short bursts of 3-5 shots. Ammunition of 47 rounds was placed in a disk magazine with a bullet towards the center in one row. The magazine itself was mounted on top of the receiver. The weight of the unloaded machine gun was 8.5 kg. An equipped magazine increased it by almost another 3 kg.
It was powerful weapon with an aiming range of 1.5 km and a combat rate of fire of up to 150 rounds per minute. In the firing position, the machine gun rested on a bipod. A flame arrester was screwed onto the end of the barrel, significantly reducing its unmasking effect. The DP-27 was serviced by a gunner and his assistant. In total, about 800 thousand machine guns were produced.
Small arms of the Wehrmacht of World War II
The main strategy of the German army is offensive or blitzkrieg (blitzkrieg - lightning war). A vital role it was assigned to large tank formations, carrying out deep breakthroughs of enemy defenses in cooperation with artillery and aviation.
Tank units bypassed powerful fortified areas, destroying control centers and rear communications, without which the enemy quickly lost their combat effectiveness. The defeat was completed by motorized units of the ground forces.
Small arms of the Wehrmacht infantry division
The staff of the German infantry division of the 1940 model assumed the presence of 12,609 rifles and carbines, 312 submachine guns (machine guns), light and heavy machine guns - 425 and 110 pieces, respectively, 90 anti-tank rifles and 3,600 pistols.Wehrmacht small arms generally corresponded high requirements wartime. It was reliable, trouble-free, simple, easy to manufacture and maintain, which contributed to its serial production.
Rifles, carbines, machine guns
Mauser 98K
Mauser 98K is an improved version of the Mauser 98 rifle, developed in late XIX century by the brothers Paul and Wilhelm Mauser, founders of the world famous arms company. Equipping the German army with it began in 1935. 
Mauser 98K
The weapon was loaded with a clip of five 7.92 mm cartridges. A trained soldier could shoot 15 times within a minute at a range of up to 1.5 km. The Mauser 98K was very compact. Its main characteristics: weight, length, barrel length - 4.1 kg x 1250 x 740 mm. The indisputable advantages of the rifle are evidenced by numerous conflicts involving it, longevity and a truly sky-high “circulation” - more than 15 million units.
MP-40 "Schmeisser" assault rifle
Perhaps the most famous Wehrmacht small arms of the Second World War was the famous MP-40 submachine gun, a modification of its predecessor, the MP-36, created by Heinrich Vollmer. However, as fate would have it, he is better known under the name “Schmeisser”, obtained thanks to the stamp on the store - “PATENT SCHMEISSER”. The stigma simply meant that, in addition to G. Vollmer, Hugo Schmeisser also participated in the creation of the MP-40, but only as the creator of the store. 
MP-40 "Schmeisser" assault rifle
Initially, the MP-40 was intended for weapons command staff infantry units, but later it was transferred to the disposal of tankers, armored vehicle drivers, paratroopers and special forces soldiers.
However, the MP-40 was absolutely unsuitable for infantry units, since it was exclusively a melee weapon. In a fierce battle in open terrain, having a weapon with a firing range of 70 to 150 meters meant for a German soldier to be practically unarmed in front of his enemy, armed with Mosin and Tokarev rifles with a firing range of 400 to 800 meters.
StG-44 assault rifle
Assault rifle StG-44 (sturmgewehr) cal. 7.92mm is another legend of the Third Reich. This is certainly an outstanding creation by Hugo Schmeisser - the prototype of many post-war assault rifles and machine guns, including the famous AK-47. 
The StG-44 could conduct single and automatic fire. Its weight with a full magazine was 5.22 kg. IN sighting range- 800 meters - the Sturmgewehr was in no way inferior to its main competitors. There were three versions of the magazine - for 15, 20 and 30 shots with a rate of up to 500 rounds per second. The option of using a rifle with underbarrel grenade launcher and an infrared sight.
Not without its shortcomings. The assault rifle was heavier than the Mauser-98K by a whole kilogram. Her wooden butt couldn't stand it sometimes hand-to-hand combat and just broke down. The flame escaping from the barrel revealed the location of the shooter, and the long magazine and sighting devices forced him to raise his head high in a prone position.
MG-42 caliber 7.92 mm is quite rightly called one of the best machine guns Second World War. It was developed at Grossfus by engineers Werner Gruner and Kurt Horn. Those who have experienced it firepower, were very frank. Our soldiers called it a “lawn mower,” and the allies called it “Hitler’s circular saw.”
Depending on the type of bolt, the machine gun fired accurately at a speed of up to 1500 rpm at a range of up to 1 km. Ammunition supply was carried out using machine gun belt for 50 - 250 rounds. The uniqueness of the MG-42 was complemented by a relatively small number of parts - 200 - and the high technology of their production using stamping and spot welding.
The barrel, hot from shooting, was replaced with a spare one in a few seconds using a special clamp. In total, about 450 thousand machine guns were produced. The unique technical developments embodied in the MG-42 were borrowed by gunsmiths from many countries around the world when creating their machine guns.
And there is a page for live ammunition for it, which is interesting for its originality and is not very well known to fans of the topic. We will talk about “partisan cartridges”. More precisely, how during the Great Patriotic War Our patrons developed an original method for converting captured German cartridges for firing from domestic weapons.
Figure 1. Standard domestic and German cartridges from the Great Patriotic War
Captured German cartridges, namely the 7.92x57 mm Mauser rifle and the 9x19 mm Parabellum pistol cartridges, have been converted for firing from domestic small arms: the first for 7.62 mm Mosin and SVT rifles, as well as a machine gun DP; the second is for the 7.62 mm PPSh and PPD submachine guns, and the TT pistol. The picture (above) shows the “heroes” of this game in pairs. amazing story. More precisely, standard domestic and German cartridges with an indication of their main dimensions. Domestic on the left, German on the right.
Even the first, inexperienced glance at these cartridges says that the task of turning one cartridge into another, to put it mildly, is more like an adventure than a real technical project. Let's try to figure this out.
Until recently, the information available on this issue was scattered, incomplete and did not provide clear answers to all questions.
In the journal “Weapon”, No. 6, 2001 year an interesting article by Pavel Stolyarov “Partisan press. Crazy hands: remaking cartridges in the field."
In November 2012, user Christopher Reid (kris_reid) posted on his blog Livejournal note, presenting to the public for the first time materials discovered in the archives on this topic - a Report on the results of tests in April 1943 of converted German pistol and rifle cartridges, as well as a later Report on tests in May 1943 of the same cartridges at the Scientific Research Site Small Arms Red Army (NIPSVO KA) in Shchurovo near Moscow.
The last missing “brick” for today was a separate chapter devoted to this topic in the first book of the four-volume monograph « Live ammunition small arms", published in 2015.
The author of the monograph, Vladislav Nikolaevich Dvoryaninov, from the end of 1982 worked as the head of the leading cartridge department in the USSR and Russia at TsNIITOCHMASH, replacing Boris Vladimirovich Semin in this position, who was a direct participant in those events.
An interesting document was discovered in his personal archive - “Instructions for a rifle manual press for converting captured cartridges for domestic weapons» , published by the printing house of the publishing house "Sovetskaya Belarus" in the amount of 500 copies, the content of which became the basis for the material for the chapter in the book.
So, 1942-43. There is a war going on. Numerous partisan detachments operate in the occupied territories. At first spontaneously and scatteredly, but by this time it was already much more organized and coordinated. For the prompt and clear management of partisan formations, providing them with all kinds of assistance and supplies, the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (TSSHPD) was created in May 1942. It was headed by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus (Bolsheviks) Panteleimon Kondratyevich Ponomarenko.
Among others, one of the main tasks of the headquarters was to provide the partisans with everything necessary for conducting combat operations. First of all - weapons and ammunition for them. It is well known from history that the partisans experienced real and objective difficulties in this. Only today, from afar, reasoning “sensibly” and theoretically, you can easily send soldiers “to get weapons and ammunition from the enemy.” Of course, the partisans always and at all times obtained trophies and used them successfully. But before you judge the best ways supplies, you need to imagine the real needs for ammunition and real opportunities get serviceable weapon for them in the required quantity.
Weapons were always and in all armies supposed to be collected on the battlefield; the loss of military weapons was a serious offense for which they were severely punished. For example, in the German army, even the loss of a spare barrel for a machine gun was punishable by execution. Therefore, they were worn in special cases with straps, over the shoulder. On the other hand, due to the huge consumption of cartridges, they were supplied in colossal quantities. For example, in only 50 days Battle of Kursk was spent by our troops half a billion rifle and machine gun (more precisely, pistol) cartridges! The expenses of the German army were appropriate. Therefore, getting captured ammunition was much more realistic than getting weapons. And they mined it and reported it to the center...
As follows from archival documents, the head of the Central ShPD Ponomarenko personally “put forward the idea of converting captured ammunition for firing from domestic small arms, using all the elements of captured ammunition: cartridge cases, bullets, gunpowder and primer by recompressing bullets and cartridges”, A “The work to implement the proposed idea was led by Guard Lieutenant Colonel Comrade. Garbuz V.I. and engineer-lieutenant colonel comrade. Trusov S.K.”.
The development of the technology and practical implementation were carried out at Moscow plant No. 44 in Maryina Roshcha (a branch of plant No. 46 in Kuntsevo). More precisely, in the independent cartridge OKB-44, newly separated from it in 1943. The gross production workshop of cartridges directly from plant No. 44 and plant No. 304 also took part in the work.
The idea of our patrons, at its core, was simple and original.
Re-compress the German rifle cartridge so that it is fixed in the chamber of a domestic weapon with the sleeve slope, and not with a rim cap, like our standard 7.62x54 R cartridge. Cut off the excess cartridge case. Re-press the bullet to our caliber, use captured gunpowder.
Figure 2.
In Figure 2, the blue lines show the places where the cartridge cases of both cartridges are fixed in the chamber of the Mosin rifle. On the left is our standard rifle cartridge. It is fixed by a protrusion at the bottom of the sleeve - called a cap or rim. In the center is how a standard German rifle cartridge would be located. There is an error in this sketch - the diameter of the German bullet is larger than the diameter of the bullet entrance in the chamber of the Mosin rifle. But some experts claim that firing German 7.92x57 mm cartridges from it was “possible as is”, without modification... It is clearly seen that even if you “hammer the cartridge all the way”, it will rest against the slope of the cartridge case and will be much longer than ours, protruding outward and preventing the shutter from closing. On the right is a converted trophy cartridge and, also with blue lines, the method of fixing it is indicated.
Figure 3.
The German pistol cartridge and cartridge case are also re-compressed, but “with a twist”: on the converted bullet, arrange a leading belt that will imitate the slope of the cartridge case of our cartridge and fix it in the chamber of a domestic weapon, as shown in Figure 3. Also use a slightly re-compressed original cartridge case with a primer and captured gunpowder.
To implement these ideas, use a basic hand press with sufficient force, a set of dies and punches. Plus a device for unpacking and subsequent assembly of converted cartridges. In principle, everything can be accomplished, including in the conditions of a partisan detachment.
Invented, made, tested.
In April 1943, apparently, the first real tests of the proposed method took place and 1000 cartridges converted with its help were fired. The commission’s report, signed by all the “main” leaders and performers, was very positive. It noted the trouble-free operation of the weapon, normal initial speeds bullets, good accuracy and penetration, correct pressure of powder gases. For pistol cartridges it was noted that “It is advisable to reduce the rate of fire by reducing the charge, because at a high rate of fire, 15 cases of cartridges getting stuck between the bolt and the breech of the barrel were detected per 500 rounds.”.
And the commission's conclusions: “Based on the test results, the commission considers: it is quite possible for partisans to remake captured pistol and rifle cartridges for firing from PPSh machine guns, TT and rifles of the 1891/30 model. To resolve the issue of the possibility of firing from a DP machine gun and an SVT rifle, conduct additional tests.".
The developers, judging by the dates of archival documents, very quickly carried out refinements and improvements in the indicated areas, manufactured and submitted for testing 4,200 pieces of rifle and 2,000 pieces of converted pistol cartridges. Tests were carried out at NIPSVO KA, in Shchurovo, Moscow region, in early May 1943.
Based on the results of the tests, on May 18, 1943, a report from the test site was issued “On the issue of testing German rifle and pistol cartridges converted for domestic weapons. Based on Artcom assignment No. 1204 dated April 23, 1943, Scientific Research Site of Small Arms K.A.” Which is impossible to read without tears. Apparently, few people expected such a failure and the number of problems identified during testing... If only this report were available to us today, then it would be difficult to call such a rework other than a drama and an adventure.
What emerged from these tests?
Firstly , an external inspection of the converted cartridges revealed that they were poorly made - an unacceptably large number of pistol cartridges with cracks in the bullets and cartridges, the bullets were poorly secured and were removed by hand; rifle cartridges are poorly crimped on the muzzle, the casing slopes irregular shape; in size, both differ sharply from the drawings.
Secondly , initial bullet velocities and powder gas pressure for both converted pistol and rifle cartridges are significantly lower than our standard cartridges and the requirements of domestic specifications.
Third , the number of delays when testing firing from a Tokarev automatic rifle mod. 1940 was 100% for a sample of average wear and 39.7% for an unworn one. Degtyarev DP machine gun “did not give automatic fire at all”. When shooting from a TT pistol, up to 14.3% of delays were detected.
Fourthly , when tested by shooting from Mosin rifles mod. 1891/30, very tight closing of the shutter was detected, from 20 to 50% of cases; tight extraction spent cartridges and the need to use a cleaning rod to knock them out of the chamber (in 3% of cases); misfires when shooting from a worn rifle up to 20%; “cartridge sticking and non-reflection of spent cartridges, which reached 34.4% in total in one medium-worn rifle”.
Fifthly provided to replace standard ones, extractors for SVT and DP “made carelessly, do not meet the requirements of the drawings... two rifle extractors (out of three) and one extractor for the DP machine gun (out of two) broke during firing”.
At the same time, the report also noted positive test results:
– the strength of bullet casings and the penetration ability of pistol cartridge bullets are satisfactory. Penetration of 3 rows of 25 mm boards is guaranteed. Accuracy is satisfactory;
– shooting for the reliability of operation of the PPSh and PPD submachine guns was satisfactory;
- pistol bullets were caught in the tow, their belt disappeared, the bullets were of the correct shape, with the exception of the rear, where they were smaller in diameter than the leading part and the rear was somewhat deformed.
But these “pluses” were clearly not enough to recognize the test results as positive, so the conclusions and conclusions in the report were devastating.
"Conclusions [polygon]:
1. German pistol cartridges, converted by OKB-44 for domestic weapons, are unsuitable for firing from TT pistols, but can be used for firing from submachine guns, if the conversion method is improved, as indicated in paragraph 2. Accuracy and penetration are satisfactory.
3. German rifle cartridges converted by OKB-44 for our weapons, in the form in which they were sent to NIPSVO KA, are unsuitable for firing either from a rifle of the 1891/30 and 1940 model (especially the latter), or for firing from light machine gun DP. At the same time, it has been established that the more worn out the weapon is (while still remaining within military tolerances), the more delays when firing are caused by converted cartridges.”
"Conclusion [polygon].
1. The method of converting German pistol cartridges developed by OKB-44 is correct in principle and after modification in the direction indicated in this report, it can be recommended to partisan detachments.
2. The method of converting German rifle cartridges, developed by OKB-44, is unsuitable, since the converted cartridges are not suitable for firing from domestic weapons.
3. OKB-44 should be invited to develop new method reworking captured rifle cartridges, taking into account all the shortcomings revealed by the test on NIPSVO KA and the wishes of the latter and new batch send such cartridges to NIPSVO for secondary testing.
4. NIPSVO KA generally believes that such, even improved, alteration of pistol and rifle cartridges is justified only in the absence of corresponding captured weapons.”
That’s exactly it – no one needs such a rework...
It should be noted here that the “Scientific Research Site of Small Arms of the Red Army” - NIPSVO KA in Shchurovo was in those years one of the most authoritative centers of the USSR in terms of research, development and testing of new systems of small arms and cartridges. Experienced and technically competent military engineers of the training ground knew a lot about their work and enjoyed well-deserved authority. But OKB-44 at Cartridge Plant No. 44 had just been created and had not proven itself in any way by that time. So it was possible to “pass the test” the first time only with perfect results. Although the objectivity of the conclusion and the validity of the test site’s conclusions based on the test results are absolutely obvious.
What's next? Since no one had canceled the task of developing such a method, the idea belonged personally to the head of the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement, and the need for such a rework was obvious, the work had to continue. And they continued.
To be continued...
