Can the PPSh be called a machine gun? Legendary PPSH

Many have probably heard the expression “weapon of victory.” It is important in history Soviet people. This expression united all types of weapons that helped our country in the victory over the Nazis, and also became real symbols of the Russian soldier. This also includes the T-34 tank, anti-tank rifle, legendary installation volley fire"Katyusha" and, of course, the Shpagin submachine gun, also known as "PPSh 41" - an assault rifle, a device, a drawing and a description of which are given in this text.

Story

From the experience of the war in 1939-1940 between the USSR and Finland and the Degtyarev submachine gun then in service, a certain fact became clear. It consisted in the fact that the Red Army needed to be equipped with automatic models and, accordingly, organize their mass production. “PPD-40” and “PPD-38” (Degtyarev submachine guns) were not suitable for such purposes, since they were labor-intensive and required a considerable amount of machine equipment for their production. They also had a shortage of materials and high costs. To replace the PPD, it was necessary to develop a new, cheapest and simplest submachine gun. This question was important.

In 1940, a competition was announced for the invention of a new submachine gun. The tests identified two main rivals. They turned out to be B. G. Shpitalny and G. S. Shpagin. Their models were quite promising. Shpagin won. Its version was adopted for service on December 21, 1940. Its full name was: “Submachine gun of the Shpagin system 7.62 mm mod. 1941 (automatic machine “PPSh 41”).” This is a reliable fact.

The “PPSh 41” - an assault rifle, a device whose drawing and description are given in the text below, went into mass production in the autumn of 1941. Namely, during the climax of the war, when the Red Army was in great need of such weapons. Due to the fact that such a device as the PPSh assault rifle had a simple design, did not use alloy steel and complex special tools, its production was launched at many enterprises in the country that had not previously specialized in weapons production.

The bulk of the parts of such weapons as the PPSh assault rifle were manufactured using the cold stamping method using electric and spot welding. The most complex and expensive part was the drum magazine. It was borrowed from “PPD”, which had a lot of complaints during operation. This slightly delayed the release of such weapons as the “PPSh” - an assault rifle, the drawings of which are presented below for review. After modernization, the drum magazine was replaced with a sector capacity of 35 rounds, and the corresponding sight was replaced with a reversible one, having a firing range of 100 and 200 m. During the war years, about 5.4 million Shpagin submachine guns were produced. U of this weapon Automation works thanks to the recoil of the free shutter. When firing, the barrel bore was locked by the mass of the free bolt, which was pressed by a spring (reciprocating action).

The design of the trigger-type mechanism was such that thanks to it it was possible to fire both single shots and a machine gun burst. The removable drum-type magazine was designed for 71 rounds, as in the Degtyarev submachine gun (“PPD”). Guidance devices open type consisted of a sector sight and front sight. The slide-type safety is located on the bolt handle. This was an important detail. Also in this case there was a slider-type fire mode switch.

"PPSh" machine gun: tactical and technical characteristics

Produced- 1941-1947

Weight- without magazine 3.6 kg, with loaded - 5.3 kg.

Length is 843 mm.

Caliber- 7.62 mm.

Cartridge- 7.62*25 TT.

Maximum range - 400m.

Rate of fire- 1000 shots/min.

Sighting range from 200 to 250m.

Shop: drum - 71 cartridges, sector - 35.

Drawings of the PPSh 41 assault rifle

As already mentioned, they were developed by the Soviet designer G.S. Shpagin. They are shown in the photo below.

Design

It is a "PPSh" automatic firearm hand weapon. It is designed for firing in bursts and single shots. Automation works due to the free recoil of the shutter. This is an important property in this case. In other words, reloading and extraction of the cartridge case occurs after the shot due to the return of the loose bolt. Fire is fired from the rear sear, that is, before the shot, the bolt is in the rear extreme position. Then, after descending, he goes forward, after which he fires the cartridge. The primer is pierced at the moment the last process is completed. The shutter does not lock during firing.

This scheme is often used in the development of devices such as submachine guns. For example, the Israeli-made Uzi works on a similar principle. Although absolutely simple, such a solution requires the use of a massive bolt, which increases the entire mass of the weapon. In addition, a weapon that uses a similar reloading scheme can fire due to a strong impact, for example, when falling. If, due to an impact, the bolt rolls from the front extreme (unfixed) position along the guides further than the cartridge feed window from the magazine or from the rear extreme position, it will break off the stopper.

As in Degtyarev’s weapons, such a device as the PPSh assault rifle has: a receiver, which is fused with the barrel casing, a free massive bolt with a safety lock on the loading handle, and a disk magazine. He also has a wooden stock. But with all this, the PPSh-automatic is more technologically advanced. In this model, only the barrel needs precision mechanical processing, and the bolt was manufactured at lathe with further rough milling. In weapons such as the PPSh (automatic machine), the production of almost all other metal parts can be done by stamping. Here, the barrel casing has a recoil compensator at its front end. That is, in this case there is a beveled plate with a hole for the bullet to pass through. There are through windows on the sides of the casing. Thanks to the reactive action of powder gases when fired, they significantly reduce the effect of recoil and “lifting” of the barrel upward. The scope of this model has only 2 positions. Namely - 200 and 100 m. Since 1942, "PPSh" began to be equipped not with a disk magazine, but with a sector (box-shaped) magazine for 35 rounds.

This was dictated by certain conditions. Namely, the fact that disk-type stores were complex to produce and less reliable. They also demanded adjustments for a specific instance of the machine gun. That is, this part from another similar “PPSh” might not fit. Judging by military photographs, box-type magazines have been seen in troops only since 1944. Next, we will consider the device of the PPSh machine gun in more detail.

Trunk

Inside this part there is a channel with four grooves. They curl up from left to right. There is also a chamber with a bullet entrance. It has a certain bevel at the bottom. This is to set the direction of movement of the cartridge into the chamber.

This trunk contains on the outside:

• There is a curve in the front part. This is to protect against nicks.
• Thickened part. For placement in a receiver box.
• A semicircular notch on the thickened part. This is to secure the barrel in the appropriate box.
• The protrusion is circular. In order to limit the process of barrel advancement when returning to place. This also reduces the perception of bolt shock.

Receiver

This element is the base. It contains the following details:

Namushnik with a front sight.

Receiver box latch.

Swivel swivel.

The front part of the receiver serves as a casing, and the rear part serves as the bolt box cover.

In general, the receiver consists of:

The base of the front sight for attaching a fly-mount to it.

Swivels for attaching a shoulder belt.

Sight pads.

Inserts for guiding the barrel.

Front inclined plane of the casing. It is a muzzle brake.

Longitudinal cutouts on the casing. This is to improve and facilitate air circulation.

Windows in the muzzle brake area to provide exit for powder gases.

Transverse hole for the connecting axis.

Window for ejection of cartridges.

Latch spring stop.

Bottom ledge. This is to limit the drop in the rear receiver area.

Cutouts for fuse.

Two side ledges (to limit the movement of the latch).

Cutout for the bolt handle.

Receiver latch

This element consists of the following parts:

Cap.

Springs.

Hairpins.

The cap has: a hook with an inclined plane; the upper protrusion is semicircular; 2 side holes for the pin to pass through; bends, thanks to which its movement is directed and its forward movement is limited; notch on the back for ease of opening.

The latch spring is a unique part. It performs a specific function. In this case it is a short cylindrical coil spring.

Shutter box

This item has:

Unique lugs for connection to the receiver.

Shop cutout with window.

Vertical groove for magazine latch.

A clip for connecting to the trigger box and the front of the stock.

A window for the disconnector.

A hole for the magazine latch axis.

Window for the trigger-type lever sear.

An oval hole for the protrusion located in the back of the trigger box.

Window (to engage the receiver latch).

Tail with a hole for the corresponding screw.

Window for guide rod.

You should also know that inside the bolt box there is a reflector attached to its front part. It has a certain rigidity.

Gate

This assembled element contains the following parts:

Drummer with wedge.

Ejector with spring.

Lever.

Fuse with spring and tension.

The shutter itself contains the following parts:

A cup for placing the case head.

Vertical groove for ejector.

Combat platoon for contact with the sear.

Longitudinal groove for the ejector spring.

Side notches. They facilitate the movement of the shutter, the collection of dirt and excess lubricant.

Cross rear cut to prevent the receiver latch from hitting the head.

Channel with a rod for a reciprocating spring.

Cartridge rammer.

Groove for the passage of the reflector.

The channel is blind in the cup for the striker.

A transverse groove with a socket and a recess on the handle for placing a fuse with a spring and a bend.

Transverse channel for the striker wedge.

Composition of the return mechanism

These include:

• Guide rod with corresponding washer.
• Recoil spring.
• Shock absorber.

Composition of the trigger mechanism

In this case, the following is required:

• Drummer with a wedge.
• Recoil spring.
• Release lever with axis.
• Fire translator.
• Springs of the above lever.
• Trigger.
• Translator bend with corresponding pin.
• Trigger hook springs.
• Disconnector with axle.
• Bend the specified hook.
• The grounds of the disconnector.
• Compression springs.
• Trigger box.

Description of the cartridge feed mechanism

Everything is quite simple here. The supply of cartridges to the chamber is ensured by a rammer located in the bolt and a magazine borrowed from the PPD.

Next is the mechanism that locks the stem canal. In this case there is also nothing complicated. Locking the barrel channel of a weapon such as a PPSh assault rifle is carried out due to the bolt mass and the pressing force of a reciprocating spring.

Composition of the mechanism for eliminating spent cartridges

This includes availability:

• Ejector.
• Reflector.
• Ejector springs.

Safety devices

This includes certain elements. Namely:

• Fuse.
• Oppression.
• Fuse spring.

The most popular submachine gun of the Red Army during the Second World War was distinguished by its reliability and low cost of production.

In the late 1930s, submachine guns were perceived as a not very successful hybrid of the two other types of small arms that gave it its name. However, the Soviet-Finnish war showed the effectiveness of submachine guns in close combat: the Finnish “Suomi” systems caused a lot of difficulties for our infantry. That is why, already on January 6, 1940, the Red Army adopted its own submachine gun of the Degtyarev system (PPD) for the second time. However, it was, as they say, capricious in production - expensive and labor-intensive, and could only be produced in factories equipped with special equipment. The cost of one model was comparable to the cost of the DP-27 machine gun. That is why the People's Commissariat of Armaments set the Soviet gunsmiths the task of creating a submachine gun that would surpass the PPD-40 in its tactical and technical characteristics, but could at the same time be manufactured at any plant that has low-power pressing equipment.

Models by Shpagin and Shpitalny were submitted to the competition. Boris Shpitalny was a celebrity among gunsmiths: since 1934, he was the head and chief designer of the Special Design Bureau. He became famous for his participation in the development of the ShKAS high-speed aircraft machine gun and the ShVAK aircraft machine gun. Georgy Shpagin was previously known for developing a tape power module for a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun Degtyarev (DK), after modernization, adopted for service under the name “Degtyarev-Shpagin machine gun” (DShK). However, despite the fact that the Shpitalny system submachine gun had the best performance characteristics(for example, the initial speed of bullets was 3.3% higher, and the accuracy was 23% better), Shpagin’s model turned out to be more technologically advanced and more reliable. Even ordinary photos of the PPSh allow one to appreciate the simplicity of its design. If the Shpitalny model required even more time to produce one unit than the PPD - 25.3 hours, then the PPSh was produced in 5.6 hours. PPSh was automatic weapons chambered for 7.62×25 mm TT, operating on the blowback principle. The fire mode switch made it possible to fire both single shots and bursts.

The legendary submachine gun was put into service on December 21, 1940. Its production began in the fall of 1941. During the war years it was modified according to the operating experience gained in combat conditions. For example, the very first PPSh were equipped with drum magazines for 71 rounds from the PPD-40, but due to the high cost of production, they were replaced with sector magazines for 35 rounds in 1942. Last year later they also underwent improvements - at first they were made from a steel sheet 0.5 mm thick, but due to the fact that the metal was easily deformed, the thickness of the sheet was doubled.

During the Great Patriotic War, 1943. Photo: TASS

In total, about 6 million PPSh-41 units were produced during the war years. The key to their popularity is their high firing range, ease of use and low cost of production. In terms of its actual firing range in bursts (about 200 m), the PPSh was far superior average level weapons of this class. A smaller caliber than most foreign submachine guns, combined with a long barrel, provided a significantly higher muzzle velocity of the bullet - 500 m/s (for comparison: the favorite weapon of Chicago gangsters, the Thompson submachine gun, had only 330 m/s), which allowed single fire to confidently hit a target at distances of up to 300 m. Note that the Germans did not have such a reliable and effective submachine gun: the MP 38 and MP 40, originally developed for the needs of paratroopers, did not have comparable combat qualities. Thanks to these qualities, the PPSh became one of the symbols of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.

The PPSh also had disadvantages: significant weight (5.45 kg with a drum for 71 rounds; 4.3 kg with a horn for 35 rounds) and dimensions (the length of the submachine gun was 843 mm). The rate of burst fire was too high - 900 rounds per minute: for this feature the PPSh was nicknamed the “cartridge eater”. In addition, the PPSh was distinguished by a high probability of an involuntary shot when falling on a hard surface. But these shortcomings were not fatal: in fact, the era of the PPSh ended only with the advent of the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle. PPSh-41 was withdrawn from service in 1951. However, the legendary weapons continued to be supplied to countries that the USSR supported. IN North Korea, China and Vietnam they even produced it independently under other names, and in African countries PPSh were used quite recently - until the end of the 1980s.

During the Great Patriotic War, PPSh-41 was the most popular and famous submachine gun in the USSR. The creator of this legendary weapons, whom the soldiers lovingly called “daddy,” was the gunsmith Georgy Shpagin.

Weapon workshop

In 1916, during the First World War, Shpagin served in a weapons workshop, where he qualified as a gunsmith. Under the guidance of the Tula master Dedilov, Shpagin gained initial experience. Later, he himself recalled: “I found myself in an environment that I could only dream of. In the workshop, I spent hours getting acquainted with various types of weapons, domestic and foreign. A most interesting section of artillery equipment opened before me, at the sight of which I felt about the same as dying of thirst in front of a spring of spring water.”

DShK

Georgy Semenovich also made a significant contribution to the creation of 12.7 mm. DShK heavy machine gun. Created by Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev, the machine gun had a rate of fire of about 300 rounds per minute, which was very low for a weapon that was supposed to be used as an anti-aircraft machine gun. Shpagin developed metal machine gun belts for the DShK and a cartridge receiver was designed, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire to 600 rounds per minute. During the war, the DShK performed well as an anti-aircraft machine gun and a weapon for combating lightly armored targets. Until now, in a number of countries, a modernized version of the DShK is in service with the army and navy.

When did the PPSh appear?

Often in films, monumental sculpture and painting, PPSh is shown among Soviet soldiers from the first days of the war. However, in reality, the submachine gun, which has become a legend, appeared in the active army a little later. Officially, the Shpagin system submachine gun model 1941 was adopted for service on December 21, 1940. Production was initially supposed to be established at the hardware factory in Zagorsk, since neither Tula nor Izhevsk had the necessary powerful pressing equipment. Until the fall of 1941, about 3 thousand PPSh were produced, which subsequently reached the front. The documents contain references to the presence of PPSh in October 1941 in the Battle of Moscow. At the same time, production began to improve at a number of Moscow enterprises, whose products late autumn In 1941 she began to enter the active army. True, the number of PPSh at the end of 1941 was still extremely small.

PPSh 2

In the summer of 1942, another Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-2) was field tested. Like its predecessor, it was distinguished by its simplicity and reliability. The weapon was equipped with a detachable wooden butt. The food came from a 35-round sector magazine. Here Shpagin managed to eliminate one of the shortcomings of the previous model - the rather large weight of the weapon. However, it was not possible to achieve high accuracy of fire. As a result, it was noted that the PPSh-2 does not have significant advantages over existing submachine guns, and was officially put into service this sample was not accepted. Apparently, a pilot batch of several hundred units was manufactured, which were later sent to the rear units. Whether PPSh-2 were at the front is a question that awaits its researcher and requires serious painstaking work, which can give the most unexpected results.

How many PPSh were produced?

Still remains open question about the number of submachine guns of the Shpagin system produced in the USSR. Researchers very roughly give a figure of about 5 million units - this is the most popular submachine gun and an example of automatic weapons of the Second World War. There will always be a discrepancy in the estimates, since not all samples produced by the enterprise were accepted by military acceptance. The part was rejected and returned to the factory, and the rejected submachine gun could easily pass through the enterprise twice as a released unit in different times. Not yet full list enterprises that were engaged in the production of PPSh. There are 19 known manufacturers who produced large quantities, but there were a number of enterprises whose production continued extremely a short time and identifying them is extremely difficult. The largest number of PPSh were produced in Vyatskie Polyany (about 2 million) and somewhat less in Moscow, at the ZIS and the calculating machine plant.

PPSh in the world

In addition to the Red Army, the PPSh was actively used in a number of other countries, including opponents of the USSR. It is known that the Germans re-barreled 11 thousand captured PPSh for their 9 mm parabellum cartridge, noting: “In the attack, the MP-40; in defense - PPSh.” IN post-war period was produced in North Korea. One of the first Korean PPSh (version with a disk magazine) was presented to Stalin in 1949 for his 70th birthday.

Confession

Shpagin's activities were awarded the title of Hero in 1945 Socialist Labor. For creating a number of samples small arms Shpagin was awarded the Commander's Order of Suvorov 2nd degree, three Orders of Lenin and the Order of the Red Star. In addition to the PPSh, Shpagin created two samples of a signal pistol in 1943-1945, which were put into service. Georgy Semenovich also took part in the competition to create an assault rifle - a weapon chambered for an intermediate cartridge. In the post-war period, due to the development of stomach cancer, Georgy Semenovich was forced to retire from design activities. The creator of the legendary PPSh passed away on February 6, 1952 at the age of 54. In Vyatskie Polyany, where more than 2 million PPSh-41s were produced during the war, a gunsmith's museum was opened.

The Shpagin submachine gun is not just an example of domestic automatic weapons. PPSh is one of the symbols of the Great Victory.

The submachine gun was developed by G. S. Shpagin (1897-1952) in Kovrov at the State Union Plant No. 2 named after. K. O. Kirkizh and submitted for factory testing on August 20, 1940. By that time, experience required increasing the reliability of submachine guns, and most importantly, creating a more technologically advanced model. Based on the results of field tests, it was indicated that the Shpagin submachine gun “has advantages over the PPD in terms of the reliability of the automation in different conditions operation, simplicity of design and slight improvement in shooting accuracy.” On December 21, 1940, by decree of the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the “7.62-mm submachine gun of the Shpagin system mod. 1941 (PPSh-41)."

For the creation of a submachine gun G. S. Shpagin was awarded Stalin Prize II degree for 1941.

PPSh FROM INSIDE

The PPSh was made according to the traditional “carbine” design of that time with a permanent wooden butt and a metal barrel casing, but in terms of production technology it belonged to a new generation. The automation operated on the basis of the recoil of the free shutter; the shot was fired using the energy of the recoil spring. The receiver, made integral with the barrel casing, served as the cover of the bolt box. The original muzzle brake-compensator is made in the form of a beveled front part of the barrel casing. The trigger mechanism allowed for single and automatic fire. The safety feature was a latch on the bolt handle, which locked the bolt in the forward or rear position.

The PPSh-41 sighting device included a front sight and a sector sight, notched at a range of 50 to 500 m.

MODERNIZATION

Although I received a submachine gun new role in system small arms The Red Army was still auxiliary. In addition, by the beginning of the war, the number of submachine guns in units was far from the regular number. Meanwhile, already at the end of 1941, the conversation turned, in fact, to the creation and armament new army. The simplicity and manufacturability of the PPSh made it possible to speed up both the saturation of the army with automatic weapons and the training of personnel.

However, with the increase in the number of PPSh, the number of complaints from the troops also increased: about the complexity of the drum magazine, the low survivability of individual parts, an excessively high rate of fire, and the system’s accessibility to contamination. The mass of weapons was both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the one hand, it, coupled with the relatively high initial speed bullets - contributed to the accuracy of shooting. On the other hand, a PPSh with two spare discs (210-213 rounds in total) loaded the machine gunner with 9 kilograms.

Experience showed that a submachine gun could fire effectively at ranges of no more than 150-200 m. And in 1942, PPSh with a folding sight with two rear sights went into mass production - at 100 and 200 m. Such a sight was also simpler in production. On February 12, 1942, the PPSh received a sector-shaped box magazine for 35 rounds (“horn”), which was not only easier to manufacture, but also more comfortable to carry. The machine gunner could carry two spare drum magazines in pouches on his belt or six box magazines in two bags.

Other changes in the design of the PPSh were also adopted: the spring fuse of the front sight was replaced with a welded part; the receiver is reinforced with a clip; a modified magazine latch made it more secure; the bore is chrome plated; The shutter shock absorber was made of textolite or parchment leather instead of fiber; butt production is simplified.

PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY

In April 1941, a new building was built at plant No. 2 in Kovrov, then branch No. 1 of the plant was deployed, producing DP machine guns and PPSh submachine guns. In October 1941, in Vyatskie Polyany, on the basis of a bobbin factory and factories evacuated from Zagorsk and Lopasnya, plant No. 385 was organized, which sent the first PPSh to the front at the end of November 1941. So the break in the supply of products from the relocated factories was only 45 days. Plant No. 385 became the lead plant for the production of PPSh, Shpagin was appointed its chief designer. The acceleration of weapon production was facilitated by the transition to the manufacture of barrels using mandrel (broaching) instead of cutting.

During the war, PPSh were produced in Vyatskie Polyany, Moscow, Kovrov, Zlatoust, Voroshilovgrad, Tbilisi, Stalingrad, Leningrad. PPSh barrels were supplied mainly from Izhevsk.

The production of PPSh was even established by the machine gun factory in Tehran, which delivered several tens of thousands of PPSh to the Red Army. In total, during the war, 5,530,000 submachine guns were supplied, and 11,760,000 rifles and carbines, i.e., in terms of the saturation of troops with submachine guns and the scale of their use, the Red Army as a result surpassed the enemy. The PPSh remained in service until it was replaced by the AK assault rifle. But even after that he continued to serve in different countries. Its copies, with some changes, were produced in China, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS PPSh REV. 1941

• Cartridge: 7.62 x 25 TT
• Weight of weapon with cartridges: 5.5 kg
• Weapon length: 840 mm
• Barrel length: 274 mm
• Initial bullet speed: 500 m/s
• Rate of fire: 700-900 rds/min
• Combat rate of fire: 30 rounds/min with single fire, 70-90 rounds/min with automatic fire
• Aimed firing range: 500 m (for the 1942 modification - 200 m)
• Magazine capacity: 71 rounds

The Shpagin system submachine gun became the most popular automatic weapon not only of the Great Patriotic War, but also of the entire Second World War, with which the Red Army literally and figuratively went through its difficult path from Moscow to Berlin.

First, let's define the terminology. What is a submachine gun and how does it differ from a machine gun? A submachine gun is an automatic weapon that can fire in bursts and is chambered for a pistol cartridge.
We often say “company of machine gunners” (not submachine gunners). Although, if we are talking about the Great Patriotic War, in the vast majority of cases we are talking about a submachine gun. An assault rifle is a different weapon, no longer chambered for a pistol, but for an intermediate cartridge.
The first Soviet submachine gun system Degtyareva PPD was put into service in 1934 with a box magazine for 25 rounds. However, it was produced in small quantities, and the weapon itself (and not only in the USSR) was clearly underestimated. The Soviet-Finnish War showed the effectiveness of submachine guns in close combat, so it was decided to resume production of the PPD, but with a 71-round disc. However, PPD-40 was complex and expensive to produce (about 900 rubles), so another model was needed that would combine reliability and ease of production. And the legendary PPSh, created by Georgy Semenovich Shpagin, became such a weapon. The cost of his PPSh in production was 142 rubles.


Submachine gun syst. Shpagina arr. 1941 Alexandra Matrosova at the exhibition of the Central Military Museum (Moscow). The hero had it at the time of his death. Produced at the Moscow Calculating Machine Plant in 1943. The sight is in the form of a reversible rear sight for 100 and 200 meters.
Often in films, monumental sculpture and painting, PPSh is shown among Soviet soldiers from the first days of the war. However, the submachine gun, which actually became a legend, appeared in the active army a little later. Officially, the Shpagin system submachine gun model 1941 was adopted for service on December 21, 1940. Production was initially supposed to be established at the hardware factory in Zagorsk, since neither Tula nor Izhevsk had the necessary powerful pressing equipment. Until the fall of 1941, about 57 thousand PPSh were produced, which reached the front only at the beginning of the Battle of Moscow. At the same time, production began to improve at a number of Moscow enterprises, the products of which began to be supplied to the active army in the late autumn of 1941. True, the number of PPSh at the end of 1941 was still extremely small.
The first PPSh had a sector sight at 500 meters. But it is almost impossible to hit an enemy with a pistol bullet from a TT from 500 meters, and later a reversible sight appeared for 100 and 200 meters. A fire selector is located at the trigger, allowing you to fire both bursts and single shots.


PPSh-41 with a sector magazine for 35 rounds.
Initially, PPSh were equipped with a disk magazine, which was quite heavy and which needed to be loaded with one cartridge at a time, which field conditions it was uncomfortable. In addition, the magazines of the first PPSh-41 were not interchangeable (the number of the weapon was written on the disk, and it might no longer fit a similar PPSh). From March 1942 to large enterprises It was possible to achieve interchangeability of magazines, and since 1942 a sector magazine with 35 rounds of ammunition appeared.
The question of the number of submachine guns of the Shpagin system produced in the USSR still remains open. Researchers, very approximately, give a figure of about 5 million units - this is the most popular submachine gun and an example of automatic weapons of the Second World War. There will always be disagreement in the assessments, since not all samples produced by the enterprise were accepted by military acceptance. Some were rejected and returned to the factory, and such a submachine gun could easily go through the factory twice as a released unit at different times.
There is also no complete list of enterprises that produced PPSh. There are at least 19 known manufacturers who produced large batches, but there were a number whose production lasted for an extremely short time and are extremely difficult to identify. The largest number of PPSh were produced in Vyatskie Polyany (about 2 million) and somewhat less in Moscow, at ZIS and the Moscow Calculating Machine Plant.
The huge number of submachine guns compared to the enemy (PPSh alone more than 5 million) made it possible to create entire companies of machine gunners in the Red Army by the middle of the war. In the Wehrmacht, everything was much more modest - against 5 million PPSh, the enemy produced 760 thousand MP-38 and MP-40 throughout the war.


A fighter with a PPSh-41 equipped with a 500-meter sector sight and a 71-round disc magazine.
As an example of a relatively small regional production, we can recall the PPSh-41, produced by the Baku Machine-Building Plant named after. Felix Dzerzhinsky in the first half of 1942. The submachine gun was equipped with a sector sight for a distance of up to 500 meters. There was no interchangeability of disk magazines, which were customized for each submachine gun. On the barrel casing there is a mark in the form of the letters “FD” enclosed in an oval.
Probably only a few tens of thousands of similar PPSh were produced, which found use only in the battle for the Caucasus. Further use of submachine guns produced in Baku in the Great Patriotic War this moment not traceable. One of these PPSh was found at Shelter 11 on Elbrus, where Lieutenant Grigoryants’ company died in September 1942.
In 1942-1943. The production of PPSh-41 for the Red Army was also carried out at the machine gun factory in Tehran (total production did not exceed 30 thousand). Iranian PPShs were distinguished by the presence of a walnut stock instead of a birch one, and such examples are extremely rarely found in museum collections. These weapons also ended up in Soviet units in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia.


PPSh-2.
In the summer of 1942, another Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-2) was field tested. Like its predecessor, it was distinguished by its simplicity and reliability. The weapon was equipped with a detachable wooden butt (and some with a folding metal butt). The food came from a 35-round sector magazine. Here Shpagin managed to eliminate one of the shortcomings of the previous model - the rather large weight of the weapon. However, it was not possible to achieve high accuracy of fire. As a result, it was noted that the PPSh-2 does not have significant advantages over existing submachine guns, and this model was not officially adopted for service. Apparently, a pilot batch (about 1000 units) was manufactured, which were later sent to the rear units. Whether PPSh-2 were at the front is a question that awaits its researcher and requires serious painstaking work.
During the war years, the production of an analogue of PPSh was also established in large partisan detachments. But for the partisans, the production of this model in comparison with other submachine guns was very difficult. It required the presence of powerful pressing equipment, which, naturally, could not be available in partisan detachments. The second problem was the production of disk magazines, which required the release of a feeder spring, which is very problematic to create outside the factory. Therefore, even homemade PPSh released by partisan detachments most often had factory-made magazines.
But the production of sector magazines with 35 rounds of ammunition for PPSh was, on the contrary, easily mastered in partisan workshops. It is noteworthy that if in factory conditions the production of PPSh was simpler, more technologically advanced and cheaper, then for the partisans the PPD turned out to be more optimal, the main components of which were made from pipes of various diameters. The barrel of the submachine gun was made from the barrels of a Degtyarev machine gun (DP-27) or rifles; a long rifle barrel was sawn into several parts and could be used to produce two or three submachine guns.


PPSh-41 handicraft produced by the partisan detachment named after Alexander Nevsky, Minsk region. 1944. The submachine gun has a homemade sector magazine.
In addition to the Red Army, the PPSh was actively used in a number of other countries, including opponents of the USSR. It is known that the Germans converted 10 thousand captured PPSh to their 9-mm parabellum cartridge, noting: “In the attack, the MP-40; in defense - PPSh.” These samples were converted to use a 32-round MP-40 magazine. By the way, he himself is famous for his films (in real life it was much less common) the German MP-40 did not escape the influence of the PPSh. Very quickly, the Germans copied a safety for their own submachine gun, which held the bolt in the forward position.
In the post-war period, PPSh-41 was produced in North Korea, China and Poland. One of the first Korean PPSh (version with a disk magazine) was presented to Stalin in 1949 for his 70th birthday. IN Soviet army the legendary PPSh-41 will remain in service until 1956.
Literature:
Bolotin D.N. Soviet small arms. M., 1983.
Material part of small arms. Ed. A. A. Blagonravova. Book 1, M., 1945.
Weapon of Victory. Under general ed. V. N. Novikova. M., 1987.
Skorinko G.V., Loparev S.A. Guerrilla weapons. Minsk, 2014.