January 2, 1880 Soviet designer was born small arms Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev. We have prepared a review dedicated to its worldwide famous models weapons.

DP light machine gun



The light machine gun developed by V. A. Dyagterev has been in service since 1928. The 7.62 mm weapon has an effective range of about 1500 meters and a rate of fire of up to 500-600 rounds per minute. There are several modifications with increased power and reliability for firing in special conditions.

Submachine gun Degtyarev



PPD was in service Soviet army in 1934-1942. He had an aiming range of up to 300 m and a rate of fire of about 1000 rounds / min. Initially, submachine guns were exclusively police weapons and were used by the army quite rarely, but in the mid-30s they became the main type of weapon for some types of troops.

DK machine gun



The Dyagterev heavy machine gun, based on the design of the German Dreyse machine gun, was put into service in 1931. It was installed mainly on armored vehicles and ships. The machine gun fired 12.7 × 108 mm cartridges at a speed of up to 450 rounds per minute.

Degtyarev anti-tank rifle



The ATGM, used from 1941 to 1945, was capable of knocking out medium tanks, emplacements and aircraft at distances up to 500 m. The single-shot gun used a 14.5 mm cartridge.

Degtyarev light machine gun



The light machine gun of the Dyagterev system was in service with the Soviet army in 1944-1959. He fired 7.62 mm cartridges with a rate of fire up to 750 rounds / min. The weapon was equipped with a tape magazine for 100 rounds. The maximum effective range was 800 m.

DS-39



The machine gun Dyagterev replaced the outdated by that time legendary "Maxim". The DS-39 was in service from 1939 to 1945. He used the classic 7.62mm cartridge. Maximum effective range shooting reached three kilometers. However, the weapon was not very reliable and was later replaced by a Goryunov machine gun.

DT



The Dyagterev tank machine gun, which was in service in 1929-1959, was one of the modifications of the 1927 DP machine gun. It was installed on many tanks, among which were the T-26 and T-34. He used all the same 7.62 mm cartridges and had a range of up to 800 meters. In 1944, an improved DTM model was developed.

Adopted by the Red Army.

The Degtyarev submachine gun was a fairly typical representative of the first generation of this type of weapon. It was used in the Soviet-Finnish war, as well as at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War.

PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Model:arr. 1934 arr. 1934/38 arr. 1940
Manufacturer:Kovrov Plant No. 2Kovrov Plant No. 2
Sestroretsk Tool Plant, etc.
Cartridge:

7.62×25mm TT
Caliber:7.62 mm
Weight without cartridges:3.23 kg3.75 kg3.63 kg
Weight with cartridges:3.66 kg4.54 kg5.45 kg
Length:777 mm788 mm
Barrel length:273 mm267 mm
Number of grooves in the barrel:4 right hand
Trigger mechanism (USM):Impact type
Operating principle:free shutter
Rate of fire:800 shots/min
Fuse:Safety cocking
Aim:Front sight and sector sightFront sight and sector sight or flip rear sight
Effective range:200 m
Target range:500 m
Muzzle velocity:480–500 m/s
Type of ammunition:Detachable magazine
Number of rounds:25 25, 73 71
Years of production:1934–1938 1939–1940 1940–1942

History of creation and production

After a series of unsuccessful experiments using the 7.62 × 38 mm Nagant cartridge, on July 7, 1928, the Artillery Committee proposed adopting the 7.63 × 25 mm Mauser cartridge for pistols and submachine guns, which was used in the popular Mauser C96 pistol in the USSR. In favor of choosing this cartridge, in addition to its high combat qualities, it was said that the production of 7.62-mm barrels of both pistols and submachine guns could be carried out on the same technological equipment, and the unification along the bore with the Mosin rifle made it possible to use the existing equipment and even defective blanks of rifle "three-line" barrels. In addition, the bottle shape of the sleeve increased the reliability of feeding from the magazine.

At the end of 1929, the Revolutionary Military Council decided that the submachine gun, rated by him as "powerful automatic melee weapon", will be introduced into the weapon system of the Red Army in the near future. The main weapon of the Soviet infantry, according to the decision of the Revolutionary Military Council, was to be a modern self-loading rifle, and an auxiliary submachine gun along with it. In the same 1929, an experienced 7.62 mm Degtyarev submachine gun.

In June-July 1930, a commission headed by division commander V.F. Grushetsky conducted tests of self-loading pistols and experimental submachine guns for new cartridges (the so-called "Competition of 1930"). The results of these tests were generally unsatisfactory, so that none of the samples submitted to it was accepted for service. Nevertheless, its implementation helped to finally determine the requirements for a new type of weapon.

In 1931, the next version of the Degtyarev submachine gun appeared, with a semi-free shutter of a different type, in which the slowdown in the retreat of the shutter was achieved not by redistributing energy between its two parts, but due to the increased friction that occurs between the cocking handle of the shutter and the bevel in front of the cutout under it in the receiver, in which the handle fell after the shutter arrived in the extremely forward position, while the shutter itself turned to the right at a small angle. This sample had a round receiver, more technologically advanced, and the barrel was almost completely covered with wooden lining (instead of a casing).

Finally, in 1932, an even more simplified version appeared, this time with a free shutter. In 1932-1933, a total of 14 samples of 7.62-mm submachine guns were developed and passed field tests, including converted Tokarev, Degtyarev and Korovin submachine guns, as well as newly developed Prilutsky and Kolesnikova. The systems of Degtyarev and Tokarev were recognized as the most successful, but the PPD turned out to be a little more technologically advanced and had a relatively low rate of fire beneficial for this type of weapon.

After revision, in which, in addition to Degtyarev, designers participated G. F. Kubynov, P. E. Ivanov and G. G. Markov, On January 23, 1935, it was approved by the GAU as a model for the manufacture of an experimental batch (30 copies), and on July 9, it was adopted by the Red Army under the name "7.62-mm submachine gun of the 1934 model of the Degtyarev system (PPD)". In the same year, production began on Kovrov Plant No. 2(named after K. O. Kirkizh).

Most military experts of that time, both in the USSR and abroad, considered the submachine gun as a "police", and when used by the army - a purely auxiliary weapon. In accordance with these ideas, and also due to the rather low manufacturability and lack of development of the sample itself in mass production, it was initially produced in small batches and entered service mainly with the command staff of the Red Army as a replacement for revolvers and self-loading pistols (the rank and file at about the same time began to re-equip with another type automatic weapons, - automatic and self-loading rifles). In 1934 Kovrov Plant No. 2 made 44 copies of the PPD, in 1935 - only 23, in 1936 - 911, in 1937 - 1,291, in 1938 - 1,115, in 1939 - 1,700, in total - a little more 5,000 copies.


As can be seen from the scale of production, the Degtyarev submachine gun in the first years of its production was still, in fact, a prototype, on which the methods of production and use of new weapons by the troops were worked out. In 1935-37, the PPD underwent extended military tests, which revealed a number of shortcomings, and as a result, in 1938-39, the weapon was modernized, receiving the designation "submachine gun model 1934/38. Degtyarev systems". It is also sometimes referred to as "2nd sample", and the sample of 1934 - "1st Sample".

Meanwhile, when trying to increase the production of PPD, it turned out that it was quite complex structurally and technologically, which prevented the establishment of its mass production.

By order of the Art Administration on February 10, 1939, the PPD was removed from the production program of 1939, orders to factories for its production were canceled, and the copies available in the Red Army were concentrated in warehouses for better preservation in case of a military conflict, and the submachine guns in storage prescribed “provide[s] with an appropriate amount of ammunition” and "keep in order"(ibid.). A certain amount of PPD was used to arm the border and escort troops, sometimes there are even reports that their insignificant production was kept for these purposes.

The attitude towards submachine guns changed dramatically during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. Impressed by the actions of Finnish submachine gunners armed with Suomi submachine guns, the command of the Red Army not only used all PPD-34 and Fedorov assault rifles made back in the 1920s, but also organized the delivery of submachine guns that the border guards had to the front by planes. The production of submachine guns was transferred to three-shift work with the full use of all equipment.


Improving the design of weapons continued. On February 15, 1940, Degtyarev presented a modernized sample of the PPD, developed with the participation of the designers of the Kovrov plant S. N. Kalygin, P. E. Ivanov, N. N. Lopukhovsky, E. K. Aleksandrovich and V. A. Vvedensky.

This variant was approved for production on February 21, 1940 by the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars and put into service as "Submachine gun of the 1940 model of the Degtyarev system". Its release began in March of the same year. In total, 81,118 PPDs were produced in 1940, which made its 1940 modification the most massive. The army received significant quantities of this type of weapon.

PPD was produced at the beginning of World War II, but already at the end of 1941 it was replaced by a more advanced, reliable and much more technologically advanced Shpagin submachine gun, the development of which was started in parallel with the deployment of the mass production of PPD, in 1940. PPSh was originally designed for the possibility of production on any industrial enterprise, which has low-power press equipment, which turned out to be very useful during the Great Patriotic War.


The Red Army men lay down in the snow, waiting for the signal. In the foreground, in the hands of a fighter, a PPD-40 submachine gun,
the fighter on the left has a Tokarev self-loading rifle (SVT-40)

Meanwhile, the production of PPD in initial period war was temporarily restored in Leningrad on Sestroretsk Tool Plant named after S. P. Voskov and, from December 1941, factory them. A. A. Kulakova. In addition, on Kovrov plant in the experimental workshop, about 5,000 more PPDs were manually assembled from the available parts. In total, in 1941-1942, 42,870 PPDs were manufactured in Leningrad - the so-called "blockade release", "blockade", they went into service with the troops of the Leningrad and Karelian fronts.

Subsequently, the production of a more advanced and technologically advanced Sudayev submachine gun was carried out at the same production facilities.

Variants and modifications



Design and principle of operation

The submachine gun operates on the basis of automatic blowback. The barrel bore is locked by the mass of the bolt spring-loaded by a return spring. Shooting is carried out from the rear sear. The trigger mechanism provides single and continuous fire. To switch the fire mode, the trigger mechanism has an appropriate translator, made in the form of a flag located in front of the trigger guard. On one side of the flag is a number "1" or inscription "one"- for single shooting, on the other - the number "71" or inscription "cont."- for shooting with automatic fire.

Submachine gun PPD-34 / PPD-34/38 (USSR)

Machine gunner Galya Maksimova with a PPD-34 submachine gun, winter 1942

The design of submachine guns in the USSR began in the mid-1920s. On October 27, 1925, the Red Army Armaments Commission substantiated the need to equip submachine guns for junior and middle officers, and on December 28, 1926, the Artillery Committee Artillery Directorate Red Army approved specifications manufacture of the first submachine guns. On July 7, 1928, the Artillery Committee proposed to adopt the 7.63 × 25 mm Mauser cartridge for pistols and submachine guns, which was used by the German self-loading pistol Mauser C-96, which had enough great popularity in the USSR. This cartridge had sufficiently high fighting qualities, but in addition, the use of this cartridge made it possible to produce barrels for 7.62-mm submachine guns and rifles on the same equipment, use the existing equipment and even defective blanks for rifle "three-line" barrels. The reliability of the supply of cartridges from the magazine to the chamber was increased by the bottle shape of the sleeve.

At the end of 1929, by a decree of the Revolutionary Military Council, the submachine gun will be introduced into the weapon system of the Red Army in the near future. The submachine guns were rated as "powerful close combat automatic weapons". By decision of the Revolutionary Military Council, the main weapon of the infantry was to be a modern self-loading rifle, and a submachine gun as an auxiliary. In the same 1929, an experimental submachine gun designed by Degtyarev under a 7.62 mm cartridge was created. The cartridge itself was the same 7.63 × 25 Mauser cartridge with minor changes and received the designation 7.62 × 25. By design, the Degtyarev submachine gun had a significant resemblance to his own light machine gun - a bolt with divergent lugs and a disk magazine located flat on top. The commission headed by division commander V.F. Grushetsky at the Scientific Testing Weapons Range tested self-loading pistols and experimental submachine guns for new cartridges in June-July 1930. None of the presented samples was adopted, however, these tests helped to finally determine the requirements for a new type of weapon.

The next version of the Degtyarev submachine gun was created in 1931. It had a semi-free shutter, like the previous version, but slowing down the shutter retreat was carried out not by redistributing energy between its two parts, but by means of increased friction that occurred between the cocking handle and the bevel in front of the cutout under it in the receiver. The handle fell into this cutout after the shutter arrived in the extreme forward position. The shutter at this moment turned to the right at a small angle. This option received a round-section receiver, which was distinguished by greater manufacturability. In 1932, Degtyarev created a simplified version with a blowback. In 1932-1933. 14 samples of 7.62-mm submachine guns were developed and passed field tests. Among them were improved Tokarev, Degtyarev and Korovin submachine guns, as well as new Prilutsky and Kolesnikov. The designs of Degtyarev and Tokarev turned out to be the most successful, but the Degtyarev model was somewhat more technologically advanced and had a relatively low rate of fire, more suitable for this type of weapon.

On January 23, 1935, after debugging the sample, in which, in addition to Degtyarev, designers P.E. Ivanov, G.F. Kubynov and G.G. Markov, the submachine gun was approved by the GAU for the production of an experimental batch of 30 copies. On July 9, 1935, the model was adopted by the Red Army under the name "7.62-mm submachine gun of the 1934 model of the Degtyarev system" or PPD-34. In the same year, the production of a submachine gun was started at the Kovrov Plant No. 2. Due to the low manufacturability and lack of development of the sample itself in mass production and the then prevailing notions that the submachine gun was predominantly a "police" weapon, the release was carried out only in small batches , and the Degtyarev submachine gun itself entered service mainly with the command staff of the Red Army as a replacement for revolvers and self-loading pistols. In 1934, Kovrov Plant No. 2 produced 44 copies of PPD-34, in 1935 - 23, in 1936 - 911, in 1937 - 1291, in 1938 - 1115, in 1939 - 1700. That is, in general, a little more than 5000 pieces.

In 1935-1937. the PPD-34 submachine gun was subjected to extended military tests, which revealed a number of shortcomings. As a result, in 1938-1939. PPD-34 has been upgraded. At the attachment point of the store, the stock was reinforced by introducing a metal guide neck welded to the bar with its latch, which increased the reliability of its connection. Stores began to be made interchangeable. We also strengthened the mount of the sight. After these improvements, the weapon received the name "submachine gun of the 1934/38 model. Degtyarev's systems. At the same time, given the experience of using submachine guns in such armed conflicts as the Chaco war and Civil War in Spain, showing the increased role of submachine guns in modern hostilities, the Artillery Committee indicated that: “... it is necessary to introduce a submachine gun into service with certain categories of fighters of the Red Army, the NKVD border guard, machine gun and gun crews, some specialists, airborne troops, car drivers etc."

However, during the increase in the production of PPD, the excessive complexity of its design and manufacturing technology, as well as its high cost, was revealed. At the same time, it was supposed to carry out: “... the development of a new type of automatic weapon under pistol cartridge continue for a possible replacement of the obsolete RPM design." By order of the Art Administration on February 10, 1939, the PPD was removed from the 1939 production program. The copies available in the Red Army were concentrated in warehouses for better preservation in case of a military conflict, and the samples in storage were instructed to “provide the appropriate amount of ammunition” and “keep in order”. Some of these weapons were used to arm the border and escort troops. Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 ( winter war) became a new stage in the development of submachine guns in the USSR. The Finns were armed in relatively small quantities with a very successful Suomi M / 31 submachine gun designed by A. Lahti.

But despite the lack of numbers, the enemy very skillfully used these weapons in the difficult conditions of fighting on the Mannerheim Line, which made a great impression on the rank and file and command personnel of the Red Army. It was during the war with Finland in the USSR that the mass production of submachine guns was launched and work was intensified on the creation of new models of it. The Degtyarev submachine guns, stored in warehouses and in service with the border guards, were urgently transferred to the units fighting in Finland. A month after the start of the war, at the end of December 1939, at the direction of the Main Military Council, the production of PPD was launched again, and on January 6, 1940, by a decree of the Defense Committee, the improved PPD was again adopted by the Red Army. But in mass production, one PPD with a set of spare parts and accessories cost 900 rubles in 1939 prices, despite the fact that a DP light machine gun with spare parts and accessories cost 1,150 rubles. As a result, during the deployment of mass production, some changes were made to the design of these weapons, aimed at technological simplification, reduction in cost and acceleration of production. The designation "arr. 1934/38" retained, however, the modernized sample was already a different weapon, since its design was thoroughly redesigned, and the sample itself was even different in appearance.

The changes made to the design include the shape of the ventilation holes in the barrel casing and their number - 15 long instead of 55 short, a striker fixed in the bolt cup instead of a separate drummer on the axis, a tubular blank receiver instead of a milled one in early models, simplified, made up of stamped parts, a simplified fuse, a simplified ejector with a leaf spring, a trigger guard instead of a milled one-piece blank, a simplified bed. However practical use showed that a simplified version of the bolt with a fixed striker is unreliable and allows delays in firing, as a result of which a separate striker was reintroduced from April 1, 1940. In addition to the 25-round sector magazine, a 73-round disk magazine was introduced.

The disk store was very similar in design to the Finnish Suomi store, but with one important difference - soviet submachine gun has a long solid wooden box, which houses the neck of the store, while the "Suomi" box only reached the store, which was inserted directly into the slot of the bolt box. As a result, the Degtyarev submachine gun store has a protruding neck at the top for the possibility of adjoining a receiver designed for a box magazine. A special flexible pusher served to supply the last 6 rounds from the magazine to the process. This design sometimes it allowed jamming when feeding cartridges, which was eliminated only when the magazine was removed from the weapon. But in the conditions of hostilities, even in this form, the modernized weapon was adopted as a temporary measure. A more capacious store made it possible to use the weapon in combined arms combat to repel an enemy attack at close range, creating a high density of fire on it. The above shortcomings were eliminated by Degtyarev together with a number of other designers in February 1940. The new weapon was designated PPD-40.

Automation PPD works according to the scheme with a free shutter. The trigger mechanism allows firing bursts and single shots from an open bolt. Switching between fire modes was carried out using the rotary flag of the fire mode translator, located in front of the trigger guard on the right. The barrel is closed with a round steel casing, a wooden stock. On samples of 1934 and 1934/38. the stock is one-piece, for the 1940 model it is split. Cartridges are fed from box-shaped curved magazines with a double-row arrangement of cartridges or drum magazines with a capacity of 71 cartridges. Drum magazines for PPD-34 and PPD-34/38 had a protruding neck, with which the magazines were inserted into the receiver. Degtyarev submachine guns had a sector sight, which allowed them to fire at a distance of up to 500 meters. There was a manual safety on the cocking handle that blocked the bolt in the forward or rear position.

Specifications PPD-34/38

Caliber: 7.62×25

Weapon length: 777 mm

Barrel length: 273 mm

Weight without cartridges: 3.75 kg.

Rate of fire: 800 rds / min

Magazine capacity: 25 or 71

Submachine guns

The Degtyarev submachine gun of the 1934 model (PPD-34) is the first weapon of this type adopted by the Red Army. His path from the creation of the first prototype to series production dragged on for several years. Total produced PPD-34 is small, and, according to all estimates, is only about 5000 pieces. Only a few copies of this rare weapon have survived to this day. The more interesting it is to find documents about different ways, which the designer tried to follow when developing his brainchild.

So, one of the options for PPD-34 assumed the abandonment of the barrel casing, which gave a slight reduction in the weight of the structure. If such an option were approved, all submachine guns developed later in the USSR could have a different look. The famous weapon of the Victory - the Shpagin PPSh-41 submachine gun - would also most likely have a different, less recognizable look.

In the autumn of 1934, from September 9 to November 15, comparative tests of two variants of mass-produced submachine guns of the Degtyarev system were carried out at the Research Weapons and Machine-Gun Range of the Red Army (NIOP) in Shchurovo near Moscow. One of them had a light barrel casing, the other had a ribbed barrel without a casing.

The serial batch of PPD, made in 1934, consisted of only 44 pieces. The submachine guns of this batch were intended for various tests, design development and manufacturing technology. The landfill received PPD No. 17 (with a casing) and PPD No. 28 (with a ribbed barrel).

PPD-34 with a barrel cover (from the collection of the Museum of Russian military history in Padikovo, Istra district of the Moscow region)

It was necessary to determine the accuracy of the battle, the practical rate of fire, the reliability and reliability of the operation of the weapon mechanisms. Upon successful completion of these test stages, it was supposed to determine which of the barrel and casing options would be mass-produced in the future. Comparison during testing was carried out with a sample tested at NIOP earlier in 1932.

Significant changes were made to the new samples. So, the guide tray of the receiver was welded (on earlier and later samples, it, apparently, was attached with pins). On the aiming bar, divisions with the numbers 5, 10, 15, ..., 45, 50 were applied, which corresponded to firing distances of 50 m, 100 m, 150 m, ..., 450 m, 500 m. A latch was made on the rear screw of the stop, which eliminated the problem with self-loosening of the screw.

The submachine gun No. 28 with a ribbed outer surface of the barrel and without a casing, the base of the front sight was put on the barrel. The weight of the No. 17 submachine gun was reduced by 65 grams compared to earlier models, which was achieved mainly by lightening the bolt by 40 grams. The weight of the #28 submachine gun has been reduced by 110 grams.


Submachine gun Degtyarev with a ribbed barrel (RGVA)

Shooting for definition initial speed submachine guns were produced with 7.63 × 25 mm Mauser cartridges of foreign production, 1934 issue. The average initial speed was 513 m / s, which was more than previously tested (477 m / s).

The rate of fire was determined by the Tokarev device. The firing results showed that PPDs No. 17 and No. 28 had a rate of fire equal to 900 rounds per minute, while in the summer of 1932 an experimental PPD showed a rate of fire of 800 rounds per minute. The increase in the rate of fire in the tested PPDs occurred due to a decrease in the weight of the shutter and an increase in the muzzle velocity of the bullet.

An increase in the rate of fire led to a deterioration in the accuracy of combat during automatic fire, especially when firing from a prone position, from the hand. Shooting to determine the accuracy of the battle was carried out at a distance of 100 meters: single fire, groups of 2-4 shots and continuous fire, three turns for each type of shooting and 20 rounds in each turn. The results of the shooting showed that the accuracy of the battle of the tested PPDs is somewhat better than the accuracy of the previously tested samples.

The improvement in the accuracy of combat when firing from the tested samples was attributed to the improvement in the quality of cartridges (in 1932, the PPD was fired with cartridges of domestic production, which had a number of shortcomings), as well as to the qualities of the shooter, who had better mastered the shooting technique.


Head target No. 11, 30s, USSR

The determination of the practical rate of fire was carried out by aimed shooting at targets with single, small groups and continuous fire, taking into account all the elements of shooting and changes in dispersion radii. Shooting was carried out at a distance of 100 meters from the shooting bench by shooters of different training.

A shooter with little training showed a single fire rate of 18–19 rounds per minute, groups of 25–26 and continuous fire of 65. A well-trained shooter was able to achieve a single fire rate of 31 rounds per minute, groups of 69, continuous fire of 104 rounds per minute.

The shooter of small training in groups showed an increase in practical rate of fire by 1.4 times, while accuracy worsened by 1.65 times. When firing with continuous fire, the practical rate of fire turned out to be 3.5 times greater, and the accuracy was 3.2 times worse. The comparison was made with a single fire. Under similar firing conditions, in comparison with a single fire, a well-trained shooter when firing in groups showed a practical rate of fire 2.2 times higher, accuracy worse 1.4 times. When firing with continuous fire, the practical rate of fire increased by 3.4 times, and the accuracy was worse by 2.2 times.

From this, the conclusion was drawn: for a shooter of small training, fire in groups is less powerful compared to a single fire, for a shooter of good training, fire in groups gives only a slight deterioration in accuracy compared to a single fire, but the rate of fire increases significantly.

The probabilities of hitting the head target at 100 meters were obtained as follows (for a trained shooter):

  • with a single fire P = 0.75 (practical rate of fire 31 shots per minute);
  • when fired in groups P=0.60 (practical rate of fire 69 rounds per minute);
  • with continuous fire P = 0.33 (practical rate of fire 104 rounds per minute).


The neck of the PPD-34 magazine (from the collection of the Museum of Russian Military History in Padikovo, Istra District, Moscow Region)

Shooting for serviceability and trouble-free operation of automation was carried out with a large number of shots - 5000 from PPD No. 17 and 1000 from PPD No. 28. The barrel was cooled with water after every 100 shots. In addition, after every 1000 shots, the accuracy of the battle was shot from a distance of 100 meters in three bursts and the barrel was measured with caliber gauges.

As a result, after testing PPD No. 17 after 5000 shots, the barrel remained almost unchanged, there were no breakdowns of parts. For the entire series of 5000 shots, there were 90 delays, which is 1.8%.


Regular PPD-34 magazine (below) and modified by NIOP (above)

Most of the delays were attributed to the poor fit of the magazine, which allowed rolling in the nest. To test this assumption, the design of one of the stores was finalized and another 2000 shots were fired. The version turned out to be correct: only two cases of skew were recorded. After that, it was concluded: if we exclude delays caused by poor fit of the magazine, then for 5000 shots there will be a total of 44 delays, or 0.88%, which entirely depend on the design of the submachine gun itself.

PPD No. 28 for 1000 shots had 15 delays, or 1.5%. As a result, it was concluded that the tested PPDs are satisfactory in terms of structural strength and reliability of operation.


Shop PPD-34 (from the collection of the Museum of Russian Military History in Padikovo, Istra District, Moscow Region)

The PPDs were tested by shooting for the reliability of the automation when dusted, at elevation angles of 80–90 ° and with grease. The shooting results showed that in a dusty state and at angles of 80–90 °, submachine guns work normally, and in the presence of thick lubricant they do not work at all due to the slow movement of the bolt forward, due to which the striker receives very negligible energy and gives continuous misfires.

In the conclusions, it was noted that both with thick lubrication and with carbon deposits on the shutter, the speed of the latter, when approaching the hemp of the barrel, quickly drops, and, consequently, the energy of the striker decreases to an even greater extent, i.e. with this design of the impact mechanism, automation is very sensitive to contamination.

With regard to the ease of use of the new PPD, no changes were noted compared to the previously tested samples, but for convenience and the possibility of prone shooting from the hand in the PPD without a casing, it was necessary to make a small clip from below in front of the magazine to protect left hand from burns, because on the butt in this area there was too little room for the fingers of the left hand, and therefore the thumb and forefinger lay on the barrel casing.


Serial PPD-34 manufactured in 1936, the fuse is visible (from the collection of the Museum of Russian Military History in Padikovo, Istra District, Moscow Region)

In addition, when handling PPD, cases of arbitrary shooting were possible when inserted into the socket of a magazine with cartridges due to the fact that the shutter in the closed position is not held by anything. When a submachine gun with a magazine (not in a case) was behind the back, it was possible for the bolt handle to catch on foreign objects and, accordingly, cock the bolt and fire. For example, when landing on a horse, a cavalryman could hook the shutter handle on a nearby rider or horse. To prevent such cases, it was necessary to provide shutter lag, which would hold the shutter closed.

In conclusion, a point was indicated that determined the further type of submachine guns in the USSR:

“Of the two tested PPDs (with and without a casing), NIOP Polygon considers it more appropriate to focus on a sample with a casing as representing the greatest convenience in use (carrying over the shoulders, it better protects the shooter from accidental burns). Moreover, in production relation the absence of a casing does not give any special advantages.

The article was written on the basis of the documents of the RGVA

PPD-40

Submachine gun Degtyarev

On July 7, 1928, the Artillery Committee proposed to adopt the 7.63 × 25 mm Mauser cartridge for pistols and submachine guns, which was used in the popular Mauser K-96 pistol in the USSR.
In 1929 Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev made a sample for this cartridge. In fact, it was a smaller version of his own light machine gun DP-27. Ammunition was placed in a disc magazine for 44 cartridges, mounted on top of the receiver, the breech was locked by a bolt with sliding combat larvae. Degtyarev's model was rejected, including due to heavy weight and too high a rate of fire.
In 1931, the next version of the Degtyarev submachine gun appeared, also with a semi-free shutter, but of a different type, in which the slowdown of the shutter retreat was achieved not by redistributing energy between its two parts, but due to the increased friction that occurs between the cocking handle of the shutter and the bevel in the front part of the cutout under it in the receiver, into which the handle fell after the shutter arrived in the extreme forward position, while the shutter itself turned to the right at a small angle. This sample had a round-section receiver, more technologically advanced, and the barrel was almost completely covered with wooden lining.

The submachine gun of V. A. Degtyarev, created in 1929 on the basis of the DP-27 machine gun of his own design, had a semi-free shutter with lugs diverging to the sides, a receiver and a disk magazine very similar to the DP.

Finally, by 1932, an even more simplified version appeared, this time with a free shutter. It was on July 9, 1935 that he was accepted for arming the command staff of the Red Army under the index PPD-34 .

PPD-34

PPD-34 belongs to the type of automatic weapon operating on the principle of recoil of a free shutter with a fixed barrel. The reliability of locking the bore with the bolt at the time of the shot is ensured by the large mass of the bolt and the force of the reciprocating mainspring. The pressure of the powder gases on the bottom of the sleeve gives the shutter the energy necessary to extract the spent cartridge case from the chamber, move the shutter to its rearmost position and compress the return spring. The movement of the bolt to the forward position, the removal of the cartridge from the magazine and its introduction into the chamber are carried out by the action of a reciprocating mainspring. Shooting from a submachine gun can be done both with single shots and with automatic shots, which is achieved by installing an interpreter in the trigger mechanism.

The receiver, called in those days simply a box, was a hollow cylinder that served to connect the parts of a submachine gun. He had a screwed stump in front for connection with the casing.

In the hemp, a screwed hole was cut perpendicular to the axis of the box for the length of the locking screw. The inner channel of the hemp is also threaded for attaching the barrel.

The casing had 55 short slotted holes.

In the front bottom of the casing, six (in early samples - seven) round holes were made: one large central one for the passage of the barrel and five small ones around the circumference around the central hole - for cleaning the casing and the outer walls of the barrel. On top of the front of the casing there was a tide, cut into a dovetail. The tide served as the basis for attaching the front sight.

Two windows were chosen in the cylindrical part of the box: one for ejecting spent cartridges, the other for the store. On the left side of the front cylindrical part of the box, a square window was made for the exit of the shoulder of the drummer. On the left side, behind the window for the store, there was a longitudinal window in the box, through which a reflector was passed radially into the box.
On the right side of the box, a through longitudinal groove was chosen for the passage of the bolt handle; the groove had two local rectangular widenings for attaching the bolt to the fuse in the forward position and in the cocked position. From the bottom of the back of the box there was a longitudinal window for the passage of the trigger lever.

At the back, a butt plate was screwed onto the box, which served as the bottom of the box and the stop of the reciprocating mainspring.

Protection against accidental shots was carried out by a fuse on the loading handle and cutouts in the bolt box, which included a fuse tooth.

PPD-34 with a drum magazine, often mistaken for PPD-34/38

Magazine PPD-34/38: Drum magazines for PPD-34/38 had a protruding neck that was inserted into the magazine receiver hidden in the stock. Stores for PPD-40 did not have a protruding neck.

However, the high cost of production did not allow PPD-34 become a mass model, and until 1939 only 5084 copies were produced: in 1934 - 44 copies in 1935 - a total of 23, in 1936 - 911, in 1937 - 1,291, in 1938 - 1,115 , in 1939 - 1,700. And in February 1939, submachine guns were not only removed from service with the Red Army, but even removed from the troops.

 The command considered that the appearance of self-loading rifles eliminated the need for submachine guns in service. In addition, it was even cheaper to manufacture PPD- 880 rubles against 900.

13-year-old scout Vova Yegorov with his PPD. Behind the belt of the son of a regiment of grenades. April 1942.

The bitter lesson of the Soviet-Finnish war was needed, when enemy soldiers with Suomi submachine guns of the A. Lahti system of the 1931 model with magazines for 20 and 71 cartridges delivered a lot of trouble to our soldiers. It was then that they had to urgently deliver to the front both the decommissioned ABC-36s, and the Fedorov assault rifles remaining in the warehouses, and even those very light Tokarev carbines. The Degtyarev "machine guns" were also returned to the troops. And not only returned, but also set up their mass production. In a few days, Degtyarev, I. Komaritsky, E. Chernenko and V. Shchelkov created a capacious disk magazine for 73 rounds. And already on February 15, 1940, Degtyarev submitted to the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR a modernized PPD with a split stock and a disk magazine without a neck, which received the designation Pravda, while it became impossible to use sector “horns” from PPD-34. In addition to the split lodge, PPD-40 different from

PPD-34 the shape and number of holes in the casing: 15 long instead of 55 short.


Red commander with PPD during the breakthrough of the blockade. The photo was taken by TASS photojournalist Vsevolod Tarasevich.

At the beginning of the blockade, production PPD temporarily restored in Leningrad at the Sestroretsk instrumental plant named after S.P. Voskov, and in December 1941, the plant named after A.A. Kulakov joined Sestroretsk. In addition, at the Kovrov plant, in the experimental workshop, about 5,000 more PPD. In total, in 1941-1942, 42,870 PPD. "Blockade" entered service with the troops of the Leningrad and Karelian fronts. Many PPD Leningrad production instead of a sector sight had a simplified folding, simplified fuse and a number of other minor differences.