List of artillery of the ussr of the second world war. Soviet artillery aces WWII artillery
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The fighters of these units were envied and - at the same time - sympathized with. “The trunk is long, life is short”, “Double salary - triple death!”, “Farewell, Motherland!” - all these nicknames, hinting at high mortality, went to the soldiers and officers who fought in the anti-tank artillery (IPTA) of the Red Army.
The calculation of the anti-tank guns of senior sergeant A. Golovalov is firing at German tanks. In recent battles, the calculation destroyed 2 enemy tanks and 6 firing points (the battery of Senior Lieutenant A. Medvedev). The explosion on the right is the return shot of a German tank.
All this is true: both the salaries increased by one and a half to two times for the IPTA units on the staff, and the length of the barrels of many anti-tank guns, and the unusually high mortality among the artillerymen of these units, whose positions were often located near, or even in front of the infantry front ... But the truth and the fact that anti-tank artillery accounted for 70% of the destroyed German tanks; and the fact that among the artillerymen awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, every fourth is a soldier or officer of anti-tank units. In absolute terms, it looks like this: out of 1744 gunners - Heroes of the Soviet Union, whose biographies are presented in the lists of the Heroes of the Country project, 453 people fought in anti-tank fighter units, the main and only task of which was direct fire at German tanks ...
Keep up with the tanks
In itself, the concept of anti-tank artillery as a separate type of this kind of troops appeared shortly before the Second World War. During the First World War, conventional field guns were quite successful in fighting slow-moving tanks, for which armor-piercing shells were quickly developed. In addition, until the beginning of the 1930s, tank reservations remained mainly bulletproof, and only with the approach of a new world war began to intensify. Accordingly, specific means of combating this type of weapon were also required, which became anti-tank artillery.
In the USSR, the first experience of creating special anti-tank guns came at the very beginning of the 1930s. In 1931, a 37 mm anti-tank gun appeared, which was a licensed copy of a German gun designed for the same purpose. A year later, a Soviet semi-automatic 45 mm cannon was installed on the carriage of this gun, and thus a 45 mm anti-tank gun of the 1932 model - 19-K appeared. Five years later, it was modernized, resulting in a 45-mm anti-tank gun of the 1937 model of the year - 53-K. It was she who became the most massive domestic anti-tank gun - the famous "forty-five".
Calculation of the M-42 anti-tank gun in battle. Photo: warphoto.ru
These guns were the main means of combating tanks in the Red Army in the prewar period. Since 1938, anti-tank batteries, platoons and divisions were armed with them, which until the autumn of 1940 were part of rifle, mountain rifle, motorized rifle, motorized and cavalry battalions, regiments and divisions. For example, the anti-tank defense of the rifle battalion of the pre-war state was provided by a platoon of 45-millimeter guns - that is, two guns; rifle and motorized rifle regiments - a battery of "forty-five", that is, six guns. And as part of the rifle and motorized divisions, since 1938, a separate anti-tank division was provided - 18 guns of 45 mm caliber.
Soviet gunners are preparing to open fire with a 45-mm anti-tank gun. Karelian front.
But the way things began to unfold fighting The Second World War, which began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, quickly showed that anti-tank defense at the divisional level could be insufficient. And then the idea came up to create anti-tank artillery brigades of the High Command Reserve. Each such brigade would be a formidable force: the regular armament of the 5,322-man unit consisted of 48 76 mm guns, 24 107 mm caliber guns, as well as 48 85 mm anti-aircraft guns and another 16 37 mm anti-aircraft guns. At the same time, there were no actual anti-tank guns in the staff of the brigades, however, non-specialized field guns, which received regular armor-piercing shells, more or less successfully coped with their tasks.
Alas, by the beginning of World War II, the country did not have time to complete the formation of anti-tank brigades of the RGC. But even unformed, these units, which came at the disposal of the army and front commands, made it possible to maneuver them much more efficiently than anti-tank units in the state of rifle divisions. And although the beginning of the war led to catastrophic losses throughout the Red Army, including in artillery units, due to this, the necessary experience was accumulated, which rather soon led to the emergence of specialized anti-tank units.
Birth of artillery special forces
It quickly became clear that regular divisional anti-tank weapons were not capable of seriously resisting the Wehrmacht’s tank spearheads, and the lack of anti-tank guns of the required caliber forced light field guns to be rolled out for direct fire. At the same time, their calculations, as a rule, did not have necessary training, which means that sometimes they acted insufficiently effectively even in favorable conditions for them. In addition, due to the evacuation of artillery factories and the massive losses of the first months of the war, the shortage of main guns in the Red Army became catastrophic, so they had to be disposed of much more carefully.
Soviet artillerymen roll 45-mm M-42 anti-tank guns, following in the ranks of the advancing infantry on the Central Front.
In such conditions, the only right decision was the formation of special reserve anti-tank units, which could not only be put on the defensive along the front of divisions and armies, but maneuvered by them, throwing them into specific tank-dangerous directions. The experience of the first war months spoke about the same. And as a result, by January 1, 1942, the command of the army in the field and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command had one anti-tank artillery brigade operating on the Leningrad Front, 57 anti-tank artillery regiments and two separate anti-tank artillery divisions. And they really were, that is, they actively participated in the battles. Suffice it to say that following the results of the battles of the autumn of 1941, five anti-tank regiments were awarded the title of "Guards", which had just been introduced in the Red Army.
Soviet gunners with a 45 mm anti-tank gun in December 1941. Photo: Museum of Engineering Troops and Artillery, St. Petersburg
Three months later, on April 3, 1942, a resolution of the State Defense Committee was issued, introducing the concept of a fighter brigade, main task which was the fight against the tanks of the Wehrmacht. True, its staff was forced to be much more modest than that of a similar pre-war unit. The command of such a brigade had three times fewer people at its disposal - 1795 fighters and commanders against 5322, 16 76-mm guns against 48 in the pre-war state, and four 37-mm anti-aircraft guns instead of sixteen. True, twelve 45-mm cannons and 144 anti-tank rifles appeared in the list of standard weapons (they were armed with two infantry battalions who were part of the brigade). In addition, in order to create new brigades, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief ordered within a week to review the lists of personnel of all military branches and "withdraw all junior and private personnel who previously served in artillery units." It was these fighters, having undergone a short retraining in the reserve artillery brigades, that formed the backbone of the anti-tank brigades. But they still had to be understaffed with fighters who did not have combat experience.
The crossing of the artillery crew and the 45-mm anti-tank gun 53-K across the river. The crossing is carried out on a pontoon of landing boats A-3
By the beginning of June 1942, twelve newly formed fighter brigades were already operating in the Red Army, which, in addition to artillery units, also included a mortar battalion, an engineering mine battalion and a company of machine gunners. And on June 8, a new GKO decree appeared, which reduced these brigades to four fighter divisions: the situation at the front required the creation of more powerful anti-tank fists capable of stopping German tank wedges. Less than a month later, in the midst of the summer offensive of the Germans, who were rapidly advancing to the Caucasus and the Volga, the famous order No. 0528 was issued “On renaming anti-tank artillery units and subunits into anti-tank artillery units and establishing advantages for the commanders and rank and file of these units.”
Pushkar elite
The appearance of the order was preceded by a great deal of preparatory work, concerning not only calculations, but also how many guns and what caliber the new units should have and what advantages their composition would enjoy. It was quite clear that the fighters and commanders of such units, who would have to risk their lives daily in the most dangerous areas of defense, needed a powerful not only material, but also a moral incentive. Assign new units during the formation of the title of guards, as was done with units rocket launchers“Katyusha”, did not, but decided to leave the well-established word “fighter” and add “anti-tank” to it, emphasizing the special significance and purpose of the new units. For the same effect, as far as we can judge now, the introduction of a special sleeve insignia for all soldiers and officers of anti-tank artillery was calculated - a black rhombus with crossed golden trunks of stylized Shuvalov "unicorns".
All this was spelled out in the order in separate paragraphs. The same separate clauses prescribed special financial conditions for new units, as well as norms for the return of wounded soldiers and commanders to duty. So, the commanding staff of these units and subunits was set one and a half, and the junior and private - a double salary. For each downed tank, the crew of the gun was also entitled to a cash bonus: the commander and gunner - 500 rubles each, the rest of the calculation numbers - 200 rubles each. It is noteworthy that initially other amounts appeared in the text of the document: 1000 and 300 rubles, respectively, but the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin, who signed the order, personally reduced the prices. As for the norms for returning to service, the entire commanding staff of the anti-tank destroyer units, up to the division commander, had to be kept on special account, and at the same time, the entire staff after treatment in hospitals had to be returned only to the indicated units. This did not guarantee that the soldier or officer would return to the very battalion or division in which he fought before being wounded, but he could not end up in any other units other than anti-tank destroyers.
The new order instantly turned the anti-tankers into the elite artillery of the Red Army. But this elitism was confirmed by a high price. The level of losses in anti-tank fighter units was noticeably higher than in other artillery units. It is no coincidence that anti-tank units became the only subtype of artillery, where the same order No. 0528 introduced the position of deputy gunner: in battle, crews that rolled out their guns to unequipped positions in front of the defending infantry and fired at direct fire often died earlier than their equipment.
From battalions to divisions
New artillery units they quickly gained combat experience, which spread just as quickly: the number of anti-tank fighter units grew. On January 1, 1943, the anti-tank artillery of the Red Army consisted of two fighter divisions, 15 fighter brigades, two heavy anti-tank regiments, 168 anti-tank regiments and one anti-tank battalion.
Anti-tank artillery unit on the march.
And for the Battle of Kursk, Soviet anti-tank artillery received a new structure. Order No. 0063 of the People's Commissariat of Defense dated April 10, 1943 introduced in each army, primarily the Western, Bryansk, Central, Voronezh, South-Western and Southern Fronts, at least one anti-tank regiment of the wartime army staff: six batteries of 76-mm guns, that is, a total of 24 guns.
By the same order, one anti-tank artillery brigade of 1215 people was organizationally introduced into the Western, Bryansk, Central, Voronezh, South-Western and Southern Fronts, which included an anti-tank regiment of 76-mm guns - a total of 10 batteries, or 40 guns, and a regiment of 45-millimeter guns, which was armed with 20 guns.
Guards artillerymen rolling a 45-mm anti-tank gun 53-K (model 1937) into a prepared trench. Kursk direction.
The relatively quiet time that separated the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad from the beginning of the battle on the Kursk Bulge was used by the Red Army command to the fullest extent possible to complete, re-equip and train the anti-tank fighter units. No one doubted that the coming battle would largely rely on the massive use of tanks, especially new German vehicles, and it was necessary to be prepared for this.
Soviet gunners at the 45 mm M-42 anti-tank gun. In the background is the T-34-85 tank.
History has shown that the anti-tank units had time to prepare. The battle on the Kursk Bulge was the main test of the artillery elite for strength - and they withstood it with honor. And the invaluable experience, for which, alas, the fighters and commanders of anti-tank fighter units had to pay a very high price, was soon comprehended and used. It was after the Battle of Kursk that the legendary, but, unfortunately, already too weak for the armor of the new German tanks, the "magpies" began to be gradually removed from these units, replacing them with 57-mm ZIS-2 anti-tank guns, and where these guns were not enough, on the well-proven divisional 76-mm guns ZIS-3. By the way, it was the versatility of this gun, which proved itself well both as a divisional gun and as an anti-tank gun, along with the simplicity of design and manufacture, that allowed it to become the most massive artillery piece in the world in the history of artillery!
Masters of "firebags"
In ambush "forty-five", 45-mm anti-tank gun model 1937 (53-K).
The last major change in the structure and tactics of using anti-tank artillery was the complete reorganization of all fighter divisions and brigades into anti-tank artillery brigades. By January 1, 1944, there were as many as fifty such brigades in the anti-tank artillery, and in addition to them, there were 141 anti-tank artillery regiments. The main weapons of these units were the same 76-mm ZIS-3 guns, which the domestic industry produced at an incredible speed. In addition to them, the brigades and regiments were armed with 57-mm ZIS-2 and a number of "forty-fives" and 107 mm caliber guns.
Soviet artillerymen from the units of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps fire at the enemy from a camouflaged position. In the foreground: 45-mm anti-tank gun 53-K (model 1937), in the background: 76-mm regimental gun (model 1927). Bryansk front.
By this time, the fundamental tactics combat use anti-tank fighter units. The system of anti-tank areas and anti-tank strongholds, developed and tested even before the Battle of Kursk, was rethought and finalized. The number of anti-tank guns in the troops became more than sufficient, experienced personnel were enough for their use, and the fight against Wehrmacht tanks was made as flexible and effective as possible. Now the Soviet anti-tank defense was built on the principle of "fire bags", arranged on the paths of movement of German tank units. Anti-tank guns were placed in groups of 6-8 guns (that is, two batteries each) at a distance of fifty meters from each other and were masked with all care. And they opened fire not when the first line was in the zone of confident defeat enemy tanks, but only after it included virtually all attacking tanks.
Unknown Soviet female soldiers from the anti-tank artillery unit (IPTA).
Such "fire bags", taking into account the characteristics of anti-tank artillery guns, were effective only at medium and short combat distances, which means that the risk for gunners increased many times over. It was necessary to show not only remarkable restraint, watching how German tanks were passing almost nearby, it was necessary to guess the moment when to open fire and fire as quickly as the capabilities of technology and crew forces allowed. And at the same time, be ready to change position at any moment, as soon as it was under fire or the tanks went beyond the distance of confident defeat. And to do this in battle, as a rule, had to be literally on hand: most often they simply did not have time to adjust the horses or cars, and the process of loading and unloading the gun took too much time - much more than the conditions of the battle with the advancing tanks allowed.
The crew of Soviet artillerymen fires from a 45-mm anti-tank gun of the 1937 model (53-K) at a German tank on a village street. The number of the calculation gives the loader a 45-mm sub-caliber projectile.
Heroes with a black diamond on the sleeve
Knowing all this, one is no longer surprised at the number of heroes among the fighters and commanders of anti-tank fighter units. Among them were real gunners-snipers. Such as, for example, the gun commander of the 322nd Guards Anti-Tank Regiment of the Guard, Senior Sergeant Zakir Asfandiyarov, who accounted for almost three dozen fascist tanks, and ten of them (including six "Tigers"!) He knocked out in one battle. For this he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Or, say, the gunner of the 493rd anti-tank artillery regiment, Sergeant Stepan Khoptyar. He fought from the very first days of the war, went with battles to the Volga, and then to the Oder, where in one battle he destroyed four German tanks, and in just a few January days of 1945 - nine tanks and several armored personnel carriers. The country appreciated this feat: in April, the victorious forty-fifth, Khoptyar was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Hero of the Soviet Union gunner of the 322nd Guards Fighter Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the Guard Senior Sergeant Zakir Lutfurakhmanovich Asfandiyarov (1918-1977) and Hero of the Soviet Union gunner of the 322nd Guards Fighter Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the Guard Sergeant Veniamin Mikhailovich Permyakov (1924- 1990) are reading the letter. In the background, Soviet gunners at the 76-mm ZiS-3 divisional gun.
Z.L. Asfandiyarov on the front of the Great Patriotic War since September 1941. Particularly distinguished himself during the liberation of Ukraine.
On January 25, 1944, in the battles for the village of Tsibulev (now the village of Monastyrishchensky district of the Cherkasy region), a gun under the command of the guards senior sergeant Zakir Asfandiyarov was attacked by eight tanks and twelve armored personnel carriers with enemy infantry. Having let the enemy attacking column into direct range, the gun crew opened aimed sniper fire and burned all eight enemy tanks, of which four were Tiger-type tanks. The senior sergeant of the guard Asfandiyarov himself destroyed one officer and ten soldiers with fire from personal weapons. When the gun went out of action, the brave guardsman switched to the gun of the neighboring unit, the calculation of which failed and, having repelled a new massive enemy attack, destroyed two tanks of the Tiger type and up to sixty Nazi soldiers and officers. In just one battle, the calculation of the guards of senior sergeant Asfandiyarov destroyed ten enemy tanks, of which six were of the Tiger type and over one hundred and fifty enemy soldiers and officers.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 2386) was awarded to Asfandiyarov Zakir Lutfurakhmanovich by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 1, 1944.
V.M. Permyakov was drafted into the Red Army in August 1942. At the artillery school he received the specialty of a gunner. From July 1943 at the front, he fought in the 322nd Guards Anti-Tank Regiment as a gunner. He received his baptism of fire on the Kursk salient. In the first battle, he burned three German tanks, was wounded, but did not leave his combat post. For courage and steadfastness in battle, accuracy in defeating tanks, Sergeant Permyakov was awarded the Order of Lenin. He especially distinguished himself in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine in January 1944.
On January 25, 1944, in the area at the fork in the road near the villages of Ivakhny and Tsibulev, now the Monastyrishchensky district of the Cherkasy region, the calculation of the guards of senior sergeant Asfandiyarov, in which sergeant Permyakov was the gunner, was among the first to meet the attack of enemy tanks and armored personnel carriers by infantry. Reflecting the first onslaught, Permyakov destroyed 8 tanks with accurate fire, of which four were tanks of the Tiger type. When the positions of the artillerymen approached the enemy landing, he entered into hand-to-hand combat. He was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield. Having beaten off the attack of machine gunners, he returned to the gun. When the gun failed, the guards switched to the gun of a neighboring unit, the calculation of which failed and, repelling a new massive enemy attack, destroyed two more Tiger-type tanks and up to sixty Nazi soldiers and officers. During a raid by enemy bombers, the gun was broken. Permyakov, wounded and shell-shocked, was sent to the rear unconscious. On July 1, 1944, Sergeant Veniamin Mikhailovich Permyakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 2385).
Lieutenant General Pavel Ivanovich Batov presents the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal to the commander of an anti-tank gun, Sergeant Ivan Spitsyn. Mozyr direction.
Ivan Yakovlevich Spitsin has been at the front since August 1942. He distinguished himself on October 15, 1943 when crossing the Dnieper. Direct fire, the calculation of Sergeant Spitsin destroyed three enemy machine guns. Having crossed to the bridgehead, the artillerymen fired at the enemy until a direct hit broke the gun. Artillerymen joined the infantry, during the battle they captured enemy positions along with cannons and began to destroy the enemy from his own guns.
On October 30, 1943, Sergeant Spitsin Ivan Yakovlevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1641).
But even against the background of these and hundreds of other heroes from among the soldiers and officers of anti-tank artillery, the feat of Vasily Petrov, the only one among them twice Hero of the Soviet Union, stands out. Drafted into the army in 1939, right on the eve of the war he graduated from the Sumy Artillery School, and met the Great Patriotic War as a lieutenant, platoon commander of the 92nd separate artillery battalion in Novograd-Volynsky in Ukraine.
Captain Vasily Petrov earned his first "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union after crossing the Dnieper in September 1943. By that time, he was already deputy commander of the 1850th anti-tank artillery regiment, and on his chest he wore two orders of the Red Star and a medal "For Courage" - and three stripes for wounds. The decree on awarding Petrov the highest degree of distinction was signed on the 24th, and published on December 29, 1943. By that time, the thirty-year-old captain was already in the hospital, having lost both hands in one of the last battles. And if not for the legendary Order No. 0528, which ordered the return of the wounded to anti-tank units, the freshly baked Hero would hardly have got a chance to continue fighting. But Petrov, who was always distinguished by firmness and perseverance (sometimes dissatisfied subordinates and superiors said that he was stubborn), achieved his goal. And at the very end of 1944 he returned to his regiment, which by that time had already become known as the 248th Guards Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment.
With this regiment of the guard, Major Vasily Petrov reached the Oder, crossed it and distinguished himself by holding a bridgehead on the western bank, and then participating in the development of the offensive on Dresden. And this did not go unnoticed: by decree of June 27, 1945, for the spring exploits on the Oder, artillery major Vasily Petrov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time. By this time, the regiment of the legendary major had already been disbanded, but Vasily Petrov himself remained in the ranks. And he remained in it until his death - and he died in 2003!
After the war, Vasily Petrov managed to graduate from Lviv State University and military academy, received the degree of candidate of military sciences, rose to the rank of lieutenant general of artillery, which he received in 1977, and served as deputy chief missile troops and artillery of the Carpathian military district. As the grandson of one of General Petrov's colleagues recalls, from time to time, going for a walk in the Carpathians, the middle-aged commander managed to literally drive his adjutants who could not keep up with him on the way up ...
Memory is stronger than time
The post-war fate of anti-tank artillery completely repeated the fate of all the Armed Forces of the USSR, which changed in accordance with the changing challenges of the time. Since September 1946, the personnel of anti-tank artillery units and subunits, as well as anti-tank rifle subunits, ceased to receive increased salaries. The right to a special sleeve insignia, which the anti-tankers were so proud of, remained ten years longer. But it also disappeared over time: the next order to introduce a new uniform for the Soviet army canceled this patch.
Gradually, the need for specialized anti-tank artillery units also disappeared. Cannons were replaced by anti-tank guided missiles, and units armed with these weapons appeared on the staff of motorized rifle units. In the mid-1970s, the word “fighter” disappeared from the name of the anti-tank units, and twenty years later, the last two dozen anti-tank artillery regiments and brigades disappeared along with the Soviet army. But whatever the post-war history of Soviet anti-tank artillery, it will never cancel the courage and feats with which the fighters and commanders of the anti-tank artillery of the Red Army glorified their kind of troops during the Great Patriotic War.
Aspect
So, we will talk about aces-gunners. How they became, we will find out a little later. In the meantime, please read the lines from a letter to the author of one veteran veteran of the Great Patriotic War: "Pilots, with superiority of the enemy, could withdraw from the battle, as well as tankers under certain conditions. Artillerymen did not have such an opportunity. They were destined in every battle - or stop enemy, or perish." Artillerymen often fought to the death, especially in initial period German aggression against the USSR, when the tank and motorized columns of the Nazi troops rushed into the depths of our country. It was then that the performance records of the Soviet "gods of war" were set, often in one or two battles.
FIRST - NIKOLAY SIROTININ
On that day, Lieutenant of the Wehrmacht Hensfald, who later died near Stalingrad, wrote in his diary: “July 17, 1941, Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening they buried an unknown Russian soldier. He alone, standing at the cannon, shot a column of our tanks and infantry for a long time And so he died. Everyone marveled at his bravery."
Yes, this Soviet soldier was buried by the enemy. With honours. Much later it turned out that it was the gun commander of the 137th Infantry Division of the 13th Army, Senior Sergeant Nikolai Sirotinin. He accomplished the feat at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
Having voluntarily volunteered to cover the withdrawal of his unit, Nikolai took up an advantageous firing position, from which the highway, a small river and a bridge across it were clearly visible, opening the way to the east for the enemy. At dawn on July 17, German tanks and armored personnel carriers appeared. When the lead tank reached the bridge, a gunshot rang out. The war machine burst into flames. The second shell hit another, closing the column. There was a traffic jam on the road. The Nazis tried to turn off the highway, but several tanks immediately got stuck in a swamp. And senior sergeant Sirotinin continued to send shells at the target. Black puffs of smoke enveloped the column. The enemy brought down powerful fire on the Soviet gun. A second group of tanks approached from the west and also opened fire. Only after 2.5 hours, the Nazis managed to destroy the cannon, which managed to fire almost 60 shells. At the battlefield, 10 German tanks and armored personnel carriers burned down, many enemy soldiers and officers died.
The soldiers of the 137th Rifle Division, who took up defensive positions on the eastern bank of the river, had the impression that a full-strength battery was firing at the tanks. And only later did they learn that a single gunner was holding back the column of tanks.
BROTHERS LUKANINS
It should be noted that artillerymen, including anti-tankers, fought not only with armored vehicles, they had to destroy pillboxes and other enemy fortifications, support infantry, and conduct street battles. However, today we are talking about those who have destroyed and set fire to tanks, assault guns and armored personnel carriers.
The first in the line of artillery aces are the natives of the Kaluga region, the Lukanin brothers - Dmitry and Yakov. The first was the commander, and the second was the gunner of the 197th Guards Artillery Regiment of the 92nd Guards Rifle Division. During the war they destroyed 37 tanks and assault guns, many other military equipment, about 600 enemy soldiers and officers. And therefore they are contenders for the palm among the Soviet artillery aces. Their 152-mm howitzer-gun model 1937, with which they traveled thousands of front-line kilometers, is installed in St. Petersburg in one of the halls of the Military History Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Signal Corps.
For the first time, having entered into single combat with enemy tanks in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, on July 9, 1943, the brothers hit four enemy vehicles.
The Lukanins glorified their name in the battles for the Right-Bank Ukraine on the Steppe Front. On October 15, 1943, 13 enemy tanks with machine gunners moved to the southwestern outskirts of the village of Kaluzhino, Dnepropetrovsk region. Letting the enemy in close quarters, the brothers knocked out two cars with the first shots. On the other hand, 8 more tanks advanced. From a distance of 100-200 m, the Lukanins burned four of them. An attempt by the enemy to break into the village was repulsed. For this feat, Dmitry and Yakov are awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
“October 15, at night, at 4 o’clock, we took up a firing position. At that time I was the commander of the gun, and brother Yakov was the gunner,” Dmitry Lukanin recalled that battle. “The enemy was at a distance of 700-800 meters from us, in forest. Our observation post was located on a small hill, 30 meters behind us. The division commander, Captain Smorzh, noticed a concentration of German tanks from the NP, warned us and ordered us to prepare armor-piercing shells. We quickly complied with the order. And just a few minutes later, Captain Smorzh transmitted the order: "Lukanins, tanks. Get ready for battle!" Here, 200 meters remain to the front, and I command: "On the head - fire!" A shot - and the head car spun in place. However, others continue to move forward. released within just a few minutes, and 6 fascist tanks remained motionless in front of our position, 200-100 meters away. We destroyed a good third of the attacking tanks. Composure helped us to defeat the enemy, as well as the fact that the enemy did not see us well, because only it was getting lighter. Moving targets were easier to detect. Besides, we were accurate shots..."
With their howitzer-cannon, the Lukanins went through the entire war, and therefore the score (they kept it themselves) grew.
And now briefly about the champions. The twin brothers Yakov and Dmitry Lukanin were born in 1901 in the village of Lyubilovo, Kaluga Region. They lived together, at school they sat at the same desk. In 1920, they were called together to serve in the border troops. After being transferred to the reserve, they worked at various construction sites in the country. In the Urals, in particular, they were known as excellent masons. The war found the brothers at one of the factories in Pervouralsk. From here, on the same day, September 3, 1942, they left for the active army. And at the front, the twins are inseparable. They fought in one regiment from Stalingrad to Vienna. One shell wounded them, they were treated in the same hospital. By one Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 24, 1944, they were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, the Lukanins lived in the Kaluga region. The village where they were born is renamed Lucanino.
GUARD CORPORAL BISEROV
The second result and record among anti-tank gunners belongs to the anti-tank gunner of the 207th Guards Rifle Regiment (70th Guards Rifle Division, Central Front), Guard Corporal Kuzma Biserov. Near the village of Olkhovatka (Ponyrovsky district Kursk region) On July 6, 7 and 8, 1943, he destroyed 22 Nazi tanks. That's how it was.
Early in the morning on July 6 to the defense site of the 207th guards regiment German tanks broke through - T-III and T-IV, which were initially considered to be "Tigers", since they were equipped with hinged screens to protect against cumulative projectiles. Firing on the move, armored vehicles moved to the firing positions of a platoon of 45-mm anti-tank guns of the 2nd rifle battalion. The enemy is within reach. At the head tank, even black and white crosses. The command sounds, and corporal Kuzma Biserov sends a forty-five shell into the German car. "Tiger" - not "Tiger", but german tank don't take it right away. And yet the second shot is striking. Suddenly, an enemy truck with infantry appeared from behind a bend in the road. Corporal Biserov hit him with shrapnel. He caught fire. Tanks coming from behind began to bypass him. Kuzma Biserov took aim at one of them. Shot - and the Germans began to jump out of the padded armored monster. The shells began to burst in it.
But now the explosion is already at the position of the gunners. The T-IV on the right almost covered the gun. The calculation was covered with earth, blinded, and the tank confidently moved forward. A little more, and he will crush the calculation. 80 meters, 75. "Fire!" shouts the crew commander. Biserov again at the sight. A shot is fired. The German car stumbled, froze and burst into flames. Command: "Change position!" They picked up the gun and rolled it forward - closer to the enemy. And in the old place, enemy shells were already bursting. Tanks (these were T-IIIs and T-IVs) already in a new place stumbled upon the blows of Soviet anti-tank guns, we emphasize, forty-five. It should be noted that the improved ones - the 1942 model, the armor penetration of which, compared with the 45-mm PT of 1937, increased by almost one and a half times. From a distance of a kilometer, forty-five M-42s pierced armor 51 mm thick, and from a distance of 500 m - 61 mm. And the gunners skillfully used their weapons. Tangible losses in this direction came as a surprise to German tankers. The first attack failed. However, it was followed by the second, third ... But the crew of the anti-tank gun was at its best.
13 enemy tanks remained in place.
The night from 7 to 8 July passed quietly. Only scouts were active. But at dawn on the 8th it all started again. Again, the bombs of the Junkers that had broken through here flew from the sky, the shells tore at the already wounded ground. The rumble of tanks was approaching, turning into a continuous powerful rumble. The enemy brought new forces into battle - units of the 2nd and 4th tank divisions.
After a few hours of battle, the Nazis broke into our advanced trenches. Now only grenade explosions, rifle and pistol shots, short automatic bursts were heard. And artillery hit enemy vehicles - one tank caught fire after another. It was very difficult for the anti-tankers. The sun was scorching, but the red-hot gun breathed even hotter, the tunics had long since withered - the salt from the soldiers' backs came out onto the fabric.
Armor-piercing, charge! shouted Kuzma.
A shot followed, and the tank stopped, engulfed in flames.
However, in the gun crew for a long time no one heard the command: everyone acted as best he could and could. Again there were tanks, infantry.
A dozen armored vehicles burned in front of Biserov's cannon.
By the end of July 8, Corporal Biserov already had 22 wrecked Wehrmacht tanks on his account. The commander of the Guards Rifle Division thanked Kuzma Biserov.
The fighting did not end there, the Battle of Kursk continued. On July 25, the 207th Guards Rifle Regiment again held the line. The tanks were moving again, followed by the infantry.
Biserov did not have time to deploy the gun. There was a deafening explosion. The weapon is out of order. There was a rifle and grenades. Kuzma grabbed his rifle and, clinging to the ground, opened fire on the advancing infantry. Here one infantryman fell, the second ... And then ...
And then a self-propelled gun came at him. Biserov took aim, wanted to get into the viewing slot. But the gunshot rang out earlier.
Here is such a simple feat. It would be possible to find other words for this, perhaps stronger, more capacious, more colorful. But would it be true? The truth here, I think, is one. There were tanks, and Biserov repulsed their attacks with the calculation. Reflected firmly. This guy, apparently, had innate resilience, then he defended his land, but otherwise, I repeat, he was lucky. There were tanks and there were a lot of them ...
How did he, Kuzma Biserov, become the anti-tank champion? An ordinary rural guy, like most were at the front, and suddenly ... You get to know his biography better, with his short life and you come to the conclusion - he became a record holder because he was an ordinary guy. Because he was born in the village of Kvalyashur, in Udmurtia, in 1925. Because he graduated from the seven-year school in the village of Kuliga, the FZO school in Votkinsk. Because he worked at the Kez station of the Perm railway. And because, finally, in 1942 he studied at a tank school, and became a forty-five gunner. It happened.
What is his high achievement?
In the Olkhovatka area, the blow was delivered by selected units of the Nazi Panzerwaffe. And he stood.
The superiority of the enemy was enormous. But Biserov held on.
The enemy is stronger. And Biserov died. But 22 German armored vehicles made of Krupp steel remained on Kursk soil. Since July 1943, the enemy had to retrain 22 tank crews.
This is a great achievement. The plot of a feat must be written in gold on marble. However, this has been partially done. Kuzma Biserov became a Hero - Hero of the Soviet Union. Such a high rank was awarded posthumously to the gunner of an anti-tank gun on September 8, 1943. For unparalleled courage and heroism shown in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, near the village of Olkhovatka.
ALEXANDER SEROV AND OTHERS
The third result among gunners was for the gunner of the 8th battery of the 636th anti-tank artillery regiment of the 9th anti-tank artillery brigade, Private Alexander Serov (he accounted for 18 destroyed tanks and 1 assault gun) and the gun commander of the 122nd Guards Artillery Regiment (51- I am a Guards Rifle Division, Voronezh Front) of the Guards foreman Alexei Vlasov (19 enemy tanks).
The fateful lot decreed that Alexander Serov had to engage in a fierce battle with the enemy in the first days of the war in the Baltic states, southwest of Siauliai. The anti-tankers of the regiment saddled the highway leading to the city on June 19, having left for the exercise. On June 22, at their positions, they received news of the beginning of the war, and on the 23rd, in the afternoon, the 636th regiment attacked 50 enemy armored vehicles with motorized infantry. The regiment commander Boris Prokudin, a participant in the fighting on the Khalkhin Gol River, competently organized the defense. That is why the first few shots stopped the attackers.
It was then that Alexander Serov opened his account. His 76mm cannon was attacked by a large group of fascist tanks. In order to hit for sure, the gunner let the cars up to a close distance and fired at the nearest one. She puffed. Alexander aimed the gun at another, at the third ... 11 tanks were hit when a fragment of an enemy shell wounded Serov. However, even then he did not leave his place at the gun, continued to fire and destroyed seven more tanks. The mastery of the combat specialty had an effect - Alexander sent each shell to the target, and the enemy did not expect this at all and could not recover from such a meeting for a long time. Only the second wound forced Serov to release the battle cord from his hands. Something like this looks like a picture of that fierce battle, in which the gunner set an absolute record - 18 wrecked enemy vehicles in one battle.
For a long time it was believed that Alexander Serov was mortally wounded. Decades later, this turned out not to be the case. After a long treatment in the hospital, he retired "cleanly", returned to his homeland in Siberia, to his native village of Baksheevo, where he received a funeral. In the seventies, when employees of one of the Lithuanian museums searched for him, he spoke about his participation in repulsing an enemy tank column.
On the first day of the battle, Alexander Serov destroyed up to ten vehicles and was then wounded, but remained in service. On the second day, the Nazi tanks broke through to the battery. “I fired,” recalled Alexander Serov, “the tank turned around and froze. I quickly aimed the cannon at another tank. The gun fired accurately, hitting tank after tank. Serov was dizzy from blood loss - the bandage slipped, the wound opened. However, he still stood at the sight, took the tanks in the crosshairs, and fired. Then - a blow, everything fell into darkness. The last thing he heard was the voice of the shell-carrier: "Serov was killed."
Alexander Serov himself does not name a specific number of destroyed vehicles. Where did she come from? Serov was presented for a state award, and in the presentation, as his colleagues recalled, she figured. But the document was lost, the anti-tanker received the award - the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree - only many, many years later and already according to a different idea, but in the memory of the soldiers of the 636th regiment it was imprinted - 18 tanks destroyed by one calculation in one battle.
Guards foreman Alexei Vlasov distinguished himself on July 6, 1943 near the village of Yakovlevo (Belgorod region). Here, his crew, when repulsing an attack by enemy tanks, knocked out 4 heavy and 5 medium combat vehicles. The next day, the enemy threw 23 tanks into battle. In 30 minutes of battle, the calculation knocked out 10 of them, setting a kind of record.
Let's also name Senior Sergeant Sinyavsky and Corporal Mukozobov, commander and gunner of the 542nd Infantry Regiment of the 161st Infantry Division. They became aces in the early days of the war. From June 22 to June 26, in fierce battles on the outskirts of Minsk, their crew destroyed 17 enemy tanks and assault guns. For this feat, the soldiers were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
The record among self-propelled gunners is held by the commander of the self-propelled guns of the 383rd Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment (3rd Guards Tank Army, 1st Ukrainian Front) Guards Junior Lieutenant Mikhail Klimov. His calculation in March 1945 in the area of Waldenburg and Naumburg (now Poland) disabled 16 enemy tanks.
Many other Soviet artillerymen also fought bravely. 35 commanders and gunners of effective artillery crews destroyed 432 enemy tanks, assault guns and armored personnel carriers.
SHELVES-RECORDS
The gunners have whole units in the champions. Let's return to the actions of the 636th anti-tank regiment, in which Alexander Serov fought on June 23, 1941. Then the enemy was driven back, the regiment destroyed 59 tanks and assault guns.
Up to 50 German tanks during the fighting from July 12 to August 16 "found their death" under the fire of the guns of the artillery unit under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union Sergei Nilovsky.
During the first months of the war (from June to August 1941), the 462nd Corps Artillery Regiment of the RGC destroyed about 100 enemy tanks, 24 armored vehicles, 33 guns, and destroyed a lot of enemy manpower. Subsequently, he was transformed into a guards.
Artillerymen also showed good results in other periods of the war. 89 tanks, including 35 heavy ones, were destroyed on July 6 and 7, 1943, when repulsing attacks in the Belgorod direction during the Battle of Kursk, by the personnel of the 1177th anti-tank artillery regiment (47th Army, Voronezh Front), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Shalimov, posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
For the first time in the days of the war, Soviet artillerymen entered into heated battles with tank units of the Wehrmacht, armed with a 45-mm anti-tank gun, a divisional 76-mm gun, and a 152-mm howitzer gun. Soviet soldiers beat the enemy with anti-aircraft guns of 37-mm, 76-mm and especially 85-mm calibers, from other artillery systems. In the course of the war, new weapons appear, and their quality is continuously improved. The modernized 45-mm and 57-mm anti-tank guns M-42 model 1942 and ZIS-2 model 1943, the 76-mm regimental gun model 1943 and the new 76-mm divisional gun ZIS-3 model 1942 enter service 100-mm field gun BS-3 model 1944, the mass production of which began at the oldest factories in Leningrad in the fall of 1943 according to the prototype drawings immediately after the breakthrough of the blockade ring.
During the war years, a new type of artillery was created - self-propelled artillery. Soviet soldiers receive the strongest means of fighting with enemy tanks: powerful armored and mobile SU-85 with a D-5S gun (model 1943), SU-100 with a D-10S gun (model 1944), SU-152 with a howitzer- cannon ML-20 (model 1944), ISU-122 with gun D-25S (model 1944), ISU-152 with howitzer-gun ML-20 (model 1943).
Good experience in fighting enemy tanks began to come to them by the middle of 1943 (although the highest results were achieved by individual gunners at the beginning of the war). By that time the headquarters of the artillery of the Red Army, the headquarters of the artillery of the fronts and armies put on a permanent basis the study of the enemy's armored vehicles, his tactics of action, and the issuance of recommendations to the troops. Particular attention was paid to ways to deal with new types of heavy tanks and assault guns, such as the T-VIH "Tiger", T-VG "Panther", "Elephant". Targeted combat training was organized in the anti-tank units. In the armies, special rear ranges were equipped, where anti-tankers trained to shoot at mock-up tanks, including propulsion ones. Teams of tank destroyers were created. The memos "Memo on the fight against tanks "Tiger", "Memo to the artilleryman - destroyer of enemy tanks" were published.
All this made it possible to pacify the Nazi tank menagerie. Of course, our valiant tank crews and anti-tank rifle crews also played an important role in this. But the role of artillerymen is also great - their duels with "Tigers" and "Panthers", other tanks of the Wehrmacht gave dozens of aces, dozens of masters of well-aimed gunfire.
anti-tank gun(abbr. PTO) - a specialized artillery gun designed to combat enemy armored vehicles by direct fire. In the vast majority of cases, it is a long-barreled gun with a high muzzle velocity and a low elevation angle. To others characteristic features anti-tank guns include unitary loading and a wedge semi-automatic shutter, which contribute to the maximum rate of fire. When designing PTO Special attention pay to minimize its weight and size in order to facilitate transportation and camouflage on the ground.
Anti-tank guns can also be used against unarmored targets, but with less effectiveness than howitzers or universal field guns.
45 mm anti-tank gun model 1942 (M-42)
M-42 (Index GAU - 52-P-243S) - Soviet semi-automatic anti-tank gun caliber 45 mm. The full official name of the gun is 45-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1942 (M-42). It was used from 1942 until the end of the Great Patriotic War, but due to insufficient armor penetration, it was partially replaced in production in 1943 with a more powerful ZIS-2 gun of 57 mm caliber. The M-42 cannon was finally discontinued in 1946. During 1942-1945, the industry of the USSR produced 10,843 such guns.
45 mm anti-tank gun mod. 1942 M-42 was obtained by upgrading the 45-mm gun model 1937 at the plant number 172 in Motovilikha. The modernization consisted in lengthening the barrel, strengthening the propellant charge and a number of technological measures to simplify mass production. The armor thickness of the shield cover has been increased from 4.5 mm to 7 mm to better protect the crew from armor-piercing rifle bullets. As a result of modernization, the muzzle velocity of the projectile increased from 760 to 870 m/s.
Anti-tank gun M 42
The 45-mm anti-tank gun of the 1937 model (forty-five, GAU index - 52-P-243-PP-1) is a Soviet semi-automatic anti-tank gun of 45 mm caliber. It was used at the first stage of the Great Patriotic War, but due to insufficient armor penetration, it was replaced in 1942 by a more powerful M-42 gun of the same caliber. The cannon of the 1937 model was finally discontinued in 1943; in 1937-1943, the industry of the USSR produced 37,354 such guns.
The gun was intended to fight tanks, self-propelled guns and armored vehicles of the enemy. For its time, its armor penetration was quite adequate - normal at 500 m, it pierced 43 mm armor. This was enough to deal with armored vehicles protected by bulletproof armor. The length of the gun barrel was 46 klb. Subsequent, modernized, 45 mm caliber guns were longer.
The armor-piercing shells of some batches fired in violation of the production technology in the period up to August 1941 did not meet the specifications (in a collision with an armored steel barrier, they split in about 50% of cases), but in August 1941 the problem was solved - they were introduced into the production process technical changes (introduced localizers).
To improve armor penetration, a 45-mm sub-caliber projectile was adopted, which pierced 66 mm armor at a distance of 500 m along the normal, and 88 mm armor when fired at a distance of 100 m dagger fire. However, for a more effective destruction of armored targets, a more powerful gun was urgently needed, which was the 45-mm M-42 gun, developed and put into service in 1942.
The gun also had anti-personnel capabilities - it was supplied with a fragmentation grenade and buckshot. A fragmentation 45-mm grenade, when burst, produces 100 fragments that retain destructive power when scattered along the front by 15 m and in depth by 5-7 m. Also, smoke and armor-piercing chemical shells relied on the gun. The latter were intended to poison the crews of tanks and garrisons of bunkers, they contained 16 grams of the composition, which, as a result of a chemical reaction, turned into a potent poison - hydrocyanic acid HCN.
Insufficient armor penetration of the gun (especially in 1942, when tanks of the Pz Kpfw I and Pz Kpfw II types, along with early lightly armored modifications of the Pz Kpfw III and Pz Kpfw IV, practically disappeared from the battlefield), together with the inexperience of gunners, sometimes led to very heavy losses. However, in the hands of experienced and tactically skilled commanders, this weapon posed a serious threat to enemy armored vehicles. Its positive qualities were high mobility and ease of disguise. Thanks to this, 45-mm cannons of the 1937 model were used even by partisan detachments.
45 mm anti-tank gun model 1937 (53-K)
57-mm anti-tank gun model 1941 (ZiS-2) (GRAU index - 52-P-271) - Soviet anti-tank gun during the Great Patriotic War. This gun, developed under the direct supervision of V. G. Grabin, in 1940, was, at the time of the start of mass production, the most powerful anti-tank gun in the world - so powerful that in 1941 the gun did not have worthy targets, which led to the removal it from production (“due to excessive armor penetration” - quote), in favor of cheaper and more technologically advanced guns. However, with the advent of new heavily armored German Tiger tanks in 1942, the production of guns was resumed.
A tank gun was created on the basis of the ZiS-2, this gun was installed on the first Soviet serial anti-tank self-propelled artillery mounts ZiS-30. The 57-mm ZiS-2 guns fought from 1941 to 1945, later, for a long time, they were in service with the Soviet army. In the postwar period, many guns were delivered abroad and, as part of foreign armies took part in the post-war conflicts. The ZiS-2 is still in service with the armies of some states.
57 mm anti-tank gun model 1941 (ZIS-2)
76-mm divisional gun model 1942 (ZIS-3)
76-mm divisional gun model 1942 (ZiS-3, Index GAU - 52-P-354U) - 76.2 mm Soviet divisional and anti-tank gun. The chief designer is V. G. Grabin, the main production enterprise is artillery plant No. 92 in the city of Gorky. ZiS-3 became the most massive Soviet artillery gun produced during the Great Patriotic War. Thanks to its outstanding combat, operational and technological qualities, many experts recognize this weapon as one of the best weapons of the Second World War. In the post-war period, the ZiS-3 was in service with the Soviet Army for a long time, and was also actively exported to a number of countries, in some of which it is currently in service.
76-mm divisional gun model 1939 (USV)
The 76-mm cannon of the 1939 model (USV, F-22-USV, GAU index - 52-P-254F) is a Soviet divisional cannon of the Second World War period.
The gun had a modern design at the time of creation with sliding beds, suspension and metal wheels with rubber tires borrowed from the ZIS-5 truck. It was equipped with a semi-automatic vertical wedge gate, a hydraulic recoil brake, a hydropneumatic knurler; rollback length is variable. The cradle is trough-shaped, "Bofors" type. The sight and the vertical guidance mechanism were located on different sides of the barrel. The chamber was designed for a standard sleeve mod. 1900 of the year, respectively, the gun could fire all ammunition for 76-mm divisional and regimental guns.
Probably, the USV participated in the Soviet-Finnish (Winter) War. The Finnish Artillery Museum in Hämeenlinna has this weapon on display, but it is not clear whether it was captured in the Winter War or already during World War II. In any case, by September 1, 1944, the Finnish artillery registered 9 cannons 76 K 39 (Finnish designation for captured USVs).
On June 1, 1941, the Red Army had 1,170 such guns. The gun was used as a divisional and anti-tank gun. In 1941-1942, these guns suffered significant losses, the rest continued to be used until the end of the war.
76 mm divisional gun model 1939 USV
The full official name of the gun is 100-mm field gun model 1944 (BS-3). It was actively and successfully used in the Great Patriotic War, primarily to fight the heavy tanks Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf.E "Tiger" and Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther", including the heavier tanks Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. In the "King Tiger", and could also be effectively used as a body gun for firing from closed positions. After the end of the war, it was in service with the Soviet Army for a long time, served as the basis for the creation of a family of powerful anti-tank guns used in armed forces Russia at present. This weapon was also sold or transferred to other states, in some of them it is still in service. In Russia, the BS-3 guns are (2011) as a coastal defense weapon in service with the 18th machine gun and artillery division stationed on the Kuril Islands, and a fairly significant number of them are in storage.
The BS-3 gun is an adaptation of the B-34 naval gun for land use, made under the guidance of the famous Soviet gunsmith V. G. Grabin.
BS-3 was successfully used at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War as a powerful anti-tank gun to fight enemy tanks at all distances and as a hull gun for long-range counter-battery fire, due to its high range of fire.
100 mm T12 Anti-Tank Gun
7.62 cm F.K.297(r).
In 1941-1942, the Germans captured a significant number of USV guns and assigned them the designation 7.62 cm F.K.297(r).
Most of the captured guns were converted by the Germans into field guns, with a barrel modeled on 7.62 cm Pak 36. The modernized gun was called 7.62 cm FK 39. A muzzle brake was installed on the gun, the chamber was bored out for ammunition from 7.62 cm Pak 36 The weight of the gun was, according to various sources, 1500-1610 kg. The exact number of guns converted in this way is not known, since in German statistics they were often combined with Pak 36. According to some sources, up to 300 of them were produced. The ballistic characteristics of the gun are also unknown, according to the results of tests of a captured gun in May 1943, an armor-piercing projectile fired from it pierced the 75-mm frontal armor plate of the KV tank at an angle of 60 degrees at a distance of 600 m.
By March 1944, the Germans still had 359 of these guns, of which 24 were in the East, 295 in the West, and 40 in Denmark.
Pak 36(r)
7.62cm Pak. 36 (German: 7.62 cm Panzerjägerkanone 36) - 76 mm German anti-tank gun during World War II. They were made by reworking (deep modernization) of captured Soviet F-22 cannons, captured in large numbers during the initial period of the invasion of the USSR.
Pak 36 was a deep modernization of the Soviet 76-mm divisional gun model 1936 (F-22). The gun had sliding beds, sprung wheels, metal wheels with rubber tires. It was equipped with a semi-automatic vertical wedge bolt, a hydraulic recoil brake, a hydropneumatic knurler and a powerful muzzle brake. The Pak 36(r) limber was not completed and moved exclusively on mechanical traction.
Most of the guns were adapted for installation on the Marder II and Marder III anti-tank self-propelled guns. Intermediate modernization options are known: when the chamber was not bored and the muzzle brake was not used. The final version of the modernization in the name lost the letter "r" in brackets, and in all German documents it was already referred to as "7.62 cm Pak. 36".
The first guns arrived at the front in April 1942. In that year, the Germans converted 358 guns, in 1943-169 and in 1944 - 33. In addition, another 894 guns were converted for installation on self-propelled guns. It is worth noting that the production statistics for towed guns most likely include 7.62 cm FK 39, of which up to 300 pieces were produced. The delivery of towed guns was carried out until the spring of 1943, guns for self-propelled guns - until January 1944, after which production was completed due to the exhaustion of the stock of captured guns.
Mass production of ammunition for this gun was launched.
Pak 36 was actively used throughout the war as an anti-tank and field gun. The intensity of their use is evidenced by the numbers of spent armor-piercing ammunition - in 1942, 49,000 pieces. armor-piercing and 8170 pcs. sub-caliber shells, in 1943 - 151390 pcs. armor-piercing projectiles. For comparison, the Pak 40 used up 42,430 units in 1942. armor-piercing and 13380 pcs. cumulative shells, in 1943 - 401100 pieces. armor-piercing and 374,000 pcs. cumulative projectiles).
The guns were used on the Eastern Front and in North Africa. By March 1945, the Wehrmacht still had 165 Pak 36 and FK 39 guns (the latter was a captured 76-mm divisional gun model 1939 (USV) converted into an anti-tank gun)
Pack 407.5cm Pack. 40 (officially fully 7.5 cm Panzerjägerkanone 40)
German 75mm anti-tank gun of World War II. The index "40" for this gun indicates the year the project was created and the start of experimental work. Is the second German cannon(after 4.2 cm PaK 41), adopted under the new term: "tank hunter gun" (German: Panzerjägerkanone) - instead of "anti-tank gun" (German: Panzerabwehkanone). In the post-war literature, the authors, when opening the abbreviation Pak. 40 use both terms.
The Pak 40 was used in the vast majority of cases as an anti-tank gun, firing at its targets with direct fire. In terms of armor-piercing action, the Pak 40 was superior to the similar Soviet 76.2-mm ZIS-3 gun, this was due to a more powerful powder charge in the Pak 40 shot - 2.7 kg (for the ZIS-3 shot - 1 kg). However, the Pak 40 had less effective recoil suppression systems, as a result of which, when fired, the coulters “burrowed” into the ground more strongly, as a result of which the ZiS-3 lost a lot in the ability to quickly change position or transfer fire.
Toward the end of the war, the production of anti-tank guns in Nazi Germany was given one of the highest priorities. As a result, the Wehrmacht began to experience a shortage of howitzers. As a result, the Pak 40 began to be used for indirect fire, modeled on the ZIS-3 divisional cannon in the Red Army. This decision had another advantage - in the event of a deep breakthrough and the tanks reaching the positions German artillery Pak 40 again became an anti-tank gun. However, estimates of the scale of the combat use of the Pak 40 in this capacity are very controversial.
At the beginning of 1945, two anti-tank self-propelled guns were built in Sibenik for the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia on the chassis of the Stuart tank, on which captured German 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank guns were installed
At the end of World War II, the plentiful Pak. 40 were put into service in France, where the production of ammunition for them was established.
In the period after 1959, several anti-tank artillery battalions were created as part of the Vietnamese People's Army, armed with German 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank guns supplied from the USSR.
7.5cm Pack. 40 (7.5 cm Panzerjagerkanone 40)
Pack 35/36
3.7 cm Pak 35/36- German anti-tank gun during World War II. In the Wehrmacht, it bore the unofficial name "mallet" (German: Anklopfgerät)
The Pak 35/36 was a very modern design for its time. The gun had a light two-wheeled carriage with sliding beds, sprung wheels, metal wheels with rubber tires, a horizontal wedge quarter-automatic shutter (with an automatic closing mechanism). Hydraulic recoil brake, spring knurler
Pak 28 production began in 1928, Pak 35/36 in 1935. By September 1, 1939, the Wehrmacht had 11,200 Pak 35/36 units, and in the remaining months of 1939 another 1,229 guns were manufactured. In 1940, 2713 guns were manufactured, in 1941 - 1365, in 1942 - 32, and this was the end of their production. In 1939 prices, the gun cost 5730 Reichsmarks. Together with the Pak 28 and 29, 16,539 guns were produced, including 5,339 in 1939-1942.
On the basis of the Pak 35/36, German designers developed its tank variant KwK 36 L/45, which was armed with the early models of the PzKpfw II tank.
The Pak 35/36 was certainly a successful weapon. This assessment is confirmed by the wide distribution of this weapon (and guns made on its basis) around the world. Pak 35/36 advantageously combined high initial speed, small dimensions and weight, the possibility of rapid transportation, and a high rate of fire. The gun easily rolled across the battlefield by the forces of calculation, and was easily disguised. The disadvantages of the gun include the insufficiently strong behind-armor effect of light shells - it often took several hits that pierced the armor to disable the tank. Tanks hit by cannons could most often be repaired.
The vast majority of tanks of the 1930s were easily disabled by this gun. But with the advent of tanks with anti-shell armor, her fate was sealed. Sub-caliber and cumulative shells somewhat extended its life, but by 1943 this gun left the first roles. At the same time, in 1943 and later, there were targets for this gun on the battlefield - a variety of light tanks, self-propelled guns and armored personnel carriers of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
3.7 cm Pack 35/36
German 50mm anti-tank gun of World War II. Abbreviation Pak. - originally from him. Panzerabwehrkanone ("anti-tank gun"), but from the spring of 1941 also from him. Panzerjägerkanone ("tank hunter's gun") - in this regard, in the documents this gun is found under both names. Index "38" corresponds to the year of construction of the first prototype.
In 1936, after receiving information about the creation in France of the Renault D-1 tank with frontal armor up to 40 mm, the Armaments Directorate (German: Heereswaffenamt) ordered Rheinmetall (Rheinmetall-Borsig AG) to develop a promising anti-tank gun capable of penetrating 40- mm armor plate from a distance of 700 m. For an experimental gun 5 cm Tankabwehrkanone in Spreizlafette (5 cm Tak.), a caliber of 5 cm was chosen, a gun carriage with sliding beds and a base plate between the wheels - in the combat position, the gun was mounted on this plate from the front (German . Schweißpilz), and the wheels were hung out. As conceived by the developers, this plate was supposed to contribute to the maneuverability of fire: ensuring circular shelling by moving only the beds. Experienced guns were ready in 1937. The barrel first had a length of 35 calibers (L / 35 = 1750 mm), later - 60 calibers (L / 60 = 2975 mm). During tests, the armor-piercing effect was found to be insufficient, and the decision with the base plate was found to be erroneous: the guns turned out to be unstable when firing. Rheinmetall continued to work: the base plate was removed, the sliding beds in the extended position began to turn off the suspension of the wheel travel, the shield cover was made double for reinforcement, the most powerful 50-mm cartridge with a long (420 mm) cartridge case from the 5 cm Pak K.u.T. (lg.L.) (in the sleeve they only replaced the electric primer sleeve with a percussion one), a muzzle brake appeared. The Pak.38 gun finally acquired its appearance in 1939.
The first 2 guns entered the troops at the beginning of 1940. The gun itself did not have time to start the French campaign. So, by July 1, 1940, the troops had only 17 guns. Large-scale production was established only by the end of the year. And by June 1, 1941, there were 1047 guns in the troops. In 1943, the gun was taken out of production as completely obsolete and unable to withstand the new tanks of the anti-Hitler coalition.
5cm Pack. 38 (5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 38 and 5 cm Panzerjagerkanone 38)
4.2 cm PaK 41
4.2 cm Panzerjagerkanone 41 or abbr. 4.2 cm Pak 41 (German 4.2 cm anti-tank gun)- German light anti-tank gun, used by the German airborne divisions during the Second World War
The 4.2 cm Pak 41 was broadly similar to the 3.7 cm Pak anti-tank gun from which it inherited its carriage. But Pak.41 gave a higher muzzle velocity and ensured its increased armor-piercing effect. This was achieved thanks to the tapered barrel manufactured by Rheinmetall, the caliber of which varied from 42 mm at the breech to 28 mm at the muzzle. The change in caliber was made by several conical sections of various lengths, the last muzzle section is cylindrical (about 14 cm), all sections are rifled. The conical barrel also had disadvantages. So because of increased speeds and pressure inside the barrel bore, the barrel life was not large: about 500 shots even when using high-quality alloy steel. However, since the 4.2 cm Panzerjägerkanone 41 was intended mainly for arming paratrooper units, the resource was considered acceptable.
A projectile weighing 336 g pierced armor 87 mm thick from a distance of 500 m at a right angle.
4.2 cm PaK 41
12.8 cm PaK 44 (German 12.8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 44 - 12.8 cm anti-tank gun model 1944) - a heavy anti-tank gun used ground forces Germany at the end of World War II. At the time of its appearance and until the end of the war, it had no analogues in terms of firing range and armor penetration, however, the excessive weight and dimensions of the gun nullified these advantages.
In 1944, a decision was made to create a super-powerful anti-tank gun with the ballistics of a 128-mm FlaK 40 anti-aircraft gun with a barrel length of 55 calibers. The new gun received the index PaK 44 L/55. Since it was not possible to install such a giant barrel on the carriage of a conventional anti-tank gun, the Meiland company, which specialized in the production of trailers, designed a special three-axle carriage for the gun with two pairs of wheels in front and one behind. At the same time, the high profile of the gun had to be maintained, which made the gun extremely visible on the ground.
However, the armor penetration of the gun turned out to be extremely high - according to some estimates, at least until 1948, there was no tank in the world that could withstand the hit of its 28-kg projectile. The first tank capable of withstanding PaK 44 fire was the experienced Soviet tank IS-7 in 1949.
According to the methodology for determining armor penetration adopted in the Axis countries, at an angle of 30 degrees, an armor-piercing-sabot projectile 12.8-cm Pz.Gr.40 / 43 from a distance of 2000 meters pierced 173 mm of armor, from 1500 meters - 187 mm, from 1000 meters - 200 mm, from 500 meters - 210 mm.
The low security and mobility of the gun, whose weight exceeded 9 tons, forced the Germans to work out the option of installing it on a self-propelled chassis. Such a machine was created in 1944 on the basis of heavy tank"Royal Tiger" and received the name "Jagdtiger". With the PaK 44 cannon, which changed its index to StuK 44, it became the most powerful anti-tank self-propelled gun of the Second World War - in particular, evidence was obtained of the defeat of Sherman tanks from a distance of more than 3500 m in the frontal projection.
Options for using guns in tanks were also worked out. In particular, the famous experimental tank "Maus" was armed with the PaK 44 in duplex with a 75-mm gun (in the tank version, the gun was called KwK 44). It was also planned to install a gun on an experienced super-heavy tank E-100.
8.8cm Pack. 43 (8.8 cm Panzerjägerkanone 43) - German 88 mm anti-tank gun of World War II. German term. Panzerjägerkanone literally means "tank hunter's cannon" and has been the standard designation for all German guns of this class since the spring of 1941; the abbreviation Pak., previously used for Panzerabwehrkanone, is retained. Index "43" corresponds to the year of construction of the first prototype.
The development of the Pak 43 was started at the end of 1942 by Krupp (Krupp A.G.). The need to create a very powerful anti-tank gun for the German ground forces was dictated by the ever-increasing armor protection of the tanks of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Another stimulus was the shortage of tungsten, then used as a material for the cores of the 75 mm Pak 40 sabot projectiles. The construction of a more powerful gun opened up the possibility of effectively hitting heavily armored targets with conventional steel armor-piercing projectiles.
The Pak 43 was based on the 88 mm Flak 41 anti-aircraft gun, which borrowed a 71 caliber barrel and its ballistics. The Pak 43 was originally designed to be mounted on a specialized cross-shaped carriage inherited from the anti-aircraft gun. But such gun carriages were in short supply and were unnecessarily complex to manufacture; therefore, in order to simplify the design and reduce the dimensions, the swinging part of Pak. 43 was mounted on a classic sliding bed carriage from a 105 mm 10 cm le K 41 (10 cm Leichte Kanone 41) light gun. This variant was designated 8.8 cm Pak 43/41. In 1943, new guns made their debut on the battlefield and their production continued until the end of the war. Due to the complex production technology and high cost, only 3,502 of these guns were produced.
Variants of the Pak 43 were used for self-propelled artillery installations (ACS), the KwK 43 tank gun was developed. These guns were armed with the Nashorn (Hornisse) lightly armored anti-tank self-propelled guns (8.8 cm Pak. 43/1), Ferdinand tank destroyers "(8.8 cm Pak. 43/2, early designation Stu.K. 43/1) and "Jagdpanther" (8.8 cm Pak. 43/3, early designation Stu.K. 43), heavy tank PzKpfw VI Ausf B "Tiger II" or "King Tiger" (8.8 cm Kw.K. 43).
Despite the official documented designation as "8.8 cm Panzerjägerkanone 43", the broader generic term "Panzerabwehrkanone" is often used in post-war literature.
Pak 43 anti-tank gun in 1943-1945 was very effective tool against any fighting Allied tank. Reliable protection against its fire was realized only in the Soviet heavy tank IS-3, which did not take part in hostilities in World War II. The previous model of the Soviet heavy tank IS-2 of the 1944 model was the best Pak 43 among the combat vehicles in terms of resistance to fire. IN general statistics according to the irretrievable losses of the IS-2, defeats from 88-mm guns account for about 80% of cases. Any other tank of the USSR, USA or Great Britain did not provide its crew with at least some protection against Pak 43 shells.
On the other hand, the Pak 43 gun was excessively heavy: its mass was 4400 kg in firing position. To transport the Pak 43, a fairly powerful specialized tractor was required. The patency of the tractor hitch with a tool on soft soils was unsatisfactory. The tractor and the gun towed by it were vulnerable on the march and when deployed in a combat position. In addition, in the event of an enemy flank attack, it was difficult to turn the barrel of the Pak 43/41 in a threatened direction.
Mobile 88mm PaK 43 Tank Killer
88 mm anti-aircraft gun FlaK 41
8.8 cm FlaK 41 (German 8.8-cm-Flugabwehrkanone 41, literally 8.8 cm AA gun model 41)- German 88 mm anti-aircraft gun. In 1939, he announced a competition for the creation of a new anti-aircraft gun with improved ballistic characteristics. The first sample appeared in 1941. During the Second World War, the Flak 41 gun was produced in small quantities, entered the troops in small batches, and was used as an anti-aircraft gun.
In 1939, the Rheinmetall-Borsig company received a contract to create a new gun with improved ballistic characteristics. At first, the gun was called Gerät 37 ("device 37"). This name was changed in 1941 to 8.8 cm Flak 41 when the first prototype gun was made. The first serial samples (44 pieces) were sent to the African Corps in August 1942, and half of them were sunk in the Mediterranean along with German transport. Tests of the remaining samples revealed a number of complex design flaws.
Only since 1943 did these guns begin to enter the Reich air defense forces.
The new gun had a rate of fire of 22-25 rounds per minute, and the initial velocity of the fragmentation projectile reached 1000 m/s. The gun had an articulated carriage with four cross-shaped beds. The design of the carriage ensured firing at an elevation angle of up to 90 degrees. In the horizontal plane, circular shelling was possible. The gun of the 1941 model had an armored shield to protect it from shrapnel and bullets. The barrel of the gun, 6.54 meters long, consisted of a casing, a pipe and a breech. The automatic shutter was equipped with a hydropneumatic rammer, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire of the gun and facilitate the work of the crew. For Flak 41 guns, the powder charge was increased to 5.5 kg (2.9 kg for Flak18), for which the cartridge case had to be increased in length (from 570 to 855 mm) and diameter (from 112.2 to 123.2 mm, along the flange). The ignition of the charge in the sleeve is electric ignition. In total, 5 types of projectiles were developed - 2 high-explosive fragmentation with various types of fuses and 3 armor-piercing. The reach of the gun in height: the ballistic ceiling is 15,000 m, the height of the actual fire is 10,500 m.
An armor-piercing projectile weighing 10 kg and an initial speed of 980 m/s at a distance of 100 meters pierced armor up to 194 mm thick, and at a distance of one kilometer - 159 mm armor, at a distance of two kilometers - about 127 mm.
A sub-caliber projectile weighing 7.5 kg and an initial speed of 1125 m / s from a distance of 100 m pierced armor 237 mm thick, from a distance of 1000 meters - 192 mm, from 2000 meters - 152 mm.
Unlike Flak 36, mechanical traction using two single-axle carts did not provide sufficient maneuverability when transporting the FlaK 41 gun, so work was underway to install the gun on the Panther tank chassis, but such a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was never created.
Flak 41 was produced in small batches - until 1945, only 279 Flak 41 units were in service with the German army.
88 mm FlaK 41 anti-aircraft gun
88 mm FlaK 18/36/37 anti-aircraft gun
8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37, also known as "eight-eight" (German: Acht-acht) - German 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, which was in service from 1932 to 1945. One of the best anti-aircraft guns of World War II. It also served as a model for the creation of guns for the Tiger PzKpfw VI tanks. These guns were widely used as anti-tank and even field guns. Often these guns are called the most famous guns of the Second World War.
According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forbidden to have in service and develop anti-aircraft artillery. But already in the 1920s, German engineers from the Krupp concern again began to develop such guns. In order to overcome the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles, all work on the manufacture of samples was carried out at the Swedish Bofors factories, with which Krupp had bilateral agreements.
By 1928, prototypes of anti-aircraft guns of 75 mm caliber with barrels of 52-55 calibers and 88 mm with a barrel of 56 calibers were ready. In 1930, anticipating the development of high-altitude bomber aviation, German generals and designers decided to increase the caliber of the 75-mm m / 29 anti-aircraft gun proposed by them, jointly developed by Bofors and Krupp. A unitary shot of 105-mm caliber seemed too heavy for field conditions - the loader could not provide a high rate of fire. Therefore, we settled on an intermediate caliber of 88 mm. Since 1932, mass production of guns began at the Krupp plant in Essen. This is how the famous Acht-acht (8-8) appeared - from the German Acht-Komma-Acht Zentimeter - 8.8 centimeters - 88 mm Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun.
Its deliveries to the anti-aircraft units of the Wehrmacht, formed on the basis of seven motorized anti-aircraft batteries of the Reichswehr, began in 1933 under the designation "8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun 18". The indication "18" in the name of the gun alluded to 1918, and was made for the purpose of disinformation: in order to show that Germany adhered to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which prohibited the development of anti-aircraft guns
For firing, cartridge-loading shots with shells for various purposes were used. Fragmentation shells with a remote fuse were used against aircraft. The initial speed of such a projectile was 820 m / s, with a projectile weight of 9 kg, the explosive charge was 0.87 kg. The reach in height with this projectile reached 10600 m.
After the war, armor-piercing and HEAT rounds for the 88mm cannon were developed in Spain.
In 1941, the basis of the German anti-tank artillery was the 37-mm Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun. Only at the end of 1940, 50-mm Pak 38 anti-tank guns began to enter the troops, but on June 1, 1941 there were only 1047 of them. And the Wehrmacht received the first 15 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank guns only in February 1942.
A similar picture was in the tank troops. The basis of the tank divisions were tanks: T-III modifications A-F, which were armed with a short-barreled 37-mm gun KwK 36; T-IV modifications A-F, with a short-barreled 75-mm gun KwK 37; and Czech-made PzKpfw 38 (t) tanks with a 37 mm KwK 38 (t) gun. New T-III tanks with a short-barreled 50-mm KwK 38 gun appeared in 1941, but as of February there were only 600 of them. Tanks T-III and T-IV with long-barreled guns 50 mm KwK 39 and 75 mm KwK 40 began to enter the troops only in the spring of 1942.
Therefore, when in 1941 the Germans met with Soviet tanks KV-1, KV-2 and T-34-76, the Wehrmacht was in a panic. The main anti-tank and tank gun of 37 mm caliber could hit T-34 tanks at a distance of only 300 meters, and KV tanks only from 100 meters. So, in one of the reports it was said that the calculation of the 37-mm gun achieved 23 hits in the same T-34 tank, and only when the projectile hit the base of the tower, the tank was put out of action. The new 50 mm guns could hit T-34 tanks from 1,000 meters, and KV tanks from 500 meters, but these guns were few in number.
Given the above data, it can be seen that the 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, especially in 1941-1942, was for the German troops almost the only effective means of fighting enemy tanks. She could hit all types of Soviet tanks throughout the war. Only IS-2 tanks could resist her fire, but at a distance of no less than 1500 meters.
The 88 mm gun was used on all fronts, both as an anti-aircraft gun and as an anti-tank gun. In addition, since 1941, she began to enter the anti-tank units.
After the end of the war, in the USSR, anti-tank artillery was armed with: 37-mm airborne guns of the 1944 model, 45-mm anti-tank guns mod. 1937 and arr. 1942, 57-mm anti-tank guns ZiS-2, divisional 76-mm ZiS-3, 100-mm field model 1944 BS-3. German captured 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank guns were also used. They were purposefully assembled, stored and repaired if necessary.
In the middle of 1944, it was officially put into service. 37 mm ChK-M1 airborne gun.
It was specially designed to equip parachute battalions and motorcycle regiments. The gun weighing 209 kg in combat position allowed air transportation and parachuting. It had good armor penetration for its caliber, which made it possible to hit medium and heavy side armor with a sub-caliber projectile at a short distance. The shells were interchangeable with the 37 mm 61-K anti-aircraft gun. The guns were transported in Willis and GAZ-64 vehicles (one gun per vehicle), as well as in Dodge and GAZ-AA vehicles (two guns per vehicle).
In addition, it was possible to transport the gun on a single-horse cart or sleigh, as well as in a motorcycle sidecar. If necessary, the tool is disassembled into three parts.
The calculation of the gun consisted of four people - the commander, gunner, loader and carrier. When shooting, the calculation takes a prone position. The technical rate of fire reached 25-30 rounds per minute.
Thanks to the original design of the recoil devices, the 37-mm airborne gun model 1944 combined powerful anti-aircraft gun ballistics for its caliber with small dimensions and weight. With armor penetration values close to those of the 45 mm M-42, the ChK-M1 is three times lighter and much smaller in size (much lower line of fire), which greatly facilitated the movement of the gun by crew forces and its camouflage. At the same time, the M-42 also has a number of advantages - the presence of a full-fledged wheel drive, which allows the gun to be towed by a car, the absence of a muzzle brake that unmasks when firing, a more effective fragmentation projectile and a better armor-piercing effect of armor-piercing shells.
The 37 mm ChK-M1 gun was about 5 years late, was adopted and put into production when the war came to an end. Apparently she did not take part in the hostilities. A total of 472 guns were produced.
45-mm anti-tank guns were hopelessly outdated by the end of hostilities, even the presence in the ammunition 45 mm M-42 guns sub-caliber projectile with normal armor penetration at a distance of 500 meters - 81-mm homogeneous armor could not correct the situation. Modern heavy and medium tanks were struck only when firing into the side, from extremely short distances. The active use of these tools up to the very last days wars can be explained by high maneuverability, ease of transportation and camouflage, huge accumulated stocks of ammunition of this caliber, as well as the inability of Soviet industry to provide the troops in the required quantity with higher-performance anti-tank guns.
One way or another, in the active army, the "forty-five" were very popular, only they could move by calculation forces in the combat formations of the advancing infantry, supporting it with fire.
In the late 40s, "forty-five" began to be actively withdrawn from parts and transferred to storage. However, for quite a long period of time they continued to be in service with the Airborne Forces and used as training tools.
A significant number of 45-mm M-42s were transferred to the then allies.
American soldiers from the 5th Cavalry Regiment study the M-42 captured in Korea
"Forty-five" was actively used in the Korean War. In Albania, these guns were in service until the early 90s.
Mass production 57 mm anti-tank gunZiS-2 became possible in 1943, after the necessary metalworking machines were received from the USA. The restoration of mass production was difficult - again there were technological problems with the manufacture of barrels, in addition, the plant was heavily loaded with a program for the production of 76-mm divisional and tank guns, which had a number of common nodes with the ZIS-2; under these conditions, the increase in the production of ZIS-2 on the existing equipment could be carried out only by reducing the volume of production of these guns, which was unacceptable. As a result, the first batch of ZIS-2 for state and military tests was released in May 1943, and in the production of these guns, the backlog that had been mothballed at the plant since 1941 was widely used. The mass production of the ZIS-2 was organized by October - November 1943, after the commissioning of new production facilities, provided with equipment supplied under Lend-Lease.
The capabilities of the ZIS-2 made it possible at typical combat distances to confidently hit the 80-mm frontal armor of the most common German medium tanks Pz.IV and StuG III assault self-propelled guns, as well as the side armor of the Pz.VI Tiger tank; at distances of less than 500 m, the Tiger's frontal armor was also hit.
In terms of the cost and manufacturability of production, combat and service performance, the ZIS-2 became the best Soviet anti-tank gun of the war.
Since the resumption of production, until the end of the war, more than 9,000 guns were delivered to the troops, but this was not enough to fully equip anti-tank units.
The production of the ZiS-2 continued until 1949 inclusive, in the post-war period, about 3,500 guns were produced. From 1950 to 1951, only ZIS-2 barrels were produced. Since 1957, the previously released ZIS-2 was upgraded to the ZIS-2N variant with the ability to conduct combat at night through the use of special night sights
In the 1950s, new sub-caliber shells with increased armor penetration were developed for the gun.
In the post-war period, the ZIS-2 was in service with the Soviet army until at least the 1970s, the last case of combat use was recorded in 1968, during a conflict with the PRC on Damansky Island.
ZIS-2 was supplied to a number of countries and took part in several armed conflicts, the first of which was Korean War.
There is information about the successful use of the ZIS-2 by Egypt in 1956 in battles with the Israelis. Guns of this type were in service with the Chinese army and were produced under license under the Type 55 index. As of 2007, the ZIS-2 was still in service with the armies of Algeria, Guinea, Cuba and Nicaragua.
In the second half of the war, the fighter-anti-tank units were armed with captured German 75 mm anti-tank guns Pak 40. During the offensive operations of 1943-1944, a large number of guns and ammunition were captured. Our military appreciated the high performance of these anti-tank guns. At a distance of 500 meters, normal sabot projectile pierced - 154-mm armor.
In 1944, firing tables and operating instructions were issued for the Pak 40 in the USSR.
After the war, the guns were transferred to storage, where they were at least until the mid-60s. Subsequently, some of them were "utilized", and some were transferred to the allies.
A photograph of the RaK-40 guns was taken at a parade in Hanoi in 1960.
In fear of an invasion from the South, several anti-tank artillery battalions were formed as part of the army of North Vietnam, armed with German 75 mm RaK-40 anti-tank guns from the Second World War. Such guns were captured in large numbers in 1945 by the Red Army, and now the Soviet Union has provided them to the Vietnamese people to protect them from possible aggression from the South.
Soviet divisional 76-mm guns were intended for solving a wide range of tasks, primarily fire support for infantry units, suppressing firing points, and destroying light field shelters. However, during the war, divisional artillery guns had to fire on enemy tanks, perhaps even more often than specialized anti-tank guns.
Since 1944, due to a slowdown in the production of 45-mm guns and a shortage of 57-mm ZIS-2 guns, despite insufficient armor penetration for that time divisional 76-mm ZiS-3 became the main anti-tank gun of the Red Army.
In many ways, this was a forced measure. The armor penetration of an armor-piercing projectile, which pierced 75-mm armor at a distance of 300 meters along the normal, was not enough to deal with medium German tanks Pz.IV.
As of 1943, the armor of the heavy tank PzKpfW VI "Tiger" was invulnerable to the ZIS-3 in the frontal projection and weakly vulnerable at distances closer than 300 m in the side projection. The new German tank PzKpfW V Panther, as well as the upgraded PzKpfW IV Ausf H and PzKpfW III Ausf M or N, were also weakly vulnerable in the frontal projection for the ZIS-3; however, all these vehicles were confidently hit from the ZIS-3 to the side.
The introduction of a sub-caliber projectile since 1943 improved the anti-tank capabilities of the ZIS-3, allowing it to confidently hit vertical 80-mm armor at distances closer than 500 m, but 100-mm vertical armor remained unbearable for it.
The relative weakness of the anti-tank capabilities of the ZIS-3 was recognized by the Soviet military leadership, but it was not possible to replace the ZIS-3 in anti-tank units until the end of the war. The situation could be corrected by introducing a cumulative projectile into the ammunition load. But such a projectile was adopted by the ZiS-3 only in the post-war period.
Shortly after the end of the war and the production of over 103,000 guns, the production of the ZiS-3 was discontinued. The gun remained in service for a long time, but by the end of the 40s, it was almost completely withdrawn from anti-tank artillery. This did not prevent the ZiS-3 from spreading very widely around the world and taking part in many local conflicts, including on the territory of the former USSR.
In modern Russian army the remaining serviceable ZIS-3s are often used as salute guns or in theatrical performances on the theme of the battles of the Great Patriotic War. In particular, these guns are in service with the Separate Fireworks Division under the commandant's office of Moscow, which conducts fireworks on the holidays of February 23 and May 9.
In 1946, the weapon created under the leadership of the chief designer F. F. Petrov was adopted. 85-mm anti-tank gun D-44. This weapon would have been in great demand during the war, but its development was greatly delayed for a number of reasons.
Outwardly, the D-44 strongly resembled the German 75-mm anti-tank Pak 40.
From 1946 to 1954, plant No. 9 (Uralmash) produced 10,918 guns.
D-44s were in service with a separate artillery anti-tank battalion of a motorized rifle or tank regiment (two anti-tank artillery batteries consisting of two fire platoons), 6 pieces per battery (in division 12).
As ammunition, unitary cartridges with high-explosive fragmentation grenades, coil-shaped sub-caliber shells, cumulative and smoke shells are used. The range of a direct shot of the BTS BR-367 at a target with a height of 2 m is 1100 m. At a range of 500 m, this projectile pierces an armor plate 135 mm thick at an angle of 90 °. The initial speed of the BPS BR-365P is 1050 m / s, armor penetration is 110 mm from a distance of 1000 m.
In 1957, night sights were installed on some of the guns, and a self-propelled modification was also developed. SD-44, which could move on the battlefield without a tractor.
The barrel and carriage of the SD-44 were taken from the D-44 with minor changes. So, on one of the frames of the gun, an M-72 engine of the Irbit motorcycle plant with a power of 14 hp was installed, covered with a casing. (4000 rpm) providing a self-propelled speed of up to 25 km / h. Power transmission from the engine was provided through the cardan shaft, differential and axle shafts to both wheels of the gun. The gearbox included in the transmission provided six forward gears and two reverse gears. A seat is also fixed on the bed for one of the numbers of the calculation, which acts as a driver. He has at his disposal a steering mechanism that controls an additional, third, wheel of the gun, mounted at the end of one of the beds. A headlight is installed to illuminate the road at night.
Subsequently, it was decided to use the 85-mm D-44 as a divisional one to replace the ZiS-3, and to assign the fight against tanks to more powerful artillery systems and ATGMs.
In this capacity, the weapon was used in many conflicts, including in the CIS. An extreme case of combat use was noted in the North Caucasus, during the "counter-terrorist operation."
D-44 is still formally in service in the Russian Federation, a number of these guns are in the internal troops and in storage.
On the basis of the D-44, under the leadership of the chief designer F. F. Petrov, a anti-tank 85-mm gun D-48. The main feature of the D-48 anti-tank gun was its exceptionally long barrel. To ensure the maximum muzzle velocity of the projectile, the barrel length was increased to 74 calibers (6 m, 29 cm).
Especially for this gun, new unitary shots were created. An armor-piercing projectile at a distance of 1,000 m pierced armor 150-185 mm thick at an angle of 60 °. A sub-caliber projectile at a distance of 1000 m penetrates homogeneous armor 180-220 mm thick at an angle of 60 °. The maximum firing range of high-explosive fragmentation projectiles weighing 9.66 kg. - 19 km.
From 1955 to 1957, 819 copies of D-48 and D-48N were produced (with night sight APN2-77 or APN3-77).
The guns entered service with individual anti-tank artillery battalions of a tank or motorized rifle regiment. As an anti-tank gun, the D-48 gun quickly became obsolete. In the early 60s of the XX century, tanks with more powerful armor protection appeared in NATO countries. The negative feature of the D-48 was the "exclusive" ammunition, unsuitable for other 85-mm guns. For firing from the D-48, the use of shots from the D-44, KS-1, 85-mm tank and self-propelled guns is also prohibited, this significantly narrowed the scope of the gun.
In the spring of 1943, V.G. Grabin, in his memorandum addressed to Stalin, proposed, along with the resumption of production of the 57-mm ZIS-2, to begin designing a 100-mm cannon with a unitary shot, which was used in naval guns.
A year later, in the spring of 1944 100-mm field gun model 1944 BS-3 was put into production. Due to the presence of a wedge gate with a vertically moving wedge with semi-automatic, the location of vertical and horizontal aiming mechanisms on one side of the gun, as well as the use of unitary shots, the gun's rate of fire is 8-10 rounds per minute. The cannon was fired with unitary cartridges with armor-piercing tracer rounds and high-explosive fragmentation grenades. An armor-piercing tracer with an initial velocity of 895 m/s at a range of 500 m at a meeting angle of 90° pierced armor 160 mm thick. The range of a direct shot was 1080 m.
However, the role of this gun in the fight against enemy tanks is greatly exaggerated. By the time it appeared, the Germans practically did not use tanks massively.
During the war, the BS-3 was produced in small quantities and could not play a big role. At the final stage of the war, 98 BS-3s were given as a means of reinforcing five tank armies. The gun was in service with the light artillery brigades of the 3rd regiment.
As of January 1, 1945, the RGK artillery had 87 BS-3 guns. At the beginning of 1945, in the 9th Guards Army, as part of three rifle corps, one cannon artillery regiment of 20 BS-3s was formed.
Basically, due to the long firing range - 20650 m and a fairly effective high-explosive fragmentation grenade weighing 15.6 kg, the gun was used as a hull gun to fight enemy artillery and suppress distant targets.
The BS-3 had a number of shortcomings that made it difficult to use it as an anti-tank weapon. When firing, the gun jumped heavily, which made the gunner's work unsafe and knocked down aiming mounts, which, in turn, led to a decrease in the practical rate of aimed fire - a very important quality for a field anti-tank gun.
The presence of a powerful muzzle brake with a low line of fire and flat trajectories characteristic of firing at armored targets led to the formation of a significant smoke and dust cloud, which unmasked the position and blinded the calculation. The mobility of a gun with a mass of more than 3500 kg left much to be desired, transportation by crew forces on the battlefield was almost impossible.
After the war, the gun was in production until 1951 inclusive, a total of 3816 BS-3 field guns were produced. In the 60s, the guns underwent modernization, this concerned primarily sights and ammunition. Until the early 60s, the BS-3 could penetrate the armor of any Western tank. But with the advent of: M-48A2, Chieftain, M-60 - the situation has changed. New sub-caliber and cumulative projectiles were urgently developed. The next modernization took place in the mid-80s, when the 9M117 Bastion anti-tank guided projectile entered the BS-3 ammunition load.
This weapon was also supplied to other countries, took part in many local conflicts in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, in some of them it is still in service. In Russia, until recently, the BS-3 guns were used as coastal defense weapons in service with the 18th machine gun and artillery division stationed on the Kuril Islands, and a fairly significant number of them are also in storage.
Until the late 60s and early 70s of the last century, anti-tank guns were the main means of fighting tanks. However, with the advent of ATGMs with a semi-automatic guidance system, which only requires keeping the target in the field of view of the sight, the situation has changed in many ways. The military leadership of many countries considered metal-intensive, bulky and expensive anti-tank guns an anachronism. But not in the USSR. In our country, the development and production of anti-tank guns continued in significant numbers. And at a qualitatively new level.
Entered service in 1961 100 mm T-12 smoothbore anti-tank gun, developed in the design bureau of the Yurga Machine-Building Plant No. 75 under the direction of V.Ya. Afanasiev and L.V. Korneev.
The decision to make a smoothbore gun at first glance may seem rather strange; the time for such guns ended almost a hundred years ago. But the creators of the T-12 did not think so.
In a smooth channel, it is possible to make the gas pressure much higher than in a rifled one, and accordingly increase the initial velocity of the projectile.
In a rifled barrel, the rotation of the projectile reduces the armor-piercing effect of the jet of gases and metal during the explosion of a cumulative projectile.
A smooth-bore gun significantly increases the survivability of the barrel - you can not be afraid of the so-called "washing out" of the rifling fields.
The gun channel consists of a chamber and a cylindrical smooth-walled guide part. The chamber is formed by two long and one short (between them) cones. The transition from the chamber to the cylindrical section is a conical slope. The shutter is vertical wedge with spring semi-automatic. Charging is unitary. The carriage for the T-12 was taken from the 85 mm D-48 anti-tank rifled gun.
In the 60s, a more convenient carriage was designed for the T-12 gun. The new system received an index MT-12 (2A29), and in some sources is called the "Rapier". The mass production of the MT-12 went into 1970. The composition of the anti-tank artillery battalions of the motorized rifle divisions of the USSR Armed Forces included two anti-tank artillery batteries, consisting of six 100-mm anti-tank guns T-12 (MT-12).
Guns T-12 and MT-12 have the same warhead- a long thin barrel with a length of 60 calibers with a muzzle brake - "salt shaker". Sliding beds are equipped with an additional retractable wheel installed at the coulters. The main difference of the modernized MT-12 model is that it is equipped with a torsion bar suspension, which is blocked during firing to ensure stability.
When rolling the gun manually under the trunk part of the frame, a roller is substituted, which is fastened with a stopper on the left frame. Transportation of T-12 and MT-12 guns is carried out by a regular tractor MT-L or MT-LB. For driving on snow, the LO-7 ski mount was used, which made it possible to fire from skis at elevation angles up to + 16 ° with a rotation angle of up to 54 °, and at an elevation angle of 20 ° with a rotation angle of up to 40 °.
A smooth barrel is much more convenient for firing guided projectiles, although in 1961 this was most likely not thought about yet. To combat armored targets, an armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile with a swept warhead with high kinetic energy is used, capable of penetrating armor 215 mm thick at a distance of 1000 meters. The ammunition load includes several types of sub-caliber, cumulative and high-explosive fragmentation shells.
Shot ZUBM-10 with armor-piercing projectile
ZUBK8 shot with HEAT projectile
When a special guidance device is installed on the gun, shots with the Kastet anti-tank missile can be used. The missile is controlled by a semi-automatic laser beam, the firing range is from 100 to 4000 m. The missile penetrates armor behind dynamic protection ("reactive armor") up to 660 mm thick.
Rocket 9M117 and shot ZUBK10-1
For direct fire, the T-12 gun is equipped with a day sight and night sights. With a panoramic sight, it can be used as a field gun from covered positions. There is a modification of the MT-12R gun with a mounted 1A31 "Ruta" guidance radar.
MT-12R with radar 1A31 "Ruta"
The gun was massively in service with the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, was supplied to Algeria, Iraq and Yugoslavia. They took part in military operations in Afghanistan, in the Iran-Iraq war, in armed conflicts in the territories of the former USSR and Yugoslavia. During these armed conflicts, 100-mm anti-tank guns are mainly used not against tanks, but as conventional divisional or corps guns.
MT-12 anti-tank guns continue to be in service in Russia.
According to the press center of the Ministry of Defense, on August 26, 2013, with the help of an accurate shot with a UBK-8 cumulative projectile from the MT-12 "Rapira" cannon of the Yekaterinburg separate motorized rifle brigade of the Central Military District, a fire was extinguished at well No. P23 U1 near Novy Urengoy.
The fire started on August 19 and quickly turned into an uncontrollable fire breaking through the faulty rebar. natural gas. The artillery crew was transferred to New Urengoy by a military transport plane that took off from Orenburg. Equipment and ammunition were loaded at the Shagol airfield, after which the gunners under the command of the officer of the Missile Forces and Artillery Department of the Central Military District, Colonel Gennady Mandrichenko, were taken to the scene. The gun was set for direct fire from a minimum allowable distance of 70 m. The target diameter was 20 cm. The target was successfully hit.
In 1967, Soviet experts came to the conclusion that the T-12 gun “does not provide reliable destruction of the Chieftain tanks and the promising MVT-70. Therefore, in January 1968, OKB-9 (now part of JSC Spetstechnika) was instructed to develop a new, more powerful anti-tank gun with the ballistics of the 125 mm D-81 smoothbore tank gun. The task was difficult to accomplish, since the D-81, having excellent ballistics, gave the strongest return, which was still tolerable for a tank weighing 40 tons. But at field tests, the D-81 fired from a tracked carriage of a 203-mm B-4 howitzer. It is clear that such an anti-tank gun of 17 tons in weight and a maximum speed of 10 km / h was out of the question. Therefore, in the 125-mm gun, the recoil was increased from 340 mm (limited by the dimensions of the tank) to 970 mm and a powerful muzzle brake was introduced. This made it possible to install a 125-mm cannon on a three-bed carriage from a serial 122-mm D-30 howitzer, which allowed circular fire.
The new 125-mm cannon was designed by OKB-9 in two versions: the towed D-13 and the self-propelled SD-13 (“D” is the index of artillery systems designed by V.F. Petrov). The development of the SD-13 was 125-mm smooth-bore anti-tank gun "Sprut-B" (2A-45M). The ballistic data and ammunition of the D-81 tank gun and the 2A-45M anti-tank gun were the same.
The 2A-45M gun had a mechanized system for transferring it from a combat position to a marching one and vice versa, consisting of a hydraulic jack and hydraulic cylinders. With the help of a jack, the carriage was raised to a certain height, necessary for breeding or reducing the beds, and then lowered to the ground. Hydraulic cylinders lift the gun to its maximum clearance, as well as raise and lower the wheels.
Sprut-B is towed by a Ural-4320 vehicle or an MT-LB tractor. In addition, for self-movement on the battlefield, the gun has a special power unit, made on the basis of the MeMZ-967A engine with a hydraulic drive. The engine is located on the right side of the gun under the casing. On the left side of the frame, the driver's seats and the gun control system are installed on self-propelled. Max speed while on dry dirt roads - 10 km / h, and transportable ammunition - 6 shots; cruising range for fuel - up to 50 km.
The ammunition load of the 125-mm Sprut-B gun includes separate-sleeve-loading shots with cumulative, sub-caliber and high-explosive fragmentation shells, as well as anti-tank missiles. The 125-mm VBK10 round with the BK-14M HEAT projectile can hit tanks of the M60, M48, and Leopard-1A5 types. Shot VBM-17 with a sub-caliber projectile - tanks of the M1 type "Abrams", "Leopard-2", "Merkava MK2". The VOF-36 shot with the OF26 high-explosive fragmentation projectile is designed to destroy manpower, engineering structures and other targets.
In the presence of special guidance equipment 9S53 "Octopus" can fire ZUB K-14 rounds with 9M119 anti-tank missiles, which are semi-automatically controlled by a laser beam, the firing range is from 100 to 4000 m. The mass of the shot is about 24 kg, missiles - 17.2 kg, it pierces armor behind dynamic protection with a thickness of 700-770 mm.
At present, towed anti-tank guns (100- and 125-mm smoothbore) are in service with the countries - the former republics of the USSR, as well as a number of developing countries. The armies of the leading Western countries have long abandoned special anti-tank guns, both towed and self-propelled. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that towed anti-tank guns have a future. The ballistics and ammunition of the 125-mm Sprut-B cannon, unified with the cannons of modern main tanks, are capable of hitting any serial tanks in the world. An important advantage of anti-tank guns over ATGMs is a wider choice of means of destroying tanks and the possibility of hitting them point-blank. In addition, the Sprut-B can also be used as a non-anti-tank weapon. Its OF-26 high-explosive fragmentation projectile is close in ballistic data and in terms of explosive mass to the OF-471 projectile of the 122-mm A-19 corps gun, which became famous in the Great Patriotic War.
According to materials:
http://gods-of-war.pp.ua
http://russian-power.rf/guide/army/ar/d44.shtml
Shirokorad A. B. Encyclopedia of domestic artillery. - Minsk: Harvest, 2000.
Shunkov V.N. Weapons of the Red Army. - Minsk: Harvest, 1999.
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