Anti-tank rifles of two models became one of the main means of fighting enemy armored vehicles for the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. PTR designs by Degtyarev and Simonov were created in the shortest possible time and just a few months after the start of the war found application on the battlefields. The constant development of enemy armored vehicles could limit the real potential of the PTR, but until the very end of the war, such weapons and armor-piercing riflemen did not remain without work.
As soon as possible
The development of light anti-tank systems of the type of anti-tank missile systems of various shapes has been carried out in our country since the beginning of the thirties. At different times, various models were adopted. However, in August 1940, all work ceased, and the existing products were removed from service. The command of the Red Army considered that thick-armored tanks, protected from PTR fire, would soon enter the arsenal of a potential enemy. Accordingly, the development of anti-tank defense was associated with artillery.
The opinion of the command changed on June 23, 1941. The day after the start of the war, an order was issued to resume work on the PTR topic. The gun of the N. V. system was again sent to the test site. Rukavishnikov. Leading enterprises were ordered to develop new PTR. Only a few weeks were given to complete the work.
New projects were created in no time. So, KB-2 of the Kovrov Tool Plant No. 2 presented two PTRs - from the chief designer V. A. Degtyarev and from a group of engineers A. A. Dementieva. According to the test results, Dementyev's PTR was seriously revised, after which it received a recommendation for adoption.
In parallel, S. G. Simonov. It differed from the previous model by the presence of a gas-operated automatic device for self-reloading. Despite the great complexity, the project was prepared in the required time frame, and the PTR went to the test site to confirm the characteristics. The fine-tuning was associated with serious difficulties, but in the end we managed to get the desired results.
On August 29, 1941, the Red Army adopted two new anti-tank guns - Degtyarev's ATGM and Simonov's ATGM. Preparations for serial production began. A simpler ATGM began to be produced in September, and by the end of the year more than 17 thousand units were produced. The launch of the PTRS was a little delayed, and the first serial products left the assembly line only in November. In the same November, two types of PTR were first used in battles.
In the language of numbers
PTRD and PTRS were large-caliber rifles chambered for 14, 5x114 mm, designed to destroy all kinds of protected targets. With their help, it was proposed to hit tanks, firing points, incl. armored and aircraft. Depending on the type of target, the fire was conducted at distances of up to 500-800 m.
Two PTR used a cartridge 14, 5x114 mm, originally created for the Rukavishnikov rifle arr. 1939 During the war, the main modifications of the cartridge were completed with armor-piercing incendiary bullets B-32 (hardened steel core) and BS-41 (cermet core). A 30-g sample of gunpowder ensured the acceleration of a bullet weighing 64 g to high speeds.
A characteristic feature of the PTR was a large barrel length, which made it possible to use the energy of the cartridge as fully as possible. PTRD and PTRS were equipped with 1350 mm long rifled barrels (93 clb). Due to this, the initial bullet speed reached 1020 m / s. Muzzle energy exceeded 33, 2 kJ - several times higher than that of other small arms. The presence of a gas engine slightly reduced the energy of the PTR Simonov and affected the fighting qualities.
Using a B-32 bullet, both PTR from a distance of 100 m with a direct hit pierced up to 40 mm of homogeneous armor. At a distance of 300 m, penetration for the anti-tank gun was reduced to 35 mm; PTRS due to automation could show less high results. With a further increase in the distance, the penetration rates decreased. As noted in the manual on shooting business from 1942, shooting at armored vehicles could be carried out from 500 m with the best results at 300-400 m.
Evolution of goals
The abandonment of the PTR in 1940 was due to the fact that the command of the Red Army expected the enemy to have tanks with frontal armor at least 50-60 mm thick, which only artillery could handle. As the events of the summer of 1941 showed, the enemy was simply overestimated. The main Wehrmacht tanks had much less powerful protection.
The basis of the German tank park was made up of light vehicles. So, one of the most massive was the Pz. Kpfw. II tank - about 1,700 units of all modifications. Early versions of this vehicle had armor up to 13 mm (hull) and 15 mm (turret). In later modifications, the maximum armor thickness reached 30-35 mm.
During the attack on the USSR, approx. 700 light tanks Pz. Kpfw. 38 (t) of Czechoslovak production. The hull and turret of such equipment had armor up to 25 mm thick, installed at different angles. Other areas were noticeably thinner.
Before the attack on the USSR, German industry had mastered the production of PzIII medium tanks of a number of modifications. Early series vehicles had armor no thicker than 15 mm. In the future, the protection was increased to 30-50 mm, incl. with the use of overhead parts.
Medium tanks Pz. Kpfw. IV initially had 30-mm frontal armor, but as they were further improved, their protection was repeatedly improved. On the latest modifications, a forehead with a thickness of 80 mm was used. However, even on later PzIVs, the side projection had protection of no more than 30 mm.
All subsequent German tanks, created after the attack on the USSR, had relatively thick armor on all projections. Its penetration from the anti-tank missile system at any range and angle was excluded.
Bullet against armor
Due to the rather high characteristics of the ATGM and ATGM, they could hit light Wehrmacht tanks at distances of up to 300-500 m. Early medium tanks were also a good target that could be disabled by a successful hit. Later, however, the situation began to change. Improved modifications and completely new tanks were distinguished by enhanced protection, both on the forehead and in other projections, which could protect them from PTR fire.
Despite the strengthening of the frontal projection, the side armor often retained less thick armor, which did not go unnoticed by the armor-piercers. Later tanks did not make their way into the side either - they responded to this with fire on the chassis, optics and weapons. The shooters retained the chance to hit the target from an acceptable distance.
It should be noted that the realization of the full potential of the PTR was associated with special difficulties and required courage from the shooter, and sometimes heroism. Unlike the crew of the tank, the calculation of the PTR at the position had minimal protection. The effective range of fire did not exceed several hundred meters, which is why the armor-piercers risked attracting the attention of tankers or accompanying infantry. At the same time, such a tank-hazardous target became a priority for the enemy.
As a result, the successful fight against enemy tanks was accompanied by constant high losses among personnel. This fact is reflected in army folklore in the form of a saying about a long barrel and a short life. However, in the difficult conditions of 1941-42. did not have to choose. Anti-tank rifles were a full-fledged element of the infantry anti-tank defense system, working together with more powerful artillery.
In production and at the front
Serial production of the PTRD started in September 1941, and within a few months the count of such products went to tens of thousands. Production continued until 1944, and during this time the Red Army received more than 280 thousand rifles. PTR Simonov went into series a little later, and the complexity of the design affected the pace of production. It was produced until 1945, having transferred a total of 190 thousand products to the front.
The PTR was introduced into the states of formations in December 1941. Then the rifle regiment was given an PTR company with three platoons of three squads in each. The department included three crews with guns. In the future, as the troops were saturated with weapons, it was possible to change states - right up to the introduction of rifle companies into the battalion of a rifle regiment. Also, over time, the PTR company appeared in the anti-tank division of the division.
For all the difficulties and risks, in the early stages of the war, two types of PTR were very effective weapons. It allowed rifle units to fight the vast majority of types of enemy armored vehicles, as well as to hit other targets. In the future, the booking of enemy tanks improved, and by 1943-44. they have ceased to be the main target of armor-piercers. However, the anti-tank missile system continued to be used to destroy light armored vehicles of different classes, firing points, etc. There are isolated cases of successful firing at low-flying aircraft.
Even having "lost" their original anti-tank designation, Soviet anti-tank missile systems were massively used until the end of the war and successfully completed the assigned tasks. The last 14.5 mm bullets were fired on the streets of Berlin.
During the war years, serial PTRs managed to show themselves as an effective, but difficult to use weapon. There are hundreds and thousands of protected enemy vehicles, both temporarily disabled and out of action, and completely destroyed, on the combat account of the PTR crews. Thousands of armor-piercing soldiers received well-deserved military awards.
Contribution to victory
In general, the history of Soviet anti-tank rifles during the Great Patriotic War is of great interest. Since the beginning of the thirties, our designers managed to study well the issue of light anti-tank systems and then lay the foundation for their further development. The development of the PTR direction was briefly interrupted, but in the summer of 1941 all measures were taken to create and introduce new models.
The results of these measures were not long in coming, and a simple and effective mass anti-tank weapon appeared at the disposal of the rifle formations of the Red Army. PTR became a successful addition to artillery and were used until the very end of the war. Moreover, their potential turned out to be much higher: Soviet anti-tank guns are still used in local conflicts.
