In the 1930s, China and Germany worked closely together in the economic and military spheres. Germany participated in the modernization of industry and the army in exchange for the supply of Chinese raw materials. More than half of Germany's exports of military equipment and weapons before 1937 went to China. The Germans supplied modern aircraft at that time, light tanks PzKpfw I, artillery and mortars, small arms and ammunition. Germany also helped with the construction of new and modernization of existing defense enterprises. So, with German support, the Hanyang arsenal was modernized, where the production of rifles and machine guns was carried out. In the vicinity of the city of Changsha, the Germans built an artillery plant, and in Nanjing, an enterprise for the production of binoculars and optical sights. Although cooperation between Germany and China was curtailed in 1937, until the early 1950s the Chinese army was mainly armed with 7.92mm German-made rifles. There was also a lot of German artillery in China.
In July 1937, full-scale hostilities began between Japan and China. As early as December 1937, after the Japanese army captured Nanjing, the Chinese army lost most of its heavy weapons. In this regard, the leader of the Kuomintang nationalist party, Chiang Kai-shek, was forced to seek support from the USSR, the USA, Great Britain, the Netherlands and France. Fears about Japanese expansion in Asia prompted the governments of these countries to provide loans to China for military needs and provide assistance with weapons. Until 1941, the main military support came from the USSR. About 5,000 Soviet citizens visited China: military advisers, pilots, doctors and technical specialists. From 1937 to 1941, the USSR supplied the Kuomintang with 1,285 aircraft, 1,600 artillery pieces, 82 light T-26 tanks, 14,000 light and heavy machine guns, 1,850 cars and tractors. Refineries and aircraft assembly plants were built on Chinese territory. After the termination of military-technical cooperation between the USSR and the Kuomintang in 1941, the United States assumed the main burden of supplying China with equipment, weapons and specialists.
Thus, the Chinese armed forces in the late 1930s and early 1940s were armed with a motley mixture of weapons produced in Europe, America and the USSR. In addition, the Chinese army very actively used Japanese-made equipment and weapons captured in battles. After the surrender of the Kwantung Army, the Soviet command handed over to the Chinese communists a significant part of the Japanese trophies, which were later used against the Kuomintang and in the Korean War.
On the ground floor of the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution, there is a rich collection of anti-aircraft guns made in China and other countries. In the second half of the 1930s, the air defense of the Kuomintang troops was reinforced with several dozen 20-mm anti-aircraft guns 2, 0 cm Flak 28 and 2, 0 cm FlaK 30. According to some reports, the assembly of 20-mm anti-aircraft guns 2, 0 cm FlaK 30 was carried out in Huang Province, at an enterprise in the vicinity of Changsha City.
The 20-mm anti-aircraft gun 2, 0 cm Flak 28 was created on the basis of the universal 20-mm cannon, which, in turn, was descended from the Becker automatic cannon, which appeared at the end of the First World War. Unlike the "Becker cannon", which used a low-power 20x70 mm ammunition, the new 20-mm machine gun was created for a more powerful cartridge of 20 × 110 mm, with an initial velocity of 117 g of the projectile - 830 m / s. The mass of the gun without wheel travel is 68 kg. Rate of fire - 450 rds / min. Food was carried out from box magazines for 15 rounds.
In the advertising brochures of the "Oerlikon" company it was indicated that the reach in height was 3 km, in range - 4, 4 km. The effective firing range was about half that. However, for the mid-1930s, when the first 20-mm anti-aircraft guns appeared in China, they posed a great danger to Japanese combat aircraft operating at low altitude.
The 20-mm anti-aircraft gun 2.0 cm FlaK 30 was developed by Rheinmetall in 1930. The advantages of this weapon included simplicity of design, the ability to quickly disassemble and assemble, and a relatively low weight. The automatic building sight, with the correct data entry, allowed for fairly accurate shooting. The data required for vertical and lateral lead was entered manually into the sight and determined visually, except for the range, which was measured by a stereo range finder.
During transportation, the gun was placed on a two-wheel drive and secured with two brackets and a connecting pin. It took only a few seconds to remove the pin, after which the clamps loosened, and the system, along with the gun carriage, could be lowered to the ground. The carriage provided the possibility of circular fire with the greatest elevation angle of 90 °. The installation had a recoil device and ammunition supply from a magazine for 20 shells. Rate of fire 240 rds / min. For firing from 2, 0 cm FlaK 30 ammunition was used 20 × 138 mm, with a higher muzzle energy than projectiles 20 × 110 mm, designed for anti-aircraft guns of the company "Oerlikon" 2, 0 cm Flak 28. Fragment-tracer projectile weighing 115 g left barrel at a speed of 900 m / s. Also, the ammunition load included armor-piercing incendiary tracer and armor-piercing tracer shells. The latter weighed 140 g and, at an initial speed of 830 m / s, at a distance of 300 m, it pierced 25 mm armor. Thus, the 20-mm anti-aircraft gun could effectively deal with both combat aircraft and light tanks.
In 1935, Breda Meccanica Bresciana, based on the French 13, 2-mm Hotchkiss Мle 1930 machine gun, created a universal 20-mm Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/65 modello 35 installation, also known as the Breda Modèle 35, which used the Long Solothurn cartridge - 20x138 mm. The same ammunition was used in German anti-aircraft high-speed rifles: 2.0 cm FlaK 30, 2.0 cm Flak 38 and 2.0 cm Flakvierling 38.
Shortly after the start of mass production of the Breda M35, the Chinese government purchased a batch of 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. Italian-made antiaircraft guns were intended to provide air defense for units of the 87th, 88th and 36th divisions of the National Army. In China, the 20-mm "Breda" was used as a light anti-aircraft gun and anti-tank weapon. Power, as in the French machine gun, came from a rigid clip-tape for 12 rounds. The clip was fed from the left side, and as the cartridges were consumed, it passed through the receiver and fell out on the right. Rate of fire - 500 rds / min. A well-trained crew could develop a combat rate of fire up to 150 rds / min. Installation weight - about 340 kg. Vertical guidance angles: from -10 ° to + 80 °. With the separation of the wheel drive, it was possible to fire in the 360 ° sector.
In addition to German and Italian 20-mm anti-aircraft guns, the Kuomintang troops had a number of M1935 Madsen anti-aircraft guns. A small-caliber Danish cannon chambered for a 20x120 mm cartridge, according to the principle of automatic operation, repeated Madsen's infantry machine gun of a rifle caliber with a short barrel stroke and a swinging bolt. The air-cooled barrel was equipped with a muzzle brake. Food was carried out from box magazines for 15 or drum magazines for 30 shells. 20-mm automatic cannon on a universal machine, in the second half of the 30s was popular with foreign buyers and was widely exported.
The M1935 Madsen anti-aircraft gun had a record low mass for its caliber, its weight was only 278 kg. Rate of fire - 500 rds / min. Combat rate of fire - up to 120 shots / min. The effective firing range at air targets was up to 1,500 m. The ammunition load included shots with an armor-piercing (154 g), armor-piercing tracer (146 g), fragmentation (127 g) projectile. An armor-piercing projectile with an initial speed of 730 m / s, at a distance of 300 m along the normal could penetrate 27 mm of armor.
The exposition of the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution also has a Japanese 20-mm universal mount Type 98. From the very beginning, this weapon was developed as a universal weapon. It was assumed that 20-mm rapid-fire rifles would not only provide protection for the front edge of the defense from bombing and assault strikes, but would also be able to fight light tanks.
The principle of operation of the Type 98 automatics was repeated by the French 13, 2-mm Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun. For firing from the Type 98, a 20 × 124 mm shot was used, which is also used in the Type 97 anti-tank gun. normal penetrated 30 mm armor. In the combat position, the anti-aircraft gun was hung out on three supports. If necessary, the fire could be fired from the wheels, but the accuracy of the fire dropped. The anti-aircraft gun could fire in the 360 ° sector, vertical guidance angles: from -5 ° to + 85 °. Weight in firing position - 373 kg. Rate of fire - 300 rds / min. Combat rate of fire - up to 120 rds / min. Food was supplied from a 20-charge store. The maximum firing range is 5.3 km. The effective firing range was about half that. The production of the Type 98 small-caliber anti-aircraft gun lasted from 1938 to 1945. About 2,500 20-mm anti-aircraft guns were sent to the troops.
Very often, 20-mm machine guns were installed in the back of trucks to protect against aviation and attacks by sabotage groups. A small number of Type 98 anti-aircraft guns were captured by the Chinese partisans. Soviet troops handed over three dozen captured 20-mm Japanese-made anti-aircraft guns to the troops of Mao Zedong, who in the second half of the 1940s waged an armed struggle against the Kuomintang. The anti-aircraft 20-mm guns available to the Chinese communists were rarely used for their intended purpose. Most often, they fired at ground targets, supporting their own infantry.
During World War II, the most famous and massive Japanese small-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun was the 25-mm Type 96. This anti-aircraft gun was developed in 1936 on the basis of the Mitrailleuse de 25 mm contre-aéroplanes gun of the French company Hotchkiss. The most serious difference between the Japanese model and the original was the equipment of the German company Rheinmetall with a flame arrester. The anti-aircraft gun was towed; in the combat position, the wheel drive was separated.
A single-barreled 25-mm anti-aircraft gun weighed 790 kg and could be rolled by a crew of 4 people. For food, magazines for 15 shells were used. The rate of fire of a single-barreled machine gun was 220-250 rds / min. Practical rate of fire: 100-120 rds / min. Vertical guidance angles: from -10 ° to + 85 °. The effective firing range is up to 3000 m. The altitude reach is 2000 m. The fire was fired with 25-mm rounds with a sleeve length of 163 mm. The ammunition load could include: high-explosive incendiary, fragmentation tracer, armor-piercing, armor-piercing tracer shells. At a distance of 250 meters, an armor-piercing projectile weighing 260 g, with an initial speed of 870 m / s, pierced 35-mm armor.
In addition to the Type 96 single-barreled anti-aircraft guns, during the Second World War, twin and triple anti-aircraft guns were also produced in Japan. Single-barreled and paired 25-mm anti-aircraft guns were used mainly on land, and triple-barreled ones were installed on ships and stationary positions.
The twinned 25-mm unit was mounted on a four-wheeled vehicle with a detachable wheel travel. Its weight in combat position was 1110 kg. Calculation - 7 people. For towing, a truck with a carrying capacity of 1.5 tons was used. Single-barreled units were often transported in the back of a truck.
Before the surrender of Japan, about 33,000 25-mm anti-aircraft guns were produced, which were very widely used in hostilities. After the surrender of the Kwantung Army, among the trophies taken by the Red Army were about 400 single-barreled and twin anti-aircraft guns Type 96, and a significant amount of ammunition. Most of the 25-mm anti-aircraft guns with ammunition were donated to the Chinese communists. Subsequently, these installations were used against the Chiang Kai-shekists and during the hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. Captured Japanese 25-mm anti-aircraft guns were in service with the PLA until the early 1950s, when they were replaced by Soviet and Chinese-made guns.
After the Soviet Union stopped providing military assistance to the Kuomintang, large-scale deliveries of American weapons began. So, in the collection of the museum, among the anti-aircraft guns of Japanese and Soviet production, there is a 40-mm anti-aircraft gun Bofors L60. This weapon went down in history as one of the most advanced and massive means of fighting an air enemy during the Second World War, and in a number of states it is still in service. According to archival data, the Kuomintang received more than 80 40-mm anti-aircraft guns until 1947.
Compared to 20-25 mm rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns, the Bofors L60 gun had a greater effective range and height reach. A fragmentation 900-gram projectile left the barrel at a speed of just over 850 m / s. The rate of fire is about 120 rounds / min. Reach in height - up to 4000 m. The anti-aircraft gun was installed on a four-wheeled towed vehicle. At the firing position, the carriage frame was lowered to the ground for greater stability. In case of urgent need, shooting could be carried out from wheels, without installing supports, but with less accuracy. The mass of the anti-aircraft gun in a combat position is about 2000 kg. Calculation - 5 people.
Although the Chinese army had fairly modern anti-aircraft guns during the war with Japan, they did not have a noticeable effect on the course of hostilities. First of all, this was due to the fact that the Kuomintang command used anti-aircraft guns separately and did not organize a network of observation posts for the air situation. In addition, the preparation of the Chinese calculations was very weak. The commanders of anti-aircraft batteries in most cases were unable to determine the range, altitude and speed of flight of Japanese aircraft, and at best, rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns fired defensive fire. As a rule, from 1937 to 1945, anti-aircraft artillery in China covered headquarters and large air bases, and military units were defenseless from attacks by Japanese bombers. In part, the Chinese were saved by the fact that after the US entered the war, most of the Japanese military aviation was not deployed in China.
During World War II, the most massive Japanese anti-aircraft gun was the 75-mm Type 88 cannon. This gun entered service in 1928 and had become obsolete by the beginning of the 1940s.
In the transport position, the Type 88 gun weighed 2740 kg, in the combat position - 2442 kg. The anti-aircraft gun had a circular fire, vertical guidance angles: from 0 ° to + 85 °. The maximum reach in height was 9 km, in range when conducting anti-aircraft fire - 12 km. The Type 88 was fired with a 75x497R shell. In addition to a fragmentation grenade with a remote fuse and a high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a shock fuse, the ammunition load included an armor-piercing projectile weighing 6, 2 kg. Having left the barrel with a length of 3212 mm with an initial speed of 740 m / s, at a distance of 500 m when hit at a right angle, an armor-piercing projectile could penetrate 110 mm thick armor. Although the 75-mm Type 88 anti-aircraft gun was capable of firing up to 20 rounds per minute, the excessive complexity and high cost of the gun caused a lot of criticism. The process of transferring the gun from the transport to the combat position and vice versa was very time consuming. Particularly inconvenient for deploying anti-aircraft guns in a combat position was such a structural element as a five-beam support, in which it was necessary to move four beds apart and unscrew five jacks. Dismantling two transport wheels also took a lot of time and effort from the crew.
The history of the 75 mm Japanese anti-aircraft gun presented in the museum is not known. Most likely, as in the case of the 25-mm Type 96 anti-aircraft guns, the 75-mm Type 88 guns were transferred to the Chinese communists after the defeat of Japan. Captured Japanese 75-mm anti-aircraft guns were not in service with the PLA for a long time, and already in the mid-1950s they were supplanted by 85 and 100-mm Soviet-made anti-aircraft guns.
Next to the 75-mm Japanese anti-aircraft gun, the Soviet 85-mm anti-aircraft guns of the 1939 model are placed on the museum's exposition. Unfortunately, the explanatory plate only says that these are 85 mm M1939 cannons. The specific modification of the guns and their track record is not indicated.
Before the war in the USSR, they managed to supply the troops with 2,630 anti-aircraft guns mod. 1939 (52-K). In total, more than 14,000 85-mm anti-aircraft guns were produced during the war years. Anti-aircraft guns of different years of production differed from each other in a number of details. Changes were made to reduce the cost of production and improve combat performance. In 1944, the 85-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1944 (KS -1). It was obtained by imposing a new 85-mm barrel on the carriage of an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1939 The aim of the modernization was to improve barrel survivability and reduce production costs.
The 85-mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1939 model weighed about 4500 kg and could fire at aircraft flying at an altitude of 10 km and at a range of up to 14000 m. The rate of fire is up to 20 rounds / min. In total, over the period from 1939 to 1945, the industry of the USSR produced more than 14,000 85-mm anti-aircraft guns. These weapons were actively used against American aircraft in Korea and Southeast Asia. In China, 85-mm anti-aircraft guns were operated until the end of the 1980s.
Another anti-aircraft gun, which had Soviet roots and fought on the Korean Peninsula and in Vietnam, is the 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun of the 1939 model (61-K). This 37-mm anti-aircraft machine gun was based on the Swedish 40-mm anti-aircraft gun Bofors.
According to the passport data 37-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. In 1939, it could hit air targets at a distance of up to 4000 m and an altitude of 3000 m. The effective range of anti-aircraft fire was approximately half the size. Rate of fire - 160 rds / min. The mass of the gun in a combat position without a shield was 2100 kg. Calculation - 7 people. Until 1947, more than 18,000 37-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1939 After the formation of the PRC from the USSR in 1949, about three hundred anti-aircraft guns arrived. According to some reports, in addition to the 37-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1939 40-mm Bofors L60, received by the Soviet side under Lend-Lease during the Second World War, were transferred. The volume of deliveries of Soviet anti-aircraft guns to the PRC increased significantly after Chinese volunteers took part in the Korean War.
In the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution, three 37-mm anti-aircraft guns are presented to the attention of visitors. There are ten red stars painted on the shield of one of them. Unfortunately, the explanatory plate for this sample does not say anything what the stars mean. It is extremely unlikely that the crew of this anti-aircraft gun managed to shoot down so many enemy aircraft. Most likely this is the number of enemy air raids, in the repulse of which the gun took part. In the 1950s, the production of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1939 The twin version was named Type 65. Chinese-made 37-mm anti-aircraft guns were supplied to North Vietnam and were used to repel American air raids. Currently, most of the 37-mm anti-aircraft guns in the PRC have been removed from service.
During the Second World War, it turned out that for the anti-aircraft guns in service with the Red Army there is a "difficult" range of heights: from 1500 m to 3000. Here the aircraft turned out to be inaccessible for rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns of 25-37-mm caliber, and for 76-85-mm anti-aircraft guns, this height was too low. In order to solve the problem, it seemed natural to create a rapid-fire anti-aircraft gun of some intermediate caliber. In this regard, the development of a 57-mm gun was started, which was put into service in 1950 under the designation S-60.
The 57-mm S-60 anti-aircraft gun weighed 4,800 kg in combat position. Rate of fire - 70 rds / min. The initial velocity of the projectile is 1000 m / s. Projectile weight - 2, 8 kg. Reach in range - 6000 m, in height - 4000 m. Calculation - 6-8 people. The ESP-57 battery set of tracking drives was intended for azimuth and elevation guidance of a battery of 57-mm S-60 cannons, consisting of eight or less guns. When firing, PUAZO-6-60 and the SON-9 gun aiming radar were used, and later - the RPK-1 Vaza radar instrument complex. All guns were located at a distance of no more than 50 m from the central control box.
Soviet anti-aircraft batteries, equipped with 57-mm machine guns, covered objects on the territory of the DPRK during the Korean War. Based on the results of combat use, the S-60 gun was modernized, after which it was mass-produced until 1957. In total, 5,700 guns were delivered to the customer. In China, the 57-mm anti-aircraft gun from the late 1950s was produced under license under the designation Type 57. However, the RPK-1 "Vaza" was not supplied to China, and batteries of 57-mm anti-aircraft guns were operated with outdated gun guidance stations. Given the fact that China produced its own 57-mm anti-aircraft guns, it is not known that the original Soviet S-60s are presented in the museum, or are they their Chinese clones.
The heaviest anti-aircraft gun on display at the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution is the Type 1959 100-mm anti-aircraft gun. This gun is a Chineseized version of the Soviet 100-mm KS-19M2 anti-aircraft gun.
The first modification of the KS-19 entered service in 1948. The 100-mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1947 model (KS-19) ensured the fight against air targets that had a speed of up to 1200 km / h and flying at an altitude of 15 km. All elements of the complex in the combat position were connected with each other by electric cables. The anti-aircraft gun is guided to the anticipatory point by the GSP-100 hydraulic power drive from PUAZO, but there was also the possibility of manual guidance. In the KS-19 cannon, the following were mechanized: installing the fuse, discharging the cartridge, closing the bolt, firing a shot, opening the bolt and extracting the sleeve. Effective rate of fire 14-16 rds / min. In 1950, in order to improve the combat and operational properties, the artillery unit and hydraulic power drive were modernized, after which the gun received the designation KS-19M2. To control the fire of the battery, the SON-4 gun guidance radar was used, which was a two-axle towed van, on the roof of which there was a rotating antenna in the form of a circular parabolic reflector with a diameter of 1, 8 m. From 1948 to 1955, 10151 KS-19 guns were manufactured, which before the advent of air defense systems, they were the main means of combating high-altitude air targets.
Chinese-made 100-mm anti-aircraft guns fired at American bombers during the Vietnam War. In the 1970s-1980s, several dozen stationary concrete positions were built on the territory of the PRC, on which Type 1959 anti-aircraft guns were constantly on alert. A number of 100-mm guns are still preserved in the PLA coastal defense units deployed along the coast Taiwan Strait.
