Earlier, a series of articles on anti-tank rifles was started, the Boys' PTR, the Mauser T-Gewehr M1918 and Panzerbuchse 38 anti-tank rifles were considered. In continuation of these articles, I would like to consider the samples with which the Soviet Union was armed. And I propose to start with a weapon that was designed by one of the most famous designers, Semyon Vladimirovich Vladimirov.
In the mid-30s of the last century, work began on the creation of anti-tank rifles, and the designer Vladimirov proposed his projects. Realizing that the design of the weapon is only half the task and in many respects success will depend on what kind of ammunition will be used in the weapon, Vladimirov has developed three samples at once, similar to each other, but in three calibers: 12, 5, 14, 5 and 20 millimeters … According to the test results, the 20 mm sample, despite its caliber, showed the worst armor-piercing performance, although the hit on the target of such a bullet looked very effective. In addition, the weapon for this ammunition weighed more than 40 kilograms, which made it difficult to transport it. A sample of 12.7 mm caliber did not impress anyone, since the characteristics of the ammunition did not allow achieving the required results, but the weapon chambered for 14.5 mm showed the best performance, although it had many problems. The main problem of the proposed sample was the very low barrel survivability, only 150-200 shots, in addition, the weight of the sample, its dimensions were far from ideal. 22, 3 kilograms with a total length of more than 2 meters did not dispose to quickly change position with a weapon, and just carrying such a fool was a pleasure. Taking into account the fact that, in terms of its armor-piercing characteristics, the cartridge satisfied the commission, and the weapon itself was quite reliable in operation, only the barrel was the weak point, Vladimirov's anti-tank rifle chambered for 14.5 mm cartridges was sent for further revision.
By itself, the sample developed by Vladimirov had several rather interesting solutions at once, but first, let's get acquainted with how it all worked. The basis for the self-loading anti-tank rifle was an automatic with a long barrel stroke, when the barrel was locked by turning the bolt. When fired, the powder gases expand and not only push the bullet forward along the barrel, but also tend to push the spent cartridge case out of the chamber. Since the sleeves are securely fixed in the chamber with a bolt that is connected to the barrel, the powder gases cannot do this, but the barrel and the bolt of the weapon come into motion. Moving at a much slower speed than the speed of the bullet, due to its mass, the barrel and bolt move back. When moving, the bolt turns and opens the barrel bore, but at the same time, separation from the weapon barrel does not occur until they reach the extreme rear point. At the end of its movement back, the bolt becomes on the sear, and the barrel of the weapon, under the action of its own return spring, begins to move forward. In this case, the spent cartridge case is removed, which is thrown down. Having reached its normal position, the barrel stops, and after pressing the trigger, the shutter of the weapon begins to move, which takes out a new cartridge from the weapon store, sends it to the chamber, locks the barrel bore when turning and in the end breaks the cartridge primer, which leads to a shot …
The advantage of such an automation system was that the weapon, without any additional devices, began to have a completely tolerable recoil when firing. The large weight of the moving parts did not allow them to develop high speed when moving, and part of the energy received from the powder gases was extinguished by the rather rigid recoil spring of the barrel, however, the recoil of the anti-tank rifle still remained quite noticeable. The main disadvantage in this case can be called what is inherent in all systems with a movable barrel - a reduced accuracy of weapons in comparison with systems with a fixed barrel. And although we are not talking about a sniper rifle at all, but about an anti-tank rifle, this can be considered a significant minus, since the calculation of the MTP was required not only to hit the tank, but to get into the most vulnerable place, which would lead to at least a partial loss of performance individual units of the tank. Such a task already requires maximum concentration and experience from the calculation of an anti-tank rifle in a real battle, which is a rather rare phenomenon, so that, subject to mass and rapid production, such qualities as very high accuracy can be sacrificed. In addition, the ammunition itself was effective at very short distances, which, on the contrary, makes it possible not to make a high-precision large-caliber sniper rifle from the PTR. Nevertheless, everyone understood how important it was precisely to hit the target precisely, for this reason the weapon had an optical sight, albeit a simple one.
One of the most original solutions in Vladimirov's anti-tank rifle, in my opinion, was the weapons store. The magazine itself was located on top, at an angle, so as not to interfere with the use of sights. In this case, the store was non-removable, with a capacity of five rounds. To charge the weapon, it was necessary to compress the spring of the magazine feeder and insert a clip with cartridges through its rear wall, which, being fixed, closed the magazine from dirt and other unpleasant moments when the weapon was in the field. As soon as the last cartridge was in the chamber, the clip was thrown away, and a new one could be put in its place, having previously squeezed the return spring back. Why was it so perverted at all. First of all, a fixed magazine provides a more reliable supply of ammunition, while detachable magazines could bend during transportation or get dirty. Also, do not forget about the fact that five rounds in a clip are much lighter than five rounds in a magazine, and the clip's equipment is faster than the magazine's equipment. Although not everything is so smooth with the clips, let's not spoil the overall picture.
In the process of finalizing the weapon, Vladimirov did not abandon the general principle of operation of the PTR and at the same time solved the problems that were identified during the testing of the weapon. In particular, the resource of the barrel of the anti-tank rifle was increased to 600 shots, although how it remains is unknown. With the weight and dimensions of the weapon, the designer did a lot easier. Since reducing the weight and dimensions was simply impossible with the ammunition used without reducing the characteristics of the weapon and the ease of its operation, the designer made the weapon quickly disassembled into two parts. Thus, the calculation of the anti-tank rifle could carry two parts of the weapon and ammunition without any problems over sufficiently long distances on their own.
Unfortunately, despite the rather interesting solutions and the efforts that were used by the designer to bring the weapon to acceptable characteristics, Vladimirov's anti-tank rifle remained only in the form of a prototype. The winner of this struggle was the work of Rukavishnikov, but about this sample in another article.
