the USSR
Anti-aircraft artillery appeared soon after airplanes and dirigibles began to be used for military purposes. Initially, conventional infantry guns of medium caliber on various makeshift machines were used for firing at air targets. In this case, shrapnel shells with a remote tube were used. However, even taking into account the fact that the first combat aircraft were very far from perfect, and their speed did not exceed that of a modern passenger car of the middle class, the effectiveness of the fire of improvised anti-aircraft guns was low. This is due to the fact that the fire from the guns was fired "by eye", there were no anti-aircraft fire control devices, and the rate of fire of guns with a piston bolt was not too high.
A separate mention should be made of the 37-120-mm caliber naval rapid-fire "anti-mine" guns, intended to repel the attacks of destroyers. In terms of their characteristics, these semi-automatic bolt cannons, which had good ballistics, were best suited for anti-aircraft fire. But initially in their ammunition there were no shrapnel or fragmentation grenades with a remote fuse, and the vertical angle of elevation was limited. However, by the end of the First World War, in most of the belligerent countries on the basis of "mine" artillery, universal guns were created, capable of fighting aviation. For the ground forces, column anti-aircraft guns were adopted, often mounted on a cargo chassis or railway platforms.
Armored truck Russo-Balt-T with 76-mm anti-aircraft gun
Although the project of Rosenberg's 57-mm anti-aircraft gun was developed before the war, in Russia the 76-mm cannon, known as the 76-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1914/15 (3 ″ Lender anti-aircraft gun or 8-K). This is the first in Russia special 76, 2-mm gun equipped with a wedge breechblock with inertial semi-automatic, designed to fire at air targets with an altitude reach of 6500 meters. In addition to 76-mm guns in the Russian army and navy, there were imported 37-mm Maxim-Nordenfeldt automatic cannons and 40-mm Vickers (both guns were automatic according to the Maxim system) with belt feed. The guns used in the ground units were usually mounted on truck platforms. Theoretically, 76-mm anti-aircraft guns and 37-40-mm machine guns could be successfully used to combat German tanks and armored vehicles, but the author has no information about their use in this role.
37-mm automatic cannon Maxim-Nordenfeldt
However, the age of anti-aircraft guns based on the Maxim automatics in Russia turned out to be short-lived. These guns had a lot of shortcomings: they were difficult to operate, gave many delays in firing, required water cooling, and had low ballistics. As a result, by the mid-30s, there were practically no serviceable 37 and 40-mm anti-aircraft guns in the Red Army. 76-mm anti-aircraft gun Lender, on the contrary, until the mid-30s was the main anti-aircraft gun. In 1928, the gun was modernized: the barrel length was increased to 55 calibers, which made it possible to increase the muzzle velocity of the projectile to 730 m / s. The target hitting altitude reached 8000 m, and the rate of fire was 10-12 rds / min. The gun was produced until 1934. As of June 22, 1941, the troops had 539 76-mm units. anti-aircraft guns mod. 1914/15 Lender system and 19 pcs. 76 mm. anti-aircraft guns mod. 1915/28 g.
Without a doubt, in the initial period of the war, these guns had a chance to fire at ground targets. Given that Lender's anti-aircraft guns were absolutely compatible in terms of ammunition with divisional 76-mm guns, they can be considered quite effective anti-tank weapons. 76-mm armor-piercing shell 53-BR-350A at a distance of 1000 meters along the normal pierced 60-mm armor. In the summer of 1941, the thickness of the frontal armor of most German tanks did not exceed 50 mm. In an extreme case, it was possible to use shrapnel with a fuse, set "on strike", while the armor penetration at a distance of 400 meters was 30-35 mm.
76-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1914/15 were quite simple and reliable, they were well mastered in production and in the troops, but by the beginning of the 30s, Lender's guns were already outdated. The main disadvantage of these guns was considered to be insufficient reach in range and height. In addition, when bursting, shrapnel shells could hit an enemy aircraft in a relatively narrow sector, which generally reduced the effectiveness of firing at fast-moving air targets. In this regard, attempts were made to create a modern 76-mm anti-aircraft gun. However, in the late 20s - early 30s, the Soviet design school was still very weak, and the production base of artillery plants had just begun to be updated due to the supply of imported machine tools. Therefore, it was quite justified to purchase technical documentation for the German 75-mm gun 7, 5 cm Flak L / 59 from Rheinmetall. The original samples, made in Germany, were tested at the Research Anti-Aircraft Range in February-April 1932. In the same year, the gun was put into service under the name “76-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1931 (3K) . Especially for her, a new shell with a bottle-shaped sleeve was developed, which was used only in anti-aircraft guns.
76-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1931 g.
Automation ensured the extraction of spent cartridges and closing the shutter during firing. The shells were loaded and fired manually. The presence of semi-automatic mechanisms ensured a high combat rate of fire of the gun - up to 20 rounds per minute. The lifting mechanism made it possible to fire in the range of vertical guidance angles from -3 ° to + 82 °. By the standards of the early 30s, the anti-aircraft gun mod. 1931 was quite modern and had good ballistic characteristics. A carriage with four folding beds provided circular fire, and with a projectile weight of 6, 5 kg, the maximum height of destruction of air targets was 9 km. A significant disadvantage of the gun was that the transfer from the traveling position to the combat position took a relatively long time and was a rather laborious operation. In addition, the two-wheeled vehicle was unstable when transported over rough terrain.
76-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1931 in the Finnish Museum
From the experience of Lender's cannons, several dozen guns were installed on YAG-10 trucks. "Freight" ZSU received the index 29K. To install the anti-aircraft gun, the bottom of the car body was reinforced. The swinging part of the 76, 2-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1931 3K was mounted on a standard pedestal. The car was supplemented with four folding "paws" - jack-type stops. The body in the stowed position was supplemented with protective armored sides, which in the combat position were reclined horizontally, increasing the service area of the gun. In front of the cargo platform, there were two charging boxes of 24 rounds each. On the drop sides there were places for four crew numbers.
On the basis of the 3-K gun, the 76-mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1938 model was developed. In order to reduce deployment time, the same weapon was installed on a new, four-wheeled vehicle. Before the war, the troops managed to receive 750 76-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1938 It was the most numerous medium-caliber anti-aircraft gun in the USSR at the beginning of the war.
Thanks to a bottle-shaped sleeve with an increased charge of gunpowder and a long barrel, 76-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1931 and arr. 1938 had excellent armor penetration. The BR-361 armor-piercing projectile, fired from the 3-K gun at a distance of 1000 meters at a 90 ° meeting angle, penetrated 85 mm armor. In the initial period of the war, this was more than enough to destroy any German tank.
ZSU SU-6
In 1936, the SU-6 ZSU was tested, armed with a 76-mm 3-K anti-aircraft gun on the chassis of a T-26 light tank. This vehicle was intended to accompany motorized columns. She did not suit the military, since the entire anti-aircraft crew did not fit in the artillery mount. Failed as an anti-aircraft gun, the SU-6 could have become an excellent anti-tank self-propelled gun. For this, the gun had only to be covered with a light anti-fragmentation conning tower. On the eve of the war, our anti-tank units could receive an effective tank destroyer for ambush operations and prepared firing positions. Moreover, there was an abundance of obsolete T-26 tanks in the Red Army.
Talking about 76 mm guns, we cannot fail to mention two more guns of this caliber, which are formally considered anti-aircraft guns. In 1916, 76-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1902 on Ivanov's machine. Ivanov's machine was a metal pedestal with a circular rail in the upper part, along which the upper frame rotated on 4 rollers. The axis of rotation was an axle bolt, sprung by buffers. The curbstone had four openers and an inner box, which was filled with earth for stability. The field gun was rolled onto the upper frame by the forces of artillerymen and, in a combat position, had a circular horizontal firing sector and a maximum elevation angle of 56 °. A special anti-aircraft sight was used for shooting. The disadvantages of the system were the stationarity of the installation, which did not allow to protect the troops on the march and the low rate of fire. In addition, by the mid-30s, the height of destruction of air targets was unsatisfactory. Ivanov's anti-aircraft installations were in service until the beginning of World War II, and by that time they were already an obvious anachronism. But there were even more of them in the troops than the 3-K anti-aircraft guns, as of the second half of June - 805 units.
In the late 20s - early 30s, our military leadership was carried away by the idea of creating a universal artillery system that would combine the functions of anti-aircraft and divisional weapons. One of the apologists for this trend in the field of artillery weapons was M. N. Tukhachevsky, who from 1931 served as the chief of armaments of the Red Army, and from 1934 - the post of deputy people's commissar of defense for armaments. Energetic, but not having the proper education in the design and technology of artillery systems (and, therefore, incompetent in this matter), he actively promoted his personal ideas in their practical implementation.
In 1931, at the direction of Tukhachevsky, work began on the creation of a "universal" 76-mm divisional gun, which could conduct anti-aircraft fire. Despite the obvious viciousness of the concept in 1936, a weapon created under the leadership of V. G. Grabin was adopted. “76-mm divisional gun mod. 1936 " or the F-22 was originally developed for powerful ammunition with a bottle-shaped cartridge case. But at that time, the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) did not want to switch to another 76-mm ammunition, since there were huge stocks of 76-mm rounds in the warehouses with an arr. 1900, which, of course, was a mistake. At the same time, the F-22, designed for more powerful ballistics, had a large margin of safety, which was later used by the Germans, who captured a significant number of guns of this type in the initial period of the war. Given the acute shortage of anti-tank guns capable of hitting Soviet tanks with anti-cannon armor, the F-22 was converted into anti-tank guns. The modernization of the guns included the boring of the chamber for a larger sleeve, the installation of a muzzle brake and the transfer of aiming mechanisms to one side. The F-22, designated 7, 62cm FK 39, became one of the best anti-tank guns in the Wehrmacht, more than 500 guns were converted in total. A significant number of these guns were also used to arm the Marder II and Marder III tank destroyers.
"Universal" gun F-22 at an elevation angle close to the maximum.
In general, the "versatility" worsened the characteristics of the F-22. Constructive decisions aimed at imparting the properties of an anti-aircraft gun had a negative impact on the characteristics of the F-22 as a divisional gun. The F-22 was very large. The gun was often used as an anti-tank gun, but never as an anti-aircraft gun. She was deprived of the opportunity to conduct a circular attack, which is absolutely unacceptable for an anti-aircraft gun. Height reach and anti-aircraft fire accuracy were low. When firing at elevation angles greater than 60 °, the shutter automatics refused to work, which negatively affected the rate of fire. The artillery divisions did not have anti-aircraft fire control devices (PUAZO) and anti-aircraft sights. In terms of firing range and armor penetration, the F-22 did not have any particular advantages over the old divisional gun mod. 1902/30 The use of the F-22 as an anti-tank gun was hampered by the fact that the sight and the vertical guidance mechanism were on opposite sides of the barrel, respectively, the gun could not be guided by the gunner alone.
The growth of the speeds and "ceiling" of the aircraft, the increase in their survivability required an increase in the height reach of anti-aircraft guns and an increase in the projectile power. 76 mm. the 3-K anti-aircraft gun had an increased margin of safety. Calculations have shown that it is possible to increase its caliber to 85 mm. The main advantage of the 85-mm anti-aircraft gun over its predecessor, the 76-mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1938 model, is the increased power of the projectile, which created a larger radius of destruction in the target area.
In the new gun, the 85-mm barrel was placed on the platform of the 76-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1938, in addition, the bolt and semi-automatic design of this gun was used. To reduce recoil, a muzzle brake was installed. 85-mm anti-aircraft gun under the designation “85-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1939 (52-K) launched into mass production on a simplified gun carriage (with a four-wheeled cart) 76, 2-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1938 Thus, at minimal cost and in a short time, a new effective anti-aircraft gun was created. Until the moment of the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, the industry managed to supply 2,630 units to the troops. In total, more than 14,000 85-mm anti-aircraft guns were fired during the war years.
85-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1939 (52-K)
In addition to air defense, 85-mm anti-aircraft guns were widely used for firing at ground targets, becoming one of the most effective means of fighting enemy tanks. At an initial speed of 800 m / s, the 53-UBR-365K armor-piercing projectile, which weighed 9.2 kg, at a distance of 1000 meters along the normal pierced 100 mm armor. At a distance of 500 meters, the armor-piercing projectile was quite in the "teeth" was the frontal armor of the heavy Tiger. The maximum rate of fire of the gun reached 20 rds / min.
Already at the end of June 1941, it was decided to form separate anti-tank artillery regiments of the RGK, armed with twenty 85-mm anti-aircraft guns. In July - August 1941, 35 such regiments were formed. In August - October, a second wave of formation of anti-tank regiments of the RGK followed. On the one hand, an important advantage of anti-aircraft guns was also a carriage, which provided a circular firing sector. On the other hand, this very four-wheeled carriage made the anti-aircraft gun less mobile. Its transportation on soft soils or deep snow was possible only with powerful tracked tractors, which were few in the Red Army.
Due to the acute shortage of effective anti-tank guns, in 1942 the production of simplified 85-mm guns was launched without means of interfacing with PUAZO. Based on combat experience, an armored shield was mounted on the guns to protect the crews from bullets and shrapnel. These guns entered the anti-tank artillery regiments of the RGK. In 1943, in order to improve service and operational characteristics and reduce the cost of production, the anti-aircraft gun was modernized.
The practice of widespread use of 85-mm anti-aircraft guns in anti-aircraft guns took place at least until the end of 1943. It is known that 15 anti-tank artillery battalions of twelve 85-mm guns took part in the Battle of Kursk. At the same time, they were forbidden to fire at air targets. By the beginning of 1944, as the troops were fully saturated with anti-tank artillery and the start of mass production of the SU-85 tank destroyer, 85-mm anti-aircraft guns were withdrawn from the anti-tank battalions. But there were always armor-piercing shells in the ammunition of anti-aircraft batteries deployed in the frontal zone.
On the basis of an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun or with the use of ammunition during the war years, a number of guns were developed with which the T-34-85, KV-85, IS-1 and SU-85 tanks were armed. 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 purpose of the modernization was to increase the survivability of the barrel and reduce the cost of production. But its massive entry into the troops began after the end of hostilities.
37-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun mod. 1939 g.
In 1939, the USSR adopted the 37-mm 61-K anti-aircraft machine gun, based on the Swedish 40-mm anti-aircraft gun Bofors. The 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun of the 1939 model is a single-barreled small-caliber automatic anti-aircraft gun on a four-carriage with a non-detachable four-wheel drive. The automatic gun is based on the use of the recoil force according to the scheme with a short recoil of the barrel. All actions necessary for firing a shot (opening the bolt after a shot with extracting the sleeve, cocking the striker, feeding cartridges into the chamber, closing the bolt and releasing the striker) are performed automatically. Aiming, aiming of the gun and the supply of clips with cartridges to the store are carried out manually.
Calculation of the 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun mod. 1939 g.
According to the leadership of the gun service, its main task was to combat air targets at ranges up to 4 km and at altitudes up to 3 km. If necessary, the cannon can also be used for firing at ground targets, including tanks and armored vehicles. 37-mm anti-aircraft machine gun mod. 1939, even before the war, it was created as an anti-tank and anti-aircraft and had a spent armor-piercing projectile. By the beginning of the war, the troops had 370 37-mm anti-aircraft guns 61-K, which was about 10% of the minimum required number. During the war years, more than 22,000 37-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1939. To this should also be added more than 5000 40mm Bofors assault rifles supplied by the Allies.
40-mm anti-aircraft gun Bofors L60
Since July 1941, 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft guns 61-K, along with 85-mm guns 52-K, were included in the anti-tank regiments of the RGK. These regiments were armed with eight 37 mm and eight 85 mm anti-aircraft guns.
An armor-piercing tracer 37 mm UBR-167 projectile weighing 770 grams left the barrel at a speed of 865 m / s. At a distance of 500 meters along the normal, it penetrated 46 mm of armor, which made it possible to destroy medium German tanks when firing at the side. However, the use of rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns in the role of not the most effective anti-tank guns in the conditions of the dominance of enemy aircraft was an impermissible luxury. In this regard, at the end of 1941, 37-mm machine guns from anti-tank artillery were withdrawn. Nevertheless, during the war years, 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft guns 61-K were quite often used for firing at ground targets.
Shortly before the war, a 25-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun of the 1940 model (72-K) was created, which borrowed a number of design solutions from the 37-mm 61-K assault rifle. But by the beginning of hostilities, she did not get into the troops. Anti-aircraft guns 72-K were intended for air defense at the level of a rifle regiment and in the Red Army occupied an intermediate position between the large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns DShK and the more powerful 37-mm anti-aircraft guns 61-K. However, the use of a cage loading for a small-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun greatly reduced the practical rate of fire.
Due to the difficulties in mastering their serial production, a significant number of 25-mm anti-aircraft guns appeared in the Red Army only in the second half of the war. Their anti-tank capabilities, due to their smaller caliber, were worse than those of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns. At a distance of 500 meters, an armor-piercing projectile weighing 280 grams. with an initial speed of 900 m / s, it pierced 30-mm armor along the normal. That made it possible to fight light tanks, armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers. However, in terms of the armor action, the 25-mm projectile was much inferior to even the 37-mm projectile, whose effectiveness was considered insufficient.
Most often, 76-85-mm guns were used for firing at ground targets, especially in anti-tank guns. Anti-aircraft guns sometimes became the only barrier in the way of German tanks. A very large role in the anti-tank defense of anti-aircraft guns, put on direct fire, played in the Battle of Moscow. About 50% of anti-aircraft artillery batteries left their positions and took up defensive lines on the approaches to the capital. Even during the Smolensk defensive battle, "nomadic groups" were allocated from the air defense forces and assets for deployment in tank-hazardous areas. Such groups often made unexpected artillery strikes against the advance columns of the advancing German troops breaking through the front, sowing panic among them and causing serious damage to manpower and equipment.
After the Germans began Operation Typhoon, in connection with the threat of a breakthrough of enemy troops through Borovsk to Naro-Fominsk and through Maloyaroslavets to Podolsk, a group of four anti-aircraft artillery batteries and three anti-aircraft machine gun platoons. On October 12, in the area of the city of Borovsk, the group entered into battle with an enemy column up to an infantry regiment reinforced with tanks. For nine hours, the gunners and machine gunners held back the enemy, and then the approaching forces of the 33rd Army threw the Nazis back 8 km from Borovsk with a counterattack. In this battle, the anti-aircraft artillery group destroyed 8 tanks, two bombers and up to an enemy infantry battalion.
The anti-aircraft gunners of the 732th anti-aircraft artillery regiment played a huge role during the defense of Tula. Four medium-caliber batteries were deployed to the southern approaches to Tula. Anti-tank ditches were dug in front of the firing positions, anti-tank obstacles and minefields were installed. Searchlight stations have been prepared for the night battle. An attempt by the Germans to break through the defenses on the move failed. In one battle alone, on October 30, the enemy lost more than 20 tanks and more than 200 infantrymen. In total, during the two months of the defense of Tula, anti-aircraft gunners destroyed 49 tanks, 5 armored vehicles, 3 artillery and 12 mortar batteries, 11 aircraft and up to 1,850 enemy soldiers and officers.
In 1942, at Stalingrad, the Red Army anti-aircraft gunners showed miracles of courage, repelling the attacks of the penetrating German tank units. Often, enemy tanks and aircraft attacked positions at the same time, and anti-aircraft guns had to fire at both. For example, the 3rd battery of the 1077th zenap destroyed 14 tanks, 3 aircraft and up to 100 enemy soldiers in just one day on August 23, 1942. The feat of the anti-aircraft gunners of the 1077th anti-aircraft artillery regiment, which covered the factory part of Stalingrad from air raids, forever entered the history of the defense of Stalingrad. In total, 75 girls served in the regiment, and were armed with 37-mm 61-K anti-aircraft guns and 85-mm 52-K anti-aircraft guns, 37 guns in total. It was they who, together with the workers of the Stalingrad Tractor, blocked the path of the breakthrough German tanks of the 16th Panzer Division of Lieutenant General Hube. From 23 to 24 August 1942, 83 tanks were destroyed in the defense area of the 1077th regiment, 15 trucks were destroyed, and up to an infantry battalion was destroyed. But at the same time, all the anti-aircraft guns were lost, and most of the anti-aircraft gunners died. In December 1942, the anti-aircraft gunners of the 1080th anti-aircraft regiment distinguished themselves. The regiment's personnel suffered heavy losses, but the fire of their 76-mm anti-aircraft guns mod. 1938 stopped German tanks trying to break through the encirclement.
During the Great Patriotic War, anti-aircraft guns were often used to combat enemy armored vehicles, but we must admit that this was a necessary measure. At the design stage, the design of anti-aircraft guns included the possibility of firing at ground targets, but it was impractical to constantly use expensive and complex weapons for firing at ground targets. This was practiced only in the most intense periods of hostilities, when it was required at any cost to stop the enemy offensive.
