Almost immediately after the appearance of tanks on the battlefield, artillery became the main means of fighting them. At first, medium-caliber field guns were used to fire at tanks, but already at the end of the First World War, specialized anti-tank artillery systems were created. In the 30s of the last century, 37-mm and 45-mm anti-tank guns were adopted in our country, and shortly before the start of the war, weapons with high armor penetration were created: 57-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1941, which later became known as the ZIS-2, and the 107-mm divisional gun of the 1940 model (M-60). In addition, 76-mm divisional guns available in the troops could be used to combat enemy tanks. In June 1941, parts of the Red Army were sufficiently saturated with 45-76-mm guns, for that time they were quite perfect guns, capable of penetrating the frontal armor of existing German tanks at real firing distances. However, in the initial period of the war, due to heavy losses and loss of command and control, the Soviet infantry was often left to its own devices and fought against German tanks with improvised means.
The pre-war charters and manuals provided for the use of bundles of hand fragmentation grenades Model 1914/30 and RGD-33 against tanks. In the 1935 "Manual on Shooting" for the manufacture of a bundle of grenades model 1914/30, it was prescribed to use several hand grenades. The grenades were tied together with twine, telephone wire or wire, while four of them turned out to be turned with their handles in one direction, and the fifth - the middle one, in the opposite direction. When throwing, the bunch was taken by the handle of a medium grenade. Located in the middle, it served to detonate the other four, thereby acting as a detonator for the entire bundle.
By 1941, the main hand grenade of the Red Army was the RGD-33 (Dyakonov Hand Grenade arr. 1933), developed on the basis of the Rdultovsky grenade of the 1914/30 model. Inside the warhead, between the outer metal shell and the charge, there are several turns of a steel tape with notches, which, when exploded, gave many light fragments. To increase the fragmentation effect of the grenade, a special defensive shirt could be worn over the body. The weight of the grenade without a defensive shirt was 450 g, it was loaded with 140 g of TNT. In the offensive version, the explosion produced about 2000 fragments with a radius of continuous destruction of 5 m. The throwing range of the grenade is 35-40 m. To trigger the fuse, an energetic swing with a grenade was required, otherwise it was not transferred to a combat position.
When using RGD-33 grenades, from two to four grenades were tied to an average grenade, from which fragmentation shirts were previously removed and the handles were unscrewed. Ligaments were recommended to be thrown from cover under the tank tracks. Although in the second half of the war, the RGD-33 fragmentation hand grenade was replaced in production with more advanced models, its use continued until the existing reserves were used up. And bundles of grenades were used by partisans until the liberation of the occupied territory by Soviet troops.
However, it was more rational to create a specialized high-explosive anti-tank grenade with a high coefficient of filling with explosives. In this regard, in 1939, the designer of ammunition M. I. An anti-tank grenade was designed by Puzyrev, which received the designation RPG-40 after being adopted in 1940.
A grenade with an impact fuse weighing 1200 g contained 760 g of TNT and was capable of breaking through armor up to 20 mm thick. An inertial fuse with a striker mechanism was placed in the handle, the same as in the RGD-33 hand fragmentation grenade. As in the case of bundles of fragmentation grenades, the safe use of the RPG-40 was only possible from cover.
The mass production of the RPG-40 began after the outbreak of the war. It soon became clear that it was only effective against light tanks. To disable the undercarriage of the tank, it was required to accurately throw a grenade under the track. When detonated under the bottom of a Pz III Ausf. E 16 mm tank, the lower armor in most cases did not penetrate, and when thrown onto the roof of the hull, the grenade often bounced and rolled before the fuse was triggered. In this regard, M. I. In 1941, Puzyrev created a more powerful RPG-41 grenade weighing 1400 g. The increase in the amount of explosives inside the thin-walled body made it possible to raise the armor penetration to 25 mm. But due to the increase in the mass of the grenade, the throwing range was reduced.
High-explosive anti-tank grenades and bundles of fragmentation grenades posed a great danger to those who used them, and fighters often died after a close explosion of their own anti-tank grenades or received severe concussions. In addition, the effectiveness of RPG-40 and RPG-41 bundles against tanks was relatively low, by and large, they were used for lack of better. In addition to fighting enemy equipment, anti-tank grenades were used against fortifications, since they had a large high-explosive effect.
In the second half of 1943, the troops began to receive RPG-43 cumulative hand grenades. The first cumulative anti-tank grenade in the USSR was developed by N. P. Belyakov and had a fairly simple design. RPG-43 consisted of a body with a flat head, a wooden handle with a safety mechanism and a shock-detonating mechanism with a fuse. To stabilize the grenade after the throw, a ribbon stabilizer was used. Inside the body there is a TNT charge with a conical shaped recess, lined with a thin layer of metal, and a cup with a safety spring and a sting fixed in its bottom.
At the front end of the handle there is a metal sleeve, inside of which there are the fuse holder and the pin holding it in the extreme rear position. Outside, a spring is put on the sleeve and fabric bands are laid, which are attached to the stabilizer cap. The safety mechanism consists of a flap and a check. The flap serves to hold the stabilizer cap on the grenade handle before throwing it, preventing it from sliding or turning in place.
During the throw of the grenade, the flap separates and releases the stabilizer cap, which, under the action of a spring, slides off the handle and pulls the tape along. The safety pin falls out under its own weight, releasing the fuse holder. Thanks to the presence of the stabilizer, the flight of the grenade took place with the head part forward, which is necessary for the correct spatial orientation of the shaped charge relative to the armor. When the head of the grenade hits an obstacle, the fuse, due to inertia, overcomes the resistance of the safety spring and is pricked onto the sting by a detonator cap, which causes the main charge to detonate and form a cumulative jet capable of piercing a 75 mm armor plate. A grenade weighing 1, 2 kg contained 612 g of TNT. A well-trained fighter could throw it 15-20 m.
In the summer of 1943, the main tank in the Panzerwaffe was the Pz. Kpfw. IV Ausf. H with 80mm frontal armor and side anti-cumulative steel screens. German medium tanks with reinforced armor began to be used en masse on the Soviet-German front in early 1943. Due to the insufficient armor penetration of the RPG-43, a group of designers consisting of L. B. Ioffe, M. Z. Polevanov and N. S. Zhitkikh promptly created an RPG-6 cumulative grenade. Structurally, the grenade largely repeated the German PWM-1. Due to the fact that the mass of the RPG-6 was about 100 g less than that of the RPG-43, and the warhead had a streamlined shape, the throw range was up to 25 m. The best shape of the shaped charge and the selection of the correct focal length, with an increase in the thickness of the penetrated armor by 20-25 mm, it was possible to reduce the TNT charge to 580 g, which, together with an increase in the throwing range, made it possible to reduce the risk for the grenade launcher.
The grenade had a very simple and technologically advanced design, which made it possible to quickly establish mass production and begin deliveries to the troops in November 1943. In the production of the RPG-6, almost no lathes were used. Most of the parts were cold formed from sheet steel and the threads were knurled. The body of the grenade had a teardrop shape, in which there was a shaped charge with a charge and an additional detonator. An inertial fuse with a detonator cap and a ribbon stabilizer was placed in the handle. The fuse striker was blocked by a check. The stabilizer strips were placed in the handle and held in place by a safety bar. The safety pin was removed before throwing. After the throw, the flying off safety bar pulled out the stabilizer and pulled out the drummer's check, after which the fuse was cocked. In addition to greater armor penetration and better manufacturability of production, the RPG-6 was safer compared to the RPG-43, since it had three degrees of protection. However, the production of the RPG-43 and RPG-6 was carried out in parallel until the end of the war.
Along with bundles and anti-tank grenades, glass bottles with incendiary liquid were widely used in the first half of the war. This cheap, easy-to-use and at the same time very effective anti-tank weapon was first widely used during the Spanish Civil War by the rebels of General Franco against Republican tanks. Later, during the Winter War, bottles with fuel were used against Soviet tanks by the Finns, who called them "Molotov's Cocktail". In the Red Army, they became the Molotov Cocktail. The leakage of a burning liquid into the engine compartment of a tank, as a rule, led to a fire. In the event that the bottle broke against the frontal armor, the fire mixture most often did not get inside the tank. But the flame and smoke of the liquid burning on the armor impeded observation, aimed fire and had a strong moral and psychological effect on the crew.
Initially, the equipment of the bottles with flammable liquid was carried out in the troops handicraftly, gasoline or kerosene was poured into the various-sized beer and vodka bottles collected from the population. In order for the flammable liquid not to spread much, burn longer and better adhere to the armor, improvised thickeners were added to it: tar, rosin or coal tar. A tow plug was used as a fuse, which had to be set on fire before throwing the bottle into the tank. The need for preliminary ignition of the fuse created certain inconveniences, besides, the equipped bottle with a tow stopper could not be stored for a long time, since the flammable liquid was actively evaporating.
On July 7, 1941, the State Defense Committee issued a decree "On anti-tank incendiary grenades (bottles)", which obliged the People's Commissariat for Food Industry to organize the equipment of glass bottles with fire mixture according to a specific recipe. Already in August 1941, the equipment of bottles with incendiary liquid was adjusted on an industrial scale. For filling, a combustible mixture was used, consisting of gasoline, kerosene and naphtha.
On the sides of the bottle were attached 2-3 chemical fuses - glass ampoules with sulfuric acid, berthollet's salt and powdered sugar. After the impact, the ampoules shattered and ignited the contents of the bottle. There was also an option with a solid fuse, which was attached to the neck of the bottle. At the Tula Arms Factory, during the siege of the city, they developed a rather complex fuse, consisting of 4 pieces of wire, two ropes, a steel tube, a spring and a pistol cartridge. The handling of the fuse was similar to that of the hand grenade fuse, with the difference that the bottle fuse was only triggered when the bottle was broken.
In the fall of 1941, chemists A. Kachugin and P. Solodovnikov created a self-igniting liquid KS based on a solution of white phosphorus in carbon disulfide. Initially, glass ampoules with KS were attached to the sides of the incendiary bottle. At the end of 1941, they began to equip bottles with a self-igniting liquid. At the same time, winter and summer formulations were developed, differing in viscosity and flash point. The KS liquid had a good incendiary ability combined with an optimal burning time. During combustion, thick smoke was emitted, and after combustion there remained a hard-to-remove soot deposit. That, when liquid enters the tank observation devices and sights, it disabled them and made it impossible to conduct aimed fire and drive with the driver's hatch closed.
Like anti-tank grenades, incendiary liquid bottles were used, as they say, point-blank. In addition, the best effect was obtained when the bottle was broken on the engine-transmission compartment of the tank, and for this the soldier in the trench had to let the tank pass over him.
German tankers, having suffered sensitive losses from this inexpensive and rather effective incendiary weapon, often reaching the line of Soviet trenches, began to spin, sleeping the Red Army men who had taken refuge in them alive. To prevent tanks from reaching the line of our front edge, using incendiary bottles and a small amount of explosives, “fiery landmines” were erected in front of the trenches with a zone of destruction of 10-15 meters. When the tank hit the "bottle mine", the fuse of a 220 g TNT block was set on fire, and the explosion of the KS liquid was scattered around.
In addition, special rifle mortars were created for throwing KS bottles. The most widespread was the bottle-thrower designed by V. A. Zuckerman. The shot was fired using a wooden wad and a blank cartridge. Bottles with thick glass were taken for shooting. Sighting range of throwing a bottle was 80 m, maximum - 180 m, rate of fire for 2 people - 6-8 rds / min.
The rifle department was given two such mortars. The shooting was carried out with the butt resting on the ground. However, the accuracy of the fire was low, and the bottles often shattered when fired. Due to the danger for calculations and low efficiency, this weapon has not found widespread use.
In 1940, the specialists of the design bureau of the plant № 145 named after S. M. Kirov, a 125-mm ampoule thrower was created, originally intended for firing spherical tin or glass ampoules filled with toxic substances. In fact, it was a weapon for throwing small chemical munitions in a "trench war". The sample passed field tests, but it was not accepted into service. They remembered the ampoule gun when the Germans approached Leningrad, but they decided to shoot from it with ampoules with KS liquid.
The ampulomet was a low-ballistic muzzle-loading mortar, firing round thin-walled metal or glass ampoules with a self-igniting propellant mixture. Structurally, it was a very simple weapon, consisting of a barrel with a chamber, a bolt, a simple sighting device and a gun carriage. The ampoule was thrown using a 12-gauge blank rifle cartridge. The aiming range of the ampulo-gun was 120-150 m, when firing along a hinged trajectory with a high elevation angle - 300-350 m. The rate of fire was 6-8 rds / min. Depending on the version, the weight of the ampoule gun was 15-20 kg.
Along with such positive qualities as low cost of manufacture and simple design, ampoule blowers were quite dangerous to use. Often, during prolonged firing, due to the large soot formed by black powder, with which 12-gauge hunting cartridges were equipped, the ampoules were destroyed, which posed a danger to the calculation. In addition, the shooting accuracy was low, and hitting the front of the tank did not lead to its destruction, although it blinded the crew. In addition to firing at armored vehicles, ampoule guns were used to destroy and blind firing points and illuminate targets at night.
To defeat the enemy's manpower in the trenches, ampoules with a remote fuse were produced, which gave a gap in the air. In a number of cases, glass ampoules with KS liquid were used as hand-held incendiary grenades. As the troops were saturated with more effective and safe anti-tank weapons for calculations, the use of bottle and ampoule throwers was abandoned. The ampoule guns fought the longest in the trenches near Leningrad, right up to the lifting of the blockade.
Another little-known anti-tank weapon was the VKG-40 cumulative rifle grenade (1940 cumulative rifle grenade), which was fired from the Dyakonov grenade launcher. The grenade launcher was a 41 mm rifled mortar, attached to a Mosin rifle with a special tube. A quadrant sight was intended for aiming the grenade launcher. The grenade launcher was accompanied by a folding two-legged bipod and a plate for resting the butt in soft ground.
The VKG-40 grenade had a streamlined shape. In the front there was an explosive charge with a cumulative recess and a metal lining. The inertial fuse was located in the tail of the grenade. When firing a VKG-40 grenade, a blank cartridge with a stock rest on the shoulder was used. For guidance, you could use the standard sight of the Mosin rifle. According to the reference data, the armor penetration of the VKG-40 grenade was 45-50 mm, which made it possible to hit medium German tanks Pz. Kpfw. III and Pz. Kpfw. IV in the side. However, the Dyakonov grenade launcher had serious drawbacks: the impossibility of firing a bullet without removing the mortar, a small range of an aimed shot and insufficient power.
In the fall of 1941, tests began on the VGPS-41 ramrod rifle anti-tank grenade. A grenade weighing 680 g was fired with a blank rifle cartridge. An unusual solution was the use of a movable stabilizer, which increased the shooting accuracy. During transportation and preparation for firing, the stabilizer was in front of the ramrod. During the shot, the stabilizer by inertia moved to the tail of the ramrod and stopped there.
A grenade with a caliber of 60 mm and a length of 115 mm contained a TNT charge weighing 334 g with a hemispherical notch in the head, lined with a thin layer of copper. The inertial fuse in the bottom part in the stowed position was fixed with a safety pin, which was removed immediately before the shot.
The aimed firing range was 50-60 m, for area targets - up to 140 m. Normal armor penetration was 35 mm. This was clearly not enough to penetrate the frontal armor of German medium tanks. Serial production of the VGPS-41 continued until the spring of 1942, after which the finished hulls were used in the production of a hand-held anti-personnel fragmentation grenade. To eliminate the cumulative effect that had become superfluous and to increase the filling factor, the spherical funnel was pressed inward. In order to increase the fragmentation effect, a metal tape with a thickness of 0.7-1.2 mm, rolled into 2-3 layers, was inserted into the warhead, the surface of which was notched with rhombuses. The conical bottom part of the VPGS-41 was replaced with a flat cover with a connecting sleeve, into which the UZRG fuse was screwed.
Experiments with cumulative rifle grenades were not very successful. The aiming range of the rifle grenade left much to be desired, and the penetration capacity of the imperfect warhead was low. In addition, the combat rate of fire of rifle grenade launchers was 2-3 rds / min, with a very baggy loading.
Even during the First World War, the first anti-tank guns were created. In the USSR, by the beginning of the war, despite the successful tests in 1939, the 14.5-mm PTR-39 designed by N. V. Rukavishnikov, there were no anti-tank rifles in the troops. The reason for this was the incorrect assessment of the protection of German tanks by the leadership of the People's Commissariat of Defense and, above all, by the head of GAU Kulik. Because of this, it was believed that not only anti-tank rifles, but even 45-mm anti-tank guns would be powerless in front of them. As a result, the Soviet infantry was deprived of an effective melee anti-tank weapon, and, finding itself without the support of artillery, was forced to repel tank attacks with improvised means.
As a temporary measure in July 1941 in the workshops of the Moscow State Technical University. Bauman, they set up the assembly of an anti-tank rifle for a 12, 7-mm DShK cartridge. This weapon was a copy of the single-shot Mauser Mauser during the First World War with the addition of a muzzle brake, a shock absorber on the butt and light folding bipods.
Weapons of this design in the early 30s were manufactured in small quantities at the Tula Arms Plant for the needs of the NIPSVO (Scientific Testing Range for Small Arms), where the guns were used to test 12.7 mm cartridges. The production of rifles in 1941 was established at the suggestion of the engineer V. N. Sholokhov and later often referred to as the 12.7-mm Sholokhov anti-tank rifle (PTRSh-41).
The combat rate of fire of the PTRSh-41 did not exceed 6 rds / min. The weapon weighing 16.6 kg had a meter barrel, in which the BS-41 armor-piercing incendiary bullet weighing 54 g with a tungsten alloy core accelerated to 840 m / s. At a distance of 200 m, such a bullet was capable of penetrating 20 mm armor along the normal. But the troops usually used cartridges with B-32 armor-piercing incendiary bullets weighing 49 g with a hardened steel core, which at a distance of 250 m could penetrate 16 mm armor.
Naturally, with such indicators of armor penetration, Sholokhov's anti-tank rifle could successfully fight only with light tanks Pz. Kpfw. I and Pz. Kpfw. II early modifications, as well as with armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers. However, the production of the PTRSh-41 continued until the beginning of 1942, and only the beginning of mass deliveries to the troops of the PTR under the 14.5 mm cartridge was curtailed.
In July 1941 I. V. Stalin demanded to speed up the creation of effective anti-tank rifles and entrust the development of several well-known designers at once. The greatest success in this was achieved by V. A. Degtyarev and S. G. Simonov. New anti-tank guns were created in record time. In the fall of 1941, a single-shot PTRD-41 and a semi-automatic five-shot PTRS-41 were put into service. Due to the fact that Degtyarev's single-shot anti-tank rifle was cheaper and easier to manufacture, it was possible to establish its mass production earlier. PTRD-41 was as simple and technologically advanced as possible. In the firing position, the gun weighed 17, 5 kg. With a total length of 2000 mm, the length of the barrel with the chamber was 1350 mm. Effective firing range - up to 800 m. Effective rate of fire - 8-10 rounds / min. Combat crew - two people.
The PTRD-41 had an open flip-flop sight for two distances of 400 and 1000 m. To carry the gun over short distances when changing position, a handle was put on the barrel. The weapon was loaded one cartridge at a time, but the automatic opening of the bolt after the shot increased the rate of fire. A highly efficient muzzle brake served to compensate for recoil, and the back of the butt had a pillow. The first batch of 300 units was produced in October, and at the beginning of November it was sent to the active army.
The first new anti-tank guns were received by the Red Army soldiers of the 1075th Infantry Regiment of the 316th Infantry Division of the Red Army. In mid-November, the first enemy tanks were knocked out from the PTRD-41.
The pace of production of the PTRD-41 was actively increasing, by the end of the year it was possible to deliver 17,688 Degtyarev anti-tank rifles, and by January 1, 1943 - 184,800 units. Production of the PTRD-41 continued until December 1944. A total of 281,111 single-shot anti-tank rifles were produced.
The PTRS-41 worked according to the automatic scheme with the removal of powder gases and had a magazine for 5 rounds, and was significantly heavier than Degtyarev's anti-tank rifle. The mass of the weapon in the firing position was 22 kg. However, Simonov's anti-tank rifle had a combat rate of fire twice as high as the PTRD-41 - 15 rds / min.
Since the PTRS-41 was more complicated and more expensive than the single-shot PTRD-41, at first it was produced in small quantities. So, in 1941, only 77 Simonov's anti-tank rifles were delivered to the troops. However, in 1942, 63,308 units were already produced. With the development of mass production, the manufacturing cost and labor costs were reduced. So, the cost of Simonov's anti-tank rifle from the first half of 1942 to the second half of 1943 almost halved.
For firing anti-tank rifles designed by Dyagtyarev and Simonov, 14.5x114 mm cartridges with BS-32, BS-39 and BS-41 armor-piercing incendiary bullets were used. The mass of the bullets was 62, 6-66 g. Initial velocity - In the BS-32 and BS-39 bullets, a hardened core made of U12A, U12XA tool steel was used, at a distance of 300 m their normal armor penetration was 20-25 mm. The best penetrating ability was possessed by the BS-41 bullet with a tungsten carbide core. At a distance of 300 m, it could penetrate 30 mm of armor, and when firing from 100 m - 40 mm. Also used were cartridges with an armor-piercing incendiary-tracer bullet, with a steel core, piercing 25 mm armor from 200 m.
In December 1941, PTR companies (27, and later 54 guns) were added to the newly formed and withdrawn for reorganization rifle regiments. In the fall of 1942, platoons of anti-tank rifles were introduced into the infantry battalions. From January 1943, the PTR companies began to include a motorized rifle battalion of a tank brigade.
Until the second half of 1943, PTR played an important role in anti-tank defense. Taking into account the fact that the side armor of German medium tanks Pz. Kpfw. IV and self-propelled guns built on their base was 30 mm, they were vulnerable to 14.5 mm bullets until the end of hostilities. However, even without piercing the armor of heavy tanks, armor-piercing could create many problems for German tankers. So, according to the recollections of the crew members of the 503rd heavy tank battalion, who fought near Kursk on Pz. Kpfw. VI Ausf. H1 tanks, when approaching the Soviet line of defense, strikes of heavy armor-piercing bullets were heard almost every second. The calculations of the PTR often managed to disable observation devices, damage the gun, jam the turret, knock down the caterpillar and damage the chassis, thus depriving heavy tanks of combat effectiveness. The targets for anti-tank rifles were also armored personnel carriers and reconnaissance armored vehicles. The Soviet anti-tank missile systems, which appeared at the end of 1941, were of great importance in anti-tank defense, bridging the gap between the anti-tank capabilities of artillery and infantry. At the same time, it was a weapon of the front line, the crews of anti-tank rifles suffered significant losses. During the war, 214,000 ATRs of all models were lost, that is, 45, 4% of those that entered the troops. The largest percentage of losses was observed in 1941-1942 - 49, 7 and 33, 7%, respectively. The losses of the material part corresponded to the level of losses among the personnel. The presence of anti-tank missile systems in infantry units made it possible to significantly increase their stability in defense and, to a large extent, get rid of "tank fear".
From the middle of 1942, anti-tank missiles took a firm place in the air defense system of the Soviet front edge, compensating for the shortage of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns and large-caliber machine guns. For firing at aircraft, it was recommended to use armor-piercing incendiary-tracer bullets.
For firing at aircraft, the five-shot PTRS-41 was more suitable, when firing, from which it was possible to quickly make an amendment in case of a miss. Anti-tank rifles were popular with the Soviet partisans, with their help they smashed columns of German trucks and perforated the boilers of steam locomotives. The production of anti-tank rifles was completed at the beginning of 1944, by which time the front edge of our troops had been saturated with a sufficient amount of anti-tank artillery. Nevertheless, the PTR was actively used in hostilities until the last days of the war. They were also in demand in street battles. Heavy armor-piercing bullets pierced brick walls of buildings and sandbag barricades. Very often, the PTR was used to fire at the embrasures of bunkers and bunkers.
During the war, the Red Army men had the opportunity to compare the Soviet anti-tank rifle and the British anti-tank rifle 13, 9-mm Boys, and the comparison turned out to be very strongly against the English model.
The British five-shot anti-tank rifle with a sliding bolt weighed 16.7 kg - that is, slightly less than the 14.5 mm PTRD-41, but was much inferior to the Soviet anti-tank rifle in terms of armor penetration. At a distance of 100 m at an angle of 90 °, a W Mk.1 bullet with a steel core weighing 60 g, flying out of a 910 mm barrel at a speed of 747 m / s, could pierce a 17 mm armor plate. Sholokhov's 12, 7-mm anti-tank rifle had about the same armor penetration. In the case of using a W Mk.2 bullet weighing 47.6 g with an initial speed of 884 m / s at a distance of 100 m along the normal, armor 25 mm thick could be pierced. Such indicators of armor penetration when using cartridges with a steel core, Soviet PTRs had at a distance of 300 m. Because of this, the British PTR "Boyes" were not popular in the Red Army and were used mainly in secondary directions and in the rear parts.
In addition to the infantry version, 13, 9-mm PTR were installed on the reconnaissance version of the Universal armored personnel carrier - Scout Carrier. A total of 1100 "Boyes" were sent to the USSR.
Already in the middle of 1943, it became clear that the PTRs in service were not able to effectively deal with German heavy tanks. Attempts to create anti-tank guns of a larger caliber demonstrated the futility of this direction. With a significant increase in weight, it was not possible even for medium tanks to obtain armor penetration characteristics that guarantee penetration of frontal armor. Much more tempting was the creation of a light anti-tank weapon that fired a rocket-propelled, feathered shaped-charge projectile. In the middle of 1944, tests of the RPG-1 reusable hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher began. This weapon was created by the specialists of the GRAU Research and Development Range of Small Arms and Mortars under the leadership of the leading designer G. P. Lominsky.
On tests, the RPG-1 showed good results. The direct firing range of a 70-mm over-caliber cumulative muzzle-loading grenade was 50 meters. A grenade weighing about 1.5 kg at a right angle pierced 150 mm homogeneous armor. The stabilization of the grenade in flight was carried out by a rigid feather stabilizer, which opened after exiting the barrel. A grenade launcher with a length of about 1 m weighed a little more than 2 kg and had a fairly simple design. On a 30-mm barrel, a trigger-type trigger mechanism with a pistol grip, an aiming bar and wooden thermal protective pads were mounted. The upper edge of the grenade served as a front sight when aiming. A paper cylinder filled with black powder was used as a propellant charge, which gave a thick cloud of clearly visible white smoke when fired.
However, the refinement of the RPG-1 was delayed, since for several months it was not possible to achieve stable operation of the fuse. In addition, the propellant charge absorbed water and refused in wet weather. All this led to the fact that the military lost interest in the grenade launcher, when it became clear that it would be possible to victoriously end the war in the near future without the RPG-1. Thus, during the war in the USSR, anti-tank grenade launchers, similar to the German Panzerfaust or the American Bazooka, were never created.
In part, the lack of specialized anti-tank grenade launchers in service with the Red Army was compensated by the widespread use of captured German grenade launchers, which were very widely used by our infantrymen. In addition, German tanks at the final stage of hostilities were mainly used in the role of a mobile anti-tank reserve, and if they went on an attack on our leading edge, they were usually destroyed by anti-tank artillery and ground attack aircraft.
