In the exposition of almost every regional museum of local lore in Russia and Ukraine, small cannons are exhibited. Many people think that these are miniature replicas of weapons or children's toys. And this is quite expected: after all, most of the exhibited such artillery systems, even on carriages, are at most waist-deep, and in some cases even knee-deep to an adult. In fact, such guns and military weapons and toys are "funny guns."
The fact is that in tsarist Russia many rich landowners had miniature tools on their estates. They were used for decorative purposes, for launching fireworks, as well as for teaching military affairs to noble children. It should be noted that among such "toys" there were no mock-ups, they could all shoot with a cannonball or buckshot. At the same time, the destructive force of the nucleus was at least 640 meters or 300 fathoms.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, such guns were actively used during military operations. So, for example, from such artillery systems in the 17th century, Poles and Crimean Tatars suffered significant losses during the battles with the Cossacks.
Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks in horse and sea campaigns often used falconets and cannons of 0.5-3 pounds, as well as light mortars of 4 to 12 pounds. Such artillery was loaded onto horses, and during the battle it was carried manually. Also, such tools were easily installed on canoes (as a rule, on wet lugs). During the defense, light small-caliber guns were mounted on carts that formed a camp. When firing from falconets and cannons, cannonballs and buckshot were used, and mortars - explosive grenades.
Falconet - translated from French and English is translated as a young falcon, a falcon. So in the old days they called artillery guns with a caliber of 45-100 mm. In the XVI-XVIII centuries. they were in service in the armies and navies of various countries of the world ("Chernyshkovsky Cossack Museum")
The use of such weapons by the Cossacks on campaigns gave them a significant advantage over the enemy. For example, the superior forces of the Polish cavalry surround the Cossack detachment. In a direct confrontation, the outcome of the battle would have been predetermined: the Cossacks would not have emerged victorious. But the Cossacks are quite maneuverable - they quickly rebuilt their ranks and surrounded the detachment with carts. The winged hussars attack, but swoop down on a barrage of small artillery and artillery fire. In the 17th century, the Poles had practically no light artillery, and it was quite difficult to carry heavy guns of large and medium calibers in mobile warfare. In clashes with the Tatars, the Cossacks had a significant advantage - the enemy did not have light artillery at all.
In the 18th century, mini-guns were used quite rarely in the Russian army: in jaeger regiments, in the mountains, etc. However, even during this period, interesting examples of small-caliber artillery were created, although they were not portable. This includes the 44-barreled 3-pound (76 mm) mortar battery of the A. K. Nartov system. This weapon was manufactured at the St. Petersburg Arsenal in 1754. The battery system consisted of bronze 76 mm mortars, each 23 centimeters long. Mortars, mounted on a horizontal wooden circle (diameter 185 cm), were divided into 8 sections of 6 or 5 mortars in each and connected by a common powder shelf. The trunk part of the carriage was equipped with a screw lifting mechanism to give the elevation angle. Such batteries have not received mass distribution.
3-inch (76-mm) 44-barreled mortar battery of the A. K. Nartov system
Another such system is the 25-barrel 1/5-pounder (58 mm caliber) mortar battery of the Captain Chelokaev system. The system was manufactured in 1756. The battery of Chelokaev's system consists of a rotating wooden drum with five rows of forged iron barrels fixed to it, five barrels in each row. In the breech, the barrels in each row for the production of salvo fire were connected by a common powder shelf with a closed lid.
1/5-pound (58-mm) 25-barreled mortar battery of the system of Captain S. Chelokaev, manufactured in 1756 (Museum of Artillery, St. Petersburg)
In addition to these clearly experimental weapons, some arms of the troops were armed with hand mortars - weapons for throwing hand grenades at long ranges. It was impossible to use these guns as an ordinary gun, that is, resting the butt against the shoulder, due to the high recoil, it was impossible. In this regard, the mortar rested on the ground or in the saddle. These included: hand grenadier mortar (caliber 66 mm, weight 4.5 kg, length 795 mm), hand dragoon mortar (caliber 72 mm, weight 4.4 kg, length 843 mm), hand bombardier mortar (caliber 43 mm, weight 3.8 kg, length 568 mm).
German hand mortars of the 16th-18th centuries on display at the Bavarian National Museum, Munich. Below is a cavalry carbine with a mortar welded to the barrel
Emperor Paul I abolished not only toy guns, but also regimental artillery. In this regard, in the Russian cavalry and infantry division until 1915, sabers, pistols and rifles remained the only weapons. An artillery brigade was attached to the division during hostilities, the commander of which became subordinate to the division commander. This scheme worked well during the Napoleonic wars, when battles took place mainly on large plains.
In the period from 1800 to 1915, all Russian field guns had the same weight and size characteristics: the mass in the firing position was about 1000 kg, the wheel diameter was 1200-1400 millimeters. Russian generals did not even want to hear about other artillery systems.
But during the First World War, all the opposing sides quickly realized that leading dense columns of troops in an open field was the same as simply shooting them. The infantry began to hide in trenches, and rough terrain was chosen for the offensive. But, alas, the losses in manpower from enemy machine guns were colossal, and it was very difficult, and in some cases impossible, to suppress machine-gun firing points with the help of the guns of the assigned artillery brigade. Small guns were required, which were supposed to be in the trenches next to the infantry, and during the offensive they were easily carried or rolled manually by a crew of 3-4 people. Such weapons were intended to destroy machine guns and enemy manpower.
Rosenberg's 37mm cannon became the first Russian specially designed battalion gun. MF Rosenberg, being a member of the artillery committee, was able to convince the Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, the chief of artillery, to give him the task of designing this system. Having gone to his estate, Rosenberg prepared a project for a 37-millimeter cannon within a month and a half.
37 mm Rosenberg cannon
As a barrel, a 37-mm standard barrel was used, which served for zeroing in coastal guns. The barrel consisted of a barrel tube, a copper muzzle ring, a steel trunnion ring, and a copper knob that was screwed onto the barrel. The shutter is two-stroke piston. The machine is single-bar, wooden, rigid (there was no recoil device). The recoil energy was partially extinguished with the help of special rubber buffers. The lifting mechanism had a screw that was attached to the breech breech and screwed into the right page of the slide. There was no turning mechanism - the trunk of the machine moved to turn. The machine was equipped with a 6 or 8 mm shield. At the same time, the 8-mm shield easily withstood the hit of a bullet fired at point-blank from a Mosin rifle.
The system could be easily disassembled into two parts weighing 106.5 and 73.5 kg within a minute. On the battlefield, the gun was transported by three numbers of calculation manually. For the convenience of movement by means of parts, a small roller was attached to the trunk bar. In winter, the system was installed on skis. During the campaign, the gun could be transported in several ways:
- in a shafts harness, when two shafts are attached directly to the carriage;
- on a special front end, (quite often it was made on its own, for example, a boiler was removed from the field kitchen);
- on a cart. As a rule, infantry units were allocated 3 paired carts of the 1884 model for two guns. Two carts carried a gun and 180 rounds, the third carriage carried 360 rounds. All cartridges were packed in boxes.
A prototype of the Rosenberg cannon was tested in 1915 and was put into service under the designation "37-mm cannon of the 1915 model of the year". This name stuck both in official papers and in parts.
At the front, the first Rosenberg guns appeared in the spring of 1916. Soon the old barrels began to be sorely lacking, and the Obukhov plant was ordered by the GAU of 1916-22-03 to make 400 barrels for Rosenberg's 37-mm guns. By the end of 1919, only 342 barrels had been shipped from this order, the remaining 58 were 15% ready.
By the beginning of 1917, 137 Rosenberg guns were sent to the front. In the first half of the year, it was planned to send another 150 guns. According to the plans of the Russian command, each infantry regiment was supposed to have 4 trench guns. Accordingly, there were 2,748 guns in 687 regiments, in addition, 144 guns per month were required for monthly replenishment of the loss.
Alas, these plans were not implemented due to the collapse of the army that began in February 1917 and the collapse of the military industry, which followed with some delay. Despite this, the guns continued to be in service, but were slightly modified. Since the wooden carriage quickly failed, the military technician Durlyakhov in 1925 created an iron machine for the Rosenberg cannon. In the Red Army on 01.11.1936, there were 162 Rosenberg guns.
In September 1922, the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army issued a task to develop battalion artillery systems: 76-mm mortars, 65-mm howitzers and 45-mm guns. These guns became the first artillery systems that were created during the Soviet era.
For battalion artillery, the choice of calibers was not accidental. It was decided to abandon the 37-mm guns, since the fragmentation projectile of this caliber had a weak effect. At the same time, in the warehouses of the Red Army, there were a huge number of 47-mm shells from Hotchkiss naval guns. During the grinding of the old leading belts, the caliber of the projectile was reduced to 45 millimeters. This is where the 45 mm caliber came from, which neither the Navy nor the Army had until 1917.
In the period from 1924 to 1927, several dozen prototypes of miniature guns were manufactured, having a rather large destructive power. Among these weapons, the most powerful was the 65mm howitzer of the military technician Durlyakhov. Its mass was 204 kilograms, the range of fire was 2500 meters.
The main rival of Durlyakhov in the "competition" was Franz Lender, who presented a whole collection of systems for testing: a 60 mm howitzer and 45 mm low and high power cannons. An interesting fact is that Lender's systems had the same mechanisms that were used in large guns, that is, they were equipped with recoil devices, lifting and turning mechanisms, etc. Their main advantage was that fire could be fired not only from metal rollers, but also from traveling wheels. The systems on the rollers had a shield, however, with traveling wheels, the installation of the shield was not possible. The systems were made both non-collapsible and collapsible, while the latter were divided into 8, which made it possible to carry them on human packs.
An equally interesting development of that time is the 45-mm gun of the A. A. Sokolov system. The barrel for the low-power prototype was manufactured at the Bolshevik plant in 1925, and the gun carriage at the Krasny Arsenal plant in 1926. The system was completed at the end of 1927 and immediately transferred to factory tests. The barrel of the 45-mm Sokolov cannon was fastened with a casing. Semi-automatic vertical wedge shutter. Rollback brake - hydraulic, spring reel. A large angle of horizontal guidance (up to 48 degrees) was provided by sliding beds. Sector-type lifting mechanism. In fact, it was the first domestic artillery system with a sliding frame.
45-mm cannon mod. 1930 Sokolov system
The system was intended for shooting from wheels. There was no suspension. The gun on the battlefield was easily rolled with three numbers of the crew. In addition, the system could be disassembled into seven parts and transferred in human packs.
All battalion artillery systems of 45-65 mm caliber fired armor-piercing or fragmentation shells, as well as buckshot. In addition, the Bolshevik plant produced a series of "muzzle" mines: - for 45-millimeter guns - 150 pieces (weight 8 kilograms); for 60 mm howitzers - 50 pieces. However, the Main Artillery Directorate refused to accept over-caliber mines into service. It should be noted that the Germans during the Great Patriotic War quite widely used both anti-tank shells from 37-mm guns and heavy high-explosive shells from 75- and 150-mm infantry guns on the eastern front.
Of all these artillery systems, only Lender's 45-mm low-power cannon was adopted. It was produced under the designation "45 mm model 1929 battalion howitzer". However, only 100 of them were made.
The reason for the termination of the development of mini-guns and howitzers was the adoption in 1930 of the 37-mm anti-tank gun purchased from the Rheinmetall company. This weapon had a fairly modern design for its time. The gun had a sliding frame, unsprung wheel travel, wooden wheels. It was equipped with a horizontal wedge gate with 1/4 automatic control, a spring knurler and a hydraulic recoil brake. The knurling springs were placed on the compressor cylinder. After the shot, the recoil devices were rolled back together with the barrel. The fire could be conducted using a simple sighting tube with a field of view of 12 degrees. The gun was put into production at the Kalinin plant No. 8 near Moscow, where it was assigned the factory index 1-K. The guns were made semi-handicraft, with parts fitting by hand. In 1931, the plant presented 255 guns to the customer, but did not deliver a single one due to the poor build quality. In 1932, the plant delivered 404 guns, the next - 105. In 1932, the production of these guns was stopped (in 1933, the guns were handed over from the reserve of the previous year). The reason was the adoption of a 45-mm anti-tank gun model 1932 (19-K) of greater power, which was a development of the 1-K.
Not the least role in curtailing the program of creating mini-guns was played by the enthusiasm of the leadership of the Red Army, primarily M. N. Tukhachevsky, recoilless guns.
In 1926-1930, in addition to mini-guns, six prototypes of mini-mortars of 76 mm caliber were made. These guns were distinguished by high mobility, achieved primarily due to their low weight (from 63 to 105 kilograms). The firing range was 2-3 thousand meters.
Several very original solutions were used in the design of mortars. For example, the ammunition load of three samples of mortars of the NTK AU design bureau included shells with ready-made protrusions. Sample No. 3 at the same time had a gas-dynamic ignition scheme, in which the charge was burned in a separate chamber, which was connected to the barrel bore with a special nozzle. For the first time in Russia, a gas-dynamic valve was used in the mortar of the GSCHT (developed by Glukharev, Shchelkov, Tagunov).
Unfortunately, these mortars were literally gobbled up by the mortar designers, headed by NA Dorovlev. The mortarmen almost completely copied the French 81 mm Stokes-Brandt mortar and did everything to ensure that systems that could compete with mortars were not adopted.
Despite the fact that the accuracy of firing the 76-mm mortar was significantly higher than that of the 82-mm mortars of the early 1930s, work on the creation of mortars was stopped. It is curious that on August 10, 1937, one of the prominent mortarmen B. I. received an inventor's certificate for a mortar equipped with a remote valve for releasing part of the gases into the atmosphere. About the mortar of the main switchboard in our country has long been forgotten, and about the mortars and cannons with a gas valve, which were mass-produced in Poland, Czechoslovakia and France, it was not necessary to talk about.
In the Soviet Union in the second half of the 1930s, two original 76-mm mini-howitzers were created: 35 K designed by V. N. Sidorenko. and F-23 designed by V. G. Grabin.
35 To the design of V. N. Sidorenko.
The collapsible barrel of the 35 K howitzer consisted of a pipe, a lining and a breech. The breech was screwed onto the pipe without using a special tool. The shutter is piston eccentric. The steepness of the grooves is constant. Lifting mechanism with one sector. The rotation was carried out by moving the machine along the axis. Spindle type hydraulic recoil brake. Spring knurler. The carriage is single-deck, box-shaped, disassembled into trunk and frontal parts. The trunk part was removed when firing from the trench. The 35 K howitzer used a sight from a 76-mm cannon of the 1909 model, with some changes that made it possible to fire at angles up to +80 degrees. The shield is folding and removable. The combat axle is cranked. Due to the rotation of the axis, the height of the line of fire could change from 570 to 750 millimeters. The front of the system is shallow. Disc wheels with a deadweight. The 76-mm 35 K howitzer could be disassembled into 9 parts (each weighing 35-38 kg), which made it possible to transport the disassembled gun on both four horse packs and nine human packs (excluding ammunition). In addition, the howitzer could be transported on wheels by 4 crewmen or in a shawl harness with one horse.
The barrel of the F-23 howitzer is a monoblock. The muzzle brake was missing. The design used a piston bolt from a 76-mm regimental cannon of the 1927 model. The main design feature of the Grabin howitzer was that the axle of the pins ran not through the central part of the cradle, but its rear end. The wheels were in the firing position at the back. The cradle with the barrel during the transition to the stowed position turned back almost 180 degrees relative to the axis of the trunnions.
76-mm F-23 battalion gun when fired at a high elevation angle. The second version of the F-23 was developed at the same time, and during tests on the 34th shot, the recoil devices and the lifting mechanism failed
Needless to say that the mortar lobby did everything to disrupt the adoption of the F-23 and 35 K? For example, in September 1936, during the second field test of the 76-mm 35 K howitzer, the frontal connection burst during firing, since there were no bolts that fastened the shield bracket and the frontal part. Probably, someone took these bolts out or "forgot" to install them. In February 1937, the third test took place. And again, someone "forgot" to pour liquid into the compressor cylinder. This "forgetfulness" led to the fact that due to the strong impact of the barrel during firing, the frontal part of the machine was deformed. On April 7, 1938, an outraged Sidorenko V. N.wrote a letter to the artillery directorate, which said: "Plant No. 7 is not interested in finishing work on 35 K - this threatens the plant with gross arbitrariness … You have 35 K in charge of a department that is a staunch supporter of mortars, which means it is an enemy of mortars."
Unfortunately, then neither Sidorenko nor Grabin wanted to listen to the artillery control, and work on both systems was stopped. It was only in 1937 that the NKVD generalized the complaints of Sidorenko and some other designers, and then the leadership of the Main Artillery Directorate, as they say, "thundered with fanfare."
The new leadership of GAU in December 1937 decided to re-raise the issue of 76-mm mortars. Military engineer of the third rank of the artillery directorate Sinolitsyn wrote in the conclusion that the sad end of the story with the battalion mortars of 76 mm caliber “is a direct act of sabotage … factories, to find.
"Toy guns" were massively and quite successfully used by our opponents - the Japanese and the Germans.
So, for example, the 70-mm howitzer cannon mod. 92. Its weight was 200 kilograms. The carriage had a sliding cranked frame, due to which the howitzer had two positions: high +83 degrees with an elevation angle of a degree and a low one - 51 degrees. The horizontal guidance angle (40 degrees) made it possible to effectively destroy light tanks.
Type 92 without shield at Fort Sill Museum, Oklahoma
In the 70-mm howitzer, the Japanese made a unitary loading, but the casings were made either detachable, or with a free landing of the projectile. In both cases, before firing, the calculation could change the amount of charge by screwing the bottom of the sleeve or removing the projectile from the sleeve.
A 70-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighing 3, 83 kilograms was equipped with 600 grams of explosive, that is, its quantity was equal to that in the Soviet 76-mm high-explosive fragmentation grenade OF-350, which was used for regimental and divisional guns. The firing range of a 70 mm Japanese howitzer cannon was 40-2800 meters.
According to closed Soviet reports, the Japanese 70mm howitzer cannon performed well during cross-country battles in China, as well as on the Khalkhin Gol River. The shells of this gun hit dozens of BR and T-26 tanks.
The main means of supporting the German infantry during the war years was a light 7, 5-cm infantry gun. The weight of the system was only 400 kilograms. The cumulative projectile of the weapon was capable of burning through armor up to 80 millimeters thick. Separate-sleeve loading and an elevation angle of up to 75 degrees made it possible to use this gun as a mortar, but at the same time it provided much better accuracy. Unfortunately, there were no such weapons in the USSR.
7, 5 cm le. IG.18 in combat position
In the Soviet Union, in the pre-war years, several types of company miniature anti-tank guns were developed - the 20-mm INZ-10 cannon of the Vladimirov S. V. system. and Biga M. N., 20-millimeter cannon TsKBSV-51 of the Korovin S. A. system, 25-millimeter cannon of Mikhno and Tsirulnikov (43 K), 37-millimeter cannon of Shpitalny and some others.
For various reasons, none of these weapons was ever accepted into service. Among the reasons was the lack of attention of GAU to company anti-tank guns. With the outbreak of hostilities, the fronts literally screamed about the need for company anti-tank guns.
And now Sidorenko A. M., Samusenko M. F. and Zhukov I. I. - three teachers of the Artillery Academy, which was evacuated to Samarkand, - within a few days they designed the original LPP-25 anti-tank gun of 25 mm caliber. The gun had a wedge breechblock with a semi-automatic swinging type. The implement had a front "hoof-opener" and self-closing bed openers. This increased stability when firing and ensured the comfort and safety of the gunner when working from his knee. The features of the LPP-25 include a cranked pivoting axle for lifting the gun to the stowed position during transportation behind the tractor. The quick preparation of the gun for battle was provided by a simple pin mount in a marching manner. Soft suspension was provided by springs and pneumatic wheels from the M-72 motorcycle. The translation of the gun into the firing position and its carrying by the calculation of 3 people ensured the presence of two cars. For guidance, a rifle optical sight or a sight of the "Duck" type could be used.
Prokhorovka, our soldiers and exterminated by them with the help of LPP-25 "piece"
By combining some elements of the guns already in service, the designers created a unique system, which was lighter in weight than the standard 45-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1937 2, 3 times (240 kg versus 560 kg). Armor penetration at a distance of 100 meters was higher by 1, 3 times, and at a distance of 500 meters - by 1, 2. And this was when using a conventional armor-piercing tracer shell of a 25-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1940, and in the case of using a sub-caliber projectile with a tungsten core, this indicator increased by another 1.5 times. Thus, this gun was capable of penetrating the frontal armor of all German tanks that were used at the end of 1942 on the eastern front at a distance of up to 300 meters.
The combat rate of fire of the gun was 20-25 rounds per minute. Thanks to the suspension, the gun could be transported along the highway at a speed of 60 km / h. The height of the line of fire was 300 mm. The high mobility of the system made it possible to use it not only in infantry units, but also in airborne ones.
The system successfully passed factory tests in January 1943. But soon work on the gun was stopped. The only surviving sample of the LPP-25 cannon is on display at the Museum of the Peter the Great Academy.
It is possible that work on the LPP-25 was stopped in connection with the beginning of the development of a special airborne gun ChK-M1 of 37 mm caliber. This gun was designed under the leadership of Charnko and Komaritsky in OKBL-46 in 1943.
The 37-mm airborne gun of the 1944 model is an anti-tank light artillery system with a reduced recoil. The internal structure of the barrel, as well as the ballistics of the gun, were taken from an automatic anti-aircraft gun of the 1939 model. The barrel consists of a pipe, breech and muzzle brake. The powerful single-chamber muzzle brake significantly reduced the recoil energy. The recoil devices, mounted inside the casing, are built according to the original scheme - a hybrid of a double recoil system and a recoilless weapon scheme. There was no rollback brake. 4, 5-mm shield cover, attached to the casing, protected the crew from bullets, a shock wave of a close burst and small fragments. Vertical guidance is carried out by a lifting mechanism, horizontal - by the gunner's shoulder. The machine is two-wheeled. There were sliding beds with permanent and driven openers. The wheel travel is sprung. The height of the line of fire was 280 millimeters. The mass in the firing position is about 215 kilograms. Rate of fire - from 15 to 25 rounds per minute. At a distance of 300 meters, the gun penetrated 72 mm armor, and at a distance of 500 meters - 65 mm.
37-mm experimental gun of the Cheka in Izhevsk
During military trials, the wheel drive and the shield were separated from the 37-millimeter cannon, after which it was installed on a tubular welded frame, from which it was possible to shoot from the GAZ-64 and Willys vehicles. In 1944, even the Harley Davidson motorcycle was adapted for shooting. There were two motorcycles for each gun. One served to accommodate the gun, gunner, loader and driver, the second - the commander, carrier and driver. Shooting could be carried out on the move from a motorcycle installation while driving on a flat road at speeds up to 10 kilometers per hour.
During flight tests, the cannons were dropped in the A-7, BDP-2 and G-11 gliders. Each of them loaded one cannon, ammunition and 4 crew. A cannon, ammunition and a crew were loaded into the Li-2 plane for parachuting. Dump conditions: speed 200 km / h, height 600 meters. During flight tests, when delivered by landing method, a TB-3 bomber was used. Two cars GAZ-64 and "Willis" with 37 mm cannons mounted on them were suspended under the wing of a bomber. When transported by landing method, according to the instructions of 1944, a gun, 2 motorcycles and 6 people (crew and two drivers) were loaded onto the Li-2 plane, and in the C-47 one more gun and cartridges were added to this "set". The cannon and the motorcycle during parachuting were placed on the external sling of the Il-4 bombers, and the cartridges and the crew were placed on the Li-2. In the period from 1944 to 1945, 472 ChK-M1 guns were produced.
In the history of "toy guns" after 1945, a new stage began with the use of reactive and recoilless (dynamo-reactive) systems.
Prepared based on materials:
www.dogswar.ru
ljrate.ru
ww1.milua.org
vadimvswar.narod.ru
