One of the first anti-tank rifles was adopted by the Polish army before the Second World War. In 1935, under the name "Karabin Przeciwpancemy UR wz. 35" was adopted 7, 92-mm anti-tank gun, created by T. Felchin, E. Stetsky, J. Maroshkoyna, P. Villenevchits. The scheme of a magazine rifle was taken as a basis. The special 7, 92 mm cartridge (7, 92x107) weighed 61, 8 grams, the armor-piercing bullet "SC" - 12, 8 grams. The bullet of this cartridge was one of the first to have a tungsten core. At the end of the barrel was a cylindrical active muzzle brake, which absorbed about 70% of the recoil. The relatively thin-walled barrel could withstand up to 200 shots, but in combat conditions this number was quite enough - the infantry anti-tank weapons did not serve for long. For locking, a Mauser-type rotary bolt was used, which had two symmetrical lugs in front and one auxiliary in the back. The handle is straight. The percussion mechanism is of the striker type. In the trigger mechanism, the release rocker was blocked by a reflector in the case of an incompletely locked shutter: the reflector rose and released the rocker only in the event of a complete shutter rotation. The magazine, designed for 3 rounds, was secured from below with two latches. The sight is permanent. The anti-tank rifle had a one-piece rifle stock, a metal plate reinforced the back of the butt, swivels for a rifle belt were attached from the bottom of the box (like a rifle). Folding bipods were attached to the sleeves rotating around the barrel. This made it possible to turn the weapon relative to them.
Extensive deliveries of anti-tank rifles to the troops began in 1938; more than 5 thousand units were produced in total. Each infantry company was supposed to have 3 anti-tank guns, in a cavalry regiment - 13 units. By September 1939, the Polish troops had 3,500 kb. UR wz.35, which performed well against light German tanks.
In Poland, an anti-tank rifle with a tapered bore bore was also developed (similar to the German Gerlich rifle). The barrel of this gun was supposed to have a caliber of 11 millimeters at the bullet entrance, and 7, 92 millimeters at the muzzle. Bullet muzzle velocity - up to 1545 meters per second. An anti-tank rifle was not manufactured. This project was shipped to France, however, due to the defeat of France in 40, the work did not advance further than the prototype tests.
In the early 1920s, the Germans attempted to modernize the Mauser anti-tank rifle, supplementing it with a stock shock absorber and a magazine, but in 1925, Reichswehr experts concluded that "the 13-mm caliber cannot meet the target" and turned their attention to the 20- millimeter automatic cannons in. The German Reichswehr before the war, realizing the need for anti-tank defense of infantry units, also chose the 7.92 mm caliber for anti-tank rifles. The single-shot "Pz. B-38" (Panzerbuhse, model 1938), developed in Suhl by the designer of the "Gustlov Werke" company B. Bauer, was produced by the "Rheinmetall-Borzig" company. A vertical wedge gate was used to lock the barrel. To soften the recoil, the coupled bolt and the barrel were displaced back in the box, which was made integral with the barrel casing and had stiffening ribs. Thanks to this design, the recoil action was stretched over time, it was less sensitive for the shooter. In this case, the rollback was used to unlock the bolt in the same way as it was done in semi-automatic artillery guns. The barrel had a removable conical flash suppressor. The great flatness of the bullet trajectory at a range of up to 400 meters made it possible to set a permanent sight. The rear sight and front sight with a guard were attached to the barrel. The handle was located on the right side of the barrel breech. The fuse box was located on the left above the pistol grip. In the back of the handle there was an automatic safety lever. The barrel recoil spring was placed in the tubular folding butt. The stock was equipped with a shoulder rest with a rubber buffer, a plastic tube for holding the gun with the left hand. The butt folded to the right. On the sides of the receiver to accelerate loading were attached two "accelerators" - boxes in which 10 rounds were placed in a checkerboard pattern. In the front of the casing, a clutch with folding bipods was fixed (similar to the bipod of the MG.34 machine gun). A special pin was used to fix the folded bipod. A carrying handle was located above the center of gravity, the anti-tank rifle was too bulky for its caliber. The design of this anti-tank rifle prompted Degtyarev to use the movement of the barrel to partially absorb the recoil and automatically open the bolt.
To increase the armor action to the cartridge, a version of the bullet was developed that has a gas-forming composition, which creates a significant concentration of tear gas (chloroacetophenone) in the habitable volume after breaking through the armor. However, this cartridge was not used. After the defeat of Poland in 1939, the Germans adopted some of the solutions of the 7, 92 mm cartridge for the Polish anti-tank wz.35. The powerful German 7, 92-mm cartridge of the model "318" was created on the basis of a cartridge case for a 15-mm aircraft machine gun. He had an armor-piercing incendiary or armor-piercing bullet. The armor-piercing bullet had a tungsten carbide core - "318 S.m. K. Rs. L Spur". Cartridge weight - 85.5 grams, bullets - 14.6 grams, propellant charge - 14.8 grams, cartridge length - 117.95 millimeters, liners - 104.5 millimeters.
The troops needed a lighter anti-tank rifle. The same Bauer significantly altered the design, simplifying and lightening the anti-tank rifle, while reducing the cost of production. The Pz. B-39 had the same locking system and ballistics. The gun consisted of a barrel with a receiver, a bolt, a trigger frame with a pistol grip, a butt, and a bipod. The barrel of the Pz. B-39 was stationary, and the active muzzle brake, located at its end, could absorb up to 60% of the recoil. The wedge gate was controlled by swinging the trigger frame. Between the hemp of the barrel and the shutter mirror to maintain a gap and extend the life of the gun, the shutter was equipped with a front replaceable liner. A hammer percussion mechanism was installed in the shutter. When the bolt was lowered, the hammer was cocked. The shutter was closed from above by a flap, which automatically folded back when unlocked. The trigger mechanism consisted of a whispered trigger, a trigger and a safety catch. The fuse box was located on top of the back of the bolt socket. With its left position (the letter "S" became visible), the shutter and sear were locked. The trigger as a whole was too complex and the system was very sensitive to clogging. A mechanism for extracting spent cartridges was installed in the receiver window on the left. After lowering the bolt (unlocking), the sleeve was thrown out through the window in the butt with the extractor slider back and down. The Pz. B-39 had a folding stock (forward and downward) with a tube for the left hand and a shock absorber pad, a wooden fore-end, a swivel handle and a carrying strap. A ring fence protected the front sight. The total length of the anti-tank rifle, the design of the "accelerators" and the bipod were similar to those of the Pz. B 38. The anti-tank rifle was produced in Germany by the Rheinmetall-Borzig company and in the annexed Austria by the Steyr company. It should be noted that in September 1939, the Wehrmacht had only 62 anti-tank guns, by June 1941 their number was already 25,298. infantry and motorized infantry companies had a link of anti-tank rifles, 3 units each. weapons, a motorcycle platoon had 1 anti-tank rifle, a reconnaissance detachment of a motorized division - 11 anti-tank rifles. With more maneuverability and less weight compared to its predecessor, the Pz. B-39 gun had a greater recoil. Another characteristic drawback of the gun was the tight extraction of the sleeve. In addition, a great deal of effort was required to unlock the trigger frame. In terms of its characteristics, the Pz. B-39 quickly became obsolete. For example, the German airborne units abandoned the gun already in 1940 after the Cretan operation.
An interesting design was the Czech magazine 7, 92 mm anti-tank rifle chambered for the same cartridge, known under the designation MSS-41, which appeared in 1941 and was used by the Wehrmacht. The anti-tank rifle was produced at the Waffenwerke Brunn plant (Ceska Zbroevka). The store was located behind the pistol grip. Reloading was done by moving the barrel back and forth. The bolt was part of a fixed butt pad, engaging with the barrel with a coupling that was threaded onto the barrel. The clutch was rotated by moving the pistol grip forward and up. With a further movement of the handle, the barrel moved forward. The perforated casing served as a guide for the barrel with a sleeve. The barrel in the forward position hit the protrusion on the reflector slider, and the reflector, turning, threw the sleeve down. During the reverse movement, the barrel "bumped" into the next cartridge. When the pistol grip was turned down, the barrel was locked with a bolt. The percussion mechanism is of the striker type. The platoon of the drummer took place when reloading. In case of a misfire, a special lever was provided for cocking the striker - there was no need to reload for a second descent. The trigger was assembled in the handle. On its left side there was a flag fuse, which locked the clutch latch and the trigger rod in the rear position. Sights - front sight and sight - folding. An active muzzle brake was attached to the barrel. Shop - sector-shaped, box-shaped, replaceable, for 5 rounds. To reduce the height of the weapon, it was attached to the left, downward at an angle of 45 degrees. After feeding a new cartridge, the remaining ones were held using the cut-off lever. On a campaign, the butt with a pillow, a "cheek" and a shoulder pad was thrown up. The anti-tank rifle had a folding bipod. There was a strap for carrying. The Czech anti-tank rifle, having the same ballistic qualities as the Pz. B-39, was distinguished by its compactness: the length in the stowed position was 1280 millimeters, in the combat position - 1360 millimeters. However, the production of the anti-tank rifle was complex and did not become widespread. At one time, it was used by units of the SS troops.
In Germany, even before the outbreak of World War II, requirements were formulated for a more powerful anti-tank rifle. Obviously, the experience of using the 20-mm Oerlikon cannons, the effectiveness of which was demonstrated in Spain in the fight against German and Italian tanks, played a role here. The 20mm Solothurn anti-tank rifle of the Racale and Herlach system was the most appropriate to the German requirements, especially since it was based on Erhard's 20mm aircraft gun used in the First World War.
There were 8 right-hand rifling in the bore. In automation, the barrel recoil scheme was used with its short stroke. The barrel bore was locked by turning the clutch, which was installed on its breech, and its protrusions over the lugs of the longitudinally sliding bolt. During the movement of the barrel and the bolt back during recoil, the clutch protrusion entered the inclined groove of the box, the clutch turned and unlocked. The barrel of the gun stopped, while the bolt continued to move back, the cartridge case was ejected, the percussion mechanism was cocked. The reloading cycle ended under the action of the return spring. For manual reloading, a swing arm located on the right side of the box was used.
The recoil of the 20 mm Solothurn cartridge (20x105 V) was partially absorbed by the active muzzle brake, bipod assembly and shock absorber on the back of the butt. Folding bipods were attached near the center of gravity of the gun. To fix the sight and additional support under the butt, there was a folding support of adjustable height. On the left side, a box magazine for 5 or 10 rounds was mounted horizontally.
Since 1934, the anti-tank rifle has been produced by Waffenfabrik Solothurn AG under the designation S-18/100. It was in service in Hungary (36M), Switzerland and Italy. After the development of the "long solothurn" cartridge (20x138 V), which has a high power, a model of the S-18/1000 shotgun was developed for it. Slightly modified by Rheinmetall-Borzig, this 20mm anti-tank rifle, designated Pz. B-41, was adopted. The gun had a jet muzzle brake. A small number of Pz. B-41s were used on the Eastern Front and in the Italian army.
Already during the hostilities in Europe against the British and French troops in 1940, the Germans became convinced of the need to strengthen the anti-tank weapons of the infantry - the British tanks Mk II "Matilda" pointed to this. In the first months of the war against the Soviet Union, the ineffectiveness of the 7.92 mm anti-tank rifle against the KV and T-34 became apparent. Already in 1940, the German Armaments Directorate intensified work on a more powerful and at the same time relatively light anti-tank weapon. At the end of 1941, the Wehrmacht adopted the so-called "heavy anti-tank gun" 2, 8/2 cm s. Pz. B-41 (not to be confused with the 20-mm Pz. B-41 gun of the "Solothurn" system) having a conical bore drilling. On the Soviet-German front, this gun was captured in the winter of 1942, the British captured it in May 1942 in North Africa. This anti-tank rifle was an implementation of a scheme previously worked out theoretically and experimentally. The design of a conical bullet, which implemented the "plug and needle principle" (a small lateral load in the bore and a high load on the trajectory), was proposed by Beck in Prussia back in the 60s of the 19th century. In 1905, a rifle with a tapered barrel bore tapering to the muzzle, a bullet of a special shape and special grooves was proposed by the Russian inventor Druganov and calculated by General Rogovtsev, and in 1903 04 a patent for a gun with a tapered barrel was obtained by the German professor K. Puff. Extensive experiments with a tapered barrel were carried out by the engineer G. Gerlich in the 1920s and 1930s. He even tried to market his "super-rifle", first as a hunting rifle and later as an anti-tank rifle. The design of the barrel of the Gerlich anti-tank rifle had a tapered section and cylindrical sections in the breech and muzzle. The grooves (at the breech are the deepest) to the muzzle came to naught. This made it possible to more efficiently use the pressure of the powder gases required to disperse the bullet. This was done by increasing the average pressure at the same maximum. The muzzle velocity of an experienced 7-mm anti-tank rifle of the Gerlich system was up to 1800 meters per second. The projectile (Gerlich called it "ultra-bullet" in his advertising articles) had crumpled leading belts. When moving along the bore, they were pressed into special grooves on the projectile. The high lateral load of the bullet that flew out of the bore provided a high penetrating effect and maintaining speed throughout its flight path. Gerlich's works at that time attracted general attention, but even in Germany they were little applied in practice. In Czechoslovakia at the end of the 30s H. K. Janacek, taking as a basis Gerlich's "ultra-principle", created an anti-tank rifle in caliber 15/11 millimeters. After the capture of Czechoslovakia, prototypes of these anti-tank rifles fell into the hands of the invaders, but did not arouse interest.
Since the quality of armor had been improved by 1940, and the thickness of the armor of vehicles had increased significantly, they had to resort to large calibers. The s. Pz. B-41 barrel caliber was 28 millimeters in the breech and 20 millimeters in the muzzle, with a length of 61, 2 calibers. There were two conical transitions in the barrel bore, that is, the projectile was crimped twice. The barrel was equipped with an active muzzle brake. The massive breech had a slot for a wedge-shaped horizontal bolt. The anti-tank rifle was supplied with a kind of gun carriage (like an artillery gun) with a rotary upper machine. There were sliding beds with folding bipods and stamped wheels with rubber tires. The barrel with the bolt and the breech slid in the cradle guides, fixed in the sockets of the upper machine on the trunnions. The upper machine was connected to the lower combat pin. The absence of a lifting mechanism facilitated and simplified the design. A small flywheel was used to operate the swing mechanism. The elevation angle was up to + 30 °, horizontal guidance - up to ± 30 °. The rate of fire was up to 30 rounds per minute, which depended on the working conditions and the training level of the crew. The weapon was equipped with a double shield cover. In its left part, a cutout was made on top for aiming. The optical sight, extended to the left, also had a double shield. The total mass of the system was 227 kilograms, that is, half the weight of the 37-mm anti-tank gun Rak 35/36, which weighed 450 kilograms. The "heavy anti-tank gun" was a purely positional - that is, placed in specially prepared positions - an anti-tank weapon. However, the appearance of this weapon at the front was one of the reasons that made the Soviet tank builders again raise the issue of improving armor protection. In January 1944, Soviet troops captured another version of the s. Pz. B-41, which weighed 118 kilograms. This was done by making changes to the installation - the single-barrel lower machine was equipped with a tubular bed and stamped skids, and small dutik wheels were installed. The carriage provided circular horizontal guidance (at a maximum elevation angle - in the 30 ° sector), and vertical - from -5 to + 45 °. The height of the line of fire ranged from 241 to 280 millimeters. s. Pz. B-41 for carrying was disassembled into 5 components. The main shield was often removed for better disguise.
For the s. Pz. B-41, a unitary cartridge was created with an armor-piercing fragmentation projectile 28cm Pzgr.41 (weight 125 grams) with a steel armor-piercing core and an aluminum sharp cap (Gerlich's bullets did not have such a core). The general design of the projectile corresponded to the Gerlich patent of 1935 - with two belts in the form of a tapered skirt and grooves behind them. There were five holes in the front girdle, which supposedly contributed to the symmetrical compression of the girdle. A 153-gram charge of pyroxylin powder (tubular grain) of progressive combustion provided an initial projectile speed of 1370 meters per second (that is, about 4M - and today "hypersonic" anti-tank projectiles are considered the most promising means). The cartridge had a 190 mm long bottle brass sleeve with a protruding rim, the capsule was C / 13 nA. The total length of the projectile was 221 mm. The s. Pz. B-41's armor penetration using an armor-piercing projectile was 75 millimeters at a distance of 100 meters, 50 millimeters at 200 meters, 45 millimeters at 370 meters, and 40 millimeters at 450 meters. Thus, having a smaller size and weight, the "heavy anti-tank gun" in terms of the effectiveness of the fight against armored vehicles was comparable to a 37-mm anti-tank gun. Since the "heavy anti-tank gun" was in fact an infantry weapon, a fragmentation cartridge with a 28cm Spgr.41 grenade was created to expand its capabilities (grenade mass - 93 grams, explosive charge - 5 grams) with a 139 gram propellant charge, an instantaneous head fuse … The sleeve and overall length were consistent with the s. Pz. B-41. The cartridges were sealed in metal trays of 12 pieces.
In addition to the 28/20-mm anti-tank gun, Germany produced anti-tank guns with a "tapered" bore - 42/22 mm 4, 2cm Pak.41 (weight - 560 kilograms) and 75/55 mm 7, 5cm Pak.41 (weight from 1348 to 1880 kilograms). These guns had good ballistic performance, but the production of systems with a "tapered" barrel was expensive and technologically difficult - a property that was inconvenient for front-line anti-tank weapons. Also, the "tapered" barrel had low survivability. The APCR projectile solved the same problems with great success even with "traditional" barrels. The adoption of sub-caliber reel-to-reel shells for the standard 37-mm and 50-mm anti-tank guns gave a greater effect, therefore, in 1943, the production of guns with a tapered barrel was stopped. In those years, it was not possible to work out the design of the sub-caliber bullet, therefore, anti-tank rifles did not receive such cartridges.
Before the war, the British Army received a magazine-type anti-tank rifle developed by Captain Boyes, who served as Assistant Chief of the Royal Small Arms Design Bureau in Enfield in 1934. Initially, the gun was designed for the 12.7mm Vickers round for a heavy machine gun. The development was carried out as part of the work of the British Committee of Light Weapons under the code designation "Stanchion" (Stanchion - "prop"). The anti-tank rifle, after being put into service, received the designation Mkl "Boyes". Its caliber was increased to 13.39 millimeters (".550"). The cartridge was equipped with an armor-piercing bullet with a steel core. Starting in 1939, each infantry platoon was to be armed with one anti-tank rifle. Since the end of 1936, the Boyes shotgun has been produced by the BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) plant in Birmingham. The first order was completed only by the beginning of 1940, after which a new order was immediately received. Royal Small Arms and Boys were also reported to have been involved.
The anti-tank rifle consisted of a barrel and a receiver, a frame with a folding bipod, a magazine, a bolt, and a butt pad. The bore had 7 right-hand rifling. A box-shaped muzzle brake was attached to the muzzle of the barrel. The barrel in the receiver was threaded. When fired, they shifted somewhat along the frame, and absorbed some of the recoil energy, compressing the shock absorber spring - such a combination of an "elastic carriage" and a muzzle brake, borrowed from artillery systems, reduced the effect of recoil and prevented the gun from bouncing under the influence of recoil. The barrel bore was locked when the longitudinally sliding bolt was rotated, which had in the front part six lugs located in three rows and a curved handle. In the bolt, a drummer equipped with a ring, a helical combat spring, a reflector and a non-rotating ejector was assembled. Grasping the ring, the drummer was placed on a safety or combat descent. The striker was attached to the striker with a coupling.
The anti-tank rifle had a trigger of the simplest type. On the left side of the receiver there was a safety catch that locked the drummer in the rear position. The sights extended to the left included a front sight and a sight with a diopter setting of 300, 500 meters, or only 300 meters. A single-row box magazine was installed from above. The pistol grip was tilted forward. There was a rubber shock absorber on the metal recoil pad, on the left side there was a "cheek", a handle, and an oiler was located in it. The bipod is T-shaped. There were also anti-tank rifles with "two-legged" folding bipods. The Boyce rifle was carried by one soldier behind his back on a rifle strap.
For the first time, anti-tank guns "Boyes" were used in combat conditions not by the British, but by the Finnish army - Great Britain hastily supplied Finland with these guns during the Soviet-Finnish war of 39-40. In 1940, a bullet with a plastic guide belt and a tungsten core was introduced to the 13, 39-mm cartridge, but they were used to a limited extent - probably due to the high cost of production. Army orders for Boyes anti-tank rifles were issued until January 1942, by which time the rifles had become ineffective. However, in 1942 they released the Boyes Mkll model with a shortened barrel and intended for the Airborne Forces. In the same year, an experimental model "Boyes" was manufactured with a tapered bore (probably influenced by Polish German work), but it did not go into production. In total, about 69 thousand Boyes were produced, some of which were supplied to Canada and the United States.
In place of the Boyes anti-tank rifles, the PIAT grenade launchers were adopted by the British army. The Boyes were also handed over to Polish units in the British Army. Approximately 1, 1 thousand units put on the Lend-Lease of the Red Army, but they did not enjoy success. At the same time, the German troops used captured "Boyes" very willingly. It should be noted that during the war, the Czech designer Janáček, who moved to England, developed a conical muzzle attachment "Littlejohn" for firing special shells and armor-piercing bullets from small-caliber anti-tank guns and regular magazine rifles, but such a device was not used in battles.
At the beginning of the war in the United States, tests were carried out on a 15, 2-mm anti-tank rifle with an initial bullet velocity of 1100 meters per second, later on a 14, 5-mm anti-tank rifle, on which it was proposed to install an optical sight. During the Korean War, they tested - albeit unsuccessfully - a 12.7 mm anti-tank rifle.
Now let's look at foreign anti-tank guns of the "minimum artillery" caliber. Heavy 20-mm self-loading anti-tank rifles were in service with the armies of Germany, Finland, Hungary, and Japan.
The Swiss 20-mm self-loading anti-tank gun "Oerlikon" used by the Wehrmacht was created on the basis of the "anti-tank machine gun" of the same company. The automation used the recoil of a massive free shutter. The gun had store food (the German Becker cannon scheme was again taken as a basis). The weight of the anti-tank gun was 33 kilograms (which made it the lightest in this class), the length of the gun was 1450 millimeters with a barrel length of 750 millimeters. The initial velocity of an 187-gram "bullet" is 555 meters per second, armor penetration at 130 meters is 20 millimeters, at 500 meters - 14 millimeters. In addition to armor-piercing, cartridges with lighting, incendiary and high-explosive fragmentation shells were used - the ammunition was borrowed from the cannon.
The Japanese Type 97 anti-tank rifle (that is, the 1937 model - according to the Japanese chronology it was 2597 from the founding of the Empire, also known as the Kyana Shiki anti-tank rifle) was developed on the basis of an aviation automatic cannon. It was developed for the Type 97 cartridge (20x124), which had two versions - with fragmentation and armor-piercing shells.
The anti-tank rifle consisted of a barrel, a receiver, a movable system (bolt carrier, wedge, bolt), a recoil device, a magazine and a cradle machine. In automation, the principle of removal of powder gases was used. In the middle part of the barrel from the bottom there was a gas outlet chamber and a 5-position regulator. The chamber was connected with a tube to the gas distributor. An active-reactive muzzle brake was attached to the barrel, made in the form of a cylindrical box with longitudinal slots. The connection of the barrel and receiver is dry. A vertically moving wedge locked the bore with a bolt. A characteristic feature of the system is a bolt carrier with two reciprocating mainsprings and piston rods. The reloading handle was located on the top right and was carried out separately. The receiver housed a slide delay, which was turned off when the magazine was attached. The anti-tank rifle had a striker percussion mechanism. The striker received an impulse from the bolt carrier through the intermediate part located in the locking wedge. The trigger mechanism, assembled in the trigger box of the machine, included: sear, trigger, trigger, trigger and disconnector. The fuse box, located at the back of the receiver, blocked the hammer in the upper position. The barrel and receiver moved along the cradle-machine for a length of 150 millimeters. A recoil device was placed in its chute, which included two coaxial recoil springs and a pneumatic recoil brake. The anti-tank rifle was capable of firing bursts (therefore, in our press it is sometimes referred to as a "large-caliber machine gun"), but had too low accuracy.
Sights - a stand with a diopter and a front sight - were placed on the brackets to the left. The brackets were attached to the cradle. A box magazine was mounted on top. The cartridges were staggered. The shop window was covered with a lid. A buttstock was attached to the cradle, which had a rubber shock absorber, a shoulder pad and a "cheek", a handle for the left hand and a pistol grip. The support was provided by an adjustable rear support and a height-adjustable bipod. Their position was fixed by means of locking sleeves. The cradle had two slots for connecting "two-horned" tubular carrying handles - front and back. With the help of handles, an anti-tank rifle could be carried by three or four fighters. A removable shield was developed for the anti-tank rifle, but it was practically not used. The gun was quite stable in position, but it was difficult to maneuver with fire at the front. The bulky Type 97 was usually used in defense. The crews preferred to work at pre-prepared positions with aligned lines and points. Two anti-tank rifles were in the infantry battalion's machine-gun company. The infantry division had less than 72 anti-tank rifles - not enough for effective action against an enemy with a large number of armored vehicles.
Soviet tank crews encountered Japanese Type 97 anti-tank rifles already in 1939 at Khalkhin Gol. Subsequently, they were used to a limited extent on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. There, they showed good results in the fight against American amphibious armored personnel carriers and light armored vehicles, but against medium tanks they turned out to be ineffective. The Type 97 anti-tank gun was designed to compensate for the lack of anti-tank artillery, but it was produced in relatively small numbers, so it did not solve the problem. The anti-tank grenade launchers and anti-tank guns developed by the end of the war were not put into production by the Japanese industry.
The Finnish L-39 anti-tank gun system was developed by Aimo Lahti. As a basis, they took their own aircraft cannon of the 1938 model, while the cartridge (20x138) was reinforced. The L-39 automation was also based on a propellant gas evacuation system. The anti-tank rifle consisted of a barrel with a gas chamber, a flat muzzle brake and a perforated wooden casing, a trigger frame, a receiver, a trigger, percussion and locking mechanisms, sighting devices, a magazine, a butt plate and a bipod. The gas chamber is of a closed type, with a guide tube and a gas regulator (4 positions). The barrel and receiver were connected with a nut. The engagement of the bolt with the receiver is a vertically moving wedge. Unlocking and locking was carried out by the projections of the bolt carrier, which was made separately from the piston rod. a drummer with a mainspring, a rammer and an ejector were mounted in the bolt. The swinging reloading handle was on the right.
A distinctive feature of the Finnish anti-tank rifle was two trigger mechanisms: the rear one - to keep the mobile system on a combat platoon, the front one - to hold the drummer. In front of the pistol grip, inside the trigger guard, there were two triggers: the lower one for the rear trigger mechanism, the upper one for the front trigger. A fuse box located on the left side of the receiver in the forward position blocked the trigger of the front trigger. The sequential descent of the first mobile system, and then the striker, prevented an accidental shot, and also did not allow for too fast firing. Sights included a sector sight placed on the receiver and a front sight on the barrel. A box-shaped sector magazine with a large capacity for an anti-tank rifle and a staggered arrangement of cartridges was attached from above. On the march, the shop window was closed by a flap. The butt pad was equipped with a height-adjustable rubber shoulder pad and a wooden pad - "cheek". On the hike, the bipod was detached from the gun and was also equipped with skis. The bipod assembly included a small counterbalancing spring mechanism. The forward-facing stops could be fastened with screws on the bipod - with them the anti-tank rifle rested on the hillock, the breastwork of the trench, and the like. The design of the anti-tank rifle can be seen taking into account the specific northern operating conditions - there are a minimum of holes in the receiver, a shop window shield, on the ski bipod, a wooden casing located on the barrel, convenient for carrying in cold weather.
The anti-tank rifle from 1940 to 1944 was produced by the state-owned company VKT. A total of 1906 anti-tank rifles were produced. Since 1944, the L-39 has become a "auxiliary" air defense system - this is the fate of many anti-tank guns. In the USSR, attempts were also made to create more powerful anti-tank guns of "artillery" calibers, but this way of "enlargement" was already unpromising. In 1945 A. A. Blagonravov, a major domestic gunsmith specialist, wrote: "In their current form, anti-tank rifles have exhausted their capabilities … The most powerful (20-mm RES), which are on the verge of growing into artillery systems, are not able to effectively deal with modern self-propelled guns and heavy tanks."
Note that this conclusion applied to this type of weapon as an anti-tank weapon. After the war, the "niche" of anti-tank guns in this plan was firmly occupied by rocket-propelled anti-tank grenade launchers - they were not accidentally called “rocket-propelled anti-tank guns”. But in the 80s, a kind of revival of anti-tank rifles began in the form of large-caliber sniper rifles - during World War II they tried to equip anti-tank rifles with optical sights for use at long distances. Large-caliber rifles of this type are intended either to destroy manpower at a considerable distance, or for assault actions (short-barreled models), or to destroy point targets (reconnaissance, control and communication equipment, protected firing points, satellite communications antennas, radar stations, light armored vehicles, transport funds, UAVs, hovering helicopters). The last type, which is closest to the previous anti-tank guns, can be attributed to the American 12.7 mm M82 A1 and A2 Barrett, M88 McMillan, Hungarian 12.7 mm Cheetah M1 and 14.5 mm Cheetah »M3, Russian 12.7mm OSV-96 and KSVK, Austrian 15mm IWS-2000, South African 20mm NTW. This type of small arms often uses approaches that have been worked out by anti-tank guns - the cartridges are borrowed from aircraft cannons or large-caliber machine guns, or are specially developed, some design features resemble anti-tank guns of the Second World War. Interesting are the attempts made during the Second World War to use anti-tank guns as weapons for light armored vehicles. For example, in 1942, a 14.5-mm anti-tank rifle instead of machine guns was installed on a batch of light armored vehicles BA-64 (USSR), the German 28/20 mm s. Pz. B-41 was installed on a light two-axle armored vehicle SdKfz 221 (" Horch "), 20-mm 36M" Solothurn "- on light" Turan I ", English 13, 39-mm" Boys "- on the Mk VIC tank, armored car" Humber MkIII "and" Morris-I ", tracked armored personnel carriers" Universal ", Narrow-gauge light armored trains of territorial defense. The Universal armored personnel carrier equipped with the Boyce anti-tank gun was supplied to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease.
Almost all pre-war manuals and regulations recommended concentrated machine-gun and rifle fire on tanks - according to the experience of local wars in the 1920s and the First World War - as a rule, at viewing slots from ranges of up to 300 meters. Such a fire actually played a purely auxiliary role. During the Second World War, the Red Army abandoned the allocation of shooters with automatic rifles and groups of machine guns for firing on tanks in the defense - small arms were needed primarily against manpower, and the firing of tanks did not give the desired effect even with the use of armor-piercing bullets. The available rifle cartridges with armor-piercing bullets of normal caliber pierced armor up to 10 millimeters at a distance of 150-200 meters and could only be used for firing at shelters or light armored vehicles. Thus, General of the US Army M. Ridgway recalled how in the Ardennes he managed to knock out a light German self-propelled gun from 15 meters from a Springfield rifle with an armor-piercing bullet while a grenade launcher, who was nearby, fiddled with a snow-clogged bazooka.
Sourse of information:
Magazine "Equipment and weapons" Semyon Fedoseev "Infantry against tanks"
