As always, after the release of material on any Soviet topic, be it losses during the Second World War, dispossession of kulaks or the SVT-40 rifle, many readers rush to express their opinion on it. Judgments are very different, ranging from pointing out mistakes - and this is good, only without generalizations, to absolutely fantastic insinuations. Unfortunately, there are few competent additions and information about what really expands the scope of the material. However, why so is understandable. So with two articles about the SVT rifle, the same thing happened. But the most interesting thing is that, in addition to comments directly to the articles, there were also letters with … a request to continue this topic. But here you have to explain. Unfortunately, most of the material in these articles was taken from the book by D. N. Bolotin "Soviet small arms". 1990 edition. In one of the reviews it was written the following: "If we discard the excessive" politicization "and ostentatious patriotism inherent in many books of that time (especially those published in 1983), and consider exclusively historical facts, this is an excellent book on the history of domestic weapons."
The book by D. N. Bolotina.
So I thought so too when I read it again and … held this rifle in my hands. I can say that Sergei's advice (this is who Gross Kaput) helped me a lot and my friend, the owner of this rifle. Then he assembled and disassembled it ten more times, and … it began to work! And if we had such an army mentor and show us all this in practice - you see, we would not have any problems. We urgently acquired a very interesting publication - a book by S. A. Koldunova. Tokarev self-loading rifle, 1940 model (SVT-40). SPb.: Art-Express, 2013) and decided to return once again to the theme of "Lights" and above all … once again it was disassembled and assembled. I thought and still believe that this is also a variant of the study - to hold all the details in hand, to figure out what and how. Moreover, I will certainly not be able to shoot from it. There are no such acquaintances in Penza, and going somewhere for the sake of bang-bang, well, this, excuse me, is not for me.
Book S. A. Koldunova.
There is, of course, also a book by Gnatovsky and Shorin in 1959, but this is absolutely on … a "lover of songs" in the style of "We are great, we are powerful, higher than the sun, more clouds!" Therefore, here, we will not consider it as a serious source of information.
However, how do you get back to the topic on which you seem to have already written everything? I thought, thought and came up with !!!
In our country, many believe that foreign authors are only engaged in distorting our history (including military history) from morning till night and writing all sorts of nonsense about us and our technical achievements. But how do they know about this? I constantly ask the authors of such "comments": in which author's book, on which page "this" is written, but … I do not receive answers. That is, "they are bad," "they are lying," but "how do I know this, I do not know."
Chris Bishop's book: original.
But let's take a look at the very interesting Guns in Combat (Chris Bishop, Aerospace Publishing Ltd., London, 1998). Moreover, this book was translated into Russian and published in 2003. Well, Chris Bishop is a very interesting and knowledgeable author. It is easy to read in English and easy to translate into Russian, so the book has been translated very well. Moreover, it is completely (!) Devoid of any ideological background.
Russian edition of Bishop's book.
So I thought: what if we give from it a text about the SVT-40 rifle with some comments that contribute to the deepening of the topic. I am always happy when, after my articles, people write that they have begun to read both that book and the other on their own, that is, engage in self-education and develop their horizons. It is possible that the same will happen in this case!
So, we read, bearing in mind that the author's comments on Bishop's text are given in (…):
Photo from the book of K. Bishop. The Northern Fleet Marines are preparing to land. Two of the sailors are armed with SVT-40. Tokarev's rifle was a rather complex weapon. It was best suited for well-trained troops. (Bishop's last sentence deserves comment, because it is just about the question of the "collective farm" and the poorly educated soldiers of the Red Army. I would suggest to the VO visitors to read this article as a primary material for acquaintance with it: "The tragedy of the peasant army". N. Kulbak - V. O.)
Photo from the book of K. Bishop. A German soldier armed with SVT raises a squad to attack at the start of the war. The captured rifles were popular among the German soldiers. They influenced the further development of German small arms. (And this caption under the photo also requires a comment. If we look at the numerous photographs of the Second World War period, we will see that SVT-40 very often "flickered" in the hands of German and Finnish soldiers. About as often as their notorious "Schmeiser "MP-40. That is, a large, and maybe a very large number of these rifles fell to the Germans as trophies in the very first days of the war and then were actively used by them! - V. O.)
A Mondragon rifle with a large-capacity drum magazine.
Excellent propaganda photographs here and below … Red Army soldiers at the parade on November 7 on Red Square with SVT-40 rifles.
Soviet soldiers are attacking! The fact that the photo is a little blurred only enhances its impact!
Mosinka, DP-27 and SVT-40 - all in one photo.
For some reason, I did not see this photograph in Pravda, although I looked through all the issues several times for all 1418 days of the war. But it is precisely such photos that would be very useful to us at the beginning. Were the prisoners in one place, and the Pravda reporters in another? I would change our clothes in German clothes, but I would take such a photo !!!
But this is just a shot from the 1941 movie, popular at the beginning of the war, "The Sea Hawk:" The Sea Hawk is leaving the coast and the girl is waving her hand! " And now leave the lyrics and take a closer look … Not all sailors have SVT rifles in their photographs, but there are those who … have them!
Muzzle brake with early shape and bayonet mount. The new one had two holes on both sides.
Gas outlet and gas regulator.
Barrel with an early muzzle brake shape. By the way, notice how thin it is. When firing bursts in the AVT-40 version, it had to overheat very quickly …
In our rifle, the following cut is made on the barrel. Now, it certainly cannot be restored to working condition.
But in spite of everything, SVT-40 was put into production on July 1, 1940. In the first months, 3,416 copies were produced. The pace of production grew rapidly. In August, 8,700 rifles were already produced, 10,700 in September and 11,960 in the first 18 days of October alone. (As you can see, so far all the information corresponds to what has been written about SVT-38 and SVT-40 in our country. No slander, no deception … - V. O.)
Receiver, stock and ramrod.
The stem of the bolt (Actually, I would call it the bolt frame, but in the book of SA Koldunov this detail is again called the “stem.” For the sake of our reader, under the nickname Curios, let it be the “stem”). Bottom view. The shutter is removed.
Bolt stem with bolt.
Gate. View from above. The hand next to it is given for scale and … look how miniature it looks for such a powerful rifle cartridge as ours. And all the other details look … rather miniature. That is, Tokarev managed to make them extremely compact and light - as the military demanded! And after this time we disassembled this rifle and decomposed it into details, it became obvious to us that they were exactly like that, although it is possible that someone would not agree with this.
The trigger mechanism is also very miniature. Even compared to the M1 carbine.
Top casing.
Receiver cover.
Photo from the book of K. Bishop. Marines armed with Tokarev rifles on patrol along the border with Northern Norway. Fortunately, it's summer now. At low temperatures, the SVT is prone to delays during firing. The sailor in the foreground is armed with a Degtyarev submachine gun. (About what delays occur in SVT-40 during firing and what needs to be done in those cases when they arise, it is very well written by S. A. Koldunov, pp. 167 - 172. About many delays, if they are not eliminated, it says: “Contact the commander.” And if he does not know? Or is he killed? And all the other soldiers of my unit are from Kazakhstan? Then what to do? - V. O.)
Shop. Side view.
Shop. Feeder.
Aim.
The wood parts of the rifle - look, also have a minimum thickness. And if the Czech rifle ZB.52 seemed "plump" to me, then ours … very thin to the touch.
Back ring with belt clip.
Soviet sniper Sergeant Zhidkov, armed with an SVT-40 self-loading rifle with a PU telescopic sight, at a firing position. Northern front. (K. Bishop has a different photo here, but the essence of it is the same)
Hero of the Soviet Union Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko, sniper of the 54th Infantry Regiment (25th Infantry Division (Chapaevskaya), Primorskaya Army, North Caucasian Front), the title of Hero was awarded on October 25, 1943.
Another interesting photo. Crimean conference, February 1945. Military parade in honor of the arrival of W. Churchill, and F. Roosevelt. Churchill, of course, immediately realized what kind of rifles the soldiers of the guard of honor had and thought that there were no such in his army. But Roosevelt probably took their SVT-40 for granted, that this is how it should be.
For obvious reason, Roosevelt himself did not walk in front of the guard of honor, but rode.
The Germans are collecting trophies. Pay attention: the three-rulers are held in their hands, but the "lights" are behind them. Respect, however!
And they are testing trophy rifles!
Field gendarmes of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler division with SVT-40 of the Yugoslav partisan. And the question is, where did the Yugoslav partisan get this rifle from ?!
So, where are the inaccuracies that go, so to speak, beyond the bounds of decency? Where is "Russophobia", "distortion of real facts"? The text, intended primarily for the British, is more than objective. I am sure that everyone will agree with this. And - the most interesting thing is that I have not met other books of openly false content, with which they are described by our press, although I regularly read English-language historical literature.
Well, now let's think again why the SVT-40 disappeared so quickly? It seems that the whole point is in the exact execution of the order given to the designer by the military. The rifle turned out to be too light, so it did not have the potential for modernization and worked at the limit of its capabilities. If the adjustment is incorrect, for example, the receiver cover is deformed from firing. The barrel was overheating, and so on. And the designer did not have time to make the rifle heavier, stronger and … more resistant to adverse influences, to improve its "anti-soldier" qualities, and there was no order from the military for this. And then times changed and SVT-40 turned into a wonderful monument of its era, to a certain extent it overtook the same era!
