Rifle Stgw. 57.
The fact that "Czech is excellent" has already been discussed here, but everything that was done in Switzerland was also always of high quality. So there is a reason to digress somewhat from the topic of Czech weapons and talk about what the Forgrimler design has become on Swiss soil.
Rifle Stgw. 57. (Army Museum in Stockholm).
By the way, it is this material that is also a good reason to talk about small arms in general, the terminology used in our literature, and a number of other interesting circumstances.
Rifle Stgw. 57. (Army Museum in Stockholm). This particular sample was used in the Swedish army between 1960-1964. on trials to select a promising model for its armament. But in the end, according to the test results, the Swedes still chose the Heckler & Koh G3 rifle. The photo clearly shows the carrying handle, short wooden forend, folded sights and a fire translator.
While the war was going on, the Swiss were actively studying the achievements of the military thought of the belligerent countries, rightly judging that they had nowhere to rush. However, after its completion, it became obvious that the requirements of the time must be met and they, and work on the creation of a new rifle, and, of course, automatic were immediately accelerated. And now, after a number of intermediate samples in 1954 - 1955. at SIG, under the leadership of Rudolf Amsler, the Stgw. 57 (SturmGewehr 57) automatic rifle was created, which was adopted by the Swiss army in 1957. Its variant SIG 510-4 was exported to Bolivia and Chile. Known variants of SIG 510-1 (Stgw. 57 caliber 7, 5 mm); SIG 510-2 - the same caliber, but somewhat lightweight; SIG 510-3 - made for the Soviet cartridge 7, 62x39 mm, and with a magazine for 30 rounds.
Device diagram.
It remains to add that the design of this rifle is based on the same development of Ludwig Forgrimler, which was embodied at the same time in the Spanish CETME rifle. However, if we try to learn something more about her, then … we will find surprisingly little information. The all-knowing Wikipedia in Russian gives her only four paragraphs. There is also such, albeit clumsy, but informative phrase: "The developed AM 55 assault rifle (also using the SIG 510-0) was modeled on the German experimental StG45 (M)." And a very obvious creation of the Google translator - "The rifle was shot by Swiss 7, 5 x 55 mm GP11 ammunition."
Cartridges GP11.
Then there is a link to the materials of the site weapon.at.ua, where such an interesting description of the automatic action of this rifle is given, that I simply cannot deny myself the pleasure of citing it in its entirety: “To cocking the weapon, it is necessary to pull back and release the T-shaped handle, while the bolt moves forward, sending the cartridge into the chamber. The hammer is cocked and held by the sear. The shutter consists of two parts: the stem and the larva. Rollers of an unusual design are installed on the larva: small figured parts are hinged on the cylindrical roller itself. When the cartridge enters the chamber, the larva stops, and the bolt stem continues to move and passes between the rollers. The shutter mirror has a wedge-shaped shape, and the rollers are forced into the grooves of the receiver.
Here it is - the bolt of the SIG 510-4 rifle. The hook of the extractor is clearly visible at the bottom. To the right is the extractor lever, which, when the shutter moves back, shifts the sleeve to the right and throws it out into the receiver window. The locking roller protruding from it is also clearly visible.
When fired, the spent cartridge case moves back. The inner surface of the chamber has longitudinal grooves that allow the propellant gases to pass to the shutter mirror. It has two holes through which gases pass through the larva and press on the stem of the shutter. The pressure of the liner and powder gases forces the rollers to move inward along the inclined surfaces of the bolt stem. Due to the angles of inclination of the wedge-shaped surface, the valve stem is forced to move back and detach from the larva.
This photo clearly shows the principle of the locking unit: the rear part of the shutter moves back from the front part, and the rollers hide in their slots.
When the rollers come out of the grooves, the bolt, in the disconnected state, continues to roll back. The cartridge case is pressed against the shutter mirror by the ejector. It is pivotally attached to the top of the combat larva, when the bolt is rolled back, it rests against an inclined ledge on the left side of the receiver, as a result, the sleeve is thrown out through the window on the right side of the receiver. This design provides a smoother operation of the mechanism in the process of ejection of the sleeve."
The shutter device top views: on the left - assembled, in the center - the rear part with a protruding locking rod, on the right - the bolt head, at the bottom - the return spring.
It is clear that this description is given in the typical Soviet tradition of describing the details of weapons - "stem", "larva". However, it is well known that “all wars were due to inaccuracies in the wording” (a joke, of course, but it makes a lot of sense!), Because if we begin to consider the actual details of this rifle, then we will immediately have a lot of questions. So - "the shutter consists of a stem and a larva" … Let's look at it and see that it consists of two massive steel bars of almost the same size. The larva is something round, small. A larva with half the gate is nonsense, just like the "stem" is its second part. The stem could also be called a locking rod protruding from it with a pointed front part, because the massive part of this part, by analogy with the world of flowers, could be called a "bud", but the whole "bud and stem" just a stem is too much. In general, in this description, every phrase is a pearl. And it is not clear where it came from. After all, it is obvious that if you are writing an article about weapons, then you should adhere to certain rules, which are very simple: if you yourself cannot hold on to the described weapon, then take a manual on its use, since there are such manuals in every army. The rifle was exported, so there should be such instruction in English.
We open it and read: “The breech comprises a breech head with ejector, locking rollers with rockers and cartridge holder, rear director shaft with firing pin and firing pin spring, and the firing lever. Breech head and director shaft are connected by a cotter pin."
Which can be translated as follows: “The bolt consists of a bolt head with an ejector, locking rollers with rockers and a liner extractor, as well as a rear part of the bolt with a locking rod through which the striker passes, the striker spring and the striker lever. The bolt head and the back of the bolt are connected by a cotter pin. "
Bolt details, from left to right: bolt head with rollers, locking pin connecting the rear of the bolt to the front, striker, striker spring, L-shaped striker lever, striker pin.
Why is it translated this way and not otherwise? Because English is 20% more informative than Russian, and when translating from English into Russian, phrases should be lengthened, and when translated from Russian into English, shortened. The phrase "director shaft" is translated as "locking rod" in its functional meaning, since it is this "stem" that moves the rollers apart and locks the shutter. Interestingly, when firing, the trigger, located in the receiver on the left, first strikes the L-shaped articulated lever, and that, in turn, hits the drummer.
Now the scheme of the shutter operation from the "Manual …". As you can see, no "holes for blowing the shutter" are shown on it, not even a hint.
And now a little more about the gases blowing the shutter and entering through the holes into the larva. There are indeed holes in the bolt head. But nowhere in the text of the "Instructions …" about "blowing" there is not a single word! But this is important, isn't it? But no, nothing is written about this in the English text. And there is literally the following: “When the trigger is pulled, the hammer strikes the firing pin lever, which pushes it forward and breaks the cartridge primer. The pressure of the bottom of the sleeve on the valve head increases, but the rollers in its seats prevent the valve from moving back. It should be emphasized that this is "not a rigid lock", since the rollers are held only by the wedge-shaped surfaces of the locking rod of the rear part of the bolt, which is held only by the force of the return spring. When the bullet leaves the barrel and bottom pressure is at its maximum, it exits the chamber about one quarter of an inch, and the locking rollers retract inward and push the locking rod backward, allowing the bolt head and fired sleeve to move back and the entire bolt. In doing so, the locking rod retains sufficient energy to pull back both parts of the valve. During this movement, the protrusion on the receiver moves the extractor with the empty sleeve along the mirror of the bolt head to the right, after which it is extracted through the window on the receiver. During the movement of the bolt back, the hammer is cocked and the return spring is compressed. In the rear position, the shutter rests against the buffer. The compressed return spring forces the bolt to move forward. In this case, the cartridge from the magazine is fed into the chamber, and the locking rod of the rear part of the bolt squeezes the rollers into their fixing slots, after which the weapon is again ready to fire. "
It seems to me that this is a more understandable description of the automatic operation of this unusual rifle.
I would add only one phrase to this text, which is missing in the original: "In the chamber, starting from the bullet entrance," Revelli grooves "(8 in total) are made, designed to facilitate the movement of the sleeve at the initial stage of extraction, when the gas pressure in the chamber is still too high" … But this is nothing more than an explanation, but otherwise, this is a fairly accurate translation of the text from the "Manual …"
This photo clearly shows the butt attachment to the receiver. The latch is at the bottom.
And now it is worth thinking about the following: is it worth trying when describing foreign types of weapons to reduce everything to our old terms, or, on the contrary, to strive as accurately as possible to convey the terminology used by the creators of a particular model? For example, it is difficult for me to see a "larva" in a massive metal bar, or a "stem" in a rectangular protrusion of another similar bar. Moreover, together, these two bars just form the bolt of the rifle and this is hardly worth challenging.
And here you can clearly see the "arctic" trigger in the form of a lever, laid along the receiver.
Well, now let's note some more interesting points. It turns out that it was the "Mauser system" of the StG45 that had the strongest impact on the entire post-war development of arms business in Europe. The Europeans did not accept the Garand system, and on all their automatic rifles in Belgium, Spain, Germany, and some other countries, in particular, in the same Czechoslovakia, they used a roller mechanism for locking the barrel. The experience of operating a Swiss rifle has shown that this is a very reliable weapon, which, due to its rather large mass, has less recoil than similar rifles in other countries, which, if it also has bipods, provides very high accuracy rates. Moreover, this was achieved using a powerful rifle cartridge - the standard cartridge 7, 62x51 NATO!
The handle together with the trigger and the trigger lever folded down.
Well, the design of the rifle as a whole is simple: the receiver is made of stamped steel parts, joined by welding. The barrel has a perforated metal casing. The trigger mechanism in one assembly with a pistol grip and a trigger guard is made as a separate module. The fuse - aka the translator of fire modes - is located on the trigger box on the left, above the trigger guard. An original feature of the rifle, which it would not be a sin to borrow and our gunsmiths, is the presence of an additional "winter" elongated folding trigger, making it easier to shoot with warm gloves. The bolt handle has a large barrel-shaped T-shaped head, traditional for Swiss rifles. It is located on the right and remains stationary when firing.
Diopter sight.
The sight has a diopter adjustable rear sight with a micrometric screw, which can be set from 100 to 650 meters. The rear sight and front sight are enclosed in an annular front sight and are installed on folding bases. All Stgw.57 rifles could be fitted with a Kern 4X optical sight or IR night sights. Rifles of the SIG 510-4 series, sights of a different design could not be folded, but in the same way they had a diopter rear sight adjustable in range.
A rifle with a sniper scope mounted. The bipod on the rifle could be fixed both at the base of the barrel and at the front sight. Nearby is a knife-bayonet and a carrying strap.
The rifle is equipped with a muzzle brake-flash suppressor, which also allows you to shoot rifle grenades using blank cartridges. For the latter, so as not to be confused, there are white magazines with a capacity of six rounds. Under the muzzle of the barrel, it was also possible to fasten a bayonet-knife, which was worn on the flame arrester and had a latch on the casing.
"White shop" and next to it a cartridge for firing grenades.
And one last thing: data on the number of rifles produced. In Chile, about 15,000 copies were sold, and in Bolivia, about 5,000 copies. All in all, in other versions, SIG produced about 585,000 Stg 57 rifles and about 100,000 SIG 510 rifles. The decision to discontinue production was made in 1983, but the last rifles were manufactured in 1985. In the Swiss army, it was replaced by the SIG SG 550 rifle. But that's a completely different story.
TTX rifle SIG 510:
Cartridge - 7, 62x51 NATO.
The principle of operation is the recoil of a semi-free shutter, with a choice of the type of fire.
Food - 20-round box magazine.
Rifle weight without cartridges - 4, 25 kg.
The total length is 1016 mm.
Barrel length - 505 mm.
Grooves - 4 grooves (right-handed), pitch 305 mm.
Bullet muzzle velocity - 790 m / s.
Rate of fire - 600 rpm.
