The fighters of these units were envied and, at the same time, sympathized with. “The barrel is long, life is short”, “Double salary - triple death!”, “Farewell, Motherland!” - all these nicknames, hinting at high mortality, went to soldiers and officers who fought in the anti-tank artillery (IPTA) of the Red Army.
The crew of senior sergeant A. Golovalov's anti-tank gun fires at German tanks. In recent battles, the crew destroyed 2 enemy tanks and 6 firing points (battery of senior lieutenant A. Medvedev). The explosion on the right is a return shot from a German tank.
All this is true: the salaries increased by one and a half to two times for the IPTA units on staff, and the length of the barrels of many anti-tank guns, and the unusually high mortality rate among the artillerymen of these units, whose positions were often located next to, or even in front of, the infantry front... But it’s true and the fact that anti-tank artillery accounted for 70% of those destroyed German tanks; and the fact that among the artillerymen awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, every fourth was a soldier or officer of anti-tank destroyer units. In absolute numbers, it looks like this: out of 1,744 artillerymen - Heroes of the Soviet Union, whose biographies are presented in the lists of the "Heroes of the Country" project, 453 people fought in anti-tank destroyer units, whose main and only task was direct fire at German tanks...
Keep up with the tanks
The very concept of anti-tank artillery as a separate type of this type of troops appeared shortly before the Second World War. During the First World War, the fight against slow-moving tanks was quite successfully carried out by conventional field guns, for which armor-piercing shells were quickly developed. In addition, the armor of tanks until the early 1930s remained mainly bulletproof and only with the approach of a new world war began to increase. Accordingly, specific means of combating this type of weapon were required, which became anti-tank artillery.
In the USSR, the first experience in creating special anti-tank guns occurred at the very beginning of the 1930s. In 1931, a 37 mm anti-tank gun appeared, which was a licensed copy of a German gun intended for the same purpose. A year later, a Soviet semi-automatic 45 mm cannon was installed on the carriage of this gun, and thus the 45 mm anti-tank gun of the 1932 model, the 19-K, appeared. Five years later it was modernized, eventually receiving a 45-mm anti-tank gun of the 1937 model - 53-K. It was this that became the most popular domestic anti-tank weapon - the famous “forty-five”.
Crew of the M-42 anti-tank gun in battle. Photo: warphoto.ru
These guns were the main means of fighting tanks in the Red Army in the pre-war period. Since 1938, it was with them that anti-tank batteries, platoons and divisions were armed, which until the fall of 1940 were part of rifle, mountain rifle, motorized rifle, motorized and cavalry battalions, regiments and divisions. For example, the anti-tank defense of a pre-war state rifle battalion was provided by a platoon of 45 mm guns - that is, two guns; rifle and motorized rifle regiments - a “forty-five” battery, that is, six guns. And since 1938, the rifle and motorized divisions had a separate anti-tank division - 18 45 mm caliber guns.
Soviet artillerymen are preparing to open fire from a 45 mm anti-tank gun. Karelian Front.
But the way the fighting of World War II began to unfold, which began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, quickly showed that anti-tank defense at the divisional level may not be sufficient. And then the idea arose to create anti-tank artillery brigades of the Reserve of the High Command. Each such brigade would be a formidable force: the standard armament of the 5,322-man unit consisted of 48 76 mm caliber guns, 24 107 mm caliber guns, as well as 48 85 mm anti-aircraft guns and another 16 37 mm anti-aircraft guns. At the same time, the brigades did not actually have anti-tank guns, but non-specialized field guns, which received standard armor-piercing shells, more or less successfully coped with their tasks.
Alas, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the country did not have time to complete the formation of the RGK anti-tank brigades. But even underformed, these units, placed at the disposal of the army and front-line command, made it possible to maneuver them much more effectively than anti-tank units in the staff of rifle divisions. And although the beginning of the war led to catastrophic losses in the entire Red Army, including in artillery units, due to this the necessary experience was accumulated, which quite soon led to the emergence of specialized anti-tank units.
The birth of artillery special forces
It quickly became clear that standard divisional anti-tank weapons were not capable of seriously resisting Wehrmacht tank wedges, and the lack of anti-tank guns of the required caliber forced light field guns to be rolled out for direct fire. At the same time, their crews, as a rule, did not have the necessary preparation, which means that they sometimes did not act effectively enough even in conditions favorable to them. In addition, due to the evacuation of artillery factories and massive losses in the first months of war, the shortage of main guns in the Red Army became catastrophic, so they had to be managed much more carefully.
Soviet artillerymen roll 45mm M-42 anti-tank guns as they follow the ranks of advancing infantry on the Central Front.
In such conditions, the only correct decision was the formation of special reserve anti-tank units, which could not only be placed on the defensive along the front of divisions and armies, but could be maneuvered, thrown into specific tank-dangerous directions. The experience of the first war months spoke about the same thing. And as a result, by January 1, 1942, the command of the active army and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command had at their disposal one anti-tank artillery brigade operating on the Leningrad Front, 57 anti-tank artillery regiments and two separate anti-tank artillery divisions. Moreover, they actually existed, that is, they actively participated in the battles. Suffice it to say that following the battles of the autumn of 1941, five anti-tank regiments were awarded the “Guards” title, which had just been introduced in the Red Army.
Soviet artillerymen with a 45-mm anti-tank gun in December 1941. Photo: Museum of Engineering Troops and Artillery, St. Petersburg
Three months later, on April 3, 1942, a decree of the State Defense Committee was issued, introducing the concept of a fighter brigade, the main task of which was to fight Wehrmacht tanks. True, its staff was forced to be much more modest than that of a similar pre-war unit. The command of such a brigade had three times fewer people at its disposal - 1,795 soldiers and commanders versus 5,322, 16 76 mm guns versus 48 in the pre-war staff, and four 37-mm anti-aircraft guns instead of sixteen. True, twelve 45-mm cannons and 144 anti-tank rifles appeared on the list of standard weapons (they were armed with two infantry battalions that were part of the brigade). In addition, in order to create new brigades, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief ordered within a week to review the lists of personnel of all branches of the military and “withdraw all junior and private personnel who had previously served in artillery units.” It was these soldiers who, having undergone short retraining in reserve artillery brigades, formed the backbone of the anti-tank brigades. But they still had to be staffed with fighters who did not have combat experience.
Crossing of an artillery crew and a 45-mm 53-K anti-tank gun across the river. The crossing is carried out on a pontoon of A-3 landing boats
By the beginning of June 1942, twelve newly formed fighter brigades were already operating in the Red Army, which, in addition to artillery units, also included a mortar division, an engineering mine battalion and a company of machine gunners. And on June 8, a new GKO resolution appeared, which reduced these brigades into four fighter divisions: the situation at the front required the creation of more powerful anti-tank fists capable of stopping German tank wedges. Less than a month later, in the midst of the summer offensive of the Germans, who were quickly advancing into the Caucasus and the Volga, the famous order No. 0528 “On the renaming of anti-tank artillery units and subunits into anti-tank artillery units and establishing advantages for the commanding and rank and file of these units” was issued.
Pushkar elite
The appearance of the order was preceded by a lot of preparatory work, which concerned not only calculations, but also how many guns and what caliber the new units should have and what advantages their composition would enjoy. It was absolutely clear that the soldiers and commanders of such units, who would have to risk their lives every day in the most dangerous sectors of the defense, needed a powerful not only material, but also moral incentive. They did not assign the title of guards to the new units upon formation, as was done with the Katyusha rocket mortar units, but decided to leave the well-established word “fighter” and add “anti-tank” to it, emphasizing the special significance and purpose of the new units. The same effect, as far as can be judged now, was also intended for the introduction of a special sleeve insignia for all soldiers and officers of the anti-tank artillery - a black diamond with crossed golden trunks of stylized Shuvalov “unicorns”.
All this was spelled out in the order in separate paragraphs. The same separate clauses prescribed special financial conditions for new units, as well as standards for the return to service of wounded soldiers and commanders. Thus, the commanding personnel of these units and subunits were given one-and-a-half salaries, and juniors and privates were given double salaries. For each destroyed tank, the gun crew also received a cash bonus: the commander and gunner - 500 rubles each, the rest of the crew - 200 rubles. It is noteworthy that initially other amounts appeared in the text of the document: 1000 and 300 rubles, respectively, but Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin, who signed the order, personally reduced the prices. As for the norms for returning to service, the entire commanding staff of anti-tank fighter units, up to the division commander, had to be kept under special registration, and at the same time, the entire staff, after treatment in hospitals, had to be returned only to the specified units. This did not guarantee that the soldier or officer would return to the same battalion or division in which he fought before being wounded, but he could not end up in any other units other than anti-tank fighters.
The new order instantly turned the anti-tank fighters into the elite artillery of the Red Army. But this elitism was confirmed by a high price. The level of losses in anti-tank fighter units was noticeably higher than in other artillery units. It is no coincidence that anti-tank units became the only subtype of artillery where the same order No. 0528 introduced the position of deputy gunner: in battle, crews that rolled out their guns to unequipped positions in front of the front of the defending infantry and fired direct fire often died earlier than their equipment.
From battalions to divisions
New artillery units quickly gained combat experience, which spread just as quickly: the number of anti-tank fighter units grew. On January 1, 1943, the Red Army's anti-tank destroyer artillery consisted of two fighter divisions, 15 fighter brigades, two heavy anti-tank destroyer regiments, 168 anti-tank destroyer regiments and one anti-tank destroyer division.
An anti-tank artillery unit on the march.
And for the Battle of Kursk, Soviet anti-tank artillery received a new structure. Order of the People's Commissariat of Defense No. 0063 of April 10, 1943 introduced in each army, primarily the Western, Bryansk, Central, Voronezh, Southwestern and Southern fronts, at least one anti-tank fighter regiment of the wartime army staff: six 76-mm batteries guns, that is, 24 guns in total.
By the same order, one anti-tank artillery brigade of 1,215 people was organizationally introduced into the Western, Bryansk, Central, Voronezh, South-Western and Southern Fronts, which included a fighter-anti-tank regiment of 76-mm guns - a total of 10 batteries, or 40 guns, and a regiment of 45-mm guns, armed with 20 guns.
Guards artillerymen roll a 45-mm 53-K anti-tank gun (model 1937) into a prepared trench. Kursk direction.
The relatively calm time that separated the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad from the beginning of the battle on the Kursk Bulge was used to the fullest by the command of the Red Army to fully reorganize, re-equip and further train the anti-tank destroyer units. No one doubted that the coming battle would largely rely on the massive use of tanks, especially new German vehicles, and it was necessary to be prepared for this.
Soviet artillerymen with a 45-mm M-42 anti-tank gun. In the background is a T-34-85 tank.
History has shown that the anti-tank destroyer units had time to prepare. The battle on the Kursk Bulge became the main test of the artillery elite's strength - and it passed it with honor. And the invaluable experience, for which, alas, the fighters and commanders of anti-tank fighter units had to pay a very high price, was soon comprehended and used. It was after the Battle of Kursk that the legendary, but, unfortunately, already too weak for the armor of the new German tanks, the “magpies” began to be gradually removed from these units, replacing them with 57-mm ZIS-2 anti-tank guns, and where these guns were not enough, to the well-proven divisional 76-mm ZIS-3 guns. By the way, it was the versatility of this gun, which showed itself well both as a divisional gun and as an anti-tank gun, along with the simplicity of design and manufacture that allowed it to become the most popular artillery gun in the world in the entire history of artillery!
Masters of "fire bags"
In an ambush is a “forty-five”, a 45-mm anti-tank gun of the 1937 model (53-K).
Last major change In the structure and tactics of using anti-tank artillery, there was a complete reorganization of all fighter divisions and brigades into anti-tank artillery brigades. By January 1, 1944, there were as many as fifty such brigades in the anti-tank artillery, and in addition to them there were another 141 anti-tank artillery regiments. The main weapons of these units were the same 76-mm ZIS-3 cannons, which the domestic industry produced at incredible speed. In addition to them, the brigades and regiments were armed with 57 mm ZIS-2 and a number of “forty-five” and 107 mm guns.
Soviet artillerymen from units of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps fire at the enemy from a camouflaged position. In the foreground: 45-mm anti-tank gun 53-K (model 1937), in the background: 76-mm regimental gun (model 1927). Bryansk front.
By this time, the fundamental tactics had been completely worked out. combat use anti-tank fighter units. Developed and tested before Battle of Kursk The system of anti-tank areas and anti-tank strong points was rethought and refined. The number of anti-tank guns in the troops became more than sufficient, there were enough experienced personnel to use them, and the fight against Wehrmacht tanks was made as flexible and effective as possible. Now Soviet anti-tank defense was built on the principle of “fire bags” arranged along the routes of movement of German tank units. Anti-tank guns were placed in groups of 6-8 guns (that is, two batteries) at a distance of fifty meters from each other and were camouflaged with the utmost care. And they opened fire not when the first line of enemy tanks was in the zone of confident destruction, but only after virtually all the attacking tanks had entered it.
Unidentified Soviet female privates from a fighter-anti-tank artillery unit (IPTA).
Such “fire bags,” taking into account the characteristics of anti-tank artillery guns, were effective only at medium and short combat distances, which means that the risk for artillerymen increased many times over. It was necessary to show not only remarkable restraint, watching as German tanks passed almost nearby, it was necessary to guess the moment when to open fire, and fire it as quickly as the capabilities of the equipment and the strength of the crews allowed. And at the same time, be ready to change position at any moment as soon as it came under fire or the tanks went beyond the distance of sure destruction. And in battle this had to be done, as a rule, literally by hand: most often there was simply no time to adjust the horses or vehicles, and the process of loading and unloading the gun took too much time - much more than the conditions of the battle with the advancing tanks allowed.
A crew of Soviet artillerymen fires from a 45-mm anti-tank gun, model 1937 (53-K), at a German tank on a village street. The crew number hands the loader a 45-mm sub-caliber projectile.
Heroes with a black diamond on their sleeve
Knowing all this, you are no longer surprised at the number of heroes among the fighters and commanders of anti-tank units. Among them were real artillery snipers. Such as, for example, the commander of the gun of the 322nd Guards Anti-Tank Fighter Regiment, Senior Sergeant Zakir Asfandiyarov, who has almost three dozen fascist tanks, and ten of them (including six Tigers!) he knocked out in one battle. For this he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Or, say, the gunner of the 493rd Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, Sergeant Stepan Khoptyar. He fought from the very first days of the war, fought all the way to the Volga, and then to the Oder, where in one battle he destroyed four German tanks, and in just a few days in January 1945, nine tanks and several armored personnel carriers. The country appreciated this feat: in April of the victorious forty-fifth, Khoptyar was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Hero of the Soviet Union, gun commander of the 322nd Guards Fighter-Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the Guard, senior sergeant Zakir Lutfurakhmanovich Asfandiyarov (1918-1977) and Hero of the Soviet Union, gunner of the 322nd Guards Fighter-Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the Guard, sergeant Veniamin Mikhailovich Permyakov (1924- 1990) reading the letter. In the background, Soviet artillerymen at the 76-mm ZiS-3 divisional gun.
Z.L. Asfandiyarov at the front of the Great Patriotic War since September 1941. He particularly distinguished himself during the liberation of Ukraine.
On January 25, 1944, in the battles for the village of Tsibulev (now the village of Monastyrischensky district, Cherkasy region), a gun under the command of Guard Senior Sergeant Zakir Asfandiyarov was attacked by eight tanks and twelve armored personnel carriers with enemy infantry. Having brought the enemy attacking column within direct shot range, the gun crew opened targeted sniper fire and burned all eight enemy tanks, of which four were Tiger tanks. Guard senior sergeant Asfandiyarov himself destroyed one officer and ten soldiers with fire from his personal weapon. When the gun failed, the brave guardsman switched to the gun of a neighboring unit, whose crew was out of order and, repelling a new massive enemy attack, destroyed two Tiger tanks and up to sixty Nazi soldiers and officers. In just one battle, Guard Senior Sergeant Asfandiyarov’s crew destroyed ten enemy tanks, six of them “tiger” types and over one hundred and fifty enemy soldiers and officers.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 2386) was awarded to Asfandiyarov Zakir Lutfurakhmanovich by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 1, 1944.
V.M. Permyakov was drafted into the Red Army in August 1942. At the artillery school he became a gunner. Since July 1943, at the front, he fought in the 322nd Guards Anti-Tank Fighter Regiment as a gunner. He received his baptism of fire at the Kursk Bulge. In the first battle, he burned three German tanks, was wounded, but did not leave his combat post. For courage and perseverance in battle, accuracy in defeating tanks, Sergeant Permyakov was awarded the Order of Lenin. He particularly distinguished himself in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine in January 1944.
On January 25, 1944, in an area at a fork in the road near the villages of Ivakhny and Tsibulev, now the Monastyryshchensky district of the Cherkasy region, the crew of the guard of Senior Sergeant Asfandiyarov, whose gunner was Sergeant Permyakov, was among the first to meet the attack of enemy tanks and armored personnel carriers with infantry. Reflecting the first onslaught, Permyakov destroyed 8 tanks with precise fire, of which four were Tiger tanks. When the enemy landing force approached the artillery positions, they entered into hand-to-hand combat. He was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield. Having repulsed the attack of the machine gunners, he returned to the gun. When the gun failed, the guards switched to the gun of a neighboring unit, whose crew had failed and, repelling a new massive enemy attack, destroyed two more Tiger tanks and up to sixty Nazi soldiers and officers. During a raid by enemy bombers, the gun was destroyed. Permyakov, wounded and shell-shocked, was sent to the rear unconscious. On July 1, 1944, Guard Sergeant Permyakov Veniamin Mikhailovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 2385).
Lieutenant General Pavel Ivanovich Batov presents the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal to the commander of the anti-tank gun, Sergeant Ivan Spitsyn. Mozyr direction.
Ivan Yakovlevich Spitsin has been at the front since August 1942. He distinguished himself on October 15, 1943 during the crossing of the Dnieper. Sergeant Spitsin's crew destroyed three enemy machine guns with direct fire. Having crossed to the bridgehead, the artillerymen fired at the enemy until a direct hit destroyed the gun. The artillerymen joined the infantry, during the battle they captured enemy positions along with cannons and began to destroy the enemy with their own guns.
On October 30, 1943, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism displayed, Sergeant Ivan Yakovlevich Spitsin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1641).
But even against the background of these and hundreds of other heroes from among the soldiers and officers of the anti-tank artillery, the feat of the only two-time Hero of the Soviet Union, Vasily Petrov, stands out. Drafted into the army in 1939, he graduated from the Sumy Artillery School right before the war, and met the Great Patriotic War as a lieutenant, platoon commander of the 92nd separate artillery division in Novograd-Volynsky in Ukraine.
Captain Vasily Petrov earned his first “Golden Star” of Hero of the Soviet Union after crossing the Dnieper in September 1943. By that time, he was already deputy commander of the 1850th anti-tank artillery regiment, and on his chest he wore two Orders of the Red Star and a medal “For Courage” - and three stripes for wounds. The decree conferring the highest degree of distinction on Petrov was signed on the 24th and published on December 29, 1943. By that time, the thirty-year-old captain was already in the hospital, having lost both arms in one of the last battles. And if not for the legendary order No. 0528, which ordered the return of the wounded to anti-tank units, the newly minted Hero would hardly have had a chance to continue fighting. But Petrov, always distinguished by his firmness and tenacity (sometimes dissatisfied subordinates and superiors said it was stubbornness), achieved his goal. And at the very end of 1944 he returned to his regiment, which by that time had already become known as the 248th Guards Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment.
With this guard regiment, Major Vasily Petrov reached the Oder, crossed it and distinguished himself by holding a bridgehead on the west bank, and then participating in the development of the offensive on Dresden. And this did not go unnoticed: by decree of June 27, 1945, for the spring exploits on the Oder, artillery major Vasily Petrov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time. By this time, the regiment of the legendary major had already been disbanded, but Vasily Petrov himself remained in service. And he remained in it until his death - and he died in 2003!
After the war, Vasily Petrov managed to graduate from Lvov State University and the Military Academy, received a candidate of military sciences degree, rose to the rank of lieutenant general of artillery, which he received in 1977, and served as deputy chief missile forces and artillery of the Carpathian Military District. As the grandson of one of General Petrov’s colleagues recalls, from time to time, going for a walk in the Carpathians, the middle-aged military leader managed to literally drive his adjutants, who could not keep up with him, on the way up...
Memory is stronger than time
The post-war fate of anti-tank artillery completely repeated the fate of all the Armed Forces of the USSR, changing in accordance with the changing challenges of the time. Since September 1946, the personnel of units and subunits of anti-tank artillery, as well as anti-tank rifle units, stopped receiving increased salaries. The right to a special sleeve insignia, of which the anti-tank crews were so proud, remained ten years longer. But it also disappeared over time: the next order to introduce a new uniform for the Soviet army canceled this patch.
The need for specialized anti-tank artillery units gradually disappeared. Anti-tank guided missiles replaced guns, and units armed with these weapons appeared in motorized rifle units. In the mid-1970s, the word “fighter” disappeared from the name of anti-tank fighter units, and twenty years later, along with the Soviet army, the last two dozen anti-tank artillery regiments and brigades disappeared. But whatever the post-war history of Soviet anti-tank artillery, it will never cancel the courage and those exploits with which the fighters and commanders of the anti-tank artillery of the Red Army glorified their branch of the army during the Great Patriotic War.
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If you believe the statistics, in all the battles of the Great Patriotic War, including the famous Prokhorovka, our tankers suffered the heaviest losses not from German panzers - the most dangerous enemy was not the famous “Tigers”, “Panthers” and “Ferdinands”, not the legendary “Stukas”, not sappers and faustniks, not the formidable Akht-Akht anti-aircraft guns, but Panzerabwehrkanonen - German anti-tank artillery. And if at the beginning of the war the Nazis themselves dubbed their 37-mm anti-tank gun Pak 35/36 a “door knocker” (virtually useless against the latest KVs and T-34s, it nevertheless burned BT and T-26 like matches), then neither 50 -mm Pak 38, neither the 75-mm Pak 40, nor the 88-mm Pak 43, nor the super-powerful 128-mm Pak 80 deserved disparaging nicknames, having become real “tank killers”. Unsurpassed armor penetration, the best optics in the world, a low, unobtrusive silhouette, superbly trained crews, competent commanders, excellent communications and artillery reconnaissance - for several years the German anti-tank forces had no equal, and our anti-tank tanks surpassed the Germans only at the very end of the war.
In this book you will find comprehensive information about all anti-tank artillery systems that were in service with the Wehrmacht, including captured ones - about their advantages and disadvantages, organization and combat use, defeats and victories, as well as top-secret reports about their tests at Soviet training grounds. The publication is illustrated with exclusive drawings and photographs.
Sections of this page:
GERMAN-MADE ANTI-TANK GUNS
28/20 mm heavy anti-tank rifle s.Pz.B.41 (schwere Panzerbuchse 41)
Although according to the Wehrmacht classification this weapon belongs to the class of heavy anti-tank rifles, in terms of caliber and design it is more likely to be an artillery system. Therefore, the author considered it necessary to talk about the Wehrmacht anti-tank artillery and this sample.
The development of an automatic anti-tank gun with a conical bore design by Gerlich began at the Mauser company at the end of 1939. Initially the gun had the index MK8202. At the breech, the gun barrel had a caliber of 28 mm, and at the muzzle - 20 mm. To fire from it, specially designed projectiles were used, consisting of a tungsten carbide core, a steel pan and a ballistic tip. The pallet had two annular protrusions, which, when the projectile moved in the barrel, were compressed, cutting into the rifling.
Thus, the most complete use of the pressure of the powder gases on the bottom of the projectile was ensured, and accordingly, a high initial velocity was achieved. However, during the design and testing, the MK8202 automatic cannon was transformed into a single-shot heavy anti-tank rifle s.Pz.B.41, which, after testing in June - July 1940, was adopted by the Wehrmacht.
The anti-tank rifle had a horizontal wedge semi-automatic bolt (opened manually), which provided a fairly high rate of fire - 12–15 rounds per minute. To reduce recoil energy, the barrel was equipped with a muzzle brake. The s.Pz.B.41 was mounted on a light artillery-type wheeled carriage with sliding frames. To protect the crew of two people, a double shield (3 and 3 mm) was used. A design feature of the heavy anti-tank rifle was the absence of lifting and turning mechanisms. Targeting in the vertical plane was carried out by swinging the barrel on the trunnions, and in the horizontal plane by turning the rotating part manually (using two handles) on the lower machine.
A little later, they developed a lightweight version of the carriage for a heavy anti-tank rifle, which was supplied to the parachute units of the Luftwaffe. It consisted of one frame with runners on which small wheels could be installed for moving around the area. This gun, designated s.Pz.B.41 leFL 41, had a mass of 139 kg (on a conventional carriage 223 kg).
s. The Pz.B.41 had a very high initial velocity of the PzGr41 armor-piercing projectile weighing 131 g - 1402 m/s. Thanks to this, armor penetration (at an angle of 30 degrees) was: at 100 m - 52 mm, at 300 m - 46 mm, at 500 m - 40 mm and at 1000 m - 25 mm, which was one of the best indicators for this caliber. In 1941, the ammunition load of s. Pz.B.41 included a fragmentation projectile weighing 85 g, but its effectiveness was very low.
The disadvantages of the s.Pz.B.41 included the high cost of production - 4,500 Reichsmarks and severe wear of the barrel. At first, its survivability was only 250 rounds, then this figure was increased to 500. In addition, tungsten, which was in short supply, was used to produce shells for the s.Pz.B.41.
By the beginning of 1941, the tungsten reserves at Germany's disposal amounted to 483 tons. Of these, 97 tons were spent on the production of 7.92 mm cartridges with a tungsten core, 2 tons for various other needs, and the remaining 384 tons were spent on the production of sub-caliber projectiles. In total, more than 68,4600 of these shells were manufactured for tank, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. Due to the depletion of tungsten reserves, production of these shells was stopped in November 1943.
For the same reason, in September 1943, after production of 2,797 s.Pz.B.41, its production was stopped.
s. The Pz.B.41 mainly entered service with the Wehrmacht infantry divisions, airfield and parachute divisions of the Luftwaffe, in which they were used until the end of the war. As of March 1, 1945, units had 775 s.Pz.B.41s, another 78 were in warehouses.
37 mm anti-tank gun Pak 35/36 (3.7 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 35/36)
The development of this anti-tank weapon began at the Rheinmetall-Borsig company back in 1924, and the design was carried out in circumvention of the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty, according to which Germany was prohibited from having anti-tank artillery. However, at the end of 1928, the first samples of a new gun, designated 3.7-cm Tak 28 L/45 (Tankabwehrkanone - anti-tank gun, the word Panzer began to be used in Germany later. - Note author), began to enter the troops.
The 37-mm Tak 28 L/45 anti-tank gun, weighing 435 kg, had a lightweight carriage with tubular frames, on which a monoblock barrel with a semi-automatic horizontal wedge bolt was mounted, providing a fairly high rate of fire - up to 20 rounds per minute. The horizontal firing angle with the frames extended was 60 degrees, but if absolutely necessary, it was possible to fire with the frames moved. The cannon had wooden wheels with spokes and was transported by a team of horses. To protect the crew, a shield made of 5 mm armor plate was used, and it top part leaned back on its hinges.
Without a doubt, by the end of the 1920s, the 37-mm Tak 29 gun was one of the best anti-tank artillery systems. Therefore, its export version was developed - Tak 29, which was purchased by many countries - Turkey, Holland, Spain, Italy, Japan, etc. Some of them also acquired a license to produce guns (suffice it to recall our famous forty-five - 45-mm anti-tank gun 19K, the main anti-tank weapon of the Red Army in the 1930s - early 1940s, tracing its ancestry to the 37-mm Tak 29, purchased in 1930 year).
In 1934, the gun was modernized - it received wheels with pneumatic tires, allowing the gun to be towed by cars, an improved sight and a slightly modified carriage design. Under the designation 3.7-cm Pak 35/36 (Panzerabwehrkanone 35/36) it entered service with the Reichswehr, and since March 1935, the Wehrmacht as the main anti-tank weapon. Its price was 5,730 Reichsmarks in 1939 prices. As new 37-mm Pak 35/36 guns, manufactured before 1934, L/45 29 with wooden wheels were withdrawn from the troops.
In 1936–1939, the Pak 35/36 underwent baptism by fire during civil war in Spain - these guns were used by both the Condor Legion and the Spanish nationalists. The results of combat use turned out to be very good - the Pak 35/36 could successfully fight Soviet T-26 and BT-5 tanks, which were in service with the Republicans, at a distance of 700–800 m (it was a collision with a 37-mm anti-tank gun in Spain that forced Soviet tank builders begin work on creating tanks with ballistic armor).
During the French campaign, it turned out that 37 mm anti-tank guns were ineffective against British and French tanks that had armor up to 70 mm. Therefore, the Wehrmacht command decided to accelerate the deployment of more powerful anti-tank artillery systems. The end of the career of the Pak 35/36 was the campaign against the USSR, during which they were completely powerless against the KV and T-34 tanks. For example, one of the reports from June 1941 said that the crew of a 37-mm cannon scored 23 hits on the T-34 tank without any result. Therefore, it is not surprising that soon the Pak 35/36 was called the “army beater” by the troops. In January 1942, production of these guns was discontinued. In total, since the start of production in 1928, 16,539 Pak 35/36 were produced (counting Tak L/45 29), of which 5,339 guns were produced in 1939–1942.
In addition to the usual version of the Pak 35/36, a slightly lighter version was developed, intended for arming the parachute units of the Luftwaffe. It received the designation 3.7-cm Pak auf leihter Feldafette (3.7-cm Pak leFLat). This weapon was intended for air transportation on the external sling of a Ju 52 transport aircraft. Externally, the 3.7-cm Pak leFLat was practically no different from the Pak 35/36; very few of them were manufactured.
Initially, two types of unitary cartridges with armor-piercing (PzGr 39) or fragmentation (SprGr) projectiles were used for firing from the Pak 35/36. The first, weighing 0.68 kg, was an ordinary solid alloy with a bottom fuse and a tracer. To combat manpower, a fragmentation projectile weighing 0.625 kg with an instantaneous head fuse was used.
In 1940, after a collision with British and French tanks that had thick armor, a PzGr 40 sub-caliber projectile with a tungsten carbide core was introduced into the Pak 35/36 ammunition load. True, due to its small mass - 0.368 g - it was effective at distances up to 400 m.
At the end of 1941, specifically to combat Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, they developed the Stielgranate 41 cumulative over-caliber grenade. Outwardly, it was similar to a mortar mine with a cumulative warhead 740 mm long and weighing 8.51 kg, inserted into the gun barrel from the outside. The Stielgranate 41 was launched by firing a blank cartridge and stabilized in flight by four small wings at the rear. Naturally, the firing range of such a mine left much to be desired: although according to the instructions it was 300 m, in reality it was possible to hit the target only at a distance of up to 100 m, and even then with great difficulty. Therefore, despite the fact that Stielgranate 41 penetrated 90 mm armor, its effectiveness in combat conditions was very low.
The 37-mm anti-tank gun Pak 35/36 was the main anti-tank weapon of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was in service with all units - infantry, cavalry, tanks. Subsequently, these guns were mainly used as part of infantry divisions, as well as tank destroyer divisions. In 1941, the replacement of the Pak 35/36 with the more powerful 50 mm Pak 38 anti-tank guns, and later with the 75 mm Pak 40, began. Nevertheless, the 37 mm anti-tank guns remained in service with Wehrmacht units until the end of the war. As of March 1, 1945, the troops still had 216 Pak 35/36 guns, and another 670 guns were in warehouses and arsenals.
Pak 35/36 were installed on German armored personnel carriers Sd.Kfz.250/10 and Sd. Kfz.251/10, as well as in small quantities for Krupp trucks, one-ton half-track tractors Sd.Kfz. 10, captured French Renault UE wedges, Soviet Komsomolets semi-armored tractors and British Universal armored personnel carriers.
42-mm anti-tank gun Pak 41 (42-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 41)
The development of a lightweight anti-tank gun with a conical bore, designated 4.2-cm Pak 41, began in the fall of 1941 by Mauser. The new gun, like the s.Pz.B.41, had a barrel of variable caliber from 42 to 28 mm (in fact, the real caliber of the Pak 41 was 40.3 and 29 mm, but in all literature 42 and 28 mm are used. - Author's note). Thanks to the tapering bore, the most complete use of the pressure of the powder gases on the bottom of the projectile was ensured, and accordingly, a high initial velocity was achieved. To reduce wear on the Pak 41 barrel, special steel with a high content of tungsten, molybdenum and vanadium was used in its manufacture. The gun had a horizontal wedge semi-automatic bolt, providing a rate of fire of 10–12 rounds per minute. The barrel was placed on the carriage of a 37 mm Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun. With the frames extended, the horizontal firing angle was 41 degrees.
The gun's ammunition included special unitary rounds with high-explosive fragmentation and armor-piercing shells. The design of the latter was the same as that of the heavy anti-tank rifle s.Pz.B.41 of 28/20 mm caliber. The projectiles had a special design of the leading part, which allowed its diameter to decrease as the projectile moved in the conical bore of the barrel.
Tests of the 4.2-cm Pak 41 showed excellent results - at a distance of 1000 m, its shells weighing 336 g confidently penetrated 40-mm armor plate. Production of the new gun was transferred from Mauser to Billerer & Kunz in the city of Aschersleben, where 37 of them were made by the end of 1941. Production of the Pak 41 ceased in June 1941, after 313 guns had been produced. The price of one sample was 7,800 Reichsmarks. Operation of the 4.2-cm Pak 41 showed low survivability of its barrel, despite the use of special alloys in its design - only 500 shots (about 10 times less than the 37-mm Pak 35/36). In addition, the manufacture of the barrels themselves was a very complex and expensive procedure, and the release of armor-piercing shells required tungsten, a metal that was in great short supply for the Third Reich.
The 4.2-cm Pak 41 anti-tank guns entered service with tank destroyer divisions of Wehrmacht infantry divisions and Luftwaffe airfield divisions. These guns remained in service until mid-1944, and were used on the Soviet-German front and in North Africa. As of March 1, 1945, nine Pak 41s were at the front and another 17 in storage.
50-mm anti-tank gun Pak 38 (5-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 38)
In 1935, Rheinmetall-Borzig began developing a more powerful 50 mm anti-tank gun than the Pak 35/36. The first samples of the new artillery system, designated Pak 37, were manufactured and submitted for testing in 1936. With a mass of 585 kg, the gun had a barrel length of 2,280 mm and an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 685 m/s. However, the military was not satisfied with the test results, in particular the armor penetration and unstable design of the carriage. Therefore, Rheinmetall-Borzig redesigned the carriage design, lengthened the barrel to 3,000 m and developed more powerful ammunition. As a result, the mass of the gun increased to 990 kg, the speed of the armor-piercing projectile increased to 835 m/s, and at a distance of 500 m it penetrated armor 60 mm thick. After eliminating a number of minor defects and passing tests, the 50-mm anti-tank gun, designated Pak 38, was adopted by the Wehrmacht.
Like the Pak 35/36, the new gun had a carriage with sliding frames, providing a horizontal firing angle of 65 degrees. Solid wheels with molded rubber tires and spring springs made it possible to transport the Pak 38 at speeds of up to 40 km/h. Moreover, when the gun was brought into firing position and the frames were raised, the wheel suspension was automatically turned off, and when they were brought together, it was turned on. The gun had a monoblock barrel and a semi-automatic horizontal wedge bolt, providing a rate of fire of up to 14 rounds per minute.
Pak 38 had two shields - upper and lower. The first consisted of two 4-mm armor plates of complex shape, installed with a gap of 20–25 mm and provided protection for the crew from the front and slightly from the sides. The second, 4 mm thick, was suspended on hinges under the wheel axle and protected the crew from damage from fragments from below. In addition, the gun received a new trigger mechanism, an improved sight and a muzzle brake to reduce barrel rollback. Despite the fact that to facilitate the design, a number of carriage parts were made of aluminum (for example, tubular frames), the weight of the Pak 38 more than doubled compared to the Pak 35/36 and amounted to 1000 kg. Therefore, to make it easier for the crew to roll the gun manually, the Pak 38 was equipped with a lightweight single-wheeled front end, to which folded frames could be attached. The result was a three-wheeled structure that a seven-man crew could move around the battlefield. Moreover, to facilitate maneuvering, the front wheel could rotate.
Serial production of the Pak 38 began at Rheinmetall-Borzig factories in 1939, but only two guns were produced by the end of the year. The new anti-tank guns did not see combat in France - the first 17 Pak 38s entered service only in July 1940. However, the past campaign served as an impetus to accelerate the release of the Pak 38, since during the battles the Wehrmacht was faced with thick-armored tanks, against which the Pak 35/36 were practically powerless. As a result, by July 1, 1941, 1047 guns were manufactured, of which the troops had about 800.
By order of the High Command of the Ground Forces dated November 19, 1940, the 1-ton Sd.Kfz half-track tractor was designated as the vehicle for towing the Pak 38. 10. However, due to their shortage, already on January 16, 1941, a new order appeared, according to which 1.5-ton trucks were to be used to transport 50-mm anti-tank guns. However, during the war, captured French Renault UE supply tankettes, Krupp trucks and much more were also used to tow the Pak 38.
For firing from the Pak 38, three types of unitary shots were used: fragmentation, armor-piercing tracer and sub-caliber. The Sprenggranate fragmentation projectile weighing 1.81 kg was loaded with a cast TNT charge (0.175 kg). In addition, to improve the visibility of the explosion, a small smoke bomb was placed in the explosive charge.
Armor-piercing tracer rounds had two types of projectiles: PzGr 39 and PzGr 40. The first, weighing 2.05 kg, was equipped with a hard steel head welded to the projectile body, a leading iron belt and had a bursting charge of 0.16 kg. At a range of 500 m, the PzGr 39 could penetrate 65 mm armor when firing along the normal line.
The PzGr 40 sub-caliber projectile consisted of an armor-piercing tungsten core in a coil-shaped steel shell. To improve aerodynamic properties, a plastic ballistic tip was attached to the top of the projectile. At a range of 500 m, the PzGr 40 could penetrate 75 mm thick armor when firing along the normal line.
In 1943, the Stielgranate 42 over-caliber cumulative anti-tank grenade (similar to that for the Pak 35/36) weighing 13.5 kg (of which 2.3 kg of explosives) was developed for the Pak 38. The grenade was inserted into the barrel from the outside and fired using a blank charge. However, although the armor penetration of Stielgranate 42 was 180 mm, it was effective at a distance of up to 150 meters. A total of 12,500 Stielgranate 42 for Pak 38 guns were manufactured before March 1, 1945.
The 50-mm Pak 38 anti-tank guns could fight Soviet T-34s at medium ranges, and at close ranges they could also fight KVs. True, this had to be paid for with heavy losses: only in the period from December 1, 1941 to February 2, 1942, the Wehrmacht lost 269 Pak 38 in battles. Moreover, this was only irretrievable, not counting those disabled and evacuated (some of them were also not subject to restoration).
50-mm Pak 38 anti-tank guns were produced until the autumn of 1943, a total of 9,568 of them were produced. For the most part, they entered service with tank destroyer divisions in infantry, panzergrenadier, tank and a number of other divisions. Since the second half of 1944, this weapon was mainly used in training units and second-line troops.
Unlike other German anti-tank guns, the Pak 38 was practically not used for various self-propelled guns. This gun was installed only on the chassis of the semi-armored 1-ton Sd.Kfz. 10 (several of these self-propelled guns were used by the SS troops), on several Sd.Kfz. 250 (one such vehicle is in the military museum in Belgrade), two VK901 based on the Marder II and one example of the Minitionsschlepper (VK302).
75-mm anti-tank gun Pak 40 (7.5-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40)
The development of a new 75-mm anti-tank gun, designated Pak 40, began at Rheinmetall-Borzig back in 1938. Already the following year, tests were carried out on the first prototypes, which were initially a 75-mm Pak 38 cannon enlarged to a caliber. However, it soon became clear that many of the technical solutions used for the 50-mm gun were not suitable for the 75-mm caliber. For example, this concerned the tubular parts of the carriage, which in the Pak 38 were made of aluminum. When testing Pak 40 prototypes, the aluminum parts quickly failed. This, as well as a number of other problems that emerged during the tests, forced the Rheinmetall-Borzig company to improve the design of the Pak 40. But due to the fact that the Wehrmacht did not yet feel the need for a more powerful gun than the Pak 38, the design of the Pak 40 proceeded quite slowly.
The impetus for accelerating work on the 75-mm anti-tank gun was the campaign against the USSR. Faced with T-34 and especially KV tanks, the Wehrmacht anti-tank units were unable to fight them. Therefore, the Rheinmetall-Borzig company was ordered to urgently complete work on the 75-mm Pak 40 gun.
In December 1941, prototypes of the new anti-tank gun were tested, in January 1942 it was put into production, and in February the first 15 production Pak 40s entered service with the troops.
The gun had a monoblock barrel with a muzzle brake, absorbing a significant part of the recoil energy, and a horizontal wedge semi-automatic bolt, providing a rate of fire of up to 14 rounds per minute. The carriage with sliding frames provided a horizontal firing angle of up to 58 degrees. For transportation, the gun had sprung wheels with solid rubber tires, which made it possible to tow it at speeds of up to 40 km/h with mechanical traction and 15–20 km/h with horses. The gun was equipped with pneumatic travel brakes, which were controlled from the cab of a tractor or car. In addition, it was possible to brake manually using two levers located on both sides of the carriage.
To protect the crew, the gun had a shield covering consisting of upper and lower shields. The upper one, mounted on the upper machine, consisted of two armor plates 4 mm thick, installed at a distance of 25 mm from each other. The lower one was attached to the lower machine, and one half of it could be hinged.
The cost of the gun was 12,000 Reichsmarks.
The ammunition of the Pak 40 gun included unitary rounds with a SprGr fragmentation grenade weighing 5.74 kg, an armor-piercing tracer PzGr 39 (a hard alloy blank weighing 6.8 kg with 17 g of tracer composition), a sub-caliber PzGr 40 (weighing 4.1 kg with tungsten carbide core) and cumulative HL.Gr (weighing 4.6 kg) projectiles.
The gun could successfully fight all types of tanks of the Red Army and its allies at long and medium distances. For example, PzGr 39 penetrated 80-mm armor at a distance of 1000 m, and PzGt40-87-mm. The cumulative HL.Gr was used to fight tanks at distances of up to 600 m, while it was guaranteed to penetrate 90 mm armor.
The Pak 40 was the successful and most popular anti-tank weapon of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. Its production increased steadily: in 1942 the average monthly production was 176 guns, in 1943 - 728 and in 1944 - 977. The peak of Pak 40 production was in October 1944, when they managed to produce 1050 guns. Subsequently, due to the massive Allied bombing of German industrial enterprises, output began to decline. But, despite this, from January to April 1945, the Wehrmacht received another 721 75-mm anti-tank guns. A total of 23,303 Pak 40 guns were produced between 1942 and 1945. There were several variants of the Pak 40, differing in the design of the wheels (solid and spoked) and muzzle brakes.
75-mm anti-tank guns entered service with tank destroyer divisions of infantry, panzergrenadier, tank and a number of other divisions, as well as, to a lesser extent, in individual tank destroyer divisions. Constantly at the forefront, these guns suffered huge losses in battles. For example, over the last 4 months of 1944, the Wehrmacht lost 2490 Pak 40s, of which in September - 669, in October - 1020, in November - 494 and in December - 307. And in total, according to the main command of the ground forces, by March 1, 1945 there were 17,596 of these guns were lost, 5,228 Pak 40 were at the front (of which 4,695 were on a wheeled carriage) and another 84 were in warehouses and training units.
The 75 mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun was used in large quantities to arm various self-propelled guns on tank chassis, armored personnel carriers and armored cars. In 1942–1945, it was installed on self-propelled guns Marder II (on the chassis of the Pz.ll tank, 576 units) and Marder II (on the chassis of the Pz. 38(t) tank, 1756 units), armored personnel carriers Sd.Kfz. 251/22 (302 pieces), armored vehicles Sd.Kfz. 234/4 (89 pieces), RSO tracked tractors with an armored cab (60 pieces), based on captured French armored vehicles (Lorraine tractor, N-39 and FCM 36 tanks, armored personnel carrier on the Somua MCG half-track chassis, 220 pieces in total). Thus, during the entire period of mass production of the Pak 40, at least 3,003 units were installed on various chassis, not counting those subsequently used for repairs (this amounts to about 13% of all artillery systems produced).
At the end of 1942, the Heller Brothers company in Nurtingen developed and manufactured the 75-mm Pak 42 anti-tank gun, which was a modernized version of the Pak 40 with a barrel length of 71 calibers (the regular Pak 40 has a barrel length of 46 calibers ). According to German data, after testing, 253 of these guns were manufactured on a field carriage, after which their production was stopped. Subsequently, Pz.IV (A) Pz.IV (V) tank destroyers began to be armed with Pak 42 cannons (with the muzzle brake removed). As for the Pak 42 on a field carriage, photographs of them, data on their entry into the army or on combat use have not yet been found. The only image known to date of the Pak 42 is of it mounted on a 3-ton half-track tractor chassis.
75/55 mm anti-tank gun Pak 41 (7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 41)
The development of this gun began by Krupp in parallel with the design of the 75-mm Pak 40 at Rheinmetall-Borzig. However, unlike the latter, the Krupp gun, designated Pak 41, had a variable-caliber barrel like the 42-mm Pak 41. The first prototypes were manufactured at the end of 1941.
The gun had a fairly original design. The barrel was installed in a spherical support of a two-layer shield (two 7-mm armor plates). Frames and a sprung axle with wheels were attached to the shield. Thus, the main supporting structure of the Pak 41 was a double shield.
The gun barrel had a variable caliber from 75 mm at the breech to 55 mm at the muzzle, but it did not taper along its entire length, but consisted of three sections. The first, starting at the breech with a length of 2,950 mm, had a 75-mm caliber, then there was a 950 mm conical section, tapering from 75 to 55 mm, and finally the last, 420 mm long, had a 55-mm caliber. Thanks to this design, the middle conical section, which was subject to the greatest wear during shooting, could be easily replaced even in the field. To reduce recoil energy, the barrel had a slotted muzzle brake.
The 75-mm anti-tank gun with a conical bore Pak 41 was adopted by the Wehrmacht in the spring of 1942, and in April - May the Krupp company produced 150 of these guns, after which their production was discontinued. The Pak 41 was quite expensive - the cost of one gun was more than 15,000 Reichsmarks.
The Pak 41 ammunition included unitary rounds with armor-piercing shells PzGr 41 NK weighing 2.56 kg (pierced armor 136 mm thick at 1000 m) and PzGr 41 (W) weighing 2.5 kg (145 mm at 1000 m), as well as fragmentation SprGr.
Ammunition for the Pak 41 had the same design as for the 28/20 mm Pz.B.41 and 42 mm Pak 41 with conical bores. However, initially they arrived at the front in insufficient quantities, since tungsten, which was in short supply, was used for the manufacture of armor-piercing PzGr.
75-mm Pak 41 anti-tank guns entered service with tank destroyer battalions of several infantry divisions. Thanks to the high initial velocity of the projectile, they could successfully fight almost all types of Soviet, British and American tanks. However, due to rapid wear of the barrel and a shortage of tungsten, they began to be gradually withdrawn from the troops from mid-1943. However, as of March 1, 1945, the Wehrmacht still had 11 Pak 41s, although only three of them were at the front.
75-mm anti-tank gun Pak 97/38 (7.5-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 97/38)
Faced with Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, the Germans hastily began developing means of combating them. One of the measures was to use the barrels of a 75-mm French field gun of the 1897 model for this purpose - several thousand of these guns were captured by the Wehrmacht during campaigns in Poland and France (the Poles purchased these guns from the French in quite large quantities in the 1920s). In addition, a large amount of ammunition for these artillery systems fell into the hands of the Germans: in France alone there were more than 5.5 million of them!
The guns entered service with the Wehrmacht as field guns under the designation: for the Polish - 7.5 cm F. K.97 (p), and for the French - 7.5 cm F. K.231 (f). The difference was that the Polish cannons had wooden wheels with spokes - the guns were produced with them in France during the First World War, and the Polish army used horse-drawn teams to transport them. Guns in service French army were modernized in the 1930s, receiving metal wheels with rubber tires. This made it possible to tow them using tractors at speeds of up to 40 km/h. F.K.97(p) and F.K.231(f) entered service in limited quantities with several second-rate divisions, and were also used in coastal defense in France and Norway. For example, as of March 1, 1944, the Wehrmacht included 683 F. K.231 (f) (of which in France - 300, in Italy - two, on the Soviet-German front - 340 and in Norway - 41) and 26 Polish F. K.97 (r), who were on the Soviet-German front.
The use of guns of the 1897 model to fight tanks was difficult, first of all, due to the design of the single-beam carriage, which allowed a horizontal firing angle of only 6 degrees. Therefore, the Germans placed the barrel of a 75 mm French gun, equipped with a muzzle brake, on a 50 mm Pak 38 carriage and received a new anti-tank gun, which was designated 7.5 cm Pak 97/38. True, its price was quite high - 9,000 Reichsmarks. Despite the fact that the gun had a piston bolt, its rate of fire was up to 12 rounds per minute. For firing, German-developed shots with the PzGr armor-piercing projectile and the HL.Gr 38/97 cumulative projectile were used. Only French fragmentation weapons were used, designated SprGr 230/1 (f) and SprGr 233/1 (f) by the Wehrmacht.
Production of the Pak 97/38 began in early 1942 and ceased in July 1943. Moreover, the last 160 guns were manufactured on a Pak 40 gun carriage; they received the designation Pak 97/40. Compared to the Pak 97/38, the new artillery system has become heavier (1425 versus 1270 kg), but the ballistic data remains the same. In just one and a half years of serial production, 3712 Pak 97/38 and Pak 97/40 were manufactured. They entered service with tank destroyer divisions in infantry divisions and several others. As of March 1, 1945, Wehrmacht units still had 122 Pak 97/38 and F.K.231 (f) guns, and of this number only 14 were at the front.
Pak 97/38 were installed on the chassis of the Soviet captured T-26 tank - several such installations were manufactured in 1943.
75-mm anti-tank gun Pak 50 (7.5-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 50)
Due to the large mass of the 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun, which made it difficult for crews to move it across the battlefield, an attempt was made in April 1944 to create a lightweight version of it. To do this, the barrel was shortened by 1205 mm, equipped with a more powerful three-chamber muzzle brake and installed on a Pak 38 carriage. To fire from the new gun, designated Pak 50, shells from the Pak 40 were used, but the dimensions of the cartridge case and the mass of the powder charge were reduced. The test results showed that the weight of the Pak 50 compared to the Pak 40 did not decrease as much as expected - the fact is that when installing a 75-mm barrel on the Pak 38 carriage, all its aluminum parts had to be replaced with steel. In addition, tests showed that the armor penetration of the new gun was significantly reduced.
However, the Pak 50 went into mass production in May 1944, and by August 358 had been produced, after which production ceased.
Pak 50s entered service with infantry and panzergrenadier divisions and were used in combat from September 1944.
7.62-mm anti-tank gun Pak 36 (r) (7.62-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 36 (r))
Faced with T-34 and KV tanks, the German 37-mm Pak 35/36 anti-tank guns turned out to be practically powerless; the 50-mm Pak 38 was not enough among the troops, and they were not always effective. Therefore, along with the deployment of mass production of the more powerful 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun, which required time, the search for a temporary anti-tank measure began hastily.
A solution was found in the use of captured Soviet 76.2-mm divisional guns of the 1936 model (F-22), of which Wehrmacht units captured quite a lot in the first months of the war.
The development of the F-22 began in 1934 at the design bureau of V.G. Grabine as part of the creation of a so-called universal artillery system, which could be used as a howitzer, anti-tank and divisional one. The first prototypes were tested in June 1935, after which a meeting was held in the presence of the leaders of the Red Army and the USSR government.
As a result, it was decided to stop work on the universal cannon and create a divisional one on its basis. After a number of modifications, on May 11, 1936, the new artillery system was adopted by the Red Army as a 76.2 mm divisional gun of the 1936 model.
The gun, which received the factory designation F-22, was mounted on a carriage with two riveted box-section frames that moved apart in the firing position (this was a novelty for guns of this class), which ensured a horizontal firing angle of 60 degrees. The use of a semi-automatic wedge bolt made it possible to increase the rate of fire to 15 rounds per minute. Due to the fact that the F-22 was initially designed as a universal one, it had a fairly large elevation angle - 75 degrees, which made it possible to conduct barrage fire on aircraft. The disadvantages of the gun include its rather large mass (1620–1700 kg) and overall dimensions, as well as the location of the lifting and turning mechanism drives on opposite sides of the breech (lifting flywheel on the right, turning on the left). The latter made it very difficult to fire at moving targets, such as tanks. Production of the F-22 was carried out in 1937–1939; a total of 2,956 such guns were manufactured.
According to German data, they received a little more than 1000 F-22s as trophies during the summer-autumn campaign of 1941, more than 150 in the battles near Moscow and more than 100 during Operation Blau in July 1942 (we are talking about serviceable models) . The 76.2-mm F-22 guns entered service with the Wehrmacht under the designation F.K.296 (r) and were used as a field gun (F.K. (Feldkanone) - field gun), which had an armor-piercing projectile and could quite successfully fight Soviet tanks.
In addition, part of the F-22 was converted into anti-tank guns, designated Panzerabverkanone 36 (russland) or Pak 36 (r) - “anti-tank gun model 1936 (Russian).” At the same time, the Germans developed new, more powerful ammunition for this weapon, for which they had to bore out the chamber (the new ammunition had a sleeve length of 716 mm versus the original Soviet one of 385 mm). Since a large elevation angle was not required for the anti-tank gun, the sector of the lifting mechanism was limited to an angle of 18 degrees, which made it possible to move the gun guidance flywheel vertically from the right side to the left side. In addition, the Pak 36 (r) received a shield cut to height and a two-chamber muzzle brake to reduce recoil energy.
As a result of modernization, the Wehrmacht had at its disposal a fairly powerful anti-tank gun that could successfully fight Soviet T-34 and KV tanks at distances of up to 1000 m. Production of the Pak 36 (r) anti-tank gun began in 1942, and delivery to the army took place until the spring of 1943 -th (and for self-propelled artillery- until January 1944) in total, the Wehrmacht received 560 of these artillery systems on a field machine and 894 for installation on self-propelled guns. But a clarification is in order here. The fact is that the number of manufactured guns in the towed version most likely included the 76.2 mm Pak 39 (r) anti-tank guns (see the next chapter), since the Germans in their documents often did not make a difference between the Pak 36 (r) and Pak 39(r). According to some reports, there could be up to 300 of the latter.
The ammunition of the Pak 36 (r) gun included unitary shots developed by the Germans with a PzGr 39 armor-piercing projectile weighing 2.5 kg, a PzGr 40 sub-caliber projectile weighing 2.1 kg (with a tungsten core) and a SprGr 39 fragmentation projectile weighing 6.25 kg.
Pak 36(r) were mounted on the chassis of the Pz.II Ausf.D and Pz.38(t) tanks and were used as tank destroyers. On a field carriage, these guns were mainly used by infantry divisions. The Pak 36(r) was used in combat in North Africa and on the Soviet-German front. As of March 1, 1945, the Wehrmacht still had 165 Pak 36 (u) and Pak 39 (r), some of which were in warehouses.
7.62-mm anti-tank gun Pak 39 (r) (7.62-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 39 (r))
It was generally accepted that only the F-22 was converted by the Germans into an anti-tank weapon, since it had a durable breech. However, the pre-war F-22USV 76.2 mm divisional guns also underwent similar modifications, since their breech and barrel design were almost no different from the F-22. In addition, this gun was lighter than the F-22 by 220–250 kg and had a barrel 710 mm shorter.
Development of a new 76.2 mm divisional gun for the Red Army began in 1938, as the F-22 being produced was too complex, expensive and heavy. The new gun, which received the factory designation F-22USV (F-22 improved), was designed in the design bureau under the leadership of V. Grabin in the shortest possible time - already seven months after the start of work, a prototype was ready. This was achieved by using more than 50% of parts from the F-22 in the new artillery system. Like the base model, the F-22USV received a semi-automatic wedge bolt, providing a rate of fire of up to 15 rounds per minute, and a carriage with riveted frames, allowing horizontal fire up to 60 degrees. The design of the recoil brake, shield, upper and lower machines, lifting and turning mechanisms (although, like on the F-22, their drives were located on opposite sides of the barrel), the suspension system, and tires from the ZIS-5 were used. After testing in the fall of 1939, the new gun was adopted by the Red Army as the 76.2-mm divisional gun of the 1939 model (USV). In 1939–1940, 1150 F-22USVs were produced, in 1941–2661, and in 1942 - 6046. Moreover, in 1941–1942, 6890 units were produced by plant No. 221 “Barricades” in Stalingrad under the index USV-BR, and they differed in a number of ways parts from F-22USV guns manufactured at plant No. 92.
During the first year of the war, the Germans received quite a lot of 76.2 mm F-22USV and USV-BR as trophies. They entered service with the Wehrmacht as field guns under the designation F. K.296 (r). However, tests have shown that these guns can be successfully used as anti-tank guns, significantly increasing their armor penetration.
The Germans bored out the charging chamber of the F-22USV to use a shot developed for the Pak 36 (r), installed a two-chamber muzzle brake on the barrel, and moved the vertical aiming flywheel to the left side. In this form, the gun, designated Panzerabverkanone 39 (russland) or Pak 39 (r) - “anti-tank gun of the 1939 model (Russian)” began to enter service with the anti-tank units of the Wehrmacht. Moreover, only guns manufactured in 1940–1941 were redesigned - tests carried out by the Germans on the USV-BR, 76-mm ZIS-3, as well as the F-22USV manufactured after the summer of 1941 showed that their breech was no longer as strong as that of guns of pre-war production, and therefore it was not possible to convert them into Pak 39 (r).
Unfortunately, it was not possible to find the exact number of Pak 39 (r) manufactured - the Germans often did not separate them from the Pak 36 (r). According to some sources, up to 300 of these guns were produced. There is also no data on the ballistics and armor penetration of the Pak 39(r).
88-mm anti-tank gun Pak 43 (8.8-cm Panzerabwebrkanone 43)
The design of a new 88-mm anti-tank gun began by Rheinmetall-Borzig in the fall of 1942, and ballistics from the Flak 41 anti-aircraft gun of the same caliber were used as the base. Due to the company's workload with other orders, at the end of 1942 the development and production of the 88-mm anti-tank gun, designated Pak 43, was transferred to the Weserhutte company.
The Pak 43 had a barrel almost seven meters long with a powerful muzzle brake and a horizontal wedge semi-automatic bolt. As a legacy from the anti-aircraft gun, the gun received a cruciform carriage, which was equipped with two two-wheel drives for transportation. Although this design made the gun heavier, it ensured all-round fire along the horizon, which was important when fighting tanks.
The horizontal installation of the gun was carried out at levels using special jacks located at the ends of the longitudinal beam of the carriage. To protect the crew from bullets and shell fragments, a shield of 5 mm armor was used, installed at a large angle to the vertical. The mass of the gun was more than 4.5 tons, so it was planned to use only 8-ton Sd.Kfz half-track tractors to tow it. 7.
The Pak 43 ammunition included unitary rounds with armor-piercing (PzGr 39/43 weighing 10.2 kg), sub-caliber tungsten carbide core (PzGr 40/43 weighing 7.3 kg), cumulative (HLGr) and fragmentation (SprGr) projectiles. The gun had very good characteristics - it could easily hit all types of Soviet, American and British tanks at distances of about 2500 m.
Due to the heavy loads encountered when firing, the Pak 43 had a relatively short barrel life, ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 rounds.
In addition, the use of early-release shells, which had a narrower leading band than those produced later, led to accelerated wear of the barrel up to 800-1200 shots.
For a number of reasons, the Weserhutte company was able to master the production of Pak 43 only in December 1943, when the first six production samples were manufactured. These guns were produced until the end of the war and entered service with individual tank destroyer divisions. A total of 2,098 Pak 43s were manufactured before April 1, 1945. In addition to the field carriage, a small number of Pak 43 barrels (about 100) were installed on Nashorn tank destroyers (based on the Pz.IV) in 1944–1945.
Without a doubt, the Pak 43 was the most powerful anti-tank gun of the Second World War, not inferior even to the Soviet 100 mm BS-3 (not counting the 128 mm Pak 80, of which several dozen were produced). However, for high efficiency in the fight against tanks, one had to pay for the large mass of the gun and its almost zero mobility on the battlefield - it took more than one minute to install the Pak 43 on the move (or remove it from it). And on the battlefield this often led to losses in material and personnel.
88-mm anti-tank gun Pak 43/41 (8.8-cm Panzerabwebrkanone 43/41)
Due to the delay in the production of the 88-mm Pak 43 anti-tank gun on a cruciform carriage, the Wehrmacht command ordered the Rheinmetall-Borsig company to urgently take measures to provide the army with these guns, which were required for the upcoming 1943 summer campaign on the Soviet-German front.
To speed up the work, the company used a carriage from its experimental 105 mm K 41 gun with wheels from a 150 mm FH18 heavy howitzer, putting a Pak 43 barrel on it. The result was a new anti-tank gun, designated Pak 43/41.
Thanks to the presence of sliding frames, the gun had a horizontal firing angle of 56 degrees.
To protect the crew from bullets and shell fragments, the Pak 43/41 was equipped with a shield mounted on the upper machine. The mass of the gun was, although less than that of the Pak 43 - 4380 kg, but still not so much that it could be moved on the battlefield by crew forces. The ballistics and ammunition used by the Pak 43/41 were the same as the Pak 43.
Production of new guns began in February 1943, when 23 Pak 43/41s were assembled. However, a few days later they were transferred to arm the Hornisse tank destroyers (later renamed Nashorn). Due to the fact that 88-mm anti-tank guns were being adopted by Hornisse, it was only in April 1943 that the first Pak 43/41s on a field carriage entered service with the troops. Production of these guns continued until the spring of 1944, with a total of 1,403 Pak 43/41s produced.
Like the Pak 43, these guns entered service with individual tank destroyer divisions. As of March 1, 1945, there were 1,049 88 mm anti-tank guns (Pak 43 and Pak 43/41) at the front, and another 135 were in warehouses and spare parts. Due to its large overall dimensions, the Pak 43/41 gun received the army nickname “Scheunentor” (barn gate).
128 mm anti-tank guns Pak 44 and Pak 80 (12.8 cm Panzerabwebrkanone 44 and 80)
The design of a 128-mm anti-tank gun began in 1943, and the Flak 40 anti-aircraft gun with good ballistic data was used as the base one. The first prototypes were manufactured by Krupp and Rheinmetall-Borzig, but after testing, the Krupp gun was accepted for serial production, which in December 1943 began to be produced under the designation Pak 44 and by March 1944 18 such guns were manufactured.
The gun was mounted on a specially designed cruciform carriage, which provided 360-degree horizontal fire. Thanks to the presence of a semi-automatic bolt, the gun, despite the use of separately loaded shots, had a rate of fire of up to five rounds per minute. For transportation, the Pak 44 was equipped with four wheels with rubber tires, allowing it to be transported at speeds of up to 35 km/h. Due to the large mass of the artillery system - more than 10 tons - it could only be towed by 12 or 18 ton half-track tractors.
The Pak 44 ammunition included separate loading rounds with an armor-piercing projectile weighing 28.3 kg and a fragmentation projectile weighing 28 kg. The armor penetration of the Pak 44 was 200 mm at a distance of 1.5 kilometers. It could hit any Soviet, American or British tank at distances beyond their reach. In addition, due to the large mass of the projectile, when it hits a tank, even without penetrating the armor, in 90% of cases it still fails.
In February 1944, production of 128-mm Pak 80 anti-tank guns began. They differed from the Pak 44 mainly in the absence of a muzzle brake, and these guns were used in heavy Jagdtiger tank destroyers and Mans tanks. In the spring of 1944, the Krupp company produced two samples, designated K 81/1 and K 81/2, respectively. The first was a Pak 80 barrel mounted on the carriage of a captured French 155-mm Canon de 155-mm Grand Puissance Filloux gun. With a mass of 12197 kg, it had a horizontal fire of 60 degrees. It used the same ammunition as the Pak 80.
The 128 mm K 81/2 was a Pak 80 barrel equipped with a muzzle brake and mounted on the carriage of a captured Soviet 152 mm ML-20 howitzer gun. Compared to the K 81/1, this artillery system was lighter - 8302 kg and had a horizontal firing angle of 58 degrees.
On October 25, 1944, the main decision was made at Hitler's headquarters to install 52 Pak 80 barrels on French and Soviet carriages and use them as anti-tank guns. On November 8, the staff of a separate 128-mm battery (12.8-cm Kanonen-Batterie) was approved, which included six K 81/1 and K 81/2. By November 22, four such batteries were formed - 1092, 1097, 1124 and 1125, which included only ten 128-mm guns (7 K 81/2 and 3 K 81/1). Subsequently, the number of guns in the batteries increased, but never reached the standard number.
In total, from April 1944 to January 1945, the Krupp company in Breslau manufactured 132 Pak 80 guns, of which 80 were used for installation on the Jagdtiger, Maus and for training purposes (training self-propelled gun crews). The remaining 52 were mounted on field carriages and, under the designations K 81/1 and K 81/2, were used as anti-tank guns in separate artillery batteries on the western front.
Artillery during the Second World War Part I
M. Zenkevich
Soviet artillery was created during the Civil War and went through two stages in its pre-war development. In the period from 1927 to 1930. modernization of the artillery weapons inherited from the tsarist army was carried out, as a result of which the basic performance characteristics guns in accordance with new requirements, and this was done without great expense on the basis of existing weapons. Thanks to the modernization of artillery weapons, the firing range of artillery has increased on average by one and a half times. The increase in firing range was achieved by lengthening the barrels, increasing the charges, increasing the elevation angle and improving the shape of the projectiles.
Increasing the power of the shot also required some modification of the carriages. The carriage carries a 76-mm cannon mod. In 1902, a balancing mechanism was introduced, and muzzle brakes were installed on the 107 mm and 152 mm guns. A single sight of the 1930 model was adopted for all guns. After modernization, the guns received new names: 76-mm gun of the 1902/30 model, 122-mm howitzer mod. 1910/30 etc. Of the new types of artillery developed during this period, the 76-mm regimental gun mod. 1927 The beginning of the second stage in the development of Soviet artillery dates back to the early 30s, when, as a result of the accelerated development of heavy industry, it became possible to begin a complete rearmament of artillery with new models.
On May 22, 1929, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR adopted the artillery weapon system developed by the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) for 1929-32. It was important policy document for the development of Soviet artillery. It provided for the creation of anti-tank, battalion, regimental, divisional, corps and anti-aircraft artillery, as well as artillery of the Reserve of the High Command (RGK). The system was adjusted every five-year plan and was the basis for the development of new weapons. In accordance with it, a 37-mm anti-tank gun was put into service in 1930. The carriage of this gun had sliding frames, which provided a horizontal firing angle of up to 60° without moving the frame. In 1932, a 45-mm anti-tank gun was adopted, also on a carriage with sliding frames. In 1937, the 45-mm gun was improved: semi-automatic was introduced into the wedge breech, suspension was used, and ballistic qualities were improved. Extensive work was carried out to re-equip divisional, corps and army artillery, as well as high-power artillery.
The 76-mm gun mod. was adopted as a divisional gun. 1939 with a semi-automatic wedge bolt. The carriage of this gun had a rotating upper machine, high-speed lifting and turning mechanisms, and sliding frames. The chassis with suspension and rubber weight tires on the wheels allowed transportation speeds of up to 35-40 km/h. In 1938, a 122-mm howitzer mod. 1938. This weapon, in terms of its tactical and technical characteristics, far surpassed all foreign models of this type. The 107-mm cannon mod. 1940 and a 152-mm howitzer mod. 1938
The army artillery included: 122-mm gun mod. 1931/37 and 152-mm howitzer mod. 1937. The first sample of a 122-mm cannon was developed in 1931. 122-mm cannon arr. 1931/37 was obtained by applying the barrel of a 122-mm cannon mod. 1931 for a new carriage mod. 1937, adopted as a single carriage for a 122 mm gun and a 152 mm howitzer. For all divisional and corps artillery guns, a sight was adopted that was independent of the gun, which made it possible to simultaneously load and aim the gun at the target. The problem of creating Soviet high-power artillery was also successfully resolved.
In the period from 1931 to 1939. adopted for service: 203-mm howitzer mod. 1931, 152-mm gun mod. 1935, 280-mm mortar mod. 1939, 210 mm gun mod. 1939 and 305-mm howitzer mod. 1939. The carriages of the 152-mm cannon, 203-mm howitzers and 280-mm mortars are of the same type, on caterpillar tracks. In the traveling position, the guns consisted of two carts - a barrel and a carriage. In parallel with the development of the material part of the artillery, important measures were taken to improve ammunition.
Soviet designers developed the most advanced long-range projectiles in shape, as well as new types of armor-piercing projectiles. All shells were equipped with fuses and tubes of domestic production. It should be noted that the development of Soviet artillery was influenced by such a widespread idea abroad at that time as universalism. The talk was about creating so-called universal or semi-universal guns, which could be both field and anti-aircraft at the same time. Despite the attractiveness of this idea, its implementation led to the creation of overly complex, heavy and expensive weapons with low combat qualities. Therefore, after the creation and testing of a number of samples of such guns, in the summer of 1935, a meeting of artillery designers was held with the participation of government members, at which the inconsistency and harmfulness of universalism were revealed and the need for specialization of artillery according to its combat purpose and types was pointed out. The idea of replacing artillery with aviation and tanks also did not find support in the USSR.
For example, the German army followed this path, placing its main emphasis on aviation, tanks and mortars. Speaking in 1937 in the Kremlin, I.V. Stalin said: “The success of the war is decided not only by aviation. For the success of a war, artillery is an extremely valuable branch of the military. I would like our artillery to show that it is first class." .jpg)
This line of creating powerful artillery was strictly implemented, which was reflected, for example, in a sharp increase in the number of guns for all purposes. If on January 1, 1934, the Red Army had 17,000 guns, then on January 1, 1939, their number was 55,790, and on June 22, 1941, 67,355 (without 50-mm mortars, of which there were 24,158). In the pre-war years, along with the rearmament of rifled artillery, extensive work was carried out on the creation of mortars.
The first Soviet mortars were created back in the early 30s, but some leaders of the Red Army viewed them as a kind of “surrogate” for artillery, of interest only to the armies of underdeveloped states. However, after mortars proved their high effectiveness during Soviet-Finnish war 1939-40, their mass introduction into the troops began. The Red Army received 50-mm company and 82-mm battalion mortars, 107-mm mountain pack and 120-mm regimental mortars. In total, from January 1, 1939 to June 22, 1941, over 40 thousand mortars were delivered to the Red Army. After the start of the war, along with solving problems of increasing the supply of artillery and mortar weapons to the front, design bureaus and industrial enterprises developed and introduced new artillery systems into production. In 1942, a 76.2-mm divisional gun mod. 1941 (ZIS-3), the design of which, with high combat characteristics, fully satisfied the requirements of mass production. To combat enemy tanks in 1943, a 57-mm ZIS-2 anti-tank gun was developed on a carriage of a 76.2-mm gun mod. 1942
Somewhat later, an even more powerful 100-mm cannon mod. 1944 Since 1943, the troops began to receive 152-mm hull howitzers and 160-mm mortars, which became an indispensable means of breaking through enemy defenses. In total, during the war years the industry produced 482.2 thousand guns.
351.8 thousand mortars were produced (4.5 times more than in Germany, and 1.7 times more than in the USA and the countries of the British Empire). In the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army also widely used rocket artillery. The beginning of its use can be considered the formation in June 1941 of the first separate battery, which had seven BM-13 installations. By December 1, 1941, there were already 7 regiments and 52 separate divisions in the field rocket artillery, and at the end of the war the Red Army had 7 divisions, 11 brigades, 114 regiments and 38 separate divisions of rocket artillery, for the armament of which more than 10 thousand were manufactured .multi-charge self-propelled launchers and more than 12 million rockets. (1).jpg)
salvo "Katyusha"
ZIS-3 76-MM CANNON MODEL 1942 
A few weeks after the defeat of the Nazis near Moscow on January 5, 1942, the ZIS-3, the famous 76-mm divisional gun, received the go-ahead.
“As a rule, we received tactical and technical requirements for the development of new guns from the Main Artillery Directorate,” says the famous designer of artillery systems V. Grabin. But some guns were developed on our own initiative. This was the case with the divisional 76-mm ZIS-3 gun.” .
The caliber 76 mm - 3 inches - has been considered the classic caliber of a divisional gun since the beginning of our century. A gun powerful enough to hit enemy personnel from closed positions, suppress mortar and artillery batteries and other fire weapons. A gun that is mobile enough to move across the battlefield with the forces of a combat crew, accompany the advancing units not only with fire, but also with wheels, crushing bunkers and pillboxes with direct fire. Experience of the First World War. showed that when trench defense is saturated with fire weapons, attacking units need battalion and regimental close-combat artillery. And the appearance of tanks required the creation of special anti-tank artillery.
Equipping the Red Army with military equipment has always been the focus of attention of the Communist Party and the Soviet government. On July 15, 1929, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks made a historic decision to create new military equipment, including artillery. Carrying out the program drawn up by the party, Soviet designers carried out work on the creation of both close combat artillery and anti-tank artillery (37 and 45 mm guns). But when, by the end of the 30s, there was a gap between the capabilities of these anti-tank guns and the armor of tanks, the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) developed tactical and technical specifications for a 76-mm divisional gun, capable of fighting against tanks. 
Solving this problem, a team of designers headed by V. Grabin created the 76-mm F-22 divisional gun in 1936. Three years later, the F-22 USV was put into service. In 1940, the same team developed a 57-mm anti-tank gun. And finally, in 1941, having placed a 76-mm barrel on the improved carriage of this gun, the designers (A. Khvorostin, V. Norkin, K. Renne, V. Meshchaninov, P. Ivanov, V. Zemtsov, etc.) created the famous ZIS -3, - which was highly appreciated not only by our allies, but also by our opponents.
... "The opinion that the ZIS-3 is the best 76-mm gun of the Second World War is absolutely justified," said German professor Wolf, former head of the artillery design department at Krupp. "Without any exaggeration, it can be said that this is one of the most ingenious designs in the history of barrel artillery".
The ZIS-3 was the last and most advanced 76 mm divisional gun. Further development of this class of guns required a transition to a larger caliber. What is the secret of the success of the ZIS-3? What, so to speak, is the “highlight” of its design?
V. Grabin answers these questions: “In lightness, reliability, convenience of combat crew work, manufacturability and low cost.” And indeed, without containing any fundamentally new components and solutions that would be unknown in world practice, the ZIS-3 is an example of successful design and technical development, an optimal combination of qualities. In ZIS-3, all non-working metal has been removed; a muzzle brake was used for the first time in domestic serial 76-mm divisional guns, which reduced the recoil length, reduced the weight of the recoil parts and lightened the carriage; riveted frames were replaced by lighter tubular ones. Leaf springs in the suspension device have been replaced with lighter and more reliable spring ones: A carriage with sliding frames has been used, sharply increasing the angle of horizontal fire. For the first time, a monoblock barrel was used for this caliber. But the main advantage of the ZIS-3 is its high technology.
The design team, headed by V. Grabin, paid particular attention to this quality of the guns. Working according to the method of accelerated artillery design, in which design and technological issues are resolved in parallel, engineers systematically reduced the number of required parts from sample to sample. Thus, the F-22 had 2080 parts, the F-22 USV - 1057, and the ZIS-3 - only 719. Accordingly, the number of machine hours required to manufacture one gun was reduced. In 1936 this value was 2034 hours, in 1939 - 1300, in 1942 - 1029 and in 1944 - 475! It is thanks to its high manufacturability that the ZIS-3 went down in history as the world’s first gun put into mass production and assembly line assembly. By the end of 1942, only one plant was producing up to 120 guns per day - before the war, this was its monthly program. 
ZIS-3 on tow T-70M
Another important result achieved when working using the accelerated design method is broad unification - the use of identical parts, assemblies, mechanisms and assemblies in different samples. It was unification that made it possible for one plant to produce tens of thousands of guns various purposes- tank, anti-tank and divisional. But it is symbolic that the hundred-thousandth cannon of the 92nd plant was the ZIS-3 - the most popular cannon of the Great Patriotic War.
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A-19 122-MM CANNON MODEL 1931/1937 
“In January 1943, our troops had already broken through the blockade and fought stubborn battles to expand the breakthrough at the famous Sinyavinsky Heights,” recalls Artillery Marshal G. Odintsov, former artillery commander of the Leningrad Front: “The firing positions of one of the batteries of the 267th Corps Artillery Regiment were in a swampy area, camouflaged by thickets of thick bushes. Hearing the roar of a tank engine ahead, the senior man on the battery, having no doubt that the tank was ours, and fearing that it might crush the gun, decided to warn the driver. But, standing on the carriage, he saw that A huge, unfamiliar-shaped tank with a cross on the turret is moving straight towards the gun... The shot was fired from some 50 m. The shell literally demolished the split turret, and its pieces hit the armor of the second tank following with such force that its crew He fled without even having time to turn off the engine.Then our tank crews pulled out the enemy vehicles.
A serviceable “tiger” walked through the streets of besieged Leningrad, and then both tanks became exhibits at a “trophy exhibition” in the Moscow Gorky Park of Culture and Leisure. Thus, the 122-mm hull gun helped to capture intact one of the first “tigers” that appeared at the front, and helped the personnel of the Soviet Army to recognize the vulnerable spots of the “tigers”. 
The First World War showed how dearly France, England and Russia had to pay for neglecting heavy artillery. Counting on maneuverable warfare, these countries relied on light, highly mobile artillery, believing that heavy guns were unsuitable for rapid marches. And already during the war they were forced to catch up with Germany and, catching up, urgently create heavy weapons. And yet, at the end of the war, the United States and England considered corps artillery generally unnecessary, while France and Germany were satisfied with the modernized corps guns of the end of the First World War.
Things were completely different in our country. In May 1929, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic approved the artillery armament system for 1929-1932, and in June 1930, the XVI Congress of the CPSU (b) decided to fully accelerate the development of industry, and primarily the defense industry. The industrialization of the country provided a solid basis for the production of modern military equipment. In 1931, in pursuance of the approved weapon system, the 122-mm A-19 cannon was manufactured at Artillery Plant No. 172. This gun was intended for counter-battery combat, to disrupt enemy command and control, suppress his rear, preventing the approach of reserves, the supply of ammunition, food, etc.
“The design of this gun, says Major General of the Engineering and Technical Service N. Komarov, was entrusted to the design bureau of the All-Union Gun Arsenal Association. The working group headed by S. Shukalov included S. Ananyev, V. Drozdov, G. Vodokhlebov, B Markov, S. Rykovskov, N. Torbin and I. The project was completed quickly and the drawings were immediately sent to the 172nd plant for the production of a prototype. But then it turned out that the project was made without taking into account the plant’s equipment, and it was necessary to redo the working drawings in relation to technological plant capabilities.
In terms of projectile power and firing range, the gun was superior to all foreign guns of this class. True, it turned out to be somewhat heavier than them, but the greater weight did not affect its fighting qualities, since it was designed for mechanical traction.
The A-19 differed from older artillery systems in several innovations. The high initial velocity of the projectile increased the length of the barrel, and this, in turn, created difficulties during vertical aiming and when transporting the gun. To relieve the lifting mechanism and make the gunner's work easier, we used a balancing mechanism; and in order to protect the critical components and mechanisms of the gun from shock loads during transportation, a travel-style fastening mechanism: before the trip, the barrel was separated from the recoil devices, pulled back along the cradle and secured with stoppers to the carriage. Avoid closing and opening the bolt when the barrel is not fully connected to anti-recoil devices were made possible by a mechanism of mutual closure. For the first time on guns of such a large caliber, sliding frames and a rotating upper machine were used, which ensured an increase in the angle of horizontal fire; suspension and metal wheels with rubber tires on the rim, which made it possible to transport the gun along the highway at speeds of up to 20 km/h." . _1.jpg)
After extensive testing of the prototype A-19, it was adopted by the Red Army. In 1933, the barrel of a 152-mm cannon of the 1910/1930 model was placed on the carriage of this gun, and the 152-mm cannon of the 1910/1934 model entered service, but work on improving the single carriage continued. And in 1937, two hull guns on a unified carriage were adopted by the Red Army - a 122-mm gun of the 1931/1937 model and a 152-mm howitzer - a gun of the 1937 model. In this carriage, the lifting and balancing mechanisms are divided into two independent units, the elevation angle is increased to 65°, and a normalized sight with an independent aiming line is installed.
The 122-mm cannon brought many bitter moments to the Germans. There was not a single artillery preparation in which these wonderful guns did not participate. With their fire they crushed the armor of Hitler's Ferdinands and Panthers. It is no coincidence that this gun was used to create the famous ISU-122 self-propelled gun. And it is no coincidence that this gun was one of the first to open fire on fascist Berlin on April 20, 1945.
122 mm gun model 1931/1937
B-4 203-MM HOWITSER MODEL 1931 
Direct fire from high-power howitzers of the reserve artillery of the main command (ARGK) is not provided for by any shooting rules. But it was precisely for such shooting that the commander of the battery of 203-mm guard howitzers, Captain I. Vedmedenko, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On the night of June 9, 1944, on one of the sections of the Leningrad Front, under the noise of a firefight that drowned out the roar of engines, tractors dragged two huge massive guns on caterpillar tracks to the front line. When everything calmed down, only 1200 m separated the camouflaged guns from the target - a giant pillbox. Reinforced concrete walls two meters thick; three floors going underground; armored dome; approaches covered by fire from flank bunkers - it was not for nothing that this structure was considered the main center of enemy resistance. And as soon as dawn broke, Vedmedenko’s howitzers opened fire. For two hours, hundred-kilogram concrete-piercing shells destroyed two-meter walls, until finally the enemy fortress ceased to exist...
“For the first time, our artillerymen began direct fire at concrete fortifications from high-power ARGC howitzers in battles with the White Finns in the winter of 1939/1940,” says Marshal of Artillery N. Yakovlev. “And this method of suppressing pillboxes was born not within the walls of headquarters, not in academies, and on the front line among the soldiers and officers directly servicing these wonderful guns."
In 1914, the war of maneuver that the generals were counting on lasted only a few months, after which it took on a positional character. It was then that the number of howitzers began to rapidly increase in the field artillery of the warring powers - guns capable, unlike cannons, of hitting horizontal targets: destroying field fortifications and shooting at troops hiding behind folds of terrain.
Howitzer; As a rule, it conducts overhead fire. The damaging effect of a projectile is determined not so much by its kinetic energy at the target, but by the amount contained in it explosive. The initial velocity of the projectile, which is lower than that of a cannon, makes it possible to reduce the pressure of the powder gases and shorten the barrel. As a result, the wall thickness is reduced, the recoil force is reduced and the carriage is lighter. As a result, the howitzer turns out to be two to three times lighter than a gun of the same caliber. Another important advantage of the howitzer is that by changing the size of the charge, it is possible to obtain a beam of trajectories at a constant elevation angle. True, the variable charge requires separate charging, which reduces the rate of fire, but this disadvantage is more than compensated by its advantages. In the armies of the leading powers, by the end of the war, howitzers accounted for 40-50% of the total artillery fleet.
But the trend towards the construction of powerful field-type defensive structures and a dense network of long-term firing points urgently required heavy guns with increased range, high projectile power and canopy of fire. In 1931, following the resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Soviet designers created a domestic high-power howitzer B-4. It began to be designed at the Artkom Design Bureau in 1927, where the work was headed by F. Lander. After his death, the project was transferred to the Bolshevik plant, where Magdesiev was the chief designer, and Gavrilov, Torbin and others were among the designers.
B-4 - a 203-mm howitzer of the 1931 model - was intended to destroy particularly strong concrete, reinforced concrete and armored structures, to combat large-caliber enemy artillery or covered with strong structures, and to suppress distant targets. 
To speed up the equipping of the Red Army with new weapons, production was organized simultaneously at two factories. During the development process, working drawings were changed at each plant, adapting to technological capabilities. As a result, practically two different howitzers began to enter service. In 1937, unified drawings were worked out not by changing the design, but by assembling individual parts and assemblies that had already been tested in production and operation. The only innovation was that it was mounted on caterpillar tracks. allowing firing directly from the ground without special platforms.
The B-4 carriage became the basis for a whole family of high-power guns. In 1939, a number of intermediate samples were completed by the 152 mm Br-19 cannon and the 280 mm Br-5 mortar. These works were carried out by a team of designers. plant "Barricade" under the leadership of Hero of Socialist Labor I. Ivanov.
Thus, the creation of a complex of high-power ground guns on a single carriage was completed: cannons, howitzers, and mortars. The implements were transported by tractors. For this purpose, the guns were disassembled into two parts: the barrel was removed from the carriage and placed on a special gun carriage, and the carriage, connected to the limber, made up the carriage.
Of this entire complex, the B-4 howitzer is the most widely used. The combination of a powerful projectile with a large elevation angle and a variable charge giving 10 initial speeds determined its brilliant combat qualities. At any horizontal targets at a distance from 5 to 18 km, the howitzer could fire along a trajectory of the most favorable steepness.
B-4 lived up to the hopes placed on it. Having begun her combat career on the Karelian Isthmus in 1939, she marched along the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, participating in all major artillery preparations, storming of fortresses and large cities.
203 mm howitzer model 1931
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ML-20 152-MM HOWITTER-GUN MODEL 1937
“When they ask me what type of artillery shooting places the highest demands on the art of personnel,” says Marshal of Artillery G. Odintsov, “I answer: counter-battery combat. It is, as a rule, carried out at long firing ranges and usually results in a duel with the enemy, who fires back, threatening the shooter.
The experience of the fronts showed that the best Soviet weapon for counter-battery warfare was the 152-mm howitzer-cannon of the 1937 model ML-20."
The history of the creation of the ML-20 dates back to 1932, when a group of designers of the All-Union Gun Arsenal Association - V. Grabin, N. Komarov and V. Drozdov - proposed creating a powerful 152-mm hull gun by placing the barrel of a 152-mm Schneider siege gun on a carriage 122 mm A-19 guns. Calculations have shown that such an idea when installing a muzzle brake, which takes away part of the recoil energy, is real. Tests of the prototype confirmed the validity of the technical risk taken, and a hull-mounted 152-mm gun of the 1910/34 model entered service. In the mid-30s, a decision was made to modernize this weapon. The modernization work was headed by the young designer F. Petrov. Having studied the features of the A-19 cannon carriage, he identified the main disadvantages of this weapon: the lack of suspension at the front limited the speed of movement; the lifting and balancing mechanism was difficult to fine-tune and provided an insufficiently high vertical guidance speed; transferring the barrel from the traveling position to the firing position and back required a lot of energy and time; the cradle with recoil devices was difficult to manufacture.
Having developed a new cast upper machine, dividing the combined lifting and balancing mechanism into two independent ones - a sector lifting and balancing one, designing a front end with suspension, a sight with an independent aiming line and a cradle with a cast trunnion clip instead of a forged one, the designers created, for the first time in world practice, an intermediate type gun with properties of both guns and howitzers. The elevation angle, increased to 65°, and 13 variable charges made it possible to obtain a gun that, like a howitzer, has hinged trajectories and, like a cannon, high initial projectile velocities.
A. Bulashev, S. Gurenko, M. Burnyshev, A. Ilyin and many others took an active part in the development and creation of the howitzer-gun. .jpg)
“The ML-20, which we developed in 1.5 months, was submitted for state testing after the first 10 shots fired at the factory range,” recalls Lenin and State Prize laureate, Hero of Socialist Labor, Lieutenant General of the Engineering and Technical Service, Doctor technical sciences F. Petrov. These tests were completed at the beginning of 1937, the gun was put into service and put into mass production that same year. At first everything went well, but suddenly the barrel of one, then another, then a third howitzer-guns from shots at small elevation angles began to "give a candle" - spontaneously lift up to the maximum angle. It turned out that for a number of reasons the worm gear was not self-braking enough. For us, and especially for me, this phenomenon caused a lot of trouble, until after tedious days and sleepless nights it was found quite simple solution: We proposed placing a spring-loaded steel disc with a small adjustable gap in the threaded cover that secures the worm in the crankcase. At the moment of firing, the end part of the worm comes into contact with the disk, which, creating a large additional friction, prevents the worm from turning.
What a relief I felt when, having found such a solution and quickly sketched out sketches, I introduced it to the director and chief engineer of the plant, as well as the head of military acceptance. All of them found themselves in the assembly shop that night, which, however, happened often, especially when it came to fulfilling defense orders in a short time. An order was immediately given to produce the parts of the device by morning.
When developing this weapon, we paid special attention to increasing manufacturability and reducing cost. It was with the production of the howitzer-gun in artillery technology that the widespread use of steel shaped casting began. Many components - the upper and lower machines, the hinge and trunk parts of the frames, the wheel hubs - were made of cheap carbon steel." 
Originally intended for "reliable action against artillery, headquarters, establishments and field installations", the 152 mm howitzer gun turned out to be a much more flexible, powerful and effective weapon than previously thought. The combat experience of the battles of the Great Patriotic War continuously expanded the range of tasks assigned to this remarkable weapon. And in the “Service Manual”, published at the end of the war, the ML-20 was prescribed to fight enemy artillery, suppress long-range targets, destroy pillboxes and powerful bunkers, fight tanks and armored trains, and even destroy balloons.
During the Great Patriotic War, the 152-mm howitzer gun of the 1937 model invariably took part in all major artillery preparations, in counter-battery warfare, and in the assault on fortified areas. But this weapon played a particularly honorable role in the destruction of heavy fascist tanks. A heavy projectile fired with a high initial velocity easily tore the Tiger's turret off its shoulder strap. There were battles when these towers literally flew in the air with gun barrels dangling limply. And it is no coincidence that the ML-20 became the basis of the famous ISU-152.
But perhaps the most significant recognition of the excellent qualities of this weapon should be considered the fact that the ML-20 was in service with Soviet artillery not only during the Great Patriotic War, but also in the post-war years.
BS-3 100-MM FIELD GUN MODEL 1944 
“In the spring of 1943, when Hitler’s Tigers, Panthers, and Ferdinands began to appear on the battlefields in large numbers,” recalls the famous artillery designer V. Grabin, “in a note addressed to the Supreme Commander, I proposed, along with the resumption of production 57 mm anti-tank gun: ZIS-2 guns, create a new weapon - a 100 mm anti-tank gun with a powerful projectile.
Why did we choose the new 100 mm caliber for ground artillery, and not the already existing 85 and 107 mm guns? The choice was not accidental. We believed that we needed a gun whose muzzle energy would be one and a half times greater than that of a 107-mm gun of the 1940 model. And 100-mm guns have been successfully used in the navy for a long time; a unitary cartridge was developed for them, while the 107-mm gun had separate loading. The presence of a shot mastered in production played a role decisive role, since working it out takes a lot of time. And we didn't have much time... .png)
We could not borrow the design of a naval cannon: it was too bulky and heavy. The requirements for high power, mobility, lightness, compactness, and high rate of fire led to a number of innovations. First of all, a high-performance muzzle brake was needed. The previously used slot brake had an efficiency of 25-30%. For the 100 mm gun, it was necessary to develop a double-chamber brake design with an efficiency of 60%. To increase the rate of fire, a semi-automatic wedge bolt was used. The layout of the gun was entrusted to the leading designer A. Khvorostin."
The outlines of the gun began to appear on whatman paper during the May holidays of 1943. In a few days, the creative groundwork was realized, which was formed on the basis of long thoughts, painful searches, studying combat experience and analyzing the best artillery designs in the world. The barrel and semi-automatic bolt were designed by I. Griban, the recoil devices and hydropneumatic balancing mechanism were designed by F. Kaleganov, the cast cradle was designed by B. Lasman, and the equal-strength upper machine was designed by V. Shishkin. The issue of choosing a wheel was difficult to resolve. The design bureau usually used automobile wheels of GAZ-AA and ZIS-5 trucks for guns, but they were not suitable for the new gun. The next car was a five-ton YaAZ. However, its wheel turned out to be too heavy and large. Then the idea was born to install twin wheels from GAZ-AA, which made it possible to fit into the given weight and dimensions.
A month later, working drawings were sent to production, and five months later, the first prototype of the famous BS-3, a gun designed to fight tanks and other mechanized vehicles, to fight artillery, to suppress long-range targets, to destroy fire weapons of infantry and manpower, enemy forces.
“Three design features distinguish the BS-3 from previously developed domestic systems,” says State Prize laureate A. Khvorostin. “These are a torsion bar suspension, a hydropneumatic balancing mechanism and a carriage made according to the inverted support triangle scheme. The choice of a torsion bar suspension and a hydropneumatic balancing mechanism was determined by requirements for lightness and compactness of units, and changing the carriage design noticeably reduced the load on the frames when firing at maximum angles of rotation of the upper machine. If in conventional carriage designs each frame was calculated for 2/3 of the recoil force of the gun, then in the new scheme the force acting on the frame at any horizontal aiming angle, did not exceed 1/2 the recoil force.In addition, the new scheme simplified the equipment of the combat position.
Thanks to all these new products, BS-3 stood out for its extremely high metal utilization rate. This means that in its design it was possible to achieve the most perfect combination of power and mobility."
The BS-3 was tested by a commission chaired by General Panikhin, a representative of the artillery commander of the Soviet Army. According to V. Grabin, one of the most interesting moments was shooting at a tiger tank. A cross was drawn on the tank's turret with chalk. The gunner received the initial data and fired a shot from 1500 m. Approaching the tank, everyone was convinced: the shell almost hit the cross and pierced the armor. After this, the tests continued according to the given program, and the commission recommended the weapon for service. 
Tests of the BS-Z led to a new method of combating heavy tanks. Once at the training ground, a shot was fired at a captured Ferdinand from a distance of 1500 m. And although, as expected, the shell did not penetrate the 200-mm frontal armor of the self-propelled gun, its gun and control system were damaged. BS-Z turned out to be capable of effectively fighting enemy tanks and self-propelled guns at distances exceeding the range of a direct shot. In this case, as experience has shown, the crew of enemy vehicles was struck by fragments of armor that broke off from the hull due to the enormous overvoltages that occurred in the metal at the moment the projectile hit the armor. The living force that the projectile retained at these ranges was sufficient to bend and distort the armor.
In August 1944, when the BS-Z began to arrive at the front, the war was already nearing its end, so the experience of combat use of this weapon was limited. Nevertheless, the BS-3 rightfully occupies an honorable place among the guns of the Great Patriotic War, because it contained ideas that became widespread in artillery designs of the post-war period.
M-30 122-MM HOWITSER MODEL 1938 .jpg)
“Wow! A gray cloud shot up on the enemy side. The fifth shell hit the dugout where the ammunition was stored. A grenade with a fuse set to slow down struck several rolls and exploded inside the warehouse. Following the barely audible sound of the explosion, a large black pillar rose high up smoke, and a huge explosion shook the surrounding area” - this is how in the book “Howitzers Fire” P. Kudinov, a former artilleryman and war participant, describes the everyday combat work of the M-30, the famous 122-mm divisional howitzer of the 1938 model.
Before the First World War, the artillery of the Western powers adopted the 105 mm caliber for divisional howitzers. Russian artillery thought went its own way: the army was armed with 122-mm divisional howitzers of the 1910 model. Combat experience has shown that a projectile of this caliber, while possessing the most advantageous fragmentation effect, at the same time provides a minimally satisfactory high-explosive effect. However, at the end of the 20s, the 122-mm howitzer of the 1910 model did not meet the views of experts on the nature of the future war: it had insufficient range, rate of fire and mobility.
According to the new "Artillery Weapon System for 1929-1932", approved by the Revolutionary Military Council in May 1929, it was planned to create a 122-mm howitzer with a weight in the stowed position of 2200 kg, a firing range of 11-12 km and a combat rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute. Since the model developed according to these requirements turned out to be too heavy, the modernized 122-mm howitzer of the 1910/30 model was retained in service. And some experts began to lean toward the idea of abandoning the 122-mm caliber and adopting 105-mm howitzers.
“In March 1937, at a meeting in the Kremlin,” recalls Hero of Socialist Labor, Lieutenant General of the Engineering and Technical Service F. Petrov, “I spoke about the reality of creating a 122-mm howitzer and, answering numerous questions, stated what was said, bills. My optimism was fueled by the great, as it seemed to me then, success of our team in creating a 152-mm howitzer - the ML-20 cannon. The meeting identified a plant (unfortunately, not the one where I worked), which was to develop a prototype. Feeling great responsibility for everything I said at the meeting in the Kremlin, I proposed to the management of my plant to take the initiative in developing a 122-mm howitzer. For this purpose, a small group of designers was organized. The very first estimates, which used diagrams of existing guns, showed that the task was really difficult But the persistence and enthusiasm of the designers - S. Dernov, A. Ilyin, N. Dobrovolsky, A. Chernykh, V. Burylov, A. Drozdov and N. Kostrulin - took their toll: in the fall of 1937, the defense of two projects took place: developed by the team of V. Sidorenko and ours. Our project received approval. 
According to tactical and technical data, primarily in terms of maneuverability and flexibility of fire - the ability to quickly transfer fire from one target to another - our howitzer fully met the requirements of the GAU. In terms of its most important characteristic - muzzle energy - it was more than twice as good as the 1910/30 model howitzer. Our gun also differed favorably from the 105-mm divisional howitzers of the armies of capitalist countries.
The estimated weight of the gun is about 2200 kg: 450 kg less than the howitzer developed by V. Sidorenko’s team. By the end of 1938, all tests were completed and the gun was put into service under the name 122-mm howitzer model 1938."
For the first time, the combat wheels were equipped with an automobile-type travel brake. The transition from traveling to combat position took no more than 1-1.5 minutes. When the frames were moved apart, the springs were automatically turned off, and the beds themselves were automatically secured in the extended position. In the stowed position, the barrel was secured without being disconnected from the recoil device rods and without being pulled back. To simplify and reduce the cost of production in the howitzer, parts and assemblies of existing artillery systems were widely used. So, for example, the bolt was taken from a standard howitzer of the 1910/30 model, the sight from a 152-mm howitzer - a gun of the 1937 model, the wheels - from a divisional 76-mm gun of the 1936 model, etc. Many parts were made by casting and stamping. That is why the M-30 was one of the simplest and most inexpensive domestic artillery systems.
An interesting fact testifies to the great survivability of this howitzer. Once during the war, it became known at the plant that the troops had a gun that fired 18 thousand shots. The factory offered to exchange this copy for a new one. And after a thorough factory inspection, it turned out that the howitzer had not lost its qualities and was suitable for further combat use. This conclusion received unexpected confirmation: when forming the next echelon, as luck would have it, one gun was missing. And with the consent of military acceptance, the unique howitzer again went to the front as a newly manufactured weapon. 
M-30 on direct fire
The experience of the war showed: the M-30 brilliantly performed all the tasks that were assigned to it. It destroyed and suppressed enemy manpower in open areas. and located in field-type shelters, destroyed and suppressed infantry fire weapons, destroyed field-type structures and fought artillery, etc. enemy mortars.
But most clearly the advantages of the 122-mm howitzer of the 1938 model were manifested in the fact that its capabilities turned out to be wider than prescribed by the service management. -During the days of the heroic defense of Moscow, howitzers shot at fascist tanks with direct fire. Later, the experience was consolidated by the creation of a cumulative projectile for the M-30 and an additional clause in the service manual: “The howitzer can be used to fight tanks, self-propelled artillery units and other armored vehicles of the enemy.”
See the continuation on the website: WWII - Weapons of Victory - Artillery of WWII Part II
Soviet anti-tank artillery played a vital role in the Great Patriotic War, accounting for about 70% of all German tanks destroyed. Anti-tank warriors fighting “to the last”, often at the cost own life repelled the attacks of the Panzerwaffe.
The structure and equipment of anti-tank units were continuously improved during combat operations. Until the fall of 1940, anti-tank guns were part of rifle, mountain rifle, motorized rifle, motorized and cavalry battalions, regiments and divisions. Anti-tank batteries, platoons and divisions were thus interspersed into the organizational structure of the formations, being their integral part. The rifle battalion of the pre-war state rifle regiment had a platoon of 45 mm guns (two guns). The rifle regiment and motorized rifle regiment had a battery of 45 mm cannons (six guns). In the first case, the means of traction were horses, in the second - specialized Komsomolets tracked armored tractors. The rifle division and the motorized division included a separate anti-tank division of eighteen 45 mm guns. The first anti-tank division was introduced into the staff of a Soviet rifle division in 1938.
However, maneuvering with anti-tank guns was possible at that time only within a division, and not on the scale of a corps or army. The command had very limited capabilities to strengthen anti-tank defense in tank-dangerous directions.
Shortly before the war, the formation of anti-tank artillery brigades of the RGK began. According to the staff, each brigade was supposed to have forty-eight 76-mm guns, forty-eight 85-mm anti-aircraft guns, twenty-four 107-mm guns, sixteen 37-mm anti-aircraft guns. The brigade's staff strength was 5,322 people. By the beginning of the war, the formation of the brigades was not completed. Organizational difficulties and the general unfavorable course of hostilities did not allow the first anti-tank brigades to fully realize their potential. However, already in the first battles, the brigades demonstrated the wide capabilities of an independent anti-tank formation.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the anti-tank capabilities of the Soviet troops were subjected to severe tests. Firstly, most often rifle divisions had to fight while occupying a defensive front that exceeded the statutory standards. Secondly, Soviet troops had to face the German “tank wedge” tactics. It consisted in the fact that a tank regiment of a Wehrmacht tank division was striking in a very narrow sector of defense. At the same time, the density of attacking tanks was 50–60 vehicles per kilometer of front. Such a number of tanks on a narrow section of the front inevitably saturated the anti-tank defenses.
Large losses of anti-tank guns at the beginning of the war led to a decrease in the number of anti-tank guns in the rifle division. The July 1941 state rifle division had only eighteen 45-mm anti-tank guns instead of fifty-four in the pre-war state. According to the July staff, a platoon of 45-mm guns from an infantry battalion and a separate anti-tank division were completely excluded. The latter was restored to the staff of the rifle division in December 1941. The shortage of anti-tank guns was to some extent compensated for by the recently adopted anti-tank guns. In December 1941, an anti-tank rifle platoon was introduced into the rifle division at the regimental level. In total, the division had 89 anti-tank rifles throughout the state.
In the field of artillery organization, the general trend at the end of 1941 was to increase the number of independent anti-tank units. On January 1, 1942, in the active army and reserve of the Supreme High Command Headquarters there were: one artillery brigade (on the Leningrad Front), 57 anti-tank artillery regiments and two separate anti-tank artillery divisions. As a result of the autumn battles, five VET artillery regiments received the rank of guards. Two of them received the Guard for the battles near Volokolamsk - they supported the 316th Infantry Division of I.V. Panfilov.
1942 became a period of increasing the number and consolidation of independent anti-tank units. On April 3, 1942, the State Defense Committee issued a decree on the formation of a fighter brigade. According to the staff, the brigade had 1,795 people, twelve 45-mm guns, sixteen 76-mm guns, four 37-mm anti-aircraft guns, 144 anti-tank guns. By the next decree of June 8, 1942, the twelve formed fighter brigades were united into fighter divisions, each with three brigades.
A milestone for the anti-tank artillery of the Red Army was the order of the USSR NKO No. 0528, signed by I.V. Stalin, according to which: the status of anti-tank destroyer units was increased, personnel were given a double salary, a cash bonus was established for each damaged tank, all command and personnel anti-tank artillery units were placed on special registration and were to be used only in the specified units.
The distinctive insignia of the anti-tank fighters was a sleeve insignia in the form of a black diamond with a red border and crossed gun barrels. The increase in the status of anti-tank fighters was accompanied by the formation of new anti-tank fighter regiments in the summer of 1942. Thirty light (twenty 76 mm guns each) and twenty anti-tank artillery regiments (twenty 45 mm guns each) were formed.
The regiments were formed in a short time and immediately thrown into battle on threatened sectors of the front.
In September 1942, ten more anti-tank fighter regiments of twenty 45-mm guns were formed. Also in September 1942, an additional battery of four 76-mm guns was introduced into the most distinguished regiments. In November 1942, part of the anti-tank fighter regiments was united into fighter divisions. By January 1, 1943, the anti-tank artillery of the Red Army consisted of 2 fighter divisions, 15 fighter brigades, 2 heavy anti-tank fighter regiments, 168 anti-tank fighter regiments, 1 anti-tank fighter division.
The improved anti-tank defense system of the Red Army received the name “Pakfront” from the Germans. RAK is the German abbreviation for anti-tank gun - Panzerabwehrkannone. Instead of a linear arrangement of guns along the defended front, at the beginning of the war they were united in groups under a single command. This made it possible to concentrate the fire of several guns on one target. The basis of anti-tank defense were anti-tank areas. Each anti-tank area consisted of separate anti-tank strong points (PTOPs), located in fire communication with each other. “Being in fire communication with each other” means the ability of neighboring anti-tank missile launchers to fire at the same target. PTOP was saturated with all types of fire weapons. The basis of the PTOP's fire system were 45-mm guns, 76-mm regimental guns, partly cannon batteries of divisional artillery and anti-tank artillery units.
The finest hour of anti-tank artillery was the battle on the Kursk Bulge in the summer of 1943. At that time, 76-mm divisional guns were the main weapon of anti-tank units and formations. "Sorokapyatki" made up about a third of the total number of anti-tank guns on the Kursk Bulge. A long pause in hostilities at the front made it possible to improve the condition of units and formations due to the receipt of equipment from industry and the addition of personnel to anti-tank regiments.
The last stage in the evolution of the Red Army's anti-tank artillery was the consolidation of its units and the appearance of self-propelled guns in the anti-tank artillery. By the beginning of 1944, all fighter divisions and separate combined arms fighter brigades were reorganized into anti-tank fighter brigades. On January 1, 1944, the anti-tank artillery included 50 anti-tank brigades and 141 anti-tank regiments. By order of NKO No. 0032 of August 2, 1944, one SU-85 regiment (21 self-propelled guns) was introduced into fifteen anti-tank destroyer brigades. In reality, only eight brigades received self-propelled guns.
Particular attention was paid to the training of personnel of anti-tank brigades; targeted combat training of artillerymen was organized to combat new German tanks and assault guns. In anti-tank units, special instructions appeared: “Memo to an artilleryman who destroys enemy tanks” or “Memo on fighting Tiger tanks.” And in the armies, special rear training grounds were equipped, where artillerymen trained in shooting at mock-up tanks, including moving ones.
Simultaneously with the increase in the skill of the artillerymen, tactics were improved. With the quantitative saturation of troops with anti-tank weapons, the “fire bag” method began to be used more and more often. The guns were placed in “anti-tank nests” of 6-8 guns within a radius of 50-60 meters and were well camouflaged. The nests were located on the ground to achieve flanking at long distances with the possibility of concentrating fire. Missing the tanks moving in the first echelon, fire opened suddenly, on the flank, at medium and short distances.
During the offensive, anti-tank guns were quickly pulled up after the advancing units in order to support them with fire if necessary.
Anti-tank artillery in our country began in August 1930, when, as part of military-technical cooperation with Germany, a secret agreement was signed, according to which the Germans pledged to help the USSR organize the gross production of 6 artillery systems. To implement the agreement, a front company "BUTAST" (limited liability company "Bureau for Technical Work and Research") was created in Germany.
Among the other weapons proposed by the USSR was a 37 mm anti-tank gun. The development of this weapon, bypassing the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, was completed at Rheinmetall Borsig in 1928. The first samples of the gun, which received the name Tak 28 (Tankabwehrkanone, i.e. anti-tank gun - the word Panzer came into use later) entered testing in 1930, and in 1932 deliveries to the troops began. The Tak 28 gun had a 45-caliber barrel with a horizontal wedge breech, which ensured a fairly high rate of fire - up to 20 rounds/min. The carriage with sliding tubular frames provided a large horizontal aiming angle - 60°, but the chassis with wooden wheels was designed only for horse traction.
In the early 30s, this weapon penetrated the armor of any tank, and was perhaps the best in its class, far ahead of developments in other countries.
After modernization, having received wheels with pneumatic tires that could be towed by a car, an improved carriage and an improved sight, it was put into service under the designation 3.7 cm Pak 35/36 (Panzerabwehrkanone 35/36).
Remaining until 1942 the main anti-tank weapon of the Wehrmacht.
The German gun was put into production at the Moscow region plant named after. Kalinina (No. 8), where she received the factory index 1-K. The enterprise mastered the production of a new gun with great difficulty; the guns were made semi-handicraft, with parts being manually fitted. In 1931, the plant presented the customer with 255 guns, but did not deliver any due to poor build quality. In 1932, 404 guns were delivered, and in 1933, another 105.
Despite problems with the quality of the guns produced, the 1-K was a fairly advanced anti-tank gun for 1930. Its ballistics made it possible to hit all tanks of that time, at a distance of 300 m, the armor-piercing projectile normally penetrated 30 mm armor. The gun was very compact; its light weight made it easy for crews to move it around the battlefield. The disadvantages of the gun, which led to quick withdrawal from production, there was a weak fragmentation effect of the 37-mm projectile and a lack of suspension. In addition, the guns produced were of low build quality. The adoption of this weapon was considered as a temporary measure, since the leadership of the Red Army wanted to have a more universal gun that combined the functions of an anti-tank and battalion gun, and the 1-K, due to its small caliber and weak fragmentation projectile, was poorly suited for this role.
1-K was the first specialized anti-tank gun of the Red Army and played a big role in the development of this type. Very soon it began to be replaced by a 45-mm anti-tank gun, becoming practically invisible against its background. At the end of the 30s, 1-K began to be withdrawn from the troops and transferred to storage, remaining in service only as training ones.
At the beginning of the war, all the guns available in warehouses were thrown into battle, since in 1941 there was a shortage of artillery to complete the large quantity newly formed connections and make up for huge losses.
Of course, by 1941, the armor penetration characteristics of the 37-mm 1-K anti-tank gun could no longer be considered satisfactory; it could only confidently hit light tanks and armored personnel carriers. Against medium tanks, this weapon could only be effective when fired at the side from close (less than 300 m) distances. Moreover, Soviet armor-piercing shells were significantly inferior in armor penetration to German shells of a similar caliber. On the other hand, this gun could use captured 37 mm ammunition, in which case its armor penetration increased significantly, even exceeding the similar characteristics of the 45 mm gun.
It was not possible to establish any details of the combat use of these guns; probably, almost all of them were lost in 1941.
Very big historical meaning 1-K is that it became the founder of a series of the most numerous Soviet 45-mm anti-tank guns and Soviet anti-tank artillery in general.
During the “liberation campaign” in western Ukraine, several hundred Polish 37-mm anti-tank guns and a significant amount of ammunition for them were captured.
Initially they were sent to warehouses, and at the end of 1941 they were transferred to the troops, since due to heavy losses in the first months of the war there was a large shortage of artillery, especially anti-tank. In 1941, the GAU published a “Brief Description, Operating Instructions” for this gun.
The 37-mm anti-tank gun, developed by Bofors, was a very successful weapon, capable of successfully fighting armored vehicles protected by bulletproof armor.
The gun had a fairly high initial projectile velocity and rate of fire, small dimensions and weight (which made it easier to camouflage the gun on the ground and roll it onto the battlefield by crew forces), and was also adapted for rapid transportation by mechanical traction. Compared to the German 37 mm Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun, the Polish gun had better armor penetration, which is explained by the higher muzzle velocity of the projectile.
In the second half of the 30s, there was a tendency to increase the thickness of tank armor; in addition, the Soviet military wanted to get an anti-tank gun capable of providing fire support to infantry. To do this, it was necessary to increase the caliber.
The new 45-mm anti-tank gun was created by placing a 45-mm barrel on the carriage of a 37-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1931. The carriage was also improved - wheel suspension was introduced. The semi-automatic shutter basically repeated the 1-K scheme and allowed 15-20 shots per minute.
The 45-mm projectile had a mass of 1.43 kg and was more than 2 times heavier than the 37-mm. At a distance of 500 m, the armor-piercing projectile normally penetrated 43-mm armor. At the time of adoption, the 45-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1937 penetrated the armor of any existing tank at that time.
When exploded, a 45-mm fragmentation grenade produced about 100 fragments, which retained their destructive power when scattered along the front at 15 m and at a depth of 5-7 m. When fired, grapeshot bullets form a damaging sector along the front at up to 60 m and at a depth of up to 400 m .
Thus, the 45-mm anti-tank gun had good anti-personnel capabilities.
From 1937 to 1943, 37,354 guns were produced. Shortly before the start of the war, the 45-mm cannon was discontinued, since our military leadership believed that the new German tanks would have a thickness of frontal armor that would be impenetrable for these guns. Soon after the start of the war, the gun was put into production again.
45-mm cannons of the 1937 model were assigned to anti-tank platoons of rifle battalions of the Red Army (2 guns) and anti-tank battalions of rifle divisions (12 guns). They were also in service with separate anti-tank regiments, which included 4-5 four-gun batteries.
For its time, the “forty-five” was quite adequate in terms of armor penetration. Nevertheless, the insufficient penetration ability against the 50-mm frontal armor of the Pz Kpfw III Ausf H and Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F1 tanks is beyond doubt. This was often due to the low quality of armor-piercing shells. Many batches of shells had technological defects. If the heat treatment regime in production was violated, the shells turned out to be too hard and, as a result, split on the tank’s armor, but in August 1941 the problem was solved - technical changes were made to the production process (localizers were introduced).
To improve armor penetration, a 45 mm sub-caliber projectile with a tungsten core was adopted, which penetrated 66 mm armor at a distance of 500 m, and 88 mm armor when fired at a dagger fire distance of 100 m.
With the advent of sub-caliber shells, the later modifications of the Pz Kpfw IV tanks became tough for the “forty-five”. The thickness of the frontal armor did not exceed 80 mm.
At first, new shells were specially registered and issued individually. For unjustified consumption of sub-caliber shells, the gun commander and gunner could be court-martialed.
In the hands of experienced and tactically skilled commanders and trained crews, the 45 mm anti-tank gun posed a serious threat to enemy armored vehicles. Its positive qualities were high mobility and ease of camouflage. However, to better destroy armored targets, a more powerful weapon was urgently required, which was the 45-mm cannon mod. 1942 M-42, developed and put into service in 1942.
The 45-mm M-42 anti-tank gun was obtained by modernizing a 45-mm gun of the 1937 model at plant No. 172 in Motovilikha. The modernization consisted of lengthening the barrel (from 46 to 68 calibers), strengthening the propellant charge (the mass of gunpowder in the cartridge case increased from 360 to 390 grams) and a number of technological measures to simplify mass production. The thickness of the shield cover armor was increased from 4.5 mm to 7 mm to better protect the crew from armor-piercing rifle bullets.
As a result of modernization, the initial velocity of the projectile increased by almost 15% - from 760 to 870 m/s. At a distance of 500 meters normal, an armor-piercing projectile penetrated -61mm, and a sub-caliber projectile penetrated -81mm of armor. According to the recollections of anti-tank veterans, the M-42 had very high shooting accuracy and relatively low recoil when fired. This made it possible to fire at a high rate of fire without correcting the aiming.
Serial production of 45 mm guns mod. 1942 was started in January 1943 and was carried out only at plant No. 172. During the busiest periods, the plant produced 700 of these guns monthly. In total, 10,843 model guns were manufactured between 1943 and 1945. 1942. Their production continued after the war. New guns, as they were produced, were used to re-equip anti-tank artillery regiments and brigades that had 45-mm anti-tank guns mod. 1937.
As it soon became clear, the armor penetration of the M-42 to combat German heavy tanks with powerful anti-shell armor Pz. Kpfw. V "Panther" and Pz. Kpfw. VI "Tiger" was not enough. More successful was firing with sub-caliber shells at the sides, stern and chassis. Nevertheless, thanks to well-established mass production, mobility, ease of camouflage and low cost, the weapon remained in service until the very end of the war.
At the end of the 30s, the issue of creating anti-tank guns capable of hitting tanks with projectile-resistant armor became acute. Calculations showed the futility of the 45-mm caliber from the point of view of a sharp increase in armor penetration. Various research organizations considered calibers of 55 and 60 mm, but in the end it was decided to settle on a caliber of 57 mm. Guns of this caliber were used in the tsarist army and navy (Nordenfeld and Hotchkiss guns). A new projectile was developed for this caliber - a standard cartridge case from a 76-mm divisional gun was used as its case, with the barrel of the case recompressed to a 57 mm caliber.
In 1940, the design team headed by Vasily Gavrilovich Grabin began designing a new anti-tank gun that met the tactical and technical requirements of the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU). The main feature of the new gun was the use of a long barrel of 73 calibers. At a distance of 1000 m, the gun penetrated armor 90 mm thick with an armor-piercing projectile
A prototype of the gun was manufactured in October 1940 and passed factory tests. And in March 1941, the gun was put into service under the official name “57-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1941" In total, about 250 guns were delivered from June to December 1941.
57-mm cannons from experimental batches took part in combat operations. Some of them were installed on the Komsomolets light tracked tractor - this was the first Soviet anti-tank self-propelled gun, which, due to the imperfections of the chassis, was not very successful.
The new anti-tank gun easily penetrated the armor of all German tanks that existed at that time. However, due to the position of the GAU, production of the gun was stopped, and the entire production base and equipment were mothballed.
In 1943, with the advent of heavy tanks by the Germans, production of the gun was restored. The 1943 model gun had a number of differences from the 1941 model guns, aimed primarily at improving the manufacturability of the gun's production. However, the restoration of mass production was difficult - technological problems arose with the manufacture of barrels. Mass release guns under the name “57-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1943" ZIS-2 was organized by October - November 1943, after the commissioning of new production facilities provided with equipment supplied under Lend-Lease.
From the moment production resumed until the end of the war, more than 9,000 guns were delivered to the troops.
With the restoration of production of the ZIS-2 in 1943, the guns were supplied to anti-tank artillery regiments (iptap), 20 guns per regiment.
Since December 1944, ZIS-2s have been introduced into the staff of guards rifle divisions - into regimental anti-tank batteries and into the anti-tank fighter division (12 guns). In June 1945, regular rifle divisions were transferred to a similar staff.
The capabilities of the ZIS-2 made it possible, at typical combat distances, to confidently hit the 80-mm frontal armor of the most common German medium tanks Pz.IV and StuG III assault self-propelled guns, as well as the side armor of the Pz.VI Tiger tank; at distances less than 500 m, the frontal armor of the Tiger was also damaged.
In terms of cost and manufacturability of production, combat and service characteristics, the ZIS-2 became the best Soviet anti-tank gun during the war.
Based on materials:
http://knowledgegrid.ru/2e9354f401817ff6.html
Shirokorad A. B. The genius of Soviet artillery: The triumph and tragedy of V. Grabin.
A. Ivanov. USSR artillery in the Second World War.