Ammunition. Soviet cumulative anti-tank ammunition during the war Ammunition from the Second World War
Everyone is familiar with the popular print image of the Soviet “soldier-liberator.” In the minds of Soviet people, the Red Army soldiers of the Great Patriotic War are emaciated people in dirty greatcoats who run in a crowd to attack after tanks, or tired elderly men smoking rolled-up cigarettes on the parapet of a trench. After all, it was precisely such footage that was mainly captured by military newsreels. At the end of the 1980s, film directors and post-Soviet historians put the “victim of repression” on a cart, handed him a “three-line gun” without cartridges, sending him towards the armored hordes of fascists - under the supervision of barrage detachments.Now I propose to look at what actually happened. We can responsibly declare that our weapons were in no way inferior to foreign ones, while being more suitable for local conditions of use. For example, a three-line rifle had larger clearances and tolerances than foreign ones, but this “flaw” was a forced feature - the weapon’s lubricant, which thickened in the cold, did not remove the weapon from combat.
So, review.
Nagan- a revolver developed by the Belgian gunsmiths brothers Emil (1830-1902) and Leon (1833-1900) Nagan, which was in service and produced in a number of countries in the late 19th - mid-20th centuries. 
TK(Tula, Korovina) - the first Soviet serial self-loading pistol. In 1925, the Dynamo sports society ordered the Tula Arms Plant to develop a compact pistol chambered for 6.35x15 mm Browning for sporting and civilian needs.
Work on creating the pistol took place in the design bureau of the Tula Arms Plant. In the fall of 1926, gunsmith designer S.A. Korovin completed the development of a pistol, which was named the TK pistol (Tula Korovin).
At the end of 1926, TOZ began producing the pistol; the following year the pistol was approved for use, receiving the official name “Tula Pistol, Korovin, Model 1926.”
TK pistols entered service with the NKVD of the USSR, middle and senior command staff of the Red Army, civil servants and party workers.
The TK was also used as a gift or award weapon (for example, there are known cases of awarding Stakhanovites with it). Between the autumn of 1926 and 1935, several tens of thousands of Korovins were produced. In the period after the Great Patriotic War TK pistols were kept in savings banks for some time as a backup weapon for employees and cash collectors. 
Pistol arr. 1933 TT(Tula, Tokareva) - the first army self-loading pistol of the USSR, developed in 1930 Soviet designer Fedor Vasilievich Tokarev. The TT pistol was developed for the 1929 competition for a new army pistol, announced to replace the Nagan revolver and several models of foreign-made revolvers and pistols that were in service with the Red Army by the mid-1920s. The German 7.63×25 mm Mauser cartridge was adopted as a standard cartridge, which was purchased in significant quantities for the Mauser S-96 pistols in service. 
Mosin rifle. The 7.62 mm (3-line) rifle of the 1891 model (Mosin rifle, three-line) is a repeating rifle adopted by the Russian Imperial Army in 1891.
It was actively used in the period from 1891 to the end of the Great Patriotic War, and was modernized many times during this period.
The name three-ruler comes from the caliber of the rifle barrel, which is equal to three Russian lines (the old measure of length was equal to one tenth of an inch, or 2.54 mm - respectively, three lines are equal to 7.62 mm).
Based on the 1891 model rifle and its modifications, a number of sporting and hunting weapons, both rifled and smoothbore. 
Simonov automatic rifle. The 7.62 mm automatic rifle of the Simonov system, model 1936, ABC-36 is a Soviet automatic rifle developed by gunsmith Sergei Simonov.
It was originally developed as a self-loading rifle, but during improvements an automatic fire mode was added for use in an emergency. The first automatic rifle developed in the USSR and put into service. 
Tokarev self-loading rifle. 7.62-mm self-loading rifles of the Tokarev system of the 1938 and 1940 models (SVT-38, SVT-40), as well as the Tokarev automatic rifle of the 1940 model - a modification of the Soviet self-loading rifle developed by F.V. Tokarev.
The SVT-38 was developed as a replacement for the Simonov automatic rifle and was adopted by the Red Army on February 26, 1939. First SVT arr. 1938 was released on July 16, 1939. On October 1, 1939, gross production began at the Tula, and from 1940 - at the Izhevsk arms plant. 
Simonov self-loading carbine. The 7.62 mm Simonov self-loading carbine (also known abroad as SKS-45) is a Soviet self-loading carbine designed by Sergei Simonov, adopted for service in 1949.
The first copies began to arrive in active units at the beginning of 1945 - this was the only case of the use of the 7.62x39 mm cartridge in World War II 
Tokarev submachine gun, or the original name - the Tokarev light carbine - an experimental model of automatic weapon created in 1927 for a modified Nagan revolver cartridge, the first submachine gun developed in the USSR. It was not adopted for service; it was produced in a small experimental batch and was used to a limited extent in the Great Patriotic War. 
P Degtyarev submachine gun. 7.62 mm submachine guns of the 1934, 1934/38 and 1940 models of the Degtyarev system are various modifications of the submachine gun developed by the Soviet gunsmith Vasily Degtyarev in the early 1930s. The first submachine gun adopted by the Red Army.
The Degtyarev submachine gun was a fairly typical representative of the first generation of this type of weapon. Used in the Finnish campaign of 1939-40, as well as at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War. 
Shpagin submachine gun. The 7.62-mm submachine gun of the 1941 model of the Shpagin system (PPSh) is a Soviet submachine gun developed in 1940 by designer G. S. Shpagin and adopted by the Red Army on December 21, 1940. PPSh was the main Soviet submachine gun armed forces in the Great Patriotic War. 
After the end of the war, in the early 1950s, the PPSh was removed from service with the Soviet Army and gradually replaced by the Kalashnikov assault rifle; for a little longer it remained in service with rear and auxiliary units, units of internal troops and railway troops. It was in service with paramilitary security units at least until the mid-1980s.
Also, in the post-war period, PPSh was supplied in significant quantities to countries friendly to the USSR, long time was in service with the armies of various states, was used by irregular forces and was used in armed conflicts around the world throughout the twentieth century.
Sudaev's submachine gun. 7.62 mm submachine guns of the 1942 and 1943 models of the Sudaev system (PPS) are variants of the submachine gun developed by the Soviet designer Alexei Sudaev in 1942. Used by Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War.
The PPS is often considered the best submachine gun of World War II. 
P machine gun "Maxim" model 1910. The Model 1910 Maxim machine gun is a heavy machine gun, a variant of the British Maxim machine gun, widely used by the Russian and Soviet armies during World War I and World War II. The Maxim machine gun was used to destroy open group targets and enemy fire weapons at a distance of up to 1000 m. 
Anti-aircraft variant
- 7.62 mm quad machine gun "Maxim" on anti-aircraft installation U-431
- 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun "Maxim" on the U-432 anti-aircraft gun 
P machine gun Maxim-Tokarev- Soviet light machine gun designed by F.V. Tokarev, created in 1924 on the basis of the Maxim machine gun. 
DP(Degtyarev Infantry) - a light machine gun developed by V. A. Degtyarev. The first ten serial DP machine guns were manufactured at the Kovrov plant on November 12, 1927, then a batch of 100 machine guns was transferred for military testing, as a result of which on December 21, 1927 the machine gun was adopted by the Red Army. The DP became one of the first small arms created in the USSR. The machine gun was widely used as the main fire support weapon for infantry at the platoon-company level until the end of the Great Patriotic War. 
DT(Degtyarev tank) - a tank machine gun developed by V. A. Degtyarev in 1929. Entered service with the Red Army in 1929 under the designation “7.62-mm tank machine gun of the Degtyarev system mod. 1929" (DT-29) 
DS-39(7.62 mm Degtyarev heavy machine gun, model 1939). 
SG-43. The 7.62 mm Goryunov machine gun (SG-43) is a Soviet heavy machine gun. It was developed by gunsmith P. M. Goryunov with the participation of M. M. Goryunov and V. E. Voronkov at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant. Entered service on May 15, 1943. The SG-43 began to enter service with the troops in the second half of 1943. 
DShK And DShKM- large-caliber heavy machine guns chambered for 12.7×108 mm. The result of modernization of the large-caliber heavy machine gun DK (Degtyarev Large-caliber). The DShK was adopted by the Red Army in 1938 under the designation “12.7 mm Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun model 1938”
In 1946, under the designation DShKM(Degtyarev, Shpagin, large-caliber modernized) machine gun was adopted by the Soviet Army. 
PTRD. Anti-tank single-shot rifle mod. 1941 Degtyarev system, adopted for service on August 29, 1941. It was intended to combat medium and light tanks and armored vehicles at distances of up to 500 m. The gun could also fire at pillboxes/bunkers and firing points covered by armor at distances up to 800 m and at aircraft at distances up to 500 m. 
PTRS. Anti-tank self-loading rifle mod. 1941 Simonov system) is a Soviet self-loading anti-tank rifle, adopted for service on August 29, 1941. It was intended to combat medium and light tanks and armored vehicles at distances of up to 500 m. The gun could also fire at pillboxes/bunkers and firing points covered by armor at distances up to 800 m and at aircraft at distances up to 500 m. During the war some of the guns were captured and used by the Germans. The guns were named Panzerbüchse 784 (R) or PzB 784 (R). 
Dyakonov grenade launcher. The Dyakonov system rifle grenade launcher is designed to use fragmentation grenades to destroy living, mostly hidden, targets that are inaccessible to flat fire weapons.
Widely used in pre-war conflicts, during the Soviet-Finnish War and at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War. According to the staff of the rifle regiment in 1939, each rifle squad was armed with a rifle grenade launcher of the Dyakonov system. In documents of that time it was called a hand-held mortar for throwing rifle grenades. 
125-mm ampoule gun model 1941- the only ampoule gun model mass-produced in the USSR. Widely used with varying success by the Red Army at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War, it was often made in semi-handicraft conditions.
The projectile most often used was a glass or tin ball filled with flammable liquid "KS", but the range of ammunition included mines, a smoke bomb and even homemade "propaganda shells". Using a blank 12-gauge rifle cartridge, the projectile was fired at 250-500 meters, thereby being effective means against some fortifications and many types of armored vehicles, including tanks. However, difficulties in use and maintenance led to the ampoule gun being withdrawn from service in 1942. 
ROKS-3(Klyuev-Sergeev Backpack Flamethrower) - Soviet infantry backpack flamethrower from the Great Patriotic War. The first model of the ROKS-1 backpack flamethrower was developed in the USSR in the early 1930s. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the rifle regiments of the Red Army had flamethrower teams consisting of two sections, armed with 20 backpack flamethrowers ROKS-2. Based on the experience of using these flamethrowers at the beginning of 1942, the designer of the Chemical Engineering Research Institute M.P. Sergeev and designer of military plant No. 846 V.N. Klyuev developed a more advanced backpack flamethrower ROKS-3, which was in service with individual companies and battalions of backpack flamethrowers of the Red Army throughout the war. 
Bottles with a flammable mixture ("Molotov cocktail").
At the beginning of the war, the State Defense Committee decided to use combustible bottles in the fight against tanks. Already on July 7, 1941, the State Defense Committee adopted a special resolution “On anti-tank incendiary grenades (bottles)”, which obliged the People’s Commissariat of the Food Industry to organize, from July 10, 1941, equipping liter glass bottles with a fire mixture according to the recipe of the Research Institute 6 of the People’s Commissariat of Ammunition. And the head of the Military Chemical Defense Directorate of the Red Army (later the Main Military Chemical Directorate) was ordered to begin “supplying military units hand incendiary grenades."
Dozens of distilleries and beer factories throughout the USSR quickly turned into military enterprises. Moreover, the “Molotov Cocktail” (named after the then deputy of I.V. Stalin for the State Committee for Defense) was prepared directly on the old factory lines, where just yesterday they bottled citre, port wines and fizzy “Abrau-Durso”. From the first batches of such bottles, they often did not even have time to remove the “peaceful” alcohol labels. In addition to the liter bottles specified in the legendary Molotov decree, the “cocktail” was also made in beer and wine-cognac containers with a volume of 0.5 and 0.7 liters.
Two types of incendiary bottles were adopted by the Red Army: with self-igniting liquid KS (a mixture of phosphorus and sulfur) and with flammable mixtures No. 1 and No. 3, which are a mixture of aviation gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, thickened with oils or a special hardening powder OP- 2, developed in 1939 under the leadership of A.P. Ionov, - in fact, it was the prototype of modern napalm. The abbreviation “KS” is deciphered in different ways: “Koshkin mixture” - after the name of the inventor N.V. Koshkin, and “Old Cognac”, and “Kachugin-Maltovnik” - after the name of other inventors of liquid grenades.
A bottle with self-igniting liquid KS, falling on a solid body, broke, the liquid spilled and burned with a bright flame for up to 3 minutes, developing a temperature of up to 1000°C. At the same time, being sticky, it stuck to the armor or covered inspection slits, glass, and observation devices, blinded the crew with smoke, smoking them out of the tank and burning everything inside the tank. A drop of burning liquid falling on the body caused severe, difficult to heal burns.
Combustible mixtures No. 1 and No. 3 burned for up to 60 seconds with temperatures up to 800 ° C and emitting a lot of black smoke. Bottles with gasoline were used as a cheaper option, and thin glass tube ampoules with CS liquid, which were attached to the bottle with apothecary rubber bands, served as an incendiary agent. Sometimes ampoules were placed inside bottles before throwing. 
Used bulletproof vest PZ-ZIF-20(protective shell, Frunze Plant). It is also CH-38 Cuirass type (CH-1, steel breastplate). It can be called the first mass-produced Soviet body armor, although it was called a steel breastplate, which does not change its purpose.
The body armor provided protection against German submachine guns and pistols. The body armor also provided protection against fragments of grenades and mines. Bulletproof vests were recommended to be worn by assault groups, signalmen (during the laying and repair of cables) and when performing other operations at the discretion of the commander.
Information often comes across that the PZ-ZIF-20 is not the SP-38 (SN-1) body armor, which is incorrect, since the PZ-ZIF-20 was created according to documentation from 1938, and industrial production was established in 1943. The second point is that appearance are 100% similar. Among the military search teams it is called “Volkhovsky”, “Leningradsky”, “five-sectional”.
Photos of reconstruction: 
Steel bibs CH-42 
Soviet assault engineering and sapper guards brigade in steel breastplates SN-42 and with machine guns DP-27. 1st ShISBr. 1st Belorussian Front, summer 1944
ROG-43 hand grenade
The ROG-43 (index 57-G-722) remote-action fragmentation hand grenade is designed to destroy enemy personnel in offensive and defensive combat. The new grenade was developed in the first half of the Great Patriotic War at the plant named after. Kalinin and had the factory designation RGK-42. After being put into service in 1943, the grenade received the designation ROG-43.
RDG hand smoke grenade.
RDG device
Smoke grenades were used to provide screens measuring 8 - 10 m and were used mainly to “blind” the enemy located in shelters, to create local screens to camouflage crews leaving armored vehicles, as well as to simulate the burning of armored vehicles. Under favorable conditions, one RDG grenade created an invisible cloud 25 - 30 m long.
Burning grenades did not sink in water, so they could be used when crossing water barriers. The grenade could smoke from 1 to 1.5 minutes, producing, depending on the composition of the smoke mixture, thick gray-black or white smoke.
RPG-6 grenade.
The RPG-6 exploded instantly upon impact with a hard barrier, destroyed armor, hit the crew of an armored target, its weapons and equipment, and could also ignite fuel and explode ammunition. Military tests of the RPG-6 grenade took place in September 1943. The target used was a captured Ferdinand assault gun, which had frontal armor up to 200 mm and side armor up to 85 mm. Tests showed that the RPG-6 grenade, when the head part hit the target, could penetrate armor up to 120 mm.
Anti-tank hand grenade mod. 1943 RPG-43
RPG-41 impact hand anti-tank grenade, model 1941
The RPG-41 was intended to combat armored vehicles and light tanks with armor up to 20 - 25 mm thick, and could also be used to combat bunkers and field-type shelters. The RPG-41 could also be used to destroy medium and heavy tanks when hitting vulnerable areas of the vehicle (roof, tracks, chassis, etc.)
Chemical grenade model 1917
According to the “Temporary Rifle Regulations of the Red Army. Part 1. Small arms. Rifle and hand grenades”, published by the head of the People's Commissariat of Military Commissariat and the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR in 1927, the hand chemical grenade mod. 1917 from the reserve stockpiled during the First World War.
VKG-40 grenade
In the 1920s-1930s, the Red Army was armed with the muzzle-loading “Dyakonov grenade launcher,” created at the end of the First World War and subsequently modernized. 
The grenade launcher consisted of a mortar, a bipod and a quadrant sight and was used to destroy manpower with a fragmentation grenade. The mortar barrel had a caliber of 41 mm, three screw grooves, and was rigidly attached to a cup that was screwed onto the neck, which was put on the rifle barrel, fixed on the front sight with a cutout.
RG-42 hand grenade
RG-42 model 1942 with UZRG fuse. After being put into service, the grenade was given the index RG-42 (hand grenade of 1942). The new UZRG fuse used in the grenade has become the same for both the RG-42 and the F-1.
The RG-42 grenade was used both offensively and defensively. In appearance, it resembled an RGD-33 grenade, only without a handle. The RG-42 with a UZRG fuse belonged to the type of remote-action fragmentation offensive grenades. It was intended to defeat enemy personnel.
Rifle anti-tank grenade VPGS-41
VPGS-41 when used
A characteristic distinguishing feature of ramrod grenades was the presence of a “tail” (ramrod), inserted into the bore of the rifle and serving as a stabilizer. The grenade was fired with a blank cartridge.
Soviet hand grenade mod. 1914/30 with protective cover 
Soviet hand grenade mod. 1914/30 refers to double-type anti-personnel fragmentation hand grenades. This means that it is designed to destroy enemy personnel with hull fragments when it explodes. Remote action means that the grenade will explode after a certain period of time, regardless of other conditions, after the soldier releases it from his hands.
Double type - means that the grenade can be used as an offensive one, i.e. grenade fragments have a small mass and fly at a distance shorter than the possible throwing range; or as a defensive one, i.e. fragments fly to a distance exceeding the throwing range.
The double action of the grenade is achieved by putting on the grenade a so-called “shirt” - a cover made of thick metal, which ensures that during an explosion, fragments of greater mass fly over a greater distance.
RGD-33 hand grenade
An explosive charge is placed inside the case - up to 140 grams of TNT. A steel tape with a square notch is placed between the explosive charge and the body to produce fragments during an explosion, rolled into three or four layers. 
The grenade was equipped with a defensive case, which was used only when throwing a grenade from a trench or shelter. In other cases, the protective cover was removed.
And of course, F-1 grenade
Initially, the F-1 grenade used a fuse designed by F.V. Koveshnikov, which was much more reliable and easier to use than the French fuse. The deceleration time of Koveshnikov's fuse was 3.5-4.5 seconds.
In 1941, designers E.M. Viceni and A.A. Poednyakov developed and put into service to replace Koveshnikov's fuse a new, safer and simpler in design fuse for the F-1 hand grenade.
In 1942, the new fuse became common for the F-1 and RG-42 hand grenades; it was called UZRG - “unified fuse for hand grenades.”
* * *
After the above, it cannot be said that only rusty three-ruler rifles without cartridges were in service.
About chemical weapons during the Second World War is a separate and special conversation...
Thanks to Soviet films about the war, most people have a strong opinion that mass weapon(photo below) of the German infantry during the Second World War is an assault rifle (submachine gun) of the Schmeisser system, which is named after the name of its designer. This myth is still actively supported by domestic cinema. However, in fact, this popular machine gun was never a mass weapon of the Wehrmacht, and it was not created by Hugo Schmeisser. However, first things first.
How myths are created
Everyone should remember the footage from domestic films dedicated to the attacks of German infantry on our positions. Brave blond guys walk without bending down, while firing from machine guns “from the hip.” And the most interesting thing is that this fact does not surprise anyone except those who were in the war. According to movies, the “Schmeissers” could conduct aimed fire at the same distance as the rifles of our soldiers. In addition, when watching these films, the viewer got the impression that all the personnel of the German infantry during the Second World War were armed with machine guns. In fact, everything was different, and the submachine gun is not a mass-produced small arms weapon of the Wehrmacht, and it is impossible to shoot from the hip, and it is not called “Schmeisser” at all. In addition, carrying out an attack on a trench by a submachine gunner unit, in which there are soldiers armed with repeating rifles, is clearly suicide, since simply no one would reach the trenches.
Dispelling the myth: MP-40 automatic pistol
This Wehrmacht small weapon in WWII is officially called the submachine gun (Maschinenpistole) MP-40. In fact, this is a modification of the MP-36 assault rifle. The designer of this model, contrary to popular belief, was not the gunsmith H. Schmeisser, but the less famous and talented craftsman Heinrich Volmer. Why is the nickname “Schmeisser” so firmly attached to him? The thing is that Schmeisser owned the patent for the magazine that is used in this submachine gun. And in order not to violate his copyright, in the first batches of the MP-40, the inscription PATENT SCHMEISSER was stamped on the magazine receiver. When these machine guns ended up as trophies among the soldiers of the Allied armies, they mistakenly believed that the author of this model of small arms was, naturally, Schmeisser. This is how this nickname stuck to the MP-40.
Initially, the German command armed only command staff with machine guns. Thus, in infantry units, only battalion, company and squad commanders were supposed to have MP-40s. Later, automatic pistols were supplied to drivers of armored vehicles, tank crews and paratroopers. Nobody armed the infantry with them en masse, either in 1941 or after. According to archives, in 1941 the troops had only 250 thousand MP-40 assault rifles, and this was for 7,234,000 people. As you can see, a submachine gun is not a mass-produced weapon of World War II. In general, during the entire period - from 1939 to 1945 - only 1.2 million of these machine guns were produced, while over 21 million people were conscripted into the Wehrmacht units.
Why weren't the infantry armed with MP-40s?
Despite the fact that experts subsequently recognized that the MP-40 was the best small arms of World War II, very few of the Wehrmacht infantry units had it. This is explained simply: the sighting range of this machine gun for group targets is only 150 m, and for single targets - 70 m. This is despite the fact that Soviet soldiers were armed with Mosin and Tokarev rifles (SVT), the sighting range of which was 800 m for group targets. targets and 400 m for singles. If the Germans had fought with such weapons as they showed in Russian films, they would never have been able to reach the enemy trenches, they would have simply been shot, as if in a shooting gallery.
Shooting on the move "from the hip"
The MP-40 submachine gun vibrates strongly when firing, and if you use it, as shown in the films, the bullets always fly past the target. Therefore, for effective shooting, it must be pressed tightly to the shoulder, having first unfolded the butt. In addition, long bursts were never fired from this machine gun, since it quickly heated up. Most often they fired in a short burst of 3-4 rounds or fired single fire. Despite the fact that in tactical and technical characteristics it is indicated that the rate of fire is 450-500 rounds per minute; in practice, such a result has never been achieved.
Advantages of MP-40
This cannot be said that this small arms weapon was bad; on the contrary, it is very, very dangerous, but it must be used in close combat. That is why sabotage units were armed with it in the first place. They were also often used by scouts in our army, and the partisans respected this machine gun. The use of light, rapid-fire small arms in close combat provided tangible advantages. Even now, the MP-40 is very popular among criminals, and the price of such a machine gun is very high. And they are supplied there by “black archaeologists” who carry out excavations in places of military glory and very often find and restore weapons from the Second World War.
Mauser 98k
What can you say about this carbine? The most common small arms in Germany is the Mauser rifle. Its target range is up to 2000 m when firing. As you can see, this parameter is very close to the Mosin and SVT rifles. This carbine was developed back in 1888. During the war, this design was significantly modernized, mainly to reduce costs, as well as to rationalize production. In addition, these Wehrmacht small arms were equipped optical sights, and it was used to staff sniper units. The Mauser rifle at that time was in service with many armies, for example, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia and Sweden.
Self-loading rifles
At the end of 1941, the Wehrmacht infantry units received the first automatic self-loading rifles of the Walter G-41 and Mauser G-41 systems for military testing. Their appearance was due to the fact that the Red Army had more than one and a half million similar systems in service: SVT-38, SVT-40 and ABC-36. In order not to be inferior to Soviet soldiers, German gunsmiths urgently had to develop their own versions of such rifles. As a result of the tests, the G-41 system (Walter system) was recognized as the best and adopted. The rifle is equipped with a hammer-type impact mechanism. Designed to fire only single shots. Equipped with a magazine with a capacity of ten rounds. This automatic self-loading rifle is designed to be used aimed shooting at a distance of up to 1200 m. However, due to the large weight of this weapon, as well as low reliability and sensitivity to contamination, it was produced in a small series. In 1943, the designers, having eliminated these shortcomings, proposed a modernized version of the G-43 (Walter system), which was produced in quantities of several hundred thousand units. Before its appearance, Wehrmacht soldiers preferred to use captured Soviet (!) SVT-40 rifles.
Now let's return to the German gunsmith Hugo Schmeisser. He developed two systems, without which the Second World War could not have happened. World War.
Small arms - MP-41
This model was developed simultaneously with the MP-40. This machine gun was significantly different from the “Schmeisser” familiar to everyone from the movies: it had a forend trimmed with wood, which protected the fighter from burns, it was heavier and had a long barrel. However, these Wehrmacht small arms were not widely used and were not produced for long. In total, about 26 thousand units were produced. It is believed that the German army abandoned this machine gun due to a lawsuit from ERMA, which claimed illegal copying of its patented design. The MP-41 small arms were used by Waffen SS units. It was also successfully used by Gestapo units and mountain rangers.
MP-43, or StG-44
Schmeisser developed the next Wehrmacht weapon (photo below) in 1943. At first it was called MP-43, and later - StG-44, which means “ assault rifle"(sturmgewehr). This automatic rifle in appearance, and in some technical characteristics, resembles (which appeared later) and is significantly different from the MP-40. Its aimed fire range was up to 800 m. The StG-44 even had the ability to mount a 30 mm grenade launcher. To fire from cover, the designer developed a special attachment that was placed on the muzzle and changed the trajectory of the bullet by 32 degrees. IN mass production This weapon only arrived in the fall of 1944. During the war years, about 450 thousand of these rifles were produced. So few of the German soldiers managed to use such a machine gun. StG-44s were supplied to elite units of the Wehrmacht and to Waffen SS units. Subsequently, these Wehrmacht weapons were used in
Automatic rifles FG-42
These copies were intended for paratroopers. They combined fighting qualities light machine gun and an automatic rifle. The development of weapons was undertaken by the Rheinmetall company already during the war, when, after assessing the results of airborne operations carried out by the Wehrmacht, it became clear that the MP-38 submachine guns did not fully meet the combat requirements of this type of troops. The first tests of this rifle were carried out in 1942, and then it was put into service. In the process of using the mentioned weapon, disadvantages associated with low strength and stability during automatic shooting also emerged. In 1944, a modernized FG-42 rifle (model 2) was released, and model 1 was discontinued. The trigger mechanism of this weapon allows automatic or single fire. The rifle is designed for the standard 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge. The magazine capacity is 10 or 20 rounds. In addition, the rifle can be used to fire special rifle grenades. In order to increase stability when shooting, a bipod is attached under the barrel. The FG-42 rifle is designed to fire at a range of 1200 m. Due to the high cost, it was produced in limited quantities: only 12 thousand units of both models.
Luger P08 and Walter P38
Now let's look at what types of pistols were in service with the German army. “Luger”, its second name “Parabellum”, had a caliber of 7.65 mm. By the beginning of the war, units of the German army had more than half a million of these pistols. This Wehrmacht small arms were produced until 1942, and then they were replaced by the more reliable Walter.
This pistol was put into service in 1940. It was intended for firing 9-mm cartridges; the magazine capacity is 8 rounds. The target range of the "Walter" is 50 meters. It was produced until 1945. The total number of P38 pistols produced was approximately 1 million units.
Weapons of World War II: MG-34, MG-42 and MG-45
In the early 30s, the German military decided to create a machine gun that could be used both as an easel and as a manual one. They were supposed to fire at enemy aircraft and arm tanks. The MG-34, designed by Rheinmetall and put into service in 1934, became such a machine gun. By the beginning of hostilities, there were about 80 thousand units of this weapon in the Wehrmacht. The machine gun allows you to fire both single shots and continuous fire. To do this, he had a trigger with two notches. When you press the top one, the shooting was carried out in single shots, and when you press the bottom one - in bursts. It was intended for 7.92x57 mm Mauser rifle cartridges, with light or heavy bullets. And in the 40s, armor-piercing, armor-piercing tracer, armor-piercing incendiary and other types of cartridges were developed and used. This suggests that the impetus for changes in weapons systems and the tactics of their use was the Second World War.
The small arms that were used in this company were replenished with a new type of machine gun - MG-42. It was developed and put into service in 1942. The designers have significantly simplified and reduced the cost of production of these weapons. Thus, in its production, spot welding and stamping were widely used, and the number of parts was reduced to 200. The trigger mechanism of the machine gun in question allowed only automatic firing - 1200-1300 rounds per minute. Such significant changes had a negative impact on the stability of the unit when firing. Therefore, to ensure accuracy, it was recommended to fire in short bursts. The ammunition for the new machine gun remained the same as for the MG-34. The aimed fire range was two kilometers. Work to improve this design continued until the end of 1943, which led to the creation of a new modification known as the MG-45.
This machine gun weighed only 6.5 kg, and the rate of fire was 2400 rounds per minute. By the way, no infantry machine gun of that time could boast of such a rate of fire. However, this modification appeared too late and was not in service with the Wehrmacht.
PzB-39 and Panzerschrek
PzB-39 was developed in 1938. These weapons of the Second World War were used with relative success at the initial stage to combat wedges, tanks and armored vehicles with bulletproof armor. Against the heavily armored B-1s, English Matildas and Churchills, Soviet T-34s and KVs), this gun was either ineffective or completely useless. As a result, it was soon replaced by anti-tank grenade launchers and rocket-propelled anti-tank rifles “Panzerschrek”, “Ofenror”, as well as the famous “Faustpatrons”. The PzB-39 used a 7.92 mm cartridge. The firing range was 100 meters, the penetration ability made it possible to “pierce” 35 mm armor.
"Panzerschrek". This German light anti-tank weapon is a modified copy of the American Bazooka rocket gun. German designers equipped it with a shield that protected the shooter from the hot gases escaping from the grenade nozzle. Anti-tank companies of motorized rifle regiments were supplied with these weapons as a matter of priority. tank divisions. Jet guns were exclusively a powerful tool. “Panzerschreks” were weapons for group use and had a maintenance crew consisting of three people. Since they were very complex, their use required special training in calculations. In total, 314 thousand units of such guns and more than two million rocket-propelled grenades for them were produced in 1943-1944.
Grenade launchers: “Faustpatron” and “Panzerfaust”
The first years of World War II showed that anti-tank rifles could not cope with the assigned tasks, so the German military demanded anti-tank weapons that could be used to equip infantrymen, operating on the “fire and throw” principle. The development of a disposable hand grenade launcher was started by HASAG in 1942 (chief designer Langweiler). And in 1943 mass production was launched. The first 500 Faustpatrons entered service in August of the same year. All models of this anti-tank grenade launcher had a similar design: they consisted of a barrel (a smooth-bore seamless tube) and an over-caliber grenade. The impact mechanism and sighting device were welded to the outer surface of the barrel.
The Panzerfaust is one of the most powerful modifications of the Faustpatron, which was developed at the end of the war. Its firing range was 150 m, and its armor penetration was 280-320 mm. The Panzerfaust was a reusable weapon. The barrel of the grenade launcher is equipped with a pistol grip, which houses the trigger mechanism; the propellant charge was placed in the barrel. In addition, the designers were able to increase the grenade's flight speed. In total, more than eight million grenade launchers of all modifications were manufactured during the war years. This type of weapon caused significant losses Soviet tanks. Thus, in the battles on the outskirts of Berlin, they knocked out about 30 percent of armored vehicles, and during street battles in the German capital - 70%.
Conclusion
The Second World War had a significant impact on small arms, including the world, its development and tactics of use. Based on its results, we can conclude that, despite the creation of the most modern means weapons, the role of rifle units is not diminished. The accumulated experience in using weapons in those years is still relevant today. In fact, it became the basis for the development and improvement of small arms.
BRIEF FOREWORD TO THE MEMO ON EXPLOSIVE OBJECTS IN THE FIELDS OF RUSSIA
There are a lot of special instructions on sapper work. Each of them describes in detail all the necessary actions of performers during mining and demining, and presents tools and equipment. The purpose of these notes is only to warn search engines against incorrect actions when carrying out search work. It does not pretend to provide comprehensive coverage of the specifics of sapper work.
Ammunition encountered in the search area poses a significant threat to the life of the searcher. Disrespect for any type of ammunition often leads to the absurd death of a person. The tragedy of the situation is aggravated by the fact that most of the bombers are children and... experienced professional search engines. The latter is apparently betrayed by a sense of danger, and that same bravado of a professional works negatively.
The main rule of a search engine should be caution, raised to a power and expressed in the words: “IF YOU DON’T KNOW, DON’T TOUCH, AND YOU KNOW, DON’T TOUCH EVEN MORE. DON’T TAKE THE AMMUNITION IN YOUR HANDS AND DON’T RISK YOUR LIFE AND THE LIFE OF YOUR COMRADES!” No matter how interesting and exciting the search may be, if you are not a specialist and there is no experienced specialist nearby who can competently determine the type of ammunition and neutralize it, then it is difficult to suggest a better course of action than marking the object with a pole (sign) and calling a sapper. That is why the presence of several sappers is mandatory in a search expedition. Only in exceptional cases is it permissible to use a “cat” to check ammunition for non-removal, so that you still call a sapper and do not forget the location of the ammunition. Under no circumstances should an inexperienced person neutralize ammunition on his own, nor, indeed, should such exceptional cases of using a “cat” be made commonplace and common. Everyone must take care of their own life. Naturally, the found ammunition must be supervised until the sapper arrives.
In areas of former military operations, the soil is littered with unexploded shells, mines, bombs, grenades, etc. Their safety varies, especially for ammunition that has passed through the bore and air bombs dropped from aircraft. They are in a combat position, which is risky for transportation and subsequent disposal due to deformation at the moment of impact with the ground. Such ammunition is detonated on the spot.
When a mine detector detects a metal object that gives a high-intensity signal in the headphones, you should determine the center of its location and mark it with a pole. Then, using a probe, you need to try to make several injections of the soil at an angle so that the tip of the probe slides obliquely along the contour of the object. After determining its depth, size, and contours, you can begin to remove a thin layer of soil above the object, as well as around the circumference with a knife or shovel. After this, in fact, the find can be identified. If this is ammunition of any type, then you need to immediately call a sapper.
In practice, there are often cases of search engines independently destroying discovered explosive objects by fire, namely by lighting a large fire over the ammunition.
It also happens: first a powerful fire is built, and then ammunition is thrown into it! There is nothing more dangerous than such, so to speak, “methods,” although many search engines sometimes even boast of their composure, undermining wartime “gifts.” Above, we have already touched on a feature that is so common among search engines, which, alas, leads precisely to accidents, and God forbid that neither one nor the other is among us.
Moreover, it is completely reckless to melt explosives from shells, mines and bombs. The “motivation” here is simple: you come across ammunition that has been well preserved in the mud of a crater (by the way, the preservation of ammunition in the silt and clay of craters is almost perfect; once washed from the dirt, they can be used for their intended purpose) in the factory paint and with readable markings; therefore, not dangerous, since time has spared him. This is where the guys make a mistake, and a mistake often pays at the highest price - life. Here both the sapper and the search engine are united in their destiny: BOTH ARE WRONG ONLY ONE TIME - THE LAST!
The most dangerous ammunition is that which has already been fired from the weapon in question or has been prepared for use. Here are their signs:
a) when fired from a gun, grooves of the barrel rifling remain on the protruding metal belt around the circumference of the projectile, therefore, the projectile is in the cocked firing position;
b) when fired from a mortar, the capsule of the expelling charge at the base of the mine is pierced, and if the mine does not rupture, then random reasons were involved;
c) any dropped bomb is deformed as a result of hitting the ground and is therefore extremely dangerous;
d) with the detonator inserted, any (cocked or not) wartime grenade can explode even with the visible presence of a safety ring;
e) do not try to pull any anti-tank mine from its place; in exceptional cases, use a “cat” and stay in cover no closer than 50 m;
f) anti-personnel mines are also dangerous if they have a fuze inserted into them;
Shooting ammunition (cartridges)
Ammunition for small arms
Cartridges are probably the most common find. They come across in clips and in zinc, in pouches, and simply in bulk. Cartridges, in most cases, do not pose an immediate danger to life, although they contain a propellant - gunpowder. Why? The reason is simple, despite the fact that the troops and laboratories are conducting various experiments on the long-term preservation of ammunition and their combat readiness, rules for storage and shelf life have been developed, but it must be remembered that almost 60 years have passed since the war, the ammunition was stored in distant from ideal conditions, besides, nature tends to heal the wounds inflicted on it by people. Water, time, frost and sun, together with an acidic or alkaline environment, have done a lot to human labor: the cartridges have rotted, the gunpowder has decomposed, and most importantly, it has become damp. Therefore, the usual safety rules apply to cartridges: do not disassemble and do not give to children, and do not heat them.
Chuck device
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Bullet (1) - the striking element of the cartridge. For her sake, everything else is created. Consists of an iron shell coated with tombac, copper or cupronickel. There is a lead core inside, if the bullet is ordinary. There are also special bullets - then there is a mechanism inside, we will look at them in more detail below. But unfortunately, most of the cartridges are spent not for killing but, at best, to prevent the enemy from raising his head. And some of the cartridges are simply lost... |
In the USSR, bimetallic sleeves, as well as brass ones, were mainly used.
In Germany: primarily brass. In places where there were heavy battles, there are machine gun cells filled with cartridges. I saw it myself - 60 cm, and brass, by the way, is a valuable non-ferrous metal.
In the USSR, VT gunpowder was used in 7.62 mm rifle cartridges. It has the shape of a cylinder with one channel. Sometimes you can find gunpowder from the first releases - in the form of squares.
In Germany, in the 7.92 mm cartridge there is gunpowder with the designation
N.Z. Gew. Bl. P.I. (2.2.0.45) - squares with a side of 2mm.
Cartridge designation
Let's look at an example:
Russian rifle cartridge (for the “three-line”) 7.62x54R, where 7.62 is the cartridge caliber mm. What is a caliber? This is the distance between the fields of the rifling in the barrel - that is, the minimum diameter of the barrel bore.
Well, 54 is the length of the sleeve in mm. But the letter “R” is the first letter of the German word RAND, which in translation means rim, the same cap on the back of the Russian sleeve. But German cartridge cases do not have such a cap; its function is performed by a special groove, so there is no letter in its designation. The German cartridge for the Mauser rifle is designated as 7.92x57
There is also another notation system, it is adopted in England and the USA.
For example, 38 and 45 calibers are nothing more than hundredths of an inch. (1 inch - 25.4 mm). That is, you should read .38 and .45 inches and translating into Russian 9 and 11.45 mm, respectively.
The cartridge is quite rare. The found cartridges are poorly preserved due to poor sealing.
7.62 mm pistol cartridge mod. 1930 (7.62x25 TT).
The length of the cartridge is 34.85 mm, the length of the sleeve is 24.7 mm. The sleeve is bottle-shaped, without a rim, with a groove for the ejector. Ogival-shaped bullet, jacketed with a lead core. The sleeve is brass or steel sleeves, clad with tombak, brass, varnished or even without coating at all. The bullet jacket is steel, clad with tombak or brass; there are bullets with a jacket without coating. The bullet in the case is secured by punching and crimping the barrel. Very often you come across cartridge cases and cartridges without stamps on the bottom; the rest are marked with the manufacturer and year of manufacture.
In addition to the “P” lead jacket bullet, there were “P-41” and “PT” bullets. The “P-41” bullet is an armor-piercing incendiary bullet, with a steel core and an incendiary composition in the head, the top of the bullet is painted black with a red belt. The “PT” bullet is a tracer, the top is painted green.
It comes up frequently when searching. The found cartridges are poorly preserved due to poor sealing; in addition, military-issue cartridges were delivered directly to the front and were not intended for long-term storage.
9 mm pistol cartridge 08 (9x19Pair.)
The bullet core is lead. During the war, cartridges were produced in which scarce materials (copper, lead) were replaced with surrogates. There are bullets with a steel core. At the end of the war, steel-cased cartridges were produced (St. mark). On the bottom of the cartridges there is a stamp S*, a marking indicating the batch and year of manufacture of the cartridges. Ammo comes across quite rarely. The found cartridges are poorly preserved - the thin steel casing of the bullet rots almost completely, and the tightness of the cartridges is broken.
Cartridges caliber 7.62 mm 7.62X54R (USSR)
Cartridges of this type are widespread and are one of the most common finds. The cartridge was also used in the ground army, for all types of rifles and machine guns, as well as in aviation, for the ShKAS machine gun. It was produced both in the USSR and in other countries, in particular in Finland and the USA.
Bottle-shaped sleeve with rim. Until the mid-30s, cartridges were produced with a brass sleeve, and later with a bimetallic sleeve clad with tombac or copper. The bullet is secured in the case by rolling or punching. On the bottom of the sleeve there is a designation: year of manufacture and factory code. For ShKAS cartridges there is also the letter “SH”, these cartridges have a stronger fastening of the primer - around it there is a ring groove left over from the ring punching. The presence of this groove, as well as the letter “Ш”, is a sign that the bullet in the cartridge is special.
The cartridge case is usually poorly preserved, so its contents - gunpowder - are usually wet. But the capsule, oddly enough, is sometimes preserved. Of course, it won’t work from the striker, but from heat, it very well may, so you shouldn’t even throw shell casings into the fire.
But the biggest “interest” is the bullets.
Regular bullets.
Model 1891 bullet (blunt-headed). Well, we still need to find it, because... very, very rare. Has a cupronickel silver shell. The core is lead. Doesn't pose any danger.
Model 1908 bullet (light). There is no marking. Consists of a steel shell coated with tombac, cupronickel or copper. Lead core. It has a conical recess in the bottom. Ballistics were improved due to the pointed nose. On the sight of the rifle mod. 1891 there were even 2 scales for light and heavy bullets, because... the 1908 model bullet flew further. Safe.
Model 1930 bullet. (heavy) The nose of the bullet is yellow. Heavier and longer than the 1908 bullet, it has a conical tail. It should be noted that in this case, the yellow marking in no way classifies this bullet as a chemical bullet. Doesn't pose any danger. Safe.
Special bullets
As you can see from the composition, this is an ordinary magnesium bomb, and the steel shell produces very good fragments. Conclusion - it’s better not to throw her into the fire
poke, unless of course you want to pull out small pieces of metal from various parts of the body using tweezers...
B-30 and B-32 are virtually indistinguishable in appearance because The color of the nose is usually not preserved. What distinguishes them from ordinary bullets is their greater length and one characteristic feature: if you take a knife and pick the bottom of the bullet, then the armor-piercing incendiary bullet will have a solid core, while other bullets will have lead. I note that the B-32 was produced throughout the war, and the B-30 for only 2 years, so virtually all armor-piercing bullets were B-32.
Tracer bullet T-30 and T-46. Green nose. Produced since 1932 and 1938, respectively. Contains lead core and tracer. Composition of the White Fire tracer: Barium Nitrate 67% Magnesium 23% Shellac 10%
Difference from ordinary bullets: in appearance - it is the rear part of a cylindrical shape and the presence of a tracer - it is visible.
As follows from the composition, the incendiary substance for the B-32 and T-30(46) is almost the same, but in the B-32 the composition is covered with a shell and, as a rule, is preserved, while in the T-30(46) it usually rots. Because of this feature, they do not pose a great danger and even in a normal state they simply burn out in a fire... This applies only to Russian tracers.
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Armor-piercing incendiary-tracer bullet (APT) The nose is purple, with a red band. Contains a shortened armor-piercing core and a tracer. |
Well, now about the most dangerous representative of the 7.62X54R family
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Sighting-incendiary bullet. (Breaking). The nose is red. Contains an inertial fuse and an explosive charge. |
How to distinguish an explosive bullet from others? First of all, this is the longest bullet the Russians have, its length is 4 cm. And if there are no 3 grooves on it, and there is lead on the bottom side, have no doubt, this is a sighting-incendiary bullet. Under no circumstances should you disassemble this bullet or shake it while listening to the firing pin dangling inside - problems may arise. This applies to both fired bullets and bullets in the cartridge.
Well, of course, don’t heat it up, because... for example, an armor-piercing incendiary bullet in a fire will work or not, because... it has a different principle of operation from compression upon impact with the armor, and the explosive one has a normal fuse.
The bullets described here are not the only representatives of the 7.62X54R. There were several more modifications, but they did not have significant differences from those described, they were not in service for long, and the likelihood of their discovery is close to zero.
7.92 mm cartridges
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The most common German cartridge. Main application: the Mauser 98K rifle, hence the name “Mauser”, the MG34, MG42 machine gun and other machine guns, also used in aviation. Cartridges similar to “Mauser” ones were produced in Czechoslovakia and Poland. |
Bullet with increased armor penetration (SmK H). Red primer (sometimes the paint fades and the color can be almost orange), the bullet is all black. Contains a tungsten carbide core. The cartridge contains a special (powerful) gunpowder, round in shape, unusual for the Germans. Doesn't pose any danger.
Now about bullets that pose a real danger.
The bullets listed below, except for the armor-piercing incendiary phosphorus bullet, are classified as explosive and therefore officially shooting at people is prohibited. Therefore, the main type of occurrence: debris of Luftwaffe aircraft. But sometimes they are caught on the ground.
In response to the creation of a sighting bullet by Stalin’s designers, or perhaps for their own fascist reasons, Hitler’s designers created a similar one, and then went into a rage and came up with an incendiary bullet on a different principle. White phosphorus! This is what came to their mind. For those who didn’t study chemistry at school, let me remind you once again: white phosphorus is a yellowish, waxy substance that instantly ignites upon contact with air.
Fortunately for the living, and therefore for the searchers, such cartridges with phosphorus are a rare find, and all this is said so that you are not too surprised when the cartridges piled up in a heap light up with a beautiful, droplet-splashing flame, and such cases do happen. It is impossible to distinguish them from the others; in appearance they look like an Ss bullet, maybe only a little longer.
That's why general rule handling German cartridges. Found: there is no green or red ring - throw it far away and better into the water. Well, now about them.
In general, the Czechs are an interesting nation. Throughout the war they supplied the Germans with weapons, then they pulled out of the war in time and took part in the division of the German inheritance.
The Poles produced incendiary bullets based on phosphorus. These bullets are marked with a yellow ring around the primer, sometimes also with a yellow nose (not to be confused with our weighted bullets).
12.7 mm cartridges
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It was used in the ground army for the DShK machine gun, and in aviation for the UB machine gun. The cartridge case is brass, bottle-shaped, with a recess at the back for the ejector. Gunpowder, as a rule, is preserved well. When heated, the cartridges explode with great force, so putting them in a fire is unacceptable, they can cause a lot of trouble. There are no ordinary bullets in 12.7 mm cartridges, only special ones, this must be remembered. Armor-piercing bullet B-30. Black nose. It consists of a steel shell covered with tombac, a lead jacket and a hardened steel core. In general, this is an enlarged B-30 bullet of 7.62 caliber. Just like this bullet is not dangerous. |
Armor-piercing incendiary tracer BZT-44. The nose is purple and underneath is a red ring.
The bullet consists of a jacket, a short, armor-piercing core, a lead jacket and a tracer. It is similar to the 7.62 caliber BZT, only it does not have 3 belts, and the tracer is inserted into a special steel cup. The tracer of an unfired bullet is preserved better than that of 7.62 because It is large in size and the steel cup can produce good shards. That's all the differences.
The bullets listed above, if they can cause damage to a person, are only due to his own stupidity. But there are 2 more types of 12.7 mm bullets that can cause damage to a person simply if handled carelessly, hit with a shovel, for example.
Phosphorus armor-piercing incendiary bullet BZF-46. Yellow nose, under it - a black ring. Consists of a shell and an armor-piercing core. There is no incendiary substance between the armor-piercing core and the shell; it is located in a special cup behind the core. And in the glass there is white phosphorus. For those who got a C in chemistry, let me remind you that phosphorus is a white, waxy substance that spontaneously ignites upon contact with air. Unlike German phosphorus cartridges, where phosphorus is separated from the air only by a thin shell, which usually rots, the cup is preserved better. Therefore, the probability that the cartridge will ignite on its own is small, but with a strong impact or disassembly, the phosphorus will immediately ignite, forming many severe burns because it is very difficult to extinguish. Well, remember Vietnam, where the Americans used white phosphorus as a universal “fat burner” for the Vietnamese.
How to distinguish a phosphorus bullet from other 12.7 mm bullets when the markings are not visible? Firstly: when the jacket rots, there is a copper cap under it on the nose of the bullet. If for some reason it is not there, then there is always an annular chamfer on the spout, which is usually clearly visible. Secondly, as I already said, there were no ordinary bullets in the 12.7 mm caliber, so if you pick at the bottom of the bullet with a knife and there is lead there, then the bullet is most likely phosphorus.
Instant bullet MDZ-3. It is essentially a small projectile containing a fuse and filled with a folk explosive - hexogen.
It is easy to distinguish it from others; all bullets have a sharp nose, but this one has a cut off nose, covered with a membrane; if there is none, there is just a hole.
Heating it, let alone disassembling it, is strictly prohibited. Hexogen explodes with great force, in addition, from time to time it can explode without a fuse, from mechanical impact.
It should be remembered that fired 12.7 mm caliber bullets, as a rule, were not destroyed when they hit the ground, and the MDZ did not always work, so there is a possibility of finding bullets that passed through the bore.
Cartridge caliber 14.5 mm (14.5x114).
The cartridge was used for firing from anti-tank rifles of the Degtyarev PTRD system (single-shot) and the Simonov PTRS system (five-shot with automatic reloading). The cartridge is in service to this day.
The length of the cartridge is 156 mm, the length of the sleeve is 114 mm, the gunpowder is a cylinder with 7 channels. The wartime cartridge case is brass. The bullet casing is steel, clad with tombak. The main bullets are B-32 and BS-41, similar in design to the B-32 bullet of 7.62 mm caliber (B-32 with a steel core, and BS-41 with a metal-ceramic core). The bullet is secured into the case by pressing the neck of the case into a groove or protrusion on the bullet. On the bottom of the cartridges there is a marking indicating the factory and year of manufacture of the cartridges. The cartridge is quite rare. Sometimes found in armor-piercing positions.
Cartridges for signal pistols (rocket launchers)
Both the Red and former German armies widely used 26 mm flare guns. They were used for signaling, launching flares, and also by the Germans for combat purposes. The main ammunition was signal cartridges for night or day use. When searching, they often come across. Night-action cartridges have an expelling charge of black powder and a signal star that lights up at a height of 60-70 m with a red, green, yellow or white. Daytime cartridges have a colored smoke bomb instead of a star. The main difference between domestic and German rocket launcher cartridges is the material of the cartridge case. Domestic cartridges They have a cardboard (folder) sleeve with a metal cap, while the German ones have a sleeve made entirely of thin aluminum, on which markings are applied with multi-colored paint. In addition to signal cartridges, there are German parachute lighting cartridges. They have a long sleeve, marked on the sleeve "Fallschirleuchtpatrone". Inside the main sleeve there is a second, inner sleeve, a lighting star and a silk parachute. Rocket launcher cartridges do not pose much danger. Explosive charges and sprockets are usually wet, but if they hit a fire, the sprocket may shoot off or ignite. To make colored smoke bombs in daytime cartridges, dyes were used that are difficult to wash off the skin of the hands.
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The real danger is posed by German pistol grenades, intended for the signalman's self-defense. They are very rare. They are a short aluminum casing into which a grenade with a cylindrical body, a glyptic head and a tail hidden in the casing is inserted. The total length of the cartridge is about 130 mm. The grenade has a small charge of powerful explosive and explodes with great force. The fuse is instantaneous, with a fuse that is released when fired (or the grenade is removed from the cartridge case). The grenade may explode when removed from the casing, when struck, or when heated. When finding such a grenade, you should pay attention to the presence of the cartridge case and the absence of axial movement of the grenade in it. Grenades with a tightly held casing can, in case of emergency, be carefully moved to a safe place. If the cartridge case is missing or the grenade is not held firmly in it, then you cannot touch such a grenade, but you must mark its location with a noticeable sign. |
Hand grenade mod. 1914/30
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Hand grenade mod. 1914/30. A “bomb” grenade modernized in 1930 from the First World War and Civil War. During search operations, it is occasionally found in battlefields during the initial period of the Great Patriotic War. It is a cylindrical body of small diameter, turning into a handle. Could be used with a fragmentation jacket. The body and handle are made of tin. The handle has a lever secured by a ring placed on the handle. The grenade body contains a firing mechanism and a fuse socket. The “ear” of the striker protrudes from the body, by which it is cocked before throwing. There is also a safety valve on the housing. The fuse is L-shaped, inserted before throwing. Grenades with an inserted fuse can be dangerous. If you try to remove the fuse, the grenade may explode. If you find a grenade with an inserted fuse, if absolutely necessary, move it to a safe place, securing the firing pin with wire and avoiding hitting the grenade. |
RGD-33 hand grenade
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Dyakonov systems, arr. 1933. Most often encountered during prospecting operations. When using a defensive cover (shirt) - the grenade is defensive, without a shirt - offensive. The grenade was made by stamping from sheet steel. These grenades could be produced by any workshop with low-power pressing equipment, and therefore RGD-33 was produced by a variety of factories, workshops, etc. These specimens could have deviations in shape and size. |
Tactical and technical characteristics of the RGD-33 grenade:
They were equipped with pressed TNT; during the war they were often equipped with various surrogates (ammatol).
A grenade without a fuse poses no practical danger. With a fuse inserted into a grenade, it poses a danger when the grenade is shaken, moved, or heated. Attempts to knock the fuse out of a grenade are unacceptable - the fuse is equipped with mercury fulminate, which is sensitive to shock and friction, and the fuse usually sours tightly in the ignition tube.
If you find a grenade, hold it only by the body, avoiding loading the handle. You can determine the presence of an igniter by carefully sliding the ignition tube cover. Grenades with an inserted fuse are cocked (the fuse is not inserted into an uncocked grenade) and require careful handling. Characteristic sign cocked grenades - some distance between the grenade body and the outer tube of the handle. For grenades with an inserted fuse, you cannot try to unscrew or pull back the handle, move the safety slide, you cannot break off the handle, you cannot hit the grenade and handle, you cannot drop or throw the grenade.
Quite often you come across fuses from RGD-33, colloquially called “pencil” due to their external similarity. The fuse is equipped with a sensitive and powerful explosive and poses a serious danger when struck, heated, or carried in pockets. When it hits a fire, it explodes violently, producing many small fragments.
Handmade F1 fan
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Developed on the basis of the French F-1 grenade. It is widely known and is in service to this day. In common parlance it is called "lemon". During search operations it is found somewhat less frequently than RGD-33. The grenade is defensive, with a large radius of dispersion of lethal fragments. The body of the grenade is cast iron, of a characteristic shape - its surface is divided by transverse and longitudinal grooves into large “slices” to improve crushing. The grenade body was made by casting. Manufactured big amount factories and workshops that had foundry equipment. There are many types of cases, slightly different from each other in shape. In addition to the Red Army, a similar grenade was in service in some foreign armies, for example, in France, Poland, the USA and some others. Foreign grenades differ somewhat in the shape and design of the fuses. |
Tactical and technical characteristics of the F-1 grenade:
F-1 grenades were filled with powdered, pressed, or flaked TNT; military-made grenades were used, filled with various surrogates and even black powder. In the initial period of the war, F-1 grenades were used with fuses of the Koveshnikov system, and in 1942 UZRG fuses began to be used. Koveshnikov's fuse was made of brass on lathes. It has a spring-loaded cap secured with a pin and a ring. A lever of a characteristic shape was soldered to the cap. The igniter is triggered when the cap is moved upward by a spring. In this case, the cap releases the ball that holds the firing pin in the cocked state. The firing pin is released and punctures the retarder capsule. The UZRG fuse is much simpler, cheaper and more technologically advanced than the Koveshnikov fuse; it is produced by stamping. In a somewhat modernized state, the UZRG fuse has survived to this day and is well known. The firing pin is held in it by a safety lever after the safety pin is removed. When the lever is released, the striker punctures the retarder capsule.
F-1 grenades are often found with both a fuse and a plastic plug inserted instead of the fuse. Grenades with a plug do not pose any practical danger, but can explode when heated. If you find an F-1 grenade with a fuse, you should pay attention to the presence and condition of the safety pin. You should not try to unscrew the fuse, since dried grenades have a yellow or greenish coating on the detonator capsule that is sensitive to friction. In addition, the fuses, especially the UZRGs, are tightly bound with rust in the threaded neck of the grenade. And in case of emergency, when removing from an excavation, you should hold the grenade with the Koveshnikov fuse, pressing the fuse cap on top with your finger, and with the UZRG fuse, pressing the lever to the body. When transporting found grenades to a safe place, it is necessary to secure the safety lever (if any) to the grenade body with wire or cord.
In addition to standard F-1 grenades, at the battlefields near Leningrad there are so-called “blockade grenades” with a body without a notch, made from 50-mm mines without a shank. Fuses - Koveshnikov and UZRG, inserted through a plastic adapter ring. In terms of combat properties and handling, they are similar to the standard F-1.
RG-42 hand grenade
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Offensive, remote action. It was developed to replace the RGD-33 and entered service in 1942. It is very simple in design and technologically advanced. Any workshop with low-power stamping equipment could master its production. They were used on all fronts of the Second World War. |
RPG-40 anti-tank hand grenade
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It was intended to combat tanks and armored personnel carriers with armor up to 20 mm. They were also used to combat other targets: cars, pillboxes, etc. Triggers instantly when hitting an obstacle. The grenade is simple in design. Made by stamping from sheet steel. The body of the grenade resembles a large tin can with a central channel for the detonator. The detonator is inserted into the grenade channel in the same way as the RGD-33 and is secured with the same lid. The RPG-40 detonator has the appearance of an RGD-33 fuse, but has a slightly longer length and differs from the RGD-33 fuse in the absence of deceleration when triggered. The detonator in the stowed position is stored separately and is inserted into the grenade immediately before it is thrown. The impact and safety mechanisms are located in the handle. The striking mechanism is always armed. |
The safety mechanism is a folding bar with a wire needle, which fixes the striking mechanism in the stowed position. The folding bar is fixed on the handle with a safety pin with a tongue made of braid. Before throwing a grenade, the safety pin is pulled out by the braid and the folding bar on the handle is held by hand. When throwing a grenade, the hinged bar separates, removes the needle and releases the firing mechanism. When a grenade hits an obstacle, an inertial load moves in the handle, which releases the firing pin. The grenade explodes regardless of where it hits the obstacle. To trigger a grenade without a safety needle, simply drop the grenade on the ground. Failures in operation occurred due to contamination, freezing and deformation of the impact mechanism located in the handle. It is prohibited to touch a grenade that is thrown but does not go off - the impact mechanism can be triggered even by moving the grenade.
Weight RPG-40-1200 g.
They were equipped with cast TNT.
During search operations, RGD-33 is found much less frequently. They were used on all fronts, especially in the initial period of the war. Quite often you come across separate cases without handles. When you find an RPG-40 with a handle, you should first of all look for the presence of a folding bar with a safety needle. After this, carefully open the cover of the ignition socket and make sure that there is no detonator. A grenade without a detonator poses no practical danger. If a grenade with an inserted detonator, and even more so a thrown and unexploded grenade with a missing flap and safety needle, poses a danger when shaken, struck, and even when moved from the place of discovery. Such a grenade should not be removed from the place of discovery, and the location of the grenade should be marked with a noticeable sign.
RPG-41 anti-tank hand grenade
With the advent of tanks with armor thicker than 20 mm at the front in 1941, the RPG-40 grenade ceased to satisfy the troops and the RPG-41 grenade was developed. The grenade differed from the RPG-40 in its increased explosive mass and larger body diameter. The remaining parts of the grenade are similar to the RPG-40. Handling the RPG-41 grenade is similar to handling the RPG-40.
In addition to the officially adopted RPG-41, a grenade was developed on the Leningrad Front, also under the designation RPG-41, colloquially called the “Voroshilov kilogram” (“VK”). It was an enlarged RGD-33, from which the handle, the fuse valve, its tube, extended by 50 mm, the lower part of the body (flange) and the fuse itself were used. The grenade was developed and used during the initial period of the war and was manufactured only at that time. The mass of explosive in a grenade is 1 kg. The grenade is rare and has not been officially adopted for service. These grenades are found in the area of Nevsky Piglet, Pulkovo, Mga, Lyuban, Luga. The "Voroshilov kilogram" should be dealt with in the same way as with the RGD-33 with an inserted fuse.
RPG-43 anti-tank hand grenade
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It appeared on the fronts in mid-1943. It was intended to combat armored targets - it penetrates armor up to 75 mm, thanks to its cumulative high-explosive action. Explodes instantly when the bottom hits an obstacle. For the correct flight of the grenade (bottom forward), there is a flight stabilizer made of two fabric tapes and a cap. The grenade is simple in design. Made by stamping from sheet steel. Externally, the grenade is a cylindrical body that turns into a cone; below its truncated part there is a wooden handle with a lever secured by a safety pin. Grenades were delivered to the troops assembled, with the handle screwed on. The fuse was inserted into the grenade before the battle. When throwing, the lever separated, releasing the conical cap, which pulled two fabric stabilizer tapes from the body. During the flight, the pin securing the striker fell out. When the bottom of the grenade hit an obstacle, the firing pin with the fuse screwed onto its fitting moved forward and was impaled on the sting. The grenade exploded and pierced the obstacle with a cumulative jet. Failures of the RPG-43 could occur due to the loss of the tip and counterspring from the body, an under-tightened handle, or an incorrect impact on an obstacle (sideways). Accidents occurred due to a fuse inserted into the body that was not screwed onto the fitting, or a grenade falling with the safety pin pulled out. Grenade weight 1200 g. |
If an RPG-43 is discovered during search operations, pay attention to the presence of a safety pin in the form of a ring and a cotter pin,
locking lever. Trying to unscrew the handle to remove the fuse is unacceptable. It is impossible to determine from the appearance of a grenade whether a fuse is inserted into it. Therefore, it should be treated like a grenade with a fuse. An RPG-43 with a fuse is dangerous. Particular care should be taken with grenades in which the handle has rotted and the stabilizer cap has fallen off. Such grenades should be left at the place of discovery, marked with a clearly visible sign. Avoid blows along the body.
Grenades of the former German army and its allies
German hand grenade M 24
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Stielhandgranate 24 (hand grenade model 24) - high-explosive fragmentation offensive grenade. Colloquially called a "beater". Used by the Germans on all fronts. During search operations it occurs quite often and everywhere. |
M-24s were equipped with cast, flake, granular TNT, picric acid, ammatol and other surrogate explosives. Grenades loaded with picric acid usually have a wide gray stripe on the bottom of the body.
The M24s encountered during the search are, as a rule, completely rusted, with rotten handles. It is impossible to determine visually without disassembling whether there is a detonator capsule in a grenade. Attempts to unscrew the grenade and remove the detonator may result in an explosion. The main danger of an M 24 grenade with an inserted detonator is when disassembled or when it falls into a fire. You should also be careful with garnets loaded with picric acid - in the presence of moisture, it can form friction-sensitive compounds with metals.
In addition to high-explosive fragmentation grenades, the German army was armed with smoke grenades (Stielhandgranate 24 Nb.), which differed in appearance from the M 24 by smoke exit holes in the lower part of the body located along the perimeter of the collar, a white stripe and the letters “Nb.” on the body.
German hand grenade M 39
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Die Eihandgranate (egg-shaped hand grenade) is a high-explosive long-range offensive grenade. Used by the Germans on all fronts. Colloquially called "egg". During search operations it is found even more often than M 24. The grenade is an ovoid body of two halves stamped from sheet iron. Inside the case there is a bursting charge. A grating igniter with a retarder is screwed into the body. The charge is detonated by detonator cap No. 8. The grenade fuse consists of a safety cap with a pull cord connected to a grating igniter. The safety cap is usually blue. The igniter is pressed into an aluminum bushing, onto which a square washer with a key or a wing for screwing by hand is pressed on one side, and on the other side a tube with a pyrotechnic retarding composition is screwed in. A detonator cap No. 8 is put on the moderator tube. When throwing a loaded grenade, the safety cap is screwed off, the lanyard is pulled out with a sharp movement, and the grenade is thrown at the target. |
Performance characteristics:
M 39 grenades were filled with powdered and flaked TNT, ammatol and various surrogate explosives.
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There were grenades with a ring for hanging on a belt, located on the side opposite the fuse (on the top of the head). For the M 39 grenade there was a device for shooting them from a signal pistol (rocket launcher). The device is a tube made of pressed cardboard; on one side, an aluminum sleeve with a primer and an expelling charge is screwed in, and on the other side there is an adapter for screwing on a grenade. |
Incendiary bottles
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In the initial period of the war, when there was a great shortage of means to combat tanks, incendiary bottles were widely used - ordinary bottles filled with liquid fuel. In addition to the Red Army, firebombs were used by the Finns. When they hit the tank's armor, the bottles broke, the fuel spread and ignited. Incendiary bottles were very easy to manufacture and were produced by many factories, workshops, and even by the army. Despite their widespread use, they are very rarely encountered during search work - due to their fragility, they tried not to carry them and used them as quickly as possible. They were filled with flammable liquids based on petroleum products, sulfur, and phosphorus. Mixtures No. 1, No. 3, and KS were developed and widely used. The CS mixture spontaneously ignited in air. Bottles with mixtures No. 1 and No. 3 required a separate igniter in the form of ampoules with white powder or liquid, in the form of silver rods with a “match” head. There were special mechanical igniters with a blank cartridge. |
The bottle with the KS mixture was an ordinary bottle with a yellow-green or dark brown liquid, on top of which a small layer of water or kerosene was poured to protect it from air. The bottle is sealed with a rubber stopper and the stopper is wrapped with wire and insulating tape. Mixtures No. 1 and No. 3 are viscous liquids yellowish color. It is poured into ordinary bottles with a capacity of 0.5-0.75 liters and sealed with a cork stopper. To ignite the mixture, an igniter ampoule (or a special igniter) is placed inside the bottle or attached to the outside.
Of the incendiary bottles, the most dangerous are bottles with a mixture of COP. If such a bottle is damaged, the mixture will spontaneously ignite in air. A rupture may occur with scattering of burning liquid droplets. It is quite difficult to put it out.
The CS liquid is extinguished with sand, earth, and water. If the liquid is not sufficiently covered with soil, or after the water has dried, it can spontaneously ignite again. Drops of CS that get on the skin cause severe, poorly healing burns. In addition, the COP mixture is poisonous. If you suspect that the found bottle contains a mixture of KS, in case of emergency, very carefully, so as not to break the bottle or break the tightness of the cork, remove the bottle from the excavation. Move the removed bottle to a safe place and bury it in the ground. This is best done with rubber gloves. It is necessary to ensure that there are no flammable materials or ammunition near the place where the bottle is buried.
Bottles containing mixtures No. 1 and No. 3 may pose a hazard if the bottles and igniter ampoules break at the same time. Mixtures No. 1 and No. 3 may cause skin irritation.
In addition to incendiary bottles, there were AJ ampoules - glass or tin balls for throwing from ampoules or for dropping from airplanes. They are very rare. They were filled with a mixture of KS. Tin ampoules usually have a rotten shell and the mixture has long leaked out. Such ampoules do not pose any danger. Handling glass ampoules is similar to handling bottles of CS mixture.
Gun grenades
Grenades, thrown with the help of the main weapon of fighters, were widespread during the First World War. Then these grenades were improved, the tactics of their use were worked out. By the beginning of World War II, the leadership of the Red Army considered rifle grenades to be ineffective and their production was greatly reduced. In the German army, rifle grenades were quite widespread, they were used throughout the Second World War, and there was a large range of ammunition.
Domestic ammunition
Dyakonov rifle grenade launcher and ammunition for it
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It was developed in the early 30s. It was a 40 mm rifled mortar mounted on a rifle barrel, a bipod for mounting the rifle, and a quadrant sight. Before the war, it was considered insufficiently effective and the production of Dyakonov grenade launchers was discontinued. Fragmentation and anti-tank grenades were used. The fragmentation grenade was fired using a conventional live cartridge. In the center of the grenade there was a tube-channel for the free passage of a bullet, in the back of the grenade there was a remote tube, a non-flammable detonator cap and an additional charge. The body of the grenade is usually marked with a “square” notch. They were equipped with powdered tol, ammatol or other surrogates. |
The radius of scattering of fragments is up to 300 m. During search operations, it is very rare in battlefields during the initial period of the war. The grenade is dangerous when heated and when trying to rotate the spacer ring.
The VPG-40 anti-tank grenade is practically never encountered during search operations. The grenade launcher was fired using a special blank cartridge. It has a shaped charge and a bottom inertial fuse. If there is a suspicion that the grenade has been fired, then moving it from its place is very dangerous. It should be left at the place of discovery, marked with a clearly visible sign.
VPGS-41
There are no additional devices for shooting (mortars). required. Used during the initial period of the war. Rarely encountered during search operations.
It is a cylindrical body with stiffening ribs. There is a ballistic cap at the front of the body, a fuse and a cleaning rod are screwed into the back. A stabilizer shank is attached to the cleaning rod. It had a shaped charge and a simple inertial fuse. In the stowed position, the fuse is fixed with a pin (like a hand grenade), the stabilizer is in the forward position (near the fuse), and the detonator cap is usually absent. It is impossible to determine by appearance whether a detonator cap is inserted. To fire, a detonator cap was inserted into the grenade, the grenade was inserted into the barrel of the rifle with a ramrod, the rifle was loaded with a blank cartridge, the safety pin was removed and the shot was fired. When fired, the stabilizer shank slid down the ramrod and was fixed on it in the rear position. The grenade was discontinued due to insufficient accuracy and firing range and a large number of accidents. A spent grenade or a grenade without a safety pin is dangerous. You cannot remove it from the excavation by the tail (ramrod).
30 mm rifle grenade launcher and ammunition for it
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To throw almost all German rifle grenades, a 30-mm grenade launcher was used, mounted on the muzzle of a 98K carbine. The mortar had 8 rifling to stabilize grenades in flight. Rifle grenades also have 8 lugs (ready rifling). There were the following types of rifle grenades: universal high-explosive fragmentation, propaganda, small and large armor-piercing, armor-piercing mod. 1943. German 30mm rifle grenades are colloquially called "cucumbers". Throwing grenades was carried out using a blank cartridge. Universal 30-mm high-explosive fragmentation rifle grenade G. Sprgr. It is a cylindrical projectile, about 140 mm long, with ready-made rifling on the leading belt of the bottom fuse. The total weight of the grenade is 260-280 g, the weight of the explosive (phlegmatized heating element) is 32 g. |
The “cigarette” of the head fuse protrudes from the front of the grenade. The grenade body is made of steel, the head fuse of early releases is made of aluminum alloy, and of later releases is made of steel with a plastic “cigarette”. The bottom fuse of early releases is made of aluminum alloy, later releases are made of plastic. The grenade can be used as a rifle and as a hand grenade. It is equipped with two fuses - a head, instant action, and a bottom, remote action. When using the grenade as a hand grenade, the bottom of the grenade is unscrewed and the lanyard is pulled out.
The remote retarder is ignited by a grating igniter and the grenade explodes after 4-4.5 seconds. When firing a grenade from a rifle grenade launcher, the main fuse is the AZ 5075 type head fuse. The bottom fuse works as a self-destructor. The AZ 5075 fuse is an instantaneous, non-safety type, used for 30-mm rifle-hand fragmentation grenades and over-caliber cumulative mines for 37-mm anti-tank guns. It has small dimensions and a strongly protruding drummer (“cigarette”). When a shot is fired, the inertial safety catch is lowered, the elastic steel band unwinds and releases the firing pin, which is held in flight by a counter-safety spring. When hitting an obstacle, the firing pin pierces the detonator cap and the ammunition explodes.
The fuse, which is cocked, has a very high sensitivity even to pressure on the “cigarette” of the fuse.
It occurs quite often during search operations. The main danger of this ammunition is that it is impossible to determine by its appearance whether it has been fired (with the fuse cocked) or not. A cocked grenade is very sensitive to the impact of the fuses on the firing pin. If a grenade is found, in case of emergency, you can carefully remove it from the excavation, being careful not to hit or press the firing pin of the head fuses and carefully move it to a safe place. The grenade should not be shaken or thrown on the ground.
Small and large armor-piercing rifle grenades G. Pzgr. and gr. G. Pzgr.
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Designed for firing from a rifle grenade launcher at armored targets. During search operations they are less common than the universal 30-mm high-explosive fragmentation grenade. They have an instant action bottom fuse and a shaped charge. The small armor-piercing grenade is a cylindrical projectile, about 160 mm long. At the front there is a ballistic fairing cap. The shaped charge body is in a steel shell, the fuse body of early samples is made of aluminum alloy, later models are made of black or brown plastic. A large armor-piercing grenade differs from a small one in its larger diameter and a different shape of the cumulative projectile. Has a length of 185 mm. The fuses are instantaneous bottom fuses. They have high sensitivity. Outwardly, it is impossible to distinguish between a fired grenade with the fuse removed from the fuse and an unfired one with the fuse on. Therefore, when such a grenade is found, it should be treated as if it had the fuse removed. In case of emergency, you can carefully, avoiding blows and jolts, remove the grenade from the excavation and move it to a safe place, holding it with its head up. |
Armor-piercing rifle grenade mod. 1943 - in purpose and principle of operation it is the same type as a large armor-piercing grenade, differing from it in the shape of the body and the design of the fuse. The length of the grenade is about 195 mm. The body is made of steel. Handling found grenades is similar to handling other armor-piercing grenades for a rifle grenade launcher.
Artillery (mortar) mines
Domestic ammunition
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The most common artillery ammunition found in the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War were artillery mines. Ammunition for mortars is even more common than ammunition for rifled artillery. Mortar mines were equipped with high-sensitivity instantaneous fuses, which are cocked at the moment of firing. Armed mines are dangerous. A characteristic sign of a mine that has passed through the bore and has a cocked fuse is the mark of the striker on the primer of the expelling cartridge located in the tail of the mine. Such mines should not be moved from the place of discovery, marking their location with a clearly visible sign. The most common are 50-mm fragmentation mines for the domestic company-made mortar (models 38, 40 and 41g). Four-fin mines with a solid body were used, later replaced by six-fin mines with a solid and detachable body (screwed shank). The mines are painted green (protective). For domestic 50-mm mines, M-1, M-50, and MP fuses were used. |
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The M-50 fuse is an instant action, non-safety type, intended for 50-mm fragmentation mines, sometimes also used for 45-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells. It was inserted into the charging point of the mine through an adapter ring made of black plastic. The presence of a plastic ring is explained by the fact that the M-50 fuse was originally designed for 37 mm mortar mines, which have a smaller fuse point. The fuse has an extremely simple design and high technology. When cocked, a red stripe appears on the firing pin. With an uncocked fuse, the front part of the firing pin is flush with the body, while with a cocked fuse, the firing pin protrudes slightly forward. A cocked fuse is extremely sensitive. If there is a suspicion that a mine from the M-50 has been fired, you cannot touch it - the fuse can be triggered by the slightest shock. The MP fuse is an instantaneous, non-safety type. Has a body made of black plastic. On the case there are markings - MP, year of manufacture, batch and manufacturer's designation. The safety mechanism is located inside the housing and it cannot be determined by the appearance of the fuse whether it is cocked. A fuse whose safety spring has rusted can be cocked by a side impact, so you should not hit the mine or shake it. |
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Fragmentation mines for the domestic 82-mm battalion mortar (models 36, 37, 41, 43) are quite common. Six- and ten-fin mines with a screw-on shank were used. They were painted green (protective) color. In addition to fragmentation mines, smoke mines were used, which are marked with a black stripe on the body under the centering thickening. M-1, MP-82, M-2 fuses were used.
M-1 fuse - instant action, non-safety type. In addition to 82-mm mines, 50-mm mines were also used for four-fin mines. It has a safety cap under which there is a protruding aluminum cylinder (“cigarette”) - an instant action striker. The safety cap was only allowed to be screwed before lowering the mine into the mortar barrel. When the fuse is cocked, a red stripe appears on the “cigarette”. Mines discovered during a search without a safety cap (with an exposed “cigarette”) are dangerous - the striker is very sensitive to even light pressure.
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MP-82 fuses are instant action, non-safety type. Mines with this fuse are the most common. The fuse has a body made of black plastic. The body is marked MP-82, year of manufacture, batch and manufacturer's designation. The design is similar to the MP fuse for 50 mm mines, differing in a more durable diaphragm. Handling mines with an MP-82 fuse is similar to handling mines with an MP fuse. Outwardly, the M-2 and M-3 fuses are very similar to the MP fuse, but they had a different safety mechanism. The M-3 fuse differed from the M-2 in having a steel body instead of a plastic one and was intended for firing on rocky ground. Handling them is similar to handling an MP fuse. Occasionally you come across mines for a 120-mm regimental mortar (models 38, 41 and 43). The ammunition of the domestic mortar included high-explosive fragmentation, smoke and thermite incendiary mines. Smoke mines were marked with a black ring, and thermite mines with a red ring. The mines were equipped with GVMZ, M-4, M-1 fuses. |
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GVMZ fuse - with two settings for instantaneous and delayed action, non-safety type. The fuse is simple in design and production. It has a pneumatic impact mechanism - the igniter capsule is ignited by air that heats up when it is rapidly compressed under the piston-impactor. Installation for delayed action was carried out using an installation crane, similar to RG type fuses. The fuse is equipped with a safety cap that is removed only before firing. Mines with a fuse without a cap are very dangerous to handle, since the fuse can be activated when the mine falls from the hands with its head down on trampled snow, ice or ground. When fired, the fuse does not arm. |
Domestic mines for the 37 mm spade mortar, 107 mm mountain pack mortar, and 160 mm mortar are extremely rare. According to the principle of operation, these mines are similar to those described above and are equipped with the same fuses.
Ammunition of the former German army
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Somewhat less common than domestic 50-mm mines are 50-mm fragmentation mines for the German mortar mod. 36 They consist of a body to which a shank with 8 stabilizer feathers is screwed. The mine is painted red. Fuse Wgr Z38 (with aluminum body), Wgr ZT (plastic body). Fuse (tube) Wgr Z38 (Werfgranatzunder 38) - double impact, non-safety type, intended for medium-caliber fragmentation mines. It has small dimensions and a complex structure. When a shot is fired, the inertial fuse is lowered and when the mine moves to the downward part of the trajectory, the safety balls roll into the cavity of the firing pin, freeing access for the firing pin tip to the igniter primer. To eliminate the influence of air resistance, the striker is covered with a thin brass membrane. When the striker falls on the ground, it punctures the igniter capsule, the beam of fire from which is transmitted to the detonator. If a mine falls on rocky ground and the head striker cannot puncture the primer, then the inertial striker is triggered. The fuse is made with high quality. Aluminum alloy body. In addition to Wgr. Z38 used fuses similar to Wgr. ZT with black plastic housing. Fired mines with the fuse armed can be dangerous. The main reason for the failure of fuses Wgr. Z38 - incorrect installation of the igniter primer. Unexploded mines, in case of emergency, can be moved from the excavation to a safe place by carefully moving them with their heads up. |
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Somewhat less common are fragmentation mines for the German 81.4 mm (8cm) mortar mod. 34 They consist of a body with a screw-on shank with 10 stabilizer feathers. The mine is painted in a red or dark green protective color (depending on the body material). In addition, there are bouncing mines mod. 38 and 39 colloquially called a “frog.” When it fell on the ground, an expelling charge was triggered from the tube, which tore the mine body away from the detachable head and threw the mine body with the explosive charge upward. The explosion occurred at a height of 2 to 10 m, due to which the fragmentation effect of the mine increased. Distinctive feature These mines are marked 38 or 39 in black paint on a body painted in dark green protective or red and a detachable head attached to the body with three pins. Simple fragmentation mines made from the bodies of bouncing mines have a similar appearance. Such mines are marked 38umg. or 39umg. black paint on the body. In addition to fragmentation and bouncing mines, smoke mines were used. Such mines are marked with white letters Nb on the body. German 81.4 mm mines were equipped with Wgr Z38 tubes. The detonator is located in the ignition glass. Handling spent mines is similar to handling spent 50mm mines. It is very rare to come across mines for the 12 cm mortar mod. 42g., which was a copy of the Soviet 120-mm mortar. The ammunition included high-explosive fragmentation mines, which had a dark green protective color. Ten-fin stabilizer. Mines for the 105 mm chemical mortar are extremely rare. |
Ground artillery ammunition
Domestic ammunition
37 mm shells (shots) for anti-aircraft guns. They are rare. They have a cylindrical brass sleeve with a rim and a groove for the ejector.
45 mm shells (shots) for anti-tank and tank guns. Very common. Cylindrical brass sleeve with rim.
The shells are high-explosive and armor-piercing incendiary tracer. A high-explosive fragmentation projectile is a steel cylinder with a fuse screwed into the head. The copper guide band is located approximately in the middle of the projectile. Equipped with cast TNT. Fuzes of the KTM type (team makers, membrane) - head impact fuses with two settings for instantaneous and inertial action, semi-safety type. When released from the factory, the fuse is set to inertial action (with the mounting cap screwed on), to install the fuse on instant action The mounting cap was screwed together before firing. A fired projectile (with traces of rifling on the driving belt) can pose a danger when the projectile is moved from the place of discovery.
An armor-piercing incendiary tracer projectile is a heavy bullet-shaped projectile of small size. There is a ballistic cap on the warhead, which usually rots and the projectile is usually found with the warhead, as it were, “chopped off.” The leading belt is located at the rear of the projectile. Filled with high-power explosives. A fuze is screwed into the bottom of the projectile with a tracer screwed into the back in a conical aluminum casing. MD-5 fuses were used - bottom fuses of inertial action with a delay, of a non-safety type. The fuse is simple in design and has a high sensitivity to impact. It is screwed into the bottom of the projectile, sealed with a lead gasket and non-drying mastic based on red lead. It has a fixed firing pin (needle) and a movable firing pin with an igniter primer, which is held until fired by a fuse made of a split brass tube. When fired, the safety is lowered, the firing pin is released and the igniter primer becomes accessible to the firing pin, while the firing pin is not held in place by anything and simply dangles inside, so a cocked fuse is especially dangerous and explodes even when shaken. The fuse is made of sufficient quality, the internal parts are made of non-ferrous metals, nickel-plated and do not become corroded after being in the ground for half a century. Before the start of the war and during its initial period, a huge number of shells equipped with MD-5 were manufactured. During the war, due to the dangers of handling, this fuze was withdrawn from production, but not removed from service.
45-mm armor-piercing incendiary-tracer shells pose the greatest danger, especially if there are rifling marks on the leading belt. The fuse of an unexploded spent shell is extremely sensitive to any movement and can explode even if the ammunition is tilted. The projectiles have thick walls and are made of alloy hardened steel, so they explode with great force and fragments. If you find a spent shell, you should not even take it out of the excavation, but should mark its location with a clearly visible sign.
57 mm shells (shots) for anti-tank guns. They are rare. The design, types of fuses and handling are similar to 45 mm rounds. After the MD-5 fuse was removed from production, the MD-7 fuse was used instead for armor-piercing shells. It differs from the MD-5 in the presence of a counter-safety spring, a counter-safety circle made of foil on the igniter capsule and an inertial circle for adjusting the deceleration when hitting an obstacle. All armor-piercing shells should be treated with extreme caution.
Ammunition of the former German army
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20 mm shells (shots) for tank and anti-aircraft guns. They are quite rare. In common parlance they are called "Oerlikonian". The shells for tank and anti-aircraft guns were the same, only the cartridges differed. The tank gun sleeve is made of brass or steel, conical, has a groove for the ejector and a characteristic wide annular protrusion in front of the groove. There is no annular protrusion on cartridges for anti-aircraft guns of the Oerlikon system. 37 mm shells (shots) for anti-tank, tank and anti-aircraft guns. Most common. They have a slightly tapered brass or steel sleeve with a rim. Shells - armor-piercing tracer 3.7 cm Pzgr. They were used for firing from the 3.7 cm Pak anti-tank gun and are colloquially called “Pak” shells. They are even more common than domestic 45 mm armor-piercing shells. They have a pointed head and a leading belt at the back. Equipped with high-power explosives. A Bd fuse is screwed into the bottom. Z. (5103*)d (Bodenzunder (5103) fiir 3.7 Panzergranaten) - inertial action with deceleration, non-safety type, used for 37 and 50 mm armor-piercing tracer shells for anti-aircraft, tank and anti-tank guns. The fuse is combined with a tracer. It has an extremely simple device - the striking mechanism consists of a fixed tip and a firing pin with an igniter primer. When fired, the fuse does not arm. The striker is secured with a thin pin, which is torn by the striker when it hits a solid barrier. Gas-dynamic deceleration is carried out Occasionally, a sub-caliber armor-piercing tracer projectile of a characteristic coil shape with a sharp aluminum tip is found. Inside there is a tungsten carbide core. Such a projectile does not contain explosives and does not pose any danger. |
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In addition to the armor-piercing shell, fragmentation-tracer shells with an AZ39 fuse were used - a head-type, impact-action, non-safety type. The fuse is designed for 37 and 50 mm fragmentation shells for tank and anti-tank guns. It has centrifugal cocking - when the projectile rotates, centrifugal stops release the fuse, and the fuse, under the influence of centrifugal force, releases the firing pin. Cocking occurs a few meters from the muzzle. The shells are filled with high-power explosives. The found shells are dangerous.
47 mm and 50 mm shells (shots). They are very rare. The design and handling are similar to 37 mm shells.
Artillery shells and shots of medium and large calibers.
Domestic ammunition
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There were shells for the following purposes: high-explosive fragmentation, high-explosive, shrapnel, armor-piercing, concrete-piercing, special (propaganda, smoke, incendiary, chemical, etc.). The most common shells are for domestic 76 mm guns. They occur quite often. Of the 76 mm shells, the most common are high-explosive fragmentation shells. 76mm armor-piercing tracer rounds and shrapnel are common. The ammunition of the 76-mm guns also included special shells - incendiary, illumination, smoke, propaganda, but such shells are practically never found. The high-explosive fragmentation projectile has a thick-walled body made of steel cast iron. The anterior part is ogival, the posterior part is a truncated cone. Rarely do you come across old-style shells - a cylindrical body with a screw-on hemispherical head. High-explosive fragmentation shells were usually filled with cast or screwed TNT and various surrogate explosives. KG and KTM type fuses of various modifications. These fuses have almost the same design. They cock when fired. Impact mechanism of instantaneous and inertial action. The installation cap is screwed on the front - when the cap is on, the fuse is set to inertial action, when removed - to instantaneous action. The main difference between the KG fuse and the KTM is in the design of the instantaneous firing pin - in the KG it is a protruding rod covered with an installation cap, and in the KTM it is a plastic or wooden striker of large diameter, closed with a foil membrane and an installation cap. A fired projectile with KTM and KT fuses is dangerous regardless of whether the mounting cap is on or off. |
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The armor-piercing tracer projectile is similar in design to the 45-mm armor-piercing tracer projectile, differing from it mainly in its larger size and the presence of a screw-in bottom. Equipped with pressed TNT or tetryl. The MD-6 or MD-8 fuse differs from the MD-5 and MD-7 only in the mounting thread. Handling found shells is similar to handling 45 mm armor-piercing tracer shells. A shrapnel projectile is a cylindrical glass, inside of which there is an expelling charge, a membrane, lead shrapnel bullets and |
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22 sec. double action tube - designed for 76 mm bullet shrapnel. It has two spacer rings, and the lower ring has a scale with divisions from 10 to 130 (on some tubes up to 140 and 159) and two marks with the designations “K” (buckshot action) and “Ud” (percussion Remote tube TZ(UG) - designed for 76-mm rod shrapnel for divisional and regimental ground artillery guns and anti-aircraft guns. It has three spacer rings, two of which are fastened with a bracket; on the lower ring there is a scale with 165 conventional divisions, marked every 5 divisions, and two marks with the designations “K” (card action) and “Ud” (impact action). To protect against moisture, a hard brass cap is screwed onto the tube. T-6 double-action tube - designed for shrapnel, illumination, incendiary and propaganda shells for howitzers and medium-caliber guns of ground artillery. It differs from the TZ(UG) tube by the presence of an impact mechanism, similar in design to the impact mechanism of the KT-1 fuse (in its inertial part) and some other parts. It has three spacer rings, two of which are fastened with a bracket; on the lower ring there is a scale with 139 divisions, corresponding to the divisions of the sight of a 76-mm regimental gun mod. 1927 and two marks with the designations “K” and “Ud”. To protect against moisture, a hard brass cap is screwed onto the tube. |
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Unexploded spent shrapnel shells are usually found with a destroyed spacer tube and damp expellant powder. Such shells, in case of emergency, can be removed from the excavation and moved to a safe place. They pose a danger if they fall into a fire. This may cause drying out and triggering of the expelling charge and the shooting of shrapnel bullets. Also, high-explosive fragmentation shells for anti-aircraft artillery, equipped with a T-5 remote fuse, are very similar to simple shrapnel, and such shells are much more dangerous than ordinary shrapnel. 85 mm shells (shots) for anti-aircraft and divisional guns. They are rare. The design of high-explosive fragmentation and armor-piercing shells is similar to 76-mm shells. For anti-aircraft guns there was a remote fragmentation grenade - a fragmentation projectile with a T-5 remote fuse, which is a connection of a TZ (UG) tube and a safety-type detonating device. Such an unexploded spent projectile is similar in appearance to shrapnel, but poses a much greater danger - it is filled with an explosive substance, and the fuse has an inertial impact mechanism. The fired projectile, in case of emergency, can be carefully removed from the excavation and carefully, without impacts or shaking, transferred to a safe place. Large caliber shells are rare. Usually these are spent unexploded high-explosive fragmentation and high-explosive shells that have already passed through the bore. Such shells were equipped with RG type fuses (RG-6, RGM and RGM-2), fragmentation shells and anti-aircraft artillery shrapnel were equipped with T-3(UG) and T-5 remote tubes. Armor-piercing and concrete-piercing ones were equipped with KTD-type bottom fuses. Fuses of the RG type (Rdultovsky, head) - double impact head fuses with three settings for instantaneous, inertial and delayed action, safety type. RGM fuses are designed for 107-152 mm and larger caliber fragmentation, high-explosive and high-explosive fragmentation shells for cannons, howitzers and howitzer-guns, for naval and coastal guns. It represents an improved design of the RG-6 fuse and is characterized by increased safety when firing and sensitivity to impact when set to instantaneous action. To set the fuse for delayed action, an installation tap is designed, which has two positions O (open) and 3 (closed). The tap is turned using a special key. The factory setting of the fuse is for inertial action (the cap is on, the tap is open). The fuse is set to instant action by removing the installation cap, and to delayed action by turning the tap to position 3 - in this case the action will be slow both when the installation cap is removed and when the installation cap is put on. RGM-2 fuses are designed for 107-280 mm fragmentation, high-explosive and high-explosive fragmentation shells mainly for howitzers and mortars; Can also be used in cannons. It represents an improved design of the RGM fuse and differs from it in some details of the safety mechanism. Its advantages over the RGM are increased safety and cocking and simplified production. RG-6 fuses are designed for 122 and 152 mm fragmentation, high-explosive and high-explosive fragmentation projectiles for howitzers. It differs from the RGM fuse in the instantaneous firing device, the absence of a membrane, the outer dimensions and some details of the safety mechanism. The main disadvantages compared to the RGM fuse are the reduced sensitivity of the instantaneous striker and the possibility of premature explosions of shells behind the muzzle when firing. Shells with RG-type fuses that have not passed through the bore do not pose any particular danger and, in case of emergency, can be carefully transported to a safe place. Unexploded shells that have passed through the bore have a cocked fuse and can pose a danger due to the large mass of the explosive and the formation of a large number of large fragments with a significant radius of destructive action. Such shells must be left at the place of discovery and marked with signs visible from afar. |
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Ammunition of the former German army
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German shells are similar in design and purpose to domestic ones. Supplied with tubes K1AZ23, AZ23, llgr 223 nA, AZ23 umgm 2V. The detonator is installed in the ignition glass. Tube K1AZ23 (Kleiner Aufschlagzunder 23) - double impact with two settings for instantaneous and delayed action, non-safety type, designed for 75 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectiles. The installation device on the outside has a slot for an installation key or screwdriver and marks: one with the designation “O” (Ohne Verzogetung - without deceleration) and two diametrically opposite ones with the designation “MV (Mil Verzogenmg - with deceleration). The fuse has a centrifugal cocking - when the projectile rotates safety dies overcome the resistance of the safety spring and |
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The AZ23 tube is a double impact tube with two settings for instantaneous and delayed action, non-safety type, designed for 75-149 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectiles for guns and howitzers. The impact and installation mechanism is similar to the mechanisms of the K1AZ23 tube and differs only in the size of some parts and the presence of five centrifugal dies instead of four. Externally it is distinguished by its large dimensions and different shape. They were made of aluminum alloy or plastic with steel reinforcement. |
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Tube AZ23 umgm 2V (Aufschlagzunder 23 umgearbeitet mil 2 Verzogerung) - double impact action with three settings: instant action and two delays, non-safety type. Designed for 149 and 211 mm high-explosive fragmentation shells for howitzers and mortars. The impact mechanism differs from the standard AZ23 tube impact mechanism in the presence of an inertial bushing to eliminate rotation of the inertial rams in the barrel bore. The installation device has an installation sleeve on the outside, secured in the body with a head nut. The tube is installed by turning the installation sleeve using a wrench until one of the marks on its surface ("+", "0/V", "0/2" and "0/8") aligns with the mark on the nut. These marks correspond to the settings for the travel mount, for instant action and for decelerations of 0.2 and 0.8 seconds. Tube llgr Z23 nA (leichter Inranteriegranatzunder 23 neuer Art) - double impact with two settings for instantaneous and delayed action, non-safety type, designed for 75-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells for infantry guns. The impact and installation mechanism is similar to the mechanisms of the AZ23 tube and is distinguished by the presence of an inertial ring, which serves to activate the projectile when it hits an obstacle sideways. |
Handling unfired and unexploded spent German shells is similar to handling domestic ammunition.
Missiles (PC)
Missiles were actively used by both Wehrmacht and Soviet Army units.
The fundamental difference between rockets and other types of weapons is in the method of movement - reactive. Therefore, rockets contain a jet engine.
An entire PC is a very rare find, and the number of types of PCs in service is in the dozens, so this article will only cover the most basic ones.
USSR
The Red Army had two main types of PCs in service: RS-82, also known as M-8, and PC-132, also known as M-13.
M-8
Represents a classic rocket: from the front combat unit. It contains 375-581 tons of explosive. In early PC releases, the warhead had notches to improve fragmentation, but these notches were later abandoned. Behind the warhead there is a jet engine, fuel: 7 cylindrical, single-channel bombs on the first modifications, and 5 bombs, but larger, on later ones. Caps with black powder are installed in front and behind the combustion chamber to improve ignition. Ignition occurs using a special device, through a nozzle. M-8s were launched from the BM-8-48 installation. You can release 48 PCs at a time.
The first modifications of the PC had 4 guide pins, but later they abandoned 2. By the way, it was this modification (with 4 pins) that the Germans copied in 1943 and used them against the Soviet troops.
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M-13.(Katyusha) Perhaps the effectiveness of the Katyusha was overestimated. In the area of the village of Myasnoy Bor there are areas of German defense that were literally plowed up by PCs; in theory, there should have been nothing alive left there, but ours were never able to break through the German defenses. |
Aviation RS-82/132 were equipped with remote tubes AGDT-a, TM-49, TM-24a. When firing at ground targets, use GVMZ and AM contact fuses.
Germany.
At different times, the Wehrmacht had several types of PCs in service. In 1941, a 158.5 mm chemical projectile was adopted for service; later, a 280 mm high-explosive and 320 mm incendiary mine were developed, although in 1942 they were withdrawn from service. In 1942, the 210 mm high-explosive mine was adopted. The latter was rarely used in the European part of the USSR and will not be considered.
The mine was originally created as a means of chemical warfare. The use of the chemical part entailed the adoption of an unusual layout. Just in case there was no chemical war, a fragmentation mine was also created.
The main difference between “NbWrf-41” and the domestic PC was a different method of stabilization. If the M-8/13 was stabilized in flight using a stabilizer, then the NbWrf -41 was stabilized by rotation like a projectile. This was achieved by the fact that the gases driving the PC were released at an angle to the axis from a special turbine in the middle of the projectile. The fuel was 7 bombs of diglycol gunpowder.
Well, the unusual layout was that the warhead, containing 2 kg of explosives, was located behind the missile part, this achieved better spraying of toxic substances. Because of this, the shells had little high-explosive effect. According to the recollections of veterans, one could hide from a volley of these PCs in any trench, which cannot be said about our “Katyusha”: it was hit, it was hit.
You need to remember this thing. The warhead is at the back, and the fuse is also at the back. Fuse - Bd.Z.Dov. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of data on it, but it is known that it still had a fuse, but it is better not to check this.
These PCs were launched from a setup consisting of 6 tubular guides mounted on a carriage. Hence the name - 6-barreled mortar.
280\32О rocket mines.
The warhead body was stamped from thin steel. If the mine was a high-explosive design, then its caliber was 280 mm, the warhead contained 50 kg of explosives. If it was incendiary, then its caliber was 320mm and the mine carried 50 kg of oil.
The engine was installed the same as in the NbWrf -41, only it was located in the classic place - at the rear. Because the caliber of the warhead was larger than the caliber of the missile unit, the mine resembled a huge amphora with a long neck.
The 320-mm incendiary mine had a Wgr 50 or 427 fuse. The firing pin was held in it only by a pin, which was removed before launch.
The 280-mm high-explosive mine had a WgrZ 50 fuse; it contained a simple centrifugal fuse.
Mines were launched from wooden caps installed in a row on a special stand.
Despite the fact that the mines had a good high-explosive and incendiary effect, due to the fact that they had an engine unified with the NbWrf-41, the mines had a short range (about 2 km). This made them vulnerable to ground fire , which was the reason for its removal from service in 1942...
Well, just for reference: fancy roses left from rocket chambers during an explosion. PCs have probably come across to everyone.
Our PCs had the thread inside the chamber, while the “Germans” had it outside; in addition, the “Germans” sometimes have a front bottom left. These features can help in determining “who and whom on this earth”
Anti-personnel mines
Domestic mines
Simplified mine fuse (MUF) - tension (with a P-shaped pin) or push (with a T-shaped pin) action. Used in anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, improvised explosive devices, and booby traps. Simple in design and manufacture. It consists of a body (metal or plastic), a firing pin, a mainspring and a P or T-shaped pin. In the firing position, the pin is inserted into the lower hole of the firing pin. The spring is in a compressed state. When the pin is pulled, the firing pin is released and, under the action of a spring, pierces the igniter primer, which causes the detonator primer to explode. The fuse body was made of painted, galvanized or tombac-clad steel, from solid-drawn tubes with a diameter of 12 mm and stamped from sheets, from rifle casings, from black or brown bakelite. To detonate the explosive charge, an MD-2 fuse is screwed into the MUV - detonator cap No. 8 combined with an igniter primer. The fuse is inserted into the mine socket, and a tension wire is tied to the MUV pin. When the wire touches the pin, it is pulled out of the fuse and the mine explodes. Actuation force 0.5-1 kg. The destructive radius of POMZ-2 is 25 m, the radius of dispersion of lethal fragments is up to 200 m. It could be installed with one or two branches of guy wires.
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During search operations, the mine is easily detected by a metal detector. The installation pegs and tension wire usually rot, leaving the body of the mine with a drill block and a fuse. Such mines are dangerous. Often the firing pin rod is damaged by corrosion and is very weakly held in the cocked position. The mainspring in the MUV is tinned and is preserved quite well. If you move carelessly or lightly hit, the firing pin may break off and puncture the igniter. If you find a POMZ-2 with the first fuse inserted, you should not try to remove the fuse or drill block. Such a mine, in case of emergency, can be carefully, holding it by the body, moved to a safe place. Quite often you can find POMZ-2 without a fuse, piled up in heaps. These mines remained after demining the area by sappers and do not pose a danger. |
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PMD-6 (PMD-7, PMD-7ts) |
OZM UVK
Universal ejector chamber. Used in combination with any domestic or captured artillery ammunition. Very rare. Used as part of controlled minefields. It is a steel cylindrical chamber with a diameter of 132 mm and a height of 75 mm, inside which there is an expelling charge, an electric igniter, a moderator and a detonator. An ordinary artillery mine or shell is screwed to the chamber. The mine is installed in the ground with the camera facing down. When an electric current is applied to the contacts of the electric igniter, an expelling charge is triggered, throwing the artillery ammunition upward. After the moderator burns out, the ammunition explodes at a height of about 1-5 m. The radius of dispersion of fragments depends on the artillery ammunition used in the mine. It occurs very rarely during prospecting operations. Poses a danger when impacted by UVK or when heated. If discovered, if absolutely necessary, the mine can be dug up and carefully moved to a safe place. Don't pull the wire.
Mines of the former German army
The mine is a massive smooth cylinder with a diameter of 102 mm, a height of 128 mm, painted gray-green. The top cover of the mine has a central neck for attaching a fuse and four screws. Three small screws close the sockets for detonator caps, the fourth screw (larger) closes the neck for filling the mine with explosive. The mine is made with high quality and is sealed against moisture. The mine consists of an outer cup and the mine itself. Inside there is an explosive charge (500 g of TNT), along the walls of the mine there are ready-made fragments - 340 steel balls (shrapnel) with a diameter of 9 mm. Inside the explosive bomb there are three channels for placing detonator caps No. 8. The mine itself is inserted into the outer cup, from which it is fired using an expelling charge. A tube runs through the center of the mine, which serves to hold all parts of the mine together and transfer fire from the fuse to the expelling charge. When the fuse is triggered, it, through the moderator, transfers the fire impulse to the expelling charge. The expulsion charge fires the mine upward into their outer shell and ignites the retardants. After the moderator burns out, the fire is transferred to the detonator caps and at a height of about 2-5 m a mine explodes with scattering of balls. Due to the mine being triggered at a certain height, it has a large radius of destruction - 80 m. The mine could be installed with a push and pull action, depending on the fuse used. There were modifications of the “spring mine” with the ability to be installed as non-removable. In addition to the upper one, such mines also had a lower socket for an additional fuse.
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Fuse SMiZ-35 - pressure action, used for S-mine anti-personnel mines). The fuze body is usually made of aluminum alloy. The fuse is of high quality and is sealed against moisture. It has three characteristic antennae on its head. It worked when you pressed these antennae. Actuation force 4-6 kg. Before the mine is installed, the rod is held in place by a safety pin in the form of a small screw of complex shape, which is secured to the fuse with a nut. It was used as a single fuse, or could be installed on a “tee” together with two tension-action fuses. |
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Fuze ZuZZ-35 - double (tension and cutting) action. |
German mine fuses are made of high quality from non-ferrous metals. They are little susceptible to corrosion and therefore the fuses operate reliably even after half a century from the moment of installation. Fortunately, S-mine has powder retardants, which are most likely damp by now and the likelihood of the mine detonating normally is low, but there are exceptions to every rule and you shouldn’t tempt fate by trying to disassemble the mine. When discovering German mines with fuses inserted, special care must be taken. If the fuse is screwed into a mine and does not have a safety pin, you should insert a nail or a piece of wire with a diameter of 2.5 mm into the hole for the safety pin and secure it. After this, you need to check whether the mine has an additional lower fuse for non-removability. If there is no additional fuse, in case of emergency, you can remove the mine from the ground and carefully, without jolts or impacts, move it to a safe place. If there is an additional fuse, do not remove the mine from the ground, but mark its location with a clearly visible sign.
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Stockmine |
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SD-2 |
Anti-tank mines
Domestic mines
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TMD-B (TMD-44) Pressure strips are nailed to the top of the box and there is a door (or plug) for inserting the fuse into the mine. The mine is equipped with ammatol, ammonite or dynamon. The weight of the loaded mine is 7.5-8 kg, the charge weight is 4.7-5.5 kg. The briquettes are secured in the mine using wooden blocks. The briquettes are detonated using an intermediate detonator made from a 200 g demolition block and an MV-5 fuse. |
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The MV-5 fuse is a push action type and explodes when the cap is pressed. Used in pressure mines. The firing pin is held in the firing position by the ball. When you press the cap, the ball drops into the recess of the cap and releases the striker, which pierces the fuse. The fuse trigger force is 10-20 kg. The fuse is inserted into the mine socket, and the door is closed. When a tank track hits a mine, the top cover breaks and the pressure bars press on the fuse cap. At the same time, the mine explodes. To trigger the mine, a force of 100 kg is required. |
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TM-41 |
During search operations, a mine is very rarely encountered. Do not attempt to unscrew the plug and remove the fuse. The found mine must be carefully moved to a safe place without hitting the top cover and without turning the mine upside down.
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TM-35 |
During search operations, the mine is found more often than all other domestic anti-tank mines, but not because of its mass use, but due to the good preservation of the metal casing. If a mine is detected, you should not open the valve and look to see if the fuse is inserted into the mine. Such a mine should be treated as if it had a fuse. Do not attempt to remove the fuse or open the body of the mine. If absolutely necessary, carefully move the found mine to a safe place, avoiding any blows to the body.
Mines of the former German army
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Designed to interrupt the tracks and damage the chassis of the tank. The mine has a round body with a diameter of 320 mm and a height of 90 mm. The body is made of aluminum alloy and sheet steel. There was a version of the mine made entirely of sheet steel with stamped stiffening ribs on the top cover. The upper part of the housing is a push-on lid. In the center of the lid there is a threaded hole into which a brass fuse is screwed. The mine has a carrying handle on the side. To ensure that it is not removable, the mine has threaded sockets on the side and bottom for fuses of the ZZ-42, ZZ-35 type. The mine is filled with fused TNT. The weight of the loaded mine is 10 kg, the charge weight is 5.2 kg. The main charge is detonated using a TMiZ-35 fuse. When a tank track hits a mine, the pressure cap transfers pressure to the fuse, the striker cuts off the shear pin and the mine explodes. To trigger a mine, a force of over 100 kg is required. The TMiZ-35 fuse has two fuses - a screw and a side pin. The safety screw is located on top of the fuse. There is a red pointer dot on it. The propeller can occupy two positions: safe (Sicher), marked with a white line, and combat platoon (Sharf), marked with a red line. |
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During search operations, the mine is encountered more often than other anti-tank mines. It is dangerous when it is cocked: the red dot on the safety screw is in the Sharf position. Do not try to move the safety screw to a safe position - the mine may explode. When a mine is detected, it doesn’t matter whether it’s on the safety catch or in the cocked position, without moving the mine from |
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After 1942, the TMi-35 mine (in a steel casing) could be used with a simplified fuse similar to the fuses of the TMi-42 and TMi-43 mines. In such mines, the central threaded hole for the fuse is closed with a threaded plug. Do not attempt to unscrew the plug and remove the fuse. The fuse does not have a fuse, the trigger force is about 240 kg, but the mine can explode if a running or fast-walking person steps on it. Handling found mines - check for fuses that cannot be removed and, if absolutely necessary, carefully, avoiding hitting the pressure cover, move the mine to a safe place. |
TMi-42 and TMi-35
TMi-42 differs from TMi-35 (in a steel case) in the smaller size of the pressure cover. The main fuse is inserted into the central hole in the pressure cap and closed with a screw plug. The mine has lower and side sockets for additional fuses when set to non-removable. Mine weight 10 kg, charge weight 5 kg. TMi-43 differs from TMi-42 in the design and shape of the pressure cover. The pressure cap is corrugated and is screwed onto the central neck of the mine after installing the fuse.
Found in battlefields after 1942. Handling mines is similar to handling TMi-35 - make sure that the mine is not set to non-removable and, in case of emergency, move it to a safe place, avoiding hitting the pressure cover. Do not attempt to unscrew the fuse plug or pressure cap.
During search operations, a mine is very rarely encountered. The wooden casing of the mines found usually rots. What remains are explosive checkers and a checker with an inserted fuse or simply with a detonator sticking out. Do not attempt to remove the fuse or detonator from the bomb. If absolutely necessary, carefully move such a checker, without touching the fuse, to a safe place.
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Anti-vehicle mine. Used by the Germans after 1943 to damage the chassis of tanks or vehicles. Could be used as an anti-personnel mine. The mine is a rectangular box made of sheet steel with dimensions of 80x10x8 cm. The upper part of the body is a push-on lid. The mine has a carrying handle at the end. Combat shear pins are passed through the holes in the side walls - wires, the ends of which are twisted on the top cover of the mine. The top cover of the mine can be opened to accommodate an explosive charge and two ZZ-42 fuses. The weight of the loaded mine is 8.5 kg, the charge weight is 5 kg. When hitting a mine, the shear pins are cut off and the explosive charge, when lowered, pulls the combat pins out of fuses 22-42, causing a mine explosion. To trigger the mine, a force of 150 kg is required. |
During search operations, a mine is encountered very rarely. If found, special attention should be paid to the integrity of the shear checks (wires). If the shear wires are not twisted on the mine cover or are severely damaged by corrosion, the mine should not be touched, its location should be marked with a visible sign. If the pins are in good condition and are twisted onto the mine cover, in case of emergency, you can carefully, avoiding shocks and blows, remove the mine from the ground and turn it upside down and move it to a safe place. Attempts to dismantle the mine are unacceptable.
In addition to standard anti-personnel and anti-tank weapons, homemade mines and field mines made by the troops were quite widely used. The simplest mine or landmine was a demolition bomb or a standard charge with a standard fuse attached. Handling such mines is similar to handling standard mines with a similar fuse.
Domestic field land mines were used with MUV or VPF fuses. The field landmine fuse (HFF) is used to construct homemade mines, booby traps, etc. It consists of a body with a clamp for attaching the fuse to various objects, a firing pin, a mainspring, and a collet for holding the firing pin in the cocked position (using a swivel joint with the firing pin head ), a safety cotter pin (after installing the landmine, the cotter pin is pulled out of the shelter with a cord), a fuse with an igniter primer and a detonator. Triggered when the collet is pulled up or tilted in any direction. The force required to pull the collet up is 4-6.5 kg, for tilting in any direction is 1-1.5 kg.
Quite rarely, delayed-action mines with time, chemical or electrical fuses were used. They were usually used to undermine any buildings or structures, bridges, roads. They usually have a significant explosive charge (from 3-5 kg to 500-1000 kg) and several different fuses for reliable operation. During search operations, such mines are practically never encountered, but if there is a suspicion of the presence of such a mine, then search operations should be stopped and sappers called.
We often find shell casings from the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars in the ground. Almost all of them have some kind of their own difference. Today we will look at the markings of cartridges, which are located on the cartridge capsule, regardless of the brand and caliber of the weapon.
Let's look at some types and markings of Austro-Hungarian types of cartridges from 1905-1916. For this type of cartridge case, the primer is divided into four parts using dashes, the inscriptions are embossed. The left and right cells are the year of production, the top is the month, and the bottom is the plant designation.
- In Fig. 1. – G. Roth, Vienna.
- Fig. 2. – Bello and Selye, Prague.
- Figure 3. - Wöllersdorf plant.
- Figure 4. - Hartenberg factory.
- Fig. 5. - the same Hartenberg, but the Kellery Co. plant.
Later Hungarian ones from the 1930s and 40s have some differences. Figure 6. - Chapel Arsenal, year of manufacture below. Fig. 7. – Budapest. Fig. 8. – Veszprem military plant.
Germany, imperialist war.
The German marking of cartridge cases from the imperialist war has two types with a clear division (Fig. 9) using dashes into four equal parts of the primer and with a conventional one (Fig. 10). The inscription is extruded; in the second version, the letters and numbers of the designation are directed towards the capsule.
At the top there is the marking S 67, in different versions: together, separately, with a dot, without numbers. The lower part is the month of production, on the left is the year, and on the right is the plant. In some cases, the year and plant are reversed, or the arrangement of all divisions is completely reversed.
Fascist Germany.
Cases and their markings in Nazi Germany (Mauser type) have many options, because cartridges were produced in almost all factories of the occupied countries Western Europe: Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Italy.
Consider Fig. 11-14, this sleeve is made in Denmark. The capsule is divided into four parts: at the top is the letter P with numbers, at the bottom is the week, on the left side is the year, on the right is the letter S and a star (five-pointed or six-pointed). In Figures 15-17 we see some more types of cartridges produced in Denmark.
In Fig. 18 we see capsules presumably of Czechoslovak and Polish production. The capsule is divided into four parts: at the top – Z, at the bottom the month of manufacture, on the left and right – the year. There is an option where “SMS” is written at the top, and the caliber at the bottom is 7.92.
- In Fig. 19-23 German cartridges G. Genshov and Co. in Durlya;
- Fig. 24. - RVS, Browning, caliber 7.65, Nuremberg;
- Figure 25 and 26 - DVM, Karlsruhe.
More options for Polish-made cartridges.
- Fig. 27 - Skarzysko-Kamienna;
- Figure 28 and 29 - "Pochinsk", Warsaw.
The marks on the Mosin rifle cartridges are not depressed, but convex. At the top there is usually the letter of the manufacturer, at the bottom - the numbers of the year of manufacture.
- Figure 30 – Lugansk plant;
- Fig 31 - plant from Russia;
- Figure 32 – Tula plant.
Some more capsule options:
- Figure 33 – Tula plant;
- Figure 34 – Russian plant;
- Fig 35 – Moscow;
- Rice 36 – Russian-Belgian;
- Figure 37 – Riga;
- Figure 38 – Leningradsky;
- Figure 39, 40, 41, 42 – different factories in Russia.
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