The One with the Rifle Shoots

Somehow, the scene from Enemy at the Gates is considered real by some people, but the situation in real life was rather different. Even in blockaded Sevastopol, nobody sent soldiers to the front lines with no rifles.

"Order #03 for the second defense sector, November 19th, 1941

1. By order of the commander of the 31st Infantry Regiment, 43 rifles were confiscated from rear servicemen of the regiment. 43 soldiers were armed and sent to the front.

I approve of the initiative of the commander of the 31st regiment and order that:

1. Immediately take inventory of all weapons in the rear forces, leave 1-2 rifles per squad and send the rest to arm the front line troops.
2. The commandant of the sector HQ must confiscate weapons from rear servicemen, political department, operations department, prosecution, and tribunal.
3. Immediately confiscate all submachineguns from HQs, regimental and divisional rear servicemen, political department, operations department, prosecution, tribunal, medical units and drivers, send them to:
1. Regiments: to front line companies and reconnaissance units.
2. Divisions; to the chief of artillery armament, comrade Oskin.
4. I must ask commanders and commissars to pay attention to some soldiers that, when the enemy pressures them, retreat and throw down their rifles and even machineguns.
   I demand the strictest responsibility of soldiers and commanders for the weapons given to them. Those that abandon their weapons will be brought before a military tribunal. Form small squads headed by a brave unit commander to retrieve weapons from the dead and heavily wounded in each company. Each rifle and especially machinegun must be saved no matter what."

Via gistory.

AK Trials

"Conclusions: 

1. The 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle with a model 1943 round satisfies requirement #3131 in reliability of the automatic system, lifespan of components, usage characteristics, and overall, and can be recommended for mass production and subsequent military trials.
2. The Kalashnikov assault rifle does not fully satisfy requirement #3131 in the category of precision. However, as when firing single shots it greatly surpasses the model 1941 SMG, and is equivalent when firing in fully automatic mode, the Kalashnikov assault rifle can be recommended for military trials with existing precision. 

Recommendations:

1. Assault rifles, produced according to requirement #3132, which were composed according to military suggestions after AS-44 trials and previous proving grounds trials, are a step forward compared to the AS-44 as assault rifles matching modern requirements.
2. The best performance of all was by the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which, due to its reliability, component lifespan, and overall, satisfies the requirements, and can be recommended for mass production and military trials with its existing precision, as it is not less than the precision of the AS-44, and the assault rifle surpasses the PPSh-41 in all characteristics."

Tezka also has some more details on the trials. The comparison was between the new Kalashnikov, Bulkin, and Dementyev rifles, compared with the PPSh, PPS, and MP-44. Also, more results:

"When firing in bursts while prone, all assault rifles are equivalent, do not satisfy requirement #3131, and are inferior to the model 1941 submachinegun.

...

When firing in single shot, all are superior to the model 1941 submachinegun, and likewise equivalent."

Additionally, he states that, ergonomically, all assault rifles were superior to the PPSh-41. 

Birth of the PPS

CAMD RF 38-11355-806

"To the deputy commander of the Red Army GAU, Major-General of Artillery, comrade Hohlov

Experience shows that the 7.62 mm DT tank machinegun does not provide sufficient volume of fire, due to its 63 round magazine and rapid heating of the barrel. It is desirable to have a belt-fed machinegun, capable of rapidly firing up to 500 rounds.

The PPSh submachinegun is a necessary weapon for tank crews, but is inconvenient to use. The disk magazine is large, and gets in the way. The stock impedes exiting the tank. It is desirable to have a submachinegun with a box magazine that holds 25-30 rounds and a folding stock, like the one on the German SMG.

I ask you to instruct Artkom to begin work on improving firearms for tank crews according to the issues noted above.

Deputy GABTU Chief, Major-General of Technical Forces, Lebedev

BTU Military Commissar, Regimental Commissar Vorobyev"

Partisan's Companion: The Enemy's Weapons

Earlier, I translated a chapter from the Partisan's Companion dealing with Soviet weapons. This chapter deals with captured German weapons that a partisan group could turn on their previous owners.

"V. Know how to use the enemy's weapons

A partisan must fight not only with weapons adopted by the RKKA, but with the enemy's weapons. Learn to use it, so that you may defeat the German fascists with their own weapons. First, familiarize yourself with the main German small arms.

German Mauser rifle model 1898

Fig. 89. German Mauser rifle model 1898

This rifle is loaded with 5 7.92 mm rounds. It is loaded in the same manner as our rifle, by turning the knob on the right leftwards, and pulling it towards yourself.

The receiver has a slot for a clip with ammunition. The left side of the slot has a groove to press down on the rounds with your finger, pushing them into the magazine.

The rear of the receiver has a flag. In order to put the rifle on safe, raise it. If you turn the flag to the right, the bolt cannot be opened. If you turn the flag to the left, it rifle is ready to shoot.

In order to take out the bolt, turn the handle to the left, use your left thumb to pull back the bolt retainer, and pull the bolt out. When putting it back in, put the extractor above the right groove and pull the bolt retainer to the left.

The sight consists of a front post and a rear sight. The rear sight has four identical scales, measured in meters. Two scales are on the side, and two on the top.

The range of the rifle is 2000 meters. The maximum range of the bullet is 5000 meters.

In order to remove the bayonet, press on the retainer button with your right hand. Fire the rifle without a bayonet. It is mounted on the rifle only in the event of hand to hand combat.

38-40 Submachinegun

Fig 91. 38-40 Submachinegun

The submachinegun has a caliber of 9 mm. A bracket (the stock) is attached to the pistol grip. It can be folded out. This lengthens the SMG, but allows you to fire more comfortably. Here is how to open it: find a button on the left side of the pistol grip, press on it downwards, and the stock will open. 

The end of the stock has a crooked bar that braces on your right shoulder during firing. It is held in place by a mechanical retainer. When you want to open the stock, turn it downwards. Turning it upwards again locks the stock in place. 

Here is how to fire:

1. Open the stock and shoulder bar.
2. Brace the bar against your right shoulder.
3. Grip the pistol grip with your right hand, and the magazine well with your left.
4. Acquire your target through the sight.
5. Fire.

Hand Machineguns

All hand machineguns use German and Polish 7.92 mm Mauser rounds.

Know the various Mauser ammunition types

Light bullets have a black rim around the primer. Heavy bullets have a green rim. Armour piercing bullets have a red rim. Incendiary rounds have a black rim, but the tip of the bullet is light or black. Armour-piercing tracer rounds have a red rim, and the tip of the bullet is black.

MG-34 Hand Machinegun

The MG-34 weighs 12 kilograms. Its caliber is 7.92 mm. Effective range is 1100 meters. The machinegun can be fed from a magazine or from a belt. A magazine fits 75 rounds. Belts fit either 250 or 50 rounds. Carefully inspect elements of the the machinegun.

Fig. 92. MG-34 hand machinegun with belt.

Fig 93. MG-34 hand machinegun with magazine.

MG-08/15 and MG-08/18 Machineguns

Rate of fire: 500 RPM. Range: up to 2000 meters. Weight of the MG-08/15 is 17.9 kg, MG-08/18 is 14.5 kg. The design of these machineguns is largely the same as the Maxim machinegun. When dealing with them, follow the directions in NSD-38 "Maxim mounted machinegun model 1910". 

Fig. 102. MG-08/15 machinegun

Fig. 103. MG-08/18 machinegun

Place the ammunition box on a special rail. It can be found on the right side of the gun.

When firing from the MG-08/15, fire in bursts of 7-12 rounds, and 3-5 rounds from the MG-08/18. The latter is air cooled, and therefore you do not need to replace the water or add lubricant to the lubricant reservoir. 

When disassembling, first remove the upper screw, then turn the stock downwards.

MG-13 Hand Machinegun (Dreyse) 

Rate of fire: 550 RPM. Effective range: 1200 meters. Mass: 12 kg. Magazine capacity: 25 rounds.

Fig 104. MG-13 Hand machinegun (Dreyse)

ZB-30 (ZB-26) Hand Machinegun

Rate of fire: 550-650 RPM. Range: 1000 meters. This is the lightest German machinegun, at 9.6 kg. The magazine holds 20 rounds.

Fig. 105. ZB-30 (ZB-26) hand machinegun

S-18 Soloturn Anti-tank Rifle

Rate of fire: up to 10 RPM. Caliber: 20 mm. 

This self-loading rifle is designed to combat tanks, armoured cars, etc. At a distance of 200 meters, its bullet can penetrate 31 mm of armour. The magazine can fit 5-10 rounds. 

Fig. 106. S-18 Soloturn Anti-tank Rifle

Parabellum Pistol

The Parabellum pistol is the personal weapon of all German army officers. It is available in two calibers: 9 mm and 7.65 mm. 

Load the Parabellum: take the slide with your thumb and index finger and pull it down (fig 107). Figure 108 shows how to release the slide.

Fig 107. How to pull back the slide.

Fig 108. How to release the slide.

The safety is located on the left side of the pistol. It has two positions, the upper and the lower. When the lever is in the lower position, the gun is safe, and cannot fire. Move the lever is in the upper position, where it says "fire" in German, and the gun can fire.

Rounds can be fed into the chamber when the safety is in any position. Insert the magazine into the lower part of the handle. A magazine carries 8 rounds. It is automatically locked with a button.

The Parabellum has an effective range of 50 meters. Place its barrel on your bent left hand for stability. The maximum lethal range of the bullet is 300 meters. 

M-34 Hand Grenade

Mass: 310 grams
Explosion range: 3-6 meters
Fragmentation range: 10-15 meters
Throwing range: 35-10 meters

Fig. 109. M-34 hand grenade.

Fig. 110. How to throw the grenade.

The German model 1934 hand grenade (fig 109) is an offensive impact-detonated hand grenade. The grenades are armed by quartermasters and issued to the soldiers this way.

Throwing the grenade (fig. 110)

1. Take the grenade in your right hand, like in the image.
2. Put your left index finger into the ring. 
3. Turn your right hand 90 degrees (so the safety bar clears the safety bracket).
4. Pull the ring out.
5. Throw the grenade.

The grenade is harmless until the ring with the safety bar is pulled out. The grenade has two safeties. One is pulled out with the ring, the other falls out while the grenade is in flight. The grenade will explode when it hits an object. It is forbidden to attempt to disarm this grenade.

M-24 Hand Grenade

The M-24 is an offensive timed hand grenade. It consists of a cylindrical case, in which the explosive is stored, and the handle with the firing mechanism. The grenade has a special loop for carrying it. The grenade weighs 500 grams, and has no protective casing.

Here is how to arm the M-24 grenade. Screw the handle off the case. There is a cylindrical opening in the lower part of the firing mechanism. Insert the detonator there.

Carefully screw the handle back into the grenade, avoiding shaking or hitting it. The grenade is armed (fig 111). 

When throwing the grenade, put it in your right hand. With your left hand, unscrew the protective cap from the handle. There you will find a porcelain ball. When swinging the grenade, grab the ball, and pull out the cord (fig 111). Throw the grenade immediately, as it will explode in 4.5-5 seconds.

The range of the grenade is 30-35 meters. The fragments of the grenade fly 10-15 meters. 

Fig. 111. M-24 hand grenade.

How to defuse the grenade? Carefully screw off the handle from the casing. Take out the detonator. Wrap it in paper, cotton, or a rag, and put it in your bag so it is safe from being hit or falling out. Reconnect the handle with the grenade.

Always transport the grenades unloaded. Store and transport the detonators separately. 

Model 1939 Egg-shaped Hand Grenade

This is an offensive timed hand grenade. It weighs 220 grams. 

To prepare this grenade for throwing, extract the fuse with the protective cap from the grenade (shown in figure 112 in the left hand) and inspect the fuse housing. Make sure that it is free from debris. Screw off the safety cap from the distance cylinder (fig 112). Replace it with a detonator. The open part of the detonator may contain wood shavings, cloth fibers, etc. In this case, turn the detonator so that they fall out. If they do not, discard the detonator, as it is unusable. Do not attempt to extract debris from the detonator with any object.

If you have a functioning detonator, slide it on the distance cylinder carefully (fig 113). Then, screw the fuse into the grenade and tighten the nut (fig 114). The grenade is ready for use.

Fig. 112. How to remove the safety cap.

Fig. 113. How to put on the detonator.

Fig. 114. How to tighten the fuse with a nut.

Screw off the safety cap, which remains attached by a cord. Take the grenade in your right hand. Grip the cap with your index and middle fingers, and throw the grenade. Remember that it will detonate 4 seconds after you throw.

Some grenades already have a detonator inserted. Know how to disarm them. Pull the fuse out of the grenade. Carefully take the detonator off and wrap it in a rag. Put the safety cap back on and screw the fuse back into the grenade.

Transport grenades separately from the detonators.

Extreme Trials

Kris Reid dug up an interesting Soviet method of trials.

"Task #4.
Scenario: A small unit of submachinegunners on horseback is deployed to pursue the enemy and disorganize his rear.
Target: 3 #27a targets (cargo truck)
Ammunition: 10 rounds
Time: Unlimited
Shooting position: from horseback.
Order of trials:

1. Shooters mount horses 300-400 meters from their targets. SMGs are ready for combat (loaded, safety off), trot up to the target range, and, after dropping their guns on pavement or hard dirt, stop 50 meters from their target and fire in bursts of 5. 
2. Same, but do not stop the horses.

...

Sudayev's SMG had the rear sling mount point disconnected, and fell first on the side of the road, then on the pavement. No damage was found. After the last fall, the horse stepped on the magazine catch and bent it. The SMG was found suitable for continuation of the trials. Shooting was performed from horseback, first from 50 meters away from the target, then while the horse was trotting parallel to the targets. Both shooters fired from the same horse (nicknamed Immennoy)."

SMG Tests

In December of 1941, the Soviets decided to test a bunch of SMGs. The SMGs were as follows:
"Model 1940" (PPD)
"Model 1941" (PPSh)
Suomi
Bergman BMP-34 #260
Schmeisser 18/28 #77598
Neuhausen
(They also had something called an Esti, but no ammunition for it).

The first column is the distance (100 meters). The second column is the SMG name (same order as above). The third column is the type of fire, alternating between single shot and burst. The fourth column is the radius for 100% of the shots. The fifth is for the most precise 50% of the shots. The sixth and seventh are for the center of the groups, relative to aiming.

Conclusions: the Neuhausen SMG shows best results, PPD SMG shows the worst.

Armoury of the Moscow People's Militia

In September of 1941, things weren't looking so good for the Red Army. The possibility of the German army reaching, and even taking, Moscow was on the horizon. A People's Militia was formed to defend the city if necessary. At the same time, an inventory of obsolete weapons was taken, to see what they could be equipped with if the regular army consumes all of the currently produced guns. Numbers of functional guns and those in need of repairs are given, the latter in brackets.

Any modern collector would be envious of the result:

"7.7 mm English rifles and carbines: 8992 (11911)

7.92 mm rifles and carbines: 24897 (13188)

8 mm Lebel rifles and carbines, model 86/93 16380 (2890)

8 mm Lebel rifles and carbines, model 907-15-16 21630 (5100)

7.62 mm Finnish rifles and carbines 2406 (8190)

6.5 mm Japanese rifles and carbines 3260 (5554)

6.5 mm Italian rifles and carbines 1777 (1455)

8 mm Mannlicher rifles and carbines 15096 (1481)

8 mm Steyr rifles 1194 (928)

11 mm Gras rifles 3906 (1303)

10.4 mm Vetterli-Vitali rifles 1080 (296)

6.5 mm Fedorov submachineguns 882 (67)

7.62 mm Finnish Suomi hand-held machineguns 38 (261)

7.7 mm Hotchkiss hand-held machineguns 71 (0)

7.7 mm Lewis hand-held machineguns 0 (514)

7.92 mm Lewis hand-held machineguns 64 (0)

7.92 mm German Bergmann machineguns 86 (115)

7.92 mm German Maxim hand-held machineguns with no bipods, unsuitable for use 800 (0)

7.92 mm Polish Browning machineguns 40 (97)

7.92 mm German hand-held Maxim machineguns 37 (424)

8 mm Chauchat hand-held machineguns 673 (983)

7.62 mm Colt mounted machinegun 1796 (0)

7.62 mm Vickers machinegun on a tripod 172 (0)

7.62 mm Finnish Maxim machinegun (no mount) 25 (339)

7.62 mm Colt machinegun (no tripod) 0 (603)

7.7 mm Vickers machinegun (with tripod) 280 (0)

7.92 mm Vickers mounted machinegun 112 (0)

7.62 mm Browning mounted machinegun 503 (0)

7.92 mm Polish Hotchkiss mounted machinegun 209 (42)

7.92 mm Maxim mounted machinegun 62 (0)

8 mm Schwartzlose mounted machinegun 133 (14)

8 mm St. Etienne mounted machinegun 815 (0)

8 mm Hotchkiss mounted machinegun 964 (141)

7.92 mm Polish Browning aircraft machinegun 70 (0)

7.92 mm Polish aircraft machinegun 82 (0)

7.92 mm Polish Vickers synchronized aircraft machinegun 0 (132)

7.92 mm German Vickers turret aircraft machinegun 33 (0)

7.92 mm Hotchkiss aircraft machinegun 42 (0)

76 mm model 1902/30 regimental gun 279 (45)

76 mm model 1900 gun 0 (48)

76 mm French model 1897 gun 12 (208)

76 mm model 1933 gun 89 (112)

76 mm mountain gun model 1909 1 (51)"

Thankfully, the militia received proper modern firearms, and didn't have to go into battle with this museum. Andrei Ulanov provides the following excerpt:

"3. People's Militia divisions were re-armed and are equipped with domestically produced weapons:

• With small arms, 50 mm mortars, and 76 mm divisional guns: completely
• 82 mm mortars: 39%, 120 mm mortars: 15%, 45 mm guns: 15%, 76 mm regimental guns: 32%, 122 mm howitzers: 100%
• Communications equipment: 20-45%

4. To fully equip the People's Militia divisions, the following must be issued:

• 396 82 mm mortars, 122 120 mm mortars, 98 76 mm regimental guns
• 30% of regularly issued pioneer tools
• Main communications equipment (radios, telephones, cable).

September 3rd, 1941 (signed: Schadenko, Artemyev, Yakovlev)."

Via Andrei Ulanov

Lend-Lease .45 SMGs

"ArtKom GAU #12132, Secret

On March 31st, 1942, the shooting range at military base #36 conducted a test of American 11.43 mm pistol rounds, after receiving 3 million such rounds from Murmansk. The tests were conducted by the Senior Assistant of the Chief of the 5th Department of ArtKom GAU KA military engineer 2nd grade Ohotnikov N.S. and Assistant of the Chief of the 5th Department of ArtKom GAU KA military engineer 2nd grade Karagodin G.K., following the program outlined in this document.

The purpose of the tests was to establish the condition of the received rounds. Rounds were taken from 10 crates, 100 rounds each. The results were as follows:

1. External inspection of the rounds

300 rounds were visually inspected. The inspection shows that the rounds have scum on the casings, and dirt in the casing base. Some rounds have a stamp, some do not. Most rounds have primers sticking out, but some have primers sunk in very deeply.

The bullets are red brass, the casings are yellow brass, but five rounds (1.7%) had a red metallic casing (probably red brass). Most of the cartridges are produced by Remington (with a stamp on the case "REM-UMC.45ACP), but there are others:

Western: 6 (2%)
WRA Co: 4 (1.4%)
FA-34: 2 (0.7%)
FA-40: 6 (2%)
RA-41: 2 (0.7%)

During visual inspection, the following defects were found:

Dented primer: 6 (2%)
Ragged primer edges: 40 (13.3%)
Impacted primer: 46 (15.3%)
Crooked primer: 10 (3.3%)
Weakly housed bullet, removable by hand: 1 (0.3%)
Total: 103 (34.4%)

II: Testing by firing from a submachinegun

The rounds were fired from a Reising SMG #5073 and Thompson SMG #S-152550. 970 rounds were fired. The following defects were found:

Escaping gases (casing ruptured): 6 (0.6%)
Tough extraction of the casing: 3 (0.3%)
The bullet remains in the barrel (no gunpowder): 2 (0.2%)
Misfire (Reising): 59 (6.1%)
Misfire (Thompson): 4 (0.4%)
Casing stuck on extraction (Reising): 25 (2.6%)

Rounds that failed to fire in the Reising could be fired from the Thompson.

III: Inspection of casings

After firing, 300 casings were examined. The following defects were discovered:
Ruptures around primer: 16 (6%)
Penetrated primer: 6 (2%)
Primer fell out: 2 (0.7%)

Conclusions

1. 11.43 mm rounds that arrived at Murmansk were produced by various companies, and in various years.
2. Many rounds have defects, mainly of the primer, which results in escaping gases, rupture of the casing, misfires, poor extraction, and other anomalies.
3. The received shipment of rounds can only be used after removing 100% of defective items, and even that will not stop escaping gases and bullets getting stuck in the barrel.

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