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MKb 42 (H) vs M1 Carbine

The precision of the MKb 42(H) at ranges of 100, 300, and 500 meters is 1.5 times worse than that of the American M1 carbine.

In automatic fire, the precision of the MKb 42 (H) is unsatisfactory (a burst can't be caught by a 1.5 x 1.5 meter target at 100 meters).

The reliability of the automatic mechanism has not been determined.

The design of the sample is complex, but the widespread use of stamped parts deserves attention.

Via kris_reid.

Mauser vs Mosin

Recently, I posted the test results of a captured German Mauser sniper rifle. Without reposting the whole thing here, I'll point your attention to the important parts, namely the dispersion. As per tradition, the 50% radius is 3.6 cm at 100 meters, 15 cm at 300 meters, and 25.7 cm at 600 meters. These numbers don't change drastically with a scope on. Good, right? Well, "good" doesn't mean much without a basis of comparison. Let's compare it to a member of the same class, the Mosin 1891/30.

 

This is a scan from "Sharpshooter Manual, 7.62 mm rifle model 1891 with PU scope and optical devices", or more simply, a Mosin sniper rifle. The data seen here isn't too far off from data obtained from the German rifle: deviations of 5 cm at 100 meters, 14 cm at 300 meters, and 31-32 cm at 600 meters. As weapons of the same class, this should be expected. However, just for kicks, let's try a different weapon. One of the tables I had on hand was one for AK-74 and AKS-74 assault rifles.

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while have probably already guessed that when comparing something that has a vague reputation of quality and something that has an equally vague reputation of being cheap junk, the results can be surprising. This case is no exception: the bullet of an average AK shooter deviates by 4 cm at 100 meters, 12 cm at 300 meters, and 24 cm at 600 meters, so almost exactly the same values as a high quality German sniper rifle.

German Sniper Rifle

"5. Determining the combat characteristics of the German sniper rifle

The results of determining the muzzle velocity of the German sniper rifle are included in attachment #4, where you can see that the muzzle velocity of the Mauser rifle #6448 is 764 m/s.

The results of the precision and accuracy of the German sniper rifle with open and optical sights are included in attachment #5. Here are the average results.

	With open sights				With optical sights
	Dispersion radii, cm		Deviation from point of aiming, cm		Dispersion radii, cm		Deviation from point of aiming, cm
	100%	50%	Vertical	Horizontal	100%	50%	Vertical	Horizontal
100	9.5	3.6	+12.5	+0.7	9.4	3.9	+1.9	-20.2
300	28.3	15.0	-17.8	+14.0	33.3	15.3	-56.7	-48.0
600	47.3	25.7	-56.3	+47.7	61.0	25.3	-165.0	-101.7

Via kris_reid.

Penetration

Penetration (or, rather, overpenetration) is an important topic for small arms as well as artillery. In this document, several different pistol rounds are compared in their ability to punch through 11 dry pine boards from a distance of 25 meters.

The guns in the list are:

• "Mod. 1930" (likely TT-30)
• Voyevodin's design
• Browning (likely Hi-Power)
• Lakhti-35
• Star 7.63 mm
• Borchardt-Luger
• Colt M1
• Mauser 7.65 mm
• Sauer

The note on the bottom says that the Star pistol was using 7.62 mm model 1930 cartridges, more commonly known as 7.62 Tokarev. As you can see, that particular pistol was the most impressive, penetrating 8 boards with 10/10 shots, and the only gun to make a hole in the 10th and 11th board. The TT-30 doesn't do as well, only conquering 6 boards, but that's still better than the .45 bullet of the 1911 (3 boards) and 9 mm Luger (4 boards).

Via kris_reid

PTRD vs PTRS

"Evaluation of Degryaryev and Simonov anti-tank rifles based on the reviews of privates, Sergeants, and officers of anti-tank rifle units

1. Simonov's rifle starts jamming after only a small amount of fouling in the chamber, after 10-15 shots. Degtyaryev's rifle is flawless in its action. I knocked out a tank near Skopishki at 300 meters (with a BO-32 bullet). - Sergeant Pazharduk, 665th Reg., 216 Div.
2. The Degtyaryev anti-tank rifle has an insufficient rate of fire for fighting tanks, reloading takes too long. The rate of fire of Simonov's rifle is good, but heavy for attacking. Their weakness is that they are not used with the whole unit, but split up among companies and platoons, which removes the ability to fire in groups on tanks and other targets. BO-32 bullets have weak incendiary properties, BO-41 bullets are good. - Sergeant Pikalov, 346th. Div.
3. The PTRD is an excellent weapon, works flawlessly. The PTRS jams often when there is any dirt in it or when the lubricant freezes. - Artillery Quartermaster, 1166th Reg., 346th Div. Jr. Military Technician Prikhodko
4. The PTRD is flawless in battle, never has any jams that create difficulties on the battlefield. However, its weakness is that it has no magazine. The PTRS has a high rate of fire, and is convenient to carry, as it can be taken apart and put back together quickly. Its drawback is that it has many jams that cannot be fixed on the battlefield, the assembled rifle is heavy, the round casings burst often, and the chamber is fouled, which results in jams. 4 medium tanks were knocked out with anti-tank rifles from 300 meters (BO-41 bullet), and three armoured cars from 200 meters. - Artillery Quartermaster, 1168th Reg. 346th Div.
5. The PTRS has sufficient rate of fire, and sufficient penetration for a light or medium tank. Its drawbacks include jamming in dusty conditions and case expansion, which makes reloading difficult.
   The PTRD is light and mobile, reliable in cold and dust. The penetration is sufficient. Drawbacks include a lot rate of fire. During fighting in Lithuania and Latvia 3 tanks were knocked out at a range of 250-300 meters with incendiary bullets. - Commander, 1st Company, 1168th Reg. 346th Div. Captain Gotozhkov
6. The PTRD is superior to the PTRS, its penetration is good. With three aimed shots, an enemy machinegun was destroyed at 250 meters. Company commander, 346th Div. Sr. Lieutenant Deritz
7. The anti-tank rifle is a good weapon for destroying enemy strongholds, armoured cars, and other weapons. - Sr. Sergeant Fedoseev
8. The penetration of the anti-tank rifle at 100 meters is 45 mm. The rate of fire of the PTRS is 10-15 RPM, of the PTRD is 8-10 RPM. The rate of fire is good. The anti-tank rifle is very effective at destroying enemy machinegun nests. The anti-tank rifle likes cleanliness, good care, and constant lubrication. - Jr. Sergeant Kvichko
9. Anti-tank rifle units prefer to be armed with PTRD rifles, as they are lighter and more reliable. Currently, AT rifles are rarely used against tanks, as our units are saturated with AT artillery. They are normally used to destroy cars, prime movers, and light armoured cars. - Artillery Quartermaster, 417th Div. Malinin

Conclusions

1. In the second phase of the Patriotic War, when the Red Army went on the offensive on all fronts, our forces became saturated with AT artillery, improvement of armour on medium tanks and increased numbers of heavy tanks, the importance of anti-tank rifles as anti-tank weapons decreased drastically.
   The anti-tank rifle lost its power as an infantry anti-tank weapon. Artillery effectively fights tanks now. The anti-tank rifle, due to its high precision, is now used against open enemy concentrations, armoured cars, and APCs. This is natural, given the state of equipment of infantry at this time.
2. Almost all anti-tank rifle units speak well of the PTRD: light to carry and flawless in battle. Some wish to increase its rate of fire, others mention that the rate of fire is the only good quality of the PTRS. There are no positive reviews of its reliability, only negative. After 10-15 shots, it starts jamming, and these jams are hard to fix, consume a lot of time, which is unacceptable in modern fast-paced battle.
   The PTRS is unusable in battle, and its subsequent production is pointless.
3. Retain the PTRD in production, increase its rate of fire.

51st Army HQ Chief, Major-General Dashevskiy

Chief of the Artillery HQ, Colonel Shvedkov

September 28th, 1944"

Via artem-mr.

MKb 42(H) First Appearance

I wrote about Sturmgewehr intel before, but here's an even earlier appearance:

"Main data:

1. Automatic fire provided by gunpowder gases passing through the gas opening.
2. The barrel locks via the bolt tilting.
3. Uses a special shortened round, similar to the rifle ones.
4. Range: up to 800 meters.
5. Has a selector for automatic and single-shot fire.
6. Equipped with a bayonet for hand to hand combat."

The intelligence brief reads:

"Carbine-machinegun MK-42

The model 1942 7.92 mm carbine-machinegun with a 30-36 round special magazine (uses shortened 7.92 mm rifle bullets) is carried on a strap affixed to the stock and across from the bayonet lug. It's easy to disassemble. Judging by the design, the magazine is also used as a foregrip (there is no sign of an attachable bipod). Externally, the gun is composed of the following parts:

1. Barrel
2. Front sight with safety
3. Gas piston pipe
4. Barrel shroud
5. Rear sight
6. Bolt
7. Magazine
8. Base with pistol grip and trigger guard
9. Stock with an opening for accessories

The striker mechanism of the machinegun-carbine is composed of the following parts:

1. Gas piston
2. Operating slide
3. Bolt base
4. Bolt (there is a safety on the bolt plunger and a handle for pulling it back)

The bolt is composed of the following parts:

1. Bolt case
2. Extractor
3. Firing pin

Judging by the design of the cooling system, it can be expected that the rate of fire and automatic qualities of the machinegun-carbine are not high."