During the Second World War, the Soviet Union felt a lack of good weapons, at least at the very beginning. When the Nazi troops used the latest devices at that time, our soldiers had to tight. In addition, there was a poor provision of food and weapons, for example, cartridges for machine guns. On the side of the Nazis, soldiers trained and well prepared for the war fought, who captured almost the whole of Europe. In general, we can say that the USSR was not ready for war.
Weapon
However, Soviet designers came up with new mechanisms, invented various types of weapons even before the war. Stalin foresaw that the Nazis would soon invade the country. And during the Second World War, new types of equipment and small arms were created that directly influenced the course of the war, it is enough to recall the famous BM-13 or Katyusha, which frightened the enemy soldier with its fire. There were also other weapons that remained in the memory of the fighters and their descendants, for example the T-34 tank. One of these can be called the Shpagin submachine gun or, as it was also called, the PPSh machine gun. Its technical characteristics were one of the most significant at that time.
History
In 1940, it was already clear to many that a war was coming that would take the lives of many Soviet residents. However, many believed in the invincibility of the Red Army. Unfortunately, this was not entirely true. The Germans were more prepared for war. Of course, their army was considered stronger at that time. The machine, which is better than analogues, was simply necessary. He had to behave with dignity on the battlefield, not break in bad weather conditions, in general, be universal. Today on the battlefields, mainly in the CIS countries, are found samples of PPSh. They go to museums.
G. S. Shpagin was born in 1897, died in 1952. It was he who became the designer of the legendary submachine gun, named in his honor. In 1940, the PPSh machine gun was adopted. Specifications corresponded to the then standards, so it quickly spread to the army, becoming one of the most beloved in the army. To describe its popularity, it is enough to simply say how many copies were presented. More than 6,000,000 machines. This is one of the most popular weapons in history. It is also worth noting that in some countries the PCA has been in service until now, that is, more than seventy years from the date of its creation. That means the submachine gun was really good. Next, the PPSh device will be presented - description, history, characteristics.
The famous designer of the legendary weapon G.S. Shpagin was born in a village in the Vladimir region. He met with the production and invention of various weapons in the army, which he fell into in 1916. After the First World War he began to work as a gunsmith. After leaving the army, he locksmith at an arms factory, where he met his future teacher V. A. Degtyarev.
During the war with Finland, which was interrupted due to the Second World War, it was noticed that submachine guns perform very well in battle. Therefore, Shpagin and Shpitalny, who was also a designer, presented their weapons to the government. As you might guess, the Shpagin sample was chosen. Interestingly, both submachine guns were almost equal in combat performance. The aim of the designer was to simplify and reduce the cost of the PPD-40, which Degtyarev created. But the main dream of Shpagin was the creation of a stamp-welding machine. This manufacturing method greatly accelerated production.
Interesting design decisions
It is worth paying attention to interesting design solutions in the PPSh (Shpagin submachine gun). The review is presented hereinafter. All specialists of that time were both surprised and annoyed that no one had come up with this before. An oblique section of the casing played the role of a muzzle brake and compensator. Thus, in the easiest way, the problem of recoil, throwing the weapon up and the weight of the machine was solved. Shpagin perfected the creation of his teacher, surpassing him. PCA was much more accurate and stable than PPA. We can say that this was one of the first representatives of such machines that everyone is used to seeing.
Fire could be fired with single shots and bursts. Shpagin achieved his goal: the PPSh-41 submachine gun was twice as easy to produce as the PPD.
Why not PPD
Shpagin’s software was much more versatile and better in technical specifications than PPA. But why was the latter generally transferred to the completion of the designers? The difficulty in manufacturing PP significantly slowed down production, which during the war was very bad. In addition, the details cost a lot of money, and during the crisis this is unacceptable. In this regard, the government requested to improve the PDP or create a new machine. And PPSh, in turn, on the contrary, had a simple design. If necessary, then any engineering plant could switch to the creation of this submachine gun.
If in terms of performance, the Shpagin and Shpitalniy automatic machines were almost equal, then in the test at the training ground the first showed itself much better. It was manufacturability and versatility that brought the PPSh-41 machine to the first place, the technical characteristics of which were also high.
Reward
The name of Shpagin is immortalized in the very name of the machine. But in addition, the great designer was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree and the Order of Lenin. High awards were well deserved. Shpagin made a huge contribution to the victory over the Nazi invaders. In military operations, a 1941 model was used, which was called PPSh-41. It was him in the amount of more than 6 million pieces produced in the USSR.
Advantages
PPSh-41 was a good weapon. Shpagin wanted to make such a PP, the creation of which would take a little time and money. He succeeded. All parts, excluding the barrel, could be made using cold stamping from a sheet of steel. Also used spot and arc electric welding and various rivets. To create the barrel had to resort to machining, which significantly slowed down all the work. Very simple wooden parts also increased the speed of manufacturing the machine as a whole. Of course, another plus was the ability to assemble and disassemble a submachine gun without a screwdriver. Therefore, the PCA was easy to repair or clean even in combat conditions. In general, the machine was more simple than the others to manufacture and design, it was easy to repair and cost little money.
Cartridges
Initially, PPSh-41 was equipped with a disk magazine, the same as that of the PPD-40. Its capacity was 71 rounds. It was almost the most expensive part of the Shpagin submachine gun. It consisted of a store box, a drum and a snail. In battle, it is not possible to carry a disk store in your hands, so a special eye was created for these purposes, which helped to attach it to the belt. The cartridges were placed in two rows or streams inside and on the outside of the cochlea. Thanks to the spring, it rotated. After the outer row of cartridges ended, the inner was squeezed with the help of a feeder.
The downside was the long process of loading the store, which was impossible in combat conditions, because the soldiers carried spare shops. Then, however, box-shaped ones began to be used, which were more convenient and cheaper, but only since 1944. Such stores had only 35 rounds, but they were much faster supplied with new ones. The caliber of cartridges was either 7.62 mm or 7.62x25 mm.
Aim
Although PPSh-41 was a very convenient machine, extremely simple and cheap to manufacture, it was constantly improved. This is exactly what happened with the sight. Initially, an open-type sector sight was installed, which made it possible to produce fire at a distance of up to 500 meters. Then it was rejected as inconvenient in combat conditions and a simpler cross over sight was installed, with it it was possible to shoot only at a distance of up to 100-200 meters, depending on the installation. You might think that the range is priority, but the PPSh-41, although it had a high accuracy of fire for this type of weapon, could not be 100% accurate at 500 meters. The experience of the Second World War showed that the whole only improves the quality of PP.
Improvement
PPSh constantly underwent changes and improvements. In addition to the above, it can be noted that in 1944 the store began to be manufactured with a thickness of only 1 mm in order to save time and money. Also, the barrel bore was chrome plated, which ensured the preservation of PP even with a long absence of cleaning. Therefore, the performance characteristics of PPSh-41 have become so high.
Other characteristics
The characteristics of the PPSh-41 (Shpagin submachine gun) are detailed below. The fire was fired by bullets of the 1930 model, either single or in bursts, which, in turn, could be either short (3-6) or long (15-20). PP was intended primarily for combat at short distances. The bullet retained stopping power up to 800 meters. And the initial speed was about 500 m / s. These are good indicators for submachine guns of that time. The rate of fire was also pleasing, as many as 1000 rounds per minute. However, in battle conditions it is necessary to hit with targeted fire and change stores, so the pace was noticeably reduced.
The PPSh machine was very easy to use. Specifications also included a barrel length of 842 mm. The mass of the Shpagin submachine gun was 3.5 kg, with a disk magazine - 5.3, with a box magazine - 4.1. The weight of the machine allowed firing without much effort, which was only a plus.
disadvantages
Although the Shpagin PP was leading in many respects, it was nevertheless intended primarily for infantry. Designers invented the rest of the troops with other, more convenient for them, assault rifles.
The Shpagin submachine gun was a real find for the Soviet army at that time. The war was approaching, and required a weapon that was easy to use and versatile, had high rates, low cost and ease of production. This is exactly how the PPSh machine turned out to be. His technical indicators were excellent, and he did not need special equipment and knowledge when creating. That is why as many as 6 million copies came into use by the Red Army. Even the fascists appreciated the PPSh machine gun. Technical characteristics they could not disregard. The weapon was the most coveted trophy on the battlefield. Interestingly, the Nazis preferred the disk store.