256 german tank buster4/20/2023 Before suitable samples were created it was decided to begin production of anti-tank rifles for testing and evaluation of the rifles themselves. Work on a suitable 14.5mm anti-tank rifle cartridge had begun in 1934. Such requirements might be met by a 14.5mm rifle having a bullet weight of 64 grams (988 grains) and muzzle velocity 1,000 m/sec (3,281 fps)”. The general combat requirements which should be met by an anti-tank rifle are as follows:ġ) Lightweight, good mobility, easy to camouflage.Ģ) Ability to penetrate light tanks with 20mm of armor at ranges up to 500 meters with an impact angle of 60 degrees or better. Such a weapon is the anti-tank rifle, appropriate in weight and suitable for a team of two soldiers to handle in combat. In response to these failures the November 1938 issue of the Artillery Committee of the RKKA Artillery Directorate’s Journal opined: “In the forthcoming warfare tanks will be deployed en masse appearing unexpectedly using every favorable condition to their advantage… It is a must to equip infantry companies with anti-tank weapons which can stay with these units under any combat and ground conditions. The 14.5x114mm cartridge is an impressive looking and performing round (Top to Bottom): 7.62x54mmR. Some of these “rifles” were chambered for a low velocity 37mm cartridge others for the 12.7mm shVAK cartridge. Many were not only grossly overweight, but lacked the required penetration. Over the next two years over 15 different models were designed but not one actually met the combat requirements. New designs were to be capable of penetrating 16mm of armor plate at a range of 600 meters and have a weight of not more than 77 pounds. On 13 th March 1936 the USSR People’s Commissars Council passed a special resolution concerning the development of anti-tank rifles. Unfortunately, HEAT warheads had not yet been invented and the low velocity did not provide the armor-piercing effect required. This was an innovative 37mm anti-tank recoilless rifle. One of the first effective designs tested was developed by Leonid Vasilyevich Kurchevsky in 1931 and refined over the next couple of years. Anti-tank rifles were of interest due to their simplicity, ease of manufacture, economical nature, portability and ability to be deployed by a two-man crew. The Soviet’s began testing light anti-tank weapons in the early 1930s. The question is why didn’t they? If the Soviet forces had been equipped with 14.5mm ATRs at the outbreak of the war they would have been an effective counter to the masses of lightly armored tanks, like this Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t) Ausf. These would have played a key role in the opening stages of the war. They could have fielded large numbers of effective anti-tank rifles to their troops before the German invasion. The Soviets had developed practical and effective anti-tank rifle ammunition prior to the war. The history of Soviet anti-tank rifle development and production is an interesting tale filled with what might have been. In the early years of the war though, the 14.5mm anti-tank rifles could punch through German armor and played an important role in turning the tide of the war. The enemy tank crew would rain high explosive shells and machine gun fire down onto their position as its supporting infantry maneuvered to get within grenade range. As soon as they opened fire the 14.5mm’s huge muzzle blast and blinding muzzle flash would immediately expose their position to enemy return fire. Each shot had to count and was fired at a specific weak point such as a vision slit, fuel cell or suspension component. He had to ignore the jolting recoil, terrific report and immense muzzle blast and concentrate on his target which was moving and firing as it came. Then when the time was right the gunner would squeeze off a carefully aimed shot. With nerves of steel they’d watch the panzer, and accompanying infantry advance right up to their position. So the Soviet anti-tank rifle team would have to wait and hold their fire until the enemy was perhaps 200 meters away. If they opened fire at too great of a distance, their high velocity 14.5mm AP ammunition would fail to penetrate the tank’s thick armor. A pair of Soviet soldiers armed only with a large caliber rifle versus a German tank. DecemBy Mikhail Dragunov, Senior Field Editor Book of the AK47
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