For everyone and about everything. Tapered anti-tank guns

Interesting 22.09.2019

Interesting

At the end of the summer of 1942, a German artillery gun fell into the hands of the Red Army, which aroused the interest of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army. It was a new German anti-tank gun with a 7.5 cm Pak 41 tapered barrel. Several shells were captured along with the gun, which made it possible to test and determine its characteristics. What kind of weapon was it and what were the results of its tests in the USSR?

History of the Pak 41

After the first meetings of German troops in June 1941 with the new Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, it became obvious that the power of the standard 3.7 cm Pak anti-tank gun of the infantry units was not enough to effectively combat them. It was possible to solve the problems of anti-tank defense with anti-aircraft and infantry artillery on direct fire, but these guns were poorly suited for these purposes: they had a high silhouette, low mobility and poor crew protection. Therefore, in Germany they accelerated work on the creation of more powerful anti-tank guns.

The Pak 41 gun during testing at the Gorokhovets training ground of the GAU KA, autumn 1942 of the year (TsAMO)

One of the areas of work to increase the power anti-tank artillery was the creation of guns with tapered barrels, using the principle of engineer Hermann Gerlich (Hermann Gerlich). Such systems included, for example, the heavy anti-tank rifle 2.8 cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 (2.8 cm s.Pz.B. 41) . The use of this principle made it possible to quickly create an effective anti-tank gun with a high muzzle velocity, which provided good armor penetration, but at the same time gave rise to a number of problems. The main ones were the low survivability of the barrel due to rapid wear and the use of scarce tungsten, from which the cores of armor-piercing projectiles were made.

By the middle of 1941, there was an acute shortage of tungsten in Germany, the deposits of which were located far outside the Third Reich. It had to be delivered by sea by special blockade breakers in small quantities. Mass production of weapons designed to use this material in projectiles was not the most best idea, but it was an option that the industry could offer quickly.

By January 1942, two systems with a tapered barrel of variable caliber 75/55 mm (at the breech 75 mm, at the muzzle 55 mm) were developed: the joint development of Rheinmetall and Krupp under the designation Schwere 7, 5 cm Pak 44, as well as the Krupp-designed 7.5 cm Pak 41.

Drawing of the barrel of an anti-tank gun 7.5 cm Pak 41 (NARA)

Tests have shown that the life of the Schwere 7.5 cm Pak 44 barrel is only about 250 shots. The 7.5 cm Pak 41 barrel was not more durable, but the design suggested the possibility of replacing a section of the barrel that was subjected to a lot of wear right in the field. As a result, the advantage was given to 7.5 cm Pak 41.

Due to the lack of a full-fledged opportunity to provide guns with Krupp ammunition, only 150 guns were ordered, the production of which began in March 1942. At the same time, it was separately noted that the production of ammunition for this gun would reduce the release of shells with a tungsten core for other anti-tank systems.

The cost of the gun was not much higher than that of the “traditional” Pak 40 that appeared a little later (about 15,000 Reichsmarks versus 12,000), 2,800 man-hours were spent on the production of one gun.

By months, the issue was distributed as follows: March - 48, April - 25, May - 77. Military acceptance was carried out with some delay: four guns were accepted in April, and the remaining 146 - in May.

Combat use of the weapon

Of the 150 guns fired, 141 were immediately sent to the troops on the Soviet-German front and distributed among the anti-tank battalions of the infantry and motorized divisions. Soon, rave reviews began to come in about the combat use of the gun from the front.

The gun of the 36th anti-tank division of the 36th infantry division of the Wehrmacht in a firing position. Baranovichi area, spring 1944 (RGAKFD)

In August 1942, the Wehrmacht lost the first three guns, while one of them was captured by the Red Army serviceable, along with a small number of armor-piercing shells. A total of 17 Pak 41 guns were lost by the end of 1942.

"Shell hunger" soon forced the Germans to look for a replacement for tungsten, but the new type of shells for the Pak 41 with a steel core turned out to be significantly worse in terms of armor penetration. At the same time, another 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun, more traditional in terms of barrel and shells, proved to be excellent and subsequently began to enter the troops en masse.

By April 1943, the Wehrmacht had 78 Pak 41 guns, and some of the losses were non-combat: some guns were dismantled for spare parts. On July 25, 1943, an entry appeared in the OKW combat log (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - Wehrmacht High Command):

“Due to a shortage of spare parts and ammunition difficulties, Army Group Center handed over 65 7.5 cm Pak 41 guns to the High Command in the West (OberkommandoWest - ed.), where they were repaired, put in order and later used in the troops stationed on the coast for coastal defense ".

A low profile is a valuable asset for any anti-tank weapon, and the Pak 41 met this requirement.

However, on the Atlantic Wall, these guns soon ceased to be needed due to the lack of armor-piercing shells, but they were not written off and sent for remelting. conical guns continued to remain in the army and in 1944 took part in the battles against the allies.

The number of Pak 41s in the army was steadily declining: on February 1, 1944 there were 56 of them, on April 1 - 44 pieces, on September 1 - 35 pieces, and by March 1, 1945 only 11 guns had survived.

As already mentioned, in August 1942, one of the conical guns became a trophy of the Red Army, and on October 6, the Artillery Committee of the GAU KA issued an order for its testing. The purpose of the tests was to compile a description of the gun, determine armor penetration and ballistic performance systems. Particular attention needed to be paid to recoil devices, semi-automatic and shutter.

Anti-tank gun Pak 41 during testing at the Gorokhovets training ground, right view (TsAMO)

The gun arrived at the Gorokhovets training ground of the GAU KA on October 22, 1942, along with six shells. The polygon documents indicate Pzgr.40, but this is a clear mistake - if you tried to fire a projectile from a "regular" Pak 40, the barrel would simply be torn off from a "conical" Pak 41. Therefore, it is hardly possible now to say what type of projectiles were actually used.

Tests for the stability of the gun during firing (jumps, throws, withdrawal of the gun) were carried out during firing to determine the ballistic characteristics, three shells were spent on this. The aiming of the gun was carried out through the bore - the sight of the captured gun was lost.

Only three shells remained for tests to determine armor penetration. It was planned to fire at a homogeneous armor plate 120 mm thick from a distance of 200 meters. In this case, the first shot was supposed to be fired at an angle of 60° between the projectile and the armor. If there had been no penetration, then the second projectile would have been fired at an angle of 90 °. If the armor had been pierced during the first shot, then for the second shot it was supposed to use a plate 140-150 mm thick at a meeting angle of 60 °.

Sectional view of 7.5 cm Pak 41 shells

However, the tests went differently. There was no 120-mm armor at the test site, therefore, for testing, they took two plates with dimensions of 1.2 × 1.2 meters, a thickness of 45 mm and 100 mm, with different grouting modes and hardness factors, and set them at 60 ° to the projectile flight direction . In addition, the 100 mm slab had already been shot at and it was deformed, so it was not possible to install the slabs closely, and there was a gap of about 30 mm between them. The first was a 45 mm thick slab. They fired from 200 meters, aiming was again carried out through the barrel.

The first shot failed to hit the target, so the second was fired from a distance of 100 meters. Alas, it was also unsuccessful - the projectile hit the wooden frame holding the armor plates. third shot, the last shell, was made from a distance of 75 meters, and finally hit the target. The ballistic tip was crumpled, the core, breaking through the 45-mm plate, shattered into small fragments, the mangled projectile pallet got stuck between the plates and in the hollow of the 100-mm plate.

A shell after hitting armor plates at the GAU training ground (TsAMO)

Even one hit was enough to conclude that a Pak 41 projectile could penetrate 120 mm armor at a 60° angle of impact. According to calculations, it turned out that he had to penetrate armor 195 mm thick at a distance of 500 meters and 170 mm at a distance of 1000 meters. Due to the shortage of shells, the Gorohovets firing range of the GAU was unable to confirm the theoretical calculations of the Artillery Committee.

This completed the tests. By initial speed projectile, determined at 1190 m / s, it can be assumed that they fired a projectile not with a tungsten core, but Pzgr. 41 St. - with steel.

Description of the anti-tank gun 7.5 cm Pak 41

An anti-tank gun with a conical barrel of 75/55 mm caliber was designed to fight tanks and armored vehicles, it could fire to suppress firing points and destroy manpower.

The gun was transported by mechanical traction, for which it was equipped with a torsion suspension mechanism, which is automatically turned off when the beds are moved apart, and a pneumatic brake controlled by the tractor driver. The wheels are metal, with solid rubber tyres. A carriage with sliding beds made it possible to conduct horizontal shelling in a sector equal to 60 °.

View of the gun from the side of the calculation (TsAMO)

The main parts of the gun were a barrel with a bolt, a cradle with recoil devices and a ball segment, lifting and turning mechanisms, a shield cover with undercarriages, sights.

The design feature of the Pak-41 was the absence of the upper and lower cannon mounts, while their presence was actually the standard for all types of guns both then and now. The functions of the lower machine, and at the same time the main element to which everything was attached, were performed by a shield. It was a package of two armor plates 7 mm thick each, reinforced to increase rigidity by intermediate bulkheads.

A cradle with a ball segment was attached to the shield, a move with a suspension mechanism for the machine, as well as guidance mechanisms. At the same time, the shield provided reliable protection for the calculation from shelling from all types of small arms at all distances, the fragments were also largely not terrible. The barrel passed through a ball segment in the center of the shield - this method is more typical for casemate bunkers than for anti-tank guns.

The shutter is vertical, wedge, semi-automatic. Optical sight, periscope, for direct fire only. Sights are located in the upper part of the cradle. The device of the sight made it possible to take into account the wear of the barrel.

Gun 7.5 cm Pak 41 in transport position (TsAMO)

Barrel-monoblock - composite, consisted of a pipe, nozzle, barrel sleeve, muzzle brake and breech. The breech was connected to the pipe with a coupling. The nozzle was screwed onto the pipe, for which purpose turnkey edges were cut on it closer to the muzzle. The joint between the pipe and the nozzle was covered with a sleeve, which was fixed with a screw. The pipe channel had 28 grooves of constant steepness, the pipe channel caliber was 75 mm along the entire length, and the channel length was 2965 mm.

The nozzle had a more complex design: its channel combined cylindrical and conical parts, while it did not have rifling. Thus, the main wear fell on this part of the barrel, and the design implied its quick replacement by calculation forces in the field. The length of the nozzle channel is 950 mm, the caliber at the beginning of the nozzle channel is 75 mm, at the muzzle - 55 mm. The length of the conical part is 450 mm, the length of the cylindrical part is 500 mm. Muzzle brake - slotted, screwed onto the barrel nozzle. The design of the gun provided elevation angles from −10 to +18°.

Some historians-researchers misread the drawings and the accompanying text, which led to the erroneous opinion that the barrel nozzle was collapsible and consisted of two parts.

Ammunition for Pak 41 and container-tube for their transportation

Four types of ammunition were created for the 7.5 cm Pak 41:

Pzgr. 41 H.K. - a cartridge with an armor-piercing tracer projectile, with a tungsten core. Projectile weight 2.58 kg, muzzle velocity 1260 m/s;
Pzgr. 41 St. - a cartridge with an armor-piercing tracer projectile, with a steel core. Projectile weight 3.00 kg, muzzle velocity 1170 m/s;
Pzgr. 41 W. - a cartridge with an armor-piercing tracer sub-caliber projectile. Projectile weight 2.48 kg, muzzle velocity 1230 m/s;
Spgr. 41 - cartridge with a fragmentation tracer grenade. Projectile weight 2.61 kg, muzzle velocity 900 m/s.

According to Soviet calculations (according to the Jacob de Marr formula, strength factor K = 2400), an armor-piercing tracer at an initial speed of 1200 m / s pierced armor at an angle of 60 ° between the projectile and armor at the following distances:

A fragmentation tracer projectile, according to the same estimates, could be accurately fired at a distance of 4200 meters. The armor penetration of the Pak 41 according to German data was:

projectile type
7.5 cm Pzgr. Patr. 41 H.K.
7.5 cm Pzgr. Patr. 41W.

The 7.5 cm Panzerjägerkanone (Pak) 41 cannon was a unique weapon with outstanding performance that posed a threat to all types of tanks both modern and those that appeared in the first post-war years. Only a small series and a lack of tungsten did not allow him to show his full strength. At the same time, acquaintance with the gun led to the start of work in the USSR on the creation of several similar guns, especially since the appearance of new types of German tanks at the front was already known, and the results of the Pak 41 armor penetration were impressive.

Translation of German documents by Antonova V.A.

Sources and literature:

Documents of the Fund of the Main Artillery Directorate (TsAMO RF)
Waffen Revue #33, 1979
Handbook on German military forces. War Department technical manual TM-E 30–451. War Department 03/15/1945 - US Government Printing Office. Washington, 1945
Handbook of German Artillery - M .: Military Publishing House of NKO, 1945
Artillery ammunition of the former German army. Directory. GAU VS USSR - M .: Military publishing house of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the USSR, 1946
Documentation W 127: Datenblätter für Heeres Waffen Fahrzeuge Gerat. Karl. R. Pawlas, publizistisches Archiv für Militär- und Waffenwesen

For a century now, the best anti-tank ammunition has been fast-flying scrap. And the main question that gunsmiths are struggling with is how to disperse it quickly.

This is only in films about the Second world tanks after a projectile hits, they explode - after all, a movie. AT real life most tanks die like infantrymen who have caught their bullet at full speed. The sub-caliber projectile makes a small hole in the thick hull, killing the crew with fragments of the armor of the tank itself. True, unlike the infantryman, most of these tanks are easily returned to life after a few days, or even hours.
True, with a different crew.

A modern reconstruction of a cannon with a conical barrel clearly shows a characteristic detail: the shield is made up of two armor plates.

Almost before the start of World War II, the speed of conventional field artillery shells was enough to penetrate the armor of any tanks, and the armor was mostly bulletproof. The classic armor-piercing projectile was a large steel blunt-ended (so as not to slip off the armor and not break off the tip of the projectile) punch, often with an aerodynamic copper cap-fairing and a small amount of explosives in the bottom part - the stocks of their own armor in pre-war tanks were not enough for good fragmentation.

Everything changed on December 18, 1939, when, supporting the offensive Soviet infantry, attacked the Finnish positions experienced tank KV-1. 43 artillery shells hit the tank, but none of them penetrated the armor. However, this debut, for unknown reasons, was not noticed by specialists.

Therefore, the appearance on the front of Soviet tanks with anti-shell armor - heavy KV and medium T-34 - was an unpleasant surprise for Wehrmacht generals. In the very first days of the war, it turned out that all the anti-tank guns of the Wehrmacht and thousands of captured ones - English, French, Polish, Czech - were useless in the fight against KV tanks.

It should be noted that the German generals reacted quite quickly. Corps artillery was thrown against the KV - 10.5 cm guns and 15 cm heavy howitzers. The most effective means anti-aircraft guns of 8.8 and 10.5 cm calibers began to fight them. In a few months, fundamentally new armor-piercing shells were created - sub-caliber and cumulative (according to the then Soviet terminology - armor-burning).

Mass and speed

Let's leave cumulative ammunition aside - we talked about them in previous issues of "PM". The armor penetration of classic, kinetic projectiles depends on three factors - impact force, material and shape of the projectile. You can increase the impact force by increasing the mass of the projectile or its speed. The increase in mass while maintaining the caliber is permissible within very small limits, the speed can be increased by increasing the mass of the propellant charge and increasing the length of the barrel. Literally during the first months of the war, the walls of the barrels of anti-tank guns thickened, and the barrels themselves lengthened.

A simple increase in caliber was also not a panacea. The powerful anti-tank guns of the beginning of World War II were basically made like this: they took the swinging parts of anti-aircraft guns and put them on heavy carriages. So, in the USSR, on the basis of the swinging part of the ship anti-aircraft gun B-34, a 100-mm anti-tank gun BS-3 was created with a warhead weight of 3.65 tons (For comparison: the German 3.7-cm anti-tank gun weighed 480 kg). We even hesitated to call the BS-3 an anti-tank gun and called it a field gun, before that there were no field guns in the Red Army, this is a pre-revolutionary term.

The Germans, based on the 8.8-cm anti-aircraft gun "41", created two types of anti-tank guns weighing 4.4-5 tons. On the basis of the 12.8-cm anti-aircraft gun, several samples of anti-tank guns were created with a completely prohibitive weight , 2 tons. They required powerful tractors, and camouflage was difficult due to their large dimensions.

These guns were extremely expensive and were produced not in thousands, but in hundreds both in Germany and in the USSR. So, by May 1, 1945, the Red Army had 403 units of 100-mm BS-3 guns: 58 in the corps artillery, 111 in the army artillery and 234 in the RVGK. And in the divisional artillery they were not at all.

Half gun half gun
German 20/28-mm anti-tank gun sPzB 41. Due to the tapered barrel, which gave a higher initial velocity to the projectile, it pierced the armor of the T-34 and KV tanks

Forced guns

Much more interesting was another way to solve the problem - while maintaining the caliber and mass of the projectile, disperse it faster. Many different options were invented, but anti-tank guns with conical channel trunk. Their barrels consisted of several alternating conical and cylindrical sections, and the shells had a special design of the leading part, allowing its diameter to decrease as the projectile moved along the channel. Thus, the most complete use of the pressure of powder gases on the bottom of the projectile was ensured by reducing its cross-sectional area.

This ingenious solution was invented before the First World War - the first patent for a gun with a conical bore was received by the German Karl Ruff in 1903. Experiments were carried out with a conical bore in Russia. In 1905, engineer M. Druganov and General N. Rogovtsev proposed a patent for a gun with a tapered bore. And in 1940 in design office Artillery Plant No. 92 in Gorky tested prototypes of barrels with a conical bore. During the experiments, it was possible to obtain an initial speed of 965 m/s. However, V.G. Grabin failed to cope with a number of technological difficulties associated with the deformation of the projectile during the passage of the barrel channel, and to achieve the desired quality of channel processing. Therefore, even before the start of the Great Patriotic War The Main Artillery Directorate ordered to stop experiments with barrels with a conical channel.

gloomy genius

The Germans continued their experiments, and already in the first half of 1940, the heavy anti-tank gun s.Pz.B.41 was adopted, the barrel of which had a caliber of 28 mm at the beginning of the channel, and 20 mm at the muzzle. The system was called a gun for bureaucratic reasons, but in fact it was a classic anti-tank gun with recoil devices and a wheel drive, and we will call it a gun. It was brought closer to an anti-tank rifle only by the absence of guidance mechanisms. The barrel was manually aimed by the gunner. The gun could be taken apart. Fire could be fired from wheels and bipods. For the airborne troops, a light version of the gun was made up to 118 kg. This gun did not have a shield, and light alloys were used in the carriage design. Regular wheels were replaced with small rollers without any suspension. The weight of the gun in combat position was only 229 kg, and the rate of fire was up to 30 rounds per minute.

The ammunition included a sub-caliber projectile with a tungsten core and fragmentation. Instead of the copper belts used in classic projectiles, both projectiles had two centering annular protrusions made of soft iron, which, when fired, were crushed and cut into the rifling of the bore. During the passage of the entire path of the projectile through the channel, the diameter of the annular protrusions decreased from 28 to 20 mm.

The fragmentation projectile had a very weak damaging effect and was intended solely for the self-defense of the calculation. On the other hand, the initial velocity of the armor-piercing projectile was 1430 m/s (against 762 m/s for classic 3.7 cm anti-tank guns), which puts the s.Pz.B.41 on a par with the best modern guns. For comparison, the world's best 120-mm German tank gun Rh120, mounted on the Leopard-2 and Abrams M1A1 tanks, accelerates the sub-caliber projectile to 1650 m/s.

By June 1, 1941, the troops had 183 s.Pz.B.41 guns, in the same summer they received a baptism of fire on Eastern Front. In September 1943, the last s.Pz.B.41 gun was handed over. The cost of one gun was 4520 Reichsmarks.

At close range, the 2.8/2-cm guns easily hit any medium tanks, and with a successful hit, they also disabled heavy tanks of the KV and IS types.

The design of the shells allowed them to compress in the bore

Larger caliber, lower speeds

In 1941, a 4.2 cm anti-tank gun mod. 41 (4.2 cm Pak 41) from Rheinmetall with a tapered bore. Its initial diameter was 40.3 mm, the final diameter was 29 mm. In 1941, 27 4.2-cm guns mod. 41, and in 1942 - another 286. The initial speed of the armor-piercing projectile was 1265 m / s, and at a distance of 500 m it pierced 72 mm armor at an angle of 30 °, and along the normal - 87 mm armor. The weight of the gun was 560 kg.

The most powerful serial anti-tank gun with a conical channel was the 7.5 cm Pak 41. Its design was started by Krupp back in 1939. In April-May 1942, the Krupp company produced a batch of 150 products, on which their production ceased. The initial speed of the armor-piercing projectile was 1260 m/s, at a distance of 1 km it pierced 145 mm armor at an angle of 30 ° and 177 mm along the normal, that is, the gun could fight all types of heavy tanks.

short life

But if the tapered barrels were never widely used, then these guns had serious flaws. Our specialists considered the main one to be the low survivability of the conical barrel (about 500 rounds on average), that is, almost ten times less than that of the 3.7-cm Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun. (The argument, by the way, is unconvincing - the probability of surviving for a light anti-tank gun that fired 100 shots at tanks did not exceed 20%. And not a single one survived up to 500 shots.) The second claim is the weakness of fragmentation shells. But the gun is anti-tank.

Nevertheless, the German guns made an impression on the Soviet military, and immediately after the war, TsAKB (Grabin Design Bureau) and OKB-172 (the “sharashka” where prisoners worked) began work on domestic anti-tank guns with a conical bore. On the basis of the captured 7.5 cm PAK 41 cannon with a cylindrical-conical barrel, in 1946, work began on the 76/57-mm S-40 regimental anti-tank gun with a cylindrical-conical barrel. The S-40 barrel had a caliber at the breech of 76.2 mm, and at the muzzle - 57 mm. The total length of the barrel was about 5.4 m. The chamber was borrowed from the 85-mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1939 model. Behind the chamber was a conical rifled part of the caliber 76.2 mm 3264 mm long with 32 grooves of constant steepness in 22 calibers. A nozzle with a cylindrical-conical channel is screwed onto the muzzle of the pipe. The weight of the system was 1824 kg, the rate of fire was up to 20 rds / min, and the initial speed of the 2.45-kilogram armor-piercing projectile was 1332 m / s. Normally, at a distance of 1 km, the projectile pierced 230 mm armor, for such a caliber and weight of a gun, this was a fantastic record!

A prototype of the S-40 cannon passed factory and field tests in 1947. The accuracy of the battle and the armor penetration of armor-piercing shells in the S-40 was significantly better than in the standard and experimental shells of the 57-mm ZIS-2 cannon, which were tested in parallel, but the S-40 never entered service. The arguments of the opponents are the same: the technological complexity of manufacturing the barrel, low survivability, as well as the low efficiency of the fragmentation projectile. Well, besides, the then Minister of Arms D.F. Ustinov hated Grabin fiercely and opposed the adoption of any of his artillery systems.

Soviet 76/57-mm cannon S-40 with a cylindrical-tapered bore

conical nozzles

It is curious that the tapered barrel was used not only in anti-tank guns, but also in anti-aircraft artillery, and in artillery of special power.

So, for the 24-cm long-range gun K.3, which was mass-produced with a conventional bore, several more samples of conical barrels were created in 1942-1945, on the creation of which the firms Krupp and Rheinmetall worked together. For firing from a conical barrel, a special 24/21-cm sub-caliber projectile weighing 126.5 kg was created, equipped with 15 kg explosive.

The survivability of the first conical barrel turned out to be low, and it was too much to change barrels after several dozen shots expensive pleasure. Therefore, it was decided to replace the conical barrel with a cylindrical-conical one. They took a regular cylindrical barrel with fine grooves and provided it with a conical nozzle weighing one ton, which was simply screwed onto the regular gun barrel.

During firing, the survivability of the conical nozzle turned out to be about 150 shots, that is, higher than that of the Soviet 180-mm B-1 naval guns (with fine cutting). During firing in July 1944, an initial speed of 1130 m/s and a range of 50 km were obtained. In further tests, it also turned out that the shells that initially passed through such a cylindrical part are more stable in flight. These guns, along with their creators, were captured Soviet troops in May 1945. The finalization of the K.3 system with a cylindrical-conical barrel was carried out in 1945–1946 in the city of Semmerda (Thuringia) by a group of German designers led by Assmann.

By August 1943, Rheinmetall produced a 15-cm GerKt 65F anti-aircraft gun with a tapered barrel and swept-back projectile. A projectile with a speed of 1200 m / s made it possible to reach targets at an altitude of 18,000 km, where it flew for 25 seconds. However, the survivability of the barrel of 86 shots put an end to the career of this miracle gun - the consumption of shells in anti-aircraft artillery is simply monstrous.

Documentation for anti-aircraft installations with a tapered barrel fell into the Artillery and Mortar Group of the USSR Ministry of Armaments, and in 1947, experimental Soviet samples of anti-aircraft guns with a conical channel were created at plant No. 8 in Sverdlovsk. The projectile of the 85/57 mm KS-29 gun had an initial velocity of 1500 m/s, and the projectile of the 103/76 mm KS-24 gun had an initial velocity of 1300 m/s. For them, original ammunition was created (by the way, still classified).

Tests of the guns confirmed German shortcomings - in particular, low survivability, which put an end to such guns. On the other hand, systems with a conical barrel of 152–220 mm caliber, until the appearance of S-75 anti-aircraft guided missiles in 1957, could be the only means of destroying high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and single jet carrier bombers. nuclear weapons. If, of course, we could get into them.

Work on the light 57-mm S-15 anti-tank gun began in 1945 at the TsAKB under the direction of Grabin. The gun was intended to replace the ZIS-2.

The barrel of the gun was located under a round cradle. The rifling and the internal arrangement of the barrel were the same as those of the ZIS-2. Mechanical semi-automatic spring-type worked on the reel. The shutter is a horizontal wedge.

A hydraulic recoil brake and a spring knurler were placed in the cradle cylinder. Lifting and turning mechanisms of screw type. The upper machine rotated on the lower one on a ball chase. Suspension of the system is torsion. Sight - OP1-2.

Field tests of a prototype in the amount of 1014 shots were carried out at the Main Artillery Range in September - October 1946. During the tests, insufficient stability of the gun was revealed when firing at low elevation angles. By the end of the tests, there were failures in the semi-automatic. In the course of transportation over a distance of 1230 km, unsatisfactory patency of the system was revealed. According to the conclusion of the commission, the 57-mm anti-tank S-15 did not pass field tests.

In 1942-1943. our troops captured several samples of the most powerful serial German anti-tank gun with a conical barrel 7.5 cm RAK 41. Its caliber at the chamber was 75 mm, and at the muzzle - 55 mm. Barrel length 4322 mm, i.e. 78.6 caliber.

The barrel of the gun consisted of a pipe, a nozzle, a barrel sleeve, a muzzle brake, a coupling and a breech. The breech was connected to the pipe by a coupling. In front of the pipe there was a thread with which the pipe was connected to the nozzle. The length of the pipe was 2950 mm, and the length of the nozzle was 1115 mm. The joint between the pipe and the nozzle was blocked by a sleeve.

The pipe channel consisted of a chamber and a threaded cylindrical part. The nozzle channel was a smooth conical section 455 mm long and a smooth cylindrical section 500 mm long. The shutter is vertical wedge semi-automatic.

A feature of the design of the gun was the absence of the upper and lower machines of the usual design. The lower machine gun was a shield, consisting of two parallel armor plates. A cradle with a ball segment, a suspension mechanism and guidance mechanisms were attached to the shield.

The weight of the system in combat position was 1340 kg. The rate of fire reached 14 rounds per minute. Barrel survivability - about 500 shots.

The ammunition of the gun included sub-caliber armor-piercing shells and a fragmentation shell. The weight of the cartridge with the sub-caliber projectile was 7.6 kg, the weight of the projectile was 2.58 kg. The projectile core had a diameter of 29.5 mm and a weight of 0.91 kg. The cores were made of tungsten carbide or steel.

A sub-caliber projectile at an initial speed of 1124 m / s could penetrate 245 mm armor at point-blank range, and 200 mm armor at a distance of 457 m, at an encounter angle of 30 °. Armor penetration was 200 and 171 mm, respectively.

On the basis of captured cannons with a cylindrical-conical barrel, in 1946, work began on the 76/57-mm S-40 regimental anti-tank gun in the TsAKB. The carriage for it was taken from the 85 mm ZIS-S-8 gun with minor changes.

The S-40 barrel at the breech had a caliber of 76.2 mm, and at the muzzle - 57 mm. The total length of the barrel was about 5.4 m. The chamber was used from an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1939 Behind the chamber was a conical rifled part with a caliber of 76.2 mm and a length of 3264 mm with 32 grooves of constant steepness in 22 calibers. A nozzle with a conical-cylindrical channel is screwed onto the muzzle of the tube. Length

on a smooth conical section was 510 mm, and on a cylindrical 57 mm section - 590 mm.

The shutter of the gun is a vertical wedge with semi-automatic mechanical copy type. The vertical pointing angle is from -5° to +30°, and the horizontal pointing angle is 50°. The weight of the system in the combat position is 1824 kg, the gun weighed the same in the stowed position, since it did not have a limber.

Torsion suspension allowed movement on an asphalt highway at speeds up to 50 km / h. The transition time from traveling to combat or vice versa was 1 min. Rate of fire - up to 20 rounds per minute.

The ammunition load of the S-40 gun included an armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile and a high-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer projectile. The weight of the cartridge with an armor-piercing projectile was 9.325 kg, and the length was 842 mm. The weight of the projectile was 2.45 kg, and the weight of the 25 mm armor-piercing core was 0.525 kg. With a charge of gunpowder grade 12/7 weighing 2.94 kg, the projectile had a huge initial velocity - 1338 m / s, which gave it good armor penetration. The effective firing range of an armor-piercing projectile did not exceed 1.5 km. When hit along the normal at a distance of 500 m, the projectile pierced 285 mm armor, at a distance of 1000 m - 230 mm, at a distance of 1500 m - 140 mm armor.

A cartridge with a high-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer weighed 9.35 kg and had a length of 898 mm. The weight of the projectile was 4.2 kg, and the explosive charge was 0.105 kg. With a propellant weight of 1.29 kg, the initial velocity was 785 m/s.

Thus, the Grabin system had much better ballistics and better armor penetration than its German counterpart, the 7.5 cm PAK 41 gun (at a distance of 500 mm, armor penetration was 285 and 200 mm, respectively).

A prototype of the S-40 cannon passed factory and field tests in 1947. The accuracy of combat and armor penetration of armor-piercing shells in the S-40 was significantly better than that of the regular and experimental shells of the 57-mm ZIS-2 gun, which were tested in parallel. However, in terms of fragmentation, the high-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer of the S-40 gun was inferior to the standard fragmentation projectile guns ZIS-2.

The following year, tests of the S-40 gun were continued. The gun did not enter service. The main reason was the technological complexity of manufacturing its barrel and its low survivability.

Hand or artillery weapons, having an internal conical (tapering) transition from the rear of the barrel to the front. The diameter of the part of the cone facing the breech is larger than the diameter of the part of the cone facing the muzzle.

The taper of the barrel can start either directly from the bullet (projectile) entrance, so often and at a considerable distance from the bullet (projectile) entrance. At the end of the conical narrowing, there is usually a cylindrical section of the trunk.

conical barrel it can be either threaded or smooth, or combined, for example, with a smooth conical part and a threaded cylindrical part (paradox drilling).

Tapered barrels were used to increase the muzzle velocity of a projectile (bullet). The principle of increasing the speed of a projectile in conical barrels is a complex modified principle of "cork and needle". At the beginning of the movement of the projectile, the pressure of the powder gases acts on a large area of the bottom of the projectile. When the projectile moves along the conical barrel, the pressure of the powder gases begins to fall, but this drop is compensated by a decrease in the volume of the barrel compared to a conventional cylindrical one. At the same time, the area of the projectile also decreases, but when the leading bands of the projectile are compressed in the barrel, high degree obturation of powder gases reducing their losses.

The mass of a projectile fired from a conical barrel is always less than the mass of a conventional caliber projectile (the initial caliber of the cone), which makes firing from conical barrels closer to firing from ordinary barrels with sub-caliber projectiles.

Story

Attempts to use a tapered barrel in firearms have been made since the beginning of its development, but there was no clear understanding of the purpose of such a barrel. Attempts to use a conical barrel were repeatedly made by gunsmiths who made hunting smoothbore weapon in order to improve the density of the shot charge scree at long distances. Currently in smoothbore hunting weapon shafts with a slight taper with a narrowing are used, for example, the so-called "pressure" or expansion shafts, for example the so-called "bell" shafts. In order to obtain new ballistic characteristics of a rifled firearms the conical barrel was used by the German gunsmith K. Puff.

The improvement of the rifled conical barrel was made by the German gunsmith G. Gerlich. Gerlich used both fully conical full-length barrels and limited conical ones, that is, with a conical section along the length of the barrel. Such a limited taper made it possible to simplify the production technology.

Later it was found out that the bullet (projectile) " type Gerlich»Receives sufficient stabilization by rotation if it receives rotation in the cylindrical part adjacent to the chamber (chamber) of the weapon, and then moves in a smooth conical narrowing, crushing the protruding leading belts (see. Puff ; Gerlich). Getting rid of cutting tapered barrels further simplified the technology and made it possible to start introducing “limitedly conical” barrels into military equipment.

Since 1940, anti-tank artillery guns with a conical barrel began to enter service with the German army. Below are the designations of anti-tank and tank guns. The numerator indicates the largest caliber (diameter) of the gun in centimeters at the projectile entrance, the denominator indicates the caliber (diameter) of the compressed projectile at the muzzle:

Heavy anti-tank rifle (actually a light anti-tank gun) 2,8/2cm s.Pz.B.41(1940)
tank gun 2,8/2 cm KwK.42
anti-tank gun 4.2 cm Pack 41(initial caliber 4.2 cm, final caliber 29 mm). (1941)
anti-tank gun 7.5 cm Pack 41(initial caliber 7.5 cm, final caliber 55 mm). (1942)

German engineers also tested a number of experimental guns with a conical barrel:

Anti-tank 4.2 cm Gerat 2004; Gerat 2004; Gerat 2005; Gerat 1004.
anti-aircraft gun Gerat 65F caliber 15 cm, with a smooth conical barrel for an arrow-shaped feathered projectile.
tank Gerat 725 initial caliber 7.5 cm, final 55 mm.

This gun was supposed to be installed on the prototype VK 3601 (H) of the heavy tank Tiger, but due to the need to use tungsten (tungsten carbide) deposits in Germany in the core of the armor-piercing projectile, a classic 88 caliber artillery gun was installed on the Tiger tank mm.

Also, the production and use in Germany of artillery anti-tank guns with a conical barrel (as well as sub-caliber armor-piercing shells) was stopped not as a result of technical difficulties, but as a result of operations carried out by the US and British intelligence services to block the flow of tungsten ore concentrates to Germany. As a result of the operations carried out by the Allied intelligence services, the supply of tungsten concentrate from the United States (through intermediaries) was completely blocked from the deposit near Mill City, Bishop, Climax, from Spain the deposits in the mountains of Boralla, Panashkeira, from China the deposits near the city of Dayu, Luyakan .

The last serious source of tungsten for Germany (deposits in Brazil) was closed in 1942, as a result of the operation "Golden Jug" developed by the US intelligence agencies (Eng. Golden Jug), which includes the occupation of Brazil, which did not take place only due to the diplomatic refusal of Brazil to cooperate with the Third Reich (severance of diplomatic relations).

In addition to small and medium caliber guns, German engineers also developed tapered barrels and ammunition for large caliber guns. Barrels and adapters (adapters for turning cylindrical barrels into conical ones) were developed for a long-range gun of special power of 240 mm (24-cm) caliber K.3. The initial caliber was 240 mm, and the final caliber of the projectile with two collapsible belts (flanges) was 210 mm. Range of guns K.3. increased from 30.7 km to 50 km.

Notes

Literature

Shirokorad A. God of War of the Third Reich M.: "AST", 2003
Markevich V. E. Hunting and sports weapon St. Petersburg.: Polygon, 1995.
Grabin V. Weapon of victory Moscow: Politizdat, 1989.
Shirokorad A. The genius of Soviet artillery M.: "AST", 2003.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tapered barrels were used to increase the muzzle velocity of a projectile (bullet). The principle of increasing the speed of a projectile in conical barrels is a complex modified principle of "cork and needle". At the beginning of the movement of the projectile, the pressure of the powder gases acts on a large area of the bottom of the projectile. When the projectile moves along the conical barrel, the pressure of the powder gases begins to fall, but this drop is compensated by a decrease in the volume of the barrel compared to a conventional cylindrical one. At the same time, the projectile area also decreases, but when the leading belts of the projectile are compressed in the barrel, a high degree of obturation of powder gases is maintained, which reduces their losses.

Story

Attempts to use a tapered barrel in firearms have been made since the beginning of its development, but there was no clear understanding of the purpose of such a barrel. Attempts to use a tapered barrel were repeatedly made by gunsmiths who manufactured hunting smooth-bore weapons in order to improve the density of the shot charge scree at long distances. Currently, barrels with a slight taper with a narrowing are used in smooth-bore hunting weapons, for example, the so-called "pressure" or expansion barrels, for example, the so-called "bell" barrels. In order to obtain new ballistic characteristics of rifled firearms, the conical barrel was used by the German gunsmith K. Puff, the inventor of the Puff bullet.

Heavy anti-tank rifle (actually a light anti-tank gun) 2,8/2cm s.Pz.B.41(1940)
tank gun 2,8/2 cm KwK.42
anti-tank gun 4.2 cm Pack 41(initial caliber 4.2 cm, final caliber 2.9 cm). (1941)
anti-tank gun 7.5 cm Pack 41(initial caliber 7.5 cm, final caliber 5.5 cm). (1942)

German engineers also tested a number of experimental guns with a conical barrel:

Anti-tank 4.2 cm Gerat 2004; Gerat 2004; Gerat 2005; Gerat 1004;
anti-aircraft gun Gerat 65F caliber 15 cm, with a smooth conical barrel for an arrow-shaped feathered projectile;
tank Gerat 725 initial caliber 7.5 cm, final 5.5 cm.

the latter was to be installed on the prototype VK 3601 (H) of the heavy tank Tiger, but due to the need to use tungsten (tungsten carbide) in the core of the armor-piercing projectile, which was not found in Germany, a classic artillery gun of 88 mm caliber was installed on the Tiger tank .

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Notes

Literature

Shirokorad A. God of War of the Third Reich M.: "AST", 2003
Markevich V. E. Hunting and sporting firearms St. Petersburg.: Polygon, 1995.
Grabin V. Weapon of victory Moscow: Politizdat, 1989.
Shirokorad A. The genius of Soviet artillery M.: "AST", 2003.

An excerpt characterizing the conical trunk

- You see! one of the soldiers said.
The other soldier shook his head.
- Well, eat, if you want, kavardachka! - said the first and gave Pierre, licking it, a wooden spoon.
Pierre sat down by the fire and began to eat the kavardachok, the food that was in the pot and which seemed to him the most delicious of all the foods he had ever eaten. While he greedily, bending over the cauldron, taking away large spoons, chewed one after another and his face was visible in the light of the fire, the soldiers silently looked at him.
- Where do you need it? You say! one of them asked again.
- I'm in Mozhaisk.
- You, became, sir?
- Yes.
- What's your name?
- Pyotr Kirillovich.
- Well, Pyotr Kirillovich, let's go, we'll take you. In complete darkness, the soldiers, together with Pierre, went to Mozhaisk.
The roosters were already crowing when they reached Mozhaisk and began to climb the steep city mountain. Pierre walked along with the soldiers, completely forgetting that his inn was below the mountain and that he had already passed it. He would not have remembered this (he was in such a state of bewilderment) if his bereator had not run into him on the half of the mountain, who went to look for him around the city and returned back to his inn. The landlord recognized Pierre by his hat, which shone white in the darkness.
“Your Excellency,” he said, “we are desperate. What are you walking? Where are you, please!
“Oh yes,” said Pierre.
The soldiers paused.
Well, did you find yours? one of them said.
- Well, goodbye! Pyotr Kirillovich, it seems? Farewell, Pyotr Kirillovich! other voices said.
“Goodbye,” said Pierre and went with his bereator to the inn.
"We must give them!" thought Pierre, reaching for his pocket. “No, don’t,” a voice told him.
There was no room in the upper rooms of the inn: everyone was busy. Pierre went into the yard and, covering himself with his head, lay down in his carriage.

As soon as Pierre laid his head on the pillow, he felt that he was falling asleep; but suddenly, with the clarity of almost reality, a boom, boom, boom of shots was heard, groans, screams, the slap of shells were heard, there was a smell of blood and gunpowder, and a feeling of horror, fear of death seized him. He opened his eyes in fear and lifted his head from under his overcoat. Everything was quiet outside. Only at the gate, talking to the janitor and slapping through the mud, was some kind of orderly. Above Pierre's head, under the dark underside of the plank canopy, doves fluttered from the movement he made while rising. A peaceful, joyful for Pierre at that moment, strong smell of an inn, the smell of hay, manure and tar was poured throughout the courtyard. Between the two black awnings one could see a clear starry sky.
“Thank God that this is no more,” thought Pierre, again closing his head. “Oh, how terrible fear is, and how shamefully I gave myself up to it! And they…they were firm, calm all the time, to the very end…” he thought. In Pierre's understanding, they were soldiers - those who were on the battery, and those who fed him, and those who prayed to the icon. They - these strange, hitherto unknown to him, they were clearly and sharply separated in his thoughts from all other people.
“To be a soldier, just a soldier! thought Pierre, falling asleep. – Enter this common life with your whole being, imbue with what makes them so. But how to throw off all this superfluous, diabolical, all the burden of this external person? One time I could be it. I could run away from my father as I wished. Even after the duel with Dolokhov, I could have been sent as a soldier.” And in Pierre's imagination flashed a dinner at the club where he summoned Dolokhov, and a benefactor in Torzhok. And now Pierre is presented with a solemn dining box. This lodge takes place in the English Club. And someone familiar, close, dear, is sitting at the end of the table. Yes it is! This is a benefactor. “Yes, he died? thought Pierre. - Yes, he died; but I didn't know he was alive. And how sorry I am that he died, and how glad I am that he is alive again! On one side of the table sat Anatole, Dolokhov, Nesvitsky, Denisov and others like him (the category of these people was just as clearly defined in Pierre’s soul in a dream, as was the category of those people whom he called them), and these people, Anatole, Dolokhov loudly shouted, sang; but behind their cry was heard the voice of the benefactor, speaking incessantly, and the sound of his words was as significant and continuous as the roar of the battlefield, but it was pleasant and comforting. Pierre did not understand what the benefactor was saying, but he knew (the category of thoughts was just as clear in the dream) that the benefactor spoke of goodness, of the possibility of being what they were. And they from all sides, with their simple, kind, firm faces, surrounded the benefactor. But although they were kind, they did not look at Pierre, did not know him. Pierre wanted to draw their attention to himself and say. He got up, but at the same instant his legs became cold and bare.
He felt ashamed, and he covered his legs with his hand, from which the overcoat really fell off. For a moment, Pierre, adjusting his overcoat, opened his eyes and saw the same sheds, pillars, courtyard, but all this was now bluish, light and covered with sparkles of dew or frost.
“Dawn,” thought Pierre. “But that's not it. I need to listen to and understand the words of the benefactor.” He again covered himself with his overcoat, but there was no longer any dining box or benefactor. There were only thoughts clearly expressed in words, thoughts that someone said or Pierre himself changed his mind.
Pierre, later recalling these thoughts, despite the fact that they were caused by the impressions of that day, was convinced that someone outside of him was telling them to him. Never, as it seemed to him, was he in reality able to think and express his thoughts like that.
“War is the most difficult subjection of human freedom to the laws of God,” said the voice. – Simplicity is obedience to God; you won't get away from it. And they are simple. They don't say, but they do. The spoken word is silver, and the unspoken is golden. A person cannot own anything while he is afraid of death. And whoever is not afraid of her, everything belongs to him. If there were no suffering, a person would not know the boundaries of himself, would not know himself. The most difficult thing (Pierre continued to think or hear in a dream) is to be able to combine in his soul the meaning of everything. Connect everything? Pierre said to himself. No, don't connect. You can’t connect thoughts, but to connect all these thoughts - that’s what you need! Yes, you need to match, you need to match! Pierre repeated to himself with inner delight, feeling that with these, and only with these words, what he wants to express is expressed, and the whole question that torments him is resolved.
- Yes, you need to pair, it's time to pair.
- It is necessary to harness, it is time to harness, Your Excellency! Your Excellency, - repeated a voice, - it is necessary to harness, it's time to harness ...
It was the voice of the bereytor who woke up Pierre. The sun beat right in Pierre's face. He glanced at the dirty inn, in the middle of which, near the well, the soldiers were watering the thin horses, from which carts rode out through the gates. Pierre turned away in disgust and, closing his eyes, hurriedly fell back into the seat of the carriage. “No, I don’t want this, I don’t want to see and understand this, I want to understand what was revealed to me during sleep. One more second and I would understand everything. What am I to do? Conjugate, but how to conjugate everything? And Pierre felt with horror that the whole meaning of what he saw and thought in a dream was destroyed.
The bereator, the coachman and the janitor told Pierre that an officer had arrived with the news that the French had moved near Mozhaisk and that ours were leaving.
Pierre got up and, having ordered to lay down and catch up with himself, went on foot through the city.