82 mm grenade launcher BM-37
The 82 mm grenade launcher BM-37 is a grenade launcher developed in what was then the Soviet Union during the Second World War . The construction goes back to the Stokes mortar . Such weapons were captured by the Red Army in 1929 during the incidents on the border with China. The weapon was used to destroy and hold down living forces and means of fire inside and outside of cover, to shoot signals and to illuminate the battlefield.
In the Soviet army the gun when it was 82-BM-37 ( Russian 82-мм миномет БМ-37 ) designated BM-37 here is the abbreviation for battalion grenade launcher Model 1937 ( Russian батальонный миномёт обр. 1937 г ). The designation also indicates its intended use in battalion artillery. The gun's GRAY index was 52-M-832Sch ( Russian: 52-М-832Ш ). In the NVA, the weapon was sold together with the successor type as the 82 mm grenade launcher model 37/41 . The names of both the Soviet Army and the NVA differ from the naming scheme used today in the Bundeswehr, where such weapons are called mortars .
development
The development of the weapon was led by Nikolai Alexandrovich Dorovlyov ( Russian: Николай Александрович Доровлёв ). The immediate predecessor was the 82-mm grenade launcher BM-36 ( Russian 82-мм миномет БМ-36 ). The weapon had some shortcomings. The weapon had to be dismantled for transport, the lateral directional area as well as the sighting device were inadequate. For the model 37, the tube and the base plate were redesigned. The trials of the newly designed model began in March 1933 and were satisfactory. As a result, a small series of the weapon was produced between 1935 and 1936. In 1940, following the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU (B) on increasing the production of grenade launchers and mines ( Russian Об увеличении производства минометов и мин ), production increased. Sufficient numbers of the grenade launcher could only be made available to the Red Army immediately before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War . At the beginning of the war, the Red Army had 14,200 of these grenade launchers.
During production, which lasted until 1943, the design of the weapon was simplified several times. The goals were a simpler construction in order to increase the production output under war conditions, and the improvement of the tactical-technical properties of the weapon.
construction
The weapon consists of
- the pipe with bottom piece
- the bipod
- the base plate
- the straightening attachment
- the trolley
- the accessories
- the carrying pads
The weapon can be broken down into several payloads for easier transport. The barrel with a weight of 19 kg, the bipod with a weight of 20 kg and the base plate with a weight of 22 kg can each be carried by one shooter.
The grenade launcher has a smooth barrel and fires wing-stabilized grenades . The weapon does not have a loading safety device that prevents reloading if the launcher is not unloaded. The bottom piece closes the tube at the rear and transfers the recoil forces into the bottom plate. The base plate and bipod serve to direct the thrower and absorb the recoil forces. The launcher is directed both to the side and to the height using simple spindles. In the course of production, the mechanism for leveling the launcher was relocated to the right leg of the bipod from 1941.
The visor MP-1 ( Russian МП-1 ) with the collimator attachment MP-82 ( Russian МП-82 ) was originally used as a sight . The straightening attachments MP-41, MP-42, MPM-4M or MPM-44M were later used. The alignment attachment MPM-44M magnifies 2.5 times with a field of view of 9 °. It can be provided with night lighting.
A single-axle, unsprung chassis was used as the chassis from 1941. It was a welded construction made of tubular steel.
ammunition
Wing-stabilized throwing grenades with fragmentation warheads were used. With a total weight of the shot of 3.1 kg, the explosive charge accounted for 0.49 kg. Parachute signal throw grenades and parachute light throw grenades were also available, as well as agitation throw grenades.
Technical specifications
| 82 mm grenade launcher BM-37 | |
| General properties | |
| classification | Grenade launcher |
| Chief designer | Nikolai Alexandrovich Dorovlyov |
| Name of the manufacturer | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Length with limber | |
| width | |
| height | |
| Weight in firing position | 56 kg |
| Weight in marching position | 156 kg |
| service | 1/4 |
| Years of construction | 1937-1945 |
| number of pieces | |
| pipe | |
| caliber | 82 mm |
| Pipe length | |
| Height of the line of fire | |
| Fire dates | |
| Elevation range | + 45 ° to + 85 ° |
| Side straightening area | + - 3 ° |
| Range, maximum | 3,040 m |
| Range, minimal | 85 m |
| Muzzle velocity | 211 m / s |
| fire rate | 15-25 rounds / min |
Modifications
Model 41
In the 1941 model, the construction of the base plate and the bipod were changed. In addition, the trolley was now available for the thrower, which made it easier to move under combat conditions.
Model 43
On the 43 model, the attachment of the visor and the construction of the bipod have been changed.
Helwan M-69
The Helwan M-69 is the Egyptian license version of the launcher.
Type 53
Type 53 is the version of the launcher manufactured in the People's Republic of China . The weapon differs from the original type in the construction of the bipod and the load lock.
commitment
During the Second World War, the launchers were used in large numbers in the battalion artillery of the Red Army. In some cases, self-propelled guns were improvised by installing the launcher on the loading area of trucks. Even after the end of the war, both models remained in use for a long time. In the Soviet Army they were only replaced from 1983 by the 82-mm grenade launcher 2B14 Podnos ( Russian 2Б14 Поднос ).
Use in the HVA and KVP of the GDR
The use of the 82 mm grenade launcher model 37/41 began as early as 1951 in the units of the main administration for training (HVA). In the spring of this year, 141 82-mm grenade launchers were handed over to the HVA, along with other weapons. All of these weapons came from war stocks. This made it possible to partially replace the 79 grenade launchers 34 and grenade launchers 36 previously used for training purposes . More launchers came in 1952, so that the German weapons could be separated from the armament of the HVA. The weapons were initially used at the People's Police Schools, which had been created in 1949 to train officers and subordinates. The weapons were intended for the S6 companies of the A divisions, S6 being the camouflage designation for grenade launchers, the letter A designating an infantry unit or troop unit, division was the name for an association with the structure of a battalion. However, since the 120 mm M1943 grenade launcher was not available in sufficient numbers, the 82 mm grenade launcher was also used in the S6 companies of the A command (the structure corresponded to a regiment).
Even after the establishment of the barracked people's police and the establishment of territorial administrations and readiness, the weapons remained in use.
Use in the East German NVA
The National People's Army of the GDR took over 82 mm grenade launcher model 37/41 from the barracked people's police. The originally planned infantry and mechanized battalions each had a grenade launcher battery with 82 mm grenade launchers. Even after they were reclassified into motorized rifle battalions, the battery equipped with the launcher remained in the structure. The planned conversion to a 120 mm grenade launcher could not be implemented, so the 82 mm launcher remained as a replacement armament in the NVA until it was disbanded. In 1990 the NVA had a total of 325 82-mm grenade launchers, Model 37/41 .
The LO 1800 A truck served as the transport vehicle . Since the unsprung transport cart only allowed low speeds, the turret was loaded onto the truck bed for transport.
Used by other armed forces in the GDR
The people's police readiness of the barracked units of the Ministry of the Interior (MdI) of the GDR also use the grenade launcher. There they were deployed in the heavy companies of readiness. Another user was the guard and security units of the Ministry for State Security (MfS). When the military structures of the MdI and the MfS were dissolved, 166 launchers were handed over to the NVA.
literature
- А. Иванов: Артиллерия СССР во Второй мировой войне , Olma Media Group, 2003. ISBN 5-765-42731-6 .
- Wilfried Copenhagen : The land forces of the NVA , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 2003, ISBN 3-613-02297-4 .
- В. Н. Шунков: Оружие Красной Армии. , Мн .: Харвест, 1999. ISBN 985-433-469-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Missile and Weapons Technical Service in Kdo. MB III, technical catalog, 82 mm grenade launcher model 37/41
- ↑ Г. К. Жуков: Воспоминания и размышления . (7-е изд.) Том I. М., изд-во АПН, 1986. стр. 256.
- ↑ В. А. Анфилов: Крестный путь к «белоснежным полям под Москвой» // В. А. Анфилов, Ф. И. Голиков: Загадка 1941 года. О войне под разными ракурсами. Под редакцией д.и.н., проф. Ю. В. Рубцова. М., «Вече», 2005. стр. 115.
- ↑ Missile and Weapons Technical Service in Kdo. MB III, technical catalog, alignment attachment MPM-44 / MPM-44M
- ↑ Missile and Weapons Service in Kdo. MB III, ammunition for 82 mm grenade launchers
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Wilfried Copenhagen: The land forces of the NVA , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 2003, ISBN 3-613-02297-4 . Pp. 51-52.
- ↑ А. Н. Первушин: Дороги, которые мы выбираем . М., изд-во ДОСААФ. 1974. стр. 75.
- ^ Wilfried Copenhagen: The land forces of the NVA , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 2003, ISBN 3-613-02297-4 . P. 13.