PPSch-41
| PPSch-41 | |
|---|---|
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| general information | |
| Military designation: | PPSch-41 |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Georgi Semyonovich Shpagin |
| Development year: | 1941 |
| Manufacturer country: | USSR |
| Production time: | 1941 to 1947 |
| Weapon Category: | Submachine gun |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 843 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 3.63 kg |
| Barrel length : | 269 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 7.62 × 25 mm DD |
| Possible magazine fillings : |
Drum magazine : 71 rounds. Curved magazine : 35 cartridges |
| Cadence : | 900-1000 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Single and continuous fire |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | right |
| Visor : | Open sights |
| Closure : | Mass closure |
| Charging principle: | Recoil loader |
| Lists on the subject | |
The PPSch ( ППШ - pronounced as pe-pe-scha , short for Pistolet-Pulemjot Schpagina , Russian Пистолет-пулемёт Шпагина ) or PPScha is a Soviet submachine gun . The weapon developed by Georgi Semjonowitsch Schpagin was set up for single and continuous fire . The PPSch-41 uses the same bottle neck cartridges 7.62 × 25 mm TT as the Tokarev pistol and the submachine guns PPD-40 and PPS-43 .
history
The first model was built in 1940 and tested along with other designs in the same year. The weapons were fired at angles of inclination of 85 °, with artificially dusty magazines and not lubricated (the individual parts had been degreased for this). In addition, 5000 rounds were fired without cleaning the weapon.
As the most satisfactory weapon, the PPSh was announced on December 21, 1940 as the 7.62-mm Pistolet-Pulemjot Schpagina obrasza 1941 goda (Cyrillic: 7.62 мм пистолет-пулемет Шпагина образца -Maschinenpistole -абразца 1941 - 7.62 год Schpagins, model 1941) introduced into the Red Army .
The service life of the submachine gun is given as 30,000 rounds, although the weapon still has reasonable precision and reliability afterwards.
At the time the PPSch-41 was created, the sheet metal stamping process was not very common, but many parts of the weapon were manufactured using stamping technology ( die bending ). In total, the PPSch-41 consists of 87 individual parts, which took around 5.6 hours to process. Since the individual parts were no longer milled from solid material , but instead made from sheet steel with a thickness of 2 to 5 millimeters using an embossing process, this saved material and reduced manufacturing costs. The PPSch-MPi only has two threaded connections. Their manufacture was straightforward, so that the weapon could not only be manufactured in armaments factories , but also in many smaller metalworking companies. The most complex parts to manufacture were the barrel and the drum magazine, which was taken over unchanged from the predecessor model PPD-40 . By the end of 1941, 92,000 PPSch-41s had been produced, 1.5 million in 1942 and around 5.4 million by the end of World War II in 1945.
The production of the PPSch-41 in such huge numbers made it possible to equip entire battalions with this weapon. This had the advantage that prospective soldiers only had to be trained on one weapon. The PPSch-41 submachine gun was not only popular in the Red Army , but also as a prey weapon in the German Wehrmacht . Many captured PPSch-41s were therefore not handed over to the official loot collection points, but used on site. The weapon, which was adopted without changes, had the designation ( third-party device number ) MP 717 (r). The PPSch-41, converted to the German caliber 9 × 19 mm , did not have its own name - they were often incorrectly referred to as MP41, but the actual MP41 was manufactured by Haenel . Since the 7.62 × 25 mm TT cartridge used by the PPSch is almost identical to the 7.63 × 25 mm Mauser cartridge and is thus a forerunner of the 9 × 19 mm, only the barrel had to be changed to change the caliber and that Magazine window can be converted to accommodate the magazines of the German MP 40. A reverse conversion was possible at any time.
Overall, the PPSch-41 was one of the best submachine guns of its time. Their advantages were quick and uncomplicated production, easy dismantling and maintenance, effective range and enormous firepower.
Further developments
In 1942, a lighter and more compact weapon was sought. Schpagin presented a revised version of his submachine gun that only allowed continuous fire. A new fuse blocked the loading lever by locking the cutout in the system box and the case ejection window. The wooden shoulder rest could be removed and replaced with a foldable one made of metal. Poor precision, lack of reliability, and the barely reduced weight of this model led to Sudayev's PPS-43 being selected.
In 1945 Schpagin built another model. The new weapon was made entirely of metal and had a collapsible, multi-link shoulder rest. The 1945 model had an additional safety device and was fitted with a sliding chimney that was adjustable up to 500 meters.
technology
The PPSch-41 consists of two main parts, the barrel and the system case, which - similar to the later M16 assault rifle - are held together by a hinge in the middle. The barrel jacket surrounds the barrel and serves as hand protection. It has several cutouts that allow air to circulate and thus cool the barrel. The end of the barrel jacket is closed except for a hole for the projectile and serves as a compensator . The barrel ends just before the barrel jacket, when the powder gases flow out, they press against the inclined face from the inside, some escape through the opening in front of the grain and thereby press the muzzle downwards. The barrel can be removed and replaced.
The lock is housed in the system box together with the trigger mechanism. The PPSch-41 is a recoil charger with a ground lock . The weapon is locked , which means that the breech is in the rear position before the shot. When the trigger is pulled, it snaps forward under the pressure of the locking spring, takes a cartridge from the magazine and ignites it as soon as it has been inserted into the chamber. Since the comparatively weak pistol ammunition does not require a rigid lock, the mass inertia of the bolt is sufficient . The return of the shutter is slowed down by a buffer made of hard-boiled leather.
The fire selector switch is located immediately in front of the trigger. In its rear position the weapon shoots single fire , in the front continuous fire. When the weapon is cocked, the catch lever holds the slide in the rear position. If the trigger is pulled, it pushes the catch lever down - the slide is released and the sequence described above takes place. If the weapon is set to single fire, the bolt actuates a second lever as it moves forward, which pushes the part of the trigger that interacts with the catch lever into the inside of the trigger, thus releasing the connection between the trigger and the catch lever. This moves the catch lever back up and catches the slide. To fire another time, the trigger must be released and pulled again.
When switching to continuous fire , the catch lever is held down all the time by pressing the trigger, i. H. the breech is not caught and can fire the next round.
The fuse is a slide and is located on the loading lever. The weapon can be secured in both the front and rear position of the breech.
Originally the PPSch-41 used drum magazines with a capacity of 71 rounds. The ammunition was in two rows of 39 and 32 cartridges. In order to load the magazine, its cover had to be removed and the spiral spring wound. Then the drum was ammunitioned and closed again. Although the loading process itself wasn't complicated, it took a relatively long time. In addition, drum magazines were heavy and uncomfortable and also not particularly reliable (the American Thompson A1 submachine gun , whose later versions could only hold rod magazines) had the same problems . For this reason, a curve magazine with a capacity of 35 rounds was introduced later . These magazines were made of 0.5 millimeter thick sheet metal and could be bent under combat conditions. The problem was solved by using 1 millimeter thick sheet metal.
The earlier models had sights with a sliding chimney, as was common with rifles at the time. The setting reached up to 500 meters and was made in steps of 50 meters. However, experience showed that such distances were unrealistic and the visor was unnecessarily complicated as a result. Therefore, the sliding rear sight was replaced by a simpler folding rear sight, which only allowed two adjustments - 100 and 200 meters; In addition, seven fewer parts now had to be manufactured.
Important former user states
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People's Republic of China : From 1950, replica without license as Model 50
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GDR : Part of the initial equipment of the KVP / NVA as MPi 41
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German Reich : use of captured Soviet specimens as MP 717 (r)
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Finland : Use of specimens captured from the Continuation War
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Iran : Production under license during World War II -
Yugoslavia : Strongly modified replica as Zastava M49 and model 49/57; The lock was modified based on the Beretta Model 38 . 35-round curve magazines only, barrel jacket with circular cooling holes. -
North Korea : From 1955 license production as Model 49 ; initially made true to the original, later minor changes, etc. a. on the visor -
Austria : Part of the initial equipment of the armed forces as MP 41
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Soviet Union : Introduced into the Red Army in 1942 -
Hungary : use of captured specimens during World War II; after the war license production without changes at FÉG as 48M
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Vietnam : replica under license as K50M ; Changes: barrel jacket, front sight, shoulder rest, pistol grip. 35-round curve magazines only.
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literature
- Reiner Lidschun, Günter Wollert: Infantry weapons yesterday (1918–1945) . BVH, Brandenburgisches Verl.-Haus, 1998, ISBN 978-3-89488-036-1 .
- Ilya Schaidurow: Russian firearms . Types.Technology.Data. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03187-6 .
- Chris McNab: Soviet Submachine Guns of World War II , Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78200-796-8 . (82 pages online PDF)
Web links
- Maxim Popenker: PPSh-41 -. In: Modern Firearms. modernfirearms.net, accessed June 25, 2020 .
- PPSh-41 on waffenhq.de
- This link contains biographical details on Schpagin or leads to a more extensive biographical sketch ( Memento from April 27, 1999 in the Internet Archive )
- MP PPSH 41 (Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina). In: SALW Guide. Retrieved April 11, 2013 .
- PPSh-41 Full Auto SMG - 1944 Molot Russia. (Video) In: youtube.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Arms 1939-1945 . Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 978-3-613-02481-6 , p. 67 .
- ↑ a b c d VISIER-Special 40 submachine guns . 1st edition. VS Medien, ISBN 978-3-9809243-8-2 , pp. 47 .
- ↑ VISIER-Special 40 submachine guns . 1st edition. VS Medien, ISBN 978-3-9809243-8-2 , pp. 48 .
- ↑ VISIER-Special 40 submachine guns . 1st edition. VS Medien, ISBN 978-3-9809243-8-2 , pp. 49 .