Weapons 10/03/20 “EP”: it is not talking about the famous Soviet gun
Some of the Soviet guns during the Second World war is the most famous, no one ever found out, but the fact that the 45-mm antitank gun, nicknamed by the troops the “sorokapyatka”, this “competition” were definitely not the first place, no doubt.
But for all its popularity, this weapon is still shrouded in many myths, stretching from the Soviet era.
Unpatriotic history of the creation
it would Seem that the question of who exactly created the “EP” is easy to answer, and in the USSR the answer was clear. For the creation of a 45-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1937, order of the red Star was awarded to chief designer of plant No. 8 Mikhail Loginov. What can be more questions?
In Soviet times, the questions do not risked to ask, but even now the logins appear on the list of creators of weapons of victory, and a list created of artillery weapons and more than all his colleagues. That all the guns from his list are of foreign origin, somehow trying to forget. And the list of guns, which at plant No. 8, could not establish in production is very large. And guns these were very necessary to the red Army, as in the first place these are the small-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns. And all modern historians of weapons of operation of the plant No. 8 are evaluated only in a negative way.
the History of creation “EP,” began with the purchase in Germany (among other things) a 37-mm anti-tank gun, which was considered at that time the best in its class. The gun was adopted for red army service under the name of 37-mm anti-tank gun OBR. 1930 and started producing at the factory No. 8 under the index 1-K Due to the simple design and proven technology of the production established, albeit with great difficulty — during the first year rejected all 255 made guns. Only, according to the Handbook A. IVANOVA “Artillery of the USSR in the Second world war”, released 509 guns of which a small part has survived to the beginning of World war II.
the Military did not satisfy weak explosive action 37-mm projectile. It was decided to increase the caliber of 45 mm. So there was a 45-mm anti-tank cannon OBR. 1932, Structurally it does not differ, in the old casing and installed a new barrel. It should be noted that the 45-mm guns in the USSR was developed and to “EP”, for example, anti-tank gun factory “Red Putilovets” in the tests was a competitor to the tools of plant No. 8. It should also be noted that Germany had created samples of the gun with the barrel caliber 44, 45 and 47 mm. gun of the Wehrmacht did not like, and it was offered for export, particularly to the Netherlands and China. Supplied whether the 45 mm German samples in the USSR is unknown, but modernized samples 37-mm German guns were supplied accurately. The development of the guns engaged in a specially created “sharashka” – a Special design Bureau of OGPU.
it Should be noted that in 1942 was created an upgraded version of the “EP”, called the 45-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1942 It also created the engineers-convicts, but in a “sharashka” called OKB-172.
different quality
the 45-mm gun was produced in several versions. First, OBR 1932, under the factory index of 19 -, then its a more refined version mod. 1937, under the symbol 53-K. Such guns produced 49074 things, including the war — 16621.
In 1942, a new model called the M-42. Until the end of the war, they produced 10 843 pieces.
A. Shirokorad in his “Encyclopedia of domestic artillery” discusses about the development and production of mining version of cannons, who might have to transport pack animals.
in addition, there was tank option, under the index’s 20-K, which was produced until the end of the war and was put on tanks and armored cars. All tank guns produced 32453.
Creaturesoval casemate guns option to install the DOT-4. Before the war managed to produce 410 such installations.
as the plant No. 8 could not provide the army and Navy small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery, it was even anti-aircraft (better universal), a variant of the 45-mm cannon under the index 21-K Gun though and created (also in the “sharashka”) in 1932, but it did not differ from marine 47-mm Hotchkiss guns of the late nineteenth century. In the absence of modern tools, of which the factory No. 8 under the leadership of M. N. Loginova could not master such guns manufactured 4009 pieces, and they were used on ships and in coast defence.
In fact, all of these samples had at its core it is the “forty-five”, created in “sharashka” at plant No. 8, on the basis of gun company “Rheinmetall”.
Against the German tanks
As written in the books of the Soviet period, for example, in the six-volume “history of the great Patriotic war of the Soviet Union 1941-1945” 1960-1965 the year of publication, 45-mm gun “could penetrate the armor of military vehicles of all types, consisting at that time the armies of the bourgeois state.”. This is absolutely true, but when we are talking about 30 years.
After the first clashes with German tanks on the battlefield, troops went from negative reviews. It turned out that the frontal armor of German medium tanks “EP,” don’t shoot. This was a lot of debate: on the one hand we heard many table data testing 45-mm guns, and on the other the actual reports from the front. To operate on tabular data is extremely difficult, as the real effectiveness of guns when firing at tanks depends on many factors that simply cannot be ignored. For example, the preparedness of artillery or the weather. In General, the most authoritative researchers such as M. Svirin or A. Shirokorad, agree that the increase in caliber German guns have not led to an increase in its real armor penetration, and even Vice versa. Not coincidentally, the Germans refused to increase Calibra.
Another major problem that could not be taken into consideration when designing (especially in Germany), was the low quality of the manufacture of guns, and (particularly) ammunition. According to M. Svirina, really serial a 45-mm cannon at a distance of 500 m pierced the armor thickness of 18 mm is listed in the directory 43 mm.
it is No accident in the army gun was nicknamed “farewell homeland”. They had to be replaced.
And in the end
As mentioned above, for replacement of 45-mm guns mod. 1932 and 1937 was created a new “EP”. Structurally, the gun has not changed much. The barrel is lengthened to 68.8 cal, the charge in the cartridge was increased. Initial velocity of the projectile increased from 760 to 870 m/s, respectively, and penetration increased. But by that time, the Wehrmacht already had other tanks, against which new “EP,” were powerless. Besides, as writes in his article, “EP”, boring and irreplaceable” Andrey Ulanov, in the new cannon survived all the numerous operational shortcomings of the previous design.
“EP”, for all its faults, was a very useful tool. And not so much as anti-tank, how many battalion. Pyatisotdollarovy gun is easily transported to the battlefield by the calculation and was accompanied by infantry. And purposes for it were many, even in the complete absence of tanks — it was gun emplacements, machine gun nests, Bunkers. “EP” became the main weapon of guerrilla warfare, even more common than mortars. And they were used not only guerrillas but also those who fought against them.
performed the 45-mm gun in street fighting during the storming of Budapest, Prague, Berlin. There is a photo which shows “EP”, leading the battle inside the Reichstag.
Cyril Shishkin
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