German anti-aircraft small-caliber anti-Soviet aircraft (part of 2)
By the beginning of the Second World War, the German aviation gun-arms did not shine with high performance. The first aircraft machine gun that entered service with the Luftwaffe after the lifting of the restrictions imposed by the Versailles Treaty was the MG.15 caliber 7,92-mm. This weapon was designed on the basis of the MG.30 light machine gun, which, in turn, carried its pedigree from S2-100, created in 1929 year by the Swiss company Waffenfabrik Solothurn AG. This company was acquired by the German concern Rheinmetall-Borsig in order to circumvent the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles and to develop modern rifle artillery weapons.
Prior to official adoption, the aircraft machine gun had the designation Rheinmetall T.6-200. Automatic machine gun used recoil barrel in its short course. The closure of the barrel was carried out by rotating the coupling with intermittent threads mounted on the breech, which during rotation coupled the barrel with the bolt, which had a corresponding thread in the head part. Shooting was carried out with an open shutter.
At the time of its appearance, it was a solid middling, superior in its characteristics to many foreign samples of a similar purpose. At that time, the 7,62-mm DA-powered disc-powered machine gun, created on the basis of the manual DP-27, was used in the defensive turret installations of the Red Army Air Force aircraft. And in the UK before the start of the 40-s, he was in service with the aviation version of the Lewis machinegun under the 7,7-mm cartridge .303 Britis. However, against the background of the rapid Soviet ShKAS, the mass production of which began in the second half of 30, the German MG.15 looked pale. According to reference data, the official adoption of MG.15 into service took place in the 1936 year, in total more than 17 000 machine guns were produced.
The machine gun with a length of 1090 mm without ammunition weighed 8,1 kg. Firing Rate - 900-1000 rds / min. Sighting device consisted of a circular sight and a vane-fly. Due to its low mass, MG.15 could be quickly transferred to the turrets in extreme positions. However, taking into account the fact that the German 75-charging double drum magazine, so beloved by the Germans, was used to power the machine gun with cartridges, the practical rate of fire was low. Which naturally had a negative effect on the defensive capabilities of the turrets of German bomber and reconnaissance aircraft.
During the Spanish Civil War, several MG.15 turned out to be at the disposal of Soviet military intelligence. After studying them by our experts, it was concluded that this sample is of no interest. There, in Spain, faced with a shortage of anti-aircraft weapons, the German gunsmiths of the Condor Legion adapted MG.15 for the first time for firing at air targets, having mounted a machine gun on a ground pivot.
Already at the beginning of 1941, the Luftwaffe command found the MG.15 obsolete, but it was operated on certain types of combat aircraft until the 1944 year. The machine guns available in the aircraft armament depot were also used to enhance the air defense of aerodromes.
Somewhere at the beginning of 1942, the MG.15 aviation began to be massively modified for the needs of the Luftwaffe airfield divisions. Shot from MG.15 planes were installed on tripod machines from Norwegian m / 29 Browning heavy machine guns and converted into light machine guns. To do this, they were equipped with a metal shoulder rest, a bipod and a belt for carrying. A significant amount of MG.15 received lightweight anti-aircraft tripods from aluminum alloy.
About the same story occurred with the MG.17 machine gun, which actually was a band-powered MG.15 designed for firing through the area swept by a screw with a synchronizer in fixed fire installations. In MG.17, the feed mechanism of the drum type used for feeding cartridges a one-piece metal tape with a semi-closed link. The standard link on 50 cartridges was assembled into tapes of multiple lengths by connecting the pin-axis.
Since band power was used in MG.17, its practical rate of fire was slightly higher than MG.15. In total, the Reich factories produced around the MG.24000 machine guns 17. The mass of the machine gun without ammunition was 10,2 kg, length - 1175 mm. The rate of fire without the use of a synchronizer - up to 1100 rds / min.
After the Luftwaffe began to abandon MG.17, several thousand machine guns had accumulated in warehouses. They tried to install on machines from MG.34 and use in stationary positions. However, this experience was not very successful, the loader system, the trigger mechanism and sights required a lot of work. As a result, most of the MG.17 used in paired and quadruple anti-aircraft installations. Where are they, given the relatively high rate of fire and the availability of band power, proved to be quite good. Machine guns were mounted on frames welded from metal pipes. The electric descent was replaced by mechanical, and the recharging system was also reworked.
Another German aircraft machine gun rifle caliber, in significant quantities used in the anti-aircraft machine guns became MG.81. This weapon, constructively having a lot in common with MG.34, was created by Mauser Werke AG according to the Luftwaffe demand for a sharp increase in the rate of fire of aircraft machine guns. MG.81 machine gun was supposed to replace the early models, and was originally developed in the turret, wing and synchronous versions. Serial production of the new machine gun was launched in 1939 year. Since MG.17 was abundant by that time, MG.81 was used in offensive machine gun installations with limited use. Mainly this weapon was used in defensive mobile turret mechanized and manual installations. When designing the MG.81, the Germans managed to come very close to the rate of fire of the Soviet aviation machine gun ShKAS. The rate of fire MG.81 late modifications was 1600 rds / min. At the same time, the German machine gun was much lighter and more technological than the Soviet. In fairness, it should be noted that by the time the MG.81 appeared, the ShKAS had already been produced for at least five years, and the relevance of rifle-caliber aviation machine guns due to the increased survivability and flight speed of combat aviation had significantly decreased by that time. However, from the beginning of 1939 to the end of 1944, more than 46 000 MG-81 machineguns of all modifications were produced.
The machine gun, weighing only 6,5 kg, had a length of 1065 mm. Since at high flight speeds, weapons on mobile installations at large course angles were difficult to direct at the target, the trunks were shortened from 600 to 475 mm. In this case, the total length of the weapon was 940 mm, and the initial velocity of the bullet decreased from 800 to 755 m / s.
To increase the mass of a second salvo, a special modification was developed with an increased rate of fire of 3200 rpm. This was implemented in a twin-turret installation MG.81Z (it. Zwilling - twin), with double-sided tape power. To control the fire pistol grip with a trigger mechanism located on the left machine gun.
Initially, the MG.81 and MG.81Z machine guns were used in the ZPU, covering German airfields from low-altitude strikes of Soviet aviation. The calculations usually included ground-based technical personnel, including gunsmiths, capable of competently maintaining and repairing machine guns. However, as the situation on the fronts deteriorated, the Luftwaffe was forced to share its reserves. Part of the MG.81 was converted into manual ones, and anti-aircraft guns were very often installed on self-propelled chassis.
Also known is a rarer version of an anti-aircraft installation using eight MG.81. In view of bulkiness and significant mass, eight-barrel installations were placed at stationary positions. The total rate of fire of this multi-barreled monster monster exceeded 12 000 shots / min, that is - more than 210 shots per second. Even the armored IL-2 could not be very good at it, it got under such a lead broom. But, fortunately, the Germans found this version of the LSD to be an unaffordable luxury and built them up a bit.
In general, the very successful aircraft machine guns MG.81 and MG.81Z for a complex of combat and service-operational characteristics were best suited for use as part of rifle-caliber light anti-aircraft guns. After the war, part of the MG.81 and MG.81Z was remade for the NATO standard 7,62X51 mm and was used by the armed forces of Western countries for installation on transport-combat helicopters and patrol boats.
As is known, the armed forces of Nazi Germany very widely used equipment and weapons produced in other countries. It could be both trophies and new weapons, released at industrial enterprises of the occupied states. Among the countries whose industry worked on the defense of the Reich, the Czech Republic stands apart. Products of the Czech gunsmiths, distinguished by a sufficiently high quality and good combat characteristics, accounted for a significant proportion of the total volume of small arms and armored vehicles fighting on the Eastern Front.
In 1926, the ZB-26 light machine gun, created by designer Václav Cholek under the German cartridge 7,92 × 57 mm, entered into service with the Czechoslovak army. Machine gun automatics functioned due to removal of a part of powder gases from the barrel bore, for which a gas chamber with a regulator is located under the barrel in the front part of it. The barrel was locked by skewing the shutter in a vertical plane. The trigger mechanism allowed firing single shots and bursts. With a length of 1165 mm, the mass of the ZB-26 without ammunition was 8,9 kg. Power was supplied from a box magazine on 20 cartridges inserted from above. The creators of the weapon believed that the location of the receiving neck on top speeds up loading and facilitates firing from the stop without the “clinging” of the ground to the magazine body.
The rate of fire was 600 rds / min, but due to the use of a small capacity magazine, the practical rate of fire did not exceed 100 rds / min.
The machine gun ZB-26 and its later version ZB-30 proved to be a reliable and unpretentious weapon. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in March 1939, the Germans got more 7 000 machine guns ZB-26 and ZB-30, and a significant amount of ZB-26 was captured in Yugoslavia (they were designated MG.26 (J)). Machine guns seized in Czechoslovakia were adopted under the indices MG.26 (t) and MG.30 (t) and produced up to 1942 at the Zbrojovka Brno enterprise. These weapons were used mainly by occupying, guarding and police units, as well as in the Waffen-SS formations. In total, the German army received 31204 Czech light machine guns.
Although the ZB-26 was originally developed as a manual, in some cases it was installed on machines and lightweight anti-aircraft tripods. Especially often MG.26 (t) and MG.30 (t) machine guns with anti-aircraft sights were used in the SS forces and Slovak units that fought on the German side. Although Czech-made light machine guns, due to the relatively low rate of fire and the 20 magazine ammunition, were not optimal for firing at air targets, their great advantage was the low weight and reliability.
Another Czech-made machine gun chambered for the 7,92 × 57 mm, widely used on the Eastern Front, was the easel ZB-53. This sample was also designed by Václav Cholek and adopted for use in the 1937 year. In the German army, ZB-53 received the designation MG.37 (t). According to the principle of automatics, the machine gun refers to samples of automatic weapons with the removal of powder gases through a side opening in the barrel wall. Locking the bore by skewing the shutter in a vertical plane. If necessary, the trunk could be replaced. The machine gun had a shooting rate switch of 500 / 800 rds / min. High rate of fire was necessary in the firing of aircraft. The mass of the machine gun with the machine was 39,6 kg. For anti-aircraft fire machine gun mounted on a swivel folding retractable racks of the machine. Anti-aircraft sights consisted of a ring sight and rear viewfinder.
Due to its relatively low mass for the heavy machine gun, high workmanship, good reliability and high accuracy of firing, the ZB-53 was in demand in the front line troops. His reputation was no worse than the German MG.34 and MG.42. The German command as a whole was satisfied with the MG.37 (t) characteristics, but as a result of combat use it demanded to create a lighter and cheaper option, and also to bring the pace to 1350 rds / min when shooting at air targets. The specialists of Zbrojovka Brno, in accordance with these requirements, created several experimental models, but, after closing down the production of ZB-53 in 1944, the work in this direction was stopped.
In total, the Wehrmacht and SS units received 12 672 machine guns of Czech production. Although the ZB-53 machine gun was deservedly considered one of the best machine guns in the world, its too high labor intensity and high cost forced the Germans to abandon the continuation of its production and reorient the arms factory in Brno to release MG.42.
By June 1941, many thousands of machine guns seized in Austria, Belgium, Greece, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Poland, France, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were at the disposal of the German army. However, most of this wealth required its own ammunition and spare parts suitable only for them, which prevented the extensive use of captured machine guns at the front. As a result, machine guns seized in Europe were most often used by occupation and police units as weapons of a limited standard, and transferred to the allies. Starting from 1943, machine guns for non-standard Wehrmacht ammunition were sent to be installed in the bunkers of the Atlantic Wall, a system of long-term and field fortifications longer than 5000 km created along the European coast of the Atlantic.
Rather limited on the Eastern front, the German army used Polish machine guns Ckm wz.30, which were Browning M1917 under the German cartridge 7,92 × 57 mm. The standard tripod machine gun machine Ckm wz.30 allowed the firing of anti-aircraft fire, which predetermined its use for air defense purposes.
In the initial period of the war against the USSR, the German army managed to seize a large amount of equipment and weapons that were at the disposal of the Red Army. Among the trophies were a lot of machine guns. First of all, this applied to Maxim machine guns of the 1910 / 30 model of the year and manual DP-27. Maxim's captured Soviet machine guns (under the name MG.216 (r)) and Degtyarev's handhelds (designated MG.120 (r)) were used by the Wehrmacht and entered into service with militarized and security police units in the occupied territory of the USSR. However, hundreds of Soviet anti-aircraft machine-gun systems also fell into the hands of the enemy: quadruple, twin and single, as well as infantry machine guns on the Vladimirov tripod-wheel machine of the 1931 model of the year, allowing the machine gun to fire at air targets.
German soldier at the captured Soviet machine gun "Maxim" on a Vladimirov universal machine
In 1941, the main military air defense system in the Red Army was the quadruple 7,62-mm anti-aircraft machine gun unit M4 mod. 1931. Developed under the guidance of N. F. Tokarev. She was a four machine gun Maxim arr. 1910 / 30 g installed on a zenith machine in the same plane. For better cooling of machine-gun barrels with intensive shooting, a device of forced circulation of water was used. With good fire density, the M4 anti-aircraft gun was too heavy. Its weight in the fighting position, along with the water cooling system and welded frame for installation in the car body exceeded 400 kg. Also in the troops at the beginning of the war there were a significant number of: twin anti-aircraft installations arr. 1930 g and single arr. 1928
Although the Soviet ZPU-based machine gun Maxim arr. 1910 / 30 was not officially adopted by the Wehrmacht, they were used in large quantities as supernumerary air defense devices. Since the mass and dimensions of the obsolete machine gun installations were too large, they were installed in stationary positions: for the protection of bridges, pontoon ferries, material and technical warehouses, fuel depots and ammunition. In addition, when deployed on self-propelled chassis, captured anti-aircraft Maxims were protected by German transport convoys and trains from air attacks and guerrilla attacks. In order to reduce the weight of the quad units, they were sometimes transferred to air cooling, for which purpose the system of forced water circulation was dismantled, and cutouts were made in the water cooling casing of the machine guns. The experience of the combat use of the machine gun Maxim showed that without overheating the barrel it was possible to launch a continuous line-up of lengths up to 100 shots. However, German troops used captured 7,62-mm LSD not for long, by the middle of 1942, most of them were transferred to Finland.
Already in 1942, the role of rifle-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns in the armed forces of Nazi Germany declined. This, in the first place, was associated with the increasing number of armored IL-2 attack planes supplied by the Soviet aviation industry in assault aircraft regiments. As mentioned in the first part of the review, even 7,92-mm hard-core armor-piercing bullets in most cases could not overcome the Soviet anti-aircraft attack armor, and their destructive effect in the case of hitting the wing, tail and unarmored parts of the fuselage was insufficient. In this connection, small-caliber anti-aircraft guns began to play the main role in providing anti-aircraft cover for the German troops in the front-line zone.
To be continued ...
Based on:
https://smallarms.ru/article?arms=mg15
https://military.wikireading.ru/55282
http://wwii.space/zenitnyie-orudiya-germaniya/
https://smallarms.ru/article?arms=mg81
http://www.oocities.org/augusta/8172/panzerfaust5.htm
Information