The first assault - Russian
Automatic rifle Fedorov - weapon unfulfilled future
These weapons opened a new era in the small arms of the Russian army during the First World War. Do not happen in Russia the February Revolution and the subsequent Bolshevik coup, the automatic rifle V.G. Fedorov in droves would receive shock infantry, aviation, navy and armored vehicles.
Assault rifle
How to properly name the gun product of the outstanding Russian designer Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov, is still discussed in the special literature literature. Fedorov himself called it "automatic". However, experts are still arguing whether Fedorov’s product can be considered a classic assault rifle or automatic, as they are usually denoted in Russia, or it belongs to the class of automatic rifles. However, there is also the name historically that existed during the First World War - “Fedorov's handgun-machine gun”, and even “machine-gun”.
Vladimir Fedorov was not only a talented weapon designer, but also a major theorist of small arms. Tactical and technical requirements (TTT) to assault automatic weapons, that is, to the class of assault rifles, automatic, developed for the first time by VG Fedorov, became classic.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, these TTTs sounded almost revolutionary in the field of military technology. A new weapon was supposed to have mass and dimensions, convenient for an individual fighter actively moving on the battlefield. The weapon should have been able to fire by single shots and bursts, having for this an interchangeable high-capacity magazine. It was supposed to allow the fighter to instantly open fire on the move, but at the same time to possess the ability of an accurate shot from the stop at medium-distance distances. In principle, the Fedorov rifle meets all these requirements in the same way as the modern American assault rifle M16 or the German Heckler-Koch G36. Thus, Fedorov’s weapons product was apparently the first in the world to adopt a special assault rifle.
The fight against "Bergman" and "Mauser"
The military thought of imperial Russia, in terms of the development of promising small arms, as, indeed, in other areas of armament, usually reflected only on the subject of weapons already launched into production in Western countries. This feature of the Russian military department could not but affect the fate of the development of automatic weapons. While in all the leading countries of Europe, design work on the creation of automatic weapons was carried out on the basis of state order and financing, in Russia, the developers of automatic weapons could only count on their own pocket and possible favorable attention of their direct bosses.
At the turn of the twentieth century in Russia there were, to varying degrees, individually developed designs of automatic rifles by designers Glinsky, Glubovsky, Privalov, Velitsky, Shchukin. A very promising automatic design based on the processing of the Mosin three-line rifle was offered by Ya.U. The Grove In the 1907, the capital theoretical leadership of V.G. Fedorov, "The basis for the design of automatic weapons." However, in spite of the seemingly already existing practical and even theoretical basis, the work on designing automatic rifles did not arouse any interest in the Russian military ministry, were not supervised by anyone, and, accordingly, did not go beyond individual, semi-handicraft invention.
Vladimir Fedorov. Photo: V. Shiyanovsky / RIA News
The West has indirectly helped. In 1914, the major of the Italian army, Betel Revelli, created a twin submachine gun under the 9-mm cartridge, which was later called the “Aviation submachine gun Villar-Perosa М1915”. Almost simultaneously, the French launched into production, albeit technically capricious, but a massive machine gun based on the Shosh automatic rifle (Chauchat Model1915). The British developed the Farkauer Hill rifle with a drum magazine on 20 cartridges.
However, the main motive for the Russian military department were, of course, the German automatic weapons design. The Germans began using the Mauser 1910 / 1913 automatic rifle, equipped with a translator for automatic firing and a replaceable magazine for 25 cartridges. In addition, there was information about the promising start of an exceptionally successful design of the German machine gunner Hugo Schmeisser MP.18 submachine gun, the release of which was subsequently mastered by Theodor Bergman’s company.
As a result, the Russian military department finally paid attention to the problem of the production of domestic automatic weapons and remembered the long-time gun project - the VG gun-gun. Fedorov.
Gun "unfinished"
The long lack of interest in domestic development of automatic weapons and government funding in this area could not be in vain. The so-called “Fedorov handgun-machine gun” turned out to be the only model of automatic small arms, which was developed and put into service in Russia during the First World War. As noted by the well-known gun specialist S.L. Fedoseev, during the years of the First World War in France, for example, five new types of automatic small arms were created and put into production, and eight in Germany.
Fedorov's automatic rifle could have been brought to the adoption of mass industrial production much earlier than its appearance in the troops at the beginning of 1916 - the beginning of 1917. Back in 1909-1912. she successfully passed the commission, field tests and military trials. For its development V.G. Fedorov was even awarded the great Mikhailov Prize (Gold Medal), issued every five years, but the rifle hit the industrial workshops only in the middle of 1914.
What it was connected with today is hard to say for sure. Most likely, with the overall strategic and technological inertia of the Russian state machine. Former War Minister A.A. Polivanov, in his diary entries from February 21 of 1912, indicates, for example, that Tsar Nicholas II "was at the lecture of Colonel Fedorov, the inventor of the automatic rifle, and told him that he was against introducing her into the army, since then there would not be enough cartridges." For objectivity's sake, it is worth noting that the extremely low educational level of draftees in the army of the Russian Empire caused the well-founded fears of the tsar and those generals of the General Staff who were seriously expecting an increased, pointless ammunition by yesterday’s bastard peasants.
Another objective reason for such a significant delay in the introduction of the V.G. Fedorov became the inescapable "Achilles' heel" of all the weapons store systems in Russia - the welted (flanged) "Russian" 7,62-mm rifle cartridge. (Its feature was the presence of a welt or flange - roughly speaking, a protruding edge on the bottom of the sleeve, which technologically made it difficult to use it in other types of weapons).
Arisaka comes to the rescue
By the end of 1914, it became obvious to the Russian military command that the shortage of infantry rifles and cartridges to them was already reaching catastrophic proportions on the front. In the 1915 campaign of the year, the Russian army was part of an acute shortage of all types of weapons and military equipment, but rifle-cartridge “hunger” was particularly acute. By this time, the efforts of General Edward Germonius, involved in the purchase of weapons and military equipment abroad, signed contract No. XXUMX between Russia and Japan for the purchase of 3027 thousands of Arisac rifles of the 200 model of the year and 1897 million of their cartridges. In addition, the Japanese side yielded to Russia in excess of the contract another 200 million rifle cartridges.
War Minister Alexei Polivanov. Photo: US Library of Congress
This was just the beginning - by the end of the Great War, Russia had 728 thousands of Arisac rifles, they were armed with entire divisions and even corps. With an English loan, Russia ordered 660 million 6,5-mm cartridges in England, and Japan was obliged to supply 124 million cartridges.
The 6,5-mm Arisaka cartridge in no small degree contributed to the fact that the automatic rifle Fedorov from the “paper project” finally became a reality. The designer himself, long before the arrival of Arisaka rifles in the troops, came to the conclusion that the 7,62-mm power of the “Russian” rant cartridge was excessive for automatic weapons, and the protruding welt (flange) of this cartridge created difficult to interfere with the mechanisms of the bolt group and magazine . The Russian army clearly required a modern cartridge suitable for use in automatic weapons. V.G. Fedorov in 1912-1913 I developed my own 6,5-mm cartridge of “improved ballistics”, but it was unrealistic to organize its industrial production in Russia in the conditions of war.
The Japanese 6,5-mm rifle cartridge, which was massively supplied to the Russian army, came in very handy, since it completely removed for the relatively small series of Fyodorov’s automatic machine guns any danger of “cartridge hunger”. This cartridge had very good ballistics, which provided flatness of firing, acceptable power, and, taking into account production on modern technological lines in England and Japan, high standardization of recoil energy.
The use of the 6,5-mm cartridge allowed to literally transform the weapon by V.G. Fedorov. The rifle received a barrel shortened from 800 to 520-mm, which immediately markedly improved the balance of the weapon. In fact, the flangeless cartridge Arisaka (the flange was in favor of the cartridge dimensions only on 0,315 mm) made it possible to introduce a flag rate firing translator into the system, to make a slide gate cover, to develop a series of replaceable magazines for the weapon.
Informal troop testing
Oruzhieved S.L. Fedoseev, in one of his works, gives information about how a Japanese rifle-assault rifle, tested for the troops, modified for 6,5-mm. The long-term, overlapping tests, traditional for the Russian defense ministry, have been replaced in the crucible of real combat operations with quick and clear assessments of the interested army structures.
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. Photo: US Library of Congress
21 February 1916 Maritime Headquarters requested to transfer at least 10 Fedorov machine guns "in view of the extreme need for such guns in naval aviation." The chief of military aviation, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, highly appreciated the automatic rifle after combat use in Lieutenant Colonel Gorshkov's 10 aircraft division. “General Fedorov’s machine gun showed excellent results,” the Grand Duke addressed to the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU). - I ask for a dress for a hundred of such guns for aviation squads. A shotgun is better than Shosh’s gun in every way. ” The commander of another squadron, the staff captain I.N. In his report, Tunashevsky was even more categorical, “Fedorov’s machine gun was the only one suitable for a light airplane.”
Summing up the feedback received from the front, GAU in 381 magazine from 6 September 1916 of the year made the definition that “marked guns of General Fedorov could be used, except for aviation, and on armored cars, especially cannon, where there is no possibility to put a machine gun. In addition, Fedorov’s automatic rifle could be used for field positional warfare as an infantry weapon. ”
However, even before this definition, 14 August 1916, the Chief of General Staff, General P.I. Averyanov sent the following directive to the Main Military Technical Directorate: “In the circumstances of the present wartime, it seems necessary to form now a company armed with automatic rifles of Major General Fedorov’s system according to a special state here ...”.
In August-October, the 1916 of the year at the Officer Rifle School based on the company of the 189-th Izmail Infantry Regiment of the 48-th Infantry Division was formed and trained a “special purpose team”. The team was armed with Fedorov's automatic rifles, and in addition, according to the prescription, they were supplied with “all new technical improvements”: optical sights, prismatic binoculars, portable field rifle boards of the GVTU Technical Committee system, new Adrian steel helmets. In fact, created a sample of the Russian army in the near future.
At the beginning of 1917, a company of machine gunners of the 189 Infantry Regiment of Ismail was sent to the Romanian front. On 30 on April 1917, according to a report by the Chief of Staff of the 48 Infantry Division, this separate company consisted of an 3 officer and a 138 of lower ranks. Further reporting by the division has not been preserved - the time has come for “fraternization” and the rapid collapse of the Russian army. A number of automatic rifles Fedorov was involved in infantry and air units of the Western Front.
Innovative specifications
The Fedorov machine gun was for its time a high-tech product: the production of this gun could be carried out only with the use of a milling machine.
Automation of the system was innovative: the action of reloading cartridges was based on the use of recoil energy in the short course of the barrel. Even today, such a principle of action of rifle automation remains in demand in the army and hunting systems.
Japanese flangeless 6,5-mm rifle cartridge Arisaka. Photo: wikipedia.org
The barrel bore was locked using two swinging cheeks located on the sides of the breech breech and closing the special bolt lugs. Under the effect of recoil shot, the barrel and bolt moved back — the front ledges of the swinging cheeks raced onto the ledge of the fixed box of the bolt group and turned, freeing the bolt. Under the influence of a compressed recoil of a powerful return spring, the barrel and bolt, throwing out the cartridge case and taking the next cartridge, returned to their previous position, and the swinging cheeks, rising up, locked the bolt.
The trigger mechanism of the automatic rifle Fedorov allowed to conduct both single and automatic fire, for which the weapon was equipped with a special translator of the rate of fire. The attached box magazine of the machine was designed for 25 staggered cartridges. In case of need for fast loading, the magazine could be filled from a special clip, inserted from above into the slots of the box - the shutter was kept in the rear position with a simple but reliable slide delay.
The undoubted "highlight" of the machine Fedorov was a convenient front handle to hold - the original structural detail, clearly ahead of its time. The return to this detail on domestic weapons (for example, on the modification of the Kalashnikov assault rifle) occurred again only at the end of the twentieth century. Initially, a rifle-assault rifle stood a folding frame sight, similar to the sight on the Japanese Arisaka carbine. Choosing this type of sight, Fedorov apparently proceeded from the fact that the ballistics of the 6,5-mm cartridge for the machine gun was similar to the ballistics of the “native” cartridge of the 6,5-mm Arisaka. Subsequently, this scope was replaced by a more convenient sector.
The Fedorov rifle is distinguished by a rational and beautiful design, even from the standpoint of today. A metal box-like lining on the fore end of the forearm, a stylish hold handle, a narrow turned neck of a lodge, an impressive store horn and a powerful shutter handle on top give Fedorov's gun a unique “predatory” look, testify to the exceptional quality of the weapon. Throwing a gun into the shoulder removes all doubts about the surprising, even unique balance of this weapon. If there is a balance, then with a good chuck (and the dignity of 6,5-mm Arisaka is not in doubt), the shot “from Fedorov” even from an adapted stop, logically, should have been canceled.
Ruined by revolution
Fedorov rifle shared the tragic fate historical Of Russia. Based on its design, technical documentation was prepared for a whole family of small arms, including, in addition to the machine itself, also a 6,5 mm light machine gun, a 6,5 mm automatic rifle and a shortened (for armored vehicles) 6,5 mm self-loading carbine.
Fedorov machine M1916. Photo: MilitaryFactory.com
However, long-term plans for the production of these weapons were not destined to be embodied in the metal: Russia was rapidly falling into a revolution, with its inevitable chaos, general treachery and blood flows.
Mass production of the machine was initially planned to be launched at the Sestroretsk Arms Plant, then the idea arose of transferring this production to a new machine-gun factory in the city of Kovrov, Vladimir province. By a GAU prescription from 18 in January 1918, VG himself was assigned to the Kovrov plant. Fedorov, and he was sent to the assistance of the largest specialist weapons, the former head of the Tula Arms Plant, P.P. Tretyakov. However, 21 March 1918, all work at the Kovrov plant was stopped due to compelling financial and organizational reasons. The plant's cash register was devastated, the workers either ran away or fiercely rallied, the supply of materials for production was completely stopped. In addition, the continuation of any contracts with subcontractors was unrealistic for the plant management due to the policy of “demobilization of military enterprises” conducted by the Bolsheviks.
Russian being, even in provincial Kovrov, crawled limply and meekly under the guillotine of Bolshevik arbitrariness.
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