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History of weapons: CPV – shotgun, changed the world

History of weapons: CPV - shotgun, changed the world

Of course, You can't say that about every weapon.. Got a weapon, which was created with such a big reserve for the future, that each new generation of warriors found something of their own in him. weapon, the potential of which has been revealed for many decades. At the same time, there were no significant changes in the design.. It’s just that the experience of combat use revealed more and more new opportunities. We have the right to call such weapons legendary..

It is about such weapons that will be discussed in this article.. About the legendary heavy machine gun C. AT. Vladimirova - KPV. machine gun, which for most readers is known in one of the most common options - KPVT. But we will still call it correctly - CPV.

The idea of ​​large-caliber automatic small arms was not new even then., when the first work in this direction began.

The initiators and legislators of large-caliber fashion were European aviation gunsmiths. After the First World War, they itched to screw something larger in caliber and more lethal into the plane, than a conventional rifle-caliber machine gun.

And in the second half of the 30s of the last century, full-scale work began on the creation of weapons on the one hand, large caliber, on the other - rapid-fire.

The Soviet Union was no exception. And the work was carried out on the platform of the patron 12,7 x 108 mm. This is how the very long-running projects of DShK machine guns were born., UB.

AT 1938 year the first sample of the cartridge was developed 14,5 x 114 mm for anti-tank rifle Rukavishnikov. The gun came out bulky and unsuccessful and did not go into the series. What not to say about the cartridge. It was to him that the designers began to look closely.

However, in preparation for a major war, the country could not afford to create such weapons.. PTR, and even more so, machine guns of this caliber were not needed by the USSR.

But any theory is tested by practice.. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War was the point, which can be considered a revival not only of PTR. On the personal instructions of Stalin, work was urgently resumed.. Worked on PTR, and over a new cartridge.

16 July 1941 year, the cartridge was adopted 14,5 mm with armor-piercing incendiary bullet and B-32 steel core. 15 August adopted another cartridge - BS-41, with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet with a hard-alloy cermet core. A 29 August adopted anti-tank rifles V.A.. Degtyarev and Simonov.

The effectiveness of this weapon is the topic of other articles.. But the fact, that such guns can also be used to combat aircraft, important. AT 1941-42 years there were several cases of destruction of aircraft precisely from PTR. However, it was difficult to hit a fast-moving target with one round.. But if you got...

Furthermore, when conducting an offensive battle, our fighters often encountered well-equipped pillboxes and bunkers of the Germans. It was also not easy to hit such a structure from the first shot.. Already in the middle 1942 of the year, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command set the task of creating a 14.5-mm machine gun for the infantry. However, no solution to this problem could be found..

The thing is, that the energy of a machine gun shot is greater, than that of an automatic gun. But, in terms of performance characteristics, such machine guns should be comparable precisely with small-caliber guns. Therefore, the task was precisely in choosing the concept of such a weapon..

History of weapons: CPV - shotgun, changed the world

Semyon Vladimirovich Vladimirov, designer of aircraft guns ShVAK and V-20, that's the line he followed.. And in November 1943 presented the machine gun for factory testing. And, they tested the anti-aircraft machine gun. The requirements for such weapons were higher.

The tests of the machine gun were successful and after approval by the People's Commissariat of Defense, the plant received an order for the production of machine guns (KPV-44) and anti-aircraft installation. For military tests it was required 50 machine guns and one memory. Testing began after the end of the war, in May 1945 of the year.

AT 1946 the machine gun was put into service in two versions. PKP (infantry heavy machine gun) and anti-aircraft KPV. for 6 years, the troops received only in the version of anti-aircraft installations up to 8 thousands of such machine guns.

History of weapons: CPV - shotgun, changed the world

Unfortunately, in the history of the creation of this weapon masterpiece there is an element of mysticism. Remember, a very common cliché about, that creation often takes the soul, and then the life of the creator? So it happened with Semyon Vladimirovich Vladimirov. He died 12 July 1956 of the year precisely when disassembling the spring-loaded parts of a machine gun of its own design. Buried in g. Kovrov, Vladimir region.

That machine gun, which we know, KPVT, began to be developed during the life of the designer. FROM 1952 of the year. The power of the weapon and its high survivability in various conditions dictated the need to equip armored vehicles with it..

History of weapons: CPV - shotgun, changed the world

It is enough to give only one characteristic - the "working" lethal range of the bullet. 7-8 kilometers. Of course, aimed shooting at such distances is impossible. But, agree, power is amazing. The frontal armor of all armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles of a potential enemy KPVT pierced with the ease of a sewing machine. by the way, until now, in the terms of reference for the design of armored vehicles of the West, they are guided precisely by the KPVT.

Add to this the ability to quickly change the barrel, which is removed together with the casing.

Add Smooth Automation with a Movable Barrel.

Add automatic fuses, which will not allow a shot to be fired with an incorrectly attached barrel.

Add the ability to switch the feed direction of the tape.

Add an automatic tape feed block, if the cartridge was not removed from the link.

Virtues, which even today look impressive, multitude. And it's all done «more soviet». No need for fine adjustment of gaps. The machine gun will work in different conditions in the same way.

Minuses, of course, also had.

Complicated assembly and disassembly process (and dangerous, as the fate of the designer showed).

Reloading is quite long 10-12 seconds.

Small tape capacity.

When overheated, it starts to stick cartridges, everything is upside down, and the tape cannot be pulled out without help from above.

can say, fastidious machine gun, but there is no other way to do it. Too powerful cartridge.

But, probably, The biggest advantage of CPV is, that initially he was still an anti-aircraft machine gun. This means, the designer initially laid down the possibility of using a cartridge with high power, what were the products available at that time. Under this machine gun, you can still develop ammunition today.

It remains to list, what soldiers remember for more than 70 years of history of the legend.

Singles (ZPU-1) and paired (ZPU-2 and ZU-2) installations for anti-aircraft gunners. ZU-2 are especially famous. Put into service in 1955 year. towed, with automatic sight and the ability to work for two gunners at once.

History of weapons: CPV - shotgun, changed the world

PZU-1. Mountain modification of the machine gun. Although developed in 1954 year, adopted only in 1968. tested in battle though not at all in the mountains. It was delivered to Vietnam and successfully worked there against American helicopters and aircraft.. It was also used in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

ZPU-4. Also known under the index GAU 56-U-562. put into service in 1949 year. It was used in regiments and divisions as their own air defense system.. But, Alas, increase in speeds and tactics of attacking ground targets by aviation, sharply lowered the survivability indicators of calculations.

History of weapons: CPV - shotgun, changed the world

14,5-mm MTPU. Naval pedestal machine gun mount. Designed to combat surface, coastal and air lightly armored targets. Mounted on combat boats and other sea and river vessels. AT 1999 year MTPU «hid» to the tower.

History of weapons: CPV - shotgun, changed the world

Twin machine gun mounts (from 2M-5 to 2M-7). 2M-5 (1952 year) were in service with project 123bis torpedo boats and 184. Deck turrets with horizontal barrels. 2M-6 or 2M-6T (1952 year) - a variant of the turret installation for artillery boats of the project 1204. 2M-7 was intended for patrol boats of projects 1400 and 368P and minesweepers.

The life of the machine gun Semyon Vladimirov continues. AT 1989 year, a new armor-piercing incendiary cartridge appeared with an aluminum jacket and a carbide core. Already at the beginning of our century, cartridges appeared with a modernized MDZM bullet and a modernized BZT-M bullet. (remote tracer ignition, for night shooting).

However, the scope is getting smaller.. Today these are already obsolete BTR-70 and BTR-80, small patrol boats. Yes, and in the armies of neighbors, heavy machine guns are gradually giving way to rapid-fire aircraft guns on the armor.

And in the coming years, likely, we will witness the end of the era of heavy machine guns on armored vehicles. AND, perhaps, on boats.

Today heavy machine gun (eg, "Cliff") - a common thing in the infantry. It can already be transferred without disassembling, he "lost weight".

What will be the fate of the CPV, which sooner or later will replace the 30-mm automatic gun? Question…

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