American magazine The National Interest, “famous” by their “expert” opinions on completely different issues, military in general, this time I decided to make a rating of Soviet weapons, which according to the authors of the study, is the worst. so, presenting the five worst examples of small arms in the USSR.
In the first place of his list, the author of the publication Charlie Gao put an experimental machine gun of the Soviet designer Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin, created as part of the first competition for an assault rifle chambered for an intermediate cartridge of the 1943 model 7.62x39, announced in 1944.
In the design of his machine gun, Shpagin applied the principle of free breech recoil, which has proven itself in submachine guns.. However, he failed because, that the units and mechanisms of the weapon did not correspond to the significantly high power of the intermediate cartridge. The machine gun weighed 1,2 kg, and the total weight of the weapon was 5,5 kg. When firing, the machine gun was shaken by strong vibration, which negated the dignity of the new cartridge, shutter rollback worked poorly. The machine was removed from the competition after 315 shots.
The next on the list was the experimental automatic machine AC-106P sample 1955 year of designer Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov.
In the design of the machine for power unloading of the receiver cover and slowing down the rate of fire, a long piston stroke was used. Besides, Simonov placed the return mechanism in front of the bolt carrier in the receiver, fixing by turning the spring stop sector, located on the piston rod. The frame with the return mechanism was fixed by a detachable handle. The stem tube was attached to the gas chamber with a check. During testing, such a system was found unreliable and the machine was removed from testing..
In third place on the list “the worst” samples of Soviet weapons were hit by submachine guns AB-7.62 and AB-5.45 designed by Anatoly Baryshev:
The author of the study calls these machines “strange”. In the design of this machine Baryshev, for maximum weight reduction, abandoned the gas piston and gas tube, and instead of them put a carrying handle. Automation in Baryshev's weapons was based on a semi-free shutter and a rear sear, the shot was fired with the shutter open. The weapon had poor recoil, but the shot was accompanied by a loud sound and a bright flash. Another problem was the rapid contamination of weapons.. The machine did not go into production.
Further on the list “worst” Soviet weapons from an American magazine located an automatic rifle designed by Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev AVT-40.
This design was developed in 1940 year based on the SVT-40 rifle. anticipated, that the new rifle will fire in bursts, which compensates for the lack of light machine guns. However, it was not taken into account, that SVT-40 is not adapted to such shooting. The design of the rifle did not provide the required strength of parts and the reliability of the automation. Accuracy of combat from this rifle did not meet the requirements of the army and in 1942 year it was taken out of production. Rate of fire AVT-40 when firing in short bursts – 40-50 rounds / min, with continuous fire – 70-80 rounds / min.
And the OTs-14 grenade launcher complex closes the list “Storm”, created in Tula TsKIB SOO
The complex is a kind of alteration of the AKS-74U according to the scheme “bull-pap”. According to the study's authors, this rifle-grenade launcher system has many disadvantages. Although more 70% parts compatible with Kalashnikov assault rifles, the design of the weapon is very difficult to disassemble and maintain. Another problem is the impossibility of firing this weapon. “left-handed” fighters, shells fly right in the face. In the absence of an underbarrel grenade launcher, the center of gravity shifts strongly back, making it difficult to conduct aimed fire.
