PTRD-41

The PTRD-41 (Shortened from Russian, ProtivoTankovoye Ruzhyo Degtyaryova; Противотанковое однозарядное ружьё системы Дегтярёва образца 1941 года; "Degtyaryov Single Shot Anti-Tank Weapon System Model of 1941") is an anti-tank rifle that was produced and used from early 1941 by the Soviet Red Army during World War II. It is a single-shot weapon which fires the 14.5×114 mm round, which was able to penetrate German tanks such as the Panzer III and early models of the Panzer IV. Although unable to penetrate the frontal armor of late-war German tanks, it could penetrate their thinner side armor at close ranges as well as thinly armored self-propelled guns and half-tracks.

PTRD-41
Soviet soldiers with PTRD-41 defending Moscow, 1942
TypeAnti-tank rifle
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1941–1960s (USSR)
Used bySee Users
WarsWorld War II
Korean War
Chinese Civil War
Vietnam War[1]
Syrian Civil War
Russo-Ukrainian War[2][3][4][5]
Production history
DesignerVasily Degtyaryov
Designed1941
ManufacturerDegtyaryov plant
Produced1941–45
No. builtAbout 450,000[6]
Specifications
Mass17.3 kg (38.1 lbs)
Length2020mm (79.5 in)
Barrel length1,350 mm (53 in)
Crew2
Cartridge14.5×114mm (B-32, BS-41[7])
Actionbolt-action
Rate of fireSingle shot,user dependent
Muzzle velocity1,012 m/s (3,320 ft/s)
Effective firing range300 m (on personnel targets, dispersion of bullets on 300 meters 0.36 m[7])
Maximum firing range1,000 m[7] (mostly with scope)
Feed systemSingle shot, no magazine
SightsFront post, rear notch

History
Anti-tank riflemen with PTRD on the Kursk salient.

In 1939, in its invasion of Poland the USSR captured several hundred Polish Model 35 anti-tank rifles, which had proved effective against the German invasion of Poland from the West. Vasily Degtyaryov copied its lock[8][9] and several features of the German Panzerbüchse 38 when hasty construction of an anti-tank rifle was ordered in July 1941.

The PTRD and the similar but semi-automatic PTRS-41 were the only individual anti-tank weapons available to the Red Army in numbers upon the outbreak of the war with Germany. The 14.5 mm armor-piercing bullet had a muzzle velocity of 1,012 m/s (3,320 ft/s). The 64g bullet had a 39g steel core and could penetrate around 30mm of armor at 500m, and 40mm of armor at 100m.[10] During the initial invasion, and indeed throughout the war, most German tanks had side armor thinner than 40 mm (Panzer I and Panzer II: 13–20 mm, Panzer III and Panzer IV series: 30 mm, Panzer V Panther (combat debut mid-1943): 40–50 mm).

Guns captured by the Germans were given the designation 14.5 mm PzB 783(r).[11]

Soviet unit commander and gunner (PTRD) in ambush. The defense of Tula (Rogozhinsky village), 1941

After World War II the PTRD was also used extensively by North Korean and Chinese armed forces in the Korean War. During this war, William Brophy, an American Army Ordnance officer, mounted a .50 BMG (12.7 mm) barrel to a captured PTRD to examine the effectiveness of long-range shooting. Furthermore, Americans also captured certain number of PTRD from Viet Cong in Vietnam War. The weapon proved effective out to 1,800 metres (2,000 yd).[12]

Users

Current
PTRD rifle at Great Patriotic War museum in Smolensk

Former
  •  Bulgaria: Equipped with 300 items (both PTRD & PTRS) by Soviet Union between 1944 and 1945, seen in combat operations.
  •  China: Used in Chinese Civil War, later by People's Volunteer Army during Korean War.
  •  Czechoslovakia: Used by 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR.
  •  Nazi Germany: Captured and used by Wehrmacht under the title Panzerbüchse 783(r).[11]
  •  North Korea: Equipped by the USSR, saw extensive combat in Korean War against M24 light tanks.[14]
  •  Poland: Used by 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division in 1943 then by other Polish divisions.
  •  North Vietnam: In stockpile, used by Viet Cong in Vietnam War.[1]
  •  Soviet Union: Largely used in Eastern Front by the Red Army.[14]

See also

References
  1. "WWII German weapons during the Vietnam War". wordpress.com. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2017./
  2. "- YouTube". YouTube.
  3. "PTRD in Ukraine". 5 October 2014.
  4. "PTRS-41 and PTRD-41 rifles in action at the conflict in Ukraine". 13 October 2014.
  5. Sneider, Noah (24 July 2014). "Huddling with Ukrainian Rebels in a Bunker on the Front Lines". The New Republic.
  6. Dunn, Walter S. Jr. (1995). The Soviet economy and the Red Army, 1930-1945 (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood. p. 103. ISBN 9780275948931.
  7. Manual on Small Arms (NSD-42) Military Publishing House Moscow 1942
  8. http://opisybroni.pl/karabin-przeciwpancerny-wz-35/
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bGHt5lCGSg
  10. "Page 6: Tank Rifles", Panzerfaust: WW II German Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons, 1998, archived from the original on 27 October 2009
  11. Chamberlain, Peter; Gander, Terry (1974). Anti-tank weapons. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 57. ISBN 0668036079. OCLC 1299755.
  12. "Hard Target Interdiction" (PDF). www.remingtonmilitary.com/. Remington Arms. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
  13. Jenzen-Jones, N.R.; Ferguson, Jonathan (2014). Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine (PDF). Armament Research Services Pty. Ltd. p. 43. ISBN 9780992462437.
  14. "Warfare History Network » WWII Weapons: The PTRS and PTRD Russian Anti-Tank Rifles". warfarehistorynetwork.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017.
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