PTRD

PTRD
A PTRD.
Type	Anti-tank rifle
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1941–?
Used by	Soviet Union, North Korea, China
Wars	World War II, Korean War, Chinese Civil War
Production history
Designer	Vasily Degtyaryov
Designed	1941
Manufacturer	Degtyaryov plant
Produced	1941–1945
Specifications
Weight	17.3 kg (38.1 lbs)
Length	2,020 mm (79.5 in.)
Barrel length	1,350 mm
Crew	2
Cartridge	14.5x114mm
Action	Single-fire
Rate of fire	6-8 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	1,114 m/s (3,655 ft/s)
Effective range	3,000 m
Maximum range	10,000 m
Feed system	Single shot, no magazine
Sights	Front post, rear notch

The PTRD-41 (Shortened from Russian, ProtivoTankovoye Ruzhyo Degtyaryova) was an anti-tank rifle produced and used from early 1941 by the Soviet Red Army during World War II. It was a single-shot weapon which fired a 14.5x114mm round. Although unable to penetrate the frontal armor of German tanks, it could penetrate the thinner sides of early-war German tanks as well as thinly armored self-propelled guns. The 14.5 mm armor-piercing bullet had a muzzle velocity of 1012 m/s. It could penetrate an armor plate up to 35 to 40mm (40mm with tungsten ammunition) thick at a distance of 100 meters at 0 degrees. During the initial invasion, and indeed throughout the war, most German tanks had side armor thinner than 40mm (PzKpfw I & II: 13-20mm, III & IV series: 30mm, PzKpfw V Panther (combat debut mid-1943): 40-50mm), which meant that the PTRD teams need to be close to very close–sometimes point blank distances–to have a chance of penetrating the sides of these tanks. However due to the high velocity and small size of the round, it had a very high chance of shattering or utterly failing against armor it should have penetrated, which was aggravated if the target was not at a perpendicular angle.

History

In 1939 the USSR captured several hundred Polish Model 35 anti-tank rifles, which proved effective in the September Campaign. Vasily Degtyaryov copied its lock and several features of the German Panzerbüchse 38 when hasty construction of an anti-tank rifle was ordered in July 1941.^{[citation needed]}

The PTRD and the similar PTRS-41 were the only individual anti-tank weapon available to the Red army in numbers during the war. Due to the obsolescence and inadequate ability against tanks PTRD users would attempt to shoot view ports rather than actually try to penetrate the vehicles armor. This tactic was quickly deemed "ineffective" and only served to give away the position of the PTRD unit. After poor results against the enemy tanks the PTRD and PTRS were finally relegated to anti-materiel duty in 1943 as they were still effective against lesser armored vehicles such as armored half-tracks, armored cars and unarmored vehicles.

The PTRD suffered from numerous flaws; the most notable are the lack of penetration versus enemy vehicles which frustrated PTRD teams, its size and weight which hampered its mobility and deployment, and its immense muzzle flash which gave away the unit's firing position. The PTRD was eventually replaced by the RPG series of anti-tank rocket launchers.

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 barrel to a captured PTRD to examine the effectiveness of long-range shooting. The weapon proved effective out to 2,000 yards.

German soldier loading a captured PTRD rifle

Comparison

During the war, production of the PTRS-41 was dropped in favor of the PTRD. Despite the fact that both rifles fired the 14.5x114mm round, the PTRD was deemed to be the better weapon of the pair.

	PTRS-41	PTRD
Cost of Manufacture	Expensive	Cheaper
Operation and Load	Semi-Automatic with 5-round magazine	Single-shot
Performance	800m	3000m

References

• Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 91. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9. http://www.russianammo.org. 

External links

• Russian 14.5 mm antitank rifle PTRD-1941
• The PTRD 1941