PTRS-41

PTRS-41
PTRS
Type	Anti-tank rifle
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1941-1949
Used by	Soviet Union, North Korea, China
Wars	World War II, Korean War, Chinese Civil War
Production history
Designer	Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov
Designed	1938
Produced	1941–1945
Variants	General specifications
Specifications
Weight	20.3 kg (46 lbs)
Length	2100 mm (83 in)
Barrel length	1219 mm (47 in)
Cartridge	14.5×114mm
Action	gas-operated
Muzzle velocity	1,114 m/s (3,655 ft/s)
Effective range	800 m (874.9 yd) (against light armored vehicles)
Maximum range	1,500 m (1,640.4 yd) (against light armored vehicles)
Feed system	5-round magazine

The PTRS-41 is the semi-automatic cousin of the PTRD anti-tank rifle.

Design

The PTRS-41 was produced and used by the Soviet Union during World War II. In the years between the World Wars, Soviet Union began experimenting with different types of armour-piercing anti-tank cartridges. Finding the 12.7×108mm insufficient, they began development of what would become the 14.5×114mm armour piercing round. Famous USSR weapons designers such as Vasily Degtyaryov and Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov designed rifles to accommodate this cartridge. In 1938, Simonov designed the PTRS-41. The five round magazine was loaded into the receiver and held under pressure by a swing magazine underneath. On firing the last round, the bolt is held open, and the magazine release catch can only be operated when the bolt is locked back. The gas-operated PTRS has a tendency to jam when dirty, and the 14.5 mm cartridge produces significant residue, blocking the gas port. The 14.5 mm armour-piercing bullet has a muzzle velocity of 1013 m/s and devastating ballistics. It can penetrate an armour plate up to 40 mm thick at a distance of 100 meters.

In 1943 Simonov used a scaled down PTRS-41 design for the SKS-45, that would accommodate the new 1943 designed M/43 7.62x39mm cartridge.

History

PTRS-41 during World War II.

Designed in 1938 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov, the PTRS-41 is a semi-automatic anti-tank rifle that was used along the Eastern Front in World War II and then used again in the Korean War and Chinese Civil War by various factions. Along with his partner Vasily Degtyaryov, Simonov helped the Soviet Union develop new weapons between World Wars. During this time, Degtyaryov would go on to create the PTRD-41 while Simonov would create and design its cousin rifle, the PTRS-41. As one of Simonov's creations, the PTRS-41 would sometimes be known as simply the “Simonov” on the battlefield.

Vasily Zaitsev used a PTRS to attack machine gun nests, during the Battle of Stalingrad, where their sandbag walls stopped standard rifle 7.62x54R bullets. The armour-piercing bullets could easily penetrate the sandbags walls. However Zaitsev found the mass produced bullets to be not consistent enough for precision shooting.

References

• [1]
• 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. 

• Beevor, Anthony (1999). Stalingrad. United Kingdom: Penguin. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-141-03240-5.