PTRS-41

PTRS-41
PTRS
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	Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov
Designed	1941-?
Produced	1941–1945
Variants	General specifications
Specifications
Mass	20.3 kg
Length	2,000 mm
Barrel length	1,219 mm
Crew	2
Cartridge	14.5x114mm
Muzzle velocity	1,013m/s (3,320 ft/s)
Effective firing range	400 m
Maximum firing range	800 m
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, the Soviet Union began experimenting with different types of armour-piercing anti-tank cartridges. Finding the 12.7x108mm insufficient, they began development of what would become the 14.5x114mm armor piercing round. Famous Soviet weapons designers such as Vasily Degtyaryov and Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov designed rifles to accommodate this cartridge. In 1938, Simonov designed the PTRS-41, a magazine fed, anti-tank rifle with a scaled down version of it becoming the SKS rifle.

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 1012 m/s and good ballistics. It could penetrate an armour plate up to 40 mm thick at a distance of 100 meters.

History

The rifle entered mass production in 1941 and was widely used on the Eastern front in World War II. It performed well against early German tanks, and was also useful when attacking supply trucks and other soft-skinned vehicles. As tank armor got thicker and the rounds became insufficient to penetrate it, the Soviet anti-tank soldiers learned new tactics like shooting for vision ports, treads, and other "soft" parts that, if hit, could potentially disable the tank.

The 14.5 mm antitank rifles were put to a variety of other uses. Besides tanks and armoured vehicles, they were used to destroy mortars and machine gun emplacements.

During the war a number of these rifles were captured and used by the Germans. The rifles were given the designation Panzerbüchse 784(r) or PzB 784(r).

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. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)