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") 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 14.5×114 mm 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 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 (Retired USSR)
Used bySee Users
WarsWorld War II
Korean War
Chinese Civil War
Vietnam War[1]
Syrian Civil War
War in Donbass[2][3][4][5]
Production history
DesignerVasily Degtyaryov
Designed1941
ManufacturerDegtyaryov plant
Produced1941–45
No. builtAbout 471,500[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 velocity1,000 m/s (3,281 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 the USSR captured several hundred Polish Model 35 anti-tank rifles, which had proved effective in the September Campaign when Poland was invaded by Germany. 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.

The PTRD and the similar but semi-automatic PTRS-41 were the only individual anti-tank weapon 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). It could penetrate an armor plate up to 35 to 40 mm (40 mm 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 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).[8]

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

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. Furthermore, Americans also captured certain number of PTRD from Viet Cong in Vietnam War. The weapon proved effective out to 2,000 yards.[9]

Users

Current
PTRD rifle at Great Patriotic War museum in Smolensk

Former
  •  Bulgaria: Equipped with 300 items (both PTRD & PTRS) by Soviet Union between 1944–1945, seen in combat operations.
  •  China: Used in Chinese Civil War, later by People's Volunteer Army during Korean War.
  •  Czech Republic: Used by 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR.
  •  Nazi Germany: Captured and used by Wehrmacht under the title Panzerbüchse 783(r).[8]
  •  North Korea: Equipped by the USSR, saw extensive combat in Korean War against M24 light tanks.[11]
  •  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.[11]

See also

References
  1. "WWII German weapons during the Vietnam War". wordpress.com. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2017./
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPtMiY96cMg&t=1107s
  6. Jr, Walter S. Dunn (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. Chamberlain, Peter; Gander, Terry (1974). Anti-tank weapons. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 57. ISBN 0668036079. OCLC 1299755.
  9. "Hard Target Interdiction" (PDF). www.remingtonmilitary.com/. Remington Arms. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
  10. 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.
  11. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/wwii-weapons-the-ptrs-and-ptrd-russian-anti-tank-rifles/

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