The mortars of the Second World War - the USSR and the German. The use of mortars in World War II. "Katyusha" - mortar of World War II

Mortars of the Second World War represented a formidable artillery weapon, capable of hitting at long and short distances any enemy firing points. Having in their arsenal various calibers of mortar installations, the warring parties could successfully cope with any assigned combat missions.

History of military weapons

In the distant 1904, with the defense of Port Arthur, Russian officers S. Vlasyev and L. Gotyabo created an unusual artillery weapon with a short trunk in the form of a pipe. 47-mm naval cannon was intended for hanging firing on the enemy's targets. The range of the flight of such an installation was small, only 400-500 meters.

Later mortars of the First World War were used as an effective means of trench warfare. However, over time, this improved invention has become a formidable weapon. Mortars of the Second World War delivered a lot of trouble to the German soldiers.

The mortar was modern in shape due to the first model of the Stokes design. It is a trunk-trunk on a two-legged mast bearing a flat metal plate that extinguishes the return of the shot into the ground.

A few years before the war with Germany, the Soviet government began aggressively launching inexpensive and uncomplicated artillery weapons into mass production, believing that it would replace a number of artillery weapons. For this reason, the production of Taubin's automatic grenade launcher was suspended, which, during tactical tests in 1937, proved to be an excellent fighting weapon of an attached type.

Mortar-shovel caliber 37-mm

In 1938, especially for infantry units, a light mortar of 37 mm caliber was developed. The author of the combat unit was MG Dyakonov, the famous designer of explosive devices and ammunition for artillery. In addition, he was developed: hand grenade RGD-33, rifle grenade launcher.

In marching conditions, a 37-mm mortar could be compared to an ordinary shovel. The shooting from this type of weapon was carried out by fragmentation mines. The baptism of fire Dyakonov's mortar received in the Finnish campaign.

Unfortunately, the range and accuracy of the shooting of this weapon left much to be desired. Due to the low efficiency of the 37-m mortar it was decided to withdraw from production and remove the Red Army from the arsenal. But life has disposed differently. The use of mortars in World War II 37 mm caliber has found its application. In the winter of 1942, thanks to the fire support of Dyakonov's mortars, the paratroopers of the 4th air corps successfully landed near the town of Vyazma.

The tactical and technical characteristics of the mortar of 37 caliber:

• The caliber of the gun is 37 mm.
• Weight - 2.4 kg.
• The speed of the mine is 65-70 m / s.
• The minimum range is 60 m.
• The maximum range of the mine is 250 m.
• The weight of the projectile (mines) is 0.5 kg.

Mortar mortar of the 1938 and 1940 issue. (Caliber 50 mm)

Serial production of this artillery gun was started by the Soviet Union's military industry in 1939. The developer is an experimental design bureau headed by BI Shavyrin. Schematically, the mortar is arranged along an imaginary triangle. The trumpet-barrel and the monolithic biped with the lifting mechanism were one side of this triangle, and the third imaginary side was the line between the support and the carriage.

Characteristics of the company mortar 50-mm caliber 1938 of release:

• Caliber - 50 mm.
• Weight - 17 kg.
• The speed of the mine is 95 m / s.
• The maximum range of the shot is 800 m.
• The rate of fire is 32 rounds per minute.
• The weight of the projectile (mines) is 0.85 kg.

In the future, the design was improved in the Design Bureau of VN Shamarin. And in 1940 a new version of a 50-mm mortar unit was launched. As of June 22, 1941, 50-mm mortar guns became massive in the Red Army, the number of them reached about 24 thousand units. Especially popular these mortars of the Second World War did not use.

By the end of 1943, few military units used this type of weapons. The reason was the fact that a small range of shooting reached only 800 meters, which caused mortar calculations to approach as close as possible to enemy positions. Due to this, combat units suffered multiple casualties. Especially popular this type of mortar installation was used by partisans, who until the end of the war used it in their arsenal.

82mm mortar battalion

In 1936, the RKKA was used for a mortar unit designed in the Leningrad SKB-4 under the direction of DI Shavyrin. His military baptism 82-millimeter mortar took place in the battles at Khalkhin-Gol, having established itself as a reliable combat weapon capable of hitting enemy targets at long distances. Later these artillery pieces were modernized.

Thus, new versions of the 82-mm mortar appeared every year during all combat operations. These mortars of World War II Served faithfully for a long time. Not a single combat operation of the Soviet troops was not without this weaponry.

The successful use of mortars in World War II of this caliber led to the fact that they were the prototype of a light version of the 1981 "Mortar" mortar.

Wehrmacht weapons

German mines of the Second World War for mortars Various calibers were made, since the combat arsenal of the Wehrmacht mortar sets had several modifications, 50 mm and 81 mm in 1936 and 1932 respectively.

According to some technical characteristics mortars of the Wehrmacht were superior to their Soviet counterparts. However, this did not help the German troops to fulfill their main task - to win the war. It is noteworthy that German troop type mortars of World War II of 81 caliber were used by the Soviet army after the victory. By the way, until 1955.

Reactive mortars of the Second World War

The Germans learned of the fact that the Red Army had weapons unprecedented in its power at the very beginning of the war.

For the first time, a military unit of rocket mortars under the command of Captain Flerov dealt a massive blow to the gang station Orsha on July 14, According to the testimony of the survivors of the Nazis, a real fiery barrage hit the railway junction. The battery of rocket mortars struck not with simple projectiles, but with incendiary incendiary mixture. German soldiers and officers burned the earth under their feet.

The glory of the famous "Katyusha" instantly spread throughout the front. They knew about it in the rear. The mines for the mortars of World War II were made by the whole country. The single motto for the whole population was: "Everything for the front, everything for victory".

Secret "Katyusha" - a mortar of the Second World War

The basic rule of Guards mortars is a covert occupation of combat positions. Movement only in cloudy weather or at night, so that the enemy could not detect. In the case of the environment, everything was also thought out. Each machine was mined, with the slightest threat of seizure, the installation should be detonated. It was under such circumstances that the battery of Captain Flerov died with his commander.

In 1942, the Germans still managed to capture a combat vehicle, but they did not manage to create weapons like Katyusha. The Soviet military industry constantly increased the production of jet mortars.

Allied Assistance

Since 1943, Soviet rocket mortars of the Second World War have been put not only on domestic trucks ZiS-6 and tracked tractors STZ-5, but on Lend-Lease vehicles of high terrain "Ford", "Austin" and "Studebaker." Developed for the "Katyusha" and new ammunition.

In particular, reactive launchers received huge 300-mm shells. They were intended for well-fortified defensive structures. As a rule, the Katyusha were hit by squares. However, there were cases when launchers had to be used for other purposes.

War in urban conditions

For example, during the Vistula-Oder offensive operation in order to break the 8-meter-high walls of the Poznan Citadel, charged shells of high power into the launchers were rolled out to direct light. The range of shooting "Katyusha" was four and a half kilometers, and on a direct tip - only one. Shooting for a shorter distance was simply impossible.

Nevertheless, Guardsmen-mortar men managed to adapt their formidable weapons for street fighting. From Moscow to Berlin, the Guards Katyusha, a mortar of the Second World War, took an active part in all combat operations.

By the end of the war, the BM-13 had become a weapon of mass destruction. The first official salute in the Great Patriotic War was in August 1943, in honor of the liberation of the Eagle and Belgorod. He became the echo of the first Katyush volleys in July 1941.

Interesting Facts

It is known that mortars of the Second World War destroyed not only land targets.

In 1942, during the defense of Sevastopol, junior lieutenant Vladimir Simonok shot down the German Junkers directly from a 82-mm mortar, flying low over the positions of Soviet troops. This was the only case in the entire Great Patriotic War, when the mortar calculation hit the enemy's air vehicle. For this fantastic shot, the junior lieutenant Vladimir Polikarpovich Simonk was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, the lieutenant died in the same 1942, defending Sevastopol.

Statistics of the war

It is interesting to compare how in a quantitative ratio the mortars of the USSR of the Second World War were issued in comparison with other countries. So, the numbers:

• The United States of America released in the period from July 1940 to July 1945 about 111 thousand units of military equipment.
• The British military industry for all time, and this is 1939-1944, released 97 thousand artillery weapons of this class.
• Germany from the beginning of 1941 to the middle of 1944 managed to arm its army with almost 70,000 mortar installations.
• From July 1, 1941 to June 30, 1945, the Soviet Union produced 348,000 artillery mortars of various caliber.

These figures indicate that the mortars of the USSR World War II, enjoyed great popularity and made an invaluable contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany.