I would like the addition of this weapon in enlisted as an interesting addition
History and development
The small Swiss arms manufacturing company Waffenfabrik Solothurn AG emerged on the world market in the late 1920s, when it was bought out by the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall Borsig AG, which was severely limited its military activities under the clauses of the Treaty of Versailles . The Solothurn S-18/100 was the first in a line of large-calibre anti-tank rifles developed by Solothurn in the early 1930s. It is a large weapon, which could be carried by a single soldier for a short period of time.
The first model, called the Schwere Tankbüchse modell 5 or ST5 (Heavy Anti-Tank Rifle model 5, in German), designed to be operated and carried by a single person, was a gas-powered reloadable weapon with the gas cylinder located above the barrel. , which activated a bolt-action piston that extracted the empty casing, with powerful recoil springs that fed the chamber, leaving the weapon ready for a new shot. Then it would be the turn of the Tankbüchse M36, an improved version of the previous one, which in turn would become the famous S-18/100 with which the Heer It would begin its operations in World War II in the cavalry and assault brigades, first on the Polish front, and then in successive demonstrations over France and the Netherlands. The S-18/100 version featured a longer, stronger barrel, a new muzzle brake, and a more ergonomic modified cocking lever. The Solothurn S-18/100 had a telescopic sight of 4x20 magnification, maintaining the effective 20 x 105 B cartridge designed by the company Polte Werke of Magdeburg with the collaboration of the engineer Lubbe.
It was offered for export, and a small number of S-18/100 anti-tank rifles were sold to various European countries, such as Hungary or Finland. In March 1940, with funds raised in Switzerland to aid the Finnish war effort in the Winter War , Finland purchased twelve S-18/154 anti-tank rifles from Solothurn, although the buyer was nominally the Swiss Army. The weapons arrived in Finland during the spring when the war had ended, but were later used in the Continuation War. However, the weapons quickly proved obsolete against Soviet tanks.
Later Solothurn engineers decided to improve the performance of the rifle and redesigned it to fire the more powerful 20 x 138 B ammunition, which was also used in the German Rheinmetall FlaK 30 and FlaK 38anti-aircraft guns . This version was offered to buyers as the [Solothurn S-18/1000 anti-tank rifle. ; A selector fire version of the S-18/100 was offered as the S-18/1100 “Universalwaffe” for use against tanks with an integral bipod, firing in semi-automatic mode and as an anti-aircraft gun (burst firing) with special anti-aircraft mount. This version also found some buyers, including Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Some S-18/1100 rifles were also used by the German Army during World War II under the designation PzB-41(s). Overall, the Solothurn anti-tank rifles looked like formidable weapons that could handle a wide variety of missions, using anti-armor or high-explosive ammunition ., but in 1942 its armor penetration coefficients were insufficient to deal with the Soviet T-34s . These rifles were also too heavy (at least by infantry standards of the time), quite expensive, and complicated to manufacture.
Users
- Germany : Tested some rifles. 2
- Bulgaria: Bought 308 anti-tank rifles in 1936. 1
- United States : He bought 2 Solothurn S-18/100 in 1939, to test them at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. 4
- Estonia : Bought 4 anti-tank rifles in 1936 for testing, copying them as Solothurn-Arsenal. [5]
- Finland : Purchased 12 S-18/154 anti-tank rifles.
- Hungary : Produced under license under the designation 36M 20mm Nehézpuska . It was the main armament of the 38M Toldi light tank and the 39M Csaba armored car . 2
- Italy : Bought a small batch for testing in 1934. 2
- Japan : Bought a Solothurn S-18/100 in 1936, for comparison with the Type 97 anti-tank rifle
- Netherlands : Purchased 6 anti-tank rifles for testing in 1937. 2
- Romania : Used them as anti-material rifles from 1942. 8
- Switzerland : Tested some rifles. 2
Solothurm S-18/100
Solothurn S18/1000
a noticeable difference is in the muzzle brake
Most Users
The most enthusiastic users of this model were the Italians, using it on practically all the fronts that the Regio Esercito was on: Africa, the Balkans and Russia. In the Regio Esercito it was designated Fucile anticarro di 20 mm modello S. [It was also mounted as a replacement for the main armament of the L3/33 and L3/35 tankettes , as well as aboard reconnaissance vehicles such as the Camionetta AS 42 Sahariana .
Finland purchased an anti-tank rifle for trials from the Solothurn firm in August 1939. Later in March 1940 another twelve of the S-18/154 sub-variant were purchased and used during the Winter War . They tried to buy more units that did not arrive on time; which, however, were used from 1941 during the Continuation War until 1944.
Between 1939 and 1941, the US Army considered adopting the Solothurn S-18/1000. The weapon was designated for limited procurement as the 20mm T3 Autocannon . In the spring of 1941, the S18 was tested against its opponent, the 23 mm (0.90 in) Colt T4. Although less powerful, the S-18/1000 was less bulky and complicated and was found to be more suitable for use by the Army. The plans were to acquire a batch of 50 rifles and later produce the weapon in the United States. However, lengthy contract negotiations resulted in the idea being abandoned.
