Hello everyone and good day. It’s me again, your faithful friend and forum member, @TheSaboteur59. Today we will talk about weapons again. After all, this is largely what our forum exists for, isn’t it? More specifically, about an interesting Soviet prototype - the Korovin assault rifle of 1933.
An automatic carbine/rifle (not to be confused with Korovin’s automatic carbines for pistol cartridges), but rather an assault rifle, considering its caliber, developed by Sergey Alexandrovich Korovin in the USSR in 1933. Essentially, it can already be called a proto-assault rifle.
There are some assumptions that this Korovin machine gun traces its lineage back to the automatic version of the Winchester 1907, which Korovin modified, redesigned, changed, made a new receiver, wooden furniture, and possibly a new design. The mass suggests a free bolt, but instead of a front charging handle, Korovin made a rear ‘puller,’ similar to what was later used on the M-16. But again, this is all just speculation! Unfortunately, we know far too little about this weapon.
- Weapon type: Assault rifle
- Caliber: 8.9mm
- Cartridge: 351 WSL
- Action: Blowback
- Length: 1100mm
- Weight: 4.1kg
- Cyclic rate of fire: unknown for 100% sure, but in some sourses 800 RPM.
- Muzzle velocity: 477 m/s
- Magazine capacity: 20 round. Actuallу, the magazine was lost, but it is presumed to have held 15-25 rounds. Most estimates suggest 20 rounds.
- Magazine type: WInchester 1907 20-round mgazine, but that is not certain. And again, the magazine was lost. But many believe that the Korovin 1933 used magazines from the Winchester 1907, which makes sense given the same cartridge.
- Firing mode: there are two modes, single and automatic fire
Not much is known about the history of this weapon.
The Korovin Avtomat (Korovin Assualt rifle 1933) is an early Russian assault rifle designed by Sergei Korovin. The weapon is blowback operated and nominally chambered for the .351 WSL round (8.9mm). Magazine capacity is unknown, but presumably 20 rounds. Photos of this automatic rifle first appeared in the magazine “Oruzhie” (“Weapon”) No. 14 in 2013 in an article about the works of the famous Soviet small arms designer Korovin. Yes, photos of the 1933 Korovin automatic rifle were published in “Oruzhie” No. 14 in 2013, but unfortunately, there is almost no information, and the design is not entirely clear.
Cartridge. The cartridge also deserves separate consideration. The .351 WSL is not the most common cartridge for Soviet weapons. First, some call the .351 WSL an intermediate or, more often, a proto-intermediate cartridge. The .351 WSL (Winchester Self-Loading) cartridge is called intermediate because its power lies between pistol and full-size rifle cartridges, like 7,62 × 54 мм R and another
. This is related to the history of the cartridge’s creation and its design. The .351 WSL cartridge was developed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company based on the .35 WSL cartridge. The company decided to increase the power of the .35 WSL by lengthening the case and increasing the powder charge. The new cartridge was named the .351 Winchester Self Loading (9×35SR). The case length was increased from the original 29.3 mm to 34.9 mm, and the proportional weight of the propellant charge also grew, while the 12-gram bullet remained largely unchanged.
Again, in a number of publications, they are even considered a prototype of assault rifles. Is this entirely justified? Well… perhaps, to some extent - yes. Let’s compare the Winchester 1907 cartridges with the German StG-44. The muzzle energy of the German 7.92×33 mm assault cartridge used in the StG-44 is 1909 joules. The .351 WSL cartridge, used in the M1907, has a similar figure. And the most powerful cartridge used in the Winchester Model 1910 - the 401 SL - had a muzzle energy of 2650 J, i.e., significantly more than the German 7.92×33. In terms of bullet velocity, the figures are also fairly close: 685 m/s for the 7.92×33 mm and 570 m/s for the .351 WSL. In terms of mass and size, they are, in principle, also quite comparable.
- 7.92×33 mm Kurz:
- Bullet diameter: 8.2 mm.
- Case length: 33 mm.
- Cartridge length: 49 mm.
- Bullet weight: 8.1 g.
- Muzzle velocity: 685 m/s.
- Bullet energy: 1909 J.
- Neck diameter: 8.9 mm.
- Shoulder diameter: 11.2 mm.
- Base diameter: 11.9 mm.
- Rim diameter: 11.9 mm.
- .351 WSL:
- Bullet diameter: 8.9 mm.
- Case length: 34.9 mm.
- Overall cartridge length: 48.4 mm.
- Bullet weight: 12 g.
- Muzzle velocity: approximately 570 m/s.
- Muzzle energy: 1900 J
But where did this cartridge even come from in the USSR? You see, during World War I, more than 1.5 million cartridges of this type were supplied to Russia along with Winchester Model 1907 rifles during the years of the First World War.
According to Winchester company data, in May 1916 the Russian government purchased 500 Model 1907 rifles and 1.5 million .351SL caliber cartridges through the J.P. Morgan Company.
Some sources claim that these rifles were used by Russian assault groups during the Brusilov Offensive, but that is not certain.
The Winchester Model 1907 was used in Russia not only during the First World War, but also during the Russian Civil War.
This is also the reason why some speculate that the Korovin automatic pistol used magazines from the Winchester 1907.
Spoiler
Оружейная экзотика. (Нереализованные проекты, опытная и малоизвестная серийная военная техника).: Опытный автомат Коровина (СССР. 1933 год).
АК образца 1933 года -автомат Коровина. | VK
Client Challenge
https://dzen.ru/a/YEtfOBu992FWpcXn
7,92 × 33 мм — Википедия
https://translated.turbopages.org/proxy_u/en-ru.ru.ceaf0be8-697bbbdf-21f5169b-74722d776562/https/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.351_Winchester_Self-Loading
Winchester Model 1907 винтовка - характеристики, фото, ттх
https://translated.turbopages.org/proxy_u/en-ru.ru.c0bd8bbe-697bbc24-152c2a45-74722d776562/https/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1907
Самозарядная винтовка Winchester Model 1907 (США)
I managed to get some new photos of the 1933 model Korovin assault rifle.
I also managed to find out some information about the operation and characteristics of the Korovin assault rifle model 1933. To put it very briefly, the Korovin model 1933 has a free bolt, but fires from a closed bolt. After all rounds are fired, there is a bolt hold-open (and if the magazine has not survived to this day, it apparently has a more complex bolt hold-open than the usual follower hold). On the right side is the fire selector, with two modes: automatic fire and single shots.
All three of these photos and this information were obtained thanks to and from my friend, @_DELAVR Special thanks to him for that.
- Yes
- No
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- Event weapon
- Event squad weapon
- Tech tree weapon
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