The new weapon of the Soviet Union: PTRRES 20-millimeter heavy anti-tank gun
After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet army urgently needed anti-tank weapons to be supplied to the troops in order to stop the massive German armored forces. Therefore, many individual anti-tank rifles were developed, among which the PTRRES 20mm heavy anti-tank gun was included.
The rifle operates in a single-shot, manual loading firing mode. There are 8 rifling grooves inside the barrel, and the rear end features a manual horizontal sliding ram similar to that of a cannon. The loading process is somewhat difficult to operate, which limits the shooting speed of the firearm to approximately 8 rounds per minute.
The PTRRES is quite heavy. It can be mounted on a wheel frame to pull the troops along. When the gun shield is added, the total weight reaches 79 kilograms. Even without the wheel frame, it weighs a full 58 kilograms. At least two soldiers are required to carry it and march with difficulty. It can also be installed on a sled to be dragged across the snow. This gun is equipped with a three-person operation team: the commander, the shooter, and the loader. The commander, in addition to observing and commanding, also carries a submachine gun for close combat self-defense. The team will carry three ammunition boxes, which can hold a total of 24 rounds of ammunition. Besides, there will be another 3 rounds of ammunition stored behind the gun shield, which are emergency ammunition for the gun crew. (However, considering the superhuman physical abilities of our soldiers, this is not a problem at all.)
PTRRES produced approximately 70 of these guns between 1942 and 1943. Some of them were used for actual combat tests on the front line. This gun was only powerful enough in terms of its firepower. There are different accounts regarding its muzzle velocity. Some articles state it was approximately 800 meters per second, which seems inaccurate for a gun with such a powerful propellant charge. Moreover, such a muzzle velocity does not match its power. Another account claims the muzzle velocity exceeded 1200 meters per second, which is proportional to the gun’s power. In the early tests, it penetrated 70 millimeters of homogeneous steel armor at a 100-meter distance and 56 millimeters at a 300-meter distance. Later improved ammunition penetrated 80 millimeters of homogeneous steel armor at a 100-meter distance.
In this way, we won’t have to rely entirely on the Bazooka from the Americans at BR2 anymore.
Do you hope to see this kind of weapon being used on our battlefield?
- Yes
- No