The arms race is not an attribute of the last few decades. It started a long time ago and, unfortunately, continues at the present time. The armament of the state is one of the main criteria for its defense capability.
Aeronautics began to develop rapidly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Balloons were mastered, and a little later - airships. An ingenious invention, as often happens, was put on a war footing. Getting into enemy territory without hindrance, spraying poisonous substances over enemy positions, throwing saboteurs behind enemy lines - the ultimate dream of military leaders of that period.
Obviously, in order to successfully defend their borders, any state was interested in creating powerful weapons capable of hitting flying targets. It was precisely these prerequisites that indicated the need to create anti-aircraft artillery - a type of weapon capable of eliminating enemy air targets, preventing them from penetrating into their territory. Consequently, the enemy was deprived of the opportunity to inflicttroops serious damage from the air.
The article devoted to anti-aircraft artillery considers the classification of this weapon, the main milestones of its development and improvement. The installations that were in service with the Soviet Union and the Wehrmacht during the Great Patriotic War, their application are described. It also tells about the development and testing of this anti-aircraft weapon, the features of its use.
The emergence of artillery to fight air targets
The very name of this type of weapon is of interest - anti-aircraft artillery. This type of artillery got its name due to the supposed zone of destruction of guns - air. Consequently, the angle of fire of such guns, as a rule, is 360 degrees and allows you to fire at targets located in the sky above the gun - at the zenith.
The first mention of this type of weapon refers to the end of the nineteenth century. The reason for the appearance of such weapons in the Russian army was the potential threat of an air attack from Germany, with which the Russian Empire gradually worsened relations.
It's no secret that Germany has long been developing aircraft capable of participating in hostilities. Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a German inventor and designer, succeeded significantly in this matter. The result of fruitful work was the creation in 1900 of the first airship - the zeppelin LZ 1. And although this device was still far from perfect, it already posed a certain threat.
To have a weapon capable ofto resist German balloons and airships (zeppelins), the Russian Empire began its development and testing. Thus, in the first year of 1891, the first tests were held, dedicated to firing from the weapons available in the country at large air targets. The targets for such firing were ordinary air balloons moved by horsepower. Despite the fact that the firing had a certain result, all the military command involved in the exercise was in solidarity that a special anti-aircraft gun was needed for effective air defense of the army. Thus began the development of anti-aircraft artillery in the Russian Empire.
Cannon model 1914-1915
Already in 1901, domestic gunsmiths submitted for discussion the project of the first domestic anti-aircraft gun. Nevertheless, the country's top military leadership rejected the idea of creating such a weapon, arguing that it was not absolutely necessary.
However, in 1908, the idea of an anti-aircraft gun received a "second chance". Several talented designers developed the terms of reference for the future gun, and the project was entrusted to the design team led by Franz Lender.
In 1914 the project was implemented, and in 1915 it was modernized. The reason for this was the question that naturally arose: how to move such a massive weapon to the right place?
The solution was found - to equip the body of a truck with a cannon. Thus, by the end of the year, the first copies of the gun mounted on a car appeared. wheeledRussian trucks "Russo-B alt-T" and American "White" served as the basis for moving the gun.
So the first domestic anti-aircraft gun was created, popularly called the "Lender Gun" by the name of its creator. The weapon performed well in the battles of the First World War. Obviously, with the invention of aircraft, this weapon has constantly lost its relevance. Nevertheless, the last samples of this gun were in service until the end of World War II.
Use of anti-aircraft artillery
Anti-aircraft guns were used in the conduct of hostilities to achieve not one, but several goals.
Firstly, shooting at enemy air targets. This is what this type of weapon was created for.
Secondly, barrage fire is a special technique used unexpectedly when repelling an enemy attack or counterattack. In this case, the gun crew were given specific areas that were supposed to be fired. Such use also proved to be quite effective and caused significant damage to enemy personnel and equipment.
Also, anti-aircraft guns have proven to be effective in the fight against enemy tank formations.
Classification
There are several options for classifying anti-aircraft artillery. Consider the most common of them: classification by caliber and classification by placement method.
By gauge type
Accepteddistinguish between several types of anti-aircraft guns depending on the size of the caliber of the gun barrel. According to this principle, small-caliber weapons are distinguished (the so-called small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery). It varies from twenty to sixty millimeters. As well as medium (from sixty to one hundred millimeters) and large (more than one hundred millimeters) calibers.
This classification is characterized by one natural principle. The larger the caliber of the gun, the more massive and heavier it is. Consequently, large-caliber guns are more difficult to move between objects. Often, large-caliber anti-aircraft guns were placed on stationary objects. Small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery, on the contrary, has the greatest mobility. Such a tool is easily transported if necessary. It should be noted that the anti-aircraft artillery of the USSR was never replenished with large-caliber guns.
A special type of weapon - anti-aircraft machine guns. The caliber of such guns ranged from 12 to 14.5 millimeters.
By placement on objects
The next classification of anti-aircraft guns is according to the type of placement of the gun on the object. According to this classification, the following types of weapons of this type are distinguished. Conventionally, the classification by objects is divided into three more subspecies: self-propelled, stationary and trailed.
Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are able to move independently in battle, which makes them more mobile than other subspecies. For example, an anti-aircraft battery can suddenly change its position and get away from an enemy strike. Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns also have their own classification according to the type of chassis: on a wheelbase, ontracked base and half-tracked base.
The next subspecies of the classification by accommodation facilities are stationary anti-aircraft guns. The name of this subspecies speaks for itself - they are not designed to move and are attached for a long time and thoroughly. Among stationary anti-aircraft guns, several varieties are also distinguished.
The first one is the fortress anti-aircraft guns. Such weapons are deployed at large strategic facilities that may need to be protected from enemy air strikes. These guns are usually heavy and have a large caliber.
The next type of stationary anti-aircraft guns are naval ones. Such installations are used in the fleet and are designed to combat enemy aircraft in naval battles. The main task of such guns is to protect the warship from air strikes.
The most unusual kind of stationary anti-aircraft guns are armored trains. Such a gun was placed as part of a train in order to protect the composition from the bombardment. This category of weapons is less common than the other two.
The last type of stationary anti-aircraft guns is trailed. Such weapons were not capable of independent maneuvers and did not have an engine, but were towed by a tractor and were relatively mobile.
Anti-aircraft guns during the Great Patriotic War
The Second World War for anti-aircraft artillery was the culminating era. It was during this period that this weapon was used to a greater extent. Soviet anti-aircraft artillery opposed the German "colleagues". Both that andthe other side were armed with interesting specimens. Let's get acquainted with the anti-aircraft artillery of the Second World War in more detail.
Soviet anti-aircraft guns
The anti-aircraft artillery of the Second World War of the USSR had one distinguishing feature - it was not large-caliber. Of the five copies that were in service with the Soviet Union, four were mobile: 72-K, 52-K, 61-K and a 1938 model gun. The 3-K gun was stationary and was intended for the defense of objects.
Great importance was given not only to the production of guns, but also to the training of qualified anti-aircraft gunners. One of the centers of the USSR for training qualified anti-aircraft gunners was the Sevastopol school of anti-aircraft artillery. The institution had an alternative short name - SUZA. School graduates played an important role in the defense of the city of Sevastopol and contributed to the victory over the Nazi invader.
So, let's take a closer look at each of the USSR anti-aircraft artillery in ascending order by year of development.
76mm K-3 gun
Stationary fortress gun, which makes it possible to defend strategic objects from enemy aircraft. The caliber of the gun is 76 millimeters, therefore, this is a medium-caliber gun.
The prototype of this weapon was the development of the German company "Rheinmetall" with a 75-millimeter caliber. In total, about four thousand such guns were in service with the domestic army.
The gun had a number of advantages. For that time, she had excellent ballistic qualities (the initial velocity of the projectile wasover 800 meters per second) and a semi-automatic mechanism. Manually, only a shot had to be fired from this gun.
A projectile weighing over 6.5 kilograms, fired from such a gun into the air, was able to maintain its lethal characteristics at an altitude of over 9 kilometers.
The carriage (mount) of the gun provided a firing angle of 360 degrees.
For its size, the gun was quite fast-firing - 20 rounds per minute.
The combat use of this type of weapon took place in the Soviet-Finnish war and the Great Patriotic War.
76 mm gun from 1938
A rare copy that was not distributed in the Soviet army. Despite decent ballistic performance, this gun was inconvenient to use due to the duration of bringing it into combat condition - up to 5 minutes. The gun was used by the Soviet Union in the early stages of World War II.
Soon it was modernized and replaced by another copy - the K-52 gun. Externally, the guns are very similar and differ only in minor details in the barrel.
85 mm K-52 gun
Modified 1938 76mm gun model. An excellent domestic representative of anti-aircraft artillery of the Second World War, which solved not only the task of destroying enemy aircraft and landing forces, but also tearing apart the armor of almost all German tanks.
Worked on a tight schedule, gun technology has been constantly simplified and improved, allowing for its large-scale production and use.at the front.
The weapon had excellent ballistic data and a rich assortment of ammunition. A projectile fired from the barrel of such a weapon was capable of hitting targets at an altitude of up to 10 thousand meters. The initial flight speed of individual projectiles exceeded 1 thousand meters per second, which was a phenomenal result. The maximum weight of the projectile of this gun could reach 9.5 kilograms.
It is not surprising that the chief designer Dorokhin was repeatedly awarded state awards for the creation of this gun.
37mm K-61 gun
Another masterpiece of anti-aircraft artillery of the USSR. The model was taken from the Swedish prototype of anti-aircraft weapons. The gun is so popular that it is in service with some countries to this day.
What can you say about the characteristics of the gun? She is small-caliber. However, this revealed most of its advantages. The 37-mm projectile was guaranteed to disable almost any aircraft of that era. One of the main disadvantages of anti-aircraft artillery of World War II is the huge size of the shells, which makes it difficult to equip the gun. Due to the relatively light weight of the projectile, working with the gun was convenient, and a high rate of fire was ensured - up to 170 rounds per minute. The automatic cannon firing system also contributed.
From the minuses of this weapon, one can list the poor penetration of German tanks "in the forehead". In order to hit the tank, it was necessary to be located no further than 500 meters from the target. With anotherOn the other hand, this is an anti-aircraft gun, not an anti-tank gun. Shooting anti-aircraft artillery comes down to hitting air targets, and the gun did an excellent job with this task.
25 mm 72-K gun
The main trump card of this gun is lightness (up to 1200 kilograms) and mobility (up to 60 kilometers per hour on the highway). The tasks of the gun included the air defense of the regiment during enemy air strikes.
The weapon had an excellent rate of fire - within 250 rounds per minute, and was serviced by a crew of 6 people.
Throughout 5,000 such weapons have been produced throughout history.
Armament of Germany
Wehrmacht anti-aircraft artillery was represented by guns of all calibers - from small (Flak-30) to large (105 mm Flak-38). A feature of the use of German air defense during the Second World War was that the cost of German counterparts, compared to Soviet ones, was much higher.
In addition, the Wehrmacht was only able to truly appreciate the effectiveness of its large-caliber anti-aircraft guns when defending Germany from air strikes by the USSR, the USA and England, when the war was already almost lost.
One of the main test bases of the Wehrmacht was the Wustrov anti-aircraft artillery range. Located on a peninsula in the middle of the water, the range was an excellent platform for testing guns. After the Great Patriotic War, this base was occupied by Soviet troops, and the Wustrovka air defense training center was created.
Air defense in the Vietnam War
Separately, the value ofanti-aircraft artillery in the Vietnam War. A feature of this military conflict was that the American military, not wanting to use infantry, constantly launched air strikes on the DRV. In some cases, the bombing density reached 200 tons per square kilometer.
In the first stage of the war, Vietnam had nothing to oppose to American aviation, which the latter actively used.
At the second stage of the war, anti-aircraft guns of medium and small calibers fall into service with Vietnam, which significantly complicated the task of bombing the country for the Americans. Only in 1965 did Vietnam have actual air defense systems capable of giving a worthy response to air raids.
Modern stage
At present, anti-aircraft artillery is practically not used in military formations. In its place came more accurate and powerful anti-aircraft missile systems.
Many guns from the Great Patriotic War are in museums, parks and squares dedicated to the Victory. Some anti-aircraft guns are still used in the mountains as anti-avalanche guns.
