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Weapons Used by Soviet Snipers
Illustration 1 – Soviet sniper with sniper rifle model 1891/30 with telescopic sight PE (1934) WEAPONS USED BY SOVIET SNIPERS SERGEY MONETCHIKOV
Translated by Paul Tamony
After the First World War sniping
became an integral part of army life, forming an essential part of
military training for marksmen selected from the ranks. However, in
our country serious interest in what a sniper could do had to wait
until the end of the twenties, interesting not so much the higher
military command but the chiefs of the all-powerful OGPU-NKVD. Close
military technical co-operation between the Soviet Union and the
Weimar Republic of Germany ensured the delivery of the latest
military equipment and weapons to our country during that period
together with weapon production technology. At that time too the
first factories producing telescopic sights appeared in the USSR.
This very fact, combined with the start on improving the basic
infantry rifle – the Mosin three line, led to the production of the
first Soviet type of sniper rifle in 1927-28 modelled on the dragoon
rifle type 1891.
Illustration
2 – Section of the type 1891/30 sniper rifle with VP (view from
left) telescopic sight.
Illustration 3 – Securing the VP telescopic sight to the 1891/30 type sniper rifle.
Illustration 4 – Section of sniper rifle type 1891/30 with PU telescopic sight (view from left)
Illustration
5 – Securing the VP telescopic sight to the 1891/30 type sniper
rifle.
The basic ballistic features of the sniper rifle (without bayonet) were analogous to those mass-produced rifles, but the purpose-built rifle was more accurate. It was selected from the weapons showing the best firing results and was specially produced with a more finely finished bore surface and reduced tolerances.
Illustration 6 – Section of the SVT-40 sniper rifle with PU telescopic sight (view from left). The combat stability of sniper rifles was considerably greater than that of mass-produced products, due to the stock being more carefully adjusted to the breech. The stock was generally made from high quality material – namely walnut wood. Because the sight setting overlapped the cartridge clip slot in the breech, sniper rifles could not be loaded with standard five-round clips. They could only be loaded with one cartridge, which greatly reduced their efficiency in combat.
At first, the 4-magnitude sight mark PT of the 1930 model was adopted for the army sniper rifle, but once its defects had become apparent, an improved modification, the VP optical sight model of 193I appeared the following year. But even in the case of this sight Model, our designers could not achieve a completely airtight eyepiece due to a poorly designed dioptric ring. Both the PT and the VP sights, as well as the D III sight were mounted on a bracket designed by A. A. Smirsky. The base of this mounting bracket was firmly secured by a guard with six screws to the front part of the breech, although such a sight arrangement made it difficult to load the weapon. Consequently an improved 4-magnitude type PE sight replaced the VP telescopic sight in 1936-1937. Weighing 0.62 g, it was designed to fire over a range of up to 1400 m. The reliable "Seso" bracket construction with sight fixed to the side greatly influenced the precision of aim during firing, and also allowed the use of an open ramp sight in case of damage during action.
Illustration 8 The PU The VP
In the nineteen thirties the "Voroshilov
marksmen" achieved great prominence throughout the Soviet Union.
Training in aimed fire assumed great importance. A large-scale
network of indoor ranges developed and young people learned to shoot
on numerous courses and in the Osoaviachim schools. The sniper
weapon went through its first great baptism of fire during the
Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-40, when the excellent qualities of our
rifles fitted with the VP, PT and PE sights were demonstrated in
combat.
The reliance placed by the higher military command before the war on the large-scale use of automatic weapons by the infantry led to the plan started in 1937 to replace the 1891/30 sniper rifle with the 7.62 mm automatic sniper rifle that used the S. G. Simonov (AVS) of 1936. However, the high dispersion factor even during single shot fire resulted in only a small batch of Simonov sniper rifles being produced. Three years later in 1940 the 1891/30 7.62 mm sniper rifle was replaced by the new 7.62 mm self-loading sniper rifle that used the Tokarev (SVT) system. This differed from the basic SVT-40 standard model by not only having a new general-purpose 3.5 magnitude PU telescopic sight (the universal sight), but also by its precision made bore that enhanced its accuracy.
Illustration 10 – The 1891/30 sniper rifle with PU telescopic sight. The 1891/30
sniper rifle with VP telescopic sight.
Illustration 11 – 1891/30 sniper rifles with the VP telescopic sight and the SVT-40 sniper rifle with the PU telescopic sight.
At the beginning of 1942 the Izhevsk machine factory restored production of the 1891/30 sniper rifles. But even this rifle had certain shortcomings. First of all, the front-line troops did not like its weight or its inordinate length since working with it for long periods proved to be tiring for the sniper. Its low rate of fire – 10-12 aimed shots a minute – also failed to fully meet the requirements of modern mobile fast moving combat.
Illustration
13 – Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Hero of the Soviet Union, in the
forefront of defence.
Its non-adjustable trigger action gave rise to strong complaints since its stiff trigger could not guarantee accurate aiming. The move to more simple technology and cheaper production resulted in stocks, made from birch wood since 1942, often becoming distorted and warped, which never happened to weapons with high-quality walnut stocks. Some snipers commented on the poor quality of the optics, particularly of the PU sights produced in 1943-1944. Furthermore, front-line fighters discovered that when zeroing the rifle, the setting on the micrometer scale for vertical sight corrections did not always correspond to the actual distances and frequent adjustments of the vertical corrections led to horizontal deflection.
Illustration 14 – Ivan Merkulov
shows his young trainee Zolotoy how he should dress "to go hunting"
Attention was drawn to the poor positioning of the PU telescope sight on the rifle. It was noted in particular that the sight was placed far from the eye of the marksman which meant that when the sniper was taking up position to aim he had to move his cheek away from the rifle butt up to 3 cm and stretch his neck (to be able to observe the entire field of view without having lunar-shaped shadows – halo effects - along the edges). Because the marksman's head was in the wrong position his eye would be drawn away from the optical axis of the sight causing him to aim badly.
Apart from the telescopic sight, field glasses of
6-(8) magnitude and the TR observer tubes for observing the battle
area formed part of our snipers' weapons during the war. The
experience of war convincingly proved that a sniper, in addition to
his basic weapon – The sniper rifle – also needs additional weapons
to deal with the enemy in close combat. Many of our snipers going
into the field took with them 2-3 hand grenades, pistols, Finnish
hunting knives or the 1940-type scout knives. When working in pairs,
snipers also took along machine pistols. These weapons were needed
by snipers who often had to go beyond the forward edge of the battle
area where they could easily stumble upon an ambush or an enemy
reconnaissance patrol. The following ammunition was used by Soviet
snipers during the Great Patriotic War: 7.62 mm rifle cartridges
with light, heavy, armour-piercing (B-30), armour-piercing
incendiary (B-32), ranging – adjustment incendiary (PZ) and tracer
(T-46) bullets. Cartridges with light and heavy bullets, as a rule,
were used for firing at enemy personnel; armour-piercing and
armour-piercing incendiary rounds – for destroying machine-gun
crews, guns (particularly direct laying guns) and PTR (RPG), and
also for firing at the firing ports of firing positions (DOTs) and
earth and timber strongholds (DZOTs), stereoscopic telescopes, motor
transport and diving aircraft. Incendiary bullet cartridges were
used for setting fire to installations, buildings and targets
hindering the observation and bombardment of hidden enemy snipers,
as well as enemy earth and timber pillboxes. Tracer bullet rounds –
for target indication (when advancing). Ranging adjustment
(explosive)) bullets used for firing at highly inflammable targets
and for correcting fire directed at moving and stationary targets
were generally not used by Soviet snipers at all during the war. The
individual reserve (first line scale) of rounds depended on the task
to be carried out by the sniper and on the type of battle (offensive
or defensive). Most of our snipers usually took along 120 rifle
cartridges of which 60% were cartridges of light or heavy bullets
(usually of one batch), 25% – armour-piercing incendiary rounds and
about 15% of incendiary and tracer bullets.
1. Sniper's dugout. The sniper-fighter fires. The sniper-observer looks for the target after inserting his periscope into a hollowed-out cross. 2. The most vigilant enemy sniper would not spot the marksman hiding at the bottom of this dugout. 3. This rick in which the sniper has concealed himself looks just like any other.
4. When
fighting takes place in rocky mountains, the best camouflage for the
sniper is – artificial stone.
The constant increase in sniper
activity in the Red Army demanded a considerable increase in the
production of special arms. Between 1941-43 alone the factory "Izmash"
sent to the front more than 330 000-sniper rifles of type 1891/30.
War experience showed that this rifle fitted with the PU telescopic
sight was one of the best in its class and was superior to the
analogous weapon of our enemy (the 7.92-mm German sniper carbine Z.f.
Kar. 98k). In capable hands the 1891/30-type sniper rifle was a
formidable weapon. During the Great Patriotic War many Soviet
snipers killed with their accurate fire several hundred Nazi
soldiers each. For example, it is recorded in the service record
book of the renowned sniper of the 169' rifle regiment of the 86
rifle division belonging to the 2nd Shock Army, staff sergeant N. F.
Semyonov, who fought on the approaches to Leningrad from 29 August
1941 to 10 June 1943, that he killed 218 fascists. Furthermore, he
taught and trained an additional 94 sniper fighters who, in turn,
added a further 580 enemy soldiers and officers to this list.
This article has used illustrations from the book "Sharpshooters" by T. Grits.
Sniper Tactics of the Great Patriotic War The Soviet Sniper has been glorified and romanticized in film and print but do we really have an accurate picture of Soviet sniper tactics during the Great Patriotic War or as we call it, World Ward Two. These soldiers - both men and women carried a great deal of responsibility when they entered the battle. The general perception of snipers are that they are cold hearted assassins, natural born shooters and larger than life heroes. In fact, they were former factory workers, school girls and clerks. They came from every walk of life and were humble and self-sacrificing.
Soviet snipers were a part of the military planning and tactics long before the outbreak of the war. The Soviet experience from the first world war highlighted the importance of incorporating sharpshooters or snipers into their battle plans. Marksmanship and sharp shooting skills were emphasized in both the military and in official state run youth and recreation programs. When the rifle 1891/30 was developed it was also decided to develope a sniper variant. Up until that time the official tactics for small units largely ignored the importance of utilizing snipers equipped with special purpose rifles. The Soviet Army did utilize sharpshooters but they were equipped with either standard infantry rifles or sometimes civilian hunting rifles. However, the shooting skills of the Finns during the Winter War drove home a bloody point that could not be ignored by the Soviet high command. Soviet field commanders feared the presence of Finn sharpshooters and snipers and recognized that these snipers were able to disrupt the communications and flow of battle and served to demoralize front line troops. It was the experience of these commanders that shaped sniper tactics in the Soviet Army. The initial plan was to equip every platoon sized unit with a sniper rifle to be used their best shooter. However, with only about 50,000 rifles in the inventory, the Army was hard pressed to man every platoon with snipers as the Army expanded. An unfortunate decision by the command led to a further diluting of sniper effectiveness through the introduction of the SVT sniper rifle. This rifle suffered from a series of problems when used in the field as a result of its design as a semi-automatic rifle. For one thing, it did not respond well to extremely cold environments and suffered problems with the lubricant gumming up its working parts. Another problem was in cold shot accuracy where the first round fired would tend to wander significantly wide of the point of aim. Many snipers complained that the rifle was unwieldy and mechanically loud to operate.
By the time the Soviets were fully engaged with German forces a rush program was initiated to get the 91/30 Sniper fully into production. In 1942 production figures totaled in the 90,000 range. As more of these rifles reached units, existing tactics were put into practice and refined. To examine the tactics of the Soviet Sniper, it is necessary to review the philosophy for using snipers in the first place. Under the Soviet system, snipers were fielded in teams of two with a sniper and an observer. Both team members were qualified snipers and changed roles after each kill. The sniper was to provide both scouting duties as well as point and indirect fire to disrupt enemy activities and communications. The observer assisted in spotting potential targets, provided security and recorded and confirmed kills. Each sniper carried a "kill book" where they recorded time, date, location and details of each kill or engagement. This book was also used to record detailed information on German troop concentrations and movements. As mentioned before, the sniper was assigned at platoon level and reported directly to the platoon leader. Most sniper teams worked autonomously and ranged ahead of advancing formations or across an assigned frontal sector. The Great Patriotic War produced some changes to the way sniper teams operated. The advancing German Army moved rapidly and unpredictably, using flanking maneuvers to surround retreating or static forces and cut them off. Soviet commanders reacted to this by concentrating their sniper teams on their flanks out away from the main body to impede Nazi advances on the flanks. This required platoon teams to gather in larger groups that worked together to provide advance warning to the major command elements of German movement as well as to concentrate their firepower.
Contrary to popular belief, most sniper engagements took place at distances under 400 meters in rural settings and under 100 meters in urban settings. Sniper teams would move into the "no-man's land" separating the two sides under the cover of darkness and set up blinds or observation posts that were cleverly concealed. In the case of observing and harassing advancing troops, the sniper teams would blend in with straggling refugees that were largely ignored by the German forces and move ahead of the German advance, recording troop strength and composition. In the evening, they would slip under cover and close on German night defensive positions and conduct harassing fire at first light and then move rapidly out of the area. This was related to me by my father-in-law who served on the eastern front in the German Army.
When the German advances into Russia were finally halted, the Soviet forces were in so much disarray, that the common platoon sniper team concept went out the window. As the forces regrouped and reconstituted, control of sniper teams moved to the battalion level and in some cases such as in Stalingrad, division and army level. There was also a dramatic drain on trained snipers so ad hoc sniper training programs were put in place. There are several accounts of such sniper schools being implemented during the Stalingrad siege.
Tactics in urban areas were somewhat new to Soviet snipers as they fought in rural settings during previous conflicts. Much of the doctrine developed for urban sniper engagements was refined as sniper teams operated in those settings. Cover and concealment was fundamental operating in any environment but proved to be a challenge in the urban setting. Although the cities were in various states of ruin, the rubble that was fought in presented a unique challenge. In the countryside, cover and concealment was a matter of blending in with the natural foliage and scrub. In a city, rubble and buildings were quite angular and prone to making the rounded silhouette of the human body stand out. Snipers had to learn how to use the rubble to their advantage. The sniper was given very specific responsibilities whether fighting in the country or the city and although those responsibilities were specific, the level of independent action afforded the sniper was unprecedented in the Soviet Army. The sniper was a scout, blocking force, psychological operations unit, and deadly marksman all rolled into one. To earn the coveted sniper badge he or she had to demonstrate skill with the standard infantry rifle, small unit tactics, engaging both land and air targets, use of grenades and sapper explosives and leadership. The men and women of the sniper corps were held to to a higher standard than mainstream troops and were expected to serve as role models. This article does not do justice to bravery of the men and women who fought a very personal war, nor does it give a complete picture of their training and tactics. I will leave that up to many great authors who have written so well about the subject. For further reading, I would suggest the following books" "Soviet Sniper's Handbook-1942", James F. Gebhart & Paul Tamoney "Enemy at the Gates", William Craig Various other works abound on the subject and can be found in most large booksellers and libraries. On-line Resources: Sniper Rifles of the Red Star, Mosin Nagant dot Net, Vic Thomas The Battle for Stalingrad, Stalingrad.net
PU Sniper Practical Tips
by JohnM from Tucos
I have four PU snipers now and
have examined a half a dozen others. I regularly shoot a couple of them
and have learned a few things through observation and practical use that I
thought I might share with some of you fellas picking up a PU sniper for
the first time from SARCO. I test my rifles off the bench at a 100 yard
indoor range, regularly shoot at a 100-300 yard military style range, and
shoot long range precision target/tactical at a 1000 yard facility. "A 91/30 PU rifle was
expected to shoot 10 shots into 3.5 cm (1.38”) at 100m, 7.5 cm (2.96”) at
200m, 18 cm (7.09”) at 400m, and 35 cm (13.79”) at 600m." I would imagine
this would be done off of some kind of mechanical vise type rest.
I worked up this isometric exploded view
diagram of the PU scope windage and elevation knobs to give some info on
how I corrected a couple of my PU scopes knobs from moving on recoil. I am
winging it on the nomenclature, so feel free to comment and I will get it
corrected. JohnM.
"...await the
right moment for one, and only one well-aimed shot"
To study the 91/30
Sniper rifle, it's useful to understand it's role in the critical stages
of the Great Patriotic War. One of those critical stages was the battle
for Stalingrad. The Sniper was key to harassing and demoralizing the
attacking German forces. As the struggle for Stalingrad ensued, the
snipers involved became Soviet heroes. One of them was Vassili Zaitsev. He
became famous after the press had discovered that he accomplished nearly
40 kills in a ten day period.
Vassili Zaitsev - 400 kills (149 Kills at the battle of Stalingrad) The highest scorer only identified as "Zikan" killed 224 Germans by 20 November 1942.
Ludmilla Pavlichenko like many other Russian women was trained as a sniper. She is credited with killing 309 Germans.
Lance Corporal Maria Ivanova Morozova also served as a sniper with the 62nd Rifle Battalion and won 11 combat decorations. She survived the war and became a senior accountant at a factory in Minsk
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He
was renown for taking out his targets using a single round. It was a skill
he had learned while shooting deer in the forests around Elininski, his
home in the Ural Mountain foothills. On September 20, 1942, Zaitsev went
to Stalingrad with the 284th Rifles Division. As his accomplishments made
him a national hero, and as his fame spread across no-man's-land, the
Germans took an inordinate interest in him. Major Koning was dispatched to
Stalingrad from Berlin for the express purpose of eliminating the top
Soviet snipers. Vassili Zaitsev, was high on his list. The Soviets
learned of Konig's mission through interrogating a prisoner. Antony Beevor
wrote, "Like Zaitsev, Koning first made a careful study of the terrain and
of his victims before attempting a kill. When two Soviet snipers were
killed by single rifle shots, Zaitsev began counter-stalking Koning
himself. The duel lasted for several days. During this time Koning shot a
political officer named Danilov who was "covering" the duel for Soviet
propaganda (Danilov accompanied Zaitsev and stupidly gave away their
position). Zaitsev finally got Koning by offering another sniper, his
assistant Zulikov, as bait. Zulikov positioned himself and lifted his
helmet over a wall, where Koning put a bullet through it. Kulikov cried
out as if hit. Koning made the fatal mistake of exposing himself to
confirm the kill, and Zaitsev shot him dead. The telescopic sight of his
prey's rifle, allegedly Zaitsev's most treasured trophy, is still
exhibited in the Moscow armed forces museum, but this dramatic story
remains essentially unconvincing. It is worth noting that there is
absolutely no mention of it in any reports.* "*Antony Beevor - Stalingrad,
The fateful siege : 1942 - 1943.
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