Snipers of the Soviet Union
Snipers of the Soviet Union played an important role mainly on the
During
History
In 1932, the "sharpshooters' movement" started under the supervision of Kliment Voroshilov. In 1938, Red Army snipers took part in the Battle of Lake Khasan against troops of the Imperial Japanese Army.[6] The most successful Soviet use of snipers during the Second World War was during their defensive stages (1941–1943)[citation needed], after which the advantage of defense shifted to the German side and German snipers became a real danger to the advancing Soviet forces.
Doctrine
Soviet military doctrine used snipers for providing long-distance
After the war, the standard Soviet Army
After the introduction of the
Rifles
in The first Soviet sniper rifle was designed in 1927–1928. It was the 7.62mm Mosin Dragoon rifle with a D-III optical sight (7,62-мм драгунская винтовка обр. 1891 года с оптическим прицелом Д-III на кронштейне А.А. Смирнского).[9]
In 1931, the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm Mosin sniper rifle with a PE optical sight (7,62-мм снайперская винтовка обр. 1891/31 гг. c оптическим прицелом ПЕ) as the standard sniper rifle[10][11]
In 1940, the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm SVT-40 semi-automatic sniper rifle with a PU optical sight (7,62-мм снайперская винтовка СВТ-40 c оптическим прицелом ПУ) as their second model of standard sniper rifle. Due to several problems, including accuracy issues and muzzle flash, as well as being complex and slow to manufacture, production ceased in October 1941, and work began on developing the PU version of the Mosin–Nagant.[9]
In 1941 several 7.62mm SVT-40 semi-automatic sniper rifles with a PU optical sight were converted in full-auto sniper rifles.
In 1942 the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm Mosin sniper rifle with a PU optical sight (7,62-мм снайперская винтовка обр. 1891/30 гг. c оптическим прицелом ПУ на кронштейне Д. М. Кочетова) as the standard sniper rifle[12]
Later, the Red Army acquired a small number of AVS-36, which were converted into self-loading sniper rifles with PE optical sights (АВС-36 с оптическим прицелом ПЕ обр. 1931 года)[10][13]
The three most common sniper rifles employed by the Soviet Union were the
The sniper version of the Mosin–Nagant rifle was used before, during, and after World War II. It used the standard bolt action 1891/30 infantry rifle as a platform, though rifles destined for conversion were hand-selected for quality and accuracy. Four-power scopes were added, and came in two versions. The PE scope was a copy of a German Zeiss scope, manufactured by Emil Busch AG. The PEM model was later introduced as a more reliable, easier to produce scope. The second version of the Mosin–Nagant sniper rifle with PU optical sight, began production late in 1942. This rifle included a simpler scope design, which was incorporated from the short-lived SVT-40, and was far easier to mass-produce. To this day, it remains the most widely produced and longest serving sniper rifle in the world, and remained the Soviet Union's main sniper rifle until it was superseded in 1962 by the semi-automatic SVD Dragunov rifle.
The
Later, the
List of famous Soviet Union snipers
In popular culture
- A Hollywood film called Enemy at the Gates was made about Vasily Zaitsev, a Soviet sniper who fought in the Battle of Stalingrad. The plot of the movie is based on a section in the eponymous book by William Craig, which fictionalizes an alleged duel between Zaitsev and a (possibly) fictional German sniper called Major König.
- The role of a Soviet sniper is portrayed in the video game Viktor Reznov(who gives the player "Dimitri Petrenko" the job of sniping) runs around to tempt German snipers into opening fire, revealing their position and allowing the player to snipe them.
- In Tom Clancy's novel The Bear and the Dragon, veteran World War II Soviet sniper Pavel Petrovich Gogol, late of the Iron & Steel Division, uses his scoped Mosin–Nagant rifle to kill a Chinese general during a Chinese invasion of Siberia at a range of 900 meters—well within the capabilities of the Mosin–Nagant.
- In David L. Robbins novel War of the Rats, the lead character, Vasily Zaitsev, is a Soviet sniper in World War II.
- James Riordan's novel The Sniper tells the story of Tania Chernova and is based on Riordan's interviews with the subject.[14]
- Four Steps to Death, a book written by John Wilson, portrays a Soviet sniper, Yelena Pavlova, as a main character in the Battle of Stalingrad
- The Forty-First (Сорок первый) by Boris Lavrenyov is a Soviet novel about a woman sniper in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War that was adopted into a silent film (The Forty-First (1927 film)) and then into a sound film (The Forty-First (1956 film)).
- The 2015 film Battle for Sevastopol is a joint Ukrainian-Russian film biography of Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, set during the 1941–42 siege of the Crimea. True to life, after being wounded, Lyudmila is evacuated to the United States, where she meets with Eleanor Roosevelt in a public relations campaign.
References
- ^ "Snayperskaya vintovka obraztsa 1891/1930" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ^ "10 Deadliest Snipers of World War II". Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ "Soviet snipers. Almost 800 confirmed kills in one picture, 1945". @PicturesHistorical on Facebook. 28 April 2018.
- ^ "Snaypery VOV" (in Russian). Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ^ Ручко, Александр. Неженское дело? [A Non-Woman Business?] (in Russian). Gun Magazine. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ^ И.Н. Мошляк. Вспомним мы пехоту... М., Воениздат, 1978. стр.29–58
- ^ Снайпер // Большая Советская Энциклопедия. / редколл., гл. ред. Б. А. Введенский. 2-е изд. том 39. М., Государственное научное издательство «Большая Советская энциклопедия», 1956. стр.435–436
- ISBN 0-531-03732-0.
- ^ a b Сергей Монетчиков. Оружие советских снайперов. // журнал «Мастер-ружьё», № 24/25, 1998. стр.74–83
- ^ a b Сергей Челноков. Трёхлинейка против… трёхлинейки // журнал «Мастер-ружьё», № 11 (140), ноябрь 2008. стр.40–46
- ^ a b Снайперская винтовка // Советская военная энциклопедия (в 8 тт.) / под ред. Н. В. Огаркова. том 7. М.: Воениздат, 1979. стр.403
- ^ Юрий Максимов. А есть ли смысл? Снайперский карабин Мосина // журнал "Калашников. Оружие, боеприпасы, снаряжение", № 8, 2011. стр.82–87
- ^ "Снайперский вариант АВС-36 в небольшом количестве состоял на вооружении и нашел применение в 1939–1941 годах, но накануне войны основной стала снайперская СВТ-40"
Семён Федосеев. Истоки: из истории российского снайпинга // журнал «Братишка», октябрь 2000 - ISBN 978-1-84507-885-0
Sources
- Снайперы в ночном поиске // "Красная звезда", № 201 (4051) от 1 сентября 1938. стр.4
- В. Ильенков. Снайпер Хасана // "Красная звезда", № 257 (4107) от 7 ноября 1938. стр.2
- подполковник П. Клевцов. Из стрелкового оружия на предельные дистанции // "Военный вестник", № 8, 1969. стр.107–112
- Снайпер // Большая Советская Энциклопедия. / под ред. А. М. Прохорова. 3-е изд. том 23. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1976. стр.629
- Снайпер // Советская военная энциклопедия (в 8 тт.) / под ред. Н. В. Огаркова. том 7. М.: Воениздат, 1979. стр.403