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37 mm anti-tank gun M1930 (1-K)
Encyclopedia
37-mm anti-tank gun model 1930 (1-K) was a Soviet light anti-tank gun used in the first stage of the German-Soviet War.
. The gun was closely related to the German PaK 35/36
. It lacked some improvements eventually introduced in PaK 35/36, but it was basically the same design; each gun could use ammunition of the other. 1-K had split trail carriage with unsprung wooden wheels (while PaK 35/36 received suspension and new wheels). It was equipped with horizontal sliding block breechblock
, hydraulic recoil
buffer and spring recuperator.
started to develop anti-tank guns in late 1920s. These attempts failed to advance beyond early stages, as Soviet engineers lacked experience with this kind of weapons. It was clear that USSR needed technical assistance in modernizing its arsenal.
Germany
could offer such assistance; its first anti-tank gun - 37 mm gun model 18 - was introduced before the end of World War I
. Treaty of Versailles
forbade Germany to have anti-tank artillery, but Rheinmetall
secretly continued to work on anti-tank guns and in 1926 built a pre-production sample of a new 3.7 cm gun model 26. From their part, Germans were interested in any opportunity to proceed with development of this and other types of weapons.
In 1929, Rheinmetall created a dummy company Butast for contacts with USSR. In accordance with the Sovnarkom decision from 8 August 1930, on 28 August in Berlin
a secret agreement was signed. Germans obliged to help USSR with production of six artillery systems:
For $1,125 mil. Rheinmetall supplied pre-production samples, documentation and parts from which in USSR a few pieces of each type could be assembled. All involved weapons were modern, many of the same designs were eventually used by Wehrmacht
in World War II
. In USSR these weapons were adopted; however even with German help Soviet industry still was not ready for mass production of some types, such as anti-aircraft autocannons.
Among other pieces, Rheinmetall brought to USSR 12 37 mm anti-tank guns, which can be seen as early variant of PaK 35/36
- the most numerous anti-tank gun of Wehrmacht until 1942. In USSR the gun was designated 37-mm anti-tank gun model 1930 (1-K) .
The gun was produced at the Plant no. 8 (named after Kalinin
), where it received index 1-K. The production rate was slow as manufacturing process included handicraft operations. In 1931 the plant built 255 pieces, but none passed quality control. In 1932 404 pieces were accepted (and in 1933 105 more followed, still from the 1932 bunch), but then the production was stopped due to adoption of more powerful 45-mm anti-tank gun M1932 (19-K).
1-K was also a base for the 37-mm tank gun B-3 (5-K), the main armament of the BT-2 light tank.
(RKKA) and as such was actively used for training of anti-tank units. On 1 January 1936 RKKA possessed 506 guns of the type, of them 422 operational, 53 waiting for repair, 28 used for training, 3 unfit. When RKKA received large numbers of more powerful 45 mm guns, many 1-Ks were apparently relegated to training facilities and depots. The exact number of 1-Ks in service in June 1941 has not been determined. It is known that the gun was present in some units, e.g. 8th Mechanized Corps and it is likely that pieces stored in army depots were also rushed into active service. However there are no certain reports of their combat use. Apparently most of the guns were lost in combat at the early stage of the German-Soviet War.
It was a light and compact gun which could be easily moved by its crew. The drawbacks were a lack of suspension, weak fragmentation shell (because of small caliber) and poor manufacturing quality. RKKA wanted a larger caliber gun that could be used as a battalion
gun as well as in an anti-tank role, so the 1-K was quickly replaced in production by its 45-mm descendants.
By 1941 the gun was adequate only against lightly armoured vehicles. Modern tanks could only be penetrated from their side and only at short (less than 300 m) range. The situation was aggravated by low ammunition quality, which explains smaller penetration figures compared to the PaK 35/36. As noted above, the 1-K could fire German shells, improving its anti-armor performance roughly to the level of early Soviet 45-mm guns, as those also suffered from problems with ammunition quality.
Description
1-K was a Soviet anti-tank gun initially developed by the German company RheinmetallRheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...
. The gun was closely related to the German PaK 35/36
PaK 36
The Pak 36 was a German anti-tank gun that fired a 3.7 cm calibre shell. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht infantry units until 1942...
. It lacked some improvements eventually introduced in PaK 35/36, but it was basically the same design; each gun could use ammunition of the other. 1-K had split trail carriage with unsprung wooden wheels (while PaK 35/36 received suspension and new wheels). It was equipped with horizontal sliding block breechblock
Breechblock
A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a weapon at the moment of firing....
, hydraulic recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
buffer and spring recuperator.
Development and production
Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
started to develop anti-tank guns in late 1920s. These attempts failed to advance beyond early stages, as Soviet engineers lacked experience with this kind of weapons. It was clear that USSR needed technical assistance in modernizing its arsenal.
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
could offer such assistance; its first anti-tank gun - 37 mm gun model 18 - was introduced before the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
forbade Germany to have anti-tank artillery, but Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...
secretly continued to work on anti-tank guns and in 1926 built a pre-production sample of a new 3.7 cm gun model 26. From their part, Germans were interested in any opportunity to proceed with development of this and other types of weapons.
In 1929, Rheinmetall created a dummy company Butast for contacts with USSR. In accordance with the Sovnarkom decision from 8 August 1930, on 28 August in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
a secret agreement was signed. Germans obliged to help USSR with production of six artillery systems:
- 37-mm anti-tank gun
- 76-mm anti-aircraft gun
- 152-mm mortar
- 152-mm howitzer
- 20-mm anti-aircraft autocannonAutocannonAn autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
- 37-mm anti-aircraft autocannon
For $1,125 mil. Rheinmetall supplied pre-production samples, documentation and parts from which in USSR a few pieces of each type could be assembled. All involved weapons were modern, many of the same designs were eventually used by Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In USSR these weapons were adopted; however even with German help Soviet industry still was not ready for mass production of some types, such as anti-aircraft autocannons.
Among other pieces, Rheinmetall brought to USSR 12 37 mm anti-tank guns, which can be seen as early variant of PaK 35/36
PaK 36
The Pak 36 was a German anti-tank gun that fired a 3.7 cm calibre shell. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht infantry units until 1942...
- the most numerous anti-tank gun of Wehrmacht until 1942. In USSR the gun was designated 37-mm anti-tank gun model 1930 (1-K) .
Production
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
), where it received index 1-K. The production rate was slow as manufacturing process included handicraft operations. In 1931 the plant built 255 pieces, but none passed quality control. In 1932 404 pieces were accepted (and in 1933 105 more followed, still from the 1932 bunch), but then the production was stopped due to adoption of more powerful 45-mm anti-tank gun M1932 (19-K).
1-K was also a base for the 37-mm tank gun B-3 (5-K), the main armament of the BT-2 light tank.
Service
1-K was the first dedicated anti-tank gun of the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
(RKKA) and as such was actively used for training of anti-tank units. On 1 January 1936 RKKA possessed 506 guns of the type, of them 422 operational, 53 waiting for repair, 28 used for training, 3 unfit. When RKKA received large numbers of more powerful 45 mm guns, many 1-Ks were apparently relegated to training facilities and depots. The exact number of 1-Ks in service in June 1941 has not been determined. It is known that the gun was present in some units, e.g. 8th Mechanized Corps and it is likely that pieces stored in army depots were also rushed into active service. However there are no certain reports of their combat use. Apparently most of the guns were lost in combat at the early stage of the German-Soviet War.
Summary
The significance of the 1-K lies in the fact that it was the first Soviet anti-tank gun. As such, it gave some valuable experience. It also became the base for a series of Soviet 45-mm anti-tank guns.It was a light and compact gun which could be easily moved by its crew. The drawbacks were a lack of suspension, weak fragmentation shell (because of small caliber) and poor manufacturing quality. RKKA wanted a larger caliber gun that could be used as a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
gun as well as in an anti-tank role, so the 1-K was quickly replaced in production by its 45-mm descendants.
By 1941 the gun was adequate only against lightly armoured vehicles. Modern tanks could only be penetrated from their side and only at short (less than 300 m) range. The situation was aggravated by low ammunition quality, which explains smaller penetration figures compared to the PaK 35/36. As noted above, the 1-K could fire German shells, improving its anti-armor performance roughly to the level of early Soviet 45-mm guns, as those also suffered from problems with ammunition quality.
Ammunition
| Available ammunition | |||||
| Type | Model | Weight, kg | HE weight, g | Muzzle velocity, m/s | Range, m |
| Armour-piercing shells | |||||
| APHE | M-160 | 0,66 | 9 | 820 | 5,600 |
| High explosive and fragmentation shells | |||||
| Fragmentation | O-160 | 0,645 | 22 | 825 | 5,750 |
| Canister shots | |||||
| Canister shot | Sch-160 | 0,928 | 30 bullets | ||
| Canister shot | Sch-160 | 0,950 | 50 bullets | ||
| Armour penetration table | ||
| AP projectile B-160 | ||
| Distance, m | Meet angle 60°, mm | Meet angle 90°, mm |
| 300 | ? | 30 |
| 500 | 20 ? | 25 ? |
| 800 | ? | 20 ? |
| This data was obtained by Soviet methodics of armour penetration measurement (penetration probability equals 80%). It is not directly comparable with western data of similar type. |
||