In ancient times, divers used the knife as their main weapon. In the 1950s, with the advent of the first scuba divers, it became clear that a swimmer was more likely to survive a battle under water if he kept his opponent at a distance. As a result, the knife was replaced with spear guns, which were only effective for hunting or shark protection. This weapon possessed low rates of speed, range, rate of fire and weak lethal force. It was very difficult to resist a specially trained opponent using only a harpoon gun. In this regard, in many countries, design work began on the creation of underwater multiply charged firearms. One of them was an automatic submarine firing system developed by Soviet gunsmiths.
The article contains information about these underwater weapons and some similar models used by combat swimmers of other states.
History
In October 1955, a terrible catastrophe occurred in the Sevastopol Bay of Novorossiysk, during which the battleship sank. For some time, there was an opinion among experts that the cause of the accident was sabotage. Despite the fact that in this case there were no signs of external interference, the events of 1955 forced the military to reflect on the question: how to counter submarine sabotage groups more effectively? In the 1960s, several units of combat swimmers were formed in the USSR, for which Soviet gunsmiths manufactured an underwater automatic submachine gun (a photo of the weapon is presented in the article).
Developers
Research and development work was carried out at the TsNIItochmash enterprise in Podolsk under the direction of V.V. Simonova. The first version of the APS was assembled by designer P. A. Tkanev. Since 1975, APS have been mass-produced at the Tula arms factory. Traditionally, these submarines were armed with soldiers of the Soviet special forces of the Navy. Today, this underwater weapon is used by combat swimmers in Russia and Ukraine.
What difficulties did the designers encounter?
In the process of designing underwater small arms, a problem arose for the developers, which was the presence of high water resistance. As a result of its falling into the trunks of automatic and semi-automatic models, steam accumulated, which rendered the weapon unusable. When creating an underwater special automatic machine APS, these two factors were taken into account.
Solution
APS submarine is used as an individual weapon by scuba divers for firing at surface and underwater targets. Designers specially designed for this weapon designed the MPS cartridge (special marine cartridge) of 5.6 mm caliber, which contains a needle-shaped (arrow-shaped) bullet, the mass of which does not exceed 15 g. The size of the bullet is 12 cm. The head part has a constriction. Externally, the bullet resembles a double truncated cone. Its head part contains a cavitation cavity, which is designed to provide a bullet:
- Stable movement in the water.
- Saving energy over long distances.
Due to the lack of barrel rifling in the submarine automatic submachine gun during the movement of the bullet, the creation of torque is excluded. When shooting on the surface, the bullet does not stabilize and hits the target at a distance of up to one hundred meters, which limits the combat effectiveness of scuba divers on the shore.
To perform combat missions, swimmers use submarine APS submachine guns and SPP-1 pistols (special underwater), which, like the submachine gun, is adapted for firing with MPS and MPST cartridges (a special tracer sea cartridge used by combat swimmers to adjust the shooting).
Due to the action of automation in the APS, the inert water resistance inside the system is overcome. As a result, the APS submarine submachine gun can be effectively used for shooting under water at line of sight distances. The lethal force of such a bullet and the initial velocity (365 m / s) is enough to break through 0.5-cm organic glass and hit the enemy dressed in a wetsuit.
Device
In the manufacture of the receiver for the submarine automatic submachine gun, stamped steel sheet is used. Despite the fact that this small arms is intended for use under water, it differs little from the machine gun land model. APS is equipped with an automatic reloading mechanism, which operates due to the energy of powder gases discharged from the barrel channel during firing.
The weapon is equipped with a trigger mechanism that allows a fighter to shoot in both single and continuous bursts. To carry out the adjustment of the firing mode, the machine is equipped with a special translator. The place for its location was the left side of the receiver.
Thanks to the retractable metal wire butt, the machine is convenient to operate. In marching conditions, this butt is easily pushed into the receiver, and the machines themselves can be attached to the sides of underwater vehicles. APS is designed for 2000 shots underwater. Its air resource is 180 rounds.
How does underwater weapons work?
During the shot, the APS shutter, moving backwards, opens the barrel channel, extracts the cartridge case from the chamber and extracts it. The return spring under the influence of the bolt frame is compressed, moves the cutter and sets the trigger on the cocking unit. After pulling the trigger on the spring, the return mechanism begins to act. During its reverse forward movement with the help of a shutter, the next ammunition is sent from the store to the chamber and the barrel channel is closed. The receiver is equipped with special combat stops that are designed to lock the shutter. Locking is considered complete if the bolt with its combat ledges has gone beyond these stops. The bolt carrier, moving forward, interacts with the hammer, which with the help of the striker breaks the munition capsule, due to which a shot occurs.
Ammunition
The place for holding cartridges was a box-shaped double-row magazine with a capacity of up to 26 ammunition. The separation of cartridges in the store is carried out using a special plate. Stores contain spring grips that fix the upper ammunition in the submarine automatic submachine gun. Experts say that there are no analogues of this underwater weapon in the world. However, it is known that in parallel with the development of Soviet weapons designers in other countries, attempts were also made to create the perfect underwater weapon.
QBS-06
Since 2006, these automatic individual small arms have been equipped with combat swimmers from the People's Republic of China. QBS-6 is an underwater assault rifle with which the diver can hit enemy underwater and surface targets.
The barrel of this weapon is locked with a rotary bolt, the handle of which is located on the right side of the machine. In the manufacture of the receiver used stamped steel sheet. Unlike the Soviet APS, the Chinese model has a plastic forend. Especially to make the QBS-6 comfortable for the gloved fighter, the trigger guard is made wide enough. Trunks are uncut. The machines are equipped with shoulder wire stops. If necessary, they can be folded. Ammunition is contained in a boxed plastic store, designed for 25 rounds of caliber 5.8 mm. For the QBS-6 submarine assault rifles, non-adjustable fixed sights have been developed.
Characteristics of the Chinese model
The effective range of the QBS-6 depends on the depth of the dive. When using assault rifles at a depth of 5 m, the range of the weapon is 30 m, and at a depth of 20 m, the cartridges are effective at a distance of 20 m. If the swimmer plunged at 40 m, the firing range of the submarine is only 10 m. This model can also be used on the surface, however, this entails a decrease in the accuracy of hits and the resource of the machine. QBS-6 uses the same concept and design as in the Soviet submarine automatic submachine gun.
NATO Analogs: BUW-2
In 1971, in Germany, the BUW-2 multi-shot semi-automatic underwater pistol was developed. Ammunition for him became active-reactive bullets, which are characterized by hydrodynamic stabilization. The cartridges are contained in a disposable block of four barrels. The firing range under water does not exceed 10 meters, in the air - 250. The ammunition is equipped with 4.5 mm steel needles. Their length is from 3 to 6 cm. In addition to the needles are attached ampoules containing toxic substances. Ammunition is provided from a store with a capacity of 15 to 20 needles.
