Sudaev Automaton AS-44: design and specifications

Today it's even funny to find out who first created this kind of small arms, like an automatic weapon. Humanity went to this invention purposefully. First, rapid-fire machine-gun monsters appeared, then in a few countries, compact submachine guns were designed, and only then, by the end of the Second World War, a new class of weapons, called an assault rifle, and later a submachine gun, became vital. Contemporaries interested in the issues of military-technical history, known names of the most famous designers of the era, immortalized in the name of their deadly offspring. Thompson, Schmeisser, Shpagin, Degtyarev, Kalashnikov. The SS-44 Sudayev automatic machine looks like both AK and StG-44, which provided food for thought that the Germans were supposedly first borrowed by a construction from one of our designers, and then, in turn, it was copied by another. Especially on such a version insist those who know little about the technique, but are inclined to admire everything Western.

Who is Sudaev?

Alexey Ivanovich was born in 1912, in Alatyr (Simbirsk province). With fifteen years of mechanized, then studied in the technical school, after graduating from which he worked in transport construction. He has been engaged in invention since 1933, while his first projects were somewhat fanciful (for his time), in particular, they were asked to use infrared rays to automatically control machine gun fire. During his service in the army, Sudayev seriously became interested in weapons. Then there was an institute in Gorky, the first creative successes, the Academy of Dzerzhinsky. Defense of the thesis work was in German, the language of the probable enemy cadet learned between classes at the main course. Theme - a project of a machine gun.

A military engineer of the third rank AI Sudaev was instructed to simplify the anti-aircraft gun, and he coped with the task, abolishing the many details that were superfluous, this work was very useful in the dramatic months of the initial stage of the war. But the most significant merit of the designer was the PPS-43 submachine gun. He deserves a separate section, and it is known about Aleksei Ivanovich that he was very humble, did not even like to be photographed, only pictures for documents were preserved, and they are not of the best quality.

During his short 34-year-old life, this talented engineer achieved a lot. One of his masterpieces was the AU-44. Sudoyev's automatic machine was ahead of his time in many respects, but, unfortunately, the author did not manage to "finish it".

Awesome PPS-43

In fact, the concepts of "submachine gun" and "machine" are very arbitrary. In the artistic, and sometimes popular technical literature, these terms are rarely shared. German and Soviet soldiers are most often "armed" with automatic weapons, although the P-40 and PPSh - classic submachine guns. The difference is in the format of the ammunition. During almost the entire war, both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army were armed with automatic models designed to use a pistol short cartridge. This made it possible to carry an easier ammunition, which is very important for the infantryman. Disputes about which of the submachine guns (or machine guns, if you like) was the best, MP-40 or PPSh, did not abate for a long time.

And the answer to this question, according to many experts, is completely unexpected. The best in the war recognized automatic machine AI Sudaev - submachine gun PPS-43. It was the easiest, reliable, compact, it was they who were armed with marines, paratroopers, front-line scouts and tankmen. It was a real masterpiece, which indeed copied after the war in many countries both officially (under license) and pirated way.

The emergence of a new class of small arms

The PPS-43 is Sudoyev's automatic weapon of 1943. AS-44 was proposed to the army, as can be seen from its index, after about several months, and this sample differed from the previous model in principle. First, it is designed for the so-called intermediate cartridge 7.62-mm caliber, smaller in size than the rifle cartridge, but far superior in power to the pistol. Secondly, his design was completely different. Actually, the question of architecture really underwent revision by the German Hugo Schmeisser, who first formulated the concept of "quick-firing assault rifle" in 1944. It was a sample of StG-44, representing something between a machine gun and a submachine gun. The automatic machine of Sudayev AS-44 reminds it of its outlines, and there are reasons for that.

On the deceptive appearance

Many technical samples are similar to each other. Modern cars, for example, can be difficult to distinguish, and even fighter planes, too. The external appearance is dictated by technical requirements, designers are pragmatic about design issues, choosing the most rational option. The AS-44 automatic device designed by AI Sudaev resembles "Schmeisser" and AK-47, firstly, the curved horn of the magazine, secondly, the pistol grip, and thirdly, the high fly. However, it is enough only to open the receiver cover, and the complete uniqueness of the internal mechanism will become apparent. But first things first.

Score

The first thing that causes associations with other samples in the eyes of an uninitiated observer is the shape of the horn.

There are not many options for the location of cartridges in the store. The disk is convenient and compact, but the weapon becomes bulky, and it's not so comfortable to wear. The edge of the store rests on the back, with long marches this contributes to fatigue of the fighter. A direct outline (like the German MP-40) is possible, but only when it contains pistol cartridges having a geometry close to cylindrical. Both StG-44, AK-47, and Sudaev's automatic machine AS-44 are equipped (in the main version) with a curved arcuate horn. This is due to the conical (in rough approximation) form of the intermediate cartridge. There is nothing strange in this decision, only expediency. By the way, the priority of the invention of a double-barreled bent store bent in an arc, in common parlance "horn", belongs not to the German Hugo Schmiser, as for some reason it is considered, but to the Russian mechanic-gunsmith Fedorov. The patent is dated in 1916. This, by the way, for the proponents of the theory of "Western technical genius."

Handle

Fashion is a capricious lady, it affects the most diverse, at times unexpected, spheres of human activity. If the Soviet gunner-gunner, armed with the PPSh, was firing, "aiming at the gun", then the Wehrmacht soldier held his MP-40 with his right hand like a pistol. By and large, it did not matter much, but the samples of the new generation in their majority provided for such a structure of the overall layout. On it the automatic device of Sudayev arr. 1944 The close arrangement of the magazine with the handle is dictated by the requirements of observing the centrally-mass balance.

Front sight and sight

Yes, the fly is tall, like the StG-44. This shape of the sighting unit is set by the upper location of the gas outlet tube. The barrel is below, the aiming bar is fixed in the back of the box cover, and if the fly is small, it will "fall" out of the field of view arrow. In this case, the lack of alignment of the butt and trunk canal, suggested by Sudayev, was an original decision. As a result, returns have decreased, and the accuracy has increased. On these indicators, the AU surpasses the vaunted German Schmeisser.

The similarity of silhouettes, in general, can serve as an argument only for those who are not familiar with the specifics of weapons design, and in particular with technological methods of manufacture. Find a scheme, the implementation of which in mass production will be problem-free, and even such that, as a result, the quality and tactical and technical characteristics remain high - that is the main task of the modern engineer. Creating a simple and good is always much more difficult than making a separate, albeit perfect, but complex pattern.

Comparison of AC and AC

Priority of weapons technology in general is a difficult issue. The use of other people's ideas in this particular field of activity is not considered something shameful. Each weapon sample is more or less the result of compiling the most successful nodes and mechanisms previously used.

Without questioning the merit of Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov, who created the most mass machine in the history of mankind, it should be noted, however, that he borrowed some technical solutions from Aleksei Ivanovich Sudayev. In some, most general sense, the AC-44 is the forerunner of the AK-47. You can start with the very principle of using the force of powder gases to create the conditions for the next shot. At the same time, the fixed attachment of the gas piston to the bolt frame was used in 1927 by the designer Degtyarev when designing his machine gun. "Kalash" and "Sudayev" have one more common feature of a technological nature, in both samples the production of the receiver is made by the method of stamping. Perhaps, live the designer of the AU longer, he would have thought of other ways to simplify the technology, during the war he personally followed the process of assembling the PPP and repeatedly made proposals for improvement. But it was so fateful that it was MT Kalashnikov who was able to bring his child to that elegant simplicity, thanks to which it became one of the symbols of the epoch.

Characteristics and difficult choices

The automatic machine of Sudaev AS-44 could be the basic model of the Soviet Army with proper constructive development, but the author's premature death in 1946 did not come true to his creative plans. In 1944, a series of tests of two variants of the sample were carried out, revealing individual shortcomings (mainly low reliability of the drummer and ejector) to be eliminated. The weight of the machine in different modifications was about 5.5 kg. The capacity of the store was 30 cartridges, the range of aimed fire - up to eight hundred meters. The AS-44 did not enter service, dividing the fate of many other projects, including the automatic weapons of Rukavishnikov, Bulkin, Korobov, Dementiev. What to do, there were a lot of designers, and only one sample had to be chosen.