SOV - 20 mm protitanková puška RES vz. 1942

20 mm anti-tank rifle RES vz. 1942

This weapon can safely be described as one of the most penetrating anti-tank small arms constructed in the Soviet Union during World War II. And this is not only because of its 20 mm caliber, but mainly because of its ability to shoot through 70 mm armor at a distance of 100 meters (for better imagination - take a school ruler and read 7 cm - such a mass of homogeneous rolled armor is shot through by a bullet at a distance of 100 meters).

This anti-tank rifle was developed in response to the bitter experience of the first year of the war (1941), when it became clear that anti-tank rifles of the then common calibers of 12.7 mm or 14.5 mm were only marginally effective against the frontal armour of the new enemy tanks. The design team of J.S. Rashkov, S.I. Yermolaev and V. E. Slukhockin (Рашков, Ермолаев, Слухоцкин - hence the name of the RES weapon) managed to construct a new powerful anti-tank weapon in a relatively short time. The basis was the construction of an extremely powerful cartridge, "around which" the entire anti-tank rifle was subsequently built.

By the way, the name rifle is not exactly the most correct, as 20 mm calibre weapons are usually already referred to as light guns. In this case, however, let's stick with the contemporary designation anti-tank rifle, as it was a single-shot anti-tank weapon operated by a single shooter via a pistol trigger.

The base of the aforementioned cartridge was a shortened cartridge for a 45 mm (sic!) cannon (45x310R), hardened for a 20 mm calibre projectile. The projectile was made of aluminium and had a tungsten core.

Understandably, with such an extremely powerful cartridge, the designers had to primarily address the very strong recoil. And they managed to do so by combining an effective muzzle brake and a sprung stock.

The weapon was manned by three soldiers. The gunner, the loader (who also acted as the ammunition carrier) and the commander, who was both an observer and a machine gunner, protecting the operator from enemy infantry.

The ammunition supply for one gun consisted of three boxes with a total of 24 rounds. The other three cartridges were placed in cases on the inside of the armoured shield and constituted the so-called untouchable supply, usable only in an emergency situation.

Although the weapon's performance was more than good for its time, the gradual increase in the thickness of the tanks' armour led the Red Army command to conclude that the anti-tank rifle concept was obsolete. The future belonged to reactive systems. Therefore, after the production of about 70 units of this weapon, the order was given to stop its production. Only a few pieces of this rare weapon have survived to this day.

20 mm protivotankovoje oružje RES obr. 1942 g., Kratkoje rukovodstvo služby, Vojennoje izdateľstvo Narodnogo komissariata oborony, 1942 (20-mm antitank rifle РЕС обр. 1942 г., Kratкое руководство služby, Военное Izdateľstvo Narodного komissariata oborony, 1942)
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