In October 1941, just about three months after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the German steel torrent was rapidly advancing from two roads in a pincer shape, with the momentum of relying on the blitzkrieg.
However, Moscow was behind it, the Soviet military and civilians broke out of great war potential, in the face of the armored forces launched a sniper attack, a variety of weapons pulled into the battlefield, anti-tank guns, T34 tanks, etc. became the key weapons, one of the anti-tank rifles, also played a big role.
PRD-41 in the movie Pavillon 28 Warriors
The PTRD-41 is an anti-tank rifle newly developed by the Soviet Union, using a 14.5 mm armor-piercing bullet, the muzzle velocity is about 1,012 m/s, 100 meters through the thickness of 35 to 40 mm armor, single shot, modified from the Polish Wz.35 anti-tank rifle.
Soviet soldiers and PTRD-41 in the film
Because of its mobility for individual use, and its ability to effectively cope with German second-line tanks and weakly armored assault guns and tank destroyers, it has always been favored by soldiers.
Although the five-shot PTRS-41 was also developed shortly thereafter, the PTRD-41 was more reliable than the PTRS-41, so it was still equipped in large quantities.
The PTRD-41 anti-tank rifle firing group was equipped with two soldiers, taking turns to shoot, and due to its high mobility, it was easy to deploy quickly, causing great trouble to German tanks and armored vehicles on various fronts.
PTRD-41 as an early development of anti-tank rifle, because it is not equipped with a scope, it is difficult to accurately aim at the target, the recoil is huge, resulting in a rapid transfer after each shot at the risk of being shelled, with the German tank targeted thickening of the armor, PTRD-41 can gradually only rely on the shooting observation window and the tracks to cause damage.
In 1943, after the T-34 tanks were sufficient, the PTRD-41 gradually withdrew from the front-line battlefield of anti-tank combat, mainly for the destruction of armored vehicles with lower defensive power and unarmored vehicles.
During the Korean War, the Chinese Volunteer Army was also equipped with PTRD-41 anti-tank rifles, which played a big role in the extreme shortage of anti-tank weapons of the volunteers.