Underwater assault rifle APS cartridge caliber 5.66 mm. Device
APS (Avtomat Podvodnyi Spetsialnyi) is a special underwater assault rifle, which is an individual weapon of a scuba diver and is used to destroy both surface and underwater targets. This machine gun is in service with combat swimmer units of Russia and Ukraine, and was also offered for export through Rosoboronexport.
Beginning of work
In 1955, the USSR was rocked by terrible news: as a result of a disaster that occurred on the territory of the Sevastopol Bay in Novorossiysk, a battleship sank. Soviet experts were convinced that this happened as a result of a successful sabotage carried out by the enemy. Despite the fact that the results of the investigation did not provide any basis for allegations of external interference, the tragedy forced the Soviet military to think about how to successfully defend against real underwater attacks by sabotage groups. Soon, special combat units were formed in the USSR, whose swimmers were armed with APS underwater assault rifles created by Soviet designers (photos of the weapon are presented in the article).
Automatic APS - video
In the late 1960s, the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering (TSNIITOCHMASH) began development of effective weapons for combat swimmers of the USSR Navy. By the early 1970s, special ammunition for underwater firearms was developed that used elongated non-rotating bullets with hydrodynamic stabilization using a cavitation cavity generated when the bullet moves in water. At the same time, the designers of TsNIITOCHMASH - husband and wife V.V. Simonov and E.M. Simonova developed and adopted for service with the USSR Navy a 4-barreled non-self-loading pistol SPP-1 chambered for a 4.5-mm special SPS cartridge, created by designers V. and E. Samoilov, O. Kravchenko, I. Kasyanov.
And in 1975, a weapon complex was adopted by the USSR Navy, consisting of the Submarine Special APS Automatic, also developed by the husband and wife of V.V. Simonov and E.M. Simonova, and 5.66 mm special ammunition from the Ministry of Railways.
The APS automatic machine is built on the basis of automatic equipment with a gas exhaust engine and locking by turning the bolt. The design of the gas outlet duct provides an automatic gas regulator, ensuring the operation of the automation both under water and in air. The operation of the gas regulator uses differences in the density of media (water or air) to automatically discharge part of the powder gases when firing in air. With its help, you can change the amount of exhaust gases and, accordingly, the speed of movement of the moving parts.
The barrel of the machine gun is smooth, without rifling, and the bullet does not mechanically interact with the barrel, since the bullets are stabilized hydrodynamically.
The receiver is made from stamped sheet steel.
APS and MPS cartridge
The trigger mechanism is striker-type, providing firing with both single shots and automatic fire, driven by a single return spring of the bolt group. The fire safety switch is located on the left side of the receiver, above the pistol grip.
The charging handle is located on the right side of the bolt frame.
Sights are of the simplest design, including a non-adjustable open rear sight on the receiver and a front sight on the gas chamber.
The machine gun has a telescopic butt made of round wire, which in the stowed position is retracted inside the receiver.
The APS is fed with ammunition from attached carob (box) magazines with a capacity of 26 rounds, which have a special design that prevents the cartridges from being skewed upward when fed or from double feeding of cartridges into the barrel. The unusual shape of the magazine is explained by the fact that the feeder spring has a shorter length compared to the cartridges.
A cut-off device is placed in the receiver to prevent several rounds from being fed into the chamber at the same time.
Cartridge 5.66x39 mm MPS
The MPS cartridge used in the APS assault rifle is based on the cartridge case of the Soviet standard 7N6 5.45x39 mm cartridge. The unusual caliber – 5.66 mm – has a fairly simple explanation. The machine gun's ammunition is created using a standard steel case of the 5.45 mm Soviet machine gun cartridge. 5.45 mm - caliber of rifled barrels along the fields. The diameter of 5.45 mm barrels along the rifling is 5.66 mm, the same is the nominal diameter of the leading part of the bullets of 5.45 mm machine gun cartridges. The diameter of the steel bullet of the APS machine gun corresponds to the outer diameter of the cartridge bullet of 5.45x39 mm. But since the MPS bullet does not cut into the rifling, the caliber of the APS barrel corresponds to the outer diameter of the bullet and has the corresponding designation - 5.66 mm.
APS when used underwater
The MPS cartridge bullet is a steel rod with a narrowing head in the shape of a double truncated cone. Bullet length - 120 mm, weight - 20.3-20.8 g. Initial bullet speed in air - 365 m/s. The initial speed of a bullet at a depth of 5 m is 240-250 m/s. Chuck length – 150 mm. Cartridge weight - 27-28 g. MPS cartridges have a relatively high accuracy of fire, are protected from corrosion in sea water and water penetration into the powder charge and igniter primer. The cartridge case is of a traditional design; it contains a propellant powder charge, which ejects a bullet from the barrel and activates the automatic weapon, based on the use of the energy of gases removed from the hole in the barrel wall. Stabilization of a bullet in water is carried out due to the formation of a cavitation cavity around the bullet during movement. The formation and retention of a cavitation cavity is ensured by appropriate selection of the shape and size of the bullet and its speed. The barrel of the APS assault rifle is smooth, has no rifling, and the bullet does not mechanically interact with the barrel. The bullet does not stabilize in air.
The destructive ability of the MPS cartridge bullet depends on the depth of immersion. At depths of up to 5 m, the lethal range is 30 m. At a depth of 40 m, it decreases to 10 m. In all cases, the lethal range under water exceeds the target’s visibility range - that is, if the enemy is visible, he can be hit. At a distance of more than 15 m, accuracy when firing from the APS is noticeably reduced. And, probably, this circumstance, combined with the often poor visibility under water, led to the need to include an MPST cartridge with a tracer bullet in the ammunition load, which makes it possible to adjust shooting along the routes.
The destructive power of the APS at extreme distances under water hits an enemy dressed in a “dry” wetsuit with foam padding, and also penetrates plexiglass up to 5 mm thick.
On land, the flight of a bullet-needle is not stabilized, but at a distance of 30 meters all hits fit into a circle with a diameter of 15 centimeters, the destructive power of a bullet-needle on land is maintained at a distance of up to 100 meters, but the dispersion of hits is already such that targeted shooting is out of the question and speeches. In addition, even taking into account the use of a gas regulator, the service life of the machine gun when firing in the air is reduced by more than 10 times - from 2000 shots under water to only 180 shots in the air.
The APS underwater rifle assault rifle is a unique development, which marked the beginning of the development of a new (aquatic) environment for the use of self-cocking and automatic firearms in it.
The production of APS in limited quantities was established at the Tula Arms Plant, and was even offered for export through RosOboronExport.
APS assault rifle in incomplete disassembly: 1 — receiver cover; 2 - gas outlet pipe; 3 — return spring with guide rod; 4 — bolt frame; 5 - shutter; 6 — barrel with receiver, pistol grip, butt; 7 - contactor; 8 - store.
How does the weapon work?
The steel box of the machine is made of stamped steel sheet. Despite the fact that the APS is designed for shooting underwater, in appearance it is very similar to the land model. A special mechanism has been developed for underwater weapons that performs automatic reloading. Its operation uses the energy of powder gases removed from the barrel. The trigger mechanism allows the fighter to fire single shots and bursts. The firing mode is regulated with the help of a special translator. It is located on the receiver on the left side. The machine gun is equipped with a retractable metal wire stock, which easily slides out of the receiver. During a hike, the butt is pushed back into the receiver, and the machine gun itself is attached to the side of the underwater vehicle.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the APS assault rifle
— Adopted: 1975 — In service: special units of the Russian and Ukrainian Navy — Designer: V.V. Simonov; EAT. Simonova; P.I. Serdyukov - Manufacturer: TsNIITochmash; Tula Arms Factory
APS machine weight
— 2.46 kg (without magazine); 3.7 kg (with loaded magazine)
Dimensions of the APS machine
— Length, mm: 832/615 with stock unfolded/folded — Barrel length, mm: 300 — Width, mm: 65
APS machine gun cartridge
— 5.66×39 mm MPS, MPST
Automatic APS caliber
— 5.66 mm
Rate of fire of the APS assault rifle
— 600 rounds/min (in air), 500 rounds/min (in water)
APS machine gun bullet speed
— 365 m/s (in air), 240-250 m/s (at a depth of 5 m)
Maximum effective range
— 30 meters (at a depth of 5 m); 20 (at a depth of 20 m); 10 (at a depth of 40 m); 100 (in air)
APS automatic magazine capacity
— box magazine for 26 rounds
Operating principles: removal of powder gases, rotary bolt Sight: non-adjustable open
Operating principle
During the shot, the shutter of the machine gun moves backward. As a result, the barrel channel opens, the spent cartridge case is removed and extracted from the chamber. The recoil spring is affected by the bolt frame. The result of compression of the spring was the movement of the cutter and the installation of the trigger mechanism on the cocking mechanism. Straightening up, the spring, with the help of the bolt, sends the next ammunition into the chamber and closes the barrel channel. There are special lugs for the receiver. With their help, the shutter is locked. If its combat protrusions go beyond the stops, then the locking procedure is considered complete. As the bolt frame moves forward, it interacts with the firing pin, which is equipped with a firing pin. The shot occurs as a result of the breaking of the cartridge primer by this striker.
Photo of APS machine gun
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Comments
0 Ilzov 03/16/2017 09:58 Why does this underwater machine have a long magazine and then a small magazine?
Reply | Reply with quote | Quote
0 Rustem 03/16/2017 09:59 I quote Ilzov:
Why does this underwater assault rifle have a long magazine and then a small magazine?
There the spring part fits with full ammunition.
Reply | Reply with quote | Quote Update list of comments
Underwater weapons for Chinese swimmers
On the basis of the Soviet APS, individual small arms were designed for combat scuba divers of the PRC. The model entered service in 2006 and is listed as QBS-6. The product is an underwater assault rifle designed to destroy underwater and surface enemy targets. Structurally, the QBS-6 has much in common with the Soviet rifle model.
The barrel of a Chinese underwater gun is locked using a rotating bolt. The receiver is made of stamped sheet steel. The Chinese one differs from the Soviet APS in the presence of a plastic forend. In an effort to ensure the most convenient use of the machine gun, Chinese designers equipped it with fairly wide trigger guards. The barrel of the weapon does not contain rifling. The machine is equipped with shoulder wire stops. The magazine capacity is 25 rounds. The caliber of cartridges used is 5.8 mm. The underwater assault rifle is equipped with non-adjustable fixed sights.
About the German P-11 pistol
This underwater small arms were developed by the famous German company Heckler Koch. The pistol has a special replaceable block with barrels built into it. They are equipped at the factory. Rechargeable only in a specialized workshop. After shooting all the charges, the block is removed from the pistol. For the P-11, an electric igniter and an electronic trigger mechanism have been developed, with the participation of which the barrel electric primers are initiated. The weapon runs on two 9-volt batteries.
They are located in the handle, in a special sealed compartment. Thanks to the electronic mechanism, the P-11 provides an easy release. Ammunition caliber - 7.62 mm. The cartridge is equipped with a needle-shaped bullet with a lead core. The shells in armor-piercing ammunition are painted black and contain steel cores. The effective underwater firing range is no more than 15 meters. On land, the pistol is capable of hitting a target located at a distance of up to 30 meters.
Today, this shooting model is used by combat swimmers in countries such as Germany, France, Great Britain, Norway and the USA.
Reference
In Russian history, the first official mention of combat swimmers dates back to 1941, when in Leningrad, by order of the People's Commissar of the Navy, a Special Purpose Company (RON) was created under the reconnaissance department of the Baltic Fleet.
Among the merits of this company is the defense of the rivers and canals of besieged Leningrad from the “frog people” - Italian swimmers and saboteurs. RON fighters also noted the destruction of a fascist boat base located near Strelna. © Photo from the archive. A special purpose company attached to the reconnaissance department of the Baltic Fleet is on a mission.
NATO option
An alternative to the Soviet APS for combat swimmers of NATO countries was the BUW-2 underwater weapon. This shooting model is a semi-automatic underwater pistol that fires active-reactive bullets. BUW-2 ammunition is hydrodynamically stabilized. The place for cartridges was a special disposable block, which included four barrels. The underwater firing range does not exceed 10 meters. On land, bullets hit targets at a distance of up to 250 meters. Caliber 4.5 mm. The bullet is a steel needle, the length of which can vary from 30 to 60 mm. In addition, ammunition for the NATO underwater pistol can be equipped with special ampoules with toxic substances. Magazine capacity is no more than 20 rounds.
