Thursday 14 June 2018

SKS Trials Attempt

Prototypes of the SKS carbine were ready by mid-1944. The logical step after that was to send them to the front for trials on the real battlefield. The weapons were sent to the 1st Belorussian Front, but there was a small issue.


"Your order #622590s given on June 28th, 1944, regarding conducting trials was received on July 15th, 1944, and carried out.

Further trials of the carbines have been held up by the difficult conditions for trials that have appeared on the front.

All combat units are engaged in nonstop fighting, making 15-20 km marches every day, which makes observing the carbines in battle and keeping them safe difficult.

Trials performed in these conditions, especially in brief time, will not allow us to establish the performance of the carbines and make conclusions regarding their acceptance into service. 

Based on these factors, I have made the decision to postpone trials until the situation at the front stabilizes."

6 comments:

  1. Why was the SKS designed and adopted when the AK was so close behind in development?

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    1. In the summer of 1944 the AK wasn't particularly close. Sudayev's, Bulkin's, Spagin's, and Tokarev's designs were dishing it out on the proving grounds. Meanwhile, the SKS was complete and ready to go.

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  2. Reading this, it almost sounds like an indirect way of saying they didn't like it ?

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    1. It wasn't so much as a rejection, as asking for a postponement. During times of rapid advance, most Army's are preoccupied with just getting enough supplies to the front line. To take time out to issue and test a new infantry weapon, would just be a distraction.

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    2. If your infantry is making massive leaps forward every day, that is not a good place to test a new weapon. If there is a very small number of them available and a soldier carrying it gets killed, you will never find it again. Soldiers also can't train with their new weapon before going into combat with it, which is also a bad idea.

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  3. Fascinating, I've always heard rumors of the SKS seeing combat in WW2 but never seen anything solidly confirming its use until now. Thank you for sharing this!

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