The publication uses excerpts from foreign publications.

Regarding the 5.45-mm rifle complex adopted by us in 1974, there are various versions. The most common is that the 5.45-mm bullet is designed with a displaced center of gravity and due to this, not only somersaults in the barrier, but also breaks up into small fragments, which entails a guaranteed defeat regardless of the place of impact. In contrast to this, an opinion was expressed about the weakness of the cartridge and the insufficiency of its penetrating action. What is the truth?

Of interest are the estimates of the 5.45-mm cartridge that appeared in the foreign press after the arrival of the AK-74 assault rifle in Afghanistan. The first of them were "sensational" in nature. In particular, it was reported: “For some time now, those who have been in Afghanistan Soviet troops using bullets of unknown type. After penetration into the body, a bluish gaseous substance is released from them. The wounds inflicted by these bullets are difficult to heal." Or: "The Russians created a 5.45 mm cartridge with a poison bullet, since arsenic was found in large quantities in its lead." After some time, a more sober assessment of specialists appeared: “The content of arsenic in Russian 5.45-mm bullets is insignificant and they cannot be considered as poisonous. Obviously, this is a consequence of the use of lead from natural deposits with arsenic impurities.

The final opinion was as follows:

“Unlike the cartridge used in the West (M193), the Soviet one has all the properties necessary for firing automatic weapons:

the steel sleeve has a precisely calculated groove for the extractor and a thick flange, which ensures its perfect functioning;

compared to the cartridge mod. 1943. The 5.45 mm cartridge provides better accuracy of fire, has one-third less weight, 40% less recoil momentum, less sensitivity to side wind and greater penetrating action;

reducing the caliber of the cartridge and using a small amount of lead in the pool will lead to significant savings. This is especially important, since the prices for lead and copper have risen significantly in the USSR over the past 10 years.”

“The USSR dared to adopt a cartridge with intra-ballistic performance, which is 10% lower than that of the M193 (in terms of pressure). However, the design of the bullet makes a very favorable impression in terms of external ballistics. There is no doubt that the Soviet Army adopted a successful cartridge capable of withstanding competition.

“The Soviet AK-74 assault rifle provides a 2-2.5 times greater effective firing range than the AK-47 and AKM. The 5.45 mm caliber cartridge provides 100% damage to a tall figure at 330 m and 50% at 550 m. Its bullet pierces ten rows of 19 mm pine boards, a bullet of a 7.62 mm cartridge mod. 1943 - seventeen boards. The powder in the 5.45mm cartridge is high-energy, with a near-perfect burn rate. It is better than American gunpowder - WC 844 from Oipn: in the M193 cartridge, Russian gunpowder of the same weight provided an initial speed of 1040 m / s instead of 995 m / s at a lower pressure of 2.5%.

“The uniqueness of the design of the 5.45 mm bullet lies in the presence of a cavity in its head. The assumption that this cavity will cause the bullet to deform and fragmentation on impact has not been confirmed. It serves to shift the center of gravity of the bullet to the base and probably contributes to a very early loss of stability. On average, a 5.45-mm bullet begins to turn at a depth of 7 cm, but does not collapse, and a bullet of the M193 cartridge at a depth of 12 cm. However, when the bullet of the M193 cartridge begins to "prowl", it collapses, forming oblong fragments due to a break along the groove on the shell of the bullet and the subsequent destruction of the tail of the bullet (the 5.45-mm cartridge does not have such a groove). This leads to the occurrence of extensive wounds, reports of which began to appear with the introduction of the M16 rifle in the Vietnam War. The M855 bullet, which replaced the M193 bullet in the US Army (in 1982 with NATO standardization of 5.56 x 45 mm cartridge) and which is based on the SS109 bullet, also forms fragments when fired at a distance of 3, 5 and 100 m " .

Cartridges of caliber 5.45 mm (from left to right): with a tracer bullet; with a bullet with a steel core; idle.

Cartridges of caliber 7.62 mm (from left to right): with reduced bullet speed (US); with an incendiary bullet; with tracer bullet T-45; with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet; with a bullet with a steel core; idle.

“A 5.45mm AK-74 bullet loses stability in tissue after traveling 7cm, but does not break. From the bullets of the M193 cartridge, the wound cavity is larger, since when firing at 3 m, after passing 12 cm, they turn 90 degrees, strongly flatten and break along the annular groove into which the sleeve muzzle is pressed. The head of the M193 remains intact, and its tail, which is approximately 40% of the mass of the bullet, collapses into many fragments that penetrate to a depth of up to 7 cm from the channel.

At the same time, comparative evaluations of NATO cartridges of American, German and Swedish production were carried out in the foreign press. In particular, it was reported that “a 7.62-mm NATO cartridge bullet made in the USA (with a tombac shell 0.81 mm thick) goes normally up to 16 cm, then begins to tumble without collapsing. However, passing a distance of 20-35 cm and turning 90 degrees, it can cause great damage to tissues. A similar bullet of the 7.62 x 51 NATO cartridge manufactured in Germany (bimetallic shell thickness 0.51 cm) moves steadily 8 cm, then turns around and breaks at the annular groove. The wound channel is similar to the M193 channel, but the size of the tissue rupture is increased by 60%. In a Russian rifle cartridge, when firing at an initial speed of 850 m / s (at 3 m), the wound channel is similar to the American cartridge 7.62 x 51.

The most destructive bullet described above is the 7.62 mm West German NATO round. It can be assumed; that the bullet of the Swedish cartridge 7.62 x 51 is the same, causing much more extensive wounds than the M193.

Summarizing the statements of independent Western experts, we can state: bullets of domestic cartridges, including 7.62 mm rifle and machine guns of 5.45 and 7.62 mm mod. 1943, do not collapse even when fired point-blank at a distance of 3 m. Foreign bullets of the 5.56 mm M193 cartridge, 5.56 x 45 mm NATO M109 cartridge, 7.62x51 mm NATO cartridge manufactured by Germany and Sweden are destroyed at fragments when firing at a distance of up to 100 m or even more, severely damaging tissues. A similar effect of 7.62 mm caliber bullets is significantly "greater than 5.56-5.45 mm caliber bullets. Of course; in some cases, the destruction of bullets is also possible when firing 5.45 mm cartridges when fired at close range or in the event of a bullet hit But this is already an inevitable tribute to the power of a shot necessary for a live cartridge.

All bullets, regardless of the position of their centers of mass, begin to turn (tumble) in tissues under the influence of environmental resistance. How quickly this happens depends on the rifling pitch of the barrel, that is, on the stability margin of the bullets. In small-caliber, the damaging effect, approaching the action of larger-caliber bullets, is achieved by reducing this stability margin (increasing the rifling pitch). This forced measure to compensate for the decrease in caliber is associated with the requirement to ensure the effectiveness of bullets at all ranges of combat use. We also have to take into account the characteristics of a similar weapon of a potential enemy.

Finally, a few words about the creators of the 5.45 mm cartridge. The cartridge is the most conservative part small arms. Its design must be carefully worked out in all respects, taking into account the fact that it will be in service for decades. In the process of mass production of cartridges, a significant improvement in their characteristics is almost impossible, since this will require changes in the types of weapons in operation, sights and automation. Some modernization is possible only if the old and improved cartridges are completely interchangeable. On the other hand, the level of effectiveness of small arms largely depends on the characteristics of the cartridge, since the cartridge contains the recoil momentum, the flatness of the trajectories, and the action on the target.

In this regard, large teams of specialists are working on developing the design and manufacturing technology of the cartridge and its components, and it is impossible to name one author of the cartridge. Nevertheless, in any legend there is a certain amount of truth. In our case, it lies in the fact that when creating a 5.45-mm cartridge, a woman, Lydia Ivanovna Bulavskaya, was at the head of a group of specialists at the leading enterprise - the developer of the cartridge, whose work was rightfully awarded by the Motherland with a high state award.

It should be noted that in 1980 one of the deputies of the German Bundestag made a request to the Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany about the excessive lethal effect and "inhumanity" of 5.45-mm bullets to the AK-74 assault rifle used in Afghanistan. The answer was given that the Minister of Defense of the FRG had no complaints about the Soviet 5.45-mm cartridge in this regard. In 1981, the Soviet government received a similar request from the International Red Cross and the UN. Based on the results of extensive comparative tests, these organizations were presented with data demonstrating that, in terms of lethal effect, 5.45-mm bullets are somewhat inferior to bullets of the 5.56-mm M193 cartridge. Numerous symposiums on the damaging effect of bullets did not confirm the validity of the requirements to ban the 5.56-mm M193 cartridge on the basis of its "inhumanity" small arms.

Rifle cartridges of caliber 7.62 mm (from left to right): with an attachment-incendiary bullet; with tracer bullet T-46; with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet; with a bullet with a steel core; with a heavy bullet; with a light bullet; idle.

V. DVORYANINOV, candidate of technical sciences; lieutenant colonel S. DERYUGIN

Kalashnikov assault rifle AKS-74 with folded stock

AK-74 with a GP-25 underbarrel grenade launcher. Photo (c) Karden

Automatic carbine AK-74 (Index GRAU - 6P20) caliber 5.45 mm, developed in 1970 by designer M.T. Kalashnikov, was adopted armed forces USSR in 1974. Is further development AKM.

In the 1970s, following the NATO countries, the USSR followed the path of transferring small arms to low-pulse cartridges with reduced-caliber bullets to facilitate portable ammunition (for 8 magazines, a 5.45 mm caliber cartridge saves 1.4 kg in weight) and reduce , as it was believed, "excessive" power of the 7.62-mm cartridge. In 1974, a weapon complex chambered for 5.45 × 39 mm was adopted, consisting of AK-74 and light machine gun RPK-74, and later (1979) supplemented by the small-sized AKS-74U, created for use in a niche occupied by submachine guns in Western armies, and in last years- the so-called PDW.

Main differences from its predecessor

• a new 5.45×39 mm caliber cartridge (instead of 7.62×39 mm), which has a flatter bullet trajectory, which led to an increase in the direct shot range by 100 meters, and is also lighter (weight savings of 1.4 kg with a wearable ammunition in 8 stores);
• a new muzzle brake-compensator, which serves to increase the accuracy of the battle and reduce the recoil energy;
• shop made of light and durable plastic.

For assault rifles produced in 1974-1986, the stock and fore-end are made of wood. Since 1986, they began to be made of black plastic. Longitudinal grooves were made on the wooden butt on both sides to lighten the overall weight of the machine. They continue to be made on a plastic butt.

Can be used with underbarrel grenade launcher GP-25 or GP-30 or GP-34.

The accuracy of automatic fire has improved compared to AKM by almost 2 times (in linear dimensions). The accuracy of a single fire is approximately 50%.

The effective range of the AK 74 is:

For single ground and air targets - 500 meters;

For ground group targets - 1000 meters.

Direct shot range:

• On the chest figure - 440 meters;
• According to the growth figure - 625 meters.

Normal combat requirements for AK74

• all four holes fit in a circle with a diameter of 15 cm at a distance of 100 m.
• the mid-point of impact deviates from the control point by no more than 5 cm in any direction.

The battle is checked by shooting single at a test target or a black rectangle 35 cm high and 25 cm wide, mounted on a white shield 1 m high and 0.5 m wide. cartridges - with an ordinary bullet, sight - 3.

In general, one can note a significant improvement in the accuracy of fire relative to the AKM, and even more so the AK. As an example, consider the total median deviation at a distance of 800 m (vertical and widthwise, respectively):

AK - 76 and 89 cm.

SKS - 47 and 34 cm.

AKM - 64 and 90 cm.

AK-74 - 48 and 64 cm.

Variants of the Kalashnikov assault rifle

AK-74 is the main variant.

AKS-74 (GRAU index - 6P21) - a variant of the AK74 with a side-folding triangular metal buttstock. Designed for use in airborne troops(an assault rifle with a non-folding buttstock cannot be conveniently and safely placed in a parachute harness).

AK-74N - "Night" version of the AK-74 with a side rail for mounting night sights.

AKS-74N - "night" version of the folding AKS-74, with a side rail for attaching night sights.

AK-74M - Modernized AK74.

Used cartridges

• 7N6 (1974, bullet with steel core, lead jacket and bimetallic jacket).
• 7N10 (1992, increased penetration bullet, with heat-strengthened core). Armor penetration - 16 mm from a distance of 100 m.
• 7U1 (subsonic bullet for silent shooting).
• 7N22 (1998, armor-piercing bullet with a core made of U12A high-carbon steel by cutting with subsequent grinding of the ogive part). Armor penetration - 5 mm from a distance of 250 m (grade 2P), 1.9 times better than 7N6.
• 7Н24 (increased manufacturing accuracy, heat-strengthened tungsten carbide core)

A bullet with a steel core of a 5.45-mm cartridge when fired from AK74 provides the following penetrating effect [source not specified 1165 days]:

Penetration with a probability of 50% of steel sheets with a thickness of:

• 2 mm at a distance of 950 m;
• 3 mm at a distance of 670 m;
• 5 mm at a distance of 350 m.

Penetration with a probability of 80-90% of a steel helmet at a distance of 800 meters;

Penetration with a probability of 75-100% of body armor at a distance of 550 meters;

Penetration of 50-60 cm into the parapet of dense compacted snow at a distance of 400 meters;

Penetration of 20-25 cm into an earthen barrier from compacted loamy soil at a distance of 400 meters;

Penetration with a probability of 50% of a wall made of dry pine beams with a section of 20x20 cm at a distance of 650 meters;

Penetration at 10-12 cm in brickwork at a distance of 100 meters.

In 1986, new bullets were developed with a heat-strengthened core of increased hardness, which provides a significant increase in penetrating action: a new bullet pierces a steel helmet at a distance of 960 meters, and a body armor with titanium plates - at a distance of 200 meters.

The next improvement of the bullet in 1992 again increased the armor penetration (army bulletproof vest Zh85-T breaks through at a distance of 200 m, and the heavy Zh95-K at a distance of 50 m) at a constant initial speed. The new cartridge, superior in armor penetration to 7N6 by 1.84 times, received the index 7N10. 7H10 provides penetration of 16 mm at a distance of 100 meters.

Advantages

High reliability in harsh environments. Simplicity and cheapness in production. In the AK-74M variant, support for the installation of modern sighting and tactical devices, which is essentially a way to upgrade the assault rifle, and support for double-row box magazines similar to Steyr AUG, made of high-impact plastic, with transparent polymer side inserts, for visual control of the amount of ammunition in the magazine .

Since one of the reasons for the creation of the AK-74 was the change in the caliber of the cartridge used by the machine gun, from 7.62 × 39 mm to 5.45 × 39 mm, the weapon has less recoil and, accordingly, greater shooting accuracy, a more flat bullet flight path.

Flaws

Compared to the American M4A1 carbine, the AK-74 has lower single fire accuracy.

Compared to weapons with balanced automatics AEK-971, AK-107/AK-108, AK-74 has a 1.5-2 times lower accuracy of firing bursts from unstable positions.

The AK-74 lacks the quick barrel change capability of the FN SCAR, Steyr AUG, HK 416, and Bushmaster ACR; as well as a fixed-length burst firing mode, which was later added to the AK101-2, AK102-2, AK103-2, AK104-2, AK105-2 “hundredth series” assault rifles.

Other advantages and disadvantages are similar to those for the entire AK family.

Specifications AK-74

• Caliber: 5.45x39
• Weapon length: 940 mm
• Barrel length: 415 mm
• Weight without cartridges: 3.3 kg.
• Rate of fire: 600 rds / min
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Sighting range: 1000 m

Specifications AKS-74

• Caliber: 5.45x39
• Weapon length: 940/700 mm
• Barrel length: 415 mm
• Weight without cartridges: 3.4 kg.
• Rate of fire: 600 rds / min
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds

assault rifles

The year 1991 was a turning point in the history of the 5.45x39 cartridge. After this milestone, the distribution and practical use of 5.45-mm automatic ammunition narrowed to the framework of the post-Soviet Commonwealth independent states(CIS), and work on the development and improvement of this ammunition with varying degrees of intensity was carried out only in a few former Soviet republics - in Russia, Ukraine and for some time - in Kyrgyzstan.

The Soviet government rather late decided to adopt weapons under the caliber of 5.45 mm into service with the countries of the Warsaw Pact. With even greater delay and obvious reluctance, the ATS countries adopted this ammunition and developed for it into service with their armies. Soviet systems small arms, and only a few of them created their own models of weapons in this caliber. And without having time to gain popularity among the neighbors of the USSR, the Soviet caliber 5.45x39 actually lost its relevance in the late 1980s. in connection with the reorientation of many Eastern European countries towards the Western model of statehood development, including in the military field. In the early 1990s, many ATS countries abandoned Soviet-style rifle systems and began re-equipping with NATO-standard models - calibers 9x19, 5.56x45 and 7.62x51. By the mid-2000s, not only some of the countries of the former Warsaw Pact, but also some of the former republics of the USSR officially joined the NATO military bloc, finally embarking on the path of “de-Sovietization” of their small arms. However, due to a number of political and economic reasons, the 5.45x39 is still the main submachine gun ammunition in many post-Soviet states. Moreover, the resource for its modernization is far from exhausted, and it is unlikely that the 5.45-mm cartridge will be replaced by any other similar caliber in the near future.

Russia

In the early 1990s in connection with the general political and economic crisis in the vast former USSR work in Russia on the creation of new modifications of 5.45x39 was carried out rather sluggishly. Some revival was observed only around the cartridge with a bullet of increased penetration 7N10, since its production in the USSR was established only at the Lugansk Machine-Building Plant (No. 270), which remained in Ukraine. Almost immediately after the collapse Soviet Union technical documentation for the cartridge with a 7N10 bullet was taken out of Lugansk and transferred to the Barnaul Machine-Building Plant (No. 17), where its serial production began in 1992. Since that time, the development of the 7N10 cartridge has gone in two directions. 7N10, developed in Lugansk, was left within the framework of the former, "Soviet" design, and its production was launched in 1992. At the same time, Barnaul specialists began their own work on its modernization in order to increase the penetration ability of the bullet. Since 1994, the Barnaul plant began producing high-penetration cartridges with modernized bullets. Distinctive feature the new bullet was a slight increase in weight (from 3.60 g to 3.62 g) due to the lead filling of the technological cavity in the head. Also in the new cartridge, the weight was increased powder charge from 1.44 g to 1.46 g, which together led to an increase in the level of penetration of a 16 mm steel sheet of low-carbon steel grade St.3kp along the normal by 100 m to 60%. The cartridge received the GRAU 7N10M index and the symbol 5.45 PP gs. Later, in connection with the removal of the previous model 7N10 from production and the release of only a modernized version of the cartridge, it was left with the previous index - 7N10, without the letter M. The distinctive color of the modernized cartridge 7N10 of Barnaul production is the application of a purple sealing varnish at the junction of a bullet with a sleeve.

After a brief lull since the mid-1990s, work on the modernization of 5.45x39 has begun again in Russia. The constant qualitative improvement of personal protective equipment (PPE) is forcing cartridge designers to look for new ways to increase the penetration ability of 5.45 mm bullets. By 1998, at the Barnaul Machine-Tool Plant, under the leadership of V.N. Dvoryaninov, a cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet BP (cartridge symbol 5.45 BP gs, bullet weight - 3.69 g) was developed and put into service, which received the GRAU 7N22 index. A pointed armor-piercing core made of high-carbon tool steel grade U12A is introduced into the design of the bullet, which makes it possible to penetrate at a distance of 100 m along the normal already 20 mm steel sheet of grade St.3kp. A distinctive color of the cartridge is the coloring of the top of the bullet in black and the application of a black stripe to all types of packaging containers. In the same 1998, another version of the armor-piercing bullet, the BS, was adopted for service, which has a special armor-piercing core made of a VK8 tungsten-cobalt alloy. A bullet weighing 4.1 g consists of a bimetallic shell, a ceramic-metal core, a lead jacket and a technological cavity in the head of the bullet. The design of the bullet provides penetration of 5 mm steel armor plate of the 2p grade at an angle of 90 ° at a distance of up to 350 m. The BS bullet received the index 7N24 and the symbol of the cartridge 5.45 BS gs. It is noteworthy that in the early period of production, the distinctive color of the cartridge changed several times arbitrarily - depending on the manufacturer. After being put into service, the top of the bullet of the 7N24 cartridge was painted black, similar to the bullet of the 7N22 cartridge. In the early 2000s, at the Amur Cartridge Plant, ammunition was painted with black varnish at the junctions of the cartridge case with a bullet and with a primer. Finally, the color of the cartridge has now been adopted, similarly to the discontinued 7H6 - with a red sealing varnish at the junction of the cartridge case with a bullet and primer. On the packaging container, except for the symbol of the cartridge, no distinctive color stripes are applied.
By the mid-2000s, ammunition with tracer bullets also underwent minor modernization. In the modernized 5.45 TM gs, the shape of the bottom of the lead core has been somewhat changed, and a new type of tracer composition is used with the removal of the tracing range by 50-100 m from the muzzle of the weapon, providing a guaranteed tracing distance of up to 850 m. An index was adopted for the new cartridge GRAU - 7T3M.

New old developments From the moment the Kalashnikov assault rifle was adopted by the Soviet Army, the planned and initiative work of various design bureaus to further improve and modernize this rifle system did not stop. Not all of the experimental developments subsequently received practical implementation. But the experience gained by designers in the development of experimental samples often served as the basis for later developments. For example, Yury Alexandrov's AL-7 experimental assault rifle with balanced automatics, developed in the early 1970s, became the basis for the creation of AK-107 cal. 5.45x39 and AK-108 cal. 5.56x45 NATO to participate in the intersectoral state competition "Abakan" to create a new machine gun that exceeds the combat effectiveness of the regular AK-74 by 1.5-2 times. As part of the competition of the Ministry of Defense "Modern", announced in 1973, work began on the creation of a small-sized machine gun for armored vehicle crews. As you know, the competition ended with the adoption in 1979 of the AKS74U assault rifle. However, in addition to the "miniaturization" of the standard machine, during the "Modern" competition, a number of special technical solutions were worked out. For example, designer E.F. Dragunov, on the instructions of the Central Scientific Research Institute of ITCH MASH, developed a version of the small-sized MA assault rifle using the maximum number of plastic parts (high-strength polyamide), including the receiver, magazine and handle. Further developments in the creation of small-sized automata were used in the 1990-2000s. when creating submachine guns "Vityaz" and "Bizon" for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB, as well as other types of small arms.

One of the completely new types of 5.45-mm cartridges in the recent history of this ammunition has become cartridges with reduced ricocheting ability (abbreviated RRS), which since 2002 have been adopted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Russian Federation. A distinctive feature of these ammunition is the absence of a steel core in the design of the bullet, which was replaced with lead. Such a bullet, capable of rapid deformation, makes it possible to minimize ricocheting when it hits various buildings during the use of weapons in urban conditions and significantly reduce its anti-barrier effect. In 1995, the Amur Cartridge Plant produced the first test batches of PRS-type cartridges, the design of which was based on a modification of the standard 7N6 bullet. The upper part of the shell of the 7H6 bullet was cut off to expose the internal cavity, and on the inside of the shell a semblance of 4 cuts was made, as a result of which, in its action, the bullet became similar to expansive hunting ones. The cartridges did not have a distinctive color, except for the blackening of the primer and the lack of varnishing at the joints. The PRSs manufactured by the Barnaul Cartridge Plant, adopted in the 2000s, are marked with a purple sealing varnish at the junctions of the cartridge case with a bullet and the cartridge case with a primer. The cartridge was assigned the symbol 5.45 PRS gs. Until 2008, the bottom of the case was marked with the standard commercial marking of the Barnaul plant - the plant logo and cartridge caliber, and since 2008 - the last two digits of the year of production, plant number (17) and cartridge type - PRS. Both the early tubular powder of the 5.45 VUfl brand and the later spheroid Sf033fl are used to equip PRS cartridges. Currently, the purchase of PRS cartridges by the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been suspended.

Auxiliary cartridges 5.45x39 as a whole remained unchanged, with the exception of blanks. Since the late 1990s the production of modernized blank cartridges was launched, structurally similar to the first experimental blanks of the 1970s - with an elongated muzzle, crimped into a "star", followed by varnishing the edge of the crimped muzzle. The production of new cartridges under the index 7X3M has been established since 2000 at the Barnaul Cartridge Plant (No. 17).

Ukrainian PDW In September 2006, in Ukraine, representatives of the famous Belgian company Fabric Nationale (FN) for the first time demonstrated samples of small arms of the PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) class, designed specifically for servicemen of auxiliary units. During the presentation, the Ukrainians were presented with R-90 submachine guns and Five-Seven pistols chambered for a single small-caliber small-sized cartridge 5.7x28 (more about weapons and cartridges in O&O, No. 1/2007). To familiarize themselves with the new weapon and conduct test firing from the Ukrainian side, employees of some law enforcement agencies, as well as representatives of the arms industry, were invited. As it turned out, similar developments also existed in Ukraine. Since the mid-1990s, a group of scientists from one of the Ukrainian research institutes has been working on the development and implementation of original design solutions in the field of ammunition. One of the results of their work was the creation of an experimental small-sized cartridge based on the standard 5.45x39. Taking the previous mathematical calculations and prototypes as a basis, Ukrainian designers in the same 2006 presented a used small-sized pistol cartridge cal. 5.45 mm, which, in terms of its external dimensions, fully met the criteria for ammunition for weapons of the PDW class. The experienced Ukrainian ammunition had a very unusual design: a regular automatic 5.45-mm PP bullet (increased penetration, index 7N10) was installed in a regular sleeve shortened to 24 mm 5.45x39 with the bottom up. The bullet was centered by placing its "former" nose in a technological recess above the anvil of the cartridge case. The total length of the cartridge was about 35 mm. The cartridge was equipped with a charge of special gunpowder brand SP - 0.45-0.55 g. The first experimental firing was carried out using a ballistic installation with a barrel length of 130 mm and a rifling pitch of 135 mm. With an initial bullet velocity of about 540 m/s, the armor penetration rate per 25 m of a sheet of 2P armor steel with a thickness of 4 mm along the normal was about 90% of through penetrations. However, firing from a ballistic launcher was only the beginning. The PSh-45 pistol, developed by the Ukrainian designer Viktor Leonidovich Shevchenko, was quickly adapted to the cartridge. The choice of this weapon was not accidental, since its modular design made it possible to use several types of cartridges from among the most common pistol ammunition in the world in the same sample - by simply replacing the barrel and magazine. To use the experimental 5.45x24 for the PSh-45 pistol, it was only necessary to make a barrel of cal. 5.45mm and 16 round magazine. The test firing results confirmed the operability of the "cartridge-weapon" system and the general prospects of work on domestic ammunition: the actual indicators of the muzzle velocity, armor penetration and other important characteristics of the cartridge were almost identical to the data obtained in the ballistic installation. —

Ukraine, Lugansk cartridge

The second country after Russia in which the production of the 5.45x39 cartridge has been preserved on a large-scale scale is Ukraine, where the remnants of the capacities of the Lugansk Machine Tool Plant, having gone through the difficult path of numerous transformations of recent decades, continue to work to this day. The legacy of independent Ukraine was not just a giant plant with various activities, but also one of the largest cartridge factories since the days of Tsarist Russia. However, the decline in military orders from the Ministry of Defense, low liquidity of civilian products, loss of contacts and failures in work with Russian suppliers eventually led to the systematic instability of the enterprise. The management of the plant, struggling with the debts of the enterprise and, at the same time, not forgetting about their own selfish interests, constantly sold hundreds of pieces of equipment for scrap, gradually destroying the plant. Separate deliveries of expensive cartridge lines abroad through the mediation of the Ukrspetsexport and Ukrinmash companies could not significantly improve the financial position of the enterprise, since the profit from transactions settled mainly in the pockets of intermediaries and officials. As a result, in 1998, the state enterprise PO Lugansk Machine Tool Plant was declared bankrupt, and in 2001 an investor in the reorganization of the plant was appointed in the person of CJSC Brinkford. During the next 2002, all the assets of the LSZ were divided into three separate enterprises: two state-owned enterprises - SE Lugansk Patron and State Enterprise Lugansk Machine-Tool Plant and one private one - CJSC Lugansk Cartridge Plant (the main founder of which was the same company " Brinkford). Only two of them were directly involved in the production of ammunition. From that moment, despite the close interaction, the development of both enterprises went in different directions. State Enterprise "Lugansk Patron" was engaged in the production small ammunition by order of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the private CJSC "LPZ" - the production of sports and hunting cartridges. At the same time, it was assumed that the main technical assistance with ammunition components for Lugansk Patron would be provided by a private manufacturer - LPZ. However, in the absence of state support, the state-owned enterprise was forced to constantly pay off its debts with its assets and production capacities, which, as a result, were almost completely concentrated in the hands of a private LPZ, and in April 2009, the state-owned enterprise Luhansk Patron was declared bankrupt. To date, the main manufacturer of 5.45x39 cartridges, both in its sports and hunting version and in the army model, is only PJSC "Lugansk Cartridge Plant" (until 2010 - CJSC).
Until the mid-2000s, from military-grade cartridges in Lugansk, cartridges with a high-penetration PP bullet (index 7N10, later - the Ukrainian designation 7S2.00.000), blank 7X3, and also (small-scale orders by special services) US cartridges with a reduced bullet speed of an early design were produced (sample of the mid-1970s) - with a lead core and a reduced charge of gunpowder. The US was assigned the symbol 5.45 USPgs.

Cartridges similar in design with a lead core are produced by a private LPZ for civilian circulation. Initially, the products of LPZ cal. 5.45 mm was produced only for export, but since the mid-2000s, after the certification of civilian hunting weapons of this caliber in Ukraine, 5.45x39 ammunition produced by LPZ began to enter the domestic market. Hunting cartridges with a lead bullet have the symbol 5.45x39-4 Pgs. The mass of a bullet with a lead core is 4.3-4.5 g. The company’s logo is stamped on the sleeves of commercial production - LPZ and the caliber of the cartridge is 5.45x39, and the old Soviet factory code “270” was also used on army nomenclature ammunition.

Returning to the prospects of the state enterprise "Lugansky patron", I would like to note that on April 28, 2011, the Economic Court of the Lugansk region opened the procedure for its reorganization. Whether this will make any sense, time will tell, because almost all the former production facilities of the state enterprise are already concentrated in private ownership. Yes, and all the main army options for cartridges - 9x18, 5.45x39 and 7.62x39 with bullets with steel cores - are now offered for sale by the same PJSC "Lugansk Cartridge Plant" ...

water world The experience of Soviet designers in creating rifle complexes for underwater shooting led to the emergence of unique theoretical and practical developments in the weapons and cartridge areas. Work in this direction was carried out in the USSR for several decades and ended with the adoption by the anti-sabotage forces of special samples of underwater weapons - a 4.5-mm four-barreled SPP-1M pistol and a 5.66-mm APS assault rifle. The design of the submachine gun cartridge is based on a standard 5.45 mm submachine gun cartridge case. The difference in the designation of calibers 5.45 and 5.66 is caused by the absence of rifling in the underwater smoothbore machine, along the fields of which the caliber is usually measured. In the case of an underwater assault rifle, the caliber is measured by the actual diameter of the barrel and bullet, which is 5.66 mm. The basis for work on the creation of an underwater submachine gun cartridge was the large-scale experimental developments carried out by a group of designers from TSNIITOCHMASH in 1968-1970. when creating a 4-barrel underwater pistol with active-reactive and later with active ammunition. Designers D.I. Shiryaev and S.I. Matveikin created active-reactive cartridges of 7.62 mm caliber, and designer I. Kalyanov - active 4.5 mm caliber (4.5x40R). Of particular difficulty at the first stage of development was the lack of theoretical and practical data on the ballistic specifics of the movement of ammunition in the aquatic environment, which is a complex relationship of hydrodynamic processes. However, in the course of experiments, Soviet designers managed to establish the fundamental principles for designing the head of the projectile elements, under which their stable movement in the aquatic environment is carried out. Long steel bullets with a head part in the form of a truncated cone and a flat cut of the top (cavitator) created the so-called cavitation effect when fired, in which a long bullet, when moving in water, stabilized inside a kind of “bubble” - a cavitation cavity. Such a design of the head of the bullet with a truncated cone and a flat cut of the top was also chosen for the bullet of the 5.66 MPS submachine gun cartridge (small-caliber underwater special). A cartridge developed in the early 1980s. designers TSNIITOCHMASH P.F. Sazonov and O.P. Kravchenko for a special underwater machine APS designed by V.V. Simonov, consists of a steel varnished sleeve and a steel varnished bullet 120.3 mm long and weighing 20.7 g. The total length of the ammunition is 150 mm with a mass of 23 g. A charge of pyroxylin tubular powder brand 4/1 Fl (or 4/1 Fl Sp) weighing 1.45 g provides an initial bullet speed of 340-360 m/s. To seal the cartridge operating in conditions of constant contact with water, the joints of the bullet with the sleeve and the sleeve with the primer are covered with a special black sealant. To power the APS underwater machine, plastic magazines of the original form with a capacity of 26 rounds are used. The production of 5.66x39 cartridges was launched at the Yuryuzan Cartridge Plant No. 38 using automatic cartridges 5.45x39 manufactured by the Ulyanovsk Plant No. 3. In parallel with the testing of the APS machine gun, an experimental underwater machine gun was also tested, the use of which was supposed to be used on stationary coastal underwater installations, however, for armament this system was not adopted. The machine guns were fed with 5.66x39 cartridges using a metal loose belt, the link of which was almost equal in length to the total length of the cartridge. At present, new types of underwater cartridges based on the standard 5.45x39 cartridge case have been developed and are being tested by the army in Russia. Cartridges with a shorter sub-caliber bullet in a plastic pallet do not exceed the size of any regular submachine gun in their total length and are intended for use in a special two-medium submachine gun ADS. The design of the machine allows the use of both regular live ammunition for firing on land, and new underwater cartridges in the aquatic environment. Live cartridges were assigned the symbol PSPgs, and cartridges with a practical training bullet - PSP-UDgs.

former republics

After the collapse of the USSR, the former Soviet republics that gained independence continued to use the Soviet small arms complex, along with ammunition left in military depots. For most independent stock states Soviet army enough for many more years, but some countries have decided to take on the heavy burden of cartridge production. Among them is Azerbaijan, which in 2010 declared its independence in the supply of ammunition. As we wrote earlier, the exact data on the supplier of ammunition equipment is not yet known, but with a high degree of probability it can be assumed that the lines for the production of ammunition were delivered to this country from Russia and Ukraine. Since 2010, Turkey has become Azerbaijan's partner in the production of military products, including cartridges. In the catalog of the Ministry of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan, 5.45x39 cartridges are represented by three models: 7H10 with an increased penetration bullet weighing 3.62 g; 7T2 with a tracer bullet weighing 3.23 g and blank 7X3 with a white plastic bullet weighing 0.24 g. All cartridges are loaded into lacquered steel cases. Ammunition with the 7N10 armor-piercing bullet is sealed with black varnish along the edge of the case mouth and along the contour of the primer, cartridges with a 7T2 tracer bullet are sealed with red varnish along the edge of the cartridge case mouth and along the contour of the primer, and the top of the bullet is painted in green color. Blank cartridges do not have distinctive markings and sealing. Presumably, Azerbaijani ammunition is marked with the manufacturer's code "050". Another former Soviet republic, Uzbekistan, decided to organize cartridge production using European technologies. In 1999, the government of this country signed a contract with the French company Manurhin for the supply of modern lines for the production of closed-loop ammunition. Production of the line for 5.45x39 began in the same year. It is interesting to note that the testing of the assembly line was carried out using cartridge cases and bullets purchased from the Indonesian company PT. PINDAD (Persero). In 2000, equipment for the production of cartridge cases was manufactured, and since 2002, Uzbekistan began its own production of ammunition at the Vostok plant in Tashkent. The new Uzbek equipment is designed for the production of cal. 9x18, 9x19, 5.45x39, 7.62x39, 7.62x54R in brass cases with a "boxer" type primer socket. The cartridges are marked by the manufacturer in the form of the code "601".

Neighbours

Perhaps the most characteristic illustrations of the distribution of 5.45x39 cartridges in the "pro-Soviet" countries can serve as Bulgaria and Poland. Bulgaria, which traditionally gravitates towards Russia, began production of 5.45x39 cartridges at least in 1984. All ammunition of this caliber was produced in lacquered steel cases with a red sealing varnish at the junction of the cartridge case with a bullet and primer. The nomenclature of ammunition almost completely duplicated the Soviet one and consisted of a cartridge with a conventional PS bullet weighing 3.5 g, a cartridge with a tracer bullet weighing 3.3 g (green bullet tip), a blank cartridge with a plastic bullet and a training cartridge with three longitudinal grooves on the body sleeves and a punched silver primer. The adoption of 5.45x39 in Poland, the eternal enemy of Russia, developed somewhat differently. Polish military leadership decided to follow the path own developments weapons and ammunition cal. 5.45x39. In the early 1980s in Poland, the experimental design projects Tantal (development of 5.45-mm caliber weapons) and Cez (development of 5.45-mm caliber ammunition) were launched. The first experimental batches of ammunition were made in 1983, and the first prototype of the machine appeared in 1985. In January 1988, military tests of the machine began, and in 1991, the machine Karabinek automatyczny wz. 1988 Tantal and cartridge Naboj 5.45-mm x39 wz. 1988 were adopted by the Polish army. The range of ammunition was relatively small. The cartridge with a conventional steel-core bullet Naboj bojowy z pociskiem zwyklym o rdzeniu stalowym typu PS did not have a special color marking. Cartridge with a tracer bullet Naboj bojowy z pociskiem smugowym typu 7T3 had a green bullet tip. Only a small trial batch of tracer cartridges was produced. The first version of blank ammunition (Naboj swiczebny (sleepy)) had a cartridge case with an elongated muzzle crimped on top with a “star”. However, when using such cartridges, problems were identified with the operation of small arms automation. Therefore, a blank cartridge with a plastic hollow bullet of the “Soviet” type was soon developed. The training cartridge (Naboj szkolny) consisted of a cartridge case with a drilled primer socket filled with white plastic in such a way that the upper part of the plastic filler protruded from the cartridge case and imitated a live cartridge bullet. The Polish high-pressure and boosted test cartridges were similar in design and color marking to the Soviet designs. The cartridges were loaded into lacquered steel cases. Issue of ammunition cal. 5.45x39 was set up at the Zaklady Metalowe "Mesko" factory (manufacturer code 21) in Skarzynsko-Kamenna. In 1996, the release of cartridges wz. 1988 was discontinued due to the adoption by the Polish army of the kb. wz. 1996 Beryl and 5.56x45 NATO ammunition.

Commercial use

In the first half of the 1990s. Russian cartridge factories experienced a severe economic crisis. The landslide decline in government orders, including for the main 5.45x39 submachine gun cartridge, forced ammunition manufacturers to look for alternative markets for selling their products. At the same time, active development of purely hunting ammunition models for export supplies begins; moreover, each manufacturing plant created the terms of reference for this new product on its own. The simplest solution, initially chosen by almost all ammunition manufacturers, was to replace the steel core of a military bullet with a lead one. The inevitable increase in bullet mass due to the heavier core was often offset by an increase in the technological cavity in the head of the bullet. Most manufacturers used for the first models of hunting bullets a regular bimetallic shell from a 7N6 cartridge bullet. Only the Ulyanovsk Plant No. 3 equipped the lead core of commercial bullets in a shell from a standard 7T3 tracer bullet, since this enterprise has been the main manufacturer of this ammunition since the early 1970s. The same shell was used by the Ulyanovsk Cartridge Plant (UPZ) in the manufacture of bullets with a cavity in the head of the NR weighing 4.5 g. Wolf brand. After 2009, these products began to be produced under a new trademark - Tulammo. The cartridges are equipped with FMJ and HP bullets weighing 3.9 g developed by TPZ, and UPZ bullets using tracer bullet shells have been discontinued. The Amur Ammunition Plant under the trademark Golden Tiger (“Golden Tiger”) exports cartridges with two types of bullets - FMJ and HP weighing 3.8 g.
By the end of the 90s, a line of the main types of hunting bullets was developed at the Barnaul Cartridge Plant to equip hunting variants of the 5.56x45 cartridge - with a cavity in the HP head (PN designation - empty nose, bullet weight - 3.56 g) and semi-shell with exposing the lead core SP (designation software, bullet weight - 3.56 g). The same line of bullets has been used since the late 90s for equipping hunting cartridges cal. 5.45x39. Barnaul cartridges are completed with varnished steel, galvanized steel and polymer-coated steel sleeves. By order of the American company Hornady Manufacturing Company, Inc., the Barnaul Ammunition Plant supplies steel cases with a polymer coating, which in the USA are equipped with a 60-grain (3.9 g) Hornady V-Max ™ semi-jacketed bullet with a plastic ballistic tip. In addition to the hunting cartridges, the Tula and Barnaul factories produce the so-called "noise" cartridges, which in fact are regular blank 7X3 cartridges - with the only difference being that civilian designations are used in branding cartridge cases and the color marking has been changed.

MPU - cartridges for creation A purely peaceful purpose has another cartridge, created on the basis of the 5.45x39 cartridge case. This is an MPU mounting cartridge (reinforced mounting cartridge, TU 3-1064-78), which is used in special powder tools during construction works. Structurally, MPU cartridges consist of a lacquered steel sleeve with a crimping of the muzzle “into a star”, a charge of smokeless powder and an igniter primer. Depending on the conditional power of the cartridge, the mass of the powder charge and its energy, MPU cartridges are divided into three numbers and have a corresponding distinctive color marking on the crimped muzzle. MPU-1 with a white neck color (nominal power - low, energy - 1640 J) is used to punch holes in multi-hollow reinforced concrete panels with a special shock column UK-6. MPU-2 with green muzzle color (conditional power - average, energy - 2200 J) is used for compacted electrically conductive connection of steel pipes using a press PPST-33M. Also in this type of work, the use of the MPU-1 cartridge is also allowed. The MPU-3 cartridge with a yellow neck color (conditional power is high, energy - 2700 J) is used for terminating electrical cables using a PPO-240 press. IN Lately MPU cartridges have found another application - they are used for signal-dummy firing from a depleted military weapon cal. 7.62x25 TT (TT pistol, PPSh and PPS assault rifles) as part of military-historical reenactment activities and during filming. MPU cartridges are packed in paper wrappers, 30 pcs. (or in cardboard boxes in bulk of 250 pieces) and a total of 1000 pieces. are stacked in a standard metal welded-rolled box with subsequent stacking of two metal boxes in a standard wooden cartridge box.

For a number of reasons, the cartridge, being purely military, was not widely used in Europe as a hunting cartridge. This implies its low prevalence and a limited number of manufacturers. Basically, these are firms of those countries in which it was in service - Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, etc. In the end, I would like to dwell in more detail on one of the few European hunting cartridges 5.45x39, which was in the 1990s. certified by the German company RWS and which was given a rather unusual designation for a European manufacturer in the imperial system of units - caliber.215. The cartridge was completed with a bullet SG (Scheibengeschoss) with a cavity in the head and a mass equal to 3.8 g (59 grains). The sleeve is lacquered steel, without sealing paint at the junctions of the sleeve with the bullet and primer.

Here, there are a few. Maybe someone is interested or useful. If someone has additions or I made typos or inaccuracies --- correct me.

What they are, cartridges 5.45x39

5.45x39 М74
---5.45x39 PS(index 7N6) - with a bullet with a steel core (steel 10) weighing 3.30–3.55 g. When using this type of cartridge, shortcomings began to appear and a year later 7N6M appeared, attempts to increase the penetration and stability of the bullet. Since 1986\87 they have been produced with a heat-strengthened (up to 60 HRC) steel (steel 65G / 70G / 75G) cylindrical core (index 7N6VK). This is mainly due to the widespread use of infantry personal protective equipment. Bullet unpainted. Roughly like this...

---5.45x39 T(index 7ТЗ) with a tracer bullet. Subsequently, Schaub didn’t shoot hard at those who shoot tracers at night, but that’s how they teach to shoot at night — at boys who love a tracer, they came up with a modernized tracer (index 7ТЗМ, the tracer starts burning after flying 50 meters from the barrel, which immediately brought +3 or even +4 - it's not so easy to spot you, not such a \\\"flare\\\" when you shoot, the barrel does not clog up in your eyes (there is less wear and less cleaning too !!!) The green top of the bullet. Something like this ...

---5.45x39 US(index 7U1) A cartridge with a reduced bullet speed for firing from weapons with silent firing devices contains a bullet weighing 5.15 g, which has an initial speed of 303 m/s. The coloration is a black bullet top with a green rim. Something like this ... 5.45x39 PP
---5.45x39 PP(index 7N10) Cartridge with increased penetration bullet (1992) The 7N10 cartridge bullet differs from the 7N6 cartridge bullet in that it uses a stamped pointed core, the diameter of the upper end is no more than 1.8 mm, the bullet weight is increased by 5%, in the head parts, by analogy with the 7H6 bullet, a cavity is left. The new bullet provided penetration of alloy plates at a distance of 100 meters - 100% and steel plates with a thickness of 14 mm at a distance of 100 meters - at least 80%. 1993\94, another modernization of the 7N10, whose bullet weighing 3.49–3.74 g pierces a 16-mm steel plate at a distance of 100 meters, elements of body armor made of titanium alloys at a distance of 200 meters. The sealant varnish is dark purple, unlike the red in 7H6. A cartridge with a modernized 7N10 bullet of increased power, the main difference of which is that the cavity in the nose is filled with lead, which prevented the shell from being pulled into the hole punched in the barrier by the core. Upon contact with the barrier by the pressure of lead, compressed between the head of the core and the bullet shell, the latter is destroyed. Such a device eliminates the pulling of parts of the shell into the hole, which increases the penetrating power of the bullet. Unfortunately, the line for the production of cartridges remained on the square and it was necessary to invent and place the production of other cartridges, such as BP. Bullet unpainted. Roughly like this...

---5.45x39 BP(index 7Н22) Cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet. After the upgraded 7N10 cartridge of increased power was adopted in 1994, the bullet / bulletproof vest confrontation made another round. 96\97 year of work and samples of the 7N20 armor-piercing cartridge resulted in the adoption of the 7N22 cartridge in 1998. A bullet weighing 3.68 g that pierces 5 mm thick armor plate at a distance of 250 meters. In the 7N22 pool, a pointed core is used, made of U12A high-carbon steel, by cutting with subsequent grinding of the ogival part. The sealing varnish is red, the bullet has a black nose. Roughly like this...

---5.45x39 BS(index 7N24) A cartridge with a bullet with an armor-piercing core, (beginning of the 200s) which is made of VK-4 alloy, weighing 3.93-4.27 g, pierces an armor plate 5 mm thick at a distance of 350 meters. Bullet unpainted. Roughly like this...

---5.45x39 PRS Cartridge with a bullet with a lead core. RRS = with reduced ricochet ability. - designed for shooting in thickets, reeds. In rain and dense fog: llol: Bullet without coloring. Roughly like this...

5.45x39 VN - auxiliary cartridges.

---5.45x39 UZ Cartridge with enhanced charge. For factory testing. The entire bullet is entirely black. Roughly like this...

---5.45x39 VD High pressure cartridge. For factory testing. The whole bullet yellow color. Roughly like this...

---5.45x39 Exemplary Exemplary cartridge - designed for comparative verification of the ballistic characteristics of cartridges stored in warehouses. (For factory testing.) Corresponds to the standard cartridge (7H6), but made with increased accuracy. Bullet nose painted White color. Roughly like this...

Well, there's more to study.

---5.45x39 Idle(index 7ХЗ \ 7Х2З) Blank (with a hollow white plastic bullet, 0.22-0.26 g), with a charge of fast-burning gunpowder and (index 7ХЗМ) blank, with compression of the muzzle in the form of a star ( presumably index 7НЗ). It's like this plastic...

---5.45x39 U(index 7X4) Training (without charge). It is distinguished by the presence of four longitudinal stampings on the sleeve and a double annular crimp of the bullet in the muzzle of the sleeve. MMG is shorter.

I'll try pictures...