PTRS-41

The PTRS-41 (ПротивоТанковое Ружье Симонова, or "Simonov anti-tank rifle" ) is the semi-automatic cousin of the PTRD anti-tank rifle.

Design
The PTRS-41 was produced and used by the Soviet Union during World War II. In the years between the World Wars, Soviet Union began experimenting with different types of armour-piercing anti-tank cartridges. Finding the 12.7×108mm insufficient, they began development of what would become the 14.5×114mm armour piercing round. Famous USSR weapons designers such as Vasily A. Degtyaryov and Sergei G. Simonov designed rifles to accommodate this cartridge. In 1938, Simonov designed the PTRS-41. The five round magazine was loaded into the receiver and held under pressure by a swing magazine underneath. On firing the last round, the bolt is held open, and the magazine release catch can only be operated when the bolt is locked back. The gas-operated PTRS has a tendency to jam when dirty, and the 14.5 mm cartridge produces significant residue, blocking the gas port. The 14.5 mm armour-piercing bullet has a muzzle velocity of 1013 m/s and devastating ballistics. It can penetrate an armour plate up to 40 mm thick at a distance of 100 meters.

In 1943 Simonov used a scaled down PTRS-41 design for the SKS-45, that would accommodate the new 1943 designed M/43 7.62x39mm cartridge.

History
Designed in 1938 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov, the PTRS-41 is a semi-automatic anti-tank rifle that was used along the Eastern Front in World War II and then used again in the Korean War and Chinese Civil War by various factions. Along with his partner Vasily Degtyaryov, Simonov helped the Soviet Union develop new weapons between World Wars. During this time, Degtyaryov would go on to create the PTRD-41 while Simonov would create and design its cousin rifle, the PTRS-41. As one of Simonov's creations, the PTRS-41 would sometimes be known as simply the “Simonov” on the battlefield. Although more advanced, the PTRS was harder to use and less reliable than the cheaper PTRD while yielding similar performance, so the PTRD was used more.