Fedorov Avtomat
{{Short description|Soviet battle rifle}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name = Fedorov Avtomat
| image = Avtomat M1916 Fedorov noBG.jpg
| type = Automatic rifle
Light machine gun
Battle rifle
| service = 1915–1917
1920–1928
Re-issued in 1940
| wars = World War I{{sfn|McNab|2022|page=8}}
Russian Revolution{{sfn|McNab|2022|page=8}}
Russian Civil War{{sfn|McNab|2022|page=8}}
East Karelian uprising
Winter War{{sfn|McNab|2022|page=8}}
World War II{{sfn|McNab|2022|page=8}}
| designer = Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov
| spec_label =
| action = Short recoil operation
| image_size = 300
| origin = Russian Empire
| is_ranged = YES
| used_by = Russian Empire
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Soviet Union
Finland
| design_date = 1913
| manufacturer = Kovrov Arms Factory, (Now V. A. Degtyarev Plant, OJSC)
| unit_cost =
| production_date = 1913–1925
| variants =
| weight = {{convert|4.4|kg|lb|abbr=on}} ({{convert|5.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}} loaded)
| length = {{convert|1,045|mm|in|abbr=on}}
| part_length = {{convert|520|mm|in|abbr=on}}
| cartridge = 6.5×50mmSR Arisaka
| cartridge_weight =
| barrels =
| rate = 350–400 Rounds/min{{cite book |last=Chinn |first=George M. |author-link=George M. Chinn |date=1952 |title=The Machine Gun |volume=2 |publisher=Bureau of Ordnance |page=30}}
| velocity = {{convert|654|m/s|ft/s}}
| range =
| max_range =
| feed = 25-round detachable box magazine
| sights = Iron sights
}}
The Fedorov Avtomat (also anglicized as Federov,{{cite book |first1=Ian V. |last1=Hogg |first2=John S. |last2=Weeks |name-list-style=amp |date=2000 |title=Military Small Arms of the 20th Century |edition=7th |publisher=Krause Publications |page=267}}{{cite book |first=David |last=Westwood |title=Rifles: An Illustrated History of their Impact |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLBTkNZ8U44C&pg=PA135 |year=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-401-1 |page=135}} {{Lang-rus|Автома́т Фёдорова|r=Avtomát Fyódorova|t=Fyodorov's automatic rifle|links=no|p=ɐftɐˈmat ˈfʲɵdərəvə}}) or FA is a select-fire infantry rifle and one of the world's first operational automatic rifles, designed by Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov in 1915 and produced in the Russian Empire and later in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. A total of 3,200 Fedorov rifles were manufactured between 1915 and 1925 in the city of Kovrov, the vast majority after 1920. The weapon saw limited combat in World War I, but was used more substantially in the Russian Civil War and in the Winter War. Some consider it to be an early predecessor or ancestor of the modern assault rifle.{{cite book
| last1 = Fowler
| first1 = William
| author-link =
| last2 = Sweeney
| first2 = Patrick
| author2-link =
| title = The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rifles and Machine Guns: An illustrated historical reference to over 500 military, law enforcement and antique firearms... and automatic machine guns, a comprehensive guide
| place =
| publisher = Lorenz Books
| year = 2008
| volume =
| edition =
| page =68
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = 978-0-7548-1758-1}}{{cite book |first=John |last=Walter |title=Military Rifles of Two World Wars |year=2003 |publisher=Greenhill |isbn=978-1-85367-536-2 |page=19}}{{cite book |first1=Daniel D. |last1=Musgrave |first2=Thomas B. |last2=Nelson |title=The World's Assault Rifles and Automatic Carbines |year=1967 |publisher=T.B.N. Enterprises |page=149; see also discussion on p. 15}}
Design and development
File:Fedorov Mechanism Schematic.svg
File:Автомат Федорова - Тульский Государственный Музея Оружия 2016 01 (cropped).jpg
The Fedorov Avtomat is a short-recoil operated, locked-breech weapon which fires from a closed bolt. The bolt locking is achieved by a pair of symmetrical plates mounted to either side of the breech and held in place by a sheet metal cover, each with two lugs, one square and one round, mounted at either side of the breech, latching barrel and bolt together through recesses on the bolt. Those plates are allowed to tilt slightly down after about 10 mm of free recoil, unlocking the bolt. A bolt hold-open device is fitted and the firing mechanism is of hammer type.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
Captain V. Fedorov began a prototype of a semi-automatic rifle in 1906, working with future small arms designer Vasily Degtyaryov as his assistant. A model was submitted to the Rifle Commission of the Russian army in 1911, which ordered 150 more rifles for testing. In 1913, Fedorov submitted a prototype automatic rifle with a stripper clip-fed fixed magazine, chambered for his own experimental rimless 6.5 mm cartridge, 6.5mm Fedorov. This new rimless ammunition was more compact than the rimmed Russian 7.62×54mmR, better suited for automatic weapons and produced less recoil but occasionally caused jamming. When fired from an 800 mm barrel, 6.5mm Federov propelled an 8.5 gram pointed jacketed bullet to an initial velocity of 860 m/s with a muzzle energy of 3,140 J versus the 3,550 J muzzle energy of 7.62×54mmR ammunition from a barrel of the same length.{{cite journal |title=30 лет на переднем крае |trans-title=30 years at the forefront |language=ru |first=Mikhail |last=Dragunov |date=1999 |journal=Oruzhiye |number=4 |page=24}} 6.5 mm Fedorov rifles were tested late in 1913 with somewhat favorable results.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
In the autumn of 1915, Fedorov was posted as a military observer to France, in the Mont-Saint-Éloi sector. Impressed by the ubiquity and firepower of the French Chauchat, he nonetheless criticized its immobility. According to Fedorov's memoirs, it is here he came up with the idea of introducing into Russian service a weapon with firepower intermediate between the rifle and the light machine gun, but with mobility comparable to a rifle. His decision to adapt his semi-automatic rifle design for this purpose was one of wartime expediency. Fedorov set to the task upon his return to Russia in January 1916. He retained the mechanism of his semi-automatic rifle, with the major addition of a selective fire switch. The fixed magazine was replaced by a curved 25-round detachable box magazine. Due to limited trial nature of its production, most of its parts were custom fitted and not interchangeable, including the magazine. Therefore, in practice, each Fedorov Avtomat was issued to the troops with only three magazines, which would be reloaded through the breech via standard 5-round Arisaka stripper clips.{{sfnp|Monetchikov|2005|p=11}}
Production of the new cartridge was out of question so it was decided to convert 6.5 mm Fedorov rifles to use the Japanese 6.5×50mmSR Arisaka ammunition which was in abundance, having been purchased from Japan and the United Kingdom along with Arisaka rifles. (About 763,000 Arisaka-type rifles were imported to Russia,{{cite magazine |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Arming+Ivan+Part+II%3A+the+bear+begs,+borrows+and+buys+guns+to+stay+in...-a0129627337 |title=Arming Ivan Part II: the bear begs, borrows and buys guns to stay in the fight |first=John |last=Sheehan |date=April 1, 2005 |magazine=Guns |via=The Free Library}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.kalashnikov.ru/upload/medialibrary/fc4/036_039.pdf |title=На переломе: Выбор образца винтовочного патрона для стрелкового оружия РККА |trans-title=At the Turning Point: Choosing a Model Rifle Cartridge for Small Arms of the Red Army |language=ru |first=Ruslan |last=Chumak |date=2007 |magazine=Kalashnikov |number=8 |pages=37–39}} along with approximately 400 million cartridges for them; domestic production of the Arisaka cartridge remained insignificant though.) The change of ammunition involved only minimal changes to the rifle, including a chamber insert and a new range scale for the rear sights.{{sfnp|Monetchikov|2005|p=12}} The noticeably less powerful Japanese cartridge meant that the muzzle velocity was only about 654–660 m/s because of constrained barrel length.{{sfnp|Monetchikov|2005|p=12}}
A US Army analysis from the early 1950s considered that the Fedorov Avtomat was unreasonably complex to manufacture and that it suffered from rapid overheating of the barrel on automatic fire. Russian tests indicated that the gun could fire about 300 rounds continuously before heat buildup rendered it inoperable. This was still an improvement compared to the Mosin–Nagant M1891 rifles, which would begin to smolder after 100 rounds. The main factor in the increased heat dissipation was the metal shroud over the barrel at the end of the forearm, which acted as a radiator. In terms of accuracy, Russian data indicates that when fired in short bursts the Fedorov Avtomat could reliably hit targets having a profile of 0.6×0.5 m at a distance of 200 m. At 400 m the dispersion increased to 1.1×0.9 m, and at 800 m it was 2.1×1.85 m. Consequently, burst fire was only considered effective up to about 500 m.{{sfnp|Monetchikov|2005|p=14}}
Production and service
File:Fedorov Avtomat, Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution.jpg]]
In 1916, the Weapons Committee of the Russian Army decided to order no less than 25,000 Fedorov automatic rifles. In the summer of 1916, a company from the 189th Izmail Regiment was equipped with eight Fedorov Avtomats. Trained in tactics with the new weapon, they concluded that the Fedorov worked best as a crew-served weapon: the gunner armed with the Fedorov, and an ammo bearer armed with an Arisaka rifle. As both weapons used the same ammo and same 5-round stripper clips, this allowed for the greatest flexibility. It also allowed for the ammo bearer to fire defensively, while the gunner reloaded. It was also recommended that the primary mode of fire be in semi-automatic, as the Fedorov would rapidly overheat in full-automatic. After completing their training, the company was deployed to the Romanian front in early 1917. It was supposed to report back valuable combat experience with the new weapon, but this did not happen because the company disintegrated during the Kerensky Offensive. About 10 other Avtomats were given to the Russian naval aviation; Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia telegraphed back that his pilots found it more suitable than the Chauchat in light aircraft.{{sfnp|Fedoseyev|2008|p=304}}
In early 1917, the order for Fedorov rifles was limited to 5,000 weapons. However, only about 100 Fedorov Avtomats had been produced before the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, when production was halted.{{sfnp|Monetchikov|2005|pp=18–19}} The gun's cost estimated in 1918 was 1,090 rubles; in comparison the cost of a Madsen light machine gun was around 1,730 rubles at that time.{{sfnp|Fedoseyev|2008|p=308}}
In 1920, Lev Kamenev found the Fedorov Avtomat to be a promising design and authorized a limited production run. The Avtomat was used to equip Red Army units in the Karelian sector during the Karelian Uprising, particularly the ski battalion of Toivo Antikainen. Reports from combat experiences with the gun during 1921–1922 were very positive as long as spare parts were available.{{sfnp|Bolotyn|1995|p=159}} In 1923, 10,000 copies of a 46-page manual for the gun were printed.{{cite book |title=Автомат Федорова |trans-title=Avtomat Fedorova |first=I. |last=Sverchkov |language=ru |date=1923 |publisher=Высший Военные Редакционный Совет [Supreme Military Editorial Board]}} Number of copies is given on p. 2.
Despite some noted reliability issues and performance issues, the Fedorov Avtomat was deemed acceptable for Red Army use in a 1924 review. However, due to supply problems, Soviet leaders decided to abandon all weapons using foreign ammunition.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxHJbEmvCPI |title=Fedorov Avtomat, The First Assault Rifle? |author=Simple History |date=6 September 2017 |website=YouTube |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919012329/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxHJbEmvCPI |archive-date=19 September 2017}}{{cbignore}} As a consequence, production of the Fedorov Avtomat was halted in October 1925. Only 3,200 Fedorovs were manufactured between 1915 and 1925.{{sfnp|Monetchikov|2005|pp=18–19}}
At the time of its use, the Fedorov Avtomat was one of only three practical fully automatic rifles in service, the other two being the American M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle and the French Chauchat. Although these alternative rifles were initially intended for mobile assault fire, both models became more or less exclusively used as stationary light machine guns due to their higher weight and caliber. However, the lighter, lower recoil Fedorov Avtomat, which was less than half the weight of the BAR and CSRG, retained a unique niche role as a mobile assault rifle.{{cite web |url=https://modernfirearms.net/en/assault-rifles/russia-assault-rifles/avtomat-fedorova-eng/ |title=Fedorov Avtomat (Russia/USSR) |first=Maxim |last=Popenker |website=Modern Firearms|date=27 October 2010 }} Despite this pioneering status, the Fedorov Avtomat was not without its flaws, and was notoriously difficult to clean, maintain, and repair.
After 1925, the rifle was withdrawn from service and put in storage; the last unit to give it up was the Moscow Proletariat Red Banner Rifle Division in 1928. During the 1939–1940 Soviet–Finnish war, an acute lack of individual automatic weapons led to the reintroduction of the stockpiled Fedorovs into service. They were sent to the Karelian front, mostly to military intelligence units.{{sfnp|Monetchikov|2005|pp=18–19}} It is presumed that most of the Fedorov Avtomats were expended or destroyed during that war.{{cite book |first=John |last=Walter |title=The Rifle Story: An Illustrated History from 1756 to the Present Day |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWN1Nb9hfUkC&pg=PA192 |year=2006 |publisher=MBI Publishing Company |isbn=978-1-85367-690-1 |page=192}}
Terminology
File:Stamp of Russia 2016 No 2115 Fedorov Avtomat.jpg, featuring the Fedorov Avtomat]]
Fedorov's superior, General Nikolai Filatov is credited for introducing the much shorter term "avtomat" for the gun — a neologism derived from the Greek word 'automaton' and synonymous with the English word "automatic",{{cite book |title=Штурмовые винтовки мира |trans-title=Assault Rifles of the World |language=ru |first=Maxim |last=Popenker |publisher=Polygon |location=St. Petersburg |year=2004 |page=4 |isbn=5-89173-258-0}} this is the one that stuck. Written records of this new term being applied to the gun date to 1919.{{sfnp|Fedoseyev|2008|p=309}}
- Initially Fedorov wanted to call the class of weapons to which his new gun belonged ручное ружьё-пулемет (i.e. a class lighter than ружьё-пулемет for light machine guns like the Madsen or Lewis, although it literally translated as "handheld light-machine-gun"), which reflected his tactical thinking behind the development of the weapon.{{sfnp|Bolotyn|1995|p=157}} This designation appeared in a September 1916 article in the journal of the Artillery Commission.{{sfnp|Fedoseyev|2008|p=305}}
In contemporary Russian terminology, the word "avtomat" (meaning "automate" as a noun rather than "automatic" as an adjective) typically denotes the equivalent of the English-language terminology "assault rifle", such as the Avtomat Kalashnikova for example. This differs from the terminology typically used when referring to automatic full-power cartridge rifles, such as the AVS-36 and AVT-40, which instead use the separate "avtomaticheskaya" term.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/149446722/42514399-1937-7-62mm-Avtomaticheskaya-Vintovka-Simonova-Model-1936-AVS-36-Manual|title=1937-7-62mm Avtomaticheskaya Vintovka Simonova Model 1936 AVS 36 Manual|website=scribd.com|access-date=6 August 2022}}
Contemporary Occidental writers have struggled to classify the Fedorov Avtomat. Some consider it to be an "early predecessor" or "ancestor" to the modern assault rifle, while others believe that the Fedorov Avtomat was the world's first assault rifle.{{cite book |last=Rottman |first=Gordon |title=The AK-47: Kalashnikov-series assault rifles |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84908-835-0 |page=7}} Some say it is "conforming to the specification of an assault rifle", stating 6,5mm Arisaka goes to the same category as 6.8x43 Remington SPC "in terms of calibre and muzzle energy", while being a service weapon in WWI.{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Anthony |title=Assault Rifles and their Ammunition: History and Prospects |date=2002–2012 |url=http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm |access-date=4 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602021550/http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm |archive-date=June 2, 2014 }} If a 9 gram bullet was fired with 654m/s it would calculate to 1924.722 joule off muzzle-energy. Intermediate cartridges usually have between 1250-2500 Joule of kinetic energy.{{Cite web |date=2014-06-02 |title=ASSAULT RIFLES AND THEIR AMMUNITION |url=http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm |access-date=2024-03-04 |archive-date=2 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602021550/http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}
= Even earlier proto-assault rifles =
Still other writers argue that the Cei-Rigotti (which predates the works of Fedorov by 20 years) was the world's first assault rifle. Cei-Rigotti was also a select-fire auto-gun, chambered for 6.5×52mm Carcano, a similar round of intermediate kinetic power; however, its magazine was fed by stripper clips rather than being detachable,{{cite journal |url=http://www.ausairpower.net/SP/DT-MS-AR-1007.pdf |title=Milestones: Origins of the Assault Rifle |first=Carlo |last=Kopp |date=October 2007 |journal=Defence Today |pages=74–75}}{{cite book |last=Samuels |first=Richard J. |date=December 21, 2005 |title=Encyclopedia of United States National Security |publisher=SAGE Publications |pages=48–49 |isbn=978-0-76192-927-7}} although prototypes with magazines up to a capacity of 50 rounds reportedly existed.
{{Clear}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book |last=Bolotyn |first=Davyd |date=1995 |title=История советского стрелкового оружия и патронов |trans-title=History of Soviet Small Arms and Ammunition |language=ru |publisher=Polygon |isbn=5-85503-072-5}}
- {{cite book |last=Cormack |first=A.J.R. |title=Famous Rifles and Machine Guns |date=1977 |location=Windsor, Berkshire |publisher=Profile Publications |isbn=0-214-20325-5}}
- {{cite book |last=Fedoseyev |first=Semon |date=2008 |title=Пулеметы русской армии в бою |trans-title=Machine Guns of the Russian Army in Battle |language=ru |publisher=Yauza-Eksmo Press |isbn=978-5-699-25634-1}}
- {{cite book |last=Monetchikov |first=Sergei |date=2005 |title=История русского автомата |trans-title=The History of Russian Assault Rifles |language=ru |location=St. Petersburg |publisher=Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps |isbn=5-98655-006-4}}
- {{cite book |last=Myatt |first=Major Frederick |title=Modern Small Arms |date=1979 |location=London, UK |publisher=Salamander Books |isbn=0-86101-024-8}}
- {{cite book |last1=Popenker |first1=Maxim |last2=Williams |first2=Anthony G. |title=Battle Rifle |date=2004 |location=Wiltshire |publisher=The Crowood Press Ltd. |isbn=1-86126-700-2}}
- {{cite book |last=Walter |first=John |title=Military Rifles of Two World Wars |date=2003 |location=London, UK |publisher=Greenhill |isbn=1-85367-536-9}}
- {{cite book |last1=McNab |first1=Chris |title=Soviet Machine Guns of World War II |date=17 February 2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-4240-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hrYsEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7yhQXFKHMc |title=M1916 Fedorov: Russia's First Assault Rifle? |author=Forgotten Weapons |date=21 December 2018 |website=YouTube}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.forgottenweapons.com/early-semiauto-rifles/fedorov/ |title=Fedorov Avtomat disassembled |first=Ian |last=McCollum |date=13 May 2011 |website=Forgotten Weapons}}
- {{cite web |url=http://world.guns.ru/assault/as86-e.htm |title=Fedorov "Avtomat" assault rifle (Russia) |website=World.guns.ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430123821/http://world.guns.ru/assault/as86-e.htm |archive-date=30 April 2010}}
- {{cite web |url=http://armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/BeforeWWII/MS1/fedorov/index.html |title=Автомат Федорова (Оружие, которое могло потрясти Мир) |trans-title=Avtomat Fedorov (A weapon that could shake the world) |website=armor.kiev.ua |language=ru}}
{{WWIRussianArms}}
Category:Rifles of the Russian Empire