German Forces

Captured

fbbrummbar

Captured weapons were used by both sides. One of the German favourites - PPSh 41. Many German troops used captured PPSh-41's instead of their own submachine guns. Also the Tokarev cartridge was very similar to the 7.63mm Mauser ammunition, and the Russian weapon tolerated both. This helped mitigate the need for German troops to rely exclusively on scavenged ammunition (although 7.63mm Mauser was usually in short supply, as a non-standard caliber). German soldiers on the Eastern Front also appreciated the superior volume of fire provided by the PPSh compared to their MP40s. Although the PPSh’s rate of fire was considerably higher than that of the German submachine gun, its high magazine capacity compensated for this. Additionally, the PPSh had selective fire, unlike the MP40, so ammunition could be more easily conserved. For suppressive fire, the PPSh-41 was superior to the MP40 with its quick, 900-rounds-per-minute rate of fire. The German gun, on the other hand, fired only about 550 rounds per minute. This was good for controlled fire, where a skilled shooter can squeeze off individual rounds even on fully automatic fire. The PPSh-41 quickly became so popular that the Wermacht issued manuals on its use, and even tried converting some to fire standard 9mm Parabellum ammunition. However, the 7.62×25 Tokarev cartridge had advantages over the 9mm cartridge. Primarily, the Tokarev bullet had superior ballistics, traveling a few hundred feet per second faster than the Parabellum. This aided the Tokarev bullet’s penetrative abilities, a useful feature for fighting in built-up environments like Stalingrad. German troops gave reports of Russian conscripts firing bursts from their PPSh-41s through walls (a tactic also favoring the large magazine capacity). The MP40 was less suited to return fire in such conditions, as the 9mm Parabellum bullet would not penetrate as many layers of cover. taken from fb/shadows of the Eastern front