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7.62x54mm Russian


7.62x54mmR


Overview


7.62x54mm Russian

Picture of lead core full metal jacket (FMJ) 7.62x54mm Russian produced in Romania in 2021.
Source: www.globalordnance.com - © Copyright lies with original owner

Origin
Russia
Type
Rifle cartridge
Entered service
1891
Status
In service
Development
1880's
Developer
Russia
N.F. Rogovtsev
Soviet Union - TsNIITochMash
Most Cold War bullet designs
Production
1880's - Present
Producer
Russia
Soviet Union
Produced in many nations with or without license
Number produced
Hundreds of millions
Designations
Трехлинейный патрон образца 1891 года
Russian for "three-line cartridge model of 1891"
7.62x54mmR (R denotes rimmed)

Description


Introduction

The 7.62x54mm Russian cartridge is a pre-World War 1 rifle cartridge developed in Imperial Russia. The Russo-Japanese war showed the need for a faster spitzer type bullet. With its widespread service out to this day this is one of the oldest firearms cartridges still in active service. While designed for the Mosin-Nagant rifle, it is nowadays mostly known for its use in medium machine guns.

Design

The 7.62x54mm Soviet cartridge uses a rimmed, slightly tapered and bottlenecked case. Initially round nosed bullet was used, this was changed to a spitzer type bullet in 1917. In the Cold War era the production costs were reduced by introducing steel cases and bimetallic jackets for steel core bullets. Various bullet designs were improved as well, such as the tracer and armor piercing rounds. In the late 1960's the first sniper ammunition was introduced.

Weapon systems

The 7.62x54mm Soviet cartridge was introduced with the Mosin-Nagant rifle and saw widespread service in World War 1, World War 2 and various Cold War conflicts. The SVT-40 is one of the few semi-automatic rifle designs in this cartridge. The tapered and rimmed case design makes magazine design difficult. In machine gun belts the rimmed case is less of an issue. The Maxim M1910 water-cooled machine gun saw widespread service. The DP light machine gun uses a pan magazine to deal with the rimmed case. Belt-fed machine guns proved more successful and include the crew served SG-43 and universal PK machine guns. These are in widespread infantry service and also feature as coaxial armament on Soviet tanks and armored vehicles.

Performance

The standard ball round has a 9.6 g bullet with a muzzle velocity of 828 m/s and about 3.700 J energy. The bullet remains supersonic out to over 800 meters. When used from a tripod or as a coaxial machine gun the maximum effective range against area targets is up to 1.5 km. Armor piercing rounds are mostly cost-effective to produce with their hardened steel cores, but are often less effective than more expensive foreign designs. Sniper grade ammunition is sufficient for the military marksman role, but lacks the choice and quality in match grade loads as its 7.62x51mm NATO counterpart.

Users

The 7.62x54mm Russian is one of the most produced cartridges in the world and has been in service for over 130 years. Initially it was used primarily by Imperial Russian, and later Soviet forces, in both World Wars. After World War 2 its use was vastly expanded by becoming standard issue for machine guns in Warsaw Pact states and China. Subsequently many nations in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America that were aligned with the the USSR or China received large quantities. This makes the cartridge used in nearly every conflict for the last few decades.

Variants


Ball ammunition

57-N-323
Standard ball ammunition with lead core and copper sleeve.
57-N-323S
Modern production general purpose ammunition with mild steel core. Developed post-WW2 at TsNIITochMash and accepted in 1953.

Tracer ammunition

57-T-322
Tracer ammunition with T-46 tracer bullet. Accepted for service in 1938.
7T2
Tracer ammunition introduced in the early 1970's. Derived from the T-46, with a slower burning tracer lasts out to 850 m.
7T2M
Updated 7T2 tracer ammunition with ignition at a distance of 80 to 120 meters from the barrel to obscure the firing position. Developed at TsNIITochMash in 1990.
7BT1
Armor piercing tracer using a BT-90 bullet design. Similar tracer performance as 7T2M.

Sniper ammunition

7N1
Sniper round designed for improved and more consistent accuracy. Developed at TNIITochMash and accepted for service in 1967. Features a small air cavity in the nose.
7N14
Armor piercing sniper ammunition. Has the heat strengthened steel core similar to 7N13, but dimensions and weight of 7N1 to mimic its ballistic performance.

Armor piercing ammunition

57-B-222
Armor piercing ammunition with B-30 steel core. Adopted in 1930.
57-BZ-322
Armor piercing incendiary ammunition accepted for service in 1932.
BS-40
Armor piercing ammunition with heavy tungsten penetrator and incendiary pellet in the nose.
7BZ3
Armor piercing incendiary ammunition with tracer. Updated B-32 design accepted for service in 1954.
7N13
Armor piercing ammunition for use against personnel using body armor. Heat strengthened steel core. Developed at Barnaul in the early 1990's and accepted for service in 1995.
7N26
Armor piercing ammunition with heat strengthened steel core. Similar design to 7N13 introduced in 2002.
7N37
Armor piercing ammunition with tungsten carbine penetrator.

Blanks

57-X-322
Blank cartridge with brass sleeve.
57-X-323
Blank cartridge with a bimetallic sleeve.

Special ammunition

57-ZP-322
Ranging ammunition with PZ incendiary bullet. Explodes with a red effect upon impact.
7ZP2
Updated ranging ammunition with steel case instead of brass.
57-N-323U
Subsonic ammunition with reduced propellant charge.

Details


Facts 57-N-323S
General
Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Rifle cartridge
Overall
Ammunition class
7.62x54mm Russian
Ammunition type
Full metal jacket
Total weight
21.8 g
Total length
77.15 mm
Color/markings
Silver tip up to 1978, none after
Projectile
Diameter
7.92 mm
Type
Full metal jacket
Weight
9.6 g
Filler
Mild steel core in copper jacket
Tracer
No
Case
Type
Rimmed, tapered, bottlenecked
Material
Steel
Length
53.72 mm
Diameter
14.48 mm rim
12.37 mm base
11.61 mm shoulder
8.53 mm neck
Primer
Berdan
Pressure
390 MPA maximum
Performance
Muzzle velocity
828 m/s
Muzzle energy
3.291 J
Penetration
6 mm steel at 520 m
Precision
50% in 90 mm circle at 300 m

Media


Notable weapons in 7.62x54mm Russian


Tokarev SVT-40

Russian self-loading rifle produced during World War 2.

Dragunov SVD

Soviet semi-automatic marksman rifle. Notable for being one of the first sniper rifles purposely developed from the ground up for military service.

PSL

The Romanian PSL is an upscaled Kalashnikov rifle in 7.62x54mm Soviet for us as a marksman rifle.

SV-98

Russian bolt-action sniper rifle introduced in the mid 2000's.

Degtyarev DP-27

Soviet light machine gun using 47 round pan magazines.

RP-46

Early Cold War era Soviet belt-fed machine gun derived from the DP light machine gun.

Kalashnikov PK

Soviet Cold War era general purpose machine gun produced in large numbers.

Kalashnikov PKT

Vehicle machine gun derived from the PK. Used in large number as a coaxial machine gun on late Cold War era Soviet and modern Russian vehicles.

Goryunov SG-43

Soviet machine gun with heavy barrel for use on a wheeled mount and vehicle mounts. Used during World War 2 and throughout the Cold War.

GShG-7.62

Soviet gas operated multi-barrel vehicle machine gun.