The Shpagin submachine gun is one of the most recognizable domestic small arms of the Second World War. I used PPSh sector and drum magazines (for 35 and 71 rounds, respectively) for 7.62x25 mm TT ammunition. And if everything is more or less clear with the equipment of the sector store, then the equipment of the "drum" is a real "adventure". However, the difficulty of equipping cartridges rests only on the skill of the shooter.
At the time of the outbreak of World War II, special machines for equipping magazines and drums for small arms did not yet exist. Ammunition had to be loaded manually in the field. And if with sector magazines for 20-40 cartridges this process does not seem at least in the least complicated and tedious (unless the fingers get tired), then with drum magazines everything is not so simple. Here you need skill, patience, and increased attention. This is a fair price to pay for the increased active ammunition load of the weapon.
Shpagin's submachine gun with a drum magazine is one of the symbols of the “weapon of Victory”. Looking at a store in a museum or cinema, few people think about how exactly it is equipped. This is, frankly, not an easy matter. First, the cover is removed from the drum by pushing the latch. After that, the spring is charged by rotating the opened mechanism in the center. The rotation is counterclockwise.
When the spring is fully cocked, the cartridges are loaded from the center of the magazine. Ammunition should be stacked very carefully, until they completely fill one of the sectors of the circle. The slightest negligence will provoke the fall of cartridges according to the domino principle and the whole sector (30 cartridges reconciled) will have to be laid on a new one. When all the cartridges are loaded, the spring turns clockwise, loosened in order to support the ammunition.
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As you could already understand, the Shpagin submachine gun store is a rather complex device. Periodically, it had to be cleaned and repaired, mainly disassembled in order to tighten the weakened spring, which is responsible for ejecting cartridges during firing. It should be noted that drum magazines were often not fully equipped by soldiers of the Red Army. First, because there was often no need for it. Secondly, the magazine with 71 rounds weighed a lot. Thirdly, the emptied magazines had to be replenished already in battle from spare cartridges in a duffel bag, and in such a situation 10, 20 or 30 cartridges could be put into the drum, instead of 71.
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At the same time, the partial equipment of the store was carried out somewhat differently. In this case, the cover was also removed from the drum. However, the spring did not turn out all the way, but only a little, and the cartridges were loaded not from the center, but from the point of exit from the drum.
Do you want to know even more interesting things? Then read the material dedicated to why American soldiers nicknamed the M1 Garand rifle "finger-breaker" and for which she was not loved.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/231219/52836/