The Shosh machine gun was called an individual weapon, which became famous not for positive moments, but won the glory of the worst machine gun with many shortcomings. The command of the French army and other countries used it as a weapon for soldiers during the First World War and in subsequent years.
Description of machine gun
The original appearance of the machine gun with a long barrel does not allow to confuse it with other weapon models of that time. The Shosha light machine gun in the design consists of a long barrel tube, under it there is a mechanism on a bulky box. Cartridges are fed from the lower semi-circular magazine, thin bipods protrude forward. Two wooden handles complete the picture, the buttstock looks asymmetrically short compared to the barrel.
The automatic operation of the machine gun is based on the principle of recoil of the barrel with a long movement, through which the mechanism for the subsequent supply of ammunition is launched. The larva engages with the trunk with lateral spacers and closes the channel. The constantly moving trigger fires single, continuous shots.
Aiming is done at the front sight against the backgroundsector sight. The described automatic scheme allows firing at a slow pace. Modern weapons theorists unequivocally speak of this class of trigger as an unnecessary principle, but in those war times, automatics with a low rate of combat were used quite widely.
Shosha pistol is characterized by two handles, one of which is located under the butt as a pistol model, the second is located under the long barrel to maintain balance when firing. Permanently installed on folding legs. Production does not require large material costs, so more than 200 thousand units of a kind of automatic machine are produced in a short time.
Use in combat
French military officials, immediately after the release of the first models, recognize the best weapon as a light machine gun-shotgun. The Shosh machine gun is rapidly moving from production workshops to trenches, its use is becoming popular. The weapon belongs to hand-held devices, as its weight does not exceed 10 kg with a carbine.
On the left side of the box there are holes that allow you to bring a belt into them for fastening behind your back when hiking like a rifle. The French army became famous for the concept of "wandering fire" due to the fact that the Shosh machine gun arr. 1915 allowed to shoot from the hip while walking and running over rough terrain.
Origin of weapons
The initial task of the designers was to create a self-loading machine gun or automatic lightrifles for firing standard Lebel shotgun cartridges. The ancestor of the weapon is the Swiss gunsmith of Hungarian origin Frommer. He is trying to introduce the invented rifle into the army of his country, but the tests revealed the failure of the weapon, and the government refused.
The restless inventor turns to the French, who decide to finalize the concept for equipping soldiers. Shosha automatic rifle gets its name from the name of the chairman of the French committee involved in the creation of this weapon. Letters C. S. R. G. appeared in the name of an automatic gun due to the name of all the constituent links of production. Clianchat (controlling link), Snlerre (engineer), Ribeyrolle (technologist), Gladiator (factory). Popular rumor called the machine gun by the name of the colonel of the French army Shosha.
Dignity of a machine gun
The design of weapons is being developed taking into account the possibility of its production in non-specialized factories. The Gladiator enterprise, which produced the first control batch, is a bicycle factory. The Shosh CSRG M1915 light machine gun is conquering the factory floors and becoming mass. The machine gun has few advantages:
- One of them is light weight, allowing the soldier to maneuver and shoot from different positions.
- The second positive quality is that the slow rate of fire does not allow the use of a large number of rounds, and the consumption of ammunition is significantly reduced.
- The third advantage is the low cost of manufacture and the simplicity of the device.
At this point, the positive characteristics of the weapon end. Without the end of the cycle of certain tests, the machine gun is sent to arm the army. And already a year after equipping it with an automatic rifle, they begin to massively remove it from the armories of active military formations. There were more disadvantages than advantages.
Flaws in machine gun design
The weapon is designed with visible flaws, for example, the larva in the barrel is constantly warped, the machine gun jams at critical moments. Dust and dirt constantly accumulate in a long pipe, which negatively affects the accuracy of shooting. The Shosh machine gun hits targets very mediocre due to the fact that more than 3 kg of heavy parts moved in a light rifle when fired.
Poor design and shape of the magazine does not allow all ammunition to enter the barrel in the correct position, the last rounds turn in the chamber rear end first. This leads to a stop of the device, requires disassembly and troubleshooting. In combat, this is a waste of time and promises defeat.
Very often the carbine spring becomes unusable and needs to be replaced, but in the field it is difficult. The innovation to reduce the weight of the machine gun in the form of windows on the walls of the magazine turns out that its unreliable operation is tested by additional dirt and dust in combat conditions.
Shosha light machine gun wonnegative attitude in that spare parts could fly out of it when fired. The receiver, the casing and the metal frame are fastened together with one bolt, which is not tightened firmly due to the thickness of the layer and is unscrewed from the hole under the action of vibration. The loss of the fastener ends with the cessation of firing.
Machine gun modifications
Changes in models over the years look like this:
- The Mle 1915 was released in 1915 using a French rifle cartridge.
- 1918 marked the beginning of the production of a machine gun for the use of the American cartridge of caliber 7, 62.
- Modification for Belgian cartridges 7, 65 put into production in 1927.
Using the machine gun in other countries
Characteristics of lame quality could not attract other countries to purchase such a machine gun, but this turned out not to be the case. An order from the director of the American Army's War Department was enough to move about 16,000 weapons to the battlefields in eastern France to equip the American soldiers who fought there.
At the same time, Colonel Isaac Lewis is setting up the production of reliable machine guns in America, but the head of the department, due to personal dislike for him, opts for low-quality weapons and supplies the Shosh machine gun to the army. Americans, accustomed to a comfortable war, did not practice such weapons for a long time. While one of the soldiers fired, two more quickly tried to load failing magazines.
The director of the military department decides to release a new modification under the American cartridge and in 1918 produces a batch of updated Shosh machine guns in the amount of more than 19 thousand pieces. The new model is not much better than the first. The number of rounds in the magazine is reduced to 16, and an error in the blueprints turns the barrel chamber into an awkwardly shaped design, making it difficult to remove cartridges.
Application of Shosh automatic rifle in Russia
During the First World War at the end of 1916, the Russian Empire supplied 500 Shosh machine guns from France. A further period of hostilities required the transfer of the French invention in the amount of 5600 units. This weapon was successfully and not very used by the Red Army for the conduct of the civil war. Use continued after it ended.
Western countries
In France, the machine gun of F. Chauchat C. S. R. G. 1915, chambered for regular production, used for arming the army in early 1915, but withdrawn from use in 1924.
The First World War is typical for the German Empire arming the army with a small number of automatic machine guns obtained as trophies in military operations in the western direction of the front. During World War II, the Third Reich also uses the captured Shosha machine gun in modification for French, Belgian and Yugoslav cartridges.
Finland equips the soldiers of its army with machine guns twice - during the Finnish-Soviet war and in the war against the Soviet Union until 1944. Suppliesmeans the purchase of 5 thousand pieces of machine guns.
Romania, which took part in the First World War, uses 7200 weapons for the entire period. At the same time, 5,000 rifles are being delivered to Poland. In Italy, the command quickly understands what a Shosh machine gun is, so automatic rifles did not win a visible advantage. But a certain amount is provided for arming the crews of armored vehicles.
Actions for dismantling the machine gun Shosh 1915
- The machine gun is unloading.
- By pressing the stopper behind the box, the butt plate is removed from below along with the springs.
- The springs are separated, then the stop sleeve is removed.
- The casing is separated from the box by pulling the cocking handle back, the connection bolt is removed, the contactor is turned head down.
- Remove the rammer with the cocking handle and the direction bar and take it out of the hole in the receiver.
- After removing the box, the trigger is disassembled.
Automatic machine gun is assembled in reverse order.
Expert opinions on weapon design
R. Lidshun, G. Vollert describe in their book “Small Arms Yesterday” the Shosha machine gun as a weapon acceptable for use by infantrymen, since a soldier can carry it on himself during an assault. If we talk about massive use, then such machine guns significantly increased firepower during an attack and retreat. In the modern world, the importance of weapons has been reduced to nothing, but in that situation, their use was justified.
Knowledge about the history of France says that this country was out of step with the world of that time, hence the creation of a machine gun. This rifle is a bone of contention among American gun connoisseurs. Many enthusiasts argue that the machine gun should have been welded tightly and not used in hostilities. Such thoughts are expressed by Ford R. in the book "Infernal Mowerman".
The Russian commander Fedorov believed that a machine gun-shaped rifle, characterized by a long recoil, was considered obsolete, and easier shooting was achieved by shortening the barrel.
So, the 1915 Shosh machine gun is considered not a very successful example of an automatic weapon. Its use in combat by many countries suggests that this machine gun was one of the first prototypes of subsequent successful models.
