The Kb wz. 35, often referred to as "Maroszek" after its designer, was an anti-tank rifle used by Poland during World War II. The rifle was also referred to under the designation 'Kb Urugwaj' or Kb Uruguay as an attempt to hide its development.[1]
Description[]
The Kb wz. 35 used the 7.92×107mm DS Cartridge, capable of penetrating up to 30 mm of armor at 100 meters angled at 90˚ or 15 mm of armor at 300 m angled at 30˚. The weapon was bolt-action and possessed a four round magazine. A trained operator could average a rate of fire of about 9-10 rounds per minute. Due to the 1,274 meter per second muzzle velocity, the lifespan of the wz. 35's barrel was relatively short at 300 rounds per barrel. The iron sights of the weapon were fixed by default to 300 meters.[2] For better accuracy, the wz. 35 also comes equipped with a folding bipod.
The wz. 35 weighed about 9 kilograms unloaded (10 kg loaded[3]) and had an overall length of 1.76 meters. The rifle was shipped to front-line troops by wooden crate, sent alongside three spare barrels, three additional magazines, 32 rounds of ammunition, and a manual for proper operation.
In practice, the weapon was reliable, well capable of penetrating the armor of early war German armor, and could be used by two man anti-tank teams. It did have the drawback of being quite bulky to carry around however, as well as its weight which could slow down its users in combat.
History[]
The wz. 35 was developed and designed by Józef Maroszek near the beginning of 1935, with the army accepting the design by November.[4] Initially, its development was kept as secret as possible, leading to its crates bearing the name 'Surveillance Equipment', which was supposedly being exported to Uruguay. It was manufactured by Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów. It is unknown exactly how many examples were produced by the time of the Invasion of Poland, however it is known that at least about 6,500 rifles were produced by this time. The first large deliveries to army units began in April, 1939. Following the fall of Poland, many wz. 35 rifles were captured by the Germans, going into service under the designation Panzerbüchse 35(p) in Germany, and Fucile Controcarro 35(P) for those 800 guns sent to Italy. Before being captured, the designs for the weapon were destroyed by Polish forces, meaning that no more could be produced by Germany or any of the other Axis powers.
References[]
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