7.92 DS
Encyclopedia
The 7.92 mm DS was a Polish
7.92 mm anti-tank ammunition
designed specifically for use with the karabin przeciwpancerny wz.35 anti-tank rifle
. It was based on a standard 7.92x57mm Mauser
cartridge, but was much longer (107 mm as opposed to the 57 mm of Mauser cartridge) and was modified to provide higher muzzle velocity
and hence more penetrating power.
started the first tests of various low-calibre cartridges. After the tests of German-made Hagler bullets proved the possibilities of such ammunition in perforation of steel plates, the National Ammunition Factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna
was ordered to develop its own 7.92 mm cartridge with a muzzle velocity
of over 1000 metres per second. After a series of tests, a new DS cartridge was proposed.
The DS ammunition was based on a standard 7.92 mm cartridge used by both the Mauser rifles and the Polish Karabinek wz. 29. The length of the cartridge was extended to 131.2 mm and the overall weight
reached 64.25 g. After an additional series of tests the initial copper coating was replaced with coating made of brass (an alloy of 67% of copper and 23% of zinc).
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
7.92 mm anti-tank ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
designed specifically for use with the karabin przeciwpancerny wz.35 anti-tank rifle
Anti-tank rifle
An anti-tank rifle is a rifle designed to penetrate the armour of vehicles, particularly tanks. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I and until the Korean War...
. It was based on a standard 7.92x57mm Mauser
7.92x57mm Mauser
The 8×57mm IS is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. The 8×57mm IS was adopted by the German Empire in 1905, and was the German service cartridge in both World Wars...
cartridge, but was much longer (107 mm as opposed to the 57 mm of Mauser cartridge) and was modified to provide higher muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
and hence more penetrating power.
History
In the late 1920s, the Polish General Staff started the development of a light anti-tank weapon for the Polish infantry. In 1931, Lt. Colonel Tadeusz Felsztyn from the Institute of Armament Technology in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
started the first tests of various low-calibre cartridges. After the tests of German-made Hagler bullets proved the possibilities of such ammunition in perforation of steel plates, the National Ammunition Factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna
Skarzysko-Kamienna
Skarżysko-Kamienna is a town in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland by Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major towns...
was ordered to develop its own 7.92 mm cartridge with a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of over 1000 metres per second. After a series of tests, a new DS cartridge was proposed.
The DS ammunition was based on a standard 7.92 mm cartridge used by both the Mauser rifles and the Polish Karabinek wz. 29. The length of the cartridge was extended to 131.2 mm and the overall weight
Weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. Its magnitude , often denoted by an italic letter W, is the product of the mass m of the object and the magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus:...
reached 64.25 g. After an additional series of tests the initial copper coating was replaced with coating made of brass (an alloy of 67% of copper and 23% of zinc).