Hey everyone,
Welcome to Dev Brief #122!
This week we're going to preview the PPSh-41 and show off some of the faces that will represent the Soviet Union in-game!
The PPSh-41
The PPSh-41 was one of the Soviet Union's primary submachine guns of the Second World War. A simplified design made to be built rapidly with limited machining operations, the PPSh-41 used a heavy gauge steel stamping for most of its construction. It was originally issued with 71 round drum magazines copied from a Finnish design, but these were phased out in favor of more traditional stick type magazines.
Reliability was generally high even with the drum magazines, though these were complex and difficult to load. In addition, issues with manufacturing tolerances meant drum magazines were not readily interchangeable between guns. Drums needed to be properly "fitted" to their assigned submachine guns to feed reliably, though this was resolved somewhat by the introduction of the smaller 35 round stick types.
In combat, the PPSh-41 performed admirably. Soldiers appreciated the high fire rate and reliability in close-quarters combat, though the Soviet Union would eventually supplement the PPSh-41 in production with the even simpler PPS-43. The submachine gun as a class would form a major component of Soviet unit composition. Entire platoons would be equipped with PPSh-41s to spearhead an offensive action.
In Hell Let Loose, the PPSh-41 comes in two variants - one with a 35 round stick magazine and the other with the iconic 71 round drum magazine. While the stick magazine benefits from a faster reload and faster transition to ADS, it suffers from slightly increased recoil over time due to its lighter stick magazine. The drum magazine variant benefits from the increased magazine size and slightly lower sustained recoil due to its weight, but has a slower ADS transition and reload time.
Soldiers of the Soviet Union
In designing the faces of our Soviet faction, we endeavoured to take into account the historically broad array of different people groups that were brought together to fight a common enemy. Because of the need to muster every able man for the war effort, soldiers were conscripted from all over the USSR, from the Baltic sea to the Baikal.
Regardless of their origins, each and every Soviet soldier was equal in the face of combat.
That wraps up this week's Dev Brief!
What other weapons would you like to see in-game? Who's your favourite Soviet soldier so far? Let us know in the comments!
We'll see you on the frontline!