For a long time there has been talk about the need to replace the obsolete PM pistol. Back in the 80s, the development of a promising pistol on the "Rook" theme was started. Samples of weapons were created that met the requirements of the military. These were SPS, GSh-18, PYa pistols and a modernized Makarov PMM pistol. The PMM pistol used 9x18 mm PMM cartridges with a lightweight conical bullet and an increased powder charge, the SPS pistol used powerful cartridges with a 9x21 mm armor-piercing bullet (the cartridge was made on the basis of a standard 9x18 mm cartridge case), 9x19 mm Para cartridges are used in GSH-18 and PYa, more precisely, their Russian counterparts 7N21 and 7N31 with increased bullet penetration. Let's delve deeper into history to understand the challenges posed to Russian gunsmiths.
First, let's go back to the post-war competition for a new pistol for the USSR army and police.
The revolver Nagant was adopted in tsarist Russia and by the beginning of the Second World War was considered a morally obsolete model. In Nagan, cartridges with a cylindrical bullet recessed into the sleeve with a low penetration and stopping effect were used. The advantages of the revolver were the simplicity and reliability of the design, the subsonic speed of the bullet and the ability to use a silencer, the absence of a breakthrough of powder gases between the drum and the barrel by pushing the drum onto the barrel, a fairly high accuracy and accuracy of fire at a distance of up to 50 m. The disadvantages include a weak cartridge and inconvenience of reloading the 7 charging drum.
The TT pistol was created in 1930 by the famous gunsmith Fyodor Tokarev and put into service under the name TT-33. The weapon uses an automatic recoil scheme with the barrel coupled to the bolt. The design resembles the Colt M1911 and Browning 1903 pistols. For firing, cartridges 7, 62x25 mm, created on the basis of the German Mauser cartridge, are used. A bullet of 7, 62 mm caliber carries an energy of about 500 J and has a high penetrating effect (capable of penetrating a Kevlar body armor without rigid elements). The pistol has a single-action trigger trigger in the form of a single block, instead of a fuse, the trigger is set to a safety platoon, the pistol uses a single-row magazine for 8 rounds. The advantages of TT include high accuracy and accuracy of fire at a distance of up to 50 m, a powerful cartridge with a high penetrating effect of a bullet, simplicity of design and the possibility of minor repairs. The disadvantages include insufficient stopping effect of the bullet, rather low survivability of the structure, danger in handling due to the lack of a full-fledged fuse, the possibility of spontaneous magazine falling out when the latch tooth is worn out, the inability to effectively use the muffler due to the supersonic speed of the bullet, and the absence of self-cocking.
The Makarov pistol was developed in accordance with the requirements of the military in the 1947-1948 competition to replace the TT pistol and the Nagant revolver.
PM pistol
The weapon was put into service in the pistol-cartridge complex. For firing, cartridges 9x18 mm with a round-nosed bullet of 9, 25 mm are used, which are slightly more powerful than the foreign cartridge 9x17 K. A bullet weighing 6, 1 gram leaves the PM barrel at a speed of 315 m / s and carries an energy of about 300 J. Standard army ammunition has a bullet with a mushroom-shaped steel core for increased penetration on non-solid objects. The stopping effect of a blunt-nosed bullet is quite high on an unprotected target, but the penetrating effect leaves much to be desired. In the 2000s, a 9x18 mm PBM cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet weighing only 3.7 g and a speed of 519 m / s was created. The armor penetration of the new cartridge is 5 mm at a distance of 10 m, while the recoil momentum has increased by only 4%. A slight increase in the recoil momentum allows the use of new ammunition in old PM pistols.
Cartridges 9x18mm PBM
The pistol outwardly resembles Walter PP, but this is only an outward resemblance. The internal structure is significantly different from the German. There are 32 parts in the pistol, many structural elements perform several functions. The PM has a double-acting trigger trigger with a convenient and reliable fuse (it blocks the trigger, trigger and bolt), uses a simple automatic operation scheme with a free breechblock, a single-row magazine for 8 rounds is used in the pistol. This is one of the most powerful pistols with a similar principle of automatic operation. Accuracy of fire for a pistol of this class is quite normal and is not inferior to other compact samples. On the basis of the PM, a silent pistol for the PB special forces was created.
The advantages of the pistol include: the highest reliability in operation and a high resource, simplicity of design, self-cocking, compactness and absence of sharp corners, sufficient stopping effect of a bullet on an unprotected target. The disadvantages include: low bullet penetration, inconvenient trigger (a matter of skill), inconvenient location of the magazine latch, insufficiently high accuracy of fire in comparison with full-size army pistols, insufficient magazine capacity by modern standards.
Despite the moral obsolescence of the design, the PM will be in service with many CIS countries and satellite states of the USSR for many years to come. The pistol was produced under license in the GDR, China, Bulgaria, Poland and a number of other countries.
To eliminate the shortcomings of the PM in the framework of the "Grach" program, a modernized pistol was created, which received the name PMM.
PMM pistol
By design, unification with PM is about 70%. The pistol has modifications with a magazine for 8 or 12 rounds (double-row with rebuilding in one row). The design difference from the PM is the presence of Revelli grooves in the chamber to slow down the opening of the bolt when fired. For firing, high-impulse cartridges 9x18 mm PMM are used with an initial velocity of a conical bullet of about 420 m / s and a recoil impulse by 15% more than the standard one. It is forbidden to use new cartridges in a conventional PM because of the danger of destruction of the structure during prolonged firing with a more powerful ammunition.
Cartridge 9x18mm PMM with a conical bullet weighing 5.8 g.
Although one of the PM's shortcomings was eliminated - the insufficient penetrating action of the bullet, the modernization was not able to correct all the shortcomings of the old design. The issue of increasing the accuracy of fire was not resolved, the store's capacity was still inferior to foreign counterparts of similar dimensions and weight, the store's spring worked with overvoltage. In addition to all this, the quality of weapons manufacturing fell sharply after the collapse of the USSR. Formally, the pistol was adopted by some services. The task of completely replacing PM in the army and police was not solved.
Another pistol developed under the Rook program was Yarygin's PYa pistol. Adopted by the army in 2003.
Yarygin pistol
The pistol uses a widespread interlocked breech automation scheme. The frame of the pistol is made of steel, although a version with a polymer frame has been created. USM pistol trigger double action, two-row magazine holds 18 rounds. For firing, cartridges are used 9x19 mm 7N21 with a speed of 5.4 g. Bullets of about 450 m / s. These cartridges are somewhat more powerful than their Western counterparts and have an increased penetrating effect of a bullet with a bare armor-piercing core.
The advantages of the pistol include: high accuracy of fire, good stopping and penetrating action of the bullet, good balance, large magazine capacity. The disadvantages include: poor workmanship (especially the first batches), low resource when firing 7N21 cartridges, insufficient reliability of the automation, angularity of the structure and the presence of sharp corners, a very tight magazine spring with sharp jaws.
With all its advantages, the PM turned out to be raw and could not fully replace the outdated PM. Many law enforcement officers preferred the old, reliable PM. According to some experts, the level of technology of the Yarygin pistol is the mid-70s and at the moment the pistol is inferior in many respects to foreign counterparts. On the basis of PYa, a sports pistol with a polymer frame "Viking" is produced, which has a weakened structure and a magazine for 10 rounds.
The next candidate for an army pistol was the Tula GSh-18. The pistol was created at the KBP under the supervision of two outstanding designers of missile and cannon armament Vasily Gryazev and Arkady Shipunov. Introduced into service in 2003. Produced in limited quantities since 2001.
Pistol GSh-18
The pistol has an automatic mechanism based on an interlocked bolt with a turn of the barrel, a striker-type trigger with two automatic fuses, a magazine capacity of 18 rounds. The frame of the pistol is made of polymer, the shutter-casing is stamped from 3-mm steel using welding, the barrel has polygonal grooves. The weapon turned out to be compact and lightweight. For firing, very powerful cartridges 9x19 mm PBP (index 7N31) with a bullet weighing 4, 1 g, a speed of 600 m / s and a muzzle energy of about 800 J. th class of protection.
Cartridges from left to right: normal 9x19 mm, 7N21, 7N31
Advantages of the pistol: small dimensions and weight, good stickiness, high accuracy of fire, powerful cartridge with high penetration and stopping action, large magazine capacity, high handling safety. Disadvantages: strong recoil due to the powerful cartridge and the low weight of the weapon itself, the front part of the shutter casing, open for dust and dirt, the tight spring of the store, low quality workmanship and finish.
The pistol was adopted by the prosecutor's office and is an award weapon. On the basis of GSH-18, sports pistols "Sport-1" and "Sport-2" are produced, which have minor differences from the combat model.
The SPS pistol was developed in Klimovsk by Petr Serdyukov in 1996. It is in service with the FSO and FSB.
Pistol SR-1MP
The weapon was created for firing at an enemy protected by a bulletproof vest or an enemy in transport. The pistol has an automatic mechanism with a locked bolt with a swinging cylinder (as in Beretta 92). Due to this, when fired, the barrel always moves parallel to the shutter-casing, which increases the accuracy of fire. The frame is made of polymer, trigger trigger double action with two automatic fuses, the magazine has a capacity of 18 rounds, sights are designed for a range of 100 m. Powerful cartridges of 9x21 mm are used for firing. Ammunition SP-10 (armor-piercing), SP-11 (low-ricochet), SP-12 (expansive) and SP-13 (armor-piercing tracer) were created. The SP-10 cartridge has a bullet weighing 6, 7 g with an initial velocity of 410 m / s. The bullet has a bare armor-piercing core and is capable of penetrating 5 mm steel plate at a distance of 50 m or standard US police body armor.
Armor-piercing cartridges 9x21 mm SP-10
The disadvantages of the pistol include large dimensions and weight, the use of rare ammunition, the inconvenience of an automatic safety device on the handle for people with short fingers.
On the basis of the SPS, the SR-1MP pistol was created with an enlarged safety key, a Picatinny rail, a mount for a silencer and an improved slide delay. At the moment, a pistol "Udav" has been created and is being tested on the basis of the Union of Right Forces.
There were attempts to adopt foreign-made weapons, for example, the Austrian Glock or the Russian-Italian Strizh. But these pistols did not pass Russian state tests for reliability in harsh conditions. The developers of the Strizh pistol announced the possibility of using Russian armor-piercing cartridges 9x19 mm 7N21 and 7N31 in their pistol.
At the Army-2015 forum, a prototype of the Kalashnikov pistol designed by Lebedev PL-14 was presented. The pistol has an automatic mechanism with an interlocked bolt, a striker-type trigger, an aluminum frame and a 15-round magazine. The ergonomics of the pistol are created taking into account the human anatomy, the pistol is very handy and easy to handle. When creating it, the developers consulted with IPSC athletes. When shooting, the widespread in the world cartridges 9x19 mm are used. In the future, it is planned to manufacture a version of the PL-14 with a polymer frame and barrels of various lengths.
The prototype of the pistol of the Kalashnikov concern PL-14
The most promising, it seems to me, is the development from scratch of a completely new pistol-cartridge complex for a small-caliber pistol cartridge. The Belgian FN Five-Seven pistol of 5, 7 mm caliber and the Chinese QSZ-92 of 5, 8 mm caliber can serve as an example of successful implementation of pistols for a powerful small-caliber cartridge into the power structures. The Belgian uses a cartridge 5, 7x28 mm with an SS190 armor-piercing bullet. The powder charge accelerates a light bullet weighing 2 g to a speed of 650 m / s. The bullet is capable of penetrating a bulletproof vest with a titanium plate with a thickness of 1, 6 mm and a bag of Kevlar fabric in 20 layers. Cartridges with expansive and tracer bullets were created. The automatic pistol uses the principle of a semi-free shutter, the trigger is only double-acting, the magazine capacity is 20 rounds. The frame of the pistol is made of polymer, and the steel casing-bolt is covered with a polymer shell.
The pistol is widely used by Mexican drug cartels for its ability to penetrate standard police body armor, and is also used by the US Secret Service.
FN Five-Seven pistol
Not much is known about the Chinese pistol. He uses cartridges 5, 8x21 mm with a bullet weighing 3 g and an initial speed of 500 m / s. The bullet is capable of piercing body armor that protects against the standard army 9x19 mm NATO. There is a version chambered for 9x19 mm. The rest of the pistol is unremarkable and inferior to the Belgian competitor in cartridge power and magazine capacity.
Chinese pistol QSZ-92
In the USSR, a PSM pistol was already created for a small-caliber cartridge of caliber 5, 45 mm. The pistol was created for concealed carrying by the leadership of the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A bullet weighing 2, 6 g had an energy of about 130 J, but due to its shape it pierced tens of layers of Kevlar.
As you can see, pistols chambered for a powerful small-caliber cartridge have huge advantages over their larger-caliber counterparts. The argument of critics of small-bore weapons is supposedly a small stopping effect, but there are also expansive bullets. And besides, even an ordinary high-velocity bullet creates a vast pulsating cavity around itself. The main advantages are seen as a large ammo, high flatness of the trajectory due to the high initial velocity of the bullet, low recoil and toss of the barrel, good armor penetration and high lethality. So what prevents Russian gunsmiths from creating a worthy analogue, taking, for example, the bullet of the standard low-impulse ammunition 5, 45x39 mm as a basis?
