In previous articles about small-sized submachine guns, models of weapons were described that were powered by a "standard" cartridge 5, 45x39. These weapons were intended to arm those military personnel who use them exclusively as a means of self-defense, and not as the main type of weapon. Despite the fact that the "Modern" competition was completed and as a result of its holding a small-sized machine gun AKS74U, popularly known as "Ksyusha", appeared, not everyone was satisfied with this result. It is thanks to this that several more samples of small-sized machines appeared, among which there were quite interesting specimens. I propose to get acquainted with this weapon in this article, although it may seem boring to many.
It should be noted right away that new models of small-sized submachine guns were already created for slightly different requirements than the weapons of the "Modern" competition. So, if earlier the small dimensions of the weapon were due to the fact that it had to be stored inside armored vehicles and without any problems getting it if necessary, now the weight and dimensions of the weapon caused the constant wearing of a small-sized machine gun. Such machines were created as weapons that could be carried hidden and at the same time effectively used against protected targets and targets behind light shelters. In addition, the weapon was required to confidently defeat the enemy on impact, and a relatively short range of use in order to avoid accidental casualties. That is, the machine gun had to use sufficiently powerful ammunition, with a heavy bullet capable of piercing personal body armor. Well, naturally, cartridge 5, 45x39 could not boast of such properties. To reduce costs, it was decided not to develop a new ammunition, but to choose the most suitable of the existing ones, they turned out to be special 9x39 cartridges. Naturally, these cartridges were not at all cheap, and the effective range of weapons using such ammunition does not at all exclude casualties among the civilian population at a distance of 200-300 meters from the shooter, but in general they are certainly better suited for the assigned tasks in comparison with 5, 45x39. I think that we should start with acquaintance with cartridges for weapons.
Initially, special 9x39 cartridges, of course, were created for completely different purposes, and not for small-sized machines. These ammunition were designed, first of all, for silent weapons that would effectively "work" on targets protected by personal protective equipment. As you know, the sound of a shot is made up of several components: equalization of the pressure of the powder gases with the pressure of the environment, the sound of the automatic operation, as well as the sound of the bullet flight, which is present if the bullet moves at a speed exceeding the speed of sound. So, if a silent firing device can fight powder gases, automation can be silent or rather very quiet, then a bullet must move at a subsonic speed to achieve the effect of soundlessness. Work on ammunition for silent weapons has been going on for a very long time, but in order not to turn the article on small-sized machine guns into an article on cartridges, we will limit ourselves only to the predecessor of the 9x39 cartridges.
For the successful use of weapons together with silent firing devices, in the middle of the last century, cartridge 7, 62x39US was developed, the bullet of which had a lower velocity in comparison with standard cartridges. These ammunition were quite effective for firing at an enemy unprotected by means of individual body armor at distances below average, and since body armor became more and more popular and became more and more perfect, the question arose about the modernization of these cartridges in order to improve their characteristics. One of the main characteristics of a weapon cartridge is the kinetic energy of a bullet, which depends on two parameters: the speed of the bullet and its weight. Since the speed of the bullet cannot be increased more than the speed of sound, the only way out of the situation is to increase its mass, which means an increase in the size of the bullet. The caliber of the new cartridges was equal to 9 millimeters, but even then everything turned out to be not so simple. It was not enough just to increase the bullet "nonsense", as its armor-piercing qualities left much to be desired, so we had to work on the design of the bullet so that it would be effective when hitting body armor. But first things first, especially since there are 3 options for 9x39 cartridges.
The first version of the 9x39 cartridge is designated SP-5. This ammunition is considered "sniper" and is recommended for use against opponents not protected by personal body armor. To be honest, I would not attribute this cartridge to high-precision, but since among 9x39 its bullet shows the highest accuracy in accuracy, then so be it, let it be "sniper". The bullet of the SP-5 cartridge has a weight of 16 grams, has an armor-piercing core, hidden under a bimetallic shell. The length of the bullet itself is equal to 36 millimeters, which turned out to be close to ideal, so that with its weight relatively high ballistic characteristics are provided. The SP-6 cartridge is already a purely armor-piercing version. It has a longer bullet with a weight of 16.2 grams and a core protruding from the bullet shell, painted black. Thus, these two cartridges were divided into "sniper" and "armor-piercing", now I propose to compare how logical it is. The speed of the bullets of both cartridges is kept in the subsonic limit, the kinetic energy of the bullets does not exceed 700 Joules, the SP-6 is guaranteed to penetrate a sheet of steel 8 millimeters thick at a distance of up to 100 meters, the same indicators are for SP-5, but already with a sheet of steel 6 mm … Thus, it seems to me that the SP-6 is nothing more than a development of the SP-5 cartridge, in which they simply preferred more penetrating ability, slightly reducing the accuracy. In addition to these two options for ammunition, there is a third PAB-9 (automatic armor-piercing cartridge). This ammunition was made as a further development of the SP-6, in which the bullet weight was increased to 17 grams, and there is also an increase in speed, but all this further worsened the accuracy of accuracy, so this cartridge is usually considered the worst and for some unknown reason. due to the cheaper version of 9x39 ammunition. All these cartridges are used in weapons that are designed with the expectation of silent use, because the speed of the bullets of the cartridges is lower than the sound one, and since the weight of the bullet cannot be increased indefinitely, the kinetic energy of the bullets remains quite small. All this is more or less acceptable in a silent weapon, but we are talking about using it in small-sized submachine guns, so I, for example, do not understand why it was impossible to add “meters per second” to the bullets of these cartridges to the eyeballs. However, everything still rests on the fact that the assault rifles considered below should have had a range slightly higher than submachine guns, but with a higher efficiency, so that it was possible to work on targets with one or two hits and reduce the number of accidental victims.
Actually, this is how we approached the discussion of small-sized machines for these cartridges. I will note that there will be no VSS and AU, with which these ammunition are usually associated, but there will be quite ordinary weapons, if that is how you can call small-sized submachine guns. And let's start actually with a Kalashnikov assault rifle for this ammunition, because this weapon had very great chances to go into mass production, but, oddly enough, this did not happen and even the fact that the production was actually ready for the mass production of this assault rifle did not help. We are talking about a small-sized machine OTs-11 or "Tiss".
We will not talk a lot about this weapon, since the Kalashnikov assault rifle is known to everyone. Actually, the designers were counting on the fact that the weapon is as unified as possible with the widespread AKS74U model, because everyone knows the reluctance to establish the production of new models, and here everything is actually ready, just give the go-ahead to the beginning. The designers of this weapon are Telesh and Lebedev, or rather, in this case, they did not design it, but adapted it for a new ammunition, which is also quite difficult if there is a desire for the resulting modification to work for a long time and without failure. The completion of the modernization work took place in 1993, it was by that time that the weapon was completely ready. In the same year, about a hundred automatic machines were created, which were given to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for "running in". The weapon received a lot of positive reviews, it was separately mentioned about the high efficiency of the assault rifles in comparison with the AKS74U, but for some unknown reason, the weapon was never launched into mass production. Although it seemed that in this case, this model of a small-sized machine gun is simply doomed to success, due to its almost complete similarity with the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the production of which has long been mastered and established.
Naturally, the changes were not entirely unchanged. In the weapon, the barrel, the muzzle device was replaced, the breech was slightly changed, and the magazine also demanded to be replaced, which became with a capacity of 20 rounds. For the rest, it was AKS74U down to the smallest detail. The weapon worked due to the removal of powder gases from the bore, the bore was locked with a bolt when turned by two lugs. Separately, it should be noted that the sights of the weapon have been changed, which have become more convenient.
The small-sized machine gun OTs-11 "Tiss" favorably differed from the "Ksyusha" with a new ammunition, which gave fewer ricochets, had a greater stopping effect and greater armor-piercing, and the weapon also had less recoil, which increased the accuracy of automatic fire. In addition, the complete similarity with the AKS74U in servicing and controlling weapons made it a truly promising model, but did not grow together. There are several reasons for this, but the main one was still in the banal lack of funds. In addition, this weapon did not fit a little with the requirements for hidden carrying, so that as a result, the Yess flew like plywood over Paris, breaking the myth that only AK or something that looks like AK is accepted for service. As it turned out, not only the similarity with the Kalashnikov assault rifle plays a role, but also the availability of money.
The second sample, which I propose to get acquainted with, is more interesting, since it was developed completely from scratch, and, in my humble opinion, is the best of the three small-sized machines presented in this article. In fact, in this small-sized assault rifle, the designers managed to achieve what they could not achieve in the Modern competition - an assault rifle equal in size and weight to a submachine gun. So, just imagine a small-sized machine gun named 9A-91 chambered for 9x39 cartridges.
At first glance at this weapon, it is very difficult to determine that you have a submachine gun or a small-sized machine gun in front of you, except that the weapon store gives out what ammunition is used in it. This small-sized assault rifle is really very compact and light, its length with the stock folded is only 383 millimeters, with the stock unfolded, its length grows to 604 millimeters. It is noteworthy that the butt itself folds up, and in the folded state it is very difficult to determine its presence at all, it fits so well and does not protrude anywhere. By the way, the weapon in general turned out to be very compact and without elements protruding far beyond its borders, so if you have a good physique, you can talk about the hidden wearing of this sample of a small-sized machine gun, however, despite the dimensions and design for hidden carrying, the physique should be very good, and clothes should be adapted to hide these weapons from prying eyes - not a pistol after all.
This small-sized machine gun was developed in parallel to the more well-known model SR-3 "Whirlwind", but not by the Klimov designers, but by the Tula designers from the KBP. This sample was intended specifically for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and security, despite the rather expensive ammunition used in weapons. As a result, the gunsmiths managed to create a relatively powerful and certainly compact version of the weapon with an effective firing range of up to 200 meters against opponents protected by personal protective equipment and located behind light shelters. Despite the not very widespread popularity of this model of the small-sized assault rifle 9A-91, it really has been a serial model since 1994, which speaks of it as a really good example of a weapon that can compete for the championship with the well-known Whirlwind.
The basis of the new weapon was automation, working on powder gases discharged from the bore of the machine gun. The barrel bore is locked when the bolt is turned by 4 lugs. Actually, the automation system is quite understandable, and one might even say "classic", nothing stands out from the total mass of weapons. But the weapon controls are really interestingly implemented in order to reduce the size of a small-sized machine gun. First of all, you need to note the butt in this, which was mentioned earlier. The fact is that it really lays down in such a way that you won't immediately understand that it is. He absolutely does not cling to anything, even if you try to do it on purpose and, more importantly, he does not interfere with the use of the weapon in the folded state. The second interesting element is the slider for the fuse and fire mode switch. This is really a slider that moves horizontally, and it is located in such a way that it can be switched in both directions with the index finger of the hand holding the pistol grip, which is especially convenient when bringing the weapon into combat readiness when it is required to do it instantly. Well, I think it will be superfluous to talk about the trigger and the store retainer. In its original version, the small-sized machine gun 9A-91 was equipped with a flame arrester, which was subsequently abandoned, virtually without damage to the weapon. It is also worth noting that, despite its not the largest weight of 2.1 kilograms, the weapon is completely made in metal, the only plastic parts are the forend halves and the pistol grip, which provides the weapon with a sufficiently high mechanical strength even with the most barbaric handling. But in terms of reliability in adverse conditions, everything turned out to be far from smooth. The fact is that, in fact, the openness of the entire insides of the small-sized machine 9A-91 made it very, very susceptible to various kinds of pollution. Of course, weapons carry fine dust and a small amount of sand, but in general they have a very negative attitude to any external "irritant". However, if we think logically, then the purpose of the weapon provides for its use in fact in "sterile" conditions, although the safety margin of the 9A-91 would obviously not be superfluous, but there seems to be no complaints about this.
Based on all of the above, we can conclude that the weapon turned out to be not only compact, but also very convenient to use. Perhaps the only drawback of this small-sized machine gun can only be called the sighting devices, which are made very small and with a fairly short sighting line, but it is quite enough for effective fire at a distance of up to 200 meters. In addition to open sights, consisting of a rear sight and a front sight, on the left side of the weapon there is a seat for installing additional sighting devices that can make the weapon more convenient to use. In addition, you cannot pass by a direct magazine of weapons with a capacity of 20 rounds, which can easily fit in a pocket and does not have any protruding elements that can catch on clothes when removed. So whatever one may say, this small-sized machine fully meets all the requirements.
It is noteworthy that the standard cartridge for this machine was not SP-5 or SP-6, but PAB-9. This happened because in the production of this ammunition is a little cheaper in terms of materials, although the production itself is just as laborious. In view of this, when adopting a small-sized machine gun 9A-91, they decided to save at least a little. However, the fact that of the entire three PAB-9 ammunition is the cartridge with the lowest accuracy, in fact, is not reflected in the practical use of weapons up to 200 meters. So, the bullet of this cartridge pierces all body armor up to the 3rd class, inclusive, and is also capable of piercing a sheet of steel 8 millimeters thick at a distance of up to 100 meters, which is enough to complete the tasks set for such a weapon.
It is also noteworthy that in addition to the variant chambered for 9x39 cartridges, budget versions of weapons were developed for cartridges 5, 45 and 7, 62 ("budget" in the cost of ammunition), as well as an export version chambered for NATO 5, 56, but these spread options for a small-sized machine were not received. On the creation of weapons for various cartridges, the designers did not calm down and decided to equip this small-sized machine gun with a silent firing device, and also! ATTENTION! underbarrel grenade launcher. However, the latter could not be carried out in view of the small mass of the weapon and its design, which, although it could withstand a shot from an under-barrel grenade launcher, but there were no shooters. Thus, before the same "Whirlwind" small-sized machine 9A-91 has a tangible advantage in the form of its own silent firing device and a wide range of ammunition. In addition, this small-sized machine gun became the basis for the creation of such weapons as the VSK-94, which is a clear competitor to the VSS, although it loses in some cases. In general, in my opinion, the 9A-91 is a clear leader among small-sized assault rifles chambered for 9x39.
And finally, the last small-sized machine gun in this article and in the entire series of articles is the CP-3 "Whirlwind". This small-sized machine gun was created for the same purposes as the previous ones, the main requirement for the creation of this weapon was its small size and weight, which the designers managed to achieve, at least in the first version of the weapon. This small-sized machine gun was supposed to become the main weapon when protecting government officials, conducting anti-terrorist operations, and also in the future to replace the AKS74U in service with the army as a personal weapon for armored vehicle crews, drivers, and so on, which is due to the higher cost of 9x39 ammunition compared to 5, 45x39 did not happen and will not happen, which cannot but grieve. Nevertheless, the small-sized Whirlwind assault rifle is a fairly well-known model of weapons, mainly due to the interest in 9x39 cartridges, but this sample is not a silent weapon, unlike the AC and VSS, without PBS, at least.
This small-sized submachine gun is made on the basis of a special “Val” submachine gun, from which it borrowed many elements, including automation, which works on the basis of the removal of powder gases from the barrel of the weapon, allows firing both single shots and a burst. The barrel bore is locked when the bolt is turned by 6 lugs. In general, to be honest, "Whirlwind" can be called "Shaft" with minor changes that were made due to the lack of noiselessness and the reduction in the size of the weapon. So, the barrel of a small-sized machine gun does not have holes for removing powder gases, and the receiver is reduced where possible. The mass of the small-sized machine gun SR-3 "Whirlwind" is 2 kilograms, while the length of the weapon with the butt folded is 360 millimeters, with the butt unfolded - 610. The barrel length of the weapon is 156 millimeters. The machine is powered by detachable magazines with a capacity of 10 and 20 rounds, the rate of fire from the weapon is 900 rounds per minute. The effective range of the small-sized assault rifle is 200 meters, which is not surprising with a 156 mm barrel.
A remarkable point is that the CP-3 does not have the ability to install a silent firing device, unlike its later modification. The butt of a small-sized machine gun folds up and does not interfere with sufficiently effective fire when folded. The barrel of the weapon is not equipped with a flame arrester. The trigger mechanism of the weapon is completely identical to the trigger of the "Val" machine gun, but the controls have been changed. So, the fuse switch is placed on both sides of the weapon and is made more convenient and accessible for switching. And the fire mode switch is made in the form of a button behind the trigger, which moves across the weapon, which, in my opinion, is very inconvenient, but this is a matter of taste and habit. The bolt handle of the weapon was replaced by two protrusions that were brought forward and located above the forend of the weapon, which is also not at all the best solution, since you can easily injure your fingers if you have an unsuccessful grip on the forend. So in this case, the plus from the smaller thickness of the weapon is quite controversial, although reloading with such controls is undoubtedly more convenient for a small-sized machine gun. Of the plastic parts in the weapon, there is only a pistol grip and a forend, everything else is metal, despite the low weight of the weapon, which makes this small-sized machine quite durable. The sights of the weapon are simple, they consist of a rear sight and front sight with a short aiming line, which, in principle, is enough to conduct effective fire at distances of up to 200 meters. The height of the sighting devices may seem excessive, but this is done so that they can be used when the butt of the weapon is folded, so the height of the rear sight and front sight is quite justified.
Despite all of the above, "Whirlwind" did not last long in this form. After the adoption of a small-sized machine gun, the FSB almost immediately put forward new requirements for a small-sized model. And the requirements were virtually impossible to implement, since they had to endow the "Vortex" with the capabilities and characteristics of the special machine "Val" and the accuracy of the special sniper rifle "Vintorez". Since the requirements were put forward, the designers fulfilled them as much as they could, sacrificing virtually everything in weapons that made it unique in its kind. This is how the SR-3M appeared.
First of all, the changes affected the mass and dimensions of the weapon. The length of the small-sized assault rifle increased to 410 millimeters with the stock folded and up to 675 with the unfolded stock, while the stock itself was now folded to the left side and was borrowed from a special “Val” machine gun. At the same time, it is interesting that the sighting devices remained the same high from the CP-3, but in addition to them, a mounting bar for additional devices appeared on the left side of the weapon. Naturally, it became possible to install a silent firing device, together with which the length of the weapon was equal to 970 millimeters with the butt unfolded and 700 millimeters with the folded one. Firing from a weapon with a folded stock remained possible, however, the stock overlapped the forend, which made holding the small-sized machine gun completely inconvenient, so an additional handle was screwed to the forend.
Much has remained unchanged. So, the automatics of the weapon still worked on powder gases discharged from the barrel bore, and the barrel bore itself was locked when the bolt was turned by 6 protrusions. The firing mechanism also remained from the special Val submachine gun, allowing firing with single shots and a burst. The bolt protrusions brought forward were replaced by one handle, which is located in its "classic" place. The safety switch in the position when the weapon is completely safe is located in such a way that it is not possible to pull the bolt to the end. The fire mode switch is made in the form of a lever swinging in the transverse plane, located immediately behind the trigger of the weapon. In addition, for weapons, magazines with a larger capacity for 30 rounds have appeared, but the previous versions for 10 and 20 rounds can be used.
Thus, a kind of mutant has turned out, striving for universality, which, as you know, cannot be achieved in the arms business, and the desire for this universality ends with just the result that is described. As a result of not the most reasonable requirements that were put forward during the modernization of the SR-3, the weapon lost its main advantages over the 9A-91, making it the absolute leader among small-sized assault rifles chambered for 9x39. At the same time, the 9A-91 initially had the ability to install a silent firing device, which allowed it to jump out slightly ahead of the CP-3. Nevertheless, both small-sized assault rifles are mass-produced and are in service, although from an economic point of view, the Whirlwind still has an advantage, since it is very tightly unified with the special Val assault rifle. On the other hand, 9A-91 can boast that it is not alone, thanks to the VSK-94. But if with the VSK-94 not everything is as the designers would like, then among the small-sized machine guns chambered for 9x39 they won an unconditional victory. However, here it is impossible to say that someone has worked better than someone else. Both that and that model came out quite worthy, but the fact that the "Whirlwind" as a small-sized machine loses 9A-91 can be explained by the dubious requirements that were put forward by the designers. Plus, do not forget that at the time when this weapon was created, such a wonderful thing as “modularity” had just begun to be thought of in our country, and now you can actually see the first and somewhere awkward steps in this direction. Also, do not forget that the time of the creation of this weapon fell on the beginning of the 90s, and the time was quite difficult, including for the "defense industry".
I would not be me if I did not remember the question that pops up in each of the three articles about small-sized machines. This question is how applicable such a weapon is in the urban area of a peaceful city, and it arises primarily because the PPS is armed with just one of the small-sized assault rifles of the Modern competition - AKS74U. There can be at least two opinions here: the opinion of a simple resident of the city and the opinion of the one who is armed with such a weapon, the opinion of who will be fired upon, I think, can be ignored. The weapon uses a cartridge 5, 45x39, that is, a full-fledged ammunition, which can fly far enough and with good speed even from the short barrel of the "Ksyusha" unexpectedly a bullet that is not intended for you at all. Accordingly, with such a probability, the opinion of a civilian who loves bread will be very negative to such a weapon. The shooter who used the weapon will not have the most positive opinion, since, firstly, he will then have to explain for a long time and dreary why the bullet flew not where he wanted, and secondly, 5, 45 is far from an ideal cartridge, which will be able to stop the enemy from the first hit. So the shooter is not happy with such a weapon, respectively, in this case, the best option would be a submachine gun with any "evil" bullets that will turn everything inside when hit, but do not fly long distances. The only drawback of such a weapon is that if the enemy is protected by a bulletproof vest, then such a bullet will not penetrate him the fastest. However, there are two arguments to counterbalance: criminals in bulletproof vests do not go so often, and even after a bullet hits a bulletproof vest, only in the movies the hero remains capable and does not notice hits at all. It seems that things are better with 9x39 ammunition and weapons for them. It flies close in a straight line, has good armor-piercing and a good stopping effect in comparison with 5, 45, however, weapons and cartridges are expensive. And despite the fact that the bullet speed is low, and the flight range is small, the cartridge still remains "automatic" with all the ensuing consequences. From this we can conclude that small-sized assault rifles can only be used in a military environment, and are not intended for mass armament in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the end, you can adopt a submachine gun chambered for 9x21, equip it with conventional ammunition, and just in case keep a magazine with armor-piercing, more expensive cartridges. Of course, the Ministry of Internal Affairs needs both full-fledged and small-sized and special machines, but they should not be used everywhere, no matter how cheap and cheerful it is. But this is just my opinion on the vision of the issue of the distribution of small-sized machines.
This is the end of the series of articles on small-sized machines. Of course, not all samples of weapons with compact dimensions and powered by "automatic" cartridges were considered, but I think that I managed to single out the most interesting and common ones. If we raise the question of whether there are analogs among foreign models, then they, of course, will be available, but in our country such samples have become much more widespread and actually formed another class of weapons between full-fledged machine guns and submachine guns. It is not for nothing that such small-sized assault rifles are often referred to as PP, especially in the West, but we are literate people and we will not violate the classification of weapons. However, if they like to refer our samples to submachine guns, then you are always welcome, so we will have a clear superiority in this class of weapons, since no cartridge intended for a pistol can compete with a full-fledged "automatic" ammunition.
