In the fall of 2011, the Makarov pistol celebrates its anniversary. 60 years in service is a very decent period. Although personal weapons are quite "conservative" and well-proven systems can remain in service for a long time, while in other types of weapons and military equipment, more than one generation of samples may change. To begin with, it is worth remembering how and for what purpose the PM was once created.
Stalin Prize Laureate
A competition for a new pistol was announced in the USSR in 1945. The task formulated by the GAU featured cartridges 7, 62x25 TT, 7, 65x17, a promising cartridge 9x18. The development work was done thoroughly. The competition was attended by both experienced designers "with the name" - F. V. Tokarev, P. V. Voevodin, S. A. Korovin, I. I. Rakov, S. G. Simonov, and young, still little known - N F. Makarov and K. A. Baryshev from Tula, G. V. Sevryugin, A. A. Klimov and A. I. Lobanov from Izhevsk.
Already in October 1945, field tests of pistols Makarov, Sevryugin, Korovin, Rakov, Simonov, Baryshev, Voevodin began. Makarov presented the 7, 65-mm TKB-412 prototype pistol and the 9-mm TKB-429 pistol. The pistols were thoroughly tested at the scientific testing range of small arms and mortar weapons in Shchurov. For comparison, foreign pistols were tested along with them: "Walter" PP, "Mauser" HSc, "Browning" 1922, "Sauer" 38N, "Beret" 1934, as well as TT.
Success fell to the share of an employee of TsKB-14 of the Ministry of Armaments Nikolai Fedorovich Makarov. His main competitor at the final stage of the competition was Baryshev's pistol. Tests of 9 mm samples were carried out in 1948. The commission selected the Makarov model, which was put into service in 1951 under the designation “9-mm Makarov pistol (PM) mod. 1951 . GAU assigned him the index 56-A-125. Together with the pistol, the 9x18 cartridge, developed by B. V. Semin and N. M. Elizarov at NII-44 (the future TsNIITOCHMASH), entered service.
In 1952, for the development of the pistol, Makarov was awarded the Stalin Prize of the III degree. On April 8 of the same year, an order appeared from the head of the 5th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Armaments to start production of PM. The release was organized in Izhevsk at the plant number 622 (later the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant).
German counterpart: similarities and differences
It is unnecessary to describe the device of the Makarov pistol: it is well known to many. However, voices are still often heard claiming that the Makarov is just a “slightly modified copy” of the German Walther PP, and the 9x18 cartridge is a variation of the 9-mm Ultra cartridge of the German company Gecko.
Indeed, after the end of World War II, a significant part of the production of "Karl Walter" in Zella-Melis went to the Soviet side. Moreover, experts from the People's Commissariat (Ministry) of Armaments recommended that when developing a pistol focus on the Walter system. The small-sized "Walter" PP really belonged to the best self-loading pistols of the Old and New World, and its scheme after the Second World War became almost the most copied in the world. Cartridge "Ultra", developed before the war to "enhance" the same "Walter" PP, in terms of power was between two common 9-mm pistol cartridges - "Parabellum" and "Browning short".
The prototypes were chosen very well. However, neither the Makarov pistol nor the pistol cartridge of Semin and Elizarov were direct copies of their German counterparts. The design of the PM has been significantly revised in detail, which makes it possible to consider it a completely independent model - in any case, a more independent system than most imitations of the Walther RR scheme in other countries.
The performance characteristics of PM and small-sized pistols of comparable power, which appeared later
The widespread use of the principle of multifunctionality of parts made it possible to simplify the design and increase the reliability of the mechanisms. In particular, the helical combat spring is replaced by a two-blade lamellar, which acts on the trigger with a wide feather, and on the cocking lever and trigger with a narrow one, and the lower bend of the spring serves as a magazine latch. The cocking lever at the end of the trigger rod also serves as an uncoupler, the shutter stop is a reflector of the extracted sleeve.
Replacing a number of axles with pins on the parts simplified the disassembly and assembly of the pistol in comparison with the same "Walter" PP. The non-automatic flag safety device in the PM is made better than in the Walter PP: its action is more reliable, and turning the flag when turned off from top to bottom is more natural for working with the fingers of the hand holding the weapon.
The design of the PM includes only 29 parts, while the "Walter" PP had about 50, and for example, the CZ 82, created much later (very successful, by the way) - already 55.
On the path of improvement
Establishing the mass production of "Makarovs" took time. The PM did not immediately become the standard of a reliable small-sized pistol and was adopted by both users and production workers. The first were mainly the officers of the Soviet army, accustomed to ballistics and the dimensions of TT. Although a more comfortable PM grip, a "warning" descent, lower ballistic impulse and the ratio of recoil energy to weapon weight contributed to an increase in accuracy at short ranges.
Manufacturers at first considered the PM as a model of “non-technological design”. The aforementioned multifunctionality of the parts determined their shape, which was quite complex for the available technologies, and the volume of adjusting operations was great. A significant contribution to ensuring the mass production and increasing the reliability of the pistol was made by Izhevsk designers and technologists, among them G. V. Sevryugin, A. A. Klimov, A. A. Belikov, A. N. Molodchenkov, E. V. Lopatkin, M. B. Dorfman, A. M. Pestov, A. V. Kamerilov.
Of course, Makarov himself took part in setting up the production. Moreover, it was necessary to make some amendments to the design. In 1953, the shape of the pistol frame was changed, simplifying the trigger guard. The problem of complete interchangeability of parts was solved only by the end of the 50s. Until the beginning of the 60s, when the mass production of the PM was established, it remained in service with the TT.
In the 60s and 90s, VS Chuguevsky, AG Pasynkov, VA Ivanov, AE Subbotin, VA Kuchumov worked on improving the production of "Makarov". PM has taken on many technological innovations. They introduced chrome plating of the barrel bore, the milling of parts from steel forgings was replaced by casting into a mold followed by milling (casting was introduced in the manufacture of a sear, fuse, trigger, trigger), a handle milled from textolite was replaced with a pressed one.
At the end of the 80s, the manufacture of the pistol frame and bolt was started using the method of high-precision investment casting. As a result, the labor intensity of manufacturing one PM from 90 standard hours during the period of mastering serial production decreased to 5 - 18 times. The metal utilization factor (the ratio of the mass of the finished part to the mass of the workpiece) in the manufacture of the pistol from the initial 0, 12 increased almost threefold, the return of serial pistols from preliminary tests decreased from 30 to 1 percent.
Basis for other samples
It is not for nothing, it can be seen, that the authoritative weapon publications of the world, making ratings of personal weapons, include the PM among the best small-sized pistols, noting the combination of size and weight with the stopping effect of a bullet at short ranges, high reliability and survivability. Although both the military and police services still prefer small-sized combat pistols for more powerful cartridges - the same 9x19 "Parabellum" for example.
PM is one of the most popular pistols of the second half of the 20th century. The number of Makarovs produced by Izhmeh alone is estimated at about five million. And we also need to take into account production abroad.
"Makarov" was in service in a dozen states (here it is inferior to its predecessor TT), among which are former members of the Warsaw Pact Organization and China. PM variants were manufactured in Bulgaria, China, East Germany, Yugoslavia. Cartridges 9x18 PM are produced or produced in addition to these countries in Libya, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania.
It must be admitted that the reduction in the size of the pistol and cartridge was worth the ballistic qualities. With the change in the scope and conditions of the use of weapons, this became obvious. In the 80s, it was already urgently required to increase the accuracy and accuracy of a combat pistol, the penetrating action of the bullet while maintaining the stopping action and high readiness for the first shot, and to increase the magazine capacity by one and a half to two times. As part of the development work on the Rook theme, among others, the development of a high-impulse cartridge 9x18 (7N16) and a pistol modernized for it was carried out, while maintaining the basic PM scheme. This option was presented (under the code "Grach-3") Izhevsk designers B. M. Pletsky and R. G. Shigapov. Later, this pistol, designed for firing with a regular and high-impulse cartridge 9x18, with a two-row magazine for 12 rounds, received the designation PMM (modernized Makarov pistol) and the index 56-A-125M.
Since 1994, PMM has been serially produced by Izhmeh, supplied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service, and in small quantities to the army. However, the PMM cartridge was never adopted. In addition to the problems common to the defense industry, the fear that a high-impulse cartridge with its increased pressure of powder gases will also be fired from standard PMs played a role, which could lead to accidents and injuries. Together with the patron, the PMM's career gradually faded away. Especially after the adoption in 2004 of new pistols for more powerful cartridges, much better meeting the requirements for a modern army pistol.
In the early 2000s, Izhmekh presented an option to facilitate the PM system - a young designer D. A. Bogdanov, under the leadership of R. G. Shigapov, created the MP-448 "Skif" and MP-448S "Skif-mini" pistols chambered for 9x18 and 9x17 cartridges, which retained basic layout, but with a completely new plastic frame and some minor changes. The pistols are still experimental.
At the same time, in the 90s, the fate of the PM was affected by the changed political and economic situation. The pistol served as the basis for commercial, service and civilian designs. So, Izhmeh produced export models IZH-70, IZH-70-17A (IZH-70-200), IZH-70 HTs (IZH-70-100), service IZH-71 chambered for 9x17 "Kurz", gas IZH-79 several calibers. The traumatic pistol IZH-79-9T, better known as "Makarych", which went on sale in 2004, gained great popularity.
And a bulletproof vest won't save
Together with the pistol, the 9x18 PM pistol cartridge also celebrates six decades of its service. During this time, in addition to the "military" options with an ordinary shell bullet, many modifications of the ammunition were developed, which significantly expanded the capabilities of the complex. An ordinary bullet originally had a lead core (bullet P, cartridge 57-N-181), but in 1954 a cheaper Pst bullet with a steel core appeared in mass production (cartridge 57-N-181C). The cartridge case in 1956 became non-brass bimetallic, the cartridge was sealed with varnish. Since 1993, lacquered steel sleeves have been produced. "Stop" ordinary 9x18 PM bullets are capable of hidden and open body armor of the 1st protection class, armored glass of class II (IIA).
Developed by V. V. Trunov and P. F. Sazonov's tracer bullet with a tracing range of up to 150 meters was more suitable for submachine guns and did not become widespread with pistols. But its production was restored in the 90s, when interest in submachine guns resumed.
Since the PM entered service not only for the army, but also for law enforcement agencies, TsNIITOCHMASH developed cartridge options that meet the specific requirements of their structures.
Back in the late 70s, by order of the KGB of the USSR, a cartridge RG028 with a bullet with an armor-piercing core protruding from the shell was released for special units. The cartridge ensures the defeat of manpower in body armor of the 2nd protection class with rigid elements like the domestic ZhZT-71M. In 1989, special 9x18 cartridges for the Ministry of Internal Affairs appeared.
Despite the emergence of new combat pistol systems, it is obvious that the PM will remain in service for a long time - the "retirement age" will probably increase. Moreover, the numerous "Makarovs" have not lost their reliability.
In this regard, new versions of a cartridge with an increased penetrating effect of a bullet for firing from standard PMs have been developed. In 1996, NZNVA introduced the 7N15 cartridge with an armor-piercing 9 mm BZhT bullet, but already in 1997, a more successful cartridge with an armor-piercing 9 mm PBM bullet developed by the Tula KBP appeared. This ammunition was put into service in 2005 and received the 7N25 index. His bullet weighing 3, 55 grams (comparable to 6, 1 g for a Pst bullet) with a protruding armor-piercing core and an initial speed of up to 480 m / s is capable of piercing a steel sheet 5 millimeters thick at a distance of 10 meters (Pst bullet - 1.5 mm) or 1, 4mm titanium plate and 30 layers of Kevlar-type fabric, while maintaining a lethal effect. This allows you to hit a live target in a body armor of the 2nd protection class. At the same time, a cartridge with a bullet of reduced ricocheting ability with a lead core was created - it received the characteristic designation 9x18 PPO (law enforcement cartridge).
By the way, in 1996, for the needs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in TsKIB SOO, under the leadership of GA Korobov, an original device OTs-15 "Lin" was developed for the Makarov pistol - for throwing a thin line with a PM shot, for example, on the roof or over an obstacle.
It is worth considering a considerable number of holsters and sets of equipment for open and hidden carrying of PMs, created over the past decade and a half for use in various structures. And this is also a component of the pistol complex. The service of the hero of the day continues.
