The Makarov pistol is rightfully called "Kalashnikov" among pistols. This automatic 9mm pistol was designed in 1948 by Nikolai Makarov. Due to the simplicity of its device, the reliability of the proposed design and ease of use, the PM remained in production for more than half a century. More than 2 million copies of this pistol were produced in the Soviet Union alone. Only in the mid-1990s, the Makarov pistol was replaced by a new Yarygin pistol (PYa), which was adopted as a standard weapon of power structures.
This year the famous Russian gunsmith Nikolai Makarov would have turned 100 years old. As is often the case with good inventions, they outlive their creators. The Makarov pistol has been in service with the Russian security forces for over 60 years. At the moment, the PM can be safely considered one of the most famous small arms on the planet. The Makarov pistol, which became the first and last development of a designer in the field of creating pistols, is today known in many countries as a very simple and reliable small arms melee weapon.
Ask any person in Russia, even not versed in military affairs: what is the most famous Russian-made pistol? Most, without hesitation, will name the Makarov pistol. This pistol has become a generalization of all the experience of the Great Patriotic War accumulated by our country, notes Mikhail Dragunov, the son of a famous Russian gunsmith who created the famous SVD.
According to Mikhail Dragunov, for its time, the Makarov pistol has incorporated all the best achievements in the field of pistol technology. As a result, a modern combat pistol was adopted by the Soviet Army. Judging by the fact that this model has not left the scene of the world pistol market for more than 60 years, we can admit that the design of the model was extremely successful. According to him, Nikolai Makarov managed to design a pistol with a wide range of possible applications. The Makarov pistol was used both as a status weapon for a Soviet officer, as a weapon for law enforcement officers, and as a weapon for special units, a weapon of concealed carry.
A competition for the development of a new pistol intended to replace the TT pistol of 7.62 mm model 1933 was announced in the Soviet Union in 1945. According to the terms of the competition, the new pistol was supposed to surpass the TT in reliability and weight and size characteristics. It was supposed to have a caliber of 9 or 7, 65 mm, have a good stopping effect of a bullet and no less destructive power than its predecessor pistol.
The winner of the competition was a pistol designed by a team led by Nikolai Fedorovich Makarov (years of life: 1914-1988). At the same time, the pistol proposed by Makarov won the competition from the leading Soviet rifle design bureaus - Simonov and Tokarev. The preliminary development was completed in 1947, and in 1948 the final version of the new pistol was ready. Its production was launched in Izhevsk in 1949, then it was produced here for over 50 years. The 9-mm Makarov pistol, or PM, was officially adopted in 1951 for the armament of the Soviet Army, state security agencies and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Full-scale mass production of the pistol was launched in 1952 at the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant.
The PM was built on a scheme that was also used in the German Walther PP (Walther Polizei Pistole). Its automation operated on the basis of the recoil of a free shutter - the simplest and most reliable solution. At the same time, there were restrictions on the power of the cartridge used. The return spring of the bolt was put directly on the barrel of the pistol, in the rear of the bolt casing on both sides there was a notch for manually reloading the pistol. The pistol was equipped with a double-action trigger mechanism (self-cocking). He also received an open trigger, which made it possible to remove the PM from the fuse, cock the trigger and open fire using only one hand. At the same time, the design of the pistol consisted of only 25 parts, which greatly simplified the process of maintenance and repair, and also increased its reliability.
The designer himself explained his success in creating the PM by the colossal work that was invested in its development. Makarov worked every day, practically without days off, sometimes he worked from 8 am to 2–3 am. As a result, he was able to modify and shoot 2-3 times more samples than his competitors. This, of course, made it possible to perfect the survivability and reliability of the pistol. A clear confirmation of this is the fact that, at least until 2004, the guards of the State Unitary Enterprise "Instrument-Making Design Bureau" had a working model of a Makarov pistol produced in 1949 (serial number of the model - 11), the shot of this "barrel" was about 50 thousand shots …
In the world, the PM was often called the "Russian Walter". Some even believed that it was a hint that the Soviet developers borrowed the idea of this pistol from their German colleagues from the Walter plant in 1945, when Soviet troops took control of the city where the enterprise was located. However, the very consistency of this version casts doubt on the fact that initially the American army entered Zella-Melis, which, as a result, received the most valuable documentation.
The Makarov pistol, like any pistol of those years, had analogues. At the time when it was put into service, tests were also carried out on its competitors, including foreign self-loading pistols Walther PP and Walther PPK, these pistols were among the first mass-produced samples with a double-action trigger mechanism. “Sometimes they say that the PM was completely copied from the German Walter, but the only thing that passed to him from the German model was the disassembly principle. The principle of automation and the circuit itself existed before that, but the trigger mechanism in the PM was an original development. The pistol was convenient and simple, consisted of less than 30 parts,”emphasized Mikhail Degtyarev.
In any case, the nickname "Russian Walter" is, of course, an excellent compliment, since at all times Walter was considered one of the undisputed leaders in the pistol market. Domestic development was in no way inferior to him. As a result, the PM was recognized as one of the best melee weapons of the twentieth century, along with the German Walter, as well as Browning, Beretta and Astra Constable. Like the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the Makarov pistol has become a legendary world weapon.
When firing at short distances, according to experts, the PM was simply irreplaceable. Thanks to the use of a new, smaller in length, cartridge and simpler operation of the automation system, the Makarov pistol greatly bypassed its predecessors in terms of reliability and maneuverability. At the same time, the power of its cartridge was second only to the TT, at the same time the PM had a large caliber (9 mm instead of 7.62 mm), which made it possible to keep the stopping effect of the bullet at the same level. For a compact pistol, it had excellent accuracy. When using standard 57-N-181 cartridges, the dispersion radius at 50 meters was 160 mm, at 25 meters - 75 mm, at 10 meters - only 35 mm.
One of the undoubted advantages of the pistol was its low weight. The PM was 130 grams lighter than the TT pistol (0, 81 kg with a full magazine and 0, 73 kg unloaded). He was also favorably distinguished by constant readiness for action - the pistol could be brought into a combat position almost instantly. Also, some experts argue that the PM can be safely worn with the fuse removed and with the cartridge in the barrel - it is so safe. The straight pistol grip allows you to intuitively shoot at the chest target from a distance of up to 15 meters, guaranteeing a confident hit. And at closer distances, the pistol can not be raised at all - all the bullets can be put into the target from the hip.
Since the beginning of mass production in the country, a huge number of PM modifications have been created - combat, sports, service, civil, as well as gas pistols. At the same time, the Makarov pistol was produced not only in the Soviet Union, but abroad. For example, in the GDR it was called Pistole M. PM was also produced in China, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia.
The pistol is still in strong demand in the market, including in the United States. Most often in America, it is used as an effective weapon of self-defense. The pistol has very good dimensions: length - 161 mm, height - 127 mm, barrel length - 93.5 mm. In addition, it compares favorably with competitors for its low price and its reliability. It is curious to note that in Finland the Makarov pistol, along with the Glock 17, CZ-85 and Beretta 92F pistols, is one of the four pistols that are required for mastering the practical shooting courses. In addition, the PM became the first model of small arms in history that traveled to space. The pistol was included in the set of property and equipment of the Soviet cosmonauts on the Vostok spacecraft.
Currently, the serial production of the Makarov pistol and some of its modifications is still ongoing. Despite the fact that in the Russian law enforcement agencies and the army, the Yarygin pistol and other new models of small arms are gradually replacing the PM, the Makarov pistol remains in service to this day, continuing to be one of the most massive and demanded samples of Russian-made short-barreled small arms.
The performance characteristics of the PM:
Cartridge - 9x18 mm.
Weight with loaded magazine - 0, 81 kg, weight without cartridges - 0, 73 kg.
Length - 161 mm, width - 30.5 mm, height - 126, 75 mm.
Barrel length - 93 mm.
Box magazine for 8 rounds.
Sighting range - 50 m.
Rate of fire - up to 30 rds / min.
The initial speed of the bullet is 315 m / s.
