The same "Stechkin"
2011 marks 60 years since the Soviet Army received a personal weapon new generation - Makarov's 9-mm pistol (PM). Against this background, it is somehow less often remembered that in the same 1951-m in the USSR another very interesting sample of personal weapons was adopted - the Stechkin 9-mm automatic pistol (APS).
Self direction
History pistols, capable of firing bullets in bursts, has more than a century. And all this time, disputes over their appointment have not subsided. In Russia, as early as in 1906 – 1907, in the workshops of the Gunnery Range of the Officer Rifle School they tried to supply Parabellum pistols of the 1904 model of the year and Mauser of the 1906 model with interpreters for automatic firing. The work was stopped due to its very poor accuracy when firing from such light samples.
During the First World War, submachine guns appeared - a new type of individual automatic weapon for a pistol cartridge and with large-capacity stores. This experience has revived interest in pistols firing in bursts as a means of close combat — cobol machine pistols, as they were sometimes called.
At the end of the 20-x - the beginning of the 30-s, two “relatives” attracted a lot of attention - the Spanish Astra automatic pistol -901 and the German Mauser -712 (both were based on the Mauser C / 96). However, their actual use was not too great, the automatic Mauser gained most popularity in Kuomintang China.
In the USSR, in 1929, the 7,62-mm automatic pistol with a barrel length 700 millimeters and the capacity of the 22 magazine of the cartridge was introduced by F. V. Tokarev. In July, the Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR and the Chief of Arms of the Red Army I. P. Uborevich ordered in addition to a karabiner-type submachine gun to develop the option “weight 1930 kg in a holster” in July. The latter did not take priority, but in the year of 3,2, P.V. Voevodina’s automatic pistol was tested.
The experience of the Second World War demanded qualitative changes in the small arms system. In the new framework, there remained a niche of small-sized automatic weapons intended for officers and soldiers of individual specialties, so that they could fire at close ranges.
At the end of the 40-ies, automatic pistols and small-sized submachine guns with folding or attached butts (Czech 23 - 26 by Holek, British Podsenkovsky MCEM-2) are being created in different countries. In the USSR, preference was given to an automatic pistol, the development of which was carried out in parallel with the new self-loading pistol.
An already experienced designer P.V. Voevodin and his young colleagues I.J. Stechkin in Tula and M.T. Kalashnikov in Izhevsk took part in the competition for an automatic pistol (this was the time when the new generation of designers came to the weapon business with new methods ). Automatic pistols were made under the newly adopted 9-mm pistol cartridge (9x18). Characteristically, the prototypes were compared with the above-mentioned "Mauser" -712 ("Mauser-Astra") and a PPP submachine gun.
Small number and wide popularity
The remarkable designer I. Ya. Stechkin (1922 – 2001) came to the Tula Central Design Bureau-14 in the 1948 year. By that time, he had some experience in the development of hand short-barreled small arms - the 7,65-mm self-loading pistol was the theme of his graduation project (by the way, the consultant was PM’s father N. F. Makarov). And along with him, Stechkin demonstrated a self-made working copy.
Igor Yakovlevich is the author of more than 60 developments and 50 inventions, both implemented in production samples and those that remain experimental. On his account - unique samples of weapons and special-purpose ammunition. Stechkin participated in the creation of ATGM "Fagot" and "Competition", has designed a number of models of automatic military small arms. But the most famous pistol acquired APS.
Stechkina automatics operates due to the release of a free gate. The bolt completely covers the barrel. The trigger mechanism with an open trigger and a helical mainspring provides a single and automatic fire. The trigger has a combat and safety platoons. Descent - with a warning. Placed on the shutter flag fuse serves as a translator of the types of fire.
Recoil shutter with a small length of his stroke (short pistol cartridge of a large stroke and does not require) could generate a very high rate of firing bursts. With a relatively small mass of weapons, this would only lead to the rapid exhaustion of ammunition with very poor accuracy. This is hampered by a wittyly executed rate of fire retardant. When firing bursts of fire, the retarder slows down the shutter speed somewhat, and most importantly - plays the role of a self-timer. Until the retarder, having received an impulse of movement from a rolling shutter, does not go down and up and hit the trigger, it will not release the whisper from the platoon of the trigger. This increases the duration of the automation cycle, decreases the rate of fire, increases the stability and controllability of the weapon during automatic firing - at one time poor controllability at a high rate of fire became the main “defect” of the aforementioned Mauser -712.
It remains to add that the rate of slowing down rate of fire, compactly mounted in the handle, plays the role of an automatic shotgun fuse when the barrel bore is not completely locked, since it does not allow the trigger mechanism to fire a shot until it comes to the extreme front position.
The box magazine - detachable, with a staggered arrangement of 20 cartridges - does not protrude beyond the limits of the handle. After the ammunition is consumed, the magazine’s retainer tooth raises the shutter stop, which holds the bolt in the rear position. After replacing the store, it remains to press the shutter stop head, he will go forward and send the cartridge to the chamber, the trigger will remain on the fighting platoon.
For statement on a safety lock it is necessary to turn a safety lock flag-translator forward - in the situation "PR". He will pull back and block the drummer, as well as blocking the trigger and bolt (the bolt engages with the frame).
The front sight and sector sight are mounted on the slide. The installation of the rear sight is determined by the rotation of the installation drum with four edges. Accordingly, the sight has settings at a distance of 25, 50, 100 and 200 meters. Shooting bursts and long ranges is only possible with the use of the butt.
The APS implemented the old, well-known since the end of the XIX century reception - a rigid holster-butt. Initially, the Stechkin's holster-butt was wooden, later - plastic. She wears a belt over her shoulder, four stores in a special pouch.
Needed, in demand
APS as a whole is a very successful sample of personal weapons. The similarity of a number of structural features and the order of assembly and disassembly with PM simplified the development of pistols. The elongation of the barrel to 140 millimeters (in PM - 93,5 mm) partially compensated for the weakness of the cartridge 9х18 and, together with a larger weight compared to the "Makarov" and more smooth operation of the automation, it was possible to achieve good shooting accuracy. The scattering radius for firing from Stechkin with single shots is as follows: at a distance of 50 meters - 5 centimeters, 200 meters - 22 centimeters (in PM, the deflection radius of the best half of bullets on 25 m - is already 6,5 cm). The most effective was the fire at ranges up to 50 meters.
APS production was carried out at the Vyatka-Polyansky machine-building plant "Molot" from 1952 to 1959 year. The number of issued "Stechkin" is estimated at about 30 thousand - not enough compared to the same PM, which produced several million. But it is worth considering that automatic pistols in general occupy a much narrower niche in the weapons system than self-loading ones.
Tactical and technical characteristics APS
Cartridge 9x18 PM
Weight with a magazine without cartridges 1,02 kg
Weight with equipped magazine without holster-butt 1,22 kg
Weight with a holster-butt 1,78 kg
Length without barrel holster 225 mm
Length with butt holster 540 mm
Barrel length 140 mm
Initial bullet speed 340 m / s
The muzzle energy of a bullet 353 J
Types of lights single / automatic
Firing rate 700 – 750 rds / min
Combat rate of fire 40 / 90 rds / min
Aim shooting range to 200 m
Capacity of 20 magazine cartridges
Performance characteristics of PP-2000
Cartridge 9X19 (7H21, 7H31, 9х19 “Parabellum”)
Mass of weapons without magazine and stock 1,34 kg
Length without stock 350 mm
Length with folded butt 582 mm
Barrel length 139 mm
Height with magazine for 20 cartridges 185 mm
The initial speed of the bullet 450 m / s (with the cartridge 7Н21)
Firing rate 600 – 750 rds / min
Aim shooting range to 200 m
20 or 44 magazine capacity
APS armed pilots, crews of combat vehicles, sailors, the calculations of grenade launchers and artillery installations. However, the attitude to the “Stechkin” as a “pure” pistol (for which it is too heavy) and the inconvenience associated with a rigid holster hanging at the waist level (clinging to the edge of the hatch when leaving a combat vehicle) led to the removal of the MTA from production and with weapons. As a belt pistol holster really too big, like a butt - a bit short.
Nevertheless, Stechkin served as the basis for a very successful sample of special-purpose weapons - based on the APS, designer A. S. Negodov developed a “silent” automatic pistol with an integrated silencer and wire butt, put into service in 1972, under the designation APB.
There are conflicting reviews about the MTA in our country and abroad. And yet it was used for a long time and successfully in different parts of the world, in particular, it was the weapon of the legendary Che Guevara. Under the clear influence of “Stechkin” in the GDR, an automatic pistol was produced, which was released by an experienced party in 1976 and known as MPi.11 and under the motto “The IX Party Congress”. The rigid buttress-butt was also not always considered an anachronism, an example of this being the West German automatic pistol VP-70А1 or the Austrian Steyr gun М9. We also note the following fact: after the reunification of Germany, the party of the APS, converted by Tranzarmz to conduct only a single fire, went to the police of Worms district.
"Stechkin" was literally reanimated during the Afghan war. In the course of its APA and APB widely used special purpose units. A pistol with a magazine for 20 cartridges, a mass of no more than 1,2 a kilogram and good accuracy of shooting attracted the attention of other categories of users. Later it became popular in the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Riot policemen, special police forces, and other formations used a soft canvas holster for wearing the APS.
A new wave of popularity of the APS brought local conflicts on the territory of the former USSR. In particular, the Russian military pilots in Chechnya preferred the “Stechkin” to the shortened AKS-74U machine gun, the snipers took the APS for self-defense. Along with the JSA, he is still respected by the special forces.
And again cobour submachine gun
The heirs of automatic pistols in a certain sense were small-sized submachine guns, adapted to be worn in a holster and for firing both with two hands (with or without butt), and in a pistol manner with one hand. Several samples of such weapons were created in Russia. In particular, the PP-2000 submachine gun, presented by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau - the heir of the same TsKB-14, as a self-defense compact military weapon for the 9x19 pistol cartridge, much superior to the 9X18 cartridge in the striking action of the bullet.
In the Russian army, PP-2000 did not appear. But he was armed with the Interior Ministry.
The submachine gun is arranged according to the scheme with the location of the magazine in the pistol grip, the weight and balance allow shooting with one hand. In the manufacture of body parts used plastic, as a result, the hand arrow almost does not come into contact with the metal. The special features of the weapon include the inclination of the control handle forward and an enlarged trigger guard, which is made integral with the body part, the front part of which forms an additional holding handle.
Automation PP-2000 operates at the expense of the recoil energy of the free gate. A return spring is placed in its channel, and in the front part there is a stem with a reloading handle. You can reload with your right or left hand, and then set the handle parallel to the barrel, reducing the transverse dimensions of the weapon. On the muzzle of the barrel is mounted flame arrester.
The trigger type trigger mechanism mounted in the control handle allows for single and automatic fire. The shot is made from the “front whisper”, with the shutter being in the extreme forward position. In combination with the balance of the weapon and the low location of the barrel relative to the handle, this contributes to the accuracy of shooting. Flap non-automatic fuse-translator in the "fuse" position blocks the sear.
An open aiming device includes a fly with a fuse and a sighting with a flip entirely (at a distance of 100 and 200 m). The stepped bar at the top of the receiver allows the installation of an optical or collimator sight (PC-04DS) - the latter can be the main in melee combat.
Powered by cartridges - from a detachable box magazine with a staggered arrangement of various cartridges such as 9x19. When firing PP-2000 with the 7Н31 cartridge at a distance of 15 meters, the bullet pierces a steel plate with a thickness of 8 millimeters, and at a distance of up to 50 meters with a thickness of 5 millimeters. That is, the new complex of small-sized automatic weapons, including the new pistol cartridge, has not only improved accuracy characteristics, but also the ability to hit targets in the means of individual armor protection.
Self direction
History pistols, capable of firing bullets in bursts, has more than a century. And all this time, disputes over their appointment have not subsided. In Russia, as early as in 1906 – 1907, in the workshops of the Gunnery Range of the Officer Rifle School they tried to supply Parabellum pistols of the 1904 model of the year and Mauser of the 1906 model with interpreters for automatic firing. The work was stopped due to its very poor accuracy when firing from such light samples.
During the First World War, submachine guns appeared - a new type of individual automatic weapon for a pistol cartridge and with large-capacity stores. This experience has revived interest in pistols firing in bursts as a means of close combat — cobol machine pistols, as they were sometimes called.
At the end of the 20-x - the beginning of the 30-s, two “relatives” attracted a lot of attention - the Spanish Astra automatic pistol -901 and the German Mauser -712 (both were based on the Mauser C / 96). However, their actual use was not too great, the automatic Mauser gained most popularity in Kuomintang China.
In the USSR, in 1929, the 7,62-mm automatic pistol with a barrel length 700 millimeters and the capacity of the 22 magazine of the cartridge was introduced by F. V. Tokarev. In July, the Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR and the Chief of Arms of the Red Army I. P. Uborevich ordered in addition to a karabiner-type submachine gun to develop the option “weight 1930 kg in a holster” in July. The latter did not take priority, but in the year of 3,2, P.V. Voevodina’s automatic pistol was tested.
The experience of the Second World War demanded qualitative changes in the small arms system. In the new framework, there remained a niche of small-sized automatic weapons intended for officers and soldiers of individual specialties, so that they could fire at close ranges.
At the end of the 40-ies, automatic pistols and small-sized submachine guns with folding or attached butts (Czech 23 - 26 by Holek, British Podsenkovsky MCEM-2) are being created in different countries. In the USSR, preference was given to an automatic pistol, the development of which was carried out in parallel with the new self-loading pistol.
An already experienced designer P.V. Voevodin and his young colleagues I.J. Stechkin in Tula and M.T. Kalashnikov in Izhevsk took part in the competition for an automatic pistol (this was the time when the new generation of designers came to the weapon business with new methods ). Automatic pistols were made under the newly adopted 9-mm pistol cartridge (9x18). Characteristically, the prototypes were compared with the above-mentioned "Mauser" -712 ("Mauser-Astra") and a PPP submachine gun.
Small number and wide popularity
The remarkable designer I. Ya. Stechkin (1922 – 2001) came to the Tula Central Design Bureau-14 in the 1948 year. By that time, he had some experience in the development of hand short-barreled small arms - the 7,65-mm self-loading pistol was the theme of his graduation project (by the way, the consultant was PM’s father N. F. Makarov). And along with him, Stechkin demonstrated a self-made working copy.
Igor Yakovlevich is the author of more than 60 developments and 50 inventions, both implemented in production samples and those that remain experimental. On his account - unique samples of weapons and special-purpose ammunition. Stechkin participated in the creation of ATGM "Fagot" and "Competition", has designed a number of models of automatic military small arms. But the most famous pistol acquired APS.
Stechkina automatics operates due to the release of a free gate. The bolt completely covers the barrel. The trigger mechanism with an open trigger and a helical mainspring provides a single and automatic fire. The trigger has a combat and safety platoons. Descent - with a warning. Placed on the shutter flag fuse serves as a translator of the types of fire.
Recoil shutter with a small length of his stroke (short pistol cartridge of a large stroke and does not require) could generate a very high rate of firing bursts. With a relatively small mass of weapons, this would only lead to the rapid exhaustion of ammunition with very poor accuracy. This is hampered by a wittyly executed rate of fire retardant. When firing bursts of fire, the retarder slows down the shutter speed somewhat, and most importantly - plays the role of a self-timer. Until the retarder, having received an impulse of movement from a rolling shutter, does not go down and up and hit the trigger, it will not release the whisper from the platoon of the trigger. This increases the duration of the automation cycle, decreases the rate of fire, increases the stability and controllability of the weapon during automatic firing - at one time poor controllability at a high rate of fire became the main “defect” of the aforementioned Mauser -712.
It remains to add that the rate of slowing down rate of fire, compactly mounted in the handle, plays the role of an automatic shotgun fuse when the barrel bore is not completely locked, since it does not allow the trigger mechanism to fire a shot until it comes to the extreme front position.
The box magazine - detachable, with a staggered arrangement of 20 cartridges - does not protrude beyond the limits of the handle. After the ammunition is consumed, the magazine’s retainer tooth raises the shutter stop, which holds the bolt in the rear position. After replacing the store, it remains to press the shutter stop head, he will go forward and send the cartridge to the chamber, the trigger will remain on the fighting platoon.
For statement on a safety lock it is necessary to turn a safety lock flag-translator forward - in the situation "PR". He will pull back and block the drummer, as well as blocking the trigger and bolt (the bolt engages with the frame).
The front sight and sector sight are mounted on the slide. The installation of the rear sight is determined by the rotation of the installation drum with four edges. Accordingly, the sight has settings at a distance of 25, 50, 100 and 200 meters. Shooting bursts and long ranges is only possible with the use of the butt.
The APS implemented the old, well-known since the end of the XIX century reception - a rigid holster-butt. Initially, the Stechkin's holster-butt was wooden, later - plastic. She wears a belt over her shoulder, four stores in a special pouch.
Needed, in demand
APS as a whole is a very successful sample of personal weapons. The similarity of a number of structural features and the order of assembly and disassembly with PM simplified the development of pistols. The elongation of the barrel to 140 millimeters (in PM - 93,5 mm) partially compensated for the weakness of the cartridge 9х18 and, together with a larger weight compared to the "Makarov" and more smooth operation of the automation, it was possible to achieve good shooting accuracy. The scattering radius for firing from Stechkin with single shots is as follows: at a distance of 50 meters - 5 centimeters, 200 meters - 22 centimeters (in PM, the deflection radius of the best half of bullets on 25 m - is already 6,5 cm). The most effective was the fire at ranges up to 50 meters.
APS production was carried out at the Vyatka-Polyansky machine-building plant "Molot" from 1952 to 1959 year. The number of issued "Stechkin" is estimated at about 30 thousand - not enough compared to the same PM, which produced several million. But it is worth considering that automatic pistols in general occupy a much narrower niche in the weapons system than self-loading ones.
Tactical and technical characteristics APS
Cartridge 9x18 PM
Weight with a magazine without cartridges 1,02 kg
Weight with equipped magazine without holster-butt 1,22 kg
Weight with a holster-butt 1,78 kg
Length without barrel holster 225 mm
Length with butt holster 540 mm
Barrel length 140 mm
Initial bullet speed 340 m / s
The muzzle energy of a bullet 353 J
Types of lights single / automatic
Firing rate 700 – 750 rds / min
Combat rate of fire 40 / 90 rds / min
Aim shooting range to 200 m
Capacity of 20 magazine cartridges
Performance characteristics of PP-2000
Cartridge 9X19 (7H21, 7H31, 9х19 “Parabellum”)
Mass of weapons without magazine and stock 1,34 kg
Length without stock 350 mm
Length with folded butt 582 mm
Barrel length 139 mm
Height with magazine for 20 cartridges 185 mm
The initial speed of the bullet 450 m / s (with the cartridge 7Н21)
Firing rate 600 – 750 rds / min
Aim shooting range to 200 m
20 or 44 magazine capacity
APS armed pilots, crews of combat vehicles, sailors, the calculations of grenade launchers and artillery installations. However, the attitude to the “Stechkin” as a “pure” pistol (for which it is too heavy) and the inconvenience associated with a rigid holster hanging at the waist level (clinging to the edge of the hatch when leaving a combat vehicle) led to the removal of the MTA from production and with weapons. As a belt pistol holster really too big, like a butt - a bit short.
Nevertheless, Stechkin served as the basis for a very successful sample of special-purpose weapons - based on the APS, designer A. S. Negodov developed a “silent” automatic pistol with an integrated silencer and wire butt, put into service in 1972, under the designation APB.
There are conflicting reviews about the MTA in our country and abroad. And yet it was used for a long time and successfully in different parts of the world, in particular, it was the weapon of the legendary Che Guevara. Under the clear influence of “Stechkin” in the GDR, an automatic pistol was produced, which was released by an experienced party in 1976 and known as MPi.11 and under the motto “The IX Party Congress”. The rigid buttress-butt was also not always considered an anachronism, an example of this being the West German automatic pistol VP-70А1 or the Austrian Steyr gun М9. We also note the following fact: after the reunification of Germany, the party of the APS, converted by Tranzarmz to conduct only a single fire, went to the police of Worms district.
"Stechkin" was literally reanimated during the Afghan war. In the course of its APA and APB widely used special purpose units. A pistol with a magazine for 20 cartridges, a mass of no more than 1,2 a kilogram and good accuracy of shooting attracted the attention of other categories of users. Later it became popular in the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Riot policemen, special police forces, and other formations used a soft canvas holster for wearing the APS.
A new wave of popularity of the APS brought local conflicts on the territory of the former USSR. In particular, the Russian military pilots in Chechnya preferred the “Stechkin” to the shortened AKS-74U machine gun, the snipers took the APS for self-defense. Along with the JSA, he is still respected by the special forces.
And again cobour submachine gun
The heirs of automatic pistols in a certain sense were small-sized submachine guns, adapted to be worn in a holster and for firing both with two hands (with or without butt), and in a pistol manner with one hand. Several samples of such weapons were created in Russia. In particular, the PP-2000 submachine gun, presented by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau - the heir of the same TsKB-14, as a self-defense compact military weapon for the 9x19 pistol cartridge, much superior to the 9X18 cartridge in the striking action of the bullet.
In the Russian army, PP-2000 did not appear. But he was armed with the Interior Ministry.
The submachine gun is arranged according to the scheme with the location of the magazine in the pistol grip, the weight and balance allow shooting with one hand. In the manufacture of body parts used plastic, as a result, the hand arrow almost does not come into contact with the metal. The special features of the weapon include the inclination of the control handle forward and an enlarged trigger guard, which is made integral with the body part, the front part of which forms an additional holding handle.
Automation PP-2000 operates at the expense of the recoil energy of the free gate. A return spring is placed in its channel, and in the front part there is a stem with a reloading handle. You can reload with your right or left hand, and then set the handle parallel to the barrel, reducing the transverse dimensions of the weapon. On the muzzle of the barrel is mounted flame arrester.
The trigger type trigger mechanism mounted in the control handle allows for single and automatic fire. The shot is made from the “front whisper”, with the shutter being in the extreme forward position. In combination with the balance of the weapon and the low location of the barrel relative to the handle, this contributes to the accuracy of shooting. Flap non-automatic fuse-translator in the "fuse" position blocks the sear.
An open aiming device includes a fly with a fuse and a sighting with a flip entirely (at a distance of 100 and 200 m). The stepped bar at the top of the receiver allows the installation of an optical or collimator sight (PC-04DS) - the latter can be the main in melee combat.
Powered by cartridges - from a detachable box magazine with a staggered arrangement of various cartridges such as 9x19. When firing PP-2000 with the 7Н31 cartridge at a distance of 15 meters, the bullet pierces a steel plate with a thickness of 8 millimeters, and at a distance of up to 50 meters with a thickness of 5 millimeters. That is, the new complex of small-sized automatic weapons, including the new pistol cartridge, has not only improved accuracy characteristics, but also the ability to hit targets in the means of individual armor protection.
Information