TT (Tula Tokarev) | |
---|---|
Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1930–present |
Used by | See Users |
Wars | See Conflicts |
Production history | |
Designer | Fedor Tokarev |
Designed | 1930 |
Manufacturer | Tula Arms Plant, Izhevsk Arsenal, Norinco, Femaru, FB Radom, Cugir Arsenal, Zastava Arms, FÉG |
Produced | 1930–1955 (in Soviet Union) [1] |
No. built | 1,330,000 |
Variants | TT-30, TT-33, TTC, M48, M48 Tokagypt, M57, M70, M70, R-3, Type 51, Type 54, Type 68, K-14 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 854 g (30.1 oz) [2] |
Length | 195 mm (7.7 in) [2] |
Barrel length | 116 mm (4.6 in) [2] |
Height | 134 mm (5.3 in) |
Cartridge | 7.62×25mm Tokarev 9×19mm Parabellum |
Action | Short recoil actuated, locked breech, single action |
Muzzle velocity | 420 m/s (1,378 ft/s) [2] |
Effective firing range | 50 m |
Feed system | 8-round detachable box magazine or 9-round detachable box magazine compatible with Zastava M57 |
Sights | Front blade, rear notch 156 mm (6.1 in) sight radius |
The TT-30, [lower-alpha 1] commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. It was developed during the late 1920s by Fedor Tokarev as a service pistol for the Soviet Armed Forces and based on the earlier pistol designs of John Moses Browning, albeit with a number of detail modifications to simplify production and maintenance. [2] The Soviet Union ceased production of the TT in 1954, although derivatives of the pistol continued to be manufactured for many years in the People's Republic of China and a number of nations aligned with the Soviet bloc. [2]
In 1930, the Revolutionary Military Council approved a resolution to test new small arms to replace its aging Nagant M1895 revolvers.[ citation needed ] During these tests, on 7 January 1931, the potential of a pistol designed by Fedor Tokarev was noted. A few weeks later, 1,000 TT-30s were ordered for troop trials, and the pistol was adopted for service in the Red Army. [3] The TT-30 was manufactured between 1930 and 1936, with about 93,000 being produced.
Even as the TT-30 was being put into production, design changes were made to simplify manufacturing. Minor changes to the barrel, disconnector, [4] trigger and frame were implemented, the most notable ones being the omission of the removable hammer assembly and changes to the full-circumference locking lugs. This redesigned pistol was the TT-33. [3] Most TT-33s were issued to commanding officers. The TT-33 was widely used by Soviet troops during World War II, but did not completely replace the Nagant. From 1931-1945, a total of 1,330,000 Tokarevs were produced in the Soviet Union. [5]
Externally, the TT-33 is very similar to John Browning's blowback operated FN Model 1903 semiautomatic pistol, and internally it uses Browning's short recoil tilting-barrel system from the M1911 pistol. In other areas the TT-33 differs more from Browning's designs—it employs a much simpler hammer/sear assembly than the M1911. This assembly is removable from the pistol as a modular unit and includes machined magazine feed lips, preventing misfeeds when a damaged magazine is loaded into the magazine well. [6] Soviet engineers made several alterations to make the mechanism easier to produce and maintain, most notably the simplifications of the barrel's locking lugs, allowing fewer machining steps. Some models use a captive recoil spring secured to the guide rod, which depends on the barrel bushing to hold it under tension.
The TT-33 is chambered for the 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge, which was itself based on the similar 7.63×25mm Mauser cartridge used in the Mauser C96 pistol. The 7.62×25mm cartridge is powerful, has an extremely flat trajectory, and is capable of penetrating thick clothing and soft body armor. [7]
Due to their reliability, large numbers of the TT-33 were produced during World War II and well into the 1950s. The TT-33 was eventually replaced by the 8-round, 9×18mm Makarov PM pistol in 1952.
The Wehrmacht captured TT-33s and issued them to units under the Pistole 615(r) designation. This was made possible by the fact that Russian 7.62 mm Model 1930 Type P cartridges were nearly identical to the German 7.63×25mm Mauser cartridge, although in German service the 9×19mm Parabellum round was more common. Russian cartridges are loaded to much higher pressures, so using them in German Mauser pistols can cause damage, and is advised against. [6]
In 1949, a silenced variant was produced. Uniquely, the silencer is attached to the barrel bushing rather than the barrel itself. The combined weight of the suppressor with the slide prevents semi-auto cycling of the action, forcing the user to manually cycle it in the same manner as pump action firearms. It would later be replaced by the PB pistol in 1967.
Interarms marketed World War II–surplus Russian-made Tokarevs in Europe and the United States as the Phoenix. They had new wooden grips with a phoenix design on them and were overstamped INTERARMS on the barrel. Later gun laws banned their sale due to their lack of a safety.[ citation needed ]
In modern times, the robust TT-33 has been converted to many powerful cartridges including .38 Super and 9×23mm Winchester. The TT-33 omitted a safety catch other than the half cock notch, which rendered the trigger inoperable until the hammer was pulled back to full cock and then lowered manually to the half cock position. Many variants imported into the US have had manual safeties added, which vary greatly in placement and function.
Production of the TT-33 in Russia ended in 1954, but copies (licensed or otherwise) were also made by other countries. At one time or another, most communist or Soviet bloc countries made a variation of the TT-33 pistol.
The TT pistol was copied in China as the Type 51, Type 54 , M20, and TU-90. [8]
Norinco, the People's Liberation Army's state armaments manufacturer in China, manufactured a commercial variant of the Tokarev pistol chambered in the more common 9×19mm Parabellum round, known as the Tokarev Model 213, as well as in the original 7.62×25mm caliber.
The 9mm model features a safety catch, which was absent on Russian-produced TT-33 handguns. Furthermore, the Model 213 features the thin slide grip grooves, as opposed to the original Russian wide-types. The 9mm model is featured with a magazine well block mounted in the rear of the magazine well to accept 9mm type magazines without frame modification.
The Norinco model in current production is not available for sale in the United States due to import prohibitions on Chinese firearms, although older handguns of the Model 213 type imported in the 1980s and 1990s are common. Norinco now makes the NP-17, a modernized, two-tone variant on the Model 213.
7.62×25mm ammo is also rather inexpensive and locally produced or imported from China, also made by Norinco. The Type-54 was replaced in the mid to late 1990s by the QSZ-92 in PLA service.
Hungary produced licensed copies of the TT-33 as the Pisztoly 48 Minta commonly referred to as the M48 or 48M, [9] as well as an export version for Egypt known as the Tokagypt 58 chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum round which was widely used by police forces there. [6] Tokagypts differ from the M48 by an external thumb safety, an ergonomic wraparound grip, and a magazine with a finger rest. [10]
Egypt, however, cancelled its order after less than half of the 30,000 pistols ordered were delivered. [lower-alpha 2] The remaining pistols were sold commercially by FÉG. [11]
North Korea manufactured them as the Type 68 or M68. [6]
Both legal and illegal TT pistols are still manufactured in various Pakistani Khyber Pass factories. [12]
Poland produced their own copies as the PW wz.33, manufactured from 1947 to 1959. [6] In mid-50s a training version of PW wz. 33 was created, chambered in .22lr called TT Sportowy . All of those pistols were converted between 1954 and 1958 from the 7.62mm variant by changing the barrel and removing the locking lugs from slide.
Additionally, the Radom M48 was created in Radom, Poland as another slightly modified copy of the TT33.
Romania produced a TT-33 copy as the TTC, or Tokarev Cugir well into the 1950s. These have been made available for commercial sale in great numbers in recent years. However, to be importable into the United States, a trigger blocking safety was added. [13]
The K54 is a copy of the TT-33.[ citation needed ] An updated version known as the K14-VN is made by Factory Z111, and has an increased capacity of 13 rounds, with a wider grip to incorporate a double stack magazine. [14] Research and development started in 2001. [15] The K14-VN began to see service with PAVN forces on May 10, 2014. [16]
The industry name for the regular K54 and the K14-VN is known as SN7M and the SN7TD. [17]
Zastava produces an improved version of the TT-33 designated M57 . [18]
The M57 has a longer grip and longer 9-round magazine (versus 8 rounds in TT). [19] A 9×19mm version is also made by Zastava designated M70A as well as a compact version M88.
Zastava manufactures a sub compact pistol M70 (a.k.a. Pčelica ("little bee")) roughly based on TT design in 7,65mm Browning (.32 ACP) or 9mm Kratak (.380 ACP). [ citation needed ]
Prior to 2012, the M57A, M70A and M88A were formerly imported into the U.S. by Century International Arms, but have since been replaced by Zastava USA. [20] [21]
The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the equivalent in Imperial and United States Customary measures. It is most commonly used in hunting cartridges. The measurement equals 0.30 inches or three decimal lines, written .3″ and read as three-line.
The Karabiner 98 kurz, often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98, is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge. It was adopted on 21 June 1935 as the standard service rifle by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles.
Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mauser designs were also exported and licensed to many countries, which adopted them as military and civilian sporting firearms. The Gewehr 98 in particular was widely adopted and copied, and it is the foundation of many of today's sporting bolt-action rifles.
The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20th century.
The Makarov pistol or PM is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it became the Soviet Union's standard military and Militsiya side arm in 1951.
The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army and was first produced in 1949.
The 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge is a Soviet rimless bottleneck pistol cartridge widely used in former Soviet states and in China, among other countries. The cartridge has since been replaced in most capacities by the 9×18mm Makarov in Russian service.
The Nagant M1895 is a seven-shot, gas-seal revolver designed and produced by Belgian industrialist Léon Nagant for the Russian Empire.
The PPD is a submachine gun originally designed in 1934 by Vasily Degtyaryov. The PPD had a conventional wooden stock, fired from an open bolt, and was capable of selective fire. It was replaced by the PPSh-41.
The PPSh-41 is a selective-fire, open-bolt, blowback submachine gun that fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev round. It was designed by Georgy Shpagin of the Soviet Union to be a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40.
The Type 54 and its variants are Chinese copies of the Soviet type Tokarev TT-33.
The M93 Black Arrow is a 12.7×108mm anti-materiel rifle developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms.
A Khyber Pass copy is a firearm manufactured by cottage gunsmiths in the Khyber Pass region in Pakistan.
The 7.65×25mm Borchardt cartridge was designed by Georg Johann Luger for use in Hugo Borchardt's Borchardt C-93 pistol. It was the first successful rimless pistol cartridge.
The 9×25mm Mauser is a cartridge developed for the Mauser C96 service pistol around 1904 by DWM. Mauser pistols in this relatively powerful caliber were primarily intended for export to Africa, Asia, and South America. The 9mm Mauser Export cartridge was produced specifically for Mauser pistols and carbines made from 1904 to 1914 and then later from approximately 1930 to 1945 for submachine guns chambered for this caliber.
The Zastava M57 is a Yugoslavian and Serbian semi-automatic pistol produced by Zastava Arms. It was the standard service pistol of the Yugoslav People's Army from 1961 until the early 1990s. The M57 was an unlicensed derivative of the Soviet TT pistol, but incorporated a number of detail modifications, namely a longer grip and a slightly larger magazine. Zastava reverse engineered the Soviet TT in 1954, and began serial production of the weapon type as the M57 in 1963.
The 7.63×25mm Mauser round is a bottleneck, rimless, centerfire cartridge, originally developed for the Mauser C96 service pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case. It later served as the basis for the 7.62mm Tokarev cartridge commonly used in Soviet and Eastern Bloc weapons.
The 7.62×39mm round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as well as RPD and RPK light machine guns.
The M49 submachine gun is a Yugoslavian submachine gun chambered in 7.62×25mm Tokarev, designed for use with the Yugoslav People's Army. While externally similar to the PPSh-41, as well as being able to interchange magazines, the M49 is actually very different in both construction and design. More similar in nature to the Italian Beretta Model 38, the M49 features a one-piece tube receiver which contains the bolt, recoil spring and buffer mechanism. Constructed of machined parts as well as simple tubing, the receiver assembly incorporates a ventilated barrel shroud to protect the operator from being burned during periods of rapid-fire, as well as a simple muzzle brake to steady the weapon.
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