Encyclopedia of weapons. Armament encyclopedia Underwater pistol spp 1m
The first decades after the end of the Great Patriotic War were marked by an unprecedented arms race provoked by the United States.
The Soviet Union, in turn, did not give up: we quickly created our own atomic and hydrogen bombs, long-range ballistic missiles, the latest jet aircraft and powerful tanks, as well as aircraft-carrying cruisers that outperform the vaunted American aircraft carriers in terms of efficiency.
Everyone knows this, but few people know about the modest strategic victory that completely turned the principles of reconnaissance and sabotage under water. She allowed the Soviet combat swimmers ("sea devils", as they were called in the West) to become a real thunderstorm of the seas.
Background of creation
The middle of the 50s of the last century was marked by the almost complete dominance of the underwater special forces of Western countries, which freely penetrated into Soviet ports, exploring the latest military equipment. The sabotage of 1955 is also memorable, when the Italians were right in the Sevastopol harbor.
The last blow to the pride of the Russian leadership was the news that the British combat swimmers managed to freely explore the cruiser "Ordzhonikidze", which was Nikita Khrushchev who made an official visit to the UK in 1956.
It was decided to immediately start creating their own underwater sabotage units. But it turned out that there was nothing to equip them with, since special daggers were effective only in close combat.
Several design bureaus immediately began to develop special small arms capable of firing underwater. The main difficulty of the task was that the density of water is 800 times higher than the density of air, and a shot with a conventional cartridge can simply break the barrel of a weapon.
Constructor V. Simonov By 1968, it was possible to develop a unique special SPS cartridge of 4.5 mm caliber, which made it possible to create a four-barreled pistol for underwater shooting SPP-1, which had no analogues in the world, which is still used in a modernized form by Russian combat swimmers.
Russian approach to problem solving
Taking into account the physical properties of water, the designer decided to give the ATP bullet a streamlined spear shape, extending it to a size of 115 mm. The special shape of the striking element, when moving in the aquatic environment, created a cavity (air cavity) around the bullet, reducing resistance.
The cartridge case of the ATP cartridge is equipped with a telescopic tray that prevents the release of powder gases after the shot is fired and the bullet is ejected.
A similar principle of operation of the bullet completely excluded the possibility of creating automatic small arms. But Soviet designers also found a solution to this problem by presenting the SPP-1 four-barreled pistol to the State Commission in 1970.
When reloading a weapon, its barrel breaks (as in hunting rifles) with a partial release of the cartridge case block, which can be easily removed from the pistol even at great depths. A tightly fastened clip allows the diver to reload the weapon in a matter of moments and open aimed fire at the enemy.
The trigger guard has an increased size, enabling the swimmer to fire without removing the insulated three-fingered diving gloves.
Who will come to us under water ...
The news about the Soviet development was leaked to the foreign press after the most experienced combat swimmers began to disappear in the territorial waters of the USSR, and the survivors talked about the "air arrows of death" fired by Soviet divers.
Having learned about the presence of such a deadly weapon, capable of hitting an enemy under water from a distance of up to 17 meters and incapacitating his ammunition at a distance of up to 30 meters, the leadership of Western intelligence curtailed most reconnaissance operations in Soviet territorial waters, and open confrontations between combat swimmers continued exclusively in zones influence of other states.
All underwater special operations carried out by the Soviet Union and modern Russia are carefully classified, and it is almost impossible to obtain reliable information about them. It is only known that our submarine saboteurs used SPP-1 during underwater clashes in the area of the Vietnamese port of Kamran and the Ethiopian naval base Dahlak, blocked by Eritrean troops.
The combat swimmers of Cuba, who received SPP-1 at their disposal, managed to prevent several attempts on their leader Fidel Castro, and also to carry out a number of successful operations during the people's liberation war in Angola.
Today, Russian underwater saboteurs continue to use the slightly modernized SPP-1M underwater pistol, which has retained almost all of the original characteristics of its unfading grandfather.
Tactical and technical characteristics of SPP-1
| Number of trunks, pcs. | 4 |
| Caliber | 4.5mm |
| Cartridge | 4.5 x 40 mm SPS |
| Chuck length, mm | 145 |
| Bullet length, mm | 115 |
| Bullet weight, g | 12,5 |
| Weapon length, mm | 244 |
| Barrel length, mm | 203 |
| Gun weight without cartridges, kg |
0,95 |
| Nutrition | Hard bonded clip for 4 rounds |
| Submarine saboteur ammunition, clips with cartridges | 5 |
| Sighting range of the shot, meters: | |
| at a depth of up to 5 m | 17 |
| at a depth of up to 20 m | 11 |
| on air | 20 |
Combat swimmers and underwater saboteurs are armed with a special underwater pistol SPP-1 (SPP-1m) and an APS submachine gun (special underwater submachine gun). They can be used both against underwater saboteurs of a potential enemy, and fighting animals, marine predators.
On November 13, 1967, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Defense on the basis of TsNIITOCHMASH, the development of an underwater pistol (code "MORUZH") began. A representative of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Department of the Navy (military unit 62758), Captain 1st Rank M.K., arrived at the plant. Kokorev, who on the spot brought the importance of the project implementation and its necessity. Soon, an agreement was concluded between the development institution and military unit 62758 to create a fundamentally new type of weapon for domestic combat swimmers and underwater saboteurs (TOZ No. 4/1057560 02/07/1968 (topic B-VI-307). firearms in the aquatic environment, it was decided to start working on two directions in the implementation of the task.The first direction provided for the development of the reactive principle of throwing a bullet, the second was the usual, or active method of firing a shot.General scientific management of the work was carried out by V.M. Sabelnikov (Director of the Institute) In various directions, the development was carried out by engineers: P.F. Sazonov (chief designer of special ammunition), S. Matveykin and D. I. Shiryaev (pistol with a jet bullet), O. P. Kravchenko, I. P. Kasyanov and V. V. Simonov (pistol with conventional bullets), AM Arkhipova, YP Voronin, ZN Andreeva, LI Chugrova and others.
In 1968, the first prototypes of special ammunition appeared. It was supposed to bring their capabilities to breaking through at a range of 14 meters under water (depth 20 meters) a pine board 25 mm thick. It soon became clear that the most difficult problem of the project was the choice of a method for throwing a bullet and its stabilization in flight, as well as the power of the charge and its design. Tests went in different directions. Variants of an active-reactive shot, the use of bullets with a "hydrojet stabilizer" and a "turbine" type were worked out ...
From July 1968, test firing began in open water in Feodosia (military unit 78384). Good results were shown by active-reactive ammunition, but it needed to be improved to stabilize the flight of the bullet. By mid-1969, these works were completed. This summer, tests of a reactive bullet (military unit 31303) were resumed, and in September, practical firing was carried out in Sevastopol (military unit 27203). It was possible to achieve penetration of the control shield at a distance of 25 meters (depth 3 meters) with a tolerable dispersion of ammunition. Meanwhile, the development of the usual method of firing was carried out later and did not suit both the customer and the developer.
In July 1969, they tested both a pistol (AO-45, future - SPP-1) and a 4.5-mm cartridge for it based on military unit 78384. By winter, they managed to get two versions of 4.5-mm bullets, that matched the specifications. The designers were inclined to adopt an active-reactive complex, but its shortcomings turned out to be decisive. It was not tested at great depths, could not be used by a combat swimmer in the air and turned out to be complex in design. They came to the conclusion that it was necessary to develop a "hybrid" ammunition. However, later, as a result of obtaining positive results when testing an active (conventional) shot scheme, the situation changed. The resulting ammunition was inferior to the active-reactive counterpart in terms of the range of the bullet at shallow depths, but surpassed it at values of more than 17 meters.
In the summer of 1970, weapons tests were resumed in Sevastopol. As a result, results were obtained that made it possible to submit the complex for State tests in October of this year. On March 30, 1971, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy signed decision No. 715/0013 30 on the adoption of special units of the "individual underwater shooting complex "MORUZH" as part of the SPP-1 underwater pistol and the 4.5-mm SPS cartridge." The production of weapons began in 1972. Pistols were manufactured by the Tula Arms Plant, and ammunition for it by the Yuryuzan Mechanical Plant.
The first batch of SPP-1 was tested in Baltiysk (October-November 1973) and satisfied the customer.
In subsequent years, SPS ammunition was upgraded twice (1976, 1989). The shortcomings of the pistol were taken into account in the SPP-1M model.
Structurally, the SPP-1m belongs to the type of multi-barrel non-automatic pistols. When loading, its hinged unit with 4 barrels leans forward, and cartridges are inserted into it, fastened together by a special pack. The shots are fired by successive pressing of the trigger. Actually, the cartridge is a cartridge case with an arrow pressed into it. The initial speed of the needle in air is 250 m / s, caliber 4.5x40 mm Ammunition - 16 cartridges in clips and 4 in the barrel.
The main performance characteristics of the SPP-1 m pistol (there are minor discrepancies in various sources)
Lethal range in water at depth, m:
Up to 5 m - 17 (sighting - 5-7)
Up to 10 m - 14
Up to 20 m - 11
Up to 40 m - 6
In the air - 50 (sight - 15)
Pistol weight with 4 cartridges, kg - 0.95
Length, mm - 244
Width, mm - 25
Height, mm - 138
Cartridge SPS - 18
ATP needles - 13.2
The total length of the ATP ammunition, mm - 145
Needle length, mm - 115
The pistol is attached to the combat swimmer's belt in a special holster made of artificial leather. It is equipped with a device for loading cartridges into clips, a waist belt and three metal cases for carrying loaded clips.
The SPP-1 pistol (SPP-1M) was created to arm combat swimmers, to fight the enemy under water and outside. The cartridge and pistol were developed at TSNIITOCHMASH with the participation of TOZ. Simonov V.V. was engaged in the development of the pistol.
In March 1971, the SPS-1 complex was adopted by the Soviet special forces.
Pistol SPP-1 (SPP-1M) - non-self-loading, four-barreled. The trunks are united in a block that folds down when opened. The pistol is equipped with a self-cocking trigger mechanism and allows only single fire. With each shot, the striker rotates 90 degrees and, under the influence of the trigger, breaks the primer of the next cartridge. The pistol is loaded using a clip in which four cartridges are rigidly fixed. Thus, the clip is an accelerator of loading, similar in principle to revolver clips, four cartridges are simultaneously inserted into the barrels. Ammunition pistol 16 rounds equipped in clips. A loaded pistol is carried in a holster, three loaded clips (12 rounds) are placed in special sealed metal cases.
The pistol kit includes a holster made of artificial leather, three sealed cases for three clips, ten clips, a device for equipping clips with cartridges, a waist belt, a ramrod, an oiler. The SPP-1M underwater pistol (adopted for service in 1979) differs from the SPP-1 pistol in an enlarged trigger guard opening for the possibility of firing in three-fingered insulated mittens and in a percussion trigger mechanism.
In the combat position, the trunks are fixed with a latch. Located behind the block of barrels, the percussion mechanism provides sequential shots from each barrel. The trigger mechanism works from one trigger.
The pistol is capable of hitting an enemy wearing an insulated foam suit and additionally reinforced with 5 mm fiberglass plates. In addition, SPP can be used to protect swimmers from dangerous marine predators.
Tactical and technical characteristics of SPP-1M
USM - only double action
Caliber, mm - 4.5x40R
Type of cartridges - SPS
Length, mm - 244
Width, mm - 37
Height, mm - 136
Barrel length, mm - 203
Weight without cartridges, g - 950
Weight with cartridges, kg - 1.03
Muzzle velocity, m/s - 250 in air
Magazine capacity - 4 cartridges loaded into separate barrels
Lethal firing range:
at a depth of up to 5 meters, m - 17
at a depth of up to 20 meters, m - 11
at a depth of up to 40 meters, m - 6
in air, m - 20
The first studies on the possibility of creating underwater pistol weapons were started by Soviet gunsmiths back in 1966. The complexity and originality of the task lay in the fact that there were no domestic and foreign analogues of underwater small arms, there were practically no scientific and theoretical developments of such weapons and ammunition.
The main problem was the impossibility of creating a full-fledged underwater firearm. This was due to the fact that shooting under water is due to two negative factors: the high density of water (800 times higher than air) and the filling of the bore with water.
The special underwater pistol SPP-1 was developed in the late sixties by designers Kravchenko and Sazonov for arming combat swimmers of the USSR Navy.
Since conventional bullets in water lose their effectiveness already at the smallest ranges (less than 1 meter), special ammunition has been developed for underwater weapons that fire needle-shaped bullets of high elongation.
The SPP-1 underwater pistol is unique in its design, despite the fact that it was a simple four-barreled pistol that opens from the breech. The SPP-1 pistol had a block of four smooth barrels, hinged on the frame and rotating around its trunnions. For reloading, the barrel block leaned down on a hinge, and was locked on the lower hook and latch.
Shots from a pistol were fired alternately from each barrel. The self-cocking trigger mechanism provided consistent firing. The drummer was mounted on a rotating base and, with each pull of the trigger, cocked and rotated a quarter of a turn, approaching the next barrel. The self-cocking trigger force was 3.5 kgf.
There is no extraction of spent cartridges as such. Four cartridges for simultaneous loading were rigidly combined into one block using a flat steel clip, which was inserted into the barrels from the breech and manually removed from them. Spent cartridges were also simultaneously removed from the barrels, fastened with a clip. When unlocking the block of barrels, the extractor moved the clip with spent cartridges back, facilitating and somewhat speeding up reloading: under water, the reloading process took about 5 seconds.
The flag fuse was mounted on the frame on the left and had three positions: the upper "CHARGE", the middle "PR" and the lower "FIRE". When the fuse is moved to the upper position, the barrel block is unlocked to reload the weapon.
The pistol grip is plastic, hollow. On the left side in the recess of the handle, behind the trigger guard, there is a safety lever. Open sights consisted of unregulated front and rear sights.
To load the pistol with cartridges, the fuse is set to the “CHARGE” position, while the block opens and it is possible to load through the breech.
After the barrels were locked and the fuse was set to the "FIRE" position, it was possible to fire from the SPP-1 pistol.
When the fuse is in the middle position, the trigger and mainspring are blocked. When the trigger was pressed, the lever transmitted force and cocked the hammer, compressing the mainspring. The trigger, continuing to move back, went into the groove and turned the drummer 90 degrees clockwise. As soon as the trigger mechanism was aligned with the axis of the barrel, it was fixed in this position and the trigger was released. There was a shot.
Each SPP-1 pistol was equipped with ten clips for cartridges, accessories, a closed holster made of artificial leather, a device for loading cartridges into clips, a waist belt for carrying and three metal cases for equipped clips, a ramrod for cleaning and disassembly, an oiler. The wearable ammunition of a combat swimmer was 16 SPS rounds, or four equipped clips.
During the development of the pistol, the problem of ensuring the corrosion resistance of weapon parts during operation in an aggressive environment (sea water) was successfully solved through the use of a protective corrosion-resistant coating developed at TsNIITOCHMASH.
The SPP-1 pistol turned out to be very reliable and effective, and it is precisely these qualities that are necessary for small arms that are in service with the army. At the maximum firing ranges in the water, an underwater pistol ensured the defeat of a swimmer dressed in a wetsuit with foam rubber insulation, and also pierced 5 mm thick plexiglass.
The accuracy of firing at a distance of up to 50 m was r100–15 cm. Noteworthy is the fact that combat swimmers can be trained to shoot from an underwater pistol on land.
To train combat swimmers to shoot from the SPP-1 pistol on the shore, the block of smooth barrels in it could be replaced with 4 rifled barrels designed for the use of conventional 7N6 submachine gun cartridges.
At the same time, during its operation, certain shortcomings were identified, which led to its partial modernization. In 1979, his improved model appeared - the SPP-1M pistol, which differs from its prototype in a modernized trigger mechanism, including the presence of a special spring, which facilitated the effort on the trigger, and an enlarged trigger guard, strongly curved forward, into which the index finger freely entered. finger of a combat swimmer-scuba diver in insulated gloves.
Reliability of the automatic machine is guaranteed during operation in any climatic conditions in the temperature range from -10°C to +40°C (before immersion).
The production of SPP-1M pistols is also established at the Tula Arms Plant.
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Special underwater pistol SPP-1 (SPP-1M)
TACTICAL - TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
| Caliber, mm | |
| Applicable cartridge | |
| Muzzle velocity in air, m/s | |
| Weight of equipped weapon, kg | |
| Mass of unloaded weapons, kg | |
| Length, mm | |
| Height, mm | |
| Width, mm | |
| Barrel length, mm | |
| Capacity (by the number of barrels), cartridges | |
| Wearable ammunition, cartridges in clips | |
| - at a depth of 10 m | |
| - on air |