PPSh 41 specifications. Familiar to everyone, from young to old. PPSh

Well, well - having dealt with the most stupid inventions, we can safely proceed, in fact, to comparison. Let's start, as expected, with performance characteristics - performance characteristics, summarized here.

As can be seen even from a cursory acquaintance with the parameters below, our submachine gun had a large aiming and maximum range of fire. This is primarily due to the difference in the cartridges used - the German Parabellum 9x19 mm (Pistolenpatrone 08) was much weaker than our 7.62x25 mm TT, the "progenitor" of which, by the way, was the 7.63 × 25 Mauser cartridge - to the same Mausers -pistols, which were so loved by the revolutionary sailors and the first Chekists. Soviet patron gave the best flatness, and as a result, the PPSh surpassed the “competitor” in terms of range, accuracy and accuracy of fire.

PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum

Caliber: 9 mm

Weight without cartridges: 4.18 kg. 3.97 kg.

Weight with cartridges: 4.85 kg. 4.7 kg.

Length: 833 (with stock folded 630) mm

Barrel length: 248 mm

Operating principle: Free shutter

Rate of fire: 400 rounds/min 500 rounds/min

Type of fire: automatic; machine.

Sight: Front sight and unregulated open sight 100 m, with folding stand 200 m

Effective range: 100m

Sighting range: 200 m

Muzzle velocity: 390 m/s

Number of rounds: 32

Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh)

Cartridge 7.62 × 25 mm TT

Caliber, mm: 7.62

Weight with cartridges: 5.3 kg (with equipped drum magazine); 4.15 kg (with equipped sector magazine)

Empty weight: 3.63 kg

Length 843 mm

Barrel length 269 mm

Operating principle: free shutter

Rate of fire: approximately 1000 rounds / min

Type of fire: automatic; single

Sight: unregulated, open, at 100 m, with a folding stand at 200 m

Sighting range: 200-300 m

Maximum range: 400 m

Muzzle velocity: 500 m/s

Type of ammunition: Detachable magazine

Number of rounds: 71 (disc magazine) or 35 (horn magazine)

Cartridges for PPSh and their "forerunners" - Mauser

PPSh could fire single shots. For people who understand (and who have experienced for themselves what “running out of cartridges” means) - a significant plus. Yes, and a single shot is more accurate by definition

PPSh had twice as much ammunition. In a fast-paced battle with limited ammunition and reloading capabilities, this is a factor that may well become a matter of life and death. Over time, however, the drum magazine was nevertheless replaced by a sector one - as more reliable and less heavy, but many fighters preferred round "cans" for 71 rounds until the end of the war. Stock, as you know ... the pocket does not pull. In combat, even more so.

PPSh with disk and sector magazine

The German PP was definitely lighter and more compact. This is a plus. However, in hand-to-hand combat it automatically turned into a minus - and here the PPSh won unambiguously. The massive stock (usually made of birch) broke bones and flattened helmets like a sledgehammer. There were plenty of heroes in the Red Army, who bravely took out the Aryan brains with one blow of the butt of the PPSh.

And one more, extremely important detail, which is, however, already outside the performance characteristics. Our submachine gun was amazingly technological. PPSh-41 consisted of 87 parts, the production of one product took only 5.6 machine-hours. Precise processing of the PPSh-41 required only the barrel and part of the bolt, all other elements were made using stamping.

MP 40 was also quite technologically advanced - for its time. An American wartime report on this submachine gun noted:

“... the weapon is perfectly adapted to mass production, the number of operations requiring machining is reduced to a minimum. The design is assembled from a large number of assembly units, which allows you to involve in production a large number of subcontractors".

And still…

It is impossible to compare the conditions in which the military industry of the Third Reich worked (until 1945) with the feat of our women, children and the elderly, who at the beginning of the war, often in unheated, hastily “sour cream” workshops, mass-produced PPSh, which then mowed down on our land fascist horde.

They are simple home front workers who defeated the Nazis on this front as well! Let me once again remind you of the ratio of issued in Germany and the USSR during the years of the Great Patriotic PP - about six million of ours, against a million with a little German (see the previous publication).

Assembly of PPSh-41 in Moscow at the plant. Stalin

The main role here, of course, was played by the selfless work of the entire Soviet people, however, a considerable share of the merit belongs to the developers of the PPSh, who managed to create weapons that could be produced in mass quantities and of excellent quality even by people who came to military factories "from the street", and, who have not received any special training.

May their feat be glorified through the ages!

To be continued

Alexander Neukropny especially for Planet Today

PPSh-41 was the most massive submachine gun of the Second World War. It was in service from 1941 to 1951, and is still in use in some countries.

During the Soviet-Finnish war, it became clear that the role of submachine guns in modern war in the thirties was underestimated. The submachine gun has proved to be a very effective close combat weapon, and with enough submachine guns on the defenders, the attack of the advancing enemy is usually choked.

Therefore, already on January 6, 1940, that is, in the midst of winter war By the decision of the Defense Committee, the Red Army again adopted the PPD - the Degtyarev submachine gun.

Submachine gun Degtyarev.

It was a copy of the Finnish PP Suomi. Created by gunsmith Aimo Lahti.

Submachine gun Suomi.

Finnish soldier with PP Suomi.

However, the PPD was labor-intensive in production - it took 13.7 hours to manufacture it, so even the transfer from January 22, 1940 of the workshops for the production of PPD to a three-shift mode of operation did not make it possible to equip the Red Army with submachine guns en masse. In addition, the PPD was quite expensive - one submachine gun with a set of spare parts and accessories cost 900 rubles, which made it comparable in cost to the DP-27 machine gun, which cost 1150 rubles. Therefore, the People's Commissariat of Arms gave a request to gunsmiths to create a submachine gun, parts of which could be made with minimal machining.

Georgy Semenovich Shpagin

Submachine guns of Shpagin and Shpitalny, the author of the famous ShKAS, were presented for the competition. On October 4, 1940, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution to manufacture a series of Shpagin and Shpitalny submachine guns for comparative testing.

Submachine gun B.G. Spitalny

In November 1940, 25 Shpagin submachine guns and 15 Shpitalny submachine guns were manufactured. At the end of November 1940, field tests of submachine guns of the Degtyarev, Shpagin and Shpitalny systems began, which revealed the advantage of the Shpitalny submachine gun in terms of tactical and technical characteristics. So, the Shpitalny submachine gun had a 3.3% higher initial speed and a 23% better accuracy. In addition, Shpitalny's submachine gun had a 97-round magazine. However, from a technological point of view, the Shpagin submachine gun looked preferable. In addition, it turned out to be more reliable - it gave fewer delays, and if any appeared, they were easily eliminated.

But, most importantly, the Shpitalny submachine gun required even more time for its manufacture than the PPD - 25.3 hours. The Shpaginsky submachine gun was made in 5.6 hours. On December 21, 1940, the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution on the adoption of the Shpagin submachine gun into service with the Soviet Army. He was given the name "Submachine gun of the Shpagin system of the 1941 model."

PPSh of early releases with a disk magazine for 71 rounds and a sector sight with ten divisions for shooting at a distance from 50 to 500 m.

PPSh device

According to its design, the Shpagin submachine gun belongs to the samples of self-firing automatic weapons, working on the principle of free shutter recoil. Impact "impact type mechanism operates from a reciprocating mainspring.

The trigger mechanism allows both single and continuous fire. The fuse is mounted on the bolt handle and locks the latter in the rear and front positions.

1 - receiver with barrel cover. 2 - bolt box, 3 - axis on which the receiver can rotate when it is tilted during disassembly. 4 - receiver latch. 5 - pin. 6 - hook. 7 - latch spring. 8 - insert. 9 - trunk. 10 – insert hole. 11 - rivet.

The back of the receiver is essentially a bolt box cover, and the front is a casing. The front of the casing forms a muzzle brake, the front wall of which is welded at an angle. As a result, the muzzle brake not only absorbs some of the recoil energy, but also reduces the upward deviation of the bore axis when firing.

PPSh shutter

The PPSh shutter covers the bore during a shot under the action of a reciprocating mainspring. Due to large mass, the shutter, before the bullet leaves the barrel, manages to travel a very small distance, which prevents the occurrence of transverse ruptures of the sleeves and from the breakthrough of gases during firing. A striker is assembled in the shutter, which is kept from falling out by a pin. The firing pin protrudes by 1.1 - 1.3 mm.
For manual reloading, the shutter is equipped with a handle pressed into its hole.
Extraction and reflection of the spent cartridge case are carried out using an ejector mounted on the bolt and a reflector rigidly fixed to the bottom of the bolt box; liner protrusion up and forward.

Reciprocating mainspring PPSh: 17 - rod. 18 - limiter. 19 - puck. 20 - shock absorber.

The reciprocating mainspring is put on guide 17 and spirals with its rear end onto stopper 18, and with its front end onto washer 19. In order to hold the washer and stopper, the ends of the rod are flared. When assembling, the end of the rod with the washer is inserted into the bolt hole, while the washer rests on the annular ledge inside the hole, and the limiter into the bolt box hole. When the bolt moves backward, the washer slides along the guide rod and compresses the reciprocating mainspring, while the front end of the guide rod passes through the bolt hole. The retreat of the shutter back is limited by a fiber shock absorber 20, which is put on during assembly on a reciprocating mainspring from the front end. The shock absorber rests on the bolt box and softens the impact of the bolt on the latter.

German Lieutenant with our PPSh-41 during the Battle of Stalingrad.

German officer with PPSh

The PPSh fuse is a slider that can move along the bolt handle. It can be installed in two positions, being fixed in the established position with a spring-loaded yoke, while the yoke falls into the holes of the handle. When the fuse is pressed to the bolt, its end enters one of the cutouts on the side wall of the receiver, locking the bolt.

MP41(r) - German modification of PPSh chambered for Parabellum

At stowed position PPSh fuse holds the bolt in the forward position.
When changing the magazine or when setting the fuse of a loaded submachine gun, the fuse is inserted into the rear cutout of the receiver. After removing the fuse in the latter case, the shutter will move forward a little under the action of a reciprocating mainspring and linger on the sear; the submachine gun will be ready to fire.

PPSh-41 with a sector magazine for 35 rounds, a sight in the form of a rotary rear sight for shooting at 100 and 200 m, a more reliable magazine latch, and a chrome-plated surface of the barrel bore.

The production of PPSh began in the fall of 1941. Due to the simplicity of design, the rejection of the use of alloyed steels and complex special tools, their manufacture was deployed in in large numbers enterprises that had not previously specialized in the production of weapons and, as a result, did not have either special equipment or measuring tool, nor a sufficient number of qualified work force. This allowed in short time establish mass production of PPSh.

In spite of high quality PPSh, its design underwent a number of changes during the war years, dictated by the accumulated experience of combat operation and the conditions of mass mass production. On February 12, 1942, by a decree of the State Defense Committee, a sector magazine for 35 rounds was adopted for Shpagin submachine guns. However, experience combat use showed that sector stores, despite all their positive properties, have insufficient strength. They are deformed when soldiers crawl and when moving in trenches and communication passages, as a result of which submachine guns fail to work due to the failure of the next cartridge. To increase the strength of the store in November 1943, a sector store design was developed, made of steel sheet with a thickness of 1 mm instead of 0.5 mm.

However, PPSh did not meet all the requirements of the military economy, and in 1943 an even simpler and more technologically advanced submachine gun PPS-43 appeared .. True. he still could not oust the PPSh from the Red Army. Only the Kalashnikov assault rifle managed to do this ..

PPSh-41 was taken out of service by the Soviet Army in 1951. After being withdrawn from service, Shpagin submachine guns continued to be supplied to pro-Soviet states around the world. Produced in North Korea under the name model 49, in China - Type 50, and in Vietnam - K-50.

Foreign versions of the Soviet PPSh: Yugoslav M49 and Vietnamese K-50

American soldier with captured PPSh

Said to be very good at cleaning rooms

PPSh in American

During World War II, Soviet Union there was a lack of good weapons, at least at the very beginning. When the Nazi troops used the latest devices at that time, our soldiers had a hard time. In addition, there was a poor supply of food and weapons, for example, cartridges for machine guns. Trained and well-prepared for war soldiers fought on the side of the Nazis, who captured almost all of Europe. In general, we can say that the USSR was not ready for war.

Weapon

However Soviet designers invented new mechanisms different kinds weapons before the war. Stalin foresaw that the Nazis would soon invade the country. And during the Second World War, new types of equipment and small arms were created that directly influenced the course of the war, it is enough to recall the famous BM-13 or Katyusha, which frightened the enemy soldiers with their fire. There were also other weapons that remained in the memory of those who fought and their descendants, such as the T-34 tank. One of these can be called the Shpagin submachine gun or, as it was also called, it was one of the most indicative at that time.

Story

In 1940, it was already clear to many that a war was coming that would take the lives of many Soviet residents. However, many believed in the invincibility of the Red Army. Unfortunately, this was not entirely true. The Germans were more prepared for war. Of course, their army was considered stronger at that time. The machine that better than analogues was simply necessary. He had to behave with dignity on the battlefield, not break down in bad weather conditions in general, be universal. Today, on the battlefields, mainly in find samples of PPSh. They end up in museums.

G.S. Shpagin was born in 1897, died in 1952. It was he who became the designer of the legendary submachine gun, named after him. In 1940, it was adopted PPSh submachine gun. The technical characteristics corresponded to the then norms, so it quickly spread in the army, becoming one of the most beloved in the troops. To describe its popularity, it is enough just to say how many copies were presented. More than 6,000,000 machines. This is one of the most sought after in history. It is also worth noting that in some countries the PPSh has been in service up to the present, that is, more than seventy years from the date of its creation. This means that the submachine gun was really good. Next, the PPSh device will be presented - description, history, characteristics.

The famous designer of the legendary weapon G.S. Shpagin was born in a village in the Vladimir region. He got acquainted with the production and invention of various weapons in the army, which he got into in 1916. After the First World War, he began working as a gunsmith. After leaving the troops, he worked as a mechanic at an arms factory, where he met his future teacher V. A. Degtyarev.

During the war with Finland, which was interrupted due to the Second World War, it was noticed that submachine guns perform very well in battle. Therefore, Shpagin and Shpitalny, who was also a designer, presented their weapon options to the government. As you might guess, Shpagin's sample was chosen. Interestingly, both submachine guns were almost equal in terms of combat performance. The designer's goal was to simplify and reduce the cost of the PPD-40, which Degtyarev created, as much as possible. But the main dream of Shpagin was the creation of a stamp-welded machine. This manufacturing method greatly accelerated production.

It is worth paying attention to interesting design solutions in the PPSh (Shpagin submachine gun). An overview is provided below. All the experts of that time were both surprised and annoyed that no one had thought of this before. The oblique cut of the casing also played the role of a compensator. Thus, the problem with recoil, tossing the weapon up and the weight of the machine gun was solved in the easiest way. Shpagin improved the creation of his teacher, surpassing him. PPSh was much more accurate and stable than PPD. We can say that it was one of the first representatives of such machines that everyone is used to seeing.

The fire could be fired both by single shots and bursts. Shpagin achieved his goal: the PPSH-41 machine gun of the Second World War was twice as easy to produce than the PPD.

Why not PPD

PP Shpagin was much more versatile and better in terms of technical characteristics than PPD. But why was the latter generally handed over to the designers for revision? The difficulty in manufacturing PP noticeably slowed down production, which was very bad during the war. In addition, the parts cost big money and during a crisis this is unacceptable. In this regard, the government requested to improve the PAP or create new machine. And the PPSh, in turn, on the contrary, had a simple design. If necessary, any machine-building plant could switch to the creation of this submachine gun.

If in terms of performance the Shpagin and Shpitalny assault rifles were almost equal, then in the test at the training ground, the first showed itself much better. It was the manufacturability and versatility that brought the PPSh-41 machine gun to the first place, specifications which were also high.

Reward

Shpagin's name is immortalized in the very But in addition, the great designer was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree and the high awards were well-deserved. Shpagin made a huge contribution to the victory over the Nazi invaders. In military operations, a model of 1941 was used, which was called PPSh-41. It was him in the amount of more than 6,000,000 pieces produced in the USSR.

Advantages

PPSh-41 was good weapon. Shpagin wanted to make such a PP, the creation of which would take little time and money. He succeeded. All parts, except for the barrel, could be made using cold stamping from a sheet of steel. Spot and arc electric welding and various rivets were also used. To create the barrel, it was necessary to resort to machining, which noticeably slowed down all the work. Very simple wooden parts also increased the speed of making the machine as a whole. Of course, another plus was the ability to assemble and disassemble the submachine gun without a screwdriver. Therefore, PPSh was easy to repair or clean even in combat conditions. In general, the machine was more simple than others in manufacturing and device, easily amenable to repair and cost little money.

ammo

Initially, the PPSh-41 was equipped with a disk magazine, the same as that of the PPD-40. Its capacity was 71 rounds. It was almost the most expensive part of the Shpagin submachine gun. It consisted of a magazine box, a drum and a snail. In combat, it is not possible to carry a disk magazine in your hands, so a special eyelet was created for this purpose, which helped to attach it to the belt. The cartridges were placed in two rows or streams inside and with outside snails. Thanks to the spring, it rotated. After the outer row of cartridges ended, the inner row was squeezed out with the help of a feeder.

The downside was the long process of loading the magazine, which was impossible in combat conditions, which is why the soldiers wore spare magazines. Then, however, box-shaped ones began to be used, which were more convenient and cheaper, but only from 1944. Such shops had only 35 cartridges, but they were supplied with new ones much faster. The caliber of the cartridges was either 7.62 mm or 7.62x25 mm.

Aim

Although the PPSh-41 was a very convenient assault rifle, extremely simple and cheap to manufacture, it was constantly improved. This is exactly what happened with the scope. Initially, an open-type sector sight was installed, which allowed firing at a distance of up to 500 meters. Then it was rejected as inconvenient in combat conditions and a simpler flip rear sight was installed, with it it was possible to shoot only at a distance of up to 100-200 meters, depending on the installation. You might think that the range is a priority, but the PPSh-41, although it had a high accuracy of fire for this type of weapon, could not be 100% accurate at 500 meters. The experience of the Second World War showed that the rear sight only improves the quality of the software.

Perfection

PPSh was constantly subjected to changes and improvements. In addition to the above, it can be noted that in 1944, in order to save time and money, the magazine began to be made with a thickness of only 1 mm. The barrel bore was also chrome-plated, which ensured the safety of the PP even with a long absence of cleaning. That's why performance characteristics PPSh-41 have become so high.

Other characteristics

The characteristics of the PPSh-41 (Shpagin submachine gun) are described in detail below. The fire was fired with bullets of the 1930 model, either single or in bursts, which, in turn, could be either short (3-6) or long (15-20). PP was intended mainly for combat at short distances. The bullet retained lethal force up to 800 meters. And the initial speed was about 500 m / s. These are good indicators for submachine guns of that time. The rate of fire was also pleasing, as much as 1000 rounds per minute. However, in combat conditions, it is necessary to hit with aimed fire and change magazines, so the pace was noticeably reduced.

The PPSh machine was very easy to use. Specifications also included the length of the barrel, which was 842 mm. The mass of the Shpagin submachine gun was 3.5 kg, with a disk magazine - 5.3, with a box magazine - 4.1. The weight of the machine gun made it possible to fire without much effort, which was only a plus.

Flaws

Although the Shpagin PP was the leader in many respects, it was still intended primarily for the infantry. For the rest of the troops, the designers invented other, more convenient for them, automata.

The Shpagin submachine gun was a real godsend for the Soviet army at that time. War was coming, and a weapon was needed that was easy to use and versatile, had high performance, low cost and ease of manufacture. Just like that, the PPSh machine turned out to be. His technical performance was excellent, and he did not need special equipment and knowledge when creating. That is why as many as 6 million copies fell into the use of the Red Army. Even the Nazis appreciated the PPSh machine gun. Technical characteristics they could not ignore. The weapon was the most coveted trophy on the battlefield. Interestingly, the Nazis preferred a disk store.

By 1940, it became obvious that the Red Army needed a submachine gun that was superior in performance and manufacturability to the PPD-34, PPD-34/38 and PPD-40 in service. To replace them, the Shpagin submachine gun and the Shpitalny infantry machine gun were developed and tested. Ironically, the names of both designers began with the letter "Sh", and the abbreviation of the sample adopted by the Red Army would have remained unchanged regardless of the result of the tests. As a result, the Shpaginskiy PPSh-41 won the competition and went into production, and its competitor was forgotten. What is known about the Shpitalny infantry machine gun and in what way was it inferior to the Shpagin submachine gun?

Description of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun

In fact, the design of the OKB-15, which was led by B. G. Shpitalny, is a submachine gun, but everywhere in the documents it is referred to as an “infantry machine gun of 7.62 caliber”. The description says that this means of individual infantry weapons is intended for close combat in attack and defense, and in addition, it can be used with great efficiency as weapons for aviation, paratroopers, armored units, cavalry and border guards.

7.62 mm Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

The basis of automation is the return of a free shutter and the removal of powder gases through a side hole in the wall of the fixed barrel channel. Structurally, Shpitalny's machine gun consisted of four main components: body, trigger, stock and magazine.

The firing mechanism is a striker type, actuated by a reciprocating mainspring. The design of the trigger mechanism allows both single and automatic fire. Switching is carried out with the help of an interpreter, which simultaneously performs the function of a fuse.

The trigger mechanism of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

According to the description, food is supplied through a disk magazine for 97 or 100 rounds of 7.62 × 25 mm (the general view and drawing are only for a magazine for 97 rounds). The supply of cartridges is provided by a coil spring assembled inside the magazine. It is also possible to use a PPD magazine with a capacity of 71 cartridges.

The barrel is inside a casing that protects the shooter's hands from burns. Windows are cut in the casing to cool the barrel. Sector sight. A plate (platform) for an optical sight can be installed on the left side of the machine gun body.

General view of the store for the Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

The walnut stock consists of two parts: the main stock and the front forearm, connected together by a bar. The butt is behind covered with a metal butt pad with a hinged lid. Opposite the opening of the butt plate in the butt, there is a channel for placing a folding ramrod.

The description of the design indicates that the main difference from existing systems are:

• a new principle of automation that ensures reliable operation in conditions of pollution and low temperatures;
• the machine gun does not require lubrication and is not afraid of temperature fluctuations;
• easy to manufacture and easy to use;
• due to the presence of a reactive muzzle brake, it has good combat stability during automatic firing and less recoil;
• due to more initial speed has a greater aiming range compared to other samples.

The technical data of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun provided by OKB-15 (the data of the Scientific Testing Range for Small Arms (NIPSVO) are somewhat different from them) looked like this:

• Caliber - 7.62 mm
• Weight - 3,890 kg
• Magazine weight with cartridges - 2,897 kg
• The weight of the machine gun under the PPD store - 3,960 kg
• The length of the machine gun from the muzzle brake to the back of the stock - 938 mm
• Barrel length - 350 mm
• The length of the rifled part of the barrel - 320 mm
• The number of rifling in the barrel - 4
• Cartridge type - 7.62 × 25 mm
• Rate of fire - 600-800 rounds per minute
• Sighting range - 1000 m
• Number of parts for complete disassembly - 14
• Number of factory parts - 87

Choosing the best submachine gun

The tests took place in the second half of November 1940 at the NIPSVO KA in Shchurovo, Moscow Region. During the tests, it was necessary to identify the advantages and disadvantages of prototypes of the Shpagin submachine gun and the Shpitalny infantry machine gun in comparison with the PPD-40 gross-production submachine gun, and also choose best submachine gun in terms of combat and design qualities and give an opinion on the feasibility of replacing the gross submachine gun.

Two PPD-40s (Nos. ZhYu-88, LF-839), three Shpagin submachine guns (Nos. 13,15 and 34) and three Shpitalny infantry machine guns (No. 16 with experimental magazines for 97 and 100 rounds) were submitted for testing. , No. 18 and 22 with 71 round magazines). Stores were equipped with 7.62-mm pistol cartridges, batches No. 20, 43 and 213 of plant No. 38. All samples of small arms and cartridges were produced in 1940. They were examined and pre-tested by shooting, after which all the samples were found to be safe and allowed for further testing.

The receiver of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun, markings on the body are visible (RGVA)

It was noted that the Shpitalny infantry machine gun has the following differences from the Degtyarev gross submachine gun:

• By the action of automation;
• The shutter with the stem is one whole piece in the form of a cylindrical rod with two transverse belts;
• A shock-absorbing mechanism is mounted in the butt plate, which, when the bolt is struck, has a rotational and translational movement;
• The barrel with its sleeve enters the rear opening of the casing of the body without pitching and strengthening with a latch, which is mounted in the body of the machine gun;
• A muzzle brake is mounted on the front end of the housing casing;
• The infantry machine gun No. 16 is distinguished by its power supply and magazine latch.

Magazine for 97 rounds for the Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

Comparative characteristics of the samples submitted for testing (1 - PP Degtyarev, 2 - PP Shpagin, 3 - PP Shpitalny with a magazine for 97 and 100 rounds, 4 - PP Shpitalny with a magazine for 71 rounds):

	1	2	3	4
Weight without magazine, g	3433–3434	3429–3526	4186	4205–4253
Weight with magazine, g	4535–4536	4489–4586	5926–6168	5255–5303
Weight with magazine and cartridges, g	5285–5286	5239–5336	6951–7245	6005–6053
Gate weight (assembled), g	603–604	599–608	622	625–635
Overall length, mm	780	840	935	935
Sighting line length, mm	388–389	386–388	475	475
Accessory weight, g	131	151	668	668
Muzzle velocity, m/s	496–500	489–502	512	490–522
Muzzle energy, kGm	69,7–71,1	68,0–71,4	74,6	68,3–77,5
Recoil energy (relative value)	0,048	0,035	0,0233	0,0237
Rate of fire, rds / min.	1153	1132	839	791
Number of factory parts	82	81	94	92

The composition of the weapons was as follows:

• PP Degtyarev: ramrod, screwdriver, punch;
• PP Shpagina: ramrod, screwdriver, punch, fly key;
• PP Shpitalny: ramrod, screwdriver, punch, metal brush, metal ruff (bannik), belt.

Based on the test results, the following preliminary conclusions were drawn:

• PPD has an advantage over PP Shpagin and PP Shpitalny in total weight and length;
• PPD and PP Shpagin have an advantage over PP Shpitalny in total weight, length, metal utilization rate, number of factory parts;
• PP Shpitalny has an advantage over PPD and PP Shpagin in muzzle velocity, muzzle energy and rate of fire.

Shpitalny infantry machine gun breech frame (RGVA)

• The shutter recoil curve shows that the rollback of the PPD is smoother than that of the Shpagin PP. At the Shpitalny PP, the shutter rolls back jerkily.
• Max Speed the rollback of the Shpagin PP is less than that of the PPD and the Shpitalny PP.
• The course of the mobile system at the Shpagin BCP is less than that of the PPD and the Shpitalny BCP.

Even before the start of tests for accuracy and accuracy of combat, it turned out that the Shpitalny PP had an inaccurate aiming block curve, which did not allow the PP to be brought to normal combat. However, the tests took place. It turned out that the Shpagin and Shpitalny PPs have less dispersion than the PPD. In terms of accuracy of battle at distances of 100 and 150 meters, both new systems turned out to be almost equivalent, at distances of 50 and 200 meters, the Shpitalny PP had an advantage.

Scheme of the lodge of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

In terms of practical rate of fire, the Shpagin PP and the Shpitalny PP turned out to be equivalent, but the Shpagin PP and the Shpagin PP had an advantage over the Shpitalny system in self-ignition of the cartridge in the chamber (there was a spontaneous firing after a long firing).

According to the results of tests for the reliability of automation, both new PPs turned out to be better than gross RPMs. When firing for survivability (up to 71650 rounds), a problem was revealed at the Shpitalny PP: the store was more polluted.

The butt plate of the receiver of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

At the same time, the PPD had three breakdowns, the Shpagin PP had two, and the Shpitalny PP had eight! At the same time, one of the breakdowns of the Shpitalny PP could have sad consequences: “After 68,000 shots, the bottom of the butt plate cover broke in the Shpitalny PP ... During this breakdown, the bottom of the cover flew off and hit the shooter in the stomach, the buffer with the rod and its spring jumped back in the direction of the shooter and fell two meters from the weapon”.

After 70,000 shots, the barrel of the Shpagin PP showed greater survivability than the barrel of the Shpitalny PP. In addition, the latter revealed a number of "childish" problems associated with the selection of springs and general ergonomics. When identifying the maximum possible number of shots without cleaning, it was noted that the automation of all three systems worked well and gave a small number of delays (less than 0.06% for all systems).

Illustration of the dismantling of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

Operational data have been determined:

Magazine for 71 cartridges for PPD-40 (RGVA)

It took 137 seconds to equip the Shpagin PPD and PP magazines, and 108 seconds to equip the experimental 97-round magazine of the Shpitalny PP. competitors.

With regard to shooting from some positions (kneeling, standing and from a tree), the Shpitalny PP turned out to be less convenient (it was heavier) than the other tested systems. In terms of heat fluxes (mirage), affecting a normal aimed shot, Shpagin's PPD and PP turned out to be equivalent. PP Shpitalny gave a large outflow of gases through the sleeve window of the receiver up, which interfered with the observation of the target.

Branch of the trigger mechanism of the Shpitalny infantry machine gun (RGVA)

The conclusion of the test site based on the results of all tests, signed on November 30, 1940, was as follows:

1. An experienced submachine gun of the Shpagin system for the operation of automation and reliability (resistance) of parts passed the test and can be recommended for service with the Red Army instead of PPD.
2. An experienced Shpitalny infantry machine gun, having a weight higher than the gross PPD, and which showed insufficient strength of parts during the test, did not pass the test.
3. PP Shpitalny needs to be improved in terms of strengthening parts and reducing weight, because. the principle of PP automation is of interest and deserves attention. In addition, the PP showed the ability to fail-safe operation of automation.

The Shpagin submachine gun won in a fair fight, but B. G. Shpitalny did not calm down: correspondence followed between him and the People's Commissariat of Defense, NIPSVO and GAU, in which he threatened the workers of the training ground with criminal prosecution and demanded additional tests. In this correspondence, he does not appear in the best light. But the reality is this: Shpitalny and his OKB-15 took too long to manufacture prototypes of their infantry machine gun, which disrupted the timing of military trials. In turn, this had an additional impact on the final decision on which of the submachine guns will be adopted by the Red Army.

The article is based on the documents of the RGVA

Life is good if there is PCA!
Folk.

Foreword

It so happened historically that almost all models of pneumatic weapons cannot fire in bursts. Of course, if we are talking about the so-called "hard" pneumatics. In the case of "soft" pneumatics, the situation is much better, but it also has its drawbacks. Firstly, a good replica model with a metal case is not cheap, and secondly, if we consider models that do not operate on an electric drive, but on compressed gas, then until recently they massively used their specific gases, which sometimes disappeared from sale even in major cities not to mention small towns. Models working on standard CO2 cylinders are much less common, and in combination with a metal case, they almost never occur at all. Yes, and in weapons stores "soft" pneumatics are rarely found, but are mainly sold in specialized stores.

In any case, until recently, the only representative of "hard" pneumatics with a regular burst firing mode was MP-661K "Thrush". However, even before the official release of the series "Thrush", during the advertising of its prototype with an aluminum case and wooden lining (which cost ~ $ 400 at the beginning of sales), the first mention in my memory of a submachine gun of the Alexei Kryazhevsky system slipped through the gun press. It was an article "Hunting is more than bondage, but fishing too" in the magazine "Weapons" N4 2002 of the year.

If then this project could be launched - "Thrush" would have received an extremely serious rival, which he could only fight due to mass production and low prices. Because, unlike "Thrush" Kryazhevsky's submachine gun was based on a model of a real combat submachine gun, which practically guarantees stable demand in our country, regardless of technical characteristics. As an example, it suffices to recall MP-654K IzhMekha, which, with very mediocre characteristics, is a very good (though not exact) copy PM\PMM or the whole line similar to AK rifles: Juncker , Junker-2, Junker-3.

However, the project with the production of a submachine gun by Alexei Kryazhevsky based on the Kovrov submachine gun "Chestnut", unfortunately, was never implemented.

The next time I came across Kryazhevsky's work personally, in the summer of 2002, in St. Petersburg, in one of the shooting ranges. The so-called "Square", one of the experimental samples made in 2001, outwardly very vaguely reminiscent of the American "Ingram". In practice, of course, the similarity was very conditional and, in fact, outwardly it was a "hodgepodge" of parts from various weapons. However, it's not about looks. What is more important is that this device worked, it made it possible to confidently hit not very small targets at short distances, and most importantly, it fired a burst and provided a very realistic return due to the moving shutter.

It was after that, having personally twisted the device in my hands and feeling the charm of automatic shooting with recoil, I began to look forward to the start of official mass production of at least some model of pneumatic weapons with Kryazhevsky's scheme inside.

We had to wait a long time. Only by the middle of 2006 did the weapons press mention soon start production "T-Rex"- a submachine gun according to the scheme of Kryazhevsky on the basis of a submachine gun produced in Zlatoust "Cedar". The quick start in practice was dragging on and on. At arms exhibitions, they continued to demonstrate a prototype and assured that it would soon be produced. In May 2007, information about certification and the imminent start of assembly appeared. PPSh-41PK- i.e. also a submachine gun according to the same scheme, but built into MMG PPSh. At some point in time the name was PPSh-41PK "Partizan", but then only PPSh-41PK, already without own name, at least that's how it is now listed in all documents. In the end, I still decided to order one of the first samples of this rifle for myself. Especially considering that "Cedar" in the form of a gas pistol PDT-9T "Esaul" I already had.

Unfortunately, production PPSh-41PK also delayed, as a result, having ordered it in June 2007, I received an order only for the New Year holidays, at the beginning of 2008. In any case, the ordered device was received, studied, disassembled and tested. This description is the result of all this.

prototype

The prototype here is completely unambiguous - the PPSh silhouette is familiar to almost everyone who has ever seen films about the Second world war. By the end of the war, he became perhaps the most mass weapons domestic infantry. A brief description of the PPSh is on the website of Maxim Popenker.

Design

Ideologically, the design of this submachine gun is similar to the design of a rifle Juncker. For in the case Juncker inside the case AK set the gun MP-651K(or Izh-671 in the first editions), and in the case PPSh-41PK inside the layout PPSh a completely self-sufficient firing device was installed (gas cylinder block BKG-07). Although it should be noted that the main disadvantages Juncker taken into account and, if possible, eliminated in PPSh-41PK. In particular, shooting in it is carried out through a barrel located in a regular place, and a gas cartridge and balls are easily replaced without the need for incomplete disassembly.

So, in the scope of delivery the rifle itself PPSh-41PK and a simple device for equipping the store in the form of a plastic tube glued to a steel adapter sleeve and a ramrod for pushing balls into the store through the tube. Everything, there is nothing more than documents. No box, no strap. Although the belt, judging by the documentation, can be supplied as an option. However, the lack of any packaging is disappointing. We need normal packaging, at least in order to calmly bring the purchased device to the house. For to carry wrapped even in opaque plastic bag PPSh somewhat inconvenient - the characteristic contours are still perfectly visible and there are plenty of reasons for the unnecessary interest of police officers. It is clear that the item is absolutely legal, but it still turns out very strange: in the product passport it is recommended not to appear in public places with this rifle without a case, and at the same time it is delivered simply wrapped in a bag. Although in fairness it should be noted that all options similar to AK rifles: Juncker , Junker-2, Junker-3 usually sold also in a bag, moreover, also transparent. Another thing is that when buying at a weapons store, you can usually buy a case on the spot, but here you had to carry a rifle in a bag from the post office to the house.

When you pick up a rifle, the first impression is extremely favorable. Because everything is based on MMG PPSh, then the bed is left native, all external parts too, even the controls function almost normally. It almost means that the shutter after the alteration passes less than half of the stroke it was supposed to in the original, and the fuse stopped working, although the documentation postulates that it should work. Also somewhat upsetting is the low quality of the layout used for the conversion - the numbers on the receiver cover, on the stock, on the magazine do not match. And the quality of the varnishing of the bed leaves much to be desired - there are numerous chips and damage to the coating. Also, the idea of ​​​​attaching the charger with high-quality adhesive tape to the bed did not go well. As a result, the adhesive tape was removed along with parts of the coating, further spoiling appearance lodges. It is clear that all the same it is still more of an air rifle, outwardly similar to PPSh, but not MMG PPSh, but I would still like to see a high-quality layout as a basis if possible.

After removing the cover, a completely empty drum is found, with a regular button and latch welded on, as well as a rectangular "pneumatic" magazine on the front cover of the drum.

The store is easily disassembled - by a slight skew, you can easily take out all the "offal" in detail past the side of the lid. Inside, a very original design is found.

The fact is that most magazines for balls in pneumatic weapons work according to one of two principles: either there are sponges on the neck of the magazine that allow the ball to go into the barrel of the weapon, but do not allow it to fly out of the magazine under the action of a spring, or a spring-loaded a holder that keeps the balls from flying out under the action of the feeder spring and moves away when the magazine is installed in the weapon. Here, there is neither one nor the other. In fact, this is a very original design of a double store, when the store itself, along with its neck, is spring-loaded and moves inside a steel rectangular box. To facilitate the movement of the neck, two studs are used, essentially working as bearing rollers.

The mechanism for fixing the balls is simply amazing. The ideology is simple: the diameter of the channel of the spring-loaded feeder is slightly larger than the diameter of the feeder itself (and the balls), and the hole in the neck almost completely matches the size of the feeder and the ball. As a result, all equipped balls successfully rest against the neck, with the exception of two or three that fit higher. However, when installing the magazine into the weapon, as well as simply when the neck is sunk, the balls successfully overcome it under the action of the feeder spring. In general, the design is very original and at the same time surprisingly stable.

Next, disassembly of the rifle itself. We must immediately make a reservation that its disassembly does not coincide with the disassembly of the original PPSh, although there are common points. Unfortunately, the disassembly technology in the product passport is spelled out very poorly and indistinctly (and there is not a word about disassembling the store at all), however, it is not difficult to guess what and how it is disassembled.

The first step is to knock out the axis connecting the receiver and the barrel with a cover. In the original, there is a "fracture" around this axis PPSh with incomplete disassembly. Here, this axis will have to be knocked out. Attention! The axis is double, i.e. first, its inner part is knocked out, and then the outer sleeve. Moreover, they are knocked out in different directions. And you should not go to the "slot" at the end of the axis - it's just a cut to ensure elastic fixation of the axis, there is no thread, it's useless to unscrew.

Next, by pressing on the movable butt plate, you need to move it forward by 0.5-1 cm, releasing the latch on the back of the barrel cover. Attention! The stroke of the butt plate is very small, because the pneumatic block installed inside prevents its further advancement. BKG-07. So it’s not worth hitting the butt plate with a hammer or applying disproportionate efforts so as not to damage the above block. After the latch is released, a small “fracture” is made with a shift up and forward, and the entire upper part of the rifle in the form of a cap, barrel casing and the entire “pneumatic filling” is separated from the stock and box.

Since the mechanism for switching from automatic to single fire remained attached to the stock, after splitting the rifle into two halves, it can be examined more closely. The design is simple - the slider moves the bar, which in the case of automatic fire (the front position of the slider) simply limits the trigger stroke. As a result, the stroke is sufficient to lower the sear and release the bolt, but not enough to allow the hook to move further and release the sear again, as happens in automatic fire mode.

By the way, since we are talking about the trigger mechanism, it is worth noting that here it is the simplest: the trigger presses on the sear through the rod, forcing it to lower and skip the bolt forward, and then the rod breaks off the sear, which immediately returns to the top under the action of the spring .

Such a primitive mechanism sometimes provides the effect of firing bursts even when the fire switch is in single mode. The problem is simple: at some point, the trigger has already lowered the sear enough to release the shutter, but the sear has not yet been pulled off and it continues to remain lowered, without preventing the shutter from running back and forth in automatic fire mode. To avoid this, you have to put pressure on the hook quite sharply. It’s just some kind of trend among pneumatic weapons with simulated recoil: for this rifle, you need to sharply press the trigger to avoid automatic fire in single-shot mode, but, for example, Walther CP99 Compact you also have to sharply press the trigger in order to avoid the ball rolling out and blank firing.

And finally, the last step to remove the firing device from the depths of the layout PPSh. It is necessary to unscrew the nut at the muzzle, clearly visible on the . True, for this you need to get somewhere a screwdriver with a slot 15mm wide and 3mm thick. I don’t have such a screwdriver, so I had to use an interesting hybrid of a flat file and an adjustable wrench. By the way, it may make sense to loosen this nut at the very beginning of disassembly, when the firing device is held by the receiver. For if you do everything sequentially, then at this stage you will just have to keep the device from scrolling with your hands.

After unscrewing the nut, which freely falls out from the side of the muzzle, the entire firing device assembly is successfully removed from the side of the breech.

I repeat that even in this form it is a fully functional device, which lacks only a magazine with balls. It is likely that another apparatus from by Sagittarius - Submachine gun PP-2007PK. At least his appearance suggests just such thoughts.

Inset k also shows that the pins that hold the mounting frame for fastening the cylinder with the clamping screw are ground off with emery “to zero” on the left side. It is now after disassembly that the pins already stand out noticeably against the background of traces of emery, and before disassembly there was a solid, almost perfectly smooth surface. It was this moment that made me first assume the non-separability of this node. However, as it turned out, this assembly is disassembled without problems, and the worn pins, apparently, were simply adjusted in place, although in a good way they had to be knocked out, shortened and returned to their place.

Be that as it may, by knocking out two pins, you can easily separate the cylinder mounting frame and, accordingly, if necessary, change the over-balloon gasket. Moreover, if necessary, this can be done without completely disassembling the rifle. Just remove the drum and access the pins. At the same time, the replacement of the over-balloon gasket is apparently a typical problem for these rifles, at least at this stage. The gasket itself is made of black rubber and visually not of very high quality.

However, it was not possible to simply replace the over-balloon gasket. A similar gasket from the standard rifle repair kit Junker-2 no longer rubber, but made of transparent plastic. Moreover, it is somewhat thinner than the rubber gasket taken out of this rifle. Therefore, its direct installation did not give any result - the gas was vented immediately when the cylinder was installed. I had to make an interesting hybrid of "one and a half" thickness, after which the sealing became excellent.

It is also worth noting that the cylinder is pricked very well - the needle is wide and makes a large hole in the cylinder membrane, and not a small tear, as happens with some weapons on CO2 cylinders.

Further, having removed the cylinder mounting frame, it can be seen that its base is attached to the body with two screws for a Phillips screwdriver. They get out without problems, most importantly, it is undesirable to lose a thin sealing ring that seals the joint between the base and the body. In principle, it can also be replaced with a conventional over-balloon gasket, however, then you will have to pull the base with some effort, or the gasket will have to be made a little thinner.

Having removed the base of the cylinder mounting frame, you can finally move on to disassembling the main part of the pneumatic unit BKG-07.

Although, in fact, there is almost nothing to disassemble in it. It is enough to knock out just one pin in the front of the block, after which the table with the valve and the gas outlet tube can be easily pulled forward, leaving the box with the trigger and the shutter.

I didn’t begin to disassemble further, because there is no reason to disassemble the valve yet, but to suffer with an unsuccessful installation valve gasket can. Yes, and in a box with a shutter and a trigger mechanism, in fact, there is nothing particularly interesting. Is that a curious fact: on the shutter there is a cylindrical recess for the vent tube, which actually ensures the operation of automation, as well as a rigidly fixed drummer. The interest here is that the original PPSh the drummer was also rigidly fixed to the bolt.

In principle, if desired, you can knock out the pin at the rear of the block and remove the shutter itself. Although the reason for its breakdown is hard to imagine.

And finally, after carrying out all the above operations, we get the following set of parts:

The assembly is carried out in the reverse order and does not cause any difficulties, with the exception of two points. One has already been described above - it may make sense to carry out the final tightening of the muzzle nut at the final stage of assembly, so as not to look for the exact vertical for the correct installation of the firing block inside the barrel with a cover. The second moment is already purely technological.

Even when the rifle first fell into my hands, the bolt sometimes wedged when cocked. Not often, but it happened. After disassembly and assembly, at first it stopped returning to the front position at all under the action of the return spring, i.e. wedged constantly. A careful examination showed the reason for this behavior - the misalignment of the gas tube with the reciprocal groove in the shutter. Either the exact position of the front of the block is not ensured during installation and fixation with a pin, or simply in the process of knocking out the pins, a slight deformation of the body occurred and some misalignment formed. In any case, the method of correction turned out to be simple - to orient in the direction where the misalignment went, and from the opposite side lightly tap on the case with a hammer in the area of ​​​​the front pin. Plus, of course, lubricate the rubbing parts. After that, the problem with the shutter wedges went away.

Operating experience

First of all, I wanted to try out the unusual design of the store. Testing at first revealed a very "shamanic" method of loading the balls into the store, which was then successfully corrected, but there were no complaints about the design of the store. The balls hold perfectly, they do not fly out even with rather sharp blows from the equipped magazines on solid objects. Perhaps, the only way to defuse the store yourself is to drown the movable neck inside, then all the balls fly out of it under the action of the feeder spring. For the same reason, it is not recommended to disconnect an incompletely fired magazine from a rifle - there will be a loss of several balls for sure. I usually managed to finish with the loss of two or three balls. In this sense, the effect is very similar to handling "soft" pneumatics in terms of disconnecting the loaded magazine from the drive - there is also usually a loss of several balls.

And now about the "shamanic" method of equipping the store. At first, there were attempts to act honestly in accordance with the documentation, i.e. fill the tube with balls, attach it to the magazine, drown the movable neck and try to push the balls into the magazine, then almost certainly nothing will work. At least for me, this method of equipment passed only a couple of times out of several dozen attempts. This usually ends up with two balls wedging in the charger hub as they try to sink the extended feeder back into the magazine. As a result, a rather complicated technique for equipping the store was developed in order to avoid such wedging.

However, as the operation progressed, a problem with such a non-trivial charge was discovered and fixed. It turned out that the adapter sleeve on charger too far advanced relative to the tube with balls (protrudes above the edge of the tube by about 8-9 mm). As a result, after attaching it to the store, firstly, the tube itself does not sink the feeder, and secondly, after the feeder is sunk by charged balls, the protruding sleeve forms a small cavity in which the rest of the balls are wedged. If, however, the shift of the sleeve relative to the tube is made small, only 2-3 mm, then the magazine equipment passes easily and unpretentiously, without the above-described "shamanistic" technique, clearly and stably.

According to the passport, the magazine capacity is at least 20 balls. In practice, 20 balls enter there completely leaving under the movable neck, i.e. if you equip 20 balls, then the store can be turned over, shaken and not a single ball will fall out. If, however, it is planned to carefully install the equipped magazine into the rifle, then two more balls can be freely placed in the neck of the ball, thus bringing the number of balls in the magazine to 22. Of course, when the magazine is tilted or overturned, these two balls will easily roll out of the neck, so handle it this way equipped with a store should be carefully.

Installing a CO2 cartridge in a rifle does not cause any difficulties, except that it is recommended, as in RPSH before pricking the cylinder, cock the shutter so that it does not press on the valve and release all the gas into the atmosphere during installation.

And finally, the most enjoyable - shooting. Before the first shot, the bolt must be cocked (more precisely, it is usually already cocked when the cylinder is installed), and then the bolt usually cocks itself with each shot. The impressions are the most positive, because the rifle works very well both in single and automatic fire modes. Plus, a movable and rather massive shutter provides, although not realistic, but very tangible and pleasant feedback. At the same time, the cocking of the shutter is stably provided both with and without balls in the magazine. In principle, even without a magazine at all, the design also works successfully, depicting a shooter PPSh, except that the shells do not fly and do not smell of burnt gunpowder.

Problems are rare and mostly come down to three main options:

• Automatic fire in single position
• Automatic fire with fast power drop
• Non-cocking of the shutter during the next shot

The reasons for these problems are quite simple. In the first case, this is a feature of a simple trigger mechanism, which, as mentioned above, allows, with a smooth trigger pull, to find some intermediate position when the shutter no longer clings to the sear, but at the same time, the trigger still does not allow the sear to return to the top and block the next shot. In the second case, as the gas pressure in the system drops, the shutter simply does not reach the sear, respectively, cannot catch on to it and returns back, hitting the valve every time weaker and weaker. The result is a short burst with a greatly decreasing energy of each subsequent shot. It usually manifests itself either when there is little gas left in the cylinder, or when the cylinder freezes over after a long queue. Well, the third situation is similar to the previous one, only instead of a short burst, either one weak shot occurs, or the shutter can sometimes wedge and not cock at all. After the bulkhead structure, wedging has not yet been observed.

What about sights, then everything is fine with them. Since everything is native PPSh, then the rear sight is flip, two-position, and the front sight is fully adjustable, both horizontally and vertically. As a result, if desired, you can shoot a rifle at any point within a very wide range.

However, as the operation progressed, a very strange problem also emerged: if you shoot single shots, when you can clearly count the number of shots, you often find that several balls fly out in one shot. The quantity varies from one (regular) to 5 pieces. The likely reason for this behavior is similar to a similar problem on some instances MP-654K. Probably, it is necessary to deepen the hole above the store so that the ball rests against it. Unfortunately, in the coming weeks I will not have time to do this, so for now I am posting the review as it is, without speed measurements. In any case, the power of the shot will be small - the certification limit is 3 J of muzzle energy, i.e. the ball departure speed is a maximum of 134 m / s (in fact, this is written in the passport: the speed is up to 130 m / s).

Technical data of the rifle PPSh-41PK

by passport:

Characteristics	according to measurements:
Dimensions:	in millimeters
Length	840	~850
Height	200	~195
Width	145	~150
barrel length	-	~225
Weight:	in grams
	4600	~4100
Bullet speed	in m/s	in m/s
BB balls	no more than 130	unknown 1
Other characteristics
Number of charged balls	at least 20	up to 22
Number of shots per 12 gram CO2 bottle	at least 40	50-60 2
Shooting modes	Single and automatic
Trunk	-	steel, smooth
Accuracy from 5m	-	~30mm 3
Accuracy from 10m	-	~50mm 3
Characteristics of the firing device	according to measurements:
Dimensions:	in millimeters
Length	~415
Height (with cylinder mounting frame)	~85 (130)
Width (with bolt handle)	~25 (53)
Weight:	in grams
Complete, without balloon and balls	~950
1 It was not possible to measure the ball launch speed due to two overlapping problems: a malfunction of the IBKh-721 chronograph and an incomprehensible feature in the form of shooting several balls in one shot
2 The number of shots in single fire mode, although at a fairly fast pace. When firing in a single burst, the number of shots will be less
3 shooting was carried out indoors, with two hands. Measured at the outer edges of 10 holes, average result

Inscriptions and stamps.

With this case, the rifle is doing quite well, because in the process of reworking from MMG no new labels were added. Those. all marks correspond to what was on MMG- "donor".

On the cover of the receiver:

• 1944 .
• 5575 .
• Factory stamp.
• MMG.

On the back of the receiver, next to the stock mounting screw:

• MMG.
• 6016 .

On the example:

• BA 6489.

On the drum

• MD 7400.
• MMG.

Thus, there are no clearly unmasking inscriptions, with the exception of those that were applied during production. MMG.

Conclusion.

So, a short subjective summary of the rifle PPSh-41PK.

• Very authentic remake MMG PPSh.
• The presence of a movable massive shutter and recoil when firing.
• Shooting both single and burst.
• One of the first serial rifles made according to the Kryazhevsky scheme.

• Fixed frame for CO2 bottle.
• Inherited from PPSh considerable weight and dimensions.
• Unstable workmanship.
• Extremely poor documentation.
• Fairly high price.

Unfortunately, the idea of ​​this rifle is very interesting, but the implementation is not very happy so far. In fact, at the moment it turns out to be a kind of constructor for more or less handy users, it’s most likely that it won’t work just like that to buy and shoot - certain shortcomings, assembly flaws, etc. will come out.

So for now this device is exclusively for fans of original designs or collectors. If you want to have something on hand that resembles PPSh, then at the moment, apparently, it is cheaper (both in terms of money and improvements) to purchase PPSh-M factory production Hammer. It costs one and a half times cheaper than PPK-41PK, and it shoots immediately after purchase, without requiring immediate fine-tuning. Although, of course, his characteristics are not high, he does not know how to shoot bursts, and he is also not equipped with a movable shutter. Therefore, I advise you to think again before purchasing whether there is a desire and a minimum ability to refine the problems of a design that has not yet been debugged to the end. If not, then either wait until stable and high-quality production is established, or take the above competitor.

I would still like to believe that intensive collection of feedback from users will allow firm Sagittarius to raise the level of manufacturing of their, of course, interesting designs to the proper level, so that the user does not have to "finish the purchased copy with a file." Given the fact that you can install a shooting device in almost any weapon of suitable size, this could be very interesting solution, promoting the market of Russian pneumatics immediately whole group new models of air rifles (machine guns, submachine guns).