Pistol arr. 1933(TT, Tula, Tokareva, GRAU Index - 56-A-132) - first army self-loading pistol USSR, developed in 1930 Soviet designer Fedor Vasilievich Tokarev.
| TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS TOKAREV PISTOL REV. 1933 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Tula Arms Factory |
| Cartridge: | 7.62×25 mm TT |
| Caliber: | 7.62 mm |
| Weight without cartridges: | 0.854 kg |
| Weight with cartridges: | 0.94 kg |
| Length: | 195 mm |
| Barrel length: | 116 mm |
| Number of rifling in the barrel: | 4 |
| Height: | 130 mm |
| Trigger mechanism (trigger): | Trigger, single action |
| Operating principle: | Barrel recoil during short stroke |
| Fuse: | Trigger safety cock |
| Aim: | Front sight and fixed rear sight with sighting slot |
| Effective range: | 50 m |
| Initial bullet speed: | 450 m/s |
| Type of ammunition: | Detachable magazine |
| Number of cartridges: | 8 |
| Years of production: | 1930–1955 |
History of creation and production
The TT pistol was developed for the 1929 competition for a new army pistol, announced with the aim of replacing the Nagan revolver and several models of revolvers and pistols foreign production, which were in service with the Red Army by the mid-1920s. The German 7.63×25 mm Mauser cartridge was adopted as a standard cartridge, which significant quantities purchased for Mauser S-96 pistols that were in service.
The competition commission, headed by M. F. Grushetsky, considered the pistol designed by F. V. Tokarev the most suitable for adoption, provided that the identified shortcomings were eliminated. The commission's requirements included improving shooting accuracy, easing the trigger pull, and making it safer to handle. After several months of work, the shortcomings were eliminated. On December 23, 1930, a decision was made to carry out additional tests.
Based on the test results, the TT pistol, created by a design team led by F.V. Tokarev at the design bureau of the Tula Arms Plant, won the competition. On February 12, 1931, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR ordered the first batch of 1000 pistols for all-round military tests. In the same year, the Tokarev pistol was put into service under the official designation “7.62 mm self-loading pistol mod. 1930" together with the 7.62x25 cartridge. The pistol, called TT ( Tula Tokareva) was simple and technologically advanced in production and operation.
Pistol TT arr. 1933 At the same time, the USSR bought a license for the production of the cartridge from the German company Mauser and began production under the designation “7.62 mm pistol cartridge “P” mod. 1930" .
Several thousand copies were produced in 1930-1932. In order to improve the manufacturability of production, in 1932-1933. the weapon was modernized: the barrel lugs were not milled, but were turned; the frame was made in one piece, without a removable handle cover; The disconnector and trigger rod were modified. At the beginning of 1934, the new pistol was put into service under the name “7.62-mm self-loading pistol mod. 1933.”
In November-December 1941, equipment for the production of TTs was moved to Izhevsk. During 1942, Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant No. 74 managed to produce 161,485 Tokarev pistols. Also in 1942, Izhevsk Plant No. 74 produced a small batch of Tokarev pistol with a two-row magazine for 15 rounds. The thickness of the handle was 42 mm (versus 30.5 mm for the standard TT). The magazine latch was moved to the base of the handle.
In 1947, the TT was again modified in order to reduce its cost: large vertical grooves, alternating with small grooves on the bolt casing for convenient retraction of the bolt, were replaced with small grooves (corrugation).
Options and modifications:
Design and operating principle
The TT pistol combines design features various systems: J. M. Browning's bore locking pattern as used in the famous Colt M1911, the Browning M1903 design, and a cartridge originally developed for the Mauser C96 pistol.
According to some experts, when developing the design of the pistol, it was initially planned to completely copy the design of a modified Browning pistol with a removable trigger firing mechanism. However, during the work process, the designers abandoned complete copying due to the lack of a technological base for producing a complete copy of the original. It was necessary to reduce production costs by simplifying the design.
At the same time, the pistol has original design solutions aimed at ease of handling of the weapon: combining the trigger mechanism in a separate single block block, which, when disassembling the weapon, is freely separated from the frame for cleaning and lubrication; placement of the mainspring in the trigger, which reduced the longitudinal width of the handle; fastening the cheeks of the handle with the help of rotating bars attached to them, which simplified the disassembly of the pistol, the absence of a safety mechanism - its function was performed by the safety cocking of the hammer.
TT pistol, incomplete disassembly. Browning's scheme for locking the barrel bore with a short stroke and a swinging lug, an automatic operating system, as well as a trigger, borrowed from Colt pistol M1911, were modified to simplify production.
Single action trigger. The impact mechanism is made as a single unit, which simplifies factory assembly. (Several years later, Swiss gunsmith Charles Petter used the same arrangement in the French Model 1935 pistol).
The pistol does not have a safety as a separate part; its functions are performed by the safety cocking of the hammer. To set the trigger to the safety cock, you need to pull the trigger back a little. After this, the trigger and bolt will be locked, and the trigger will not touch the firing pin. This eliminates the possibility of a shot if the gun is dropped or the trigger head is accidentally hit. To remove the hammer from the safety cock, you need to cock the hammer. To put the cocked hammer on the safety cock, it must first be released by holding it and pressing the trigger. And then you need to pull the trigger back a little.
Carrying a pistol with a cartridge in the chamber with the trigger pulled is not recommended and does not make sense, since in order to fire a shot, the trigger must be cocked in the same way as a trigger set on the safety cock.
TT pistol in a holster. On the left side of the frame there is a shutter stop lever. When the magazine is used up, the bolt is delayed in the rear position. To remove the shutter from the delay, you need to lower the slide stop lever.
The magazine holds 8 rounds. The magazine release button is located on the left side of the grip, at the base of the trigger guard, similar to the Colt M1911.
When shooting at 50 m, hits in each of 10 series of 10 shots are placed in a circle with a radius of 150 mm.
Sights consist of a front sight, integral with the bolt, and a rear sight, pressed into a dovetail groove in the rear of the bolt. The cheeks of the handle were made of bakelite or (during the war) of wood (walnut).
Advantages and disadvantages
The TT pistol is distinguished by its simplicity of design and, therefore, low production costs and ease of maintenance. A very powerful cartridge, atypical for pistols, provides unusually high penetration power and muzzle energy of about 500 J. The pistol has a short, easy trigger and provides significant accuracy shooting, an experienced shooter is able to hit a target at distances of more than 50 meters. The pistol is flat and quite compact, which is convenient for concealed carry. However, during operation, shortcomings also appeared.
Before the Great Patriotic War The military demanded that the pistol be able to fire through the embrasures of the tank. TT did not satisfy this condition. Many experts consider this requirement absurd. However, nothing prevented the Germans from making such a requirement for their weapons: Luger P08, Walther P38 and even MP 38/40 fully satisfied it.
Without a safety lock, the TT was placed in a safe position by the so-called half-cocked hammer, which made it difficult to bring the pistol into the firing position. There were involuntary cases of self-inflicted gunfire, one of which was described by Yuri Nikulin in the book “Almost Seriously.” Ultimately, the Charter directly prohibited carrying a pistol with a cartridge in the chamber, which further increased the time it took to bring the pistol into combat-ready condition.
Another disadvantage is the poor fixation of the magazine, which leads to its spontaneous falling out.
The mainspring, placed in the trigger cavity, has low survivability.
The ergonomics of the TT raises many complaints compared to other designs. The angle of inclination of the handle is small, its shape is not conducive to comfortable holding of the weapon.
The TT pistol is distinguished by its flat trajectory and high penetrating effect of a pointed bullet, which is capable of piercing an army helmet or light body armor. The penetrating effect of a TT bullet exceeds the penetrating effect of a 9x19 mm cartridge bullet (a “7.62 P” bullet with a lead core, after being fired from a TT pistol, penetrates class I body armor, but does not penetrate class II body armor even when shot at point-blank range. At the same time, , the stopping effect of a 7.62 mm TT bullet is inferior to that of a 9x19 mm cartridge bullet.
Operation and combat use
During the period 1930-1945:
Video
Shooting from a TT, handling weapons, etc.:
TT pistol.Considering the technical characteristics of the TT pistol, it is worth noting that the weight is 910 g, in turn, the length is 116 mm.
The clip is designed for 8 bullets, and the length of the aiming line can be considered within 156 mm. 50 m - sight range. This pistol is zeroed at a distance of 25 m.
The bullet speed is 420 m/s. The structure of the mechanism includes 45 main parts. The pistol operates using recoil energy with a short barrel stroke.
The locking function is carried out by connecting the protrusions of the bolt casing with certain figures on the barrel. Next, the sliding earring lowers the barrel to the level of the breech, based on this, the barrel and bolt are separated. In TT, all parts of the impact mechanism are combined into one common block.
Expert Note: In order to partially disassemble the pistol, no tools are needed, since it can be disassembled very easily.
History of creation
During the formation of the Red Army in the early 20s, the problem of reconstructing weapons in general and private weapons used in close combat arose.
Soviet developers had to develop a pistol that would be suitable for firing 7.63 mm caliber bullets from the Mauser model 1897.
Designers such as Tokarev, Korovin and Prilyutsky participated in the competition held by the government.
Tokarev won by a large margin over his players. Since the first production of the TT was launched in Tula, it was therefore named Tula Tokarev.
Note: There is no safety in the TT as a separate element of the body; the pistol is secured by setting the trigger to safety.
According to technical specifications it was no match for the military pistols of those times, and even surpassed them in a number of characteristic features.
For example, you can consider Western shooting standards at a distance of 50 m, at which the maximum dispersion allowed is 35.5 cm, although when shooting from a TT, the dispersion distance is 15 cm.
Along with the pistol, 7.62 mm “P” type cartridges (7.62x25 mm), which were made on the basis of the well-known powerful 7.63 mm Mauser cartridge, were also used. However, later various cartridges were introduced, for example with armor-piercing and tracer bullets.
Flaws
The TT pistol is very easy to maintain and has a fairly low cost. Designer Tokarev achieved this effect through a very simple weapon design.
Due to the significant kinetic force of the bullet (just under 500 J), this pistol has very high penetration power, as well as fairly effective accuracy for this type of weapon.
However, during operation some shortcomings also emerged. A serious drawback was the lack of an ordinary fuse. Many accidents have been recorded that occurred due to the lack of a fuse.
When the weapon with a cartridge in the magazine fell, a shot was fired. The archive even had a separate section with accidents, in order to distinguish them from real crimes falsified as accidents.
Also a very important drawback is the insufficiently strong fixation of the magazine, which leads the shooter to a disarmed state during combat operations.
Back in 1931-32. Several thousand copies were manufactured and tested in field tests, which revealed some shortcomings, one of which was the clip falling out during use.
Designer Tokarev carried out some reconstruction of the weapon and in 1933 introduced the updated TT-33, which solved the problem with the magazine falling out.
Already in 1934, this model was put into service. Including the period of the Great Patriotic War, the TT was manufactured simultaneously with.
After a short time, the TT was completely eliminated from production by Nagan. It should be noted that on June 22, 1941. There were approximately 600 thousand TT-33s in service with the Red Army. However, during the war production increased even more.
Analogs
Usually, when producing a decent, high-quality product, the manufacturer is accused of plagiarism. This is what happened with the Tokarev pistol. The TT, since ancient times, has often been compared to a pistol
Browning, which was produced in 1903. And in the United States, the TT is often called the Browning-Tokarev.
Maybe it’s not for nothing that people say so and Tokarev based his development on this Belgian pistol, because if you compare the TT and Browning, they are not much different.
Of course, Tokarev modified it and made the weapon a class higher. I would like to add that the Browning prototype that Tokarev chose had been in production for 37 years and was one of the most popular pistols in Russia and beyond. In Russia, Browning was used to arm the gendarmerie corps.
Look detailed video about TT and its technical characteristics:
For the first time, a cartridge for the Mauser K-96 pistol-carbine mod. 1896 came to the Russian Empire even before the First World War. And before that, the “ancestor” of the 7.63×25 mm Mauser cartridge (in American transcription 30 Mauser), the 7.63 mm Borchard cartridge for the C93 pistol (model 1893) by the German designer Borchard, became the “father” of not only the TeTesh cartridge, but also the most famous, the most famous on planet Earth 9x19 mm Parabellum.
“The first German 7.63 mm Mauser pistols mod. 1896 appeared in Russia even before the start of the First World War, and since 1908 they were included in the list of weapons allowed to be purchased at their own expense by officers tsarist army. During the fighting of 1914-1917, their number increased significantly due to German and Turkish trophies, and subsequently they were widely used on all fronts Civil War» . Wikipedia.
The Mauser pistol cartridge was simply lucky. Firstly, the pistol was very popular among the command staff of the Red Army. Secondly, the caliber of the cartridge coincided with the caliber of those already produced in Russian Empire caliber of rifles and machine guns, 0.3 inches or 7.62 mm. Therefore, pistol barrels chambered for this cartridge could be made from defective barrels and . This circumstance provided a huge economic gain.
Photo: M62, ru.wikipedia.org
And one more important circumstance. It’s not called a carbine pistol for nothing. Bullet, thanks to its high power powder charge, is capable of killing a person at a distance of up to a thousand meters. Note that this is a pistol cartridge! That is why some experts consider this cartridge not a pistol cartridge, but a specific submachine gun.
License and equipment for the production of cartridge mod. 1896 were officially purchased from the German company DWM. Next, the top military leadership of the USSR decided to design a new pistol and promising submachine guns specifically for this cartridge. under this cartridge began already in 1929.
To increase manufacturability and easier extraction (ejection of spent cartridges), the width of the groove was increased. The case muzzle is slightly elongated for better bullet retention. The original Mauser capsule was replaced with a Berdan capsule, which was used in cartridges for the Nagan revolver produced at that time. The bullet in the Soviet cartridge is somewhat elongated. The cartridge cases were made first from expensive brass, then from cheap bimetal. was not yet available in nature at that time, and the cartridge was simply called 7.62x25 mm to distinguish it from the German-made Mauser cartridge. 
Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
Specifications:
- Caliber: 7.62 mm, or 0.3 inches.
- Bullet length: 16.3 mm or 16.5 mm (for a bullet with an all-steel core).
- Initial bullet speed: 420 m/s.
- Bullet energy 470 J.
Source: Wikipedia.
The experience of World War II showed the correctness of the choice of cartridge. Thanks to unification, the cartridge was used in both TT pistols and submachine guns (PPD, PPSh, PPS). The flat trajectory made it possible to shoot twice as far as from German machine pistols; this is a huge advantage in war. In 1943, tracer and armor-piercing modifications of this cartridge also appeared. 
Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
Advantages
The highest penetration of the Tokarev cartridge bullet. Especially the all-steel one. Police officers in Hong Kong, where bandits have many Chinese-made TT pistols, wear special body armor called “Tokarevsky”, class A3, when on duty. And American hunters use a carbine chambered for the TeTesh cartridge to hunt animals with thick skin - for example, wild boar. At the same time, due to low energy, the bullet does not spoil the meat, but leaves a neat hole in it, unlike modern high-speed rifle cartridges, the bullet of which rotates in the carcass, making a chopped “steak” stuffed with bone fragments in the place of the bullet channel.
A large section of the flat trajectory, which provides quite accurate shooting at a distance of up to 200 m.
Flaws
The main disadvantage is the low stopping effect (SPA). The OD of the 7.62 TT cartridge, calculated using the well-known formula of General Hatcher, is equal to 171. For comparison, the 9x19 mm Parabellum cartridge has an OD equal to 270, and the .45 ACP cartridge is equal to 670 units. 
Photo: Malis, ru.wikipedia.org
What do these numbers say? Here's what it's about. To compare the stopping effect of the American pistol cartridge .45 ACP and 7.62 TT, you need to divide 670 by 171. It turns out 3.91. That is, to obtain the same stopping effect, other things being equal, a person must be hit with either one 45-caliber bullet or four TTs. And this is in a battle where both opponents will move... And quickly! However, the designers managed to overcome this drawback. For example, police cartridges from the Megasafe company, the bullet of which consists of pellets in an elastic plastic shell, has a stopping effect of about 600 units.
An ancient Berdan primer contains a substance that destroys the barrel.
Weapons chambered for this cartridge
First of all, the “weapon of victory”, Soviet small arms. Popular all over the world. TT pistol. PPSh submachine guns, PPS, PPD, their copies, clones and weapons made “based on”. There are a lot of unique Czechoslovak weapons chambered for this cartridge: the Cz-52 pistol and Vz submachine guns. 24 and Vz. 26. In Russia, the 7.62 caliber Bizon PP is currently being produced, which is in service with the bailiff service and OTs-39 PP. The “classic” Mauser K-96 pistol has not been forgotten either. 
Photo: Albert Lowe, ru.wikipedia.org
In total, according to Wikipedia, the USSR produced eight modifications of this cartridge, including training, blank, tracer and armor-piercing incendiary. Since 1951, a cartridge has been produced with an all-steel bullet, encased in a soft metal shell, so as not to grind off the rifling in the barrel.
The 7.62x25 mm TT cartridge was also produced in Bulgaria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. It is still produced in Russia, Iran, the Czech Republic, Poland and China. An interchangeable 7.63 mm Mauser cartridge is produced in Germany, Italy and China. In Czechoslovakia, a special reinforced cartridge was produced for firing submachine guns at a distance of up to 300 m. Shooting such a cartridge from a pistol is very dangerous.
Currently, the 7.62x25mm cartridge is widely used throughout the world. Widely used in Iraq, where the Shpagin submachine gun and TT pistol are the standard weapons of the local police.
The 9x18 mm PM, the cartridge for the Makarov pistol, the legendary PM, was also developed on the basis of the 7.62 TT cartridge case.
New ammunition is still being developed based on the TeTesh cartridge.
Other cartridge names: 7.62 TT, 7.62?25 mm Tokarev, .30 Tokarev., .30 Mauser, 7.63 mm Mauser. 
Photo:
And finally, very good news. Since 2012, this cartridge and weapons for it can be purchased in Russian Federation to civilians. So far (beginning of 2015), only a civilian modification of the Shpagin submachine gun, the legendary weapon of victory, is produced under this cartridge. Probably no one will go hunting with such a weapon, but as a collectible weapon and for shooting games “for the soul” () - it’s just the thing! The Molot plant produces “hunting PPSh” under the designation VPO-135, the Degtyarev plant produces weapons under the designation PPSh-O.
TT pistol is one of the most famous pistol models in the world. Its creator (1871-1968) devoted his entire life to small arms. Self-loading rifles of his design were in service with Soviet fighters during the Great Patriotic War. However, it was the TT pistol that brought world fame to its creator.
The first tests of this model took place in June 1930. The commission headed by V.F. Grushevsky held field testing TT pistol, Korovin, Prilutsky pistols, as well as the best foreign examples of Browning, Walter and Parabellum systems. The test results showed that the Tokarev pistol is “the most acceptable and suitable for adoption, provided that the identified deficiencies are eliminated.”
A serious drawback of this pistol was its low accuracy rate; safety also needed to be improved. New tests of the already improved TT model and new types of weapons took place in December 1930 at the VSS (Higher Rifle School) “Vystrel” training ground. The commission was headed by K.P. Uborevich, who in his report noted the reliability and convenience of the TT pistol, as a result of which the decision was made to introduce it into service. 
The first success for the Tokarev pistol came in February 1931: the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR decided to order the first batch of pistols for testing among the troops. Then the pistol learned a new name - “7.62 mm self-loading pistol mod. 1930". In this case, the situation of forty years ago was repeated again: Nicholas II issued a decree renaming the Mosin rifle into the “7.62 mm rifle mod. 1891." Later, justice triumphed, and the model gained worldwide fame as the TT pistol (Tulsky, Tokarev).
Over the course of several years, the pistol was modernized, pursuing two main goals - reducing the cost and simplifying its production. In 1933, the Tula Arms Plant established mass release TT pistol. By the beginning of the war, the annual production of TT pistols was more than 100 thousand units.
As with many pistol models, the fate of the TT pistol was not cloudless: the volume of TT pistols produced fluctuated, while new prototypes of pistols from other gunsmiths appeared. The main drawback of the TT, which consequently caused widespread complaints about this pistol model, was the small capacity of the magazine, and its falling out when the latch button was accidentally pressed. In this regard, in 1939 F.V. Tokarev created a version of the pistol with an enlarged handle and a magazine with a capacity of 12 rounds. Another positive change in the design of the pistol was the lower location of the latch. Unfortunately, the war prevented this prototype get into the series, but the TT pistol itself received well-deserved recognition. At the beginning of the war, in connection with the promotion fascist troops In the direction of Tula, the USSR government decided to move defense production to the east of the country. Thus, the production of TT pistols and Nagan revolvers was moved to Izhevsk. Even under these conditions, Tula gunsmiths were able to repair weapons coming from the front, as well as assemble new ones from the remaining stock. For these purposes, obsolete equipment and tools left after the evacuation, as well as old repaired machines, were used. In two months of 1941, thanks to the dedicated work of workers, more than five hundred TT pistols were sent to the front line.
The restoration of the plant began when the threat to Moscow from fascist troops was neutralized. Within several months, the plant's work was established. After the end of the war, mass production of Tokarev pistols was established at the Izhevsk, Tula and Kovrov factories. Until the early fifties, when the Makarov pistol appeared, these factories produced more than a million TT pistols... Tokarev for his invaluable contribution to the development of the domestic small arms was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and awarded four Orders of Lenin and numerous medals.
Free circulation short-barreled weapons prohibited in Russia. Gun lovers can only purchase non-combat versions of TT pistols. On the basis of the Tokarev pistol, signal pistols, pneumatic pistols and several types of traumatic pistols were developed and produced. civilian weapons self-defense. Let's briefly consider the options for signal and traumatic weapons, manufactured based on the design of the TT pistol, as well as pneumatic pistols structurally similar to the TT.
1. Flare gun TT-SThis model is the only design of a traumatic pistol made on the basis of a combat TT in which the original barrel is left. The only structural change to the barrel is to drill it out and install a pin in the bore that prevents loading hard objects. The barrel is fixed in the bolt and is non-removable.
3. Traumatic pistol"Leader". Traumatic pistol "Leader-M"
Traumatic pistol "Leader" produced since 2005 by the Vyatsko-Polyansky machine-building plant "Molot" on the basis combat pistol TT with index VPO-501. This traumatic pistol is designed to use a 10x32 mm T cartridge. 
The barrel was replaced with a simulator. The pistol's slide stop hook has been removed. The pistol's automatic operation operates on the blowback principle.
Traumatic pistol MP-81 chambered for 9 mm Parabellum is manufactured by the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant by converting TT combat pistols. The MP-81 pistol was first introduced in 2008. Since this traumatic pistol uses widely used 9 mm RA cartridges, it is possible to use gas or blank charges.
The lugs on the inner surface of the bolt are removed, but have a pin to lock the barrel. The barrel is held on a swinging shackle, like in a combat TT.
Traumatic pistol MP-82 differs from the previous model in the cartridge used.45 Rubber. The MP-81's single-stack box magazine holds 8 rounds, while the MP-82's holds 6 rounds.
5. TTR traumatic pistol
Traumatic pistol TTR chambered for 9 mm R.A. developed and produced by SOBR LLC. The design of the pistol includes a barrel simulator tightly welded to the frame. The internal diameter is 5 mm, and from the muzzle there is an expansion of up to 7 mm to a depth of 9 mm.
Due to Airguns is also popular; several versions of pneumatic 4.5 mm pistols have been developed using parts of the standard TT pistol: Gletcher TT NBB; Gletcher TT; TTP "Sobr"; MP-656k; Crosman C-TT.
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Have we been told everything about the TT pistol?
This question may seem strange - indeed, if you look through our weapons literature, you may get the impression that we have comprehensive information about the TT pistol and its creator Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev. However, in reality, everything is not so simple, and there are many blank spots in the history of the creation of the TT.
I was able to thoroughly study the work of Fyodor Vasilyevich Tokarev after my third year in the weapons and machine gun department of the Tula Mechanical Institute. Thanks to the recommendation of the deputy dean of the faculty, Markov, me and my roommate in the hostel, Vladimir Zharikov, had the opportunity to work part-time at Tula plant No. 536. We had to clean out all the small arms and aircraft machine gun and cannon weapons stored there in the factory museum. I have a collection of almost all (including experienced) Tokarev self-loading rifles and pistols.
The classic version of the Browning pistol mod. 1903
Incomplete disassembly of the classic Browning mod. 1903
TT pistol
While putting these samples in order, I could not help but notice that the former Cossack esaul was an excellent craftsman and a very inventive designer.
These qualities of Tokarev are confirmed, in particular, by the fact that at the end of his career, working in the Moscow Design Bureau of Aviation and missile weapons A.E. Nudelman, where Fyodor Vasilyevich was given the opportunity to continue his weapons creativity, he preferred to improve the FT-2 panoramic camera he invented. The movable lens of this camera made it possible to take pictures on 35 mm film with a width of not 36 mm, as usual, but 130 mm!
"Browning 1903 K" and TT. Left view
"Browning 1903 K" and TT with incomplete disassembly
But let's return to the TT pistol. Main question, which arises regarding this weapon: “What did Fyodor Vasilyevich do in this sample himself, and what did he borrow?” The validity of such a statement becomes obvious after getting acquainted with the 9-mm pistols of John M. Browning of the 1903 model. Moreover, the conclusion suggests itself that the TT is in its purest form a copy of one of Browning’s models.
The pistols of John Moises Browning were developed on the basis of his own patent of 1897. The following samples of Browning pistols are considered the most typical: the 1900 model pistol in 7.65 mm caliber, the 1903 model pistol in 9 mm caliber and the 1906 model pistol in 6 caliber, 35 mm.
The last sample is not a military-type weapon due to its small caliber. A cartridge was simultaneously developed for each of these pistols. At one time, it was popular to classify these models and their corresponding cartridges by numbers from one to three. The first number designated the 6.35 mm cartridge and pistol, the second 7.65 mm caliber and the third 9 mm caliber.
IN large quantities Browning pistols were produced in Belgium at the Fabrique Nationale d.Armes de Guerre S.A. Herstal-Liege. Products directly from Belgium are distinguished by the stylized abbreviation “FN” on both plastic cheeks of the handle.
Pistols were in service with the army and police of many countries.
The 1903 model of the 9-mm Browning pistol was actively used in Russia - it was used by gendarmerie officers.
The peculiarity of the 9-mm Browning of the 1903 model is the inertial locking of the barrel, although its cartridge in terms of ballistic impulse is not much inferior to the 9-mm cartridge of the Parabellum pistol of the 1908 model. The length of the Browning cartridge is 1.5 mm shorter than the Parabellum ( 28 mm versus 29.5 mm), but the sleeve is 1.3 mm longer (20.3 mm versus 19 mm). According to our now established practice, this cartridge is designated 9x20.
"Browning 1903 K" and TT. Right view
The pistol has smooth external contours and a closed trigger position, which makes it convenient for pocket carry. The trigger is placed inside the rear of the frame and rotates on an axis, which is the safety pin. The mainspring is plate-type, it is located in the rear wall of the handle and consists of two branches. The long branch acts on the trigger through a roller, which is mounted on the protrusion of the trigger, and the short branch rests against the trigger rod jumper. The hammer and spring are located in the drilling of the bolt casing. In the bolt, the firing pin is held in place by a transverse pin.
On the same axis with the trigger there is a block with two feathers that guide the cartridge case removed from the chamber. The left feather has a tooth that serves as a reflector. The next cartridge rests on the protrusions of both feathers from below. The block has a through drilling for passage of the disconnector. We see exactly the same feathers and a similar arrangement of the reflector and disconnector on the removable assembly of the hammer firing mechanism of the TT pistol.
The trigger mechanism with a disconnector allows only single fire. The trigger is made integral with the trigger rod; the rod covers the magazine on both sides and moves in a socket inside the pistol frame.
The rear link of the rod acts on the sear; in the same part above the rod there is a disconnector that lowers the rod and disengages it from the sear when the bolt rolls back.
Protection against unauthorized firing is provided by a safety lever and an automatic safety device, which releases the sear when the pistol grip is squeezed with the palm of your hand. A safety device against premature firing is a disconnector that prevents the trigger rod from acting on the sear before the bolt reaches its extreme forward position. The safety lever can be activated by turning its notched head upward only when the hammer is cocked. When the trigger is pulled, the safety cannot be turned, which serves as a signal that the trigger has been pulled.
Using the safety catch, the pistol is partially disassembled, for which it is necessary to pull the bolt casing so that the fuse tooth fits into the cutout on the left side of the bolt casing. After this, the barrel can be rotated 120 degrees and the bolt casing and barrel can be removed from the frame, moving them forward.
A box-type magazine with a capacity of seven rounds with a single-row arrangement. The relatively small, according to modern views, number of cartridges in the magazine can be explained by the desire for a weapon that is compact in height. The magazine is placed inside the handle and is locked with a latch at the bottom of the magazine. When the last cartridge is used up, the magazine feeder raises the tooth located on the right side shutter stop frames. The tooth, entering the cutout of the shutter casing, stops it in the rearmost position.
Pistol "Colt" mod. 1911
The sight is permanent and consists of a rear sight and a front sight. They are located on the shutter casing.
This pistol design, featuring a massive slide covering the entire length of the barrel and a recoil spring under, above or around the barrel, is protected by a patent dated 1897 in the name of John Moises Browning. Browning borrowed the location of the removable magazine in the handle from Hugo Borchardt. Since then, a similar scheme has been used by many designers.
When comparing the 1903 Browning with the TT, the first thing that catches your eye is their external similarity, but within these samples there are many differences - completely different locking mechanisms, significantly different trigger mechanisms (the Browning has a closed trigger, the TT has an open trigger and removable). It would seem that in such a situation there is no need to talk about Tokarev blindly copying the Browning pistol. But there are still grounds for such assumptions!
I was able to discover in the weapons collection of the technical room of the Tula TsKIB SOO a very unusual version of the 1903 Browning, which differs from the classic one in that it has an external trigger. Let's call it conventionally “Browning arr. 1903 K."
"Browning arr. 1903 K" can be considered an extremely rare example, since neither in the domestic nor in foreign literature it is not described. In the weapons collection of the technical office of the Tula TsKIB SOO, where it is listed under the name “Browning” 1903.” By appearance, overall dimensions and weight data, this pistol is completely similar to the sample described above chambered for 9x20 mm, but differs from it in the design of the trigger mechanism, the absence of an automatic safety and a flag safety mechanism.
Pistol "Colt" mod. 1911 with incomplete disassembly
There are no factory marks or inscriptions on the bolt casing and frame of the pistol. The marking is only on the breech of the barrel in the area of the sleeve window.
The sample belongs to the class of weapons with inertial locking of the barrel. Its barrel, recoil mechanism, and interchangeable seven-round magazine are interchangeable with the 1903 Browning pistol described above.
For incomplete disassembly For this sample, it is necessary, by retracting the bolt casing and trying to rotate the barrel, to find by touch the position when the supporting protrusions of the barrel disengage with the pistol frame and enter the cutout of the bolt casing.
The trigger mechanism of the pistol is a separate unit in the form of a block, which contains a trigger with a mainspring located inside it, a sear with a leaf spring and a disconnector. After separating the bolt casing, this unit is separated from the pistol frame.
Externally, the unit and its parts are indistinguishable from similar TT pistols.
In the Tula city museum of weapons there is an experimental pistol made by F.V. Tokarev, which can be considered a prototype of the TT and which differs from the Browning pistol only in that it uses a 7.62 mm Mauser cartridge.
Thus, we can definitely say that it was initially intended to completely copy the TT from a rare modification of the Browning pistol with a removable trigger mechanism.
Pistol F.V. Tokarev arr. 1938
The Mauser cartridge was chosen by Tokarev only because at the end of 1920, by decision of Artkom Artillery Directorate The Red Army bought a license for its production from the German company DWM (since 1922 Berliner Karlsruhe Industriewerke - BKIW). However, this ammunition turned out to be too powerful for inertial locking. To correct the situation, Fedor Vasilyevich in the next version of the TT used locking the barrel bore in the image and likeness of the Colt pistol of the 1911 model - with a swinging barrel controlled by an earring. Note that the 1911 Colt was developed by the same Browning at the Colt factories.
This begs the question, why did Tokarev, a very inventive designer, resort to obvious copying when developing such a basically simple weapon as a self-loading pistol? Still in the same Tula weapons museum there are his original samples of self-loading rifles, which are structurally much more complex than the TT. For example, its SVT-38 self-loading rifle, adopted for service in 1938, is completely original in design. The same can be said about the Tokarev pistol of the 1938 model.
Main characteristics of the Browning pistol model 1903.”
Main characteristics of the pistol "Browning" mod. 1903 K" Caliber, mm 9 Weight of pistol with magazine without cartridges, kg 0.93 Muzzle velocity, m/s 330 Barrel length, mm 128 Pistol length, mm 205 Pistol height, mm 120 Weight of one cartridge, g 11.3
Main characteristics of the TT pistol Caliber, mm 7.62 Pistol weight with magazine without cartridges, kg 0.825 Muzzle velocity, m/s 420 Barrel length, mm 116 Pistol length, mm 195 Pistol height, mm 120 Weight of one cartridge, g 11.9
There can only be one answer here. The designer was simply ordered to copy a certain sample. Apparently, someone in the Soviet military leadership dealt with the Browning 1903 and considered it an ideal pistol, which, due to its simple design, could be easily produced at our not very advanced arms factories at that time. In fact, Tokarev’s task was not to create an original domestic pistol, and the conversion of the Browning to the domestically produced 7.62x25 cartridge. It was based not on the most common pistol model, but on its simplest, albeit rare modification with a removable trigger mechanism. But the powerful ammunition still forced the designer to change the locking system in the pistol.
Such an option for creating a TT is quite probable, since in the Soviet weapons history It was not uncommon for military and political leaders to force designers to make technical decisions dictated by their own predilections.
For example, at the same TT, Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny strongly did not recommend that Tokarev use an automatic safety lock that blocks the trigger if the pistol is released from his hand. And finally he achieved his goal - there is no automatic fuse on the TT!
Designer Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov told me that Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov insisted on replacing his SKS carbine with a simple and technologically advanced folding faceted bayonet, oxidized black, also folding, but bladed and shiny. Allegedly, infantry attacking with bayonets shining in the sun will terrify the enemy. Sergei Gavrilovich spat, but together with his design bureau technician Volkhny Vasily Kuzmich, they bungled such a bayonet.
Front and back sides of a business card, presented upon personal acquaintance to the author of the article, Fyodor Vasilyevich Tokarev
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