Cheeks from combat pistols vol. TT pistol: specifications

83 years ago, the Tula designer Tokarev presented to the state commission a prototype of a pistol, which was destined for a long, glorious and terrible history.

Many readers remember how in the early 90s of the last century, strong athletic guys crawled out of tinted cherry-colored "nines" parked near cafes, restaurants and markets, terrifying businessmen and merchants.

From under the crimson jackets of the "lads" often peeked out the handles of TT pistols, with the help of which "serious issues" were resolved and spheres of influence were divided criminal gangs.

Given the role of the TT in the Yezhov-Beria purges, as well as in the elimination of foreign agents, spies, deserters and traitors during the Great Patriotic War, this type of short-barreled small arms can rightfully be considered the most "bloody" pistol of Soviet / Russian history.

The history of this type of weapon began in the mid-1920s, when the leadership of the USSR decided to update the arsenal of short-barreled weapons used in the Red Army and law enforcement agencies countries.

The revolver revolver of 1895, which remained in service, was completely obsolete morally, and the power of its cartridge did not correspond to the trends of the times. An alternative to it was the Mauser S-96 pistol, which was imported into the USSR from abroad.

The cartridge of this 7.63x25 mm pistol completely satisfied the Soviet gunsmiths and the military, but the weapon itself had a very bulky design and was not suitable for concealed carry and operational use.

The State Commission invited the country's gunsmiths to create a pistol chambered for a unified cartridge of 7.62x25 mm. The leading specialists of the country took part in the competition, and the best model of short-barreled small arms was proposed by Fedor Vasilievich Tokarev, glorified his name for decades. The leading designer of the Tula Arms Plant (TOZ) created a pistol, which they called as simply as possible - Tula Tokarev (TT).

Initially, the technology was crude. The first pistols, called TT-30, misfired very often and were not reliable, and only the TT-33 model was able to convince the State Commission to recommend it for production. Since 1934, TTs began to enter the Red Army and NKVD units, becoming the personal weapons of officers.

A small argument for a big victory

The Tula Tokarev is officially considered the most massive pistol of the Great Patriotic War, which took part in all the battles and battles that took place on the ground, in the sky and on the water.

Downed Soviet pilots with the help of TT fought off the Nazis surrounding them, and the defenders of the defensive positions left the last cartridge from the TT store "for themselves."

The German pistol Walter P38, which was the personal weapon of Wehrmacht officers, significantly surpassed the Tula Tokarev in reliability, but the non-commissioned officers of the German army gladly used captured TTs, respecting them for their accuracy. aimed shot and penetration ability.

The beginning of the decline of glory

The victory in the Great Patriotic War and the mastery of the technologies of the Third Reich began the decline of the glory of the TT, since it was replaced by the cheaper Makarov pistol (PM). Having effective range shot 25 m, PM caliber 9 mm had a much greater stopping power, and the lack of body armor at that time fully justified the use of this type of weapon.

• In the 50-60s, the Makarov pistol almost completely replaced the TT from the Soviet Army, leaving the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB of the USSR in service.
• In the 1970s, the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs also began to rearm, and only the Chekists, who fell in love with this pistol for its simplicity and reliability, remained faithful to the good old TT.
• The complete refusal of the KGB from the Tula Tokarev occurred only after the receipt of the Stechkin automatic pistol (APS), which uses a large magazine for unified cartridges of 9 mm caliber and allows firing bursts, into the units.
• In the early 90s, the production of TTs completely ceased, and the pistols stored in warehouses began to enter the departmental security departments of large enterprises, including those of strategic importance. It was then that, due to the confusion and mismanagement associated with the collapse of the USSR, a huge amount of weapons fell into the hands of bandits. It was then that the last bloody point was made in the history of this pistol, which was supposed to become a weapon for protecting the country of external enemies, bandits, spies and foreign agents.

Modern history of TT

No one knows exactly how many TTs were produced in the USSR, not to mention other countries.

According to official statistics, at least 1.7 million TT units were produced at arms factories in the USSR alone, and the number of barrels made in artisanal conditions is not subject to calculation.

After World War II own production The Tula Tokarev was established in Hungary, China, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Iraq and Poland, although there is information about the handicraft assembly of TTs in other countries of Asia and Africa, where in post-war years there was a struggle for independence, and then - internecine wars of independent winners.

But legends don't die. Today in Russia, at the Vyatka-Polyansky Molot plant, the production of traumatic pistols MP-81 and MP-82 continues, which have a complete external resemblance to the TT, although they differ in their internal layout.

Pistol arr. 1933(TT, Tulsky, Tokareva, Index GRAU - 56-A-132) - the first army self-loading pistol of the USSR, developed in 1930 Soviet designer Fedor Vasilievich Tokarev.

PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS PISTOL TOKAREV ARR. 1933
Manufacturer:	Tula arms factory
Cartridge:	7.62×25mm 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 grooves in the barrel:	4
Height:	130 mm
Trigger mechanism (USM):	Hammer, single action
Operating principle:	Recoil of the barrel with its short stroke
Fuse:	Safety cocking
Aim:	Front sight and permanent rear sight with aiming slot
Effective range:	50 m
Muzzle velocity:	450 m/s
Type of ammunition:	Detachable magazine
Number of rounds:	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 to replace the Nagan revolver and several foreign-made revolvers and pistols that were in service with the Red Army by the mid-1920s. The German cartridge 7.63 × 25 mm Mauser was adopted as a regular cartridge, which was purchased in significant quantities for the Mauser S-96 pistols 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 improved shooting accuracy, lighter trigger pulls, and safer handling. Within a few months of work, the shortcomings were eliminated. On December 23, 1930, a decision was made on additional tests.

According to the test results, the TT pistol, created by a design team led by F.V. Tokarev in 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 comprehensive 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 cartridge 7.62 × 25 . The pistol, called TT (Tula Tokarev) was simple and technologically advanced in production and operation.

TT pistol arr. 1933

At the same time, the USSR bought from German company"Mauser" license for the production of the cartridge 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 has undergone modernization: the lugs of the barrel were not milled, but performed by turning; the frame was made in one piece, without a removable handle cover; the uncoupler and trigger pull 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 manufacture of TT was transferred to Izhevsk. In 1942, the 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 a Tokarev pistol with a double-row magazine for 15 rounds. The thickness of the handle was 42 mm (against 30.5 mm for the standard TT). The magazine latch has been 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 shutter housing for easy retraction of the shutter, were replaced with small grooves (grooving).

Options and modifications:

Design and principle of operation

The TT pistol combines design features different systems: the J. M. Browning bore locking scheme used in the famous Colt M1911, the Browning M1903 design and the cartridge originally developed for the Mauser C96 pistol.

According to some experts, when developing the design of the pistol, it was originally supposed to completely copy the design of the modified Browning pistol with a removable trigger trigger mechanism. However, in the course of work, the designers refused to completely copy due to the lack of a technological base for the production of 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 the convenience of handling weapons: the combination of the trigger mechanism in a separate single block-block, which, when the weapon is disassembled, 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 swivel straps fixed on them, which simplified the disassembly of the pistol, the absence of a safety mechanism - its function was performed by a safety cocking of the trigger.

Pistol TT, incomplete disassembly.

The Browning scheme of locking the bore with a short stroke and a swinging earring, the automation system, as well as the trigger, borrowed from the Colt M1911 pistol, were modified to simplify production.

USM single action. The impact mechanism is made in a single block, which simplified the factory assembly. (A few years later, the Swiss gunsmith Charles Petter used the same arrangement in the French Model 1935 pistol.)

The pistol does not have a safety catch as a separate part, its functions are performed by a safety cocking of the trigger. To set the lowered trigger on the safety platoon, you need to slightly pull the trigger back. After that, the trigger and bolt will be blocked, and the trigger will not touch the firing pin. This eliminates the possibility of a shot if the pistol falls or accidentally strikes the head of the trigger. To remove the trigger from the safety platoon, you need to cock the trigger. To put the cocked hammer on the safety platoon, it must first be released by holding it and pressing the trigger. And then the trigger needs to be pulled back a little.

Carrying a pistol with a cartridge in the chamber with the trigger released is not recommended and does not make sense, since for a shot you need to cock the trigger in the same way as the trigger set to the safety cock.

TT pistol in a holster.

On the left side of the frame is the shutter release lever. When the magazine is used up, the shutter rises to a delay in the rear position. To release the shutter from the delay, you need to lower the shutter delay lever.

The magazine holds 8 rounds. The magazine release button is on the left side of the grip, at the base of the trigger guard, similar to the Colt M1911.

Hits when firing at 50 m 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 made integral with the bolt and a rear sight pressed into a dovetail groove at the rear of the bolt. The cheeks of the handle were made of Bakelite or (during the war years) of wood (walnut).

Advantages and disadvantages

The TT pistol is distinguished by its simple design and, therefore, low cost of production and ease of maintenance. A very powerful cartridge, atypical for pistols, provides an unusually high penetrating power and a muzzle energy of about 500 J. The pistol has a short, easy trigger and provides significant shooting accuracy, an experienced shooter is able to hit a target at distances of more than 50 meters. The gun is flat and compact enough, which is convenient for concealed carry. However, in the course of operation, shortcomings also appeared.

Before the Great Patriotic War, the military demanded that a pistol be able to fire through the embrasures of a 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 him.

Without a fuse, the TT was placed in a safe position by the so-called half-cock of the trigger, which made it difficult to bring the pistol into combat position. There were involuntary cases of crossbows, one of which is described by Yuri Nikulin in the book "Almost Seriously". Ultimately, the Charter was expressly forbidden to carry a pistol with a cartridge in the chamber, which further increased the time it took to bring the pistol to combat readiness.

Another disadvantage is the poor fixation of the store, which leads to its spontaneous loss.

The mainspring, placed in the cavity of the trigger, has a low survivability.

Ergonomics of the TT raises many complaints compared to other designs. The angle of inclination of the handle is small, its shape does not contribute to a comfortable hold of the weapon.

The TT pistol is distinguished by a flat trajectory and a high penetrating effect of a pointed bullet, which is capable of penetrating an army helmet or light body armor. The penetrating effect of the TT bullet exceeds the penetrating effect of the 9x19 mm cartridge bullet (the “7.62 P” bullet with a lead core, after being fired from the TT pistol, pierces the bulletproof vests of the I class of protection, but the bulletproof vests of the II class do not penetrate even when fired at close range. At the same time, the stopping effect of the 7.62 mm TT bullets is inferior to the action of the 9x19 mm cartridge bullet.

Operation and combat use

In the period 1930-1945:

Video

TT shooting, weapon handling, etc.:

Pistol TT.

After the end of the First World War and the Civil War, the leadership of the Red Army had the opportunity to calmly approach the solution of the problem of arming the command staff. Indeed, in the years of total shortage of weapons, there was no need to talk about any unification in this area. There is a working revolver or pistol - and it's good. As a result, dozens of weapons were passed around. This caused confusion, supply problems ... The army, like air, needed a single "commander's" pistol. They became known now to everyone and everyone TT. The history of the creation of the famous pistol is in the permanent heading "Special Forces".

From Commissar's Mauser to TK - 26

SO, on the calendar - the 20s of the last century. As the intensity of the armed struggle decreases, the requirements for the personal weapons of the Red commanders also change. During the years of the Civil War, the exemplary pistol was a 7.63 mm automatic Mauser of the 1896 model, with a powerful cartridge, an attached holster, and a 10- or 20-round magazine.

The war is over, priorities have changed. Suddenly, a pistol of an almost “pocket” model was needed - small in size, 5 - 7-round and designed for a weak cartridge. Such a pistol was needed in order not to burden party functionaries too much and, on occasion, to help them protect their lives.

This request was implemented by the gunsmith Sergei Korovin, who designed the TK-26 automatic pistol. However, practice has shown that development is not suitable for serious actions. The requirements have changed again: you need a powerful automatic pistol, not a pocket toy.

In the late 1920s, such a pistol was developed by the Tula designer Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev. In 1931, the weapon was adopted under the name 7.62 mm pistol of the 1930 model. Later, the abbreviation TT was added, which means Tula, Tokarev. Several important factors influenced the creation of this pistol, which are worth dwelling on in more detail.

Factor one: which cartridge to choose?

The TT PISTOL is designed for the 7.62mm bottle-cased pistol cartridge. This cartridge was created on the basis of the 7.63 mm cartridge for the well-known S-96 Mauser. The choice is not random.

Firstly, the 7.62 mm cartridge could be made on equipment unified with 7.62 mm revolver and rifle cartridges. In the Soviet Union, at the Podolsky Cartridge Plant in the 1920s, production was launched (albeit on a small scale) for the manufacture of this cartridge for the Mauser S-96 pistol, which was purchased for the NKVD.

Secondly, the military strategy prompted the choice Soviet Union, which can be formulated as follows: a war with little blood on foreign territory. The key here is precisely the concept of enemy territory. With the interchangeability of the 7.62x25 TT cartridge with the German 7.63x25 Mauser cartridge, which is widespread in Europe, commanders could replenish ammunition on enemy soil.

In addition, the selected cartridge had a high muzzle velocity, which gave the bullet a great penetrating effect. However, the same bullet, due to its small mass and area, had a slight stopping effect, in contrast, for example, to the bullet of the 9x19 Parabellum cartridge. It is important that aimed shooting at a long distance was provided.

When hit, the enemy went out of action after a while, and in this case the magnitude of the stopping effect did not have of great importance: The enemy was bleeding. But in a situation of fleeting face-to-face combat, when the opposing sides are separated by several meters, it is important that the hit enemy, after being hit by a bullet, could no longer shoot back. For such quick fights, the TT cartridge was not very suitable.

Factor two: revolver or pistol?

IN THE ENVIRONMENT of the senior command staff of the Red Army in the 20-30s and even in the Great Patriotic War, there were disputes about the advantages of a revolver and an automatic pistol in battle. Many honored veterans of the civil war were suspicious and distrustful of automatic pistols, fearing that a complex mechanism could be capricious, let down at a decisive moment.

On the contrary, the revolver of the Nagant system of the 1895 model was considered a model of reliability. And here the veterans were absolutely right - the revolver outperforms the pistol due to its extreme simplicity. However, it also has its drawbacks. The main one is the low reload speed. And here already automatic pistols with quick-change magazines pulled far ahead.

The parallel production of Nagant revolvers and Tokarev pistols continued almost until the end of the war, when the advantages of an automatic pistol finally became visible to everyone.

Factor three: make your own or spy on Browning?

The CONSTRUCTOR differs from the inventor in that he does not invent new elements, but composes a new one from existing ones, thereby improving new system. Let's try to figure out what design schemes formed the basis of the TT pistol.

The main such scheme can be considered a system for locking the barrel in a vertical plane using a swinging earring (the so-called Browning earring). This system was developed by the American designer John Moses Browning at the end of the 19th century. It was clearly worked out in the famous 11.43 mm Colt pistol of the 1911 model of the Browning system. It was Browning's inventive thought at the beginning of the 20th century that determined the modern look of an automatic pistol. The vast majority of pistols of the 20th century work according to the short-stroke barrel system developed by him with its rigid locking.

It should be noted that Tokarev not only copied the Browning system from the 1911 Colt, but improved it. Thus, the design of the shutter has been improved in favor of manufacturability. Instead of complex milling work on turning the locking projections on the gate, they began to be made using a simpler turning method.

A close comparison of the TT with other Browning models shows that the ergonomics and overall shape of the pistol were heavily influenced by the Belgian-made FN Browning N 2 of 1903, or the nearly identical 7.65mm Colt Pocket Automatic pistol M.1903.

In Russia, these pistols were not exotic. They were in service with the Moscow police before the revolution, and were also mentioned in the list of automatic pistols allowed to be bought and carried by officers of the Russian Imperial Army and Navy. It is important to note that, despite the same appearance, the Browning of the 1903 model and the TT are very different from each other. The internal "stuffing" is largely borrowed from another model of the American Browning - the Colt of the 1911 model.

So, from the Colt, a single-action trigger mechanism was used. The only shot protection system in the TT is made in the same way as in the Colt. The pistol is placed on the safety cocking of the trigger when it is retracted a little. This system, however, turned out to be not reliable enough - there were often cases of a spontaneous shot when a pistol fell on a hard surface, especially on the trigger. In the Colt M.1911 pistol, Browning additionally used a lever safety on the frame and an automatic safety, which turned off only when the handle was covered. In the 1903 model of the year, where a different trigger mechanism was used, there were two reliable safety systems - also a flag and automatic fuse.

When developing the TT design, additional fuses were removed as complicating the design and increasing the number of parts. The gun has become simpler and more technologically advanced, but also less safe.

Another change affected the magazine fixing system. In the 1903 model of the year, the magazine was held by a latch at the base of the handle, and in the 1911 model of the year, by a button at the base of the trigger guard. In the TT, the magazine release button is located in the same way as in the 1911 model of the year, but it does not have such a good fixation.

It is worth noting another positive difference between the TT and the Browning models: Tokarev for the first time made the trigger mechanism into a separate block, easily detachable when incompletely disassembled.

Tokarev remade his pistol several times

OFFICIALLY, the TT pistol was put into service in 1931. Then released more than a thousand copies. However, military tests and the practical use of pistols required significant alterations. Many complaints were caused by the involuntary loss of the store and unreliable protection.

After the changes made by Tokarev, the pistol was adopted under the name "7.62-millimeter pistol of the 1933 model."

However, already at the end of the 30s, the question of the reliability of CTs again became relevant. Among the shortcomings called unreliable protection, insufficient stopping effect of the bullet. In 1938 - 1941, a competition was held among famous gunsmiths for a new automatic pistol, which was supposed to replace the TT. This competition was won by the designer Voevodin with an 18-round pistol chambered for 7.62x25 TT. An experimental batch of over a thousand copies was made, which successfully passed a series of tests. The war prevented the adoption of the pistol into service. And the TT, which was already going to be written off to the archive, began to be manufactured for the needs of the front in ever-increasing quantities. The fact that it was mastered by production played a decisive role. Re-equipping the army with a new, more advanced pistol during the course of the war was an excessive risk. And accidental injuries from an involuntary shot during strong blows were an inevitable price for the massive use of TT.

However, sometimes rather absurd arguments were put forward against TT. So, for example, the gun was accused of not being able to insert the barrel into the viewing slot of the tank and shoot back. And only the experience of the war showed that while the crew is in a serviceable tank with ammunition, the fighters do not need a pistol for self-defense. And when the tank is hit or the ammunition runs out in it and the crew leaves it, then the thickness of the barrel does not play a role at all. And instead of a pistol or a revolver for self-defense, it is best to use a submachine gun.

The last modernization of the TT took place after the war, in 1946. It was purely decorative: instead of vertical grooves, fine corrugation was applied to the casing, the material of the lining on the handle changed.

The TT was in service from 1931 to 1952, but was used much longer. A large number of TT still remains in warehouses, waiting in the wings.

In addition to army units, the gun is also very popular in criminal structures. After all, a powerful 7.62-millimeter cartridge allows you to pierce bulletproof vests of the second class of protection, and in some cases even the third.

Sergei LOPAREV, researcher at the Belorussky Foundations Department

State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War.

Photo by Alexander STADUB

Created in 1930 by Soviet weapons designer Fyodor Vasilievich Tokarev, semi-automatic TT pistol(Tulsky, Tokareva) became the first domestic self-loading pistol adopted by the army. The purpose of the tests carried out in this direction since the mid-20s of the last century was the creation of a modern self-loading pistol capable of replacing the Nagant revolver, model 1895, which was obsolete and low-powered by that time, in service with the Soviet Army, as well as replacing a number of pistols purchased abroad for the needs of the Soviet Army. Among the self-loading samples imported into the territory of the Soviet Union, the then famous Mauser S-96 of 7.63 mm caliber was quite popular, the main advantage of which was the use of a powerful cartridge of 7.63x25 mm, and the main disadvantage of this Mauser was its large dimensions and big weight. Having appreciated the advantages of the 7.63x25 cartridge, the Soviet arms industry leaders decided to create a similar cartridge and their own model of a self-loading pistol for it, but more compact and easy to handle than the Mauser S-96.

Weapons designer, creator of the TT pistol Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev

For these purposes, the Soviet Union acquires a license for the above cartridge from the German company Mauser, after which it begins its production, but already in caliber 7.62x25 (in order to unify with Soviet technological equipment and equipment). Several gunsmiths began to design pistols for this cartridge at once, among which, in addition to Tokarev, were Korovin and Prilutsky, who presented their models to the court of a high commission. However, after the official field tests were carried out, in June 1930 the commission made an unequivocal choice in favor of the sample made by F.V. Tokarev, named TT-30. After eliminating some of the shortcomings of this pistol regarding accuracy and safety of handling, as well as after other improvements related to the wishes of the commission members, in December 1930, the TT-30 pistol was re-tested, as a result of which this pistol was approved by the commission and recommended for adoption by the Soviet Army. Over the next few years, the first batches of these weapons were released, the tests of which led to disappointing conclusions. The pistol was unreliable, very dangerous to handle, parts quickly failed, there were frequent delays in firing, the resource of the TT-30 was ridiculously small, amounting to about two hundred shots. After that, the designers made certain conclusions and the main shortcomings were eliminated, and the gun also underwent several upgrades in order to simplify and reduce the cost of production. And finally, in 1934, a modified version of the Tokarev system was adopted by the Red Army under the name TT-33, which became the most massive and proven pistol in the battles of World War II.

It is worth noting that Tokarev at one time had an internship at the Belgian arms factory FN, where the weapons genius John Moses Browning worked at the same time. It was this fact that influenced the design of the TT pistol, built according to the Browning system. And to be honest, Comrade Tokarev clearly strove to be outwardly similar to Sir Browning, at least in photographs. (I hope that adherents of the genius of exclusively domestic gunsmiths will not shower me with rotten tomatoes).

Left - photo by F. V. Tokarev, right - photo by J. M. Browning

In February 1931, the troops received the first batch of TT-30 pistols for comprehensive testing, and mass production of an already modernized model called TT-33 began in 1933 at the Tula Arms Plant (TOZ), and by the time the German attack on the USSR and the beginning of World War II, the number of manufactured TT pistols had reached more than six hundred thousand pieces. During the years of that terrible war, this pistol received recognition among the troops, although very doubtful, and was widely used as a personal weapon of officers, intended for close combat at distances up to 50 m, and at these distances the TT worked very effectively, thanks to a powerful cartridge. During the war years, the production of TT pistols, as well as other small arms, of course, increased significantly, as required by the current situation. It should be recognized that the TT pistol has never been and was not considered good weapon, but for lack of an alternative, the military could only get this gun. In fact, the pistol did not receive nationwide or "all-army" recognition, it only received a huge distribution, and the fame and popularity of the TT pistol were only a consequence of the wide distribution of this weapon. The TT-33 was unreliable and dangerous to handle, and was also afraid of dirt, which is a very significant factor in a war. But, nevertheless, it was widely used, there was no other. For example, in comparison with the German Walther P38, used in the same war by the Wehrmacht, the TT looked like an unfinished homemade gun.

After the war, in 1946, the pistol was once again slightly modernized in order to further reduce the cost of production and eliminate shortcomings. It was not possible to eliminate all the shortcomings, but this will be discussed below. external hallmark post-war samples is the presence of fine corrugation on the shutter casing, instead of vertical depressions in the form of pointed ellipses in pre-war models.

The Tula Tokarev was the most massive personal short-barreled weapon of the Soviet Army and the Soviet police until the early 50s, when the Makarov pistol came to replace it, and the TT was discontinued. But even after that, the TT continued to serve the Motherland in army units and in the police until the early nineties, until it was completely replaced by Makarov pistols (TTs were removed from police weapons a little earlier, in the seventies). In total, over the years of production of the TT pistol, about 1.7 million pieces were produced. After the army and the police finally said goodbye to this pistol, the TT was in service with the paramilitary guards (VOHR) and criminal gangs, in which, due to the weapons illiteracy of most bandits, it was and is considered an excellent pistol, from which such an opinion went to the people and is stably held by the masses until now.

The popularity of the TT in the underworld is mainly due to the cheapness of the pistol and the penetrating ability of the cartridge, which ensured reliable hitting of the target through glass or car doors, as well as piercing light bulletproof vests of the 1st protection class.

It should be noted that in addition to the Soviet Union, the TT pistol was also produced in other countries, such as Hungary, China, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Iraq, Poland. It does not make sense to consider each of them, since the TTs produced abroad generally repeated the design of the Soviet model with minor differences. For example, one of the Chinese samples called "Model 213" had a caliber of 9 mm and used a 9x19 Parabellum cartridge, and was also equipped with a mechanical flag-type fuse. Some foreign-made models differed in the length of the barrel and handle, and in the capacity of the magazine.

Today, on the basis of TT pistols accumulated in military warehouses, the production of traumatic weapons as a means of self-defense of citizens. After making appropriate design changes, TT pistols are adapted for firing rubber bullets. Modern titles traumatic TT - "Leader", produced by the Vyatka-Polyansky plant "MOLOT", as well as Izhevsk MP-81 and MP-82. Such pistols can often be found on the shelves of gun stores. However, this weapon, in addition to external resemblance, has nothing to do with the legendary TT, and is more suitable for the role of its shooting layout. In addition to traumatic variants, a pneumatic TT is also produced in Izhevsk, powered by a standard cylinder of compressed carbon dioxide, called MP-656K.

Design

In general, the design and operation of the automation of the TT pistol repeated the scheme of the famous Colt M1911 pistol designed by John Moses Browning, with the difference that the TT used a block trigger system, like the Mauser S-96. This was done to simplify production and to simplify the repair and maintenance of weapons. The operation of the automatic pistol is built on the principle of recoil of the barrel with its short stroke, according to the Browning system. The differences also affected some other nodes and mechanisms, which will be described in more detail below.

Briefly, the automation system in TT pistol as follows. When fired, the cartridge case acts on the bolt, the bolt moves back along with the barrel, which is engaged with the bolt carrier by lugs. The barrel is attached to the frame of the pistol by means of a swinging earring, which ensures the lowering of the breech and its movement back. With this reduction, the barrel disengages from the bolt carrier, that is, the projections of the bolt carrier come out of the corresponding grooves on the thickened part of the barrel. After that, the bolt carrier moves back by inertia, cocking the hammer and ejecting the spent cartridge case. On the return stroke, under the action of a return spring, the bolt sends the next cartridge from the magazine into the chamber and puts the previously warped barrel in its original place, locking it in its original position on the lugs. More details about the operation of automation will be written below.

The difference from the Browning design in terms of the operation of automation lies in the fact that the barrel of the TT pistol does not have protrusions for engaging with the bolt, but, on the contrary, in its thickened part it has two grooves, into which the protrusions of the bolt frame enter when locking.

The absence of a separate mechanical fuse was the result of a simplification of the firing mechanism, while an accidental shot was prevented by a disconnector and a special groove for setting the trigger on the safety cock. That is, the TT fuse could only be put on by means of a trigger, putting it on a safety platoon, without bringing it to a combat platoon. Such a system ensured the safety of the weapon in the event of a fall or an accidental blow to the trigger, because even an uncocked trigger could transfer this blow to the striker upon impact, from which the cartridge in the chamber could fire. But often the safety platoon was ignored by people, from which many accidents occurred. For this reason, an order was even issued to ban the carrying of a TT pistol with a cartridge in the chamber.

At first, Tokarev assumed the presence of an automatic fuse on the back of the handle, as on a Colt M1911 pistol. But military officials were against it, from which the TT was left with the only fuse - the middle position of the trigger. The legend says that Comrade Budyonny, who, as is known, had a huge influence on the military leadership of the country at that time, forbade equipping a new Soviet pistol with such an automatic fuse. He explained the reason by the fact that once during Civil War, when the "whites" were chasing him, he turned back, sitting on his horse, and tried to shoot his Browning back. But cavalry gloves and an uncomfortable position did not allow the safety on the back of the Browning handle to be squeezed out. This turned out to be enough so that such a fuse was not installed on the TT.

The pistol is fed with cartridges from a box-shaped single-row magazine with a capacity of 8 rounds, with a push-button locking system. Sights, front sight and rear sight, unregulated, which were aimed by the manufacturer at a distance of 25 meters.

The gun consists of the following parts:

Frame - is one piece with the handle and trigger guard. Designed to connect the parts of the gun, being its basis.

The cheeks of the handle are a decorative element that covers the side windows of the handle, and also serve to comfortably hold the weapon in your hand. Cheeks were made of corrugated plastic and wood.

Magazine latch - holds the magazine in the frame handle.

Barrel - designed to tell the bullet a certain direction when fired. It is completely closed by a shutter casing and connected to the frame by a Browning earring. The barrel bore has 4 right-hand grooves with a pitch of 240-260 mm (depending on the year of manufacture), to give the bullet a rotational motion that stabilizes its flight path. In the breech there is a chamber, which serves to accommodate the cartridge during loading and before firing. The barrel has two annular grooves on a special thickening in the breech area, which ensure the grip of the bolt with the barrel due to the inclusion of the supporting projections of the bolt frame (lugs) into them. At the bottom of the thickened part of the breech there is a tide with an eyelet for a Browning earring, on the rear section of the chamber there is a protrusion for the ejector hook, as well as a bevel from below - for feeding the cartridge from the magazine into the chamber.

Earring - connects the barrel to the frame, and also serves to engage and disengage the barrel from the bolt, ensuring the swing and distortion of the barrel in a vertical plane.

The shutter is one piece with the casing and performs the bulk of the functions of the pistol. The shutter ensures the ejection of a spent cartridge case or an unused cartridge, the supply of a new cartridge from the magazine to the chamber, cocks the hammer and locks the bore before firing. Outside, on the casing of the shutter, there are sights (front sight and rear sight), an ejector window, a groove for placing the ejector, notches for convenient retention of the shutter when retracting it to the rear position when reloading in case of a misfire and when sending a cartridge into the chamber. Also, the shutter has a hole for the striker, in the casing there is a cutout for accommodating the protrusion of the shutter delay, a tube for the return spring, and in the rear part there is a groove for the trigger.

Striker - designed to break the primer of the cartridge and is located in a special groove of the shutter between the trigger and the barrel chamber.

Ejector - to hold the sleeve (cartridge) until it meets the reflector when the shutter moves to the rear position, which ensures the ejection of the sleeve (cartridge) from the ejector window.

Return spring - serves to return the shutter to the forward position after its rollback.

The tip of the return spring is the stop for the return spring.

Guide rod - also serves as a stop for the return spring and limits the retreat of the shutter back, and most importantly is the guide of the return spring.

Guide sleeve - serves to guide the muzzle of the barrel when the bolt moves, and is also a stop for the tip of the return spring.

Bolt stop - ensures that the bolt is fixed in the rearmost position when the magazine is empty, which ensures that the cartridge is quickly sent into the chamber from a new magazine.

Bolt stop spring - fixes the delay on the frame and holds it in the lower position until the bolt locks after the magazine is empty.

The trigger mechanism consists of the following parts:

Block - connects the trigger, mainspring, sear and uncoupler.

Hammer - performs a strike on the striker.

Mainspring - actuates the trigger, giving it a quick movement for a sufficiently strong blow to the striker.

Sear - holds the trigger on the combat and safety platoons and ensures the trigger is released when the trigger is pressed, which is essentially a button on the TT.

Disconnector - designed to disconnect the trigger pull from the sear after the shot is fired. This is necessary in order to exclude the possibility of firing a shot when the shutter is not fully closed.

The descent is made as one piece with the trigger pull. When you press the trigger with your finger, he takes the sear back, from which the trigger breaks under the influence of the mainspring and hits the striker, and when the rod is in the forward position, it acts on the uncoupler, lifting it to the top for safe handling of weapons.

Trigger spring - supplies the trigger pull forward and up.

Shop - serves to accommodate eight cartridges and consists of a steel box, feeder, feeder spring and cover.

Work of parts and mechanisms

The shutter, when retracting it to its rearmost position, acting on the trigger, turns it, thereby putting the trigger on the combat platoon. Also, due to the impact of the support ledges on the annular grooves of the barrel, the bolt retracts the barrel. If there is a cartridge case or cartridge in the chamber, the ejector removes it and throws it out through a special window using a reflector.

The barrel, when moving backwards, due to the rotation of the earring, descends with its thickened breech downward, from which the barrel is skewed, and at the same time it disengages from the bolt, since the bolt support projections come out of the annular grooves of the thickened part of the barrel.

The uncoupler goes down under the action of a recess in the lower part of the bolt, while deflecting the trigger rod to the bottom, thereby disengaging it from the sear.

The return spring, when the shutter moves back, is compressed.

The sear, under the action of a spring, is pressed against the front of the trigger and sequentially goes behind the safety, and then behind the cocking of the trigger. The disconnector is then released.

During the movement of the bolt forward (due to the force of the return spring), the bolt moves the upper cartridge from the magazine along the inclined bevel to the breech breech, into the chamber.

The barrel, due to the pressure of the shutter mirror on the bottom of the sleeve of the new cartridge, moves forward and upward through the earring, while the supporting projections of the shutter enter the annular grooves of the thickened part of the barrel. The barrel is locked with a bolt.

The ejector hook enters the annular groove of the cartridge located in the chamber. When you press the trigger with your finger (when firing a shot), the actions of the parts of the pistol will be as follows: The trigger rod, by pressing the ledge of the sear, takes its lower part back, which leads to the exit of the sear nose from the cocking groove of the trigger, after which the trigger, turning forward on its axis, under the action of the mainspring, strikes the striker. The striker, moving forward, hits the primer of the cartridge, igniting it. From the pressure of the gases formed during the combustion of gunpowder, the bullet begins to move along the rifling and flies out of the bore, while part of the powder gases affects the walls and bottom of the sleeve, forcing the barrel and the bolt connected to it to move backward. After that, the parts of the gun repeat the same steps as when manually retracting the bolt to the rear position (described above). During the movement of the bolt back, the ejector hook removes the spent cartridge case from the chamber, continuing to hold it until it meets the reflector, upon impact with which the cartridge case flies out of the bolt frame window located on the right. At the same time, the next cartridge in the store, under the action of the feeder spring, rises up. In the absence of cartridges in the store, after the last shot, the feeder raises the bolt delay with its hook, which, in turn, stops the bolt in its rearmost position. The descent, in the absence of a pressing effect of the finger, due to the elasticity of the trigger spring, returns to the front position, while the uncoupler rises upwards, entering the shutter recess with the stem.

And this is how the work of the automation of the TT pistol looks more clearly. Especially for you, I found an animation of the operation of parts and mechanisms in a TT pistol during and after firing. (God bless the one who did this. Otherwise, on such animations, all Colts and Glocks ...)

Advantages and disadvantages

The simplicity of the design makes Tula tokarev pistol inexpensive to manufacture and easy to maintain pistol. The main advantage of the TT is a powerful cartridge that provides a high muzzle energy of the order of 500 J, a significant range of a direct shot and excellent penetrating ability. And due to the relatively long barrel and short trigger stroke, the pistol provides good accuracy and accuracy of fire, which allows an experienced shooter to hit the target even at a distance of more than 50 meters. Also, a good accuracy of the battle is facilitated by the automation system, which ensures the departure of a bullet from the barrel without displacement of the axis of the barrel in the vertical plane and without the movement of other mechanisms, which can adversely affect the trajectory of the bullet. When fired, the barrel moves back, and the skew of the barrel and its disengagement from the bolt frame occurs only after the bullet leaves the barrel. The flat and rather compact TT is well suited for concealed carry.

As for the shortcomings, the main one is the low resource of the pistol. This disadvantage stems from the dignity of the gun: the use of a high-power cartridge causes intense wear of the barrel locking unit. Not infrequently, after several hundred shots, delays appeared in the operation of the pistol in the form of jamming of the cartridge case in the chamber, misalignment of the cartridges, or detachment of the bottom of the cartridge case. Among other shortcomings, one can name the excessive sensitivity of the pistol mechanisms to clogging and minor deformations, which requires careful handling and careful maintenance of the weapon.

Also a serious drawback is the unreliable fastening of the magazine in the handle, the latch mechanism, especially on worn-out TTs, often does not hold the magazine, which simply falls out of the pistol, which there are many examples, especially from the fronts of the Second World War.

The practice of using the TT pistol showed the low stopping power of its ammunition. The reason for this drawback lies in the relatively small caliber of the bullet, its shape and high muzzle velocity, which in turn resulted in its undeniable advantage - excellent penetrating ability.

The lack of a manual safety can also be considered a serious shortcoming that has caused numerous accidents involving this pistol. So, in case of a fall or an accidental blow to the trigger, if the cartridge is in the chamber, and the trigger is not set to the safety cocking, the possibility of the primer being pricked by the drummer is not excluded, which will lead to a spontaneous shot.

The high flatness of the ammunition and the preservation of the bullet with sufficient energy to inflict injury at a distance of 800 - 1000 m are another drawback when using a pistol in urban conditions: in case of a miss when firing at the enemy, there is a high probability of harm to third parties (civilians).

Complaints about the ergonomics of the pistol can hardly be called a significant omission in the design, it is rather an individual feature of the weapon, and besides, it is not fair to demand something outstanding from a pistol developed at the beginning of the last century. As, however, it would not be correct to compare this pistol with modern models created using high technologies and new scientific achievements.

TT went down in history as legendary pistol of his time verified in the battles of the bloodiest war in the history of mankind. And the geography of its production and popularity in many countries of the world give reason to be proud of the idea of ​​the Russian gunsmith and once again confirm the need for such a weapon for an era in whose fate it took far from the last place.

Pistol TT is one of the most famous pistol models in the world. Its creator - (1871-1968) devoted his whole life to small arms. Self-loading rifles of his design were in service with Soviet soldiers 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 conducted field tests of the TT pistol, Korovin, Prilutsky pistols, as well as the best foreign samples of the Browning, Walter and Parabellum systems. The results of the tests showed that the Tokarev pistol is "the most acceptable and suitable for adoption, provided that the identified shortcomings are eliminated."

A serious drawback of this pistol was a low accuracy rate, and security should also be improved. New tests of the already improved TT model and new types of weapons took place in December 1930 at the VSH (Higher Rifle School) "Shot" 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 it was decided to put 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 in the troops. Then the gun 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 to “7.62-mm rifle mod. 1891". Later, justice prevailed, and the model became world famous as the TT pistol (Tulsky, Tokarev).
For several years, the pistol has been modernized, pursuing two main goals - reducing the cost and simplifying its production. In 1933, the mass production of the TT pistol was launched at the Tula Arms Plant. By the beginning of the war, the annual output of TT pistols was more than 100 thousand pieces.

As in the case of 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 disadvantage of TT, respectively, causing massive complaints about this model pistol, was a small magazine capacity, and it fell 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 grip 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 from getting into the series, but the TT pistol itself received well-deserved recognition. At the beginning of the war, in connection with the advance of the Nazi troops towards Tula, the USSR government decided to transfer defense production to the east of the country. Thus, the production of TT pistols and Nagant revolvers was transferred to Izhevsk. Even under these conditions, the Tula gunsmiths were able to repair weapons coming from the front, as well as assemble a new one from the remaining backlog. For these purposes, obsolete equipment and tools left after the evacuation, as well as old repaired machines, were used. For two months in 1941, thanks to the selfless work of the 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 the fascist troops was neutralized. Within a few months, the work of the plant was adjusted. After the end of the war, the mass production of Tokarev pistols was launched 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 domestic small arms, was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and was awarded four Orders of Lenin and numerous medals.