Today, it is the 9x18 cartridge that is among the most popular in Russia, as well as other CIS countries. Developed more than half a century ago, he managed to prove his effectiveness - a lot of automatic and semi-automatic weapons were developed for him. So, every person who is interested in shooting business should learn more about him in more detail.
History of Appearance
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, civilians, as well as veterans, found themselves in possession of quite a lot of unregistered weapons, including TT pistols suitable for concealed carry. Therefore, it became necessary to develop a new cartridge that could not be loaded into a TT. In addition, law enforcement officers needed weapons that would have high lethal power with small dimensions.
It was then that the state order for the development of a new cartridge was formed. They became a 9x18 mm cartridge. The designer who won the competition with such a proposal was B. V. Semin. After numerous tests, the cartridge was adopted in 1951. By this time, the development of a newweapons under it.
Key Features
Initially, the 9x18 mm pistol cartridge had a brass sleeve. The bullet was bimetallic, having a lead core, it was pressed into a steel shell. However, later the designers made some refinement. As a result, the bimetallic bullet received a lead jacket and a steel core.
This made it possible to significantly improve the characteristics of the cartridge, and at the same time reduce the consumption of valuable lead. The probability of a ricochet has sharply decreased - when it hits a solid barrier, the soft lead shell is deformed, thereby extinguishing the impulse. It is important that it became possible to penetrate non-metallic barriers - wood, thin tin, as well as soft body armor. The bullet cannot penetrate hard armor plates, but this did not become a critical drawback - most of the criminals for whom the cartridge was intended to hunt do not wear them.
A bullet of a standard cartridge has a mass of 6.1 grams. The large caliber provides high muzzle energy - in the region of 300 joules. Thanks to this, even when passing through a relatively short trunk, a rather high speed develops - 315 meters per second.
Pros of a cartridge
Now that you know everything about the characteristics of the 9x18 cartridge, it is worth briefly talking about its advantages.
The main one is a high stopping effect. Although the muzzle energy of pistols using this cartridge is lower than, for example, TT, the larger diameter, bullet shape and weight compensate for this disadvantage. This became especially important for police officers - it became possible to stop the criminal even with an ordinary hit in the arm or leg.
In addition, the relatively low muzzle power allowed the development of a compact pistol with a reliable and simple automation scheme. Of course, we are talking about a Makarov pistol, designed specifically for the 9x18 cartridge.
Main flaws
Alas, any design solution that has certain advantages also has disadvantages.
For the 9x18 PM cartridge, the main one was the short combat range. Although the official effective range is 50 meters, experts believe that 20-30 meters is more realistic. However, the reason for this is not so much the low muzzle power as the short aiming line of the Makarov pistol. For policemen, this was not a critical disadvantage, but for army officers it made pistols with such a cartridge not very suitable - the effective shooting distance turned out to be very small.
Another disadvantage is the low penetrating power. The large caliber of the bullet simply does not allow it to effectively penetrate any obstacles. However, this problem was solved when experts developed a specialized cartridge - we will talk about it a little later.
Weapons using this cartridge
Many designers appreciated the advantages of ammunition, so experts from different countries took up the development of weapons for it. It was created in the USSR and other countries, andnow continues in many states of the post-Soviet space. Not all developments were successful, but still, many pistols and submachine guns were adopted, used by both ordinary law enforcement officers and special forces.
Of course, the most famous weapon that uses 9x18 cartridges is the Makarov. The good old PM, it has been in service since the mid-50s of the last century and is now. True, rearmament is gradually being carried out - it is being replaced by other, more modern types of weapons. But it is safe to say that the PM will be used for more than one year.
Another successful development is the APS, or Stechkin automatic pistol. Using 9x18 caliber cartridges, it is designed for both single and automatic fire. It is no coincidence that many special forces officers prefer this weapon. For permanent wear (self-defense in countries where it is allowed by law enforcement officers) it is not suitable because of its large size and weight. However, in experienced hands in battle, he works real miracles.
Quite known in certain circles and PP-19, also known as "Bizon". A very successful development is a compact submachine gun with an auger magazine. It is attached under the barrel, which reduces the size of the weapon. At the same time, the magazine can hold up to 64 rounds - a very good indicator that allows an experienced fighter to fight for a long time. Of course, the range is not too great - at best, about 50-70meters. But this weapon was developed primarily for urban battles, as well as for cleaning and defending premises. And in such situations, such a range is quite acceptable. Much more important here is the fact that the cartridges almost do not ricochet.
Also, other, lesser-known types of weapons were developed in the USSR and Russia: "Kiparis", "Kedr", "Berdysh", "Pernach", PB, PBS, PP-90 and a number of others.
Designers from Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and other countries also paid attention to the cartridge. So, it's safe to say that the 9x18 cartridge is a pretty good find.
PMM Cartridge
The relatively low kinetic power of a bullet fired from a standard 9x18mm cartridge did not suit some experts for a long time.
That is why a reinforced cartridge was developed, later called 9x18 PMM - it was used, among other weapons, in modernized Makarov pistols. But also came in handy for use with some submachine guns.
The length of the cartridge was increased, and instead of a regular bullet, a truncated cone was used. The first improvement made it possible to increase the mass of the powder charge. As a result, the range of the bullet, as well as its lethal effect, increased markedly. The modified shape of the bullet further reduced the risk of ricochets - this turned out to be especially important when it became clear that modern battles are not fought in an open field,but mostly in cities, in relatively small spaces.
The increased power of the cartridge made it possible to effectively fire at the enemy protected by armor. At a distance of 10 meters, the bullet began to pierce the Zh-81 army body armor. When fired at 20 meters, its power is enough to pierce a sheet of 3 mm steel.
Varieties of cartridge
As mentioned above, to eliminate certain shortcomings or develop highly specialized features, the designer worked a lot on the usual 9x18 mm cartridge. As a result, about a dozen new types of ammunition were created, which, although not as widely used as the standard cartridge, effectively coped with the tasks.
The simplest example is a blank cartridge 9x18 mm. Bulletless, it is intended for civilian weapons, as well as developing the habit of shooting in newcomers who take up arms for the first time.
More interesting ammunition 9x18 RG028. It is equipped with a high penetration bullet. The semi-jacketed bullet was developed back in the 1970s by order of the KGB. It was intended for firing at an enemy with weak protection - bulletproof vest of class 1-2. When hit, the steel core does not need to overcome the resistance of the shell - it easily breaks out and pierces weak armor.
When developing the 9x18 SP7 cartridge, a different goal was pursued - it was necessary to create an ammunition with an increased stopping effect. Notch at the end of the bullet in total with increased velocity (up to 420m / s) made it possible to effectively fire at unprotected targets, providing more dangerous and painful wounds.
To hit targets with more reliable protection, a 9x18 7N25 cartridge was created. The special armor-piercing bullet is made of high-strength steel, the tip is pointed and protrudes from the shell, and the flight speed is increased to 480 meters per second. Such a charge easily pierces not only light body armor, but also the car body, leaving no chance for the target.
Conclusion
This is the end of the article. From it you learned about the history, advantages and disadvantages of the 9x18 mm cartridge. And at the same time we read about what weapons were developed for this cartridge, what specialized types of ammunition were created by experts.
