Probably every person who is at least a little interested in Soviet weapons knows about the Stechkin automatic pistol or just APS. He really had a lot of successful decisions and, on the whole, proved to be a very good, albeit somewhat highly specialized weapon. So, it will be useful to talk about the history and technical characteristics of the Stechkin pistol. The photos attached to the article will complement the overall picture.
History of Creation
After the end of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR, it was decided to create a pistol for a new cartridge, which could equip not only the military and police, but also special services.
Although the caliber 7.62 mm (which Tulsky Tokarev had) proved to be quite good, it turned out to be relatively weak. That is why a new pistol was taken as the basis - 9x18 millimeters. The wider and heavier bullet, although it did not provide a long combat range and serious penetration of obstacles, turned out to be really scary at short distances. When hit, she inflicted serious wounds, often leading to death from shock.or internal bleeding. In addition, the probability of penetrating the body of the enemy with the subsequent injury of people behind him was reduced.
It was then that a young and little-known engineer Igor Yakovlevich Stechkin started work. The development of new weapons, he began in 1948. Already in 1949, he presented a test copy to the commission, which was accepted without any special modifications. For the development, the young designer received the Stalin Prize - a huge achievement of that time.
In addition to the sample from Stechkin, pistols from the already experienced and venerable designer P. Voevodin, as well as M. Kalashnikov, who is only gaining popularity, were presented at the competition. When checking pistols, they were compared with relatively successful, but not meeting certain requirements, pistols - the Soviet PPS and the German Mauser-Astra.
Stechkin's caliber (APS) was 9 mm - under a proven, reliable and very practical cartridge.
One of the important features of the weapon was the presence of two firing modes - single and automatic.
The pistol was adopted in 1951 and produced until 1958. After that, due to the existing shortcomings, it was removed from production, preferring the Makarov pistol. However, it still enjoys the love of specialists and is not forgotten, but is actively used even today. Over the years of production, relatively few pistols have been produced - about 30 thousand. However, it should be borne in mind here that automatic pistols generally have a narrower niche than conventional ones.self-loading.
Key Features
Now it's worth talking about the main technical characteristics of the Stechkin pistol, the photo of which is attached to the article.
Let's start with the fact that the gun is quite heavy - without a magazine, its weight is 1.02 kilograms. For comparison, the more familiar Makarov pistol weighs only 730 grams. With constant wear, the extra 300 grams makes a pretty big difference. A fully loaded magazine added an extra 200 grams of weight.
The size of the pistol was also not very suitable for concealed and comfortable wearing. Take at least its length - 225 millimeters. The Makarov pistol turned out to be a third shorter - only 161 millimeters.
But when using the same cartridge of 9 mm caliber, the Stechkin pistol boasts a 20-round magazine! PM also holds only 8 rounds. Of course, in real combat, both when used in police operations and when used by the military, the extra 12 rounds may well play a decisive role, bringing a confident victory to a good shooter. True, for this I had to use a double-row magazine with a staggered arrangement of cartridges. On the one hand, the handle turned out to be wider than most military men are used to. On the other hand, the magazine stuck out a little from the handle of the pistol, further increasing its dimensions.
Talking about the technical characteristics of Stechkin, one cannot but mention the aiming range. This indicator is quite large - about 50 meters. It is worth recognizing - for most pistols thisrange is outrageous. Still, we must not forget that the pistol was and remains a melee weapon. If we compare the dispersion radius, then for APS at a distance of 50 meters it is only 5 centimeters. And at the PM, already at a distance to the target of 25 meters, the dispersion reaches 6.5 centimeters. Moreover, the long barrel of the Stechkin pistol allows him to shoot at a distance beyond the vast majority of analogues - up to 200 meters! True, in this case, the dispersion is already 22 centimeters - and this is when shooting at the range, in ideal conditions. Therefore, of course, in combat conditions, it would never occur to anyone to shoot at such a distance - hitting a target in this way is possible only by pure chance.
But here it is worth remembering that the muzzle velocity of the bullet is only 340 meters per second - due to the weak 9x18 mm cartridge. Therefore, one should pay tribute to the talent of the designer - few manage to create such a long-range weapon for weak ammunition.
Main advantages
Having talked about the main characteristics and caliber of Stechkin's cartridges, one should deal with those advantages that allowed him not only to be adopted by the USSR and the Russian Federation, but also to become a real legend.
To begin with, it is worth noting the large capacity of the store, which has already been mentioned. Still, the ability to fire 20 shots without reloading dramatically increases the likelihood of winning a firefight.
An additional advantage is the presence of automatic fire. True, it is strongly recommended to use it only whenthe presence and attachment of a holster - we will talk about it a little later.
The long barrel and well-thought-out internal ballistics have significantly reduced the noise level when firing. Yes, the sound of a shot from the PM is heard at a much greater distance than when firing from the APS.
Like most Russian weapons, the Stechkin pistol boasts the highest reliability, allowing it to be used not only at ranges, but also in harsh operating conditions.
Firing accuracy also does not make you dream of the best - above are the dispersion indicators when shooting at different distances. Very few pistols can boast a dispersion of 5 centimeters at a target distance of 50 meters. And just hitting a growth target at a distance of 200 meters is generally impossible when using them.
Also not to mention the relatively small return. It is provided by the considerable weight of the pistol and, of course, by the relatively weak cartridge. Due to the low recoil, the weapon demonstrates good accuracy when firing single rounds. In close combat, this is especially important - the shooter is faced with the need to conduct a series of shots, inflicting as much damage as possible on the enemy, up to lethal.
The simple design greatly facilitates maintenance - not only a special forces officer can deal with it, but also a simple sergeant with relatively little experience in handling weapons.
Finally, the use of quality material and thoughtful design ensure a good stockweapon durability. During the tests, some pistols passed a very rigorous test - up to 40 thousand shots. And even after that, no cracks appeared on the casings, not to mention other serious damage.
Current shortcomings
But still, despite the important advantages readily recognized by many weapon experts, the characteristics of Stechkin, whose photo the reader sees in the article, have become the cause of certain shortcomings.
One of the most noticeable is the weight, as mentioned above. Few people would like to carry on their side a holster with a pistol that weighs a kilogram, and four more fully loaded magazines, with a total weight of about 800 grams. And in general, large dimensions caused certain inconvenience when wearing and using.
The relatively low power can also be called a minus - the fault of this is not the design of the pistol, but the cartridge used. Still, Stechkin's caliber cannot provide serious penetrating power.
These two shortcomings proved to be very important for different users. For example, for the military, who may need to use weapons in combat in the open, the gun turned out to be too weak. And for law enforcement officers, it had too much weight and dimensions - it was impossible to carry it discreetly, and the holster with a pistol and magazines, weighing 2.5 kilograms, does not add comfort.
As a result, it was decided to stop the production of the Stechkin pistol, preferring the analogue created byMakarov. In addition, the Modern competition was announced in the 1970s. His main task was to create a small-sized machine gun that would use 5.45x39 mm ammunition and could completely replace the Stechkin pistol. As a result, the victory went to the AKS-74U.
However, the successful gun was not forgotten at all. Already in the 1990s, several types of weapons based on it were developed and put into production: OTs-23 "Drotik", OTs-27 "Berdysh" and OTs-33 "Pernach".
Who was and is being used by
It would be useful to say who was armed and is armed with this pistol.
Of course, immediately after the introduction into production, the possibility of arming the military and policemen with it was considered. However, for the reasons mentioned above, this was not the best idea.
Therefore, it was subsequently decided to equip machine gunners and grenade launchers with this pistol, who could use it as a melee weapon. Moreover, this good tradition remained relevant until the collapse of the USSR - almost until the end of the 80s of the last century.
In addition, for some time it became a service weapon for the crews of tanks and armored personnel carriers. A completely justified decision - it is almost impossible to get out of the SCS or AK in such cramped conditions, especially if you need to act quickly. But a compact and relatively light pistol with a very decent combat range was perfect for this position.
Often Stechkin's pistol was also included ina must-have survival kit for Air Force pilots. And this was true both half a century ago and today. Not everyone knows, but the military pilots who participated in the operation in Syria were armed with this particular pistol.
Finally, it is worth noting that many special forces officers, having the opportunity to use almost any weapon, both domestic and foreign, prefer this pistol, appreciating its reliability, capacious magazine, combat range and accuracy.
Unusual holster
As promised earlier, back to the holster. The first samples were made of wood, but later preference was given to plastic counterparts. However, there is nothing interesting here. But the fact that the holster was used as a stock is not widely known.
Yes, at the bottom of the holster there was a special guide that allows you to connect a pistol handle to it. The resulting design resembles a very short carbine, thanks to which it is possible to fire in short bursts with much greater accuracy.
The fact is that, despite the weak recoil when firing single shots, with automatic shooting, only the first two rounds hit the target - it is almost impossible to hit the rest due to the uncontrolled lifting of the pistol. The presence of a holster-butt made it possible to partially solve this problem. Partly because in combat conditions a soldier or officer often does not have time to attach a holster to a pistol. However, the need to conduct automatic fire at a distant target with a pistol is also extremely rare.
Existing modifications
First of all, it is worth talking about the APB - a silent automatic pistol. It was developed by designer A. S. Neugodov in 1972 and is produced, albeit in small volumes, to this day. The pistol uses the same cartridge as Stechkin's caliber - 9x18 millimeters. But APB has a number of improvements.
One of them was the extension of the barrel by 2 centimeters to be able to install a silencer. In addition, the barrel has two holes for the release of gases. This reduces the power of the shot (the initial speed of the bullet drops to 290 meters per second), but significantly reduces the noise level when firing. The maximum firing range has been noticeably reduced, but this is usually not the most important drawback during such operations.
In addition, it was decided to abandon the plastic or wooden holster. They were replaced by an analogue made of fabric. And the butt was made of wire, which reduced weight, increasing ease of use.
Also, in some gun circles, information about a Stechkin pistol of caliber 7, 62 mm sometimes slips. And this happens, though rarely, but regularly. However, there is no documentary evidence of the existence of such information in the public domain.
Rate of Fire
Speaking about automatic weapons, which is the APS, one cannot but talk about the rate of fire.
In general, the maximum rate when firing bursts is about 700-750 rounds per minute. However, the practical rate of fire is much lower. When firing single shots, it is about 40 rounds per minute, and with automatic fire - about 90 rounds per minute. However, even these figures are quite impressive. For example, the usual Makarov pistol has a combat rate of fire of only 30 rounds per minute.
Which countries used
Of course, the pistol was most widely used in the USSR. As mentioned earlier, they were armed with the crews of tanks and military vehicles, the first numbers of heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.
After switching to the AKS-74U, the Stechkin pistol remained in service with military intelligence and special units of the KGB and the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.
It is also used in Belarus - by SOBR and OMON officers.
A certain number of these reliable pistols were also purchased to equip the German police.
Fighters of the Avispas Negras special unit in Cuba are also armed with APS.
In addition, the gun is in service with special services in countries such as Kazakhstan, Armenia, Bulgaria.
This already testifies to the excellent properties of the weapon. After all, it, developed seventy years ago, still has not lost its relevance, which says a lot.
Conclusion
This concludes our article. Now you know what caliber the Stechkin pistol has, the history of its creation and the main advantages and disadvantages. And also found out by whom it was used and is used to this day.
