Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (russian: Ижевский Механический Завод, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in

Izhevsk Izhevsk (russian: Иже́вск, p=ɪˈʐɛfsk; udm, Ижкар, ''Ižkar'', or , ''Iž'') is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city i ...

in 1942 for manufacturing

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

History

It was one of the primary factories producing

Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...

and

SVT-40 The SVT-40 (Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva, Obrazets 1940 goda, "Tokarev self-loading rifle, model of 1940", Russian: Самозарядная винтовка Токарева, образец 1940 года, often nicknamed "'' Sveta''") is a S ...

rifles during World War II for standard issue to Soviet troops. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it continued producing firearms, both for military (

Makarov pistol The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистоле́т Мака́рова, r=Pistolét Makárova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it ...

s) and hunting applications, and later high-tech weapons and civilian machinery. In 1948, the plant began production of Margolin pistols. In 1956, the plant began production of

IZh-56 The IZh-56 «Belka» (ИЖ-56 « Белка») is a Soviet double-barreled combination gun. History IZh-56 was designed in 1956 and it was based on IZhK model. Since 1961, a new varnish with improved characteristics has been used to protect t ...

combination gun A combination gun is a firearm that usually comprises at least one rifled barrel and one smoothbore barrel, that is typically used with shot or some types of shotgun slug. Most have been break-action guns, although there have been other desig ...

s. Since 1960, Izhmekh supplied hunting shotguns for export under the trademark "

Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repub ...

". The first model that began to sell for export was IZh-54 In 1973 plant began production of

PSM pistol The PSM (''Pistolet Samozaryadny Malogabaritny'', Russian for "compact self-loading pistol") was designed by the Tula Design Bureau in 1969 as a self-defense firearm for law enforcement and military officers of the USSR. The pistol entered produ ...

, in 1978 -

IZh-35 The IZh-35 (''ИЖ-35'') is a Soviet-designed target pistol for competitive shooting sports (including the Olympic games). History The IZh-34 and IZh-35 were designed from 1973–1978. In 1976, state tests of the first prototypes were conducte ...

pistols. In 1982, the plant produced a small number of

double barreled shotgun A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously. Construction Modern double-barreled shotguns, often known as ''doubles'', are almost u ...

s IZh-41. In 1980s plant began production of IZh-38 and IZh-40

air gun An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemica ...

s, since 1989 - IZh-46

air pistol The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

s. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

the range of civilian products was greatly expanded, but firearms were still its major production. In 1993, Izhmekh began production of the IZh-76 gas pistol (the first model of gas pistol made in Russian Federation),

IZh-81 The IZh-81 (''ИЖ-81'') is a Russian pump-action shotgun. History In 1990s and even in year 2000 IZh-81 was the most common shotgun in private security companies in Russia. In 1997, work began on creating a semi-automatic shotgun based on the ...

and

IZh-94 The IZh-94 (also known as MP-94) is a Russian double-barreled shotgun. History IZh-94 was designed in 1992 as a successor to the IZh-27. In September 2008, all Izhevsk Mechanical Plant firearms were renamed and IZh-94 got the name MP-94 (Me ...

shotguns. In 2002, Izhmekh began the production

MP-461 The MP-461 (Mechanical Plant-461) is a Russian compact non-lethal pistol. History The gun was designed in early 2000s. In January 2002 Izhevsk Mechanical Plant announced name and photo of new MP-461 pistol.Михаил Драгунов. Но� ...

pistols, and in 2004 the production of

Makarych The "Makarych" (russian: "Макарыч") is a family of Russian non-lethal gas pistols with the ability to fire ammunition with rubber bullets. It was developed jointly by the ZAO TSSZ "Kolchuga" and FGUP Izhevsk Mechanical Plant and is based ...

pistols. In January 2004, a contract was signed between the

Remington Arms Remington Arms Company, LLC was an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition, now broken into two companies, each bearing the Remington name. The firearms manufacturer is ''Remington Arms''. The ammunition business is called ''Remingto ...

company and the plant; Baikal firearms was bought by Remington and sold in USA ( IZh-18MN were sold as Remington SPR 18,

were sold as the Remington SPR94,

IZh-18 The IZh-18 (ИЖ-18) is a single-shot, break-action shotgun. History IZh-18 was designed in 1962-1963 as a successor to the IZhK, since 1964 began its serial production.Отечественные ружья // журнал «Охота и ох ...

were sold as the

Remington Spartan 100 The Remington Spartan 100 is a single-shot, break-action shotgun. It is a variant of a classical Russian IZh-18 shotgun manufactured by Izhevsk Mechanical Plant for export under trademark "Baikal", in Izhevsk, Russia. It is marketed and distribu ...

, IZh-43-1S were sold as the Remington Spartan 210, IZh-43 were sold as the Remington Spartan 220, IZh-27 were sold as the Remington Spartan 310 and MP-153 were sold as the

Remington Spartan 453 The Remington Spartan 453, also known as the SPR 453, is a gas operated semi-automatic shotgun. It is an American import of the Russian-made Baikal MP-153, manufactured by Izhevsk Mechanical Plant in Izhevsk, Russia. It was marketed and distri ...

). In 2008, Izhmekh made 9mm pistols (

MP-443 Grach The MP-443 ''Grach'' (russian: MП-443 Грач, lit=rook) or "PYa", for "''Pistolet Yarygina'' ("Yarygin Pistol"), following traditional Russian naming procedure (russian: Пистолет Ярыгина), is the Russian standard military-issue s ...

and

MP-446 Viking The MP-446 Viking is a 9×19mm Parabellum, 9mm Semi-automatic pistol, semi-automatic handgun originating from Russia. Overview It was created by the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant. It weighs at around when unloaded, and has a Magazine (firearms), m ...

gas pistol A gas pistol is a non-lethal weapon used for self-defense and other purposes. It is typically a close-to-exact replica or conversion of a traditional handgun made to be able to fire blanks or tear gas cartridges. Effective range is up to 4.5 metr ...

s, signal pistols, rifles and several models of smoothbore hunting shotguns. In 2010, Izhmekh began production of MP-353 pistols. On August 13, 2013, Izhmash and Izhevsk Mechanical Plant were merged and formally renamed

Kalashnikov Concern JSC Kalashnikov Concern (), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (), is a Russian defense manufacturing concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia as well as the capital ...

References

{{Reflist

Literature

* Н. А. Мокшин. Во имя Победы. 2-е изд. Ижевск, 1975.

External links

Air Rifle Scope
Firearm manufacturers of Russia Manufacturing companies established in 1942 Companies based in Udmurtia Kalashnikov Concern 1942 establishments in the Soviet Union Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2013 2013 mergers and acquisitions 2013 disestablishments in Russia