The MP-448 ''Skyph'' (MP-448 '' Скиф'') is a Russian

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

History

The MP-448 was developed during the late 1990s by engineer-constructor and weapon designer Dmitry Bogdanov. It was initially offered by

Izhevsk Mechanical Plant Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (russian: Ижевский Механический Завод, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in Izhevsk in 1942 for manufacturing small arms. Histo ...

(IzhMech) for export sales and for

private security companies A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta ...

as an enhanced version of the famous

Makarov PM 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 ...

pistol (which is also manufactured by IzhMech). In November 2000 one MP-448 pistol and one MP-448C pistol were presented at "INTERPOLITEX-2000" Arms exhibition in Moscow, they were offered for export.Юрий Амелин. "Багира" происходит от "Грача" // журнал "Оружие", № 9, 2000. стр.38-43 Since 2003 Russian

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

have switched to the more powerful

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...

and as such are purchasing larger, more powerful and higher capacity pistols such as the

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 ...

(also manufactured by IzhMech).

Design

The MP-448 is slightly smaller and 200 g lighter than the ''Makarov PM'' thanks to a polymer frame. Like the Makarov, it is chambered for the

9×18mm Makarov The 9×18mm Makarov (designated 9mm Makarov by the C.I.P. and often called 9×18mm PM) is a Soviet pistol and submachine gun cartridge. During the latter half of the 20th century it was a standard military pistol cartridge of the Soviet Union an ...

cartridge which is similar in performance to the

.380 ACP The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...

, and uses a double-stacked 12-round magazine like the ''PMM'' variant. Because of the 9×18mm's lower pressure (20,000

psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviation ...

vs the 9×19mm Luger's 35,000 psi), the MP-448 works by

blowback operation Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge. Several blowback systems exist wit ...

. There are no takers for this pistol because there are only marginal improvements in

ergonomics Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...

and accuracy over the Makarov PM and the Skyph also costs more.

Variants

* МР-448 Skyph (''МР-448 Скиф'') - model chambered for

.Виктор Шунков. Боевое и служебное оружие России. М., ООО "Издательство ЭКСМО", 2012. стр.73-75 * МР-448S Skyph (''МР-448С Скиф'') - variant chambered for 9×17mm Short. It was designed as a sidearm for

. * МР-448S Skyph-mini (''МР-448С Скиф-мини'') - compact version chambered for 9×17mm Short

Users

* - adopted as training pistol * - since 2003 used as service pistol in private security companies

Museum exhibits

* one MP-448C pistol is in collection of M. T. Kalashnikov Museum 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 ...

"''MK_OF-853 Пистолет МР-448С (№ 99 ОП 002)''"Электронный каталог
/ M. T. Kalashnikov Museum official website

References

{{reflist

Sources

* Братья "Скифы" // журнал "Мастер-ружьё", № 63/64, июнь-июль 2002. стр.58-60

External links

Semi-automatic pistols of Russia 9×18mm Makarov semi-automatic pistols .380 ACP semi-automatic pistols Izhevsk Mechanical Plant products