The P-83 Wanad ( Pl. Vanadium) is a single-action and double-action Polish semi-automatic pistol, 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 and designed by Ryszard Chełmicki and Marian Gryszkiewicz of the state research institute Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

. The P-83 succeeded the P-64 as the sidearm for the Polish Army and police. The P-83 is still in limited use by both the Polish police and the Polish military but it has been mostly replaced by

Glock 19 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

pistols in Police service and partially by the indigenous WIST 94 pistol in the Polish military.

Design details

The P-83 is a double-action/single-action straight-blowback operated pistol with a single stack 8-round box magazine. It is formed primarily of

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...

stampings which have been blued. The pistol has an external case extractor on the slide which actuates a

loaded chamber indicator Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes suc ...

(which, both visually and tactilely, indicates the presence of a round in the chamber). There is a manual safety lever on the left side of the slide with the upward position being "Safe" and the lower position being "Fire" (there is a red dot on the slide which is hidden by the safety when in "Safe"). The "Safe" position decocks the hammer while the

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

remains in the single-action position, and drops the

firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...

down to a position where the hammer face is milled out to prevent contact with the pin. Additionally, the firing pin has a hook designed into the rearmost portion that will engage with the rear of the slide to prevent forward movement when the safety is engaged. When the safety is disengaged, the trigger will return to full forward extension to allow a double-action first trigger pull. The P-83 also has a hammer block safety, similar to some

revolvers A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six ro ...

. The P-83 has a traditional European heel magazine release and a lanyard loop on the left side at the base of the grip. The magazine release is tensioned by the hammer spring as a simplification measure. The grip panels are grooved black plastic that form the side and back of the grip section, and are held together by a single screw.

Civilian version

Civilian guns have different shaped sights, a rounded hammer and different markings on the slide: a Polish eagle followed by “RADOM wz. P-83 9×18 POLAND Z.M. LUCZNIK”. The name of the importing company is stamped on the left side of the frame.

External links

*
World Guns, Modern Firearms, Handguns, ''P-83 pistol (Poland)''P-83 Wanad Pistol, User's Guide: Safety and Instruction Manual for the Polish P-83 (P83) Wanad Pistol Makarov 9x18mm
{{FB firearms .32 ACP semi-automatic pistols .380 ACP semi-automatic pistols 9×18mm Makarov semi-automatic pistols Semi-automatic pistols of Poland Simple blowback firearms Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1983