Prvi partizan ( sr, Први партизан, Prvi partizan; abbr. PPU) is a Serbian manufacturer of

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and handloading components, based in

Užice Užice ( sr-cyr, Ужице, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District in western Serbia. It is located on the banks of the river Đetinja. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 59,747. The Cit ...

, Serbia. The company produces ammunition for civilian and military consumers in a variety of

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

s in various loadings. Several ammunition articles list Prvi partizan as one of the few sources of certain unusual cartridges, such as the 8x56mmR used in the M95/30 variant of the

Mannlicher M1895 The Mannlicher M1895 (german: link=no, Infanterie Repetier-Gewehr M.95, hu, Gyalogsági Ismétlő Puska M95; "Infantry Repeating-Rifle M95") is a straight pull Bolt action, bolt-action rifle, designed by Ferdinand Mannlicher, Ferdinand Ritter ...

, the 7.92×33mm Kurz cartridge used in the

StG 44 The StG 44 (abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 44, "assault rifle 44") is a German assault rifle developed during World War II by Hugo Schmeisser. It is also known by its early designations as the MP 43 and MP 44 (''Maschinenpistole 43'' and ''44''). ...

rifle, and the 7.65×53mm Argentine cartridge. In early 2009, the company began manufacturing

8mm Lebel 8 mm or 8mm may refer to: ;Film technology * 8 mm film, a photographic cine film format principally intended for domestic use. The term may also refer to later variants: ** Super 8 mm film ** Single-8 film ** 8 mm video format, a type of video reco ...

ammunition, becoming the first commercial manufacturer in decades to produce it.

Headstamp

Prvi partizan cartridges carry the

headstamp A headstamp is the markings on the bottom of a cartridge case designed for a firearm. It usually tells who manufactured the case. If it is a civilian case it often also tells the caliber: if it is military, the year of manufacture is often added ...

"ППУ" ("PPU"),International Ammunition Association Headstamp Page
/ref> which stands as abbreviation of the company's name in

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

letters, "Први партизан Ужице" ("Prvi partizan Užice"). Prvi Partizan has made ammunition with the headstamps PP and PPU.

History

The company was founded in 1928 under the name ''FOMU - Fabrika Oružja i Municije Užice'' ("Weapons and Munitions Factory in

). During World War II the decentralized Resistance-run ammunition works run by Tito's partisans was named ''Prvi Partizan fabrika'' ("First Partisan factory"). This name was retained after the war when it was moved back to the FOMU facility in Užice. According to the global trade data company

Panjiva Panjiva Inc. is a global trade data company based in New York City. It is a subscription-based website with import and export details on commercial shipments worldwide. Panjiva was founded in 2006 by Josh Green and James Psota. In 2018, Panjiv ...

, Prvi partizan is listed as the third biggest foreign ammunition supplier in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

market for 2016. The Government of Serbia invested 4 million euros for the new hall construction in 2017.

Production

Handgun cartridges

Rifle cartridges

Incidents

On 4 September 2009, seven employees died and 15 others had minor injuries after four explosions occurred in the gunpowder area. The Government of Serbia later declared 5 September 2009 as the National Day of Sorrow for the victims.

References

External links

*
Official website USA
{{authority control 1928 establishments in Serbia Ammunition manufacturers Companies based in Užice Defense companies of Serbia Government-owned companies of Serbia Manufacturing companies established in 1928 Serbian brands