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The TT-30,, "7.62 mm Tokarev self-loading pistol model 1930", TT stands for Tula-Tokarev) commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is an out-of-production Soviet
semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
. It was developed in 1930 by
Fedor Tokarev Fedor Vasilievich Tokarev (russian: Фёдор Васи́льевич То́карев; 2 June 1871 4 June in old Russian calendarref name=rFedor Tokarev – Brief History Tokarev.com. Retrieved on 2014-02-16. – 6 March 1968) was a Russian we ...
as a
service pistol A service pistol, also known as a personal weapon or an ordnance weapon, is any handgun issued to regular military personnel or law enforcement officers. Typically, service pistols are revolvers or semi-automatic pistols issued to Officer (armed ...
for the
Soviet military The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...
to replace the Nagant M1895
revolver 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 roun ...
that had been in use since the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, though it ended up being used in conjunction with, rather than replacing, the M1895. It served until 1952, when it was replaced by the
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 ...
.


Development

In 1930, the
Revolutionary Military Council The Revolutionary Military Council (russian: Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet, Revolutionary Military Council), sometimes called the Revolutionary War CouncilBrian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor Ra ...
approved a resolution to test new small arms to replace its aging Nagant M1895 revolvers. During these tests, on 7 January 1931, the potential of a pistol designed by Fedor Tokarev was noted. A few weeks later, 1,000 TT-30s were ordered for troop trials, and the pistol was adopted for service in the Red Army. The TT-30 was manufactured between 1930 and 1936, with about 93,000 being produced. Even as the TT-30 was being put into production, design changes were made to simplify manufacturing. Minor changes to the barrel, disconnector, trigger and frame were implemented, the most notable ones being the omission of the removable hammer assembly and changes to the full-circumference locking lugs. This redesigned pistol was the TT-33. Most TT-33s were issued to commanding officers. The TT-33 was widely used by Soviet troops during
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 ...
, but did not completely replace the Nagant. From 1931-1945, a total of 1,330,000 Tokarevs were produced in the Soviet Union.


Design details

Externally, the TT-33 is very similar to
John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms many of which are still in use around the world. He m ...
's blowback operated FN Model 1903 semiautomatic pistol, and internally it uses Browning's
short recoil Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked breech, autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the pr ...
tilting-barrel system from the
M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
. In other areas the TT-33 differs more from Browning's designs—it employs a much simpler hammer/
sear The Sahar Elevated Access Road, abbreviated to SEAR, is a dedicated, elevated, express access road in Mumbai that connects the Western Express Highway (WEH) near Hanuman Nagar junction in Vile Parle, with the forecourts of Terminal T2 of the C ...
assembly than the M1911. This assembly is removable from the pistol as a modular unit and includes machined magazine feed lips, preventing misfeeds when a damaged magazine is loaded into the magazine well. Soviet engineers made several alterations to make the mechanism easier to produce and maintain, most notably the simplifications of the barrel's locking lugs, allowing fewer machining steps. Some models use a captive recoil spring secured to the guide rod, which does depend on the barrel bushing to hold it under tension. The TT-33 is chambered for the 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge, which was itself based on the similar
7.63×25mm Mauser The 7.63×25mm Mauser (.30 Mauser Automatic) round was the original cartridge for the Mauser C96 service pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p.247. Plantersville, SC: Smal ...
cartridge used in the
Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 2 ...
pistol. The 7.62×25mm cartridge is powerful, has an extremely flat trajectory, and is capable of penetrating thick clothing and soft body armor. Because of their reliability, large numbers of the TT-33 were produced during World War II and well into the 1950s. In modern times, the robust TT-33 has been converted to many powerful cartridges including
.38 Super The .38 Super, also known as .38 Super +P, .38 Super Auto, .38 Super Automatic, .38 Super Automatic +P, or 9×23mmSR, is a pistol cartridge that fires a bullet. It was introduced in the late 1920s as a higher pressure loading of the .38 ACP, a ...
and
9×23mm Winchester The 9×23mm Winchester is a pistol cartridge developed as a joint venture by Winchester Ammunition and Colt's Manufacturing Company. The 9×23mm Winchester has a convoluted development history, but was commercially introduced by Winchester in 19 ...
. The TT-33 omitted a safety catch other than the half cock notch, which rendered the trigger inoperable until the hammer was pulled back to full cock and then lowered manually to the half cock position. Many variants imported into the US have manual safeties added, which vary greatly in placement and function.


Variants

The
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
captured TT-33s and issued them to units under the ''Pistole 615(r)'' designation. This was made possible by the fact that Russian 7.62 mm Model 1930 Type P cartridges were nearly identical to the German
7.63×25mm Mauser The 7.63×25mm Mauser (.30 Mauser Automatic) round was the original cartridge for the Mauser C96 service pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p.247. Plantersville, SC: Smal ...
cartridge, although in German service the
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 ...
round was more common. Due to much higher pressures, using Russian cartridges in German Mauser pistols can induce damages, and is advised against.
Interarms Samuel Cummings, (February 7, 1927 – April 29, 1998) was an American small arms dealer. He founded the International Armament Corporation (also known as Interarms or Interarmco) in 1953, a company which came to dominate the free world market i ...
marketed
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 ...
–surplus Russian-made Tokarevs in Europe and the United States as the ''Phoenix''. They had new wooden grips with a phoenix design on them and were overstamped INTERARMS on the barrel. Later gun laws banned their sale due to their lack of a safety. In 1949, a silenced variant was produced. Uniquely, the silencer is attached to the barrel bushing rather than the barrel itself. The combined weight of the suppressor with the slide prevents semi-auto cycling of the action, forcing the user to manually cycle it in the same manner as
pump action Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to coc ...
firearms. It would later be replaced by the
PB pistol The PB (russian: Пистолет бесшумный , translit= Pistolet besshumnyy, lit= Pistol Silent, English: Silent Pistol; GRAU index 6P9) is a Soviet integrally suppressed semi-automatic pistol developed and manufactured by the Izhevsk ...
in 1967.


Foreign production

The TT-33 was eventually replaced by the 8-round,
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 ...
PM pistol in 1952. Production of the TT-33 in Russia ended in 1954, but copies (licensed or otherwise) were also made by other countries. At one time or another, most communist or
Soviet bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
countries made a variation of the TT-33 pistol.


China

The TT pistol was copied in China as the ''Type 51'', ''
Type 54 The Type 54 () and its variants (Type 51, M20, TU-90 and Model 213 pistols) are Chinese copies of the Soviet type Tokarev TT-33. Type 54 pistols are also known colloquially as "Black Star" pistols (Traditional Chinese:黑星手槍, Simplified Ch ...
'', ''M20'', and ''TU-90''.
Norinco China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (North Industries Corporation), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese state-owned defense ...
, the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
's state armaments manufacturer in China, manufactured a commercial variant of the Tokarev pistol chambered in the more common 9×19mm Parabellum round, known as the ''Tokarev Model 213'', as well as in the original 7.62×25mm caliber. The 9mm model features a safety catch, which was absent on Russian-produced TT-33 handguns. Furthermore, the Model 213 features the thin slide grip grooves, as opposed to the original Russian wide-types. The 9mm model is featured with a magazine well block mounted in the rear of the magazine well to accept 9mm type magazines without frame modification. The Norinco model in current production is not available for sale in the United States due to import prohibitions on Chinese firearms, although older handguns of the Model 213 type imported in the 1980s and 1990s are common. Norinco now makes the NP-17, a modernized, two-tone variant on the Model 213. 7.62×25mm ammo is also rather inexpensive and locally produced or imported from China, also made by
Norinco China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (North Industries Corporation), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese state-owned defense ...
. The Type-54 was replaced in the mid to late 1990s by the QSZ-92 in PLA service.


Hungary

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
rebarreled the TT to fire
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 ...
as the ''M48'', as well as an export version for Egypt known as the ''Tokagypt 58'' which was widely used by police forces there. Tokagypts differ from the original Tokarevs by an external safety lever that can be engaged in safety decocking as well as cocked hammer position. By changing the barrel and magazine into original TT parts, a calibre change system can be made easily (after proof-shooting in countries affiliated with the CIP). Egypt, however, cancelled much of the order of the Tokagypt and PP-like pistols manufactured in Hungary; those were marketed then in the West, like the then
Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
, where it was imported by Hege.


North Korea

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
manufactured them as the ''Type 68'' or ''M68''.


Pakistan

Both legal and illegal TT pistols are still manufactured in various Pakistani
Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...
factories.


Poland

Poland produced their own copies as the ''PW wz.33'', manufactured from 1947 to 1959. In mid-50s a training version of PW wz. 33 was created, chambered in .22lr called '' TT Sportowy''. All of those pistols were converted between 1954 and 1958 from the 7.62mm variant by changing the barrel and removing the locking lugs from slide. Additionally, the Radom M48 was created in Radom, Poland as another slightly modified copy of the TT33.


Romania

Romania produced a TT-33 copy as the ''TTC'', or ''Tokarev Cugir'' well into the 1950s. These have been made available for commercial sale in great numbers in recent years. However, to be importable into the United States, a trigger blocking safety was added.


Vietnam

The K54 is a copy of the TT-33. An updated version known as the K14-VN is made by Factory Z111, and has an increased capacity of 13 rounds, with a wider grip to incorporate a
double stack magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...
. Research and development started in 2001. The K14-VN began to see service with PAVN forces on May 10, 2014. The industry name for the regular K54 and the K14-VN is known as SN7M and the SN7TD.


Yugoslavia (Serbia)

Zastava produces an improved version of the TT-33 designated '' M57''. The M57 has a longer grip and longer 9-round magazine (versus 8 rounds in TT). A 9×19mm version is also made by Zastava designated ''M70A'' as well as a compact version ''M88''. Zastava manufactures a sub compact pistol M70 (a.k.a.''Pčelica'' ("little bee")) roughly based on TT design in 7,65mm Browning (
.32 ACP .32 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pi ...
) or 9mm Kratak (
.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 ...
). Since 2012, the M57A, M70A and M88A was formerly imported into the U.S. by
Century International Arms Century International Arms is an importer and manufacturer of firearms that is based in the United States. The company was founded in 1961 in St. Albans, Vermont, with offices in Montreal. In 1995, the company headquarters and sales staff moved to ...
, but has since been replaced by Zastava USA.


Usage

The TT-33 is still in service in the Bangladeshi and North Korean armed forces today, while
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
in Pakistan still commonly use the TT pistol as a sidearm, though unofficially, as it is being replaced by modern 9 mm
Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and militar ...
and
SIG Sauer Several brother companies that design and manufacture firearms use the brand name SIG Sauer . The original company, ''Schweizerische Waggon-Fabrik'' (SWF), later ''Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft'' (SIG), went through several selloffs, ...
pistols. In China, the TT-33 pistol is also occasionally supplied to the
People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...
and
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
under the name Type 54. The Tokarev, as well as its variants in 9mm, have been renowned for their simplicity, power and accuracy.


Users

*Jones, Richard D. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010''. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). . *: Albanian police and
RENEA The Department of Neutralization of Armed Elements () commonly known by its acronym RENEA, is the main Albanian counter-terrorist and critical incident response unit. The force was constituted in the early 1990s in response to the growing crime le ...
. * * * * *: Uses Chinese ''
Type 54 The Type 54 () and its variants (Type 51, M20, TU-90 and Model 213 pistols) are Chinese copies of the Soviet type Tokarev TT-33. Type 54 pistols are also known colloquially as "Black Star" pistols (Traditional Chinese:黑星手槍, Simplified Ch ...
'' copy * * * * * : Burundian rebels * * *: Used by
Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...
during
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
and
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
Officers. Produced in large numbers as the
Type 54 The Type 54 () and its variants (Type 51, M20, TU-90 and Model 213 pistols) are Chinese copies of the Soviet type Tokarev TT-33. Type 54 pistols are also known colloquially as "Black Star" pistols (Traditional Chinese:黑星手槍, Simplified Ch ...
.Marchington, James (2004). ''The Encyclopedia of Handheld Weapons''. Lewis International, Inc. . * * *: Used by pro-Russian separatists. * Issued in small numbers to Volkspolizei (Peoples Police) in the early 1950s, replaced by Makarov PM in late 50s. *: Produced from the 1950s.Hogg, Ian (2002). ''Jane's Guns Recognition Guide''. Jane's Information Group. . * *: Captured TT-33 pistols were carried by Finnish soldiers during the
Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
(1939–1940) and
Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...
(1941–1944) with the USSR. It was nicknamed the "Star Pistol" (''tähti-pistooli'') due to the large Red Army star embossed on the grip panels. Although large numbers were acquired, the Finnish military never produced ammunition or spares for them because they were in a non-standard caliber. * * * *: Produced locally. * * * * * * * * *:
People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (in French: ''Mouvement Populaire de Libération de l'Azawad'', MPLA) was a Tuareg militant rebel group in northern Mali (Azawad). Initially based amongst exiles in Algeria and, especially, Libya, M ...
* * * * * * * * Used captured pistols *: Produced locally as the ''Type 68''. *: TT pistols are manufactured in various Pakistani Khyber Pass factories. *: Produced locally in the FB „Radom” arms factory. Used by military and law enforcement groups; replaced by the P-64 pistol in the 1960s. *: Produced locally at the Cugir factory under the designation "TTC". * * * * * * * * *: used by
Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
and
North Vietnamese Army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...
Officers during
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
*: Produced locally as the
Zastava M57 The Zastava M57 pistol was the standard sidearm of the Yugoslav Army from 1957 to the country's collapse, produced by Zastava Arms. A licensed copy of the Soviet TT pistol, it is a single-action semi-automatic pistol chambered in 7.62×25mm Tokar ...
. * *


See also

*
List of Russian weaponry The following is a list of modern Russian small arms and light weapons which were in service in 2016: Handguns Revolvers Pistols Special purpose Submachine guns Special purpose Shotguns Rifles Bolt-action Semi-a ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...


References


External links

{{WWIIUSSRInfWeapons 7.62×25mm Tokarev semi-automatic pistols 9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols Police weapons Semi-automatic pistols of the Soviet Union TT platform Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1930 World War II infantry weapons of China World War II infantry weapons of the Soviet Union Cold War firearms of the Soviet Union Tula Arms Plant products Izhevsk Mechanical Plant products