Imperial Tula Arms Plant (russian: Императорский Тульский оружейный завод, Imperatorskiy Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod) is a Russian weapons manufacturer founded by
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Peter I of Russia
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
in 1712 in
Tula
Tula may refer to:
Geography
Antarctica
*Tula Mountains
*Tula Point
India
*Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar
Iran
* Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province
Italy
* Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...
,
Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast (russian: Ту́льская о́бласть, ''Tulskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an Oblasts of Russia, oblast) of Russia. It is geographically in the European Russia region of the country and is p ...
as Tula Arsenal. Throughout its history, it has produced weapons for the Russian
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
. Its name was changed from Tula Arsenal to Tula Arms Plant during the
Soviet era
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
.
History of the plant
Historically, the plant produced a wide variety of sports weapons and arms for the
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
.
18th century
In the 18th century, Tula Arms Plant was recognized as setting the standard for Russian Arms Production.
19th and early 20th century
Reconstructed in the 19th century Tula Arms Factory became one of the most prominent arms factories in Europe.
In 1910 the factory started production of the
Maxim machine gun
The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world.
The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...
.
In 1927 planning and design office was established in order to improve the work of all of the plant's designers, the result of which was the development of aircraft machine guns - PV-1 and
ShKAS
The ShKAS (Shpitalny-Komaritski Aviatsionny Skorostrelny, Shpitalny-Komaritski rapid fire for aircraft; Russian: ШКАС - Шпитального-Комарицкого Авиационный Скорострельный) is a 7.62 mm calibre ...
. Between 1927 and 1938 the plant built the country's first spinning machines.
Importance during World War II
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 ...
, Axis countries invaded USSR as part of
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
. By December 5, 1941, the German
2nd Panzer Division
The 2nd Panzer Division ( en, 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II.
Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss an ...
had advanced to within a few kilometers of Tula, forcing the Soviets to evacuate Tula Arms Plant. As a result, far fewer weapons were produced there than at other Soviet factories such as
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 ...
.
In 1941-1945, working under the slogan "Everything for the front, everything for victory", Tula gunsmiths produced
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: ) ...
91/30 rifles,
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 ...
self-loading rifles,
ShVAK
The ShVAK ( ru , ШВАК: Шпитальный-Владимиров Авиационный Крупнокалиберный, Shpitalnyi-Vladimirov Aviatsionnyi Krupnokalibernyi, "Shpitalny-Vladimirov Aviation Large-calibre") was a 20 mm autocann ...
Tula
Tula may refer to:
Geography
Antarctica
*Tula Mountains
*Tula Point
India
*Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar
Iran
* Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province
Italy
* Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...
was strategically important to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. Significant
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April 2 ...
deposits were situated relatively close to it and it had access to ample transportation routes like the
Upa River
The Upa (, ) is a river in Tula Oblast, Russia, and one of the main tributaries of the Oka.
The river is long, and has a drainage basin of .double-barreled over-and-under shotgun
TOZ-34
The TOZ-34 (ТОЗ-34) is a double-barreled shotgun.
History
TOZ-34 is produced and sold by Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod since 1964. In 1965, the shotgun was awarded the golden medal of the Leipzig Trade Fair.Э. Штейнгольд. Отечест ...
.
During 1960s–1980s, the plant received an order for production of the world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifles (six variants), anti-tank guided missiles -
9M14 Malyutka
The 9M14 Malyutka (russian: Малютка, links=no; "Little one", NATO reporting name: AT-3 Sagger) is a manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed in the Soviet Union. It was the first ...
,
9M133 Kornet
The 9M133 Kornet (russian: Корнет; "Cornet", NATO reporting name AT-14 Spriggan, export designation Kornet-E) is a Military of Russia, Russian man-portable anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) intended for use against main ...
,
9M113 Konkurs
The 9M113 ''Konkurs'' (russian: 9М113 «Конкурс»; en, "Contest"; NATO reporting name AT-5 ''Spandrel'') is a Soviet SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile.
A development of the 9K111 Fagot with greater firepower, the 9M113 Konkurs can u ...
and the
Bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Etymology
The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
underslung grenade launcher.
Products
During the early to mid-Soviet era, Tula Arms Plant produced a variety military rifles, including the
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: ) ...
,
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 ...
,
SKS
The SKS (russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова, Samozaryadny Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945, self-loading carbine of (the) Simonov system, 1945) is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Soviet small arms ...
, and
AKM
The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior.
Introduced ...
. It also produced the Nagant M1895 revolver.
From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the factory produced the
AK-74
The AK-74 (Russian: , tr. ''Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda'', lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974) is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974. While primarily associated with the Soviet U ...
, and went on to manufacture the
VSS Vintorez
The 6P29 and 6P30 ( GRAU Indices), commonly known as the VSS "Thread Cutter" (Russian: ВСС «Винторе́з» Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, romanized: ''Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vint ...
,
AS Val
The 6P29 and 6P30 ( GRAU Indices), commonly known as the VSS "Thread Cutter" (Russian: ВСС «Винторе́з» Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, romanized: ''Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vint ...
,
OTs-14 Groza
The OTs-14 Groza () is a Russian selective fire bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 7.62×39 round and the 9×39mm subsonic round. It was developed in the 1990s at the TsKIB SOO (Central Design and Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Arms ...
, and
TOZ rifle TOZ rifles are a family of .22 Long Rifle bolt-action cadet rifles manufactured by the Tula Arms Plant (Russian abbreviation TOZ stands for ''Tulsky Oruzheyny Zavod''). Most notably the TOZ-8, TOZ-17 and TOZ-78 which were used to train generations o ...
weapons designed by
TsNIITochMash
TsNIITochMash (russian: ЦНИИТОЧМАШ) is a Russian industrial design bureau which is a major designer and producer of weapons for the Russian military and MVD National Guard. The name is an initialism for Central Scientific - Research Ins ...
. The plant also produces large quantities of small arms ammunition for the military as well as for commercial sale.
The factory has also manufactured a number of pistols over the years such as the
Korovin pistol
The Korovin pistol (Пистолет Коровина, Тульский Коровин (ТК), GAU Index 56-A-112) is regarded as the first Soviet semi-automatic pistol.
History
Sergey Korovin designed the first 7.65 mm caliber military pi ...
,
TT pistol
The TT-30,, "7.62 mm Tokarev self-loading pistol model 1930", TT stands for Tula, Russia, Tula-Tokarev) commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is an out-of-production Soviet semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in 1930 by Fedor Tokarev as a ...
,
Stechkin automatic pistol
The Stechkin or APS (''Avtomaticheskiy Pistolet Stechkina'' = ''Автоматический Пистолет Стечкина'') is a Soviet selective fire machine pistol chambered in 9×18mm Makarov and 9×19mm Parabellum introduced into serv ...
MSP Groza silent pistol
The MSP Groza ("thunderstorm") silent pistol is an over and under, double-barrel, derringer-type firearm designed in the Soviet Union in 1972. The firearm is chambered for the silent 7.62×38 SP-3 cartridge which can be loaded via a two-round cli ...
.
Notable products
Knives
*
NRS-2
The NRS-2 (''Нож Разведчика Стреляющий'', "Scout Firing Knife") (official GRAU index 6P25U) is a gun hybrid with a combination of a knife blade and a built-in single-shot shooting mechanism designed to fire a 7.62×41mm SP ...
TKB-506
__NOTOC__
The TKB-506 (russian: ТКБ-506) was a small handgun designed to look like a cigar cutter, developed by Igor Stechkin, allegedly on the orders of the KGB.
The dimensions of TKB-506 are 11 x 9.2 x 2 cm. Weighing 0.44 kg empty ...
TOZ-34
The TOZ-34 (ТОЗ-34) is a double-barreled shotgun.
History
TOZ-34 is produced and sold by Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod since 1964. In 1965, the shotgun was awarded the golden medal of the Leipzig Trade Fair.Э. Штейнгольд. Отечест ...
TOZ-106
The TOZ-106 is a small, lightweight bolt-action shotgun produced and sold by Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod.Н. Борумбей. Ружье с откидным прикладом // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», ...
*
TOZ-194
The TOZ-194 is a 12 Gauge (bore diameter), gauge, pump-action shotgun manufactured by the Tula Arms Plant.
History
In early 1990s was designed a pump-action shotgun based on TOZ-87. In late 1994 Tula Arms Plant made first TOZ-94.Николай ...
APS underwater rifle
The APS underwater assault rifle (APS stands for ''Avtomat Podvodny Spetsialnyy'' (Автомат Подводный Специальный) or "Special Underwater Assault Rifle") is an underwater firearm designed by the Soviet Union in the earl ...
*
AS Val
The 6P29 and 6P30 ( GRAU Indices), commonly known as the VSS "Thread Cutter" (Russian: ВСС «Винторе́з» Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, romanized: ''Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vint ...
*
ASM-DT amphibious rifle
The ASM-DT is a Russian folding-stock underwater firearm. It emerged in the 1990s.
History and design
The introduction of the APS Underwater Assault Rifle solved the problem of how frogmen guarding a naval base could be armed, but there remained ...
*
SR-3 Vikhr
The SR-3 Vikhr (''СР-3 Вихрь'', Russian for "whirlwind") is a Russian 9×39mm compact assault rifle. It was developed by A. D. Borisov, V. N. Levchenko and A. Tyshlykov at TsNIITochMash (Central Institute for Precision Machine Building) in ...
*
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 ...
TKB-059
TKB-059 (ТКБ-059) was a Soviet three-barrel bullpup assault rifle, capable of fully automatic fire, chambered for the 7.62×39mm round and manufactured by Tula Arms Plant in 1966. It was based on the Pribor 3B (Прибор 3Б), an earlier e ...
*
TKB-072
The TKB-072 (Russian: ТКБ-072) is a Soviet assault rifle designed by G.A.Korobov on the basis of creation of some skilled automatic devices chambered in 5.45mm spends experimental researches of influence of pace of shooting on кучность ...
*
TKB-517
The TKB-517 (russian: ТКБ-517) is an assault rifle designed by German Aleksandrovich Korobov. This rifle was externally similar to the AK-47, but based on the lever-delayed blowback mechanism invented by John Pedersen and refined by Pál Ki ...
*
TOZ rifle TOZ rifles are a family of .22 Long Rifle bolt-action cadet rifles manufactured by the Tula Arms Plant (Russian abbreviation TOZ stands for ''Tulsky Oruzheyny Zavod''). Most notably the TOZ-8, TOZ-17 and TOZ-78 which were used to train generations o ...
*
VSS Vintorez
The 6P29 and 6P30 ( GRAU Indices), commonly known as the VSS "Thread Cutter" (Russian: ВСС «Винторе́з» Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, romanized: ''Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vint ...
See also
*
KBP Instrument Design Bureau
JSC ''Konstruktorskoe Buro Priborostroeniya'' (KBP) (russian: АО «Конструкторское бюро приборостроения», AO konstruktórskoje bjuró priborostrojénija Joint-Stock Company - Instrument Design Bureau) is one ...
Wolf Ammunition
WOLF Performance Ammunition is a trademark associated with Sporting Supplies International (SSI), a corporation in the United States. It was founded in 2005. The ammunition was primarily manufactured by the Tula Cartridge Plant in Tula, Tula Di ...
*
Red Army Standard Ammunition
Red Army Standard Ammunition is a trademark associated with Century International Arms (CIA), an arms and ammunition corporation in Delray Beach, Florida, United States. The official spelling of the brand's name is faux Cyrillic, written as RЭD ...