The 9×18mm Makarov (designated 9mm Makarov by the C.I.P. and often called 9×18mm PM) is a

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

and

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

cartridge developed in the former USSR. During the latter half of the 20th century, it was a standard military pistol cartridge of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

, analogous to the

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and

Western Bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, the Freedom Bloc, the Free Bloc, and the American Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War (1947–1991). While ...

military use.

History

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the early

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the 7.62×25mm Tokarev was the standard automatic pistol round for the Soviet Union and its satellites in Eastern Europe. This ammunition is still in use by many of these countries today. During the war, the Red Army had found a few shortcomings in its 7.62 mm TT-33 pistol, one of which was a tendency to inadvertently drop its magazine while in operation. The army wanted something that was lighter, with a heel release instead of a button and different ammunition. A direct blowback design was chosen for the pistol's operation, since it would be quick and cheap to manufacture, as well as accurate, due to the fixed-barrel design allowed by direct blowback operation. The 9×18mm round was designed by Boris V. Semin in 1946, and was intended to be a relatively powerful round with modest

bolt thrust Bolt thrust or breech pressure is a term used in internal ballistics and firearms (whether small arms or artillery) that describes the amount of rearward force exerted by the propellant gases on the Bolt (firearms), bolt or Breechblock, breech of a ...

that could function safely in a simple or direct blowback pistol. It was based on the 9×18mm Ultra cartridge which was developed in 1936 by Gustav Genschow & Co. for the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

, as a more powerful alternative to the 9×17mm used in the

Walther PP The Walther PP (, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. Design The Walther PP series feature an exposed hammer, a double-actio ...

, also a simple blowback design pistol. Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov went on to design the Makarov PM pistol around the 9×18mm round in 1947. In 1951 both the Makarov pistol and the round were accepted by the Soviet Army, hence the round became commonly known thereafter as the Makarov as well (it is not its official designation).Erenfeicht, Leszek (2018) (in Polish). ''From Russia with Love. Pistolet Makarowa''. „Strzał.pl” No. 6/2018. III (19), p. 25-26. ISSN 2451-4942 Calibers in the USSR were measured between the lands in the rifling and not the grooves. As such, 9×18mm Makarov ammunition uses a larger diameter bullet than other common 9 mm rounds, measuring 9.27 mm (0.365 in), compared with 9.017 mm (0.355 in) for 9×19mm Parabellum. After its introduction in 1951, the 9×18mm Makarov round spread throughout the militaries of

nations.

Cartridge dimensions

The 9×18mm Makarov has 0.83 ml (12.8

grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and le ...

of H₂O, also known as

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

) cartridge case capacity. 9×18mm Makarov maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm). The common

rifling Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...

twist rate Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...

for this cartridge is 1 in 240 mm (9.45 in), 4 grooves, ø lands = 9.00 mm, ø grooves = 9.27 mm, land width = 4.50 mm and the primer type is small pistol.C.I.P. TDCC datasheet 9 mm Makarov
/ref> According to the official C.I.P. () rulings the 9×18mm Makarov case can handle up to piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every pistol cartridge combo must be proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers. The 9×18mm Makarov is ballistically inferior to the

cartridge. While there are no official SAAMI pressure specifications for the 9×18mm Makarov cartridge, tests indicate that surplus ammunition develop pressures in the lower 20,000

psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviat ...

range, which is significantly less than the 35,000 psi or more generated by 9×19mm Parabellum (+P) loads. As such it is designed to be used in low-powered blowback semiautomatics, much like the .380 ACP cartridge, rather than locked-breech designs encountered, but not always required, for higher pressure cartridges like the 9×19mm Parabellum.

Basic specifications of 21st century Russian service loads

The 9×18mm Makarov rounds in use with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are designed for pistols and submachine guns. In 2003, there were several variants of 9×18mm Makarov produced for various purposes. All used clad metal as case material. The 57-N-181S cartridge is loaded with a steel-core bullet and is designed to kill personnel at a range of up to . The bullet has a clad metal envelope totally covering the core. The bullet's nose is spherical with no distinguishing colour of the tip. It can penetrate a 1.3 mm thick St3 steel plate or a 5 mm ordinary steel plate at . The RG028 cartridge is loaded with an enhanced penetration bullet and is designed to kill personnel wearing body armour. The bullet has a core of hardened steel. The SP-7 cartridge is loaded with an enhanced stopping effect half plastic and half lead core jacketed hollow point bullet and is designed to defeat live targets. The bullet has a black tip. The SP-8 cartridge is loaded with a lightweight half plastic and half lead core low-penetration jacketed hollow point bullet and is designed to engage personnel. The 7N25 is a high-velocity cartridge loaded with a steel core bullet. It can penetrate a 5 mm thick St3 steel plate at . * R₅₀ at means the closest 50 percent of the shot group will all be within a circle of the mentioned diameter at .

Firearms chambered for 9×18mm Makarov

Pistols

* Makarov PM * MP-448 Skyph * ČZ vz. 82 * FEG PA-63, SMC-918, R-61, RK-59 * P-83 Wanad * P-64 pistol * R-92 * OTs-01 Stechkin (RSA) * OTs-27 * OTs-33 * Fort 12 * Grand Power P9M * ZVI KEVIN M * SilencerCo Maxim 9

Submachine guns and machine pistols

* Stechkin APS * Škorpion vz. 65 and vz. 82 * PM-63 RAK *

PM-84 Glauberyt The PM-84 Glauberyt is a Polish submachine gun. It is a personal weapon intended for combat and self-defence at ranges up to 150 m with single shot or fully automatic fire mode. It features a compact design, minimum overall dimensions, small ...

* PP-90 Penal * PP-91 KEDR * PP-93 * OTs-02 Kiparis * OTs-33 Pernach * PP-19 Bizon * Arsenal Shipka * Borz, used by Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...

Gallery

Image:9mmMakarov-vs-22LR.jpg, 9×18mm Makarov compared to a .22LR hollow point Image:9x18mm casing.jpg, 9×18mm Makarov case Image:9x18mm MAK.jpg, 9×18mm Makarov Image:Makarov and Luger cartridges.jpg, 9×18mm Makarov compared to a

full metal jacket Image:9x18mm_Makarov_HTX_Round.jpg, 9×18mm Makarov FTX hollow point

Synonyms

*9mm Makarov *9×18mm *9×18mm PM *9mm Mak *9×18mm Soviet

References

External links

9x18 pistol cartridgesC.I.P. TDCC datasheet 9 mm MakarovGunboards Forums, 9x18 Ammunition Data
{{765borderivatives Pistol and rifle cartridges Military cartridges * Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1951 Soviet inventions