The origins of this
particular weapon are unusual, since it
was designed by A. Sudarev at Leningrad in 1942 when the
city was under actual blockade by the Germans. Arms were
in short supply and as none could be brought in it
became necessary to improvise from local resources. The
new gun, originally known as the Russian PPS 42, was
therefore made in the city itself, so that weapons
coming off the production line were liable to be used in
action after a matter of hours.
As was to be expected
the gun was made of stampings, using any suitable grade
of metal, and was held together by riveting, welding and
pinning. Nevertheless it was not only cheap but it
turned out to be effective. It worked on the usual
simple blowback system and would only fire automatic;
perhaps its oddest feature was its semi circular
compensator, which helped it to keep its muzzle down but
increased blast considerably. This was followed by the
PPS-43, modified and improved by the same engineer who
had been responsible for the earlier model. Its most
unusual feature was was that it had not separate
extractor in the normal sense of the word. The bolt
moved backwards and forwards along a guide rod which was
of such a length that as the bolt came back with the
empty case, the end of the rod caught it a sharp blow
and knocked it clear.
After the Chinese revolution of
1949, the Soviet Union naturally supplied its new ally
with a considerable quantity of arms including large
numbers of the PPS-43, and by 1953 the Chinese had begun
large-scale manufacture of these weapons, virtually
unchanged in appearance from the Russian prototypes. The
only way in which it can be distinguished is by the fact
that the plastic pistol grips often bear a large letter
K in a central design. This, however, is by no means
universal and other designs, including a diamond, may be
found. The gun is still often found in South East Asia.
Length: 819 mm (32.25 in)
Weight: 3.36 Kg (7.4 lb)
Barrel: 254 mm (10 in)
Calibre: 7.62 mm
Feed System: 35-round box magazine
Rate of Fire: 700 rpm
Muzzle Velocity: 488 m/s (1,600 ft/s)
Sights: Flip. 110-219 yds |
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