PPSh-41 Submachine Gun

[BrodieBartfast]

Have had this one for a couple of years.

At first I wasn't fond of it. It's been postwar refurbed and has a dented heat shield, and to top it all off it's a welded-up new spec. But the longer it hangs on my wall, the more I find myself enjoying the sight of it. There's something very appealing about the rugged simplicity of Red Army firearms.
It's as common a piece as you're likely to find, but a very distinct one. As iconic a piece of Soviet kit as the Luger is to the Germans. The Shpagin Machine Pistol (or Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina in its native Russian) is about as mechanically simplistic as a firearm can be. Easy to disassemble, clean and operate. There were two magazine types; the box and the 71-round drum. From what I've learnt, the drum was unpopular as it suffered from frequent mechanical issues resulting in jams.
There are a few crudely stamped markings on this one, including a date of 1944. I believe the '3' in the circle indicates the factory, although I'm not one hundred percent sure which one.

So yes, not one of my favourites. But it's growing on me, and is a necessary part of my Soviet small arms wall display.

Regards, B.B.

[HistoryMan]

Germans actually used them quite often, they preferred the extra capacity of the drum mag

The 3 indicates Stalin Factory, ZIS (Zavod imeni Stalina, Завод имени Сталина in Russian)

[BrodieBartfast]

Germans actually used them quite often, they preferred the extra capacity of the drum mag

Yes, rebarreled some of them and fitted them with an adapter to take MP40 magazines. I believe they were given the designation 'MP717(r)'.

EDIT: Like this...





B.B.

[HistoryMan]

Yes, rebarreled some of them and fitted them with an adapter to take MP40 magazines. I believe they were given the designation 'MP717(r)'.

B.B.

Plenty of pictures in use in standard form..

[BrodieBartfast]

Plenty of pictures in use in standard form..

7.62x25 would have been plentiful during the early days of Operation Barbarossa. Wouldn't have been any need to re-chamber them until late war, I guess.

B.B.

[HistoryMan]

7.62x25 would have been plentiful during the early days of Operation Barbarossa. Wouldn't have been any need to re-chamber them until late war, I guess.

B.B.

" The captured PPSh was in particular a favorite weapon of the Germans. Because of the similarities between the 7.62x25mm Tokarev and the 7.63x25mm Mauser cartridge used in the Mauser C96 pistol, the PPsh was easily supplied with ammunition. In fact so many were captured that it became the second-most-common submachinegun used by German forces. Also, attempts were made to convert the weapon to 9mm Parabellum to conform to German logistics. The Wehrmacht officially adopted the converted PPSh-41 as the MP41(r); unconverted PPSh-41s were designated MP717(r). German-language manuals for the use of captured PPShs were printed and distributed in the Wehrmacht "

[HistoryMan]

I would prefer a Thompson any day

[BrodieBartfast]

" The captured PPSh was in particular a favorite weapon of the Germans. Because of the similarities between the 7.62x25mm Tokarev and the 7.63x25mm Mauser cartridge used in the Mauser C96 pistol, the PPsh was easily supplied with ammunition. In fact so many were captured that it became the second-most-common submachinegun used by German forces. Also, attempts were made to convert the weapon to 9mm Parabellum to conform to German logistics. The Wehrmacht officially adopted the converted PPSh-41 as the MP41(r); unconverted PPSh-41s were designated MP717(r). German-language manuals for the use of captured PPShs were printed and distributed in the Wehrmacht "

Shows what I know!
Joining this forum thinking I was at all knowledgeable has been a very humbling experience!

B.B.

[PRE]

That's about as simple a bullet hose as could be designed. I assessed and test fired one of these for a court case about five years ago. It was a Bulgarian version from the early 1950's and had seen some bad storage issues but still ran with very basic, Comm-Bloc ammo. The drum makes a terrible grip to steady the weapon and I can't imagine the box magazine would have been much better. The one I assessed fired fine in semi-automatic and in short bursts, but the magazine jammed in a string of about ten rounds in full automatic fire. VERY high cyclic rate of fire on these.
Pat

[BrodieBartfast]

That's about as simple a bullet hose as could be designed. I assessed and test fired one of these for a court case about five years ago. It was a Bulgarian version from the early 1950's and had seen some bad storage issues but still ran with very basic, Comm-Bloc ammo. The drum makes a terrible grip to steady the weapon and I can't imagine the box magazine would have been much better. The one I assessed fired fine in semi-automatic and in short bursts, but the magazine jammed in a string of about ten rounds in full automatic fire. VERY high cyclic rate of fire on these.
Pat

Very much fitting with the Soviet M.O of quantity over quality!
Although I can't fire mine for obvious reasons, I find the most comfortable way to grip it (with the box magazine) is to wrap my fingers around the front of the top of the mag, just behind the heat shield. With the drum, it's very awkward to handle. But it was a workhorse that did its job, and the results don't lie!

B.B.