The improved TT-33 pistol.
The TT-33 is a Russian semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in the early 1930s by Fedor Tokarev as a service pistol for the Soviet military to replace the Nagant M1895 revolver that had been in use since Tsar times, though it never fully replaced the M1895.
Development[]
In 1930, the Revolutionary Military Council approved a resolution to test new small arms to replace its aging Nagant M1895 revolvers. During these tests, on Jan. 7, 1931, the potential of a pistol designed by Fedor Tokarev was noted. A few weeks later, 1,000 TT-30s wer ordered for troop trials, and the pistol was adopted for service in the Red Army.
But even as the TT-30 was being put into production, design changes were made to simplify manufacturing. Minor changes were made to the barrel, disconnector, trigger, and frame were implemented, the most noteable ones being the omission of the removeable backstrap and changes to the full circumference locking lugs. this redesigned pistol was the TT-33. Most TT-33s were issued to officers. The TT-33 was sidely used by Soviet troops during World War II, but did not completely replace the Nagant.
Design Details[]
Externally, the TT-33 is very similar to John Browning's blowback operated FN Model 1903 automatic pistol, but it also used Browning's short recoil dropping-barrel system from the M1911. However, the TT-33 is not a 1911 clone. It employs a much simpler hammer/sear assembly with an external hammer. This assembly is removeable from the weapon as a modular unit and includes cartidge guides that provide reliable functioning. The Soviet engineers also added several other features such a locking lugs all around the barrel (not just on top), and made several altercations to make the mechanism easier to produce and maintian, notably a captive recoil spring secured to the guide rod which does not depend on the barrel bushing to hold it under tension. Production even machined the magazine feed lips into the receiver to prevent damage and misfeeds when a distorted magazine was loaded into the magazine well.
The TT-33 is chambered for the 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge, which was itself based on the similar 7.63x25mm Mauser cartridge used in the Mauser C96 pistol. Able to withstand tremendous abuse, large numbers of the TT-33 were produced during WWII and well into the 1950s.
Variants[]
The Wehrmacht captured a fair number of 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 cartiridges were nearly identical to the German 7.63x25mm Mauser cartridge; therefore, German ammunition could be used in captured Russian arms, and vice versa.
Licensed production[]
Production of the TT-33 in Russia ended in 1954, but copies (licensed or otherwise) were also made by other countries.
The TT pistol copies made notably by China as the Type 51, Type 54, M20, and TU-90.
Poland produces their own copies as the PW wz.33, manufactured from 1947 to 1959 and Hungary rebarreled the pistol to fire 9x19mm Parabellum as the M48, as well as an export version for Egypt as known as the Tokagypt 58 which was widely used by police forces there.
Yugoslavia produced an improvised version of the TT-33 as the M57, M65, M70A and the 9x19mm M88 and North Korea manufactured them as the Type 68 or M68.
Romania also produced a TT-33 copy as the TTC, or Cugir Tokarov 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.
Both legal and illegal TT pistols are still manufactured in various Pakistani Khyber Pass factories.
At one time or another most communist or Soviet bloc countries made a variation of the TT-33 pistol, until it was eventually replaced by the Makarov PM pistol in 1952.
Usage[]
The TT-33 is still in service in the Chinese and North Korean armed forces today while police in Pakistan still commonly use the TT pistol as a sidearm, though unofficially, as it is being replaced by modern 9mm Beretta and SIG pistols.
The Tokarev is gaining in popularity with pistol collectors and shooters in the West because of its ruggedness, reliability, and ready availability of cheap ammunition (in the US).
Howver, some complaints include poor quality grips and a hand grip which extends at a vertical angle awkward for many Western shooters.
Another complaint is the poor placement of the post-production safties installed to comply with US import regulations; many shooters disassemble the pistols, remove them and restore the Tokarevs to the original configuration.
Nonetheless, the Tokarev, as well as its variants in 9mm, is renowned for its simplicity and accuracy.
