Maxim-Tokarev
Tula Arms Plant · Machine Gun · Out Of Production · 1925
Also known as: MT, Maxim-Tokarev MT
Overview
The Maxim-Tokarev (MT) was the first domestically mass-produced Soviet light machine gun, developed by Fedor Tokarev in 1925 by adapting the water-cooled Maxim M1910 into a lighter, air-cooled, bipod-mounted weapon. Chambered in 7.62x54mmR and fed from a 100-round fabric belt, it retained the Maxim's recoil-operated toggle-lock action but replaced the water jacket with a perforated barrel shroud and added a wooden buttstock and pistol grip. Roughly 2,500 were built before it was superseded by the Degtyaryov DP-27.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 12900 g (455.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 15500 g (546.7 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1330 mm (52.36") |
| Barrel Length | 650 mm (25.59") |
| Action Type | Short Recoil |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 100 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Belt |
| Muzzle Velocity | 800 m/s (2625 fps) |
| Effective Range | 800 m (875 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 600 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 240 mm (9.45") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.62x54mmR · primary — also known as 7.62x54R, 7.62 Russian, 7.62x54mm R
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Fabric Belt
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Air Cooled Barrel, Toggle Lock Action, Bipod Mounted, Wooden Buttstock, Pistol Grip
Service history
Operators
- Red Army · adopted 1925 · as MT
Conflicts
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
Production
Estimated total produced: 2,500 · Production years: 1925-1927
Approximately 2,500 produced before being replaced by the DP-27
Origin
Country of origin: Soviet Union
Designer: Fedor Tokarev
Discontinued: 1927
Notes
Although it filled an urgent gap in Soviet squad firepower in the mid-1920s, the MT was quickly outclassed by the lighter, magazine-fed DP-27. Many surviving examples were exported to Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
Background
The Maxim-Tokarev was essentially a Maxim machine gun put on a diet: Fedor Tokarev stripped off the heavy water jacket and bolted on a wooden stock and bipod to create the Red Army's first home-grown light machine gun, only for it to be rendered obsolete within two years by the lighter DP-27.