PPD-40
Soviet State Arsenals · Submachine Gun · Discontinued · 1940
Also known as: Pistolet-Pulemyot Degtyaryova obr. 1940g, PPD-1940, Degtyaryov SMG, MP 716(r)
Overview
The PPD-40 (Pistolet-Pulemyot Degtyaryova, 1940) is a Soviet submachine gun chambered in 7.62x25mm Tokarev, designed by Vasily Degtyaryov and produced from 1940. The design is the final and most mass-produced evolution of a family of submachine guns begun with the PPD-34 in 1934, simplified for wartime manufacture. It operates on a blowback, open-bolt principle and fires from a finned, shrouded barrel that aids cooling during sustained automatic fire. The iconic 71-round drum magazine, clearly inspired by the Finnish Suomi KP/-31 that had devastated Soviet infantry during the Winter War, provided unmatched onboard firepower for a 1940-era infantry weapon; a 25-round box magazine was also issued. Built on a machined steel receiver with a fixed one-piece wood stock, the PPD-40 is robust but expensive and slow to produce, requiring extensive machining operations that the Soviet wartime economy could not sustain at scale. It served with the Red Army, NKVD internal troops and the Soviet Navy through the opening campaigns of the Great Patriotic War before being rapidly supplanted by Georgi Shpagin's stamped-sheet-metal PPSh-41, which shared the same drum magazine and cartridge but could be built in a fraction of the time. Approximately 90,000 PPD-40s were completed during 1940 and 1941 before production was wound down in favour of the PPSh-41. Despite its short frontline career, the PPD-40 is a pivotal weapon: it is the direct ancestor of every Soviet submachine gun that followed and marks the point at which the USSR abandoned Stalin's earlier rejection of the submachine gun as a 'gangster weapon' and committed fully to automatic small arms for line infantry.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3630 g (128.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 5450 g (192.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 788 mm (31.02") |
| Barrel Length | 267 mm (10.51") |
| Height | 210 mm (8.27") |
| Width | 65 mm (2.56") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 71 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Drum |
| Muzzle Velocity | 488 m/s (1601 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 655 J (483 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 800 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
- 7.62x25mm Tokarev · primary — also known as 7.62mm Tokarev, 7.62x25mm TT, 7.62mm TT
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Drum Magazine, Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Bolt Handle Safety Notch, Selector Safety
- Features: Open Bolt Firing, Select Fire, Finned Barrel Jacket, Machined Receiver, Fixed Wood Stock
Variants
- PPD-34 — Original Model
- PPD-34/38 — Improved Model
- PPD-40 (Box Magazine) — Alternative Feed
Service history
Operators
- Soviet Red Army · adopted 1940
- NKVD · adopted 1940
- Soviet Navy · adopted 1940
- Finnish Defence Forces · adopted 1940 · as PPD-40 (captured)
- German Wehrmacht · adopted 1941 · as MP 716(r)
Conflicts
- Winter War (1939-1940)
- Continuation War (1941-1944)
- World War II (Eastern Front) (1941-1945)
Production
Estimated total produced: 90,000 · Production years: 1940-1942
Approximately 90,000 PPD-40s produced in 1940-1941 before the simpler, stamped PPSh-41 replaced it on the production lines; a small additional batch was assembled in besieged Leningrad in 1941-1942.
Origin
Country of origin: Soviet Union
Designer: Vasily Degtyaryov
Discontinued: 1942
Notes
The PPD family evolved through three main models: PPD-34 (original 1934, very limited production), PPD-34/38 (improved, with redesigned magazine well to accept a Suomi-style drum), and PPD-40 (final simplified pattern with a one-piece stock, split receiver and a drum inserted directly into the magazine well rather than a dedicated wood collar). The 71-round drum was interchangeable with the later PPSh-41, which accelerated fielding of that weapon. The PPD-40 was expensive and slow to machine: unit cost and man-hours were several times those of the stamped PPSh-41, which is why production ended in 1942 despite the weapon's good field reputation. A small second batch was assembled in besieged Leningrad in 1941-1942 using existing parts. Finnish forces captured and reissued PPD-40s during the Winter War and Continuation War; Germany redesignated captured examples MP 716(r). Reported rate of fire varies between sources from roughly 800 to 1,000 rpm; 800 rpm is the most commonly cited figure.
Background
Stalin famously dismissed submachine guns as 'weapons for gangsters and policemen' through the 1930s, and Soviet SMG development was nearly shelved. That position collapsed during the Winter War of 1939-1940, when Finnish ski troops armed with Suomi KP/-31s inflicted devastating close-range losses on Red Army columns in the forests of Karelia. Stalin reversed course almost overnight, ordering Degtyaryov's PPD back into mass production and demanding a Soviet drum magazine copied from the Suomi - a decision that would put a submachine gun in the hands of every other Red Army rifleman by 1945.