PPS-43
Soviet State Arsenals · Submachine Gun · Discontinued · 1943
Also known as: PPS, Pistolet-Pulemyot Sudayeva, Sudayev SMG, PPS-42, Type 54
Overview
The PPS-43 (Pistolet-Pulemyot Sudayeva obr. 1943) is a Soviet blowback-operated, open-bolt submachine gun chambered in 7.62x25mm Tokarev. Designed by Alexei Sudayev inside besieged Leningrad as an emergency wartime replacement for the PPSh-41, the PPS-43 was engineered around extreme economy of materials and labor: a stamped-steel receiver, a pinned barrel, a folding metal shoulder stock, and a 35-round curved detachable box magazine gave it roughly half the machine time and less than half the steel of the PPSh-41 for comparable firepower. Firing from an open bolt through a fixed firing pin, the weapon operates in full-automatic only, with a perforated barrel shroud that doubles as a muzzle compensator cut directly into the front of the receiver. Compact, light, and reliable in freezing mud, the PPS-43 saw heavy issue to Soviet tankers, reconnaissance troops, paratroopers, and machine-gun crews on the Eastern Front, and went on to arm Warsaw Pact militaries and Asian communist forces well into the Cold War. Many historians regard it as the finest submachine gun fielded in the Second World War.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3040 g (107.2 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 3670 g (129.5 oz) |
| Overall Length | 820 mm (32.28") |
| Folded Length | 615 mm (24.21") |
| Barrel Length | 250 mm (9.84") |
| Height | 225 mm (8.86") |
| Width | 60 mm (2.36") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Full Auto Only |
| Magazine Capacity | 35 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 500 m/s (1640 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 688 J (507 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 650 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 240 mm (9.45") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Stamped Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.62x25mm Tokarev · primary — also known as 7.62mm Tokarev, 7.62x25mm TT, 7.62mm TT
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety Lever, Bolt Handle Safety Notch
- Features: Stamped Steel Construction, Open Bolt Firing, Folding Metal Stock, Muzzle Compensator, Fixed Firing Pin, Automatic Only, Simple Construction, Curved Box Magazine
Variants
Service history
Operators
- Soviet Red Army · adopted 1943
- Finnish Defence Forces · adopted 1944 · as M/44
- Chinese People's Liberation Army · adopted 1954 · as Type 54
- People's Army of Vietnam · as Type 54
- Polish Armed Forces · adopted 1952 · as wz.43/52
- East German National People's Army · adopted 1956
Conflicts
- World War II (Eastern Front) (1942-1945)
- Chinese Civil War (1945-1949)
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Production
Estimated total produced: 2,000,000 · Production years: 1942-1946
Approximately 2 million PPS-42 and PPS-43 units produced in the Soviet Union between 1942 and 1946; licensed and unlicensed copies (Finnish M/44, Chinese Type 54, Polish wz.43/52) add substantially to this figure.
Origin
Country of origin: Soviet Union
Designer: Alexei Ivanovich Sudayev
Discontinued: 1946
Notes
Sudayev's design began as the PPS-42, which entered limited production in besieged Leningrad in late 1942 and was tested in combat by Leningrad Front units before the city was relieved. After further simplification the standardized PPS-43 was adopted in 1943, using 6.2 kg of steel per weapon against roughly 13.5 kg for the PPSh-41, and requiring only around half the machine hours. The folding steel stock, curved 35-round magazine, and shorter overall profile made it the preferred weapon for armored crews, paratroopers, and scouts who could not easily manoeuvre the larger wooden-stocked PPSh-41. The Finns captured numbers of both the PPS-42 and PPS-43, copied the design as the M/44 in 9x19mm Parabellum using Suomi magazines, and continued to issue it post-war. China produced the weapon as the Type 54 and supplied large numbers to North Vietnam and other allied movements. Poland manufactured a modernized copy with a fixed wooden stock as the wz.43/52.
Background
Sudayev designed and test-produced the PPS inside Leningrad while the city was under siege, with the same starving factory workers who assembled the weapons reportedly receiving the guns as part of their ration of survival. Using only 6.2 kg of steel and half the machine hours of a PPSh-41, the PPS-43 gave tankers and paratroopers a folding-stock automatic they could actually wear inside a T-34 hatch, and many historians still call it the finest submachine gun of the Second World War.