TT pistol

The TT-30, commonly known simply as the TT or Tokarev, is a semi-automatic pistol designed and produced in the Soviet Union. The TT was designed by Fedor Tokarev and served as the service pistol of the Soviet Armed Forces and Militsiya from 1931 to 1951.

The TT was developed in the late 1920s to replace the Nagant M1895 and based on the designs of John Moses Browning, with detail modifications to simplify production and maintenance. It saw service by Soviet forces in many conflicts during the 1930s and 1940s, including World War II. The TT was replaced by the Makarov pistol due to criticism over its size, weight, usability and lack of a safety. Production of the TT in the Soviet Union ceased in 1954, but derivatives continued to be manufactured for many years in China and Yugoslavia. It is one of the most-produced firearms in the world, with at least 1,700,000 manufactured, and continues to be in widespread active service by militaries and police forces.

Before 1930, the Soviet Union used a large variety of foreign-made semi-automatic pistols including: FN M1900, FN M1903, FN M1905, M1921 "Bolo" Mauser, and the Colt M1911, besides the Nagant M1895 revolver. In an attempt to simplify production, the Soviet Artillery Committee (which also oversaw small arms designs) decided to adopt a 7.62 mm pistol caliber, allowing Mosin-Nagant rifle barrels to be cut down to make pistols and submachine gun barrels. In 1930, the Red Army conducted trials to select a new standard-issue pistol and Tokarev's design was tested against upscaled versions of the Korovin pistol, and Sergei Aleksandrovich Prilutsky's 1920−1921 self-loading design as well as foreign pistols. Tokarev's design, considered to be lighter, more accurate and reliable than its competitors (despite being harder to disassemble), was adopted as the Tula-Tokarev Model 1930, even though the pistol would only be officially adopted in the next year.

After being accepted for service, the TT-30 was modified, primarily to simplify the manufacturing process, such as making the back strap an integral part of the frame instead of being a separate piece, reducing machining time. The newly improved pistol received the designation TT-33.

Externally, the TT-33 is very similar to John Browning's blowback operated FN Model 1903 pistol, and internally it uses Browning's short recoil tilting-barrel system from the M1911 pistol. In other areas the TT-33 differs more from Browning's designs—it employs a much simpler hammer/sear assembly than the M1911. This assembly is removable from the pistol as a modular unit and includes machined magazine feed lips, preventing misfeeds when a damaged magazine is loaded into the magazine well. The magazines themselves can be disassembled for cleaning, another measure to prevent malfunctions.

The pistol lacks an external safety and is usually carried with a round loaded and the hammer half-cocked. The safest method for carrying the TT-33 is to leave the chamber empty, though it requires the slide to be manually pulled back and released to ready the gun for use, which takes some effort due the relatively stiff recoil spring.

The TT-33 is chambered for the 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge, which was itself based on the similar 7.63×25mm Mauser cartridge used in the Mauser C96 pistol. The 7.62×25mm cartridge is powerful, has an extremely flat trajectory, and is capable of penetrating thick clothing and soft body armor. Despite the power of the 7.62 mm round, the TT-33 has a relatively mild recoil.

Although the Tokarev was mass produced for the Red Army, the Soviet Union continued producing Nagant 1895 revolvers during World War II due the material demands of the war and the shortcomings of the TT-33, including worse suitability for firing through a tank viewport, accidental release of magazines, and decreased pistol service life from stress on the firing pin. Due the lack of an external safety, cavalry units including Cossacks carried Nagants as sidearms instead.