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Pistolet-Pulemet Shpagina

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PPSh-41 (Pistolet-Pulemet Shpagina)
(Shpagin Machine Pistol)
Country of origin



Georgi Semyonovich Shpagin

Production began


Production ended


Weapon type

Submachine Gun


7.62x25mm Tokarev



Overall length

843 mm

Barrel length

269 mm

Weight empty

3,63 kg

Magazine/Cylinder capacity

71 rounds, detachable drum
35 rounds, detachable box

Cyclic rate

900 RPM

Maximum effective range

200 m

The PPSh-41 (Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina; Russian: Пистолет-пулемёт Шпагина; "Shpagin machine pistol"); is a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgi Shpagin as an inexpensive, simplified alternative to the PPD-40. Common nicknames are Pe-Pe-Sha from its three-letter prefix and Papasha (Russian: папаша), meaning daddy.

Contents  [hide]  1 History 1.1 World War II 1.2 Korean War 2 Features 3 Users 4 Variants 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External links History[edit]

World War II[edit] The impetus for the development of the PPSh came partly from the Winter War against Finland, where the Finnish army employed the Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun as a highly effective tool for close-quarter fighting in forests or built-up urban areas.

Although the PPD-40 was rushed into mass production in 1940, it was expensive to manufacture, both in terms of materials and labor, because it used numerous milled metal parts, particularly, its receiver. Shpagin's main idea for cost reduction was to use metal stamping for the production of most parts; that concept was revolutionary in the Soviet Union at the time. Shpagin created a prototype in September 1940, which also featured an accuracy improvement device in the form of a simple gas compensator designed to prevent the muzzle from rising during bursts; this improved shot grouping by about 70% relative to the PPD.[8]

The new weapon was produced in a network of factories in Moscow, with high-level local Party members made directly responsible for production targets being met. A few hundred weapons were produced in November 1941 and another 155,000 were produced over the next five months. By spring 1942, the PPSh factories producing roughly 3,000 units a day.[9] Soviet production figures for 1942 indicate almost 1.5 million units having been produced.[8] The PPSh-41 was a classic example of a design adapted for mass production (other examples of such wartime design were the M3 submachine gun, MP40 and the Sten). Its parts (excluding the barrel) could be produced by a relatively unskilled workforce with simple equipment available in an auto repair garage or tin shop, freeing up more skilled workers for other tasks. The PPSh-41 used 87 components compared to 95 for the PPD-40 and the PPSh could be manufactured with an estimated 5.6 machining hours (later revised to 7.3 hours) compared with 13.7 hours for the PPD.[10][11] Barrel production was often simplified by using barrels produced for the 7.62mm M1891 Mosin–Nagant rifle: the rifle barrel was cut in half, and two PPSh barrels were made from it after machining the chamber for the 7.62mm Soviet submachine gun cartridge.

After the German Army captured large numbers of the PPSh-41 during World War II, a program was instituted to convert the weapon to the standard German submachine gun cartridge – 9mm Parabellum. The Wehrmacht officially adopted the converted PPSh-41 as the MP41(r); unconverted PPSh-41s were designated MP717(r) and supplied with 7.63x25mm Mauser ammunition (which is dimensionally identical to 7.62x25mm, but somewhat less powerful). German-language manuals for the use of captured PPShs were printed and distributed in the Wehrmacht.[6]

PPSh vs PPS box magazine One problem that PPSh-41 suffered from was the unreliable drum magazine. Initially made of stamped metal only 0.5 mm thick it was prone to deformations leading to jams. It was also relatively expensive to produce, and fairly slow to load with bullets. It was mostly superseded by simpler box-type magazine holding only 35 rounds, although an improved drum magazine made from 1 mm thick steel was also introduced in 1944.

The PPS, an even simpler submachine gun, was later introduced in Soviet service in 1943, although it did not replace the PPSh-41 during the war.



Korean War[edit] After the Second World War, the PPSh was supplied in large quantities to Soviet client states and communist guerrilla forces. The Korean People's Army (KPA) and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) fighting in Korea received massive numbers of the PPSh-41, in addition to the North Korean Type 49 and the Chinese Type 50, which were licensed copies of the PPSh-41 with small mechanical revisions. The weapon was widely used during the entirety of the Korean War.

Though relatively inaccurate, with a high rate of fire, the Chinese burp gun was well-suited to the close-range firefights that typically occurred in that conflict, especially at night.[14] U.N. forces in defensive outposts or on patrol often had trouble returning a sufficient volume of fire when attacked by companies of communist infantry armed with burp guns. Some U.S. infantry officers ranked the burp gun the best combat weapon of the war; while lacking the accuracy of the U.S. M1 Garand or M1 carbine, it provided more firepower at short distances.[14] As infantry captain (later general) Hal Moore, stated: "on full automatic it sprayed a lot of bullets and most of the killing in Korea was done at very close ranges and it was done quickly – a matter of who responded faster. In situations like that it outclassed and outgunned what we had. A close-in patrol fight was over very quickly and usually we lost because of it."[14] Other US servicemen felt however that their M2 carbines were superior to the PPSh-41 at the typical engagement ranges of 100–150 meters.[15]


The PPSh-41 on display. The PPSh-41 fired the standard Soviet pistol and submachine gun cartridge, the 7.62x25mm (Tokarev). Weighing approximately 12 pounds (5.45 kg) with a loaded 71-round drum and 9.5 pounds (4.32 kg) with a loaded 35-round box magazine, the PPSh was capable of firing at about 1000 rounds per minute, a very high rate of fire in comparison to most other military submachine guns of World War II. It was a durable, low-maintenance weapon made of low-cost, easily-obtained components, primarily stamped sheet metal and wood. The final production PPSh had top ejection and an 'L' type rear sight that could be adjusted for ranges of 100 and 200 meters. A crude compensator was built into the barrel jacket, intended to reduce muzzle climb during automatic fire. The compensator was moderately successful in this respect, but it greatly increased the muzzle flash and report of the weapon. The PPSh also had a hinged receiver to facilitate field-stripping and cleaning the weapon. A chrome-lined bore enabled the PPSh to withstand both corrosive ammunition and long intervals between cleaning. No forward grip or forearm was provided, and the operator generally had to grasp the weapon behind the drum magazine with the supporting hand, or else hold the lower edge of the drum magazine. Though 35-round curved box magazines were available from 1942, the average Soviet infantryman in World War II carried the PPSh with the original 71-round drum magazine.[16]

A copy of the Finnish M31 Suomi magazine, the PPSh drum magazine held 71 rounds. In practice, misfeeding was likely to occur with more than about 65.[17] In addition to feed issues, the drum magazine was slower and more complicated to load with ammunition than the later 35-round box magazine that increasingly supplemented the drum after 1942. While holding fewer rounds, the box magazine did have the advantage of providing a superior handhold for the supporting hand. Although the PPSh was equipped with a sliding bolt safety, the weapon's open-bolt design still presented a risk of accidental discharge if the gun was dropped on a hard surface.

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