TT-33

TT
A Soviet-produced TT-33 pistol made in 1937
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1930–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Spanish Civil War World War II Korean War Chinese Civil War Vietnam War Laotian Civil War Cambodian Civil War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War Soviet war in Afghanistan Yugoslav Wars Cambodian–Thai border stand-off Syrian Civil War and numerous others
Production history
Designer	Fedor Tokarev
Designed	1930
Manufacturer	Tula Arsenal, Izhevsk Arsenal, Norinco, Femaru, FB „Radom”, Cugir Arsenal, Zastava Arms, FÉG
Produced	1930–1952
Number built	1,700,000
Variants	TT-30, TT-33, TTC, M48, M48 Tokagypt, M57, M70, M70, R-3, Type 51, Type 54, Type 68
Specifications
Weight	854 g (30.1 oz)
Length	194 mm (7.6 in)
Barrel length	116 mm (4.6 in)
Height	134 mm (5.3 in)
Cartridge	7.62×25mm Tokarev
Action	Short recoil actuated, locked breech, single action
Muzzle velocity	480 m/s (1,575 ft/s)
Effective firing range	50 m
Feed system	8-round detachable box magazine
Sights	Front blade, rear notch 156 mm (6.1 in) sight radius

The TT-30 (Russian: 7,62-мм самозарядный пистолет Токарева образца 1930 года, 7,62 mm Samozaryadnyj Pistolet Tokareva obraztsa 1930 goda, "7.62 mm Tokarev self-loading pistol model 1930") is a Russian semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in the early 1930s by Fedor Tokarev as a service pistol for the Soviet military to replace the Nagant M1895 revolver that had been in use since Tsarist times, though it ended up being used in conjunction with rather than replacing the M1895. It served until 1952, when it was replaced by the Makarov pistol.

In 1930, the Revolutionary Military Council approved a resolution to test new small arms to replace its aging Nagant M1895 revolvers. During these tests, on 7 January 1931, the potential of a pistol designed by Fedor Tokarev was noted. A few weeks later, 1,000 TT-30s were ordered for troop trials, and the pistol was adopted for service in the Red Army. The TT-30 was manufactured between 1930 and 1936, with about 93,000 being produced.

But even as the TT-30 was being put into production, design changes were made to simplify manufacturing. Minor changes to the barrel, disconnector, trigger and frame were implemented, the most notable ones being the omission of the removable hammer assembly and changes to the full-circumference locking lugs. This redesigned pistol was the TT-33. Most TT-33s were issued to officers. The TT-33 was widely used by Soviet troops during World War II, but did not completely replace the Nagant.

Externally, the TT-33 is very similar to John Browning's blowback operated FN Model 1903 semiautomatic 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 was loaded into the magazine well. Soviet engineers made several alterations to make the mechanism easier to produce and maintain, most notably the simplifications of the barrel's locking lugs, allowing fewer machining steps. Some models use a captive recoil spring secured to the guide rod which does depend on the barrel bushing to hold it under tension. 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. Able to withstand tremendous abuse, large numbers of the TT-33 were produced during World War II and well into the 1950s. In modern times the robust TT-33 has been converted to many extremely powerful cartridges including .38 Super and 9×23mm Winchester. The TT-33 omitted a safety catch other than the half cock notch which rendered the trigger inoperable until the hammer was pulled back to full cock and then lowered manually to the half cock position. Many imported variants have manual safeties added, which vary greatly in placement and function.