Tokarev TT30

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 14:09 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 12:46

The Tokarev TT30 is a semiautomatic pistol of Soviet design. It was designed by Fedor Tokarev and was used to replace the earlier Nagant M1895 revolvers. The TT30 was very robust and reliable and thus large numbers of the pistol were manufactured during the Second World War and in the subsequent years.

In 1930, the Red Army felt the need for a new pistol to replace the aging M1895 revolver. Subsequently, Fedor Tokarev’s TT30 model was considered and was adopted for service.

After the pistol was adopted, a few changes were made to the design of the weapon to simplify the manufacturing process. These changes included modifications to the barrel, trigger and the frame. The new variant was designated TT33 and was used widely during the Second World War. However, the earlier Nagant revolvers also continued to be used and it was not until the war that they were completely phased out.

The Tokarev TT33 looks very much similar to the FN 1903 automatic pistol and the M1911. However, it is not a clone of either of these and uses a much simpler hammer design. The pistol also has several other features such as locking lugs around the barrel and other design factors that make the manufacturing process simpler.

The Tokarev TT30 is designed to use the 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge. This cartridge is very similar to the German 7.63x25mm Mauser cartridge and for this reason when the Germans captured a large number of TT-33s, they reissued them to their units using their own ammunition.

In the USSR, production of the TT-33 was stopped in the year 1954. However, many other countries such as China, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania kept manufacturing copies and variants of the pistol. Today, the TT pistol is still being used by Police forces in Pakistan. Norinco, a Chinese firearms manufacturer still manufactures a variant of the TT-33 and 7.22x25mm ammunition for it.

Today, the TT-33 is still in service in China and North Korea. Manu gun enthusiasts and collectors also use the Tokarev because of its reliability and durability. Versions chambered for 9 mm ammunition are also popular.