In the besieged winter of 1941-1942, the Baltic Fleet military personnel revealed flaws in the design of the TT pistol: at low temperature, the weapon parts froze. This was the impetus for the creation of such a new model as the Baltiets pistol, designed specifically for the officers of the fleet.
What is known about this weapon?
“Baltiets” - a pistol, information on which does not contain any weapons directory. The works of American and European researchers do not contain information about this model. In Moscow, Tula, Izhevsk - the cities in which the largest museums are located, copies of these weapons were also not found. An unknown pistol of the Great Patriotic “Baltiets” was found in the Central Naval Museum, in the funds of which there are three copies of weapons. Each of them has its own serial number: No. 1, 2, 5.
How was the Baltiets pistol (USSR. Leningrad) created?
In 1941, Rear Admiral of the Baltic Fleet turned to higher authorities with a request to create a pistol with more reliable automation than the TT pistol.
After the meeting, the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (b) decided to start design work on a model whose automation would not freeze in a 30-degree frost. The first batch of Baltiets pistol consisted of 15 pieces. The director of the Leningrad plant No. 181 B.P. was appointed responsible for the test copies. Rumyantsev. In January 1942, the chief designer Egorov and the factory technologist F. A. Bogdanov provided the first result - sketches for the Baltiets model. The gun was approved by the head of the weapons workshop A.I. Balashov and accepted into development. A limited circle of people was allowed into the process of creating these weapons.
Start
“Baltiets - Pistol”, which is based on the Walter PP model (German-made weapons). The gun created by Balashov A.I. was designed for TT cartridges, the caliber of which was 7.82 mm. The first 15 copies were made by hand. The craftsmen performed a bluish method of burnishing. In the manufacture of parts for the gun was not provided snap.
Main sample
In the early spring of 1942, the employees of the Engine and Instrument-Making Plant “Engine” designed the first “Baltiets”. The gun is listed at number 1. This weapon is made very high quality. Its testing was carried out at a temperature below 30 degrees. “Baltiets” is characterized by clear operation of the system, reliability and reliability. At the same time, high power and accuracy of hits were noted.
The decoration of “Baltiets” No. 1
A circle with an anchor inside is engraved on the ebonite cheek of the pistol grip. Below it are located: a five-pointed star, a sickle, a hammer and the inscription “Plant No. 181”. On one side of the gun is the inscription “P. A. Baltiets ”, but with the opposite:“ To the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, to the Member of the Military Council of the Lenfront, Comrade A. A. Zhdanov. ”
The craftsmen engraved on the right side of the bolt shield, on which two anchors are depicted. In the rectangle located in the crosshairs, there are the numbers “181”, indicating the factory where the Baltiets pistol is assembled. The photo below represents the aesthetic design of this weapon model.
The performance characteristics
- The weapon is designed for ammunition of 7.62 mm caliber.
- The number of rifling - 4.
- The trunk has a length of 129 mm.
- The mass of the weapon without ammunition is 1100 g.
- The capacity of the pistol magazine is 8 rounds.
The creation of the “Baltic” №2
The first sample of the pistol had a design flaw: it had an increased mass. As a result of additional work with the main model of this weapon, the second “Baltiets” was assembled. The gun, the design features of which differed from the main version, also had a lower weight. Its mass did not exceed 960 g. In the design of model No. 2, the barrel was shortened from 129 mm to 120 mm. The mainspring contained not 17, but 15 turns.
Testing of these weapons showed that, according to its combat parameters, Baltiets No. 2 was not inferior to the main first model. As a result, it was decided to produce the following batches using the second “Baltiets” (pistol) as a sample.
Construction characteristics
The second copy is a frame with a barrel fixed therein, a bolt and a trigger mechanism (trigger). For the barrel “Baltiets” No. 2, four grooves are provided. A flag fuse is used as a shutter. USM data pistols are equipped with combat and return springs. For this gun, a wooden case is provided with an internal cavity glued with cloth and a brass plate on the lid, on which there is an inscription: “Admiral Kuznetsov Nikolai Gerasimovich”.
How is the weapon arranged?
The Baltiets pistol series uses a free-recoil recoil circuit. This becomes possible due to the location of the return spring fixed on the frame of the barrel. USM refers to the trigger type and is designed for double action.
Combat food is carried out from box-shaped pistol magazines, in which cartridges are located in a single row. The magazine is locked in the gun using the special button on the left in the upper part of the handle. Aiming function is performed by such devices as front sight and rear sight. The front sight is part of the shutter - casing. The whole is attached to the dovetail groove, which makes it possible to make lateral amendments if necessary.
Advantages of the “Baltic”
The advantages of this gun are:
- Automation has a simple design.
- The gun is characterized by reliability in operation.
- Production of Baltiets, compared to TT, is less costly and time-consuming.
- The presence of a convenient handle increases the accuracy of hits during shooting.
- The double-action trigger mechanism enables the owner to use a weapon that is always ready for use at any time.
- The presence of a fuse makes carrying this pistol safe, even with the trigger pulled down and ammunition in the chamber, which is unacceptable in a TT brand pistol.
disadvantages
Unlike Tokarev’s pistol, which weighs 110 grams, the Baltiets has excess weight and dimensions. This fact is the main disadvantage of this weapon. The greater weight is explained by the fact that the cartridge used in Baltiets 7.62 mm caliber was originally intended for pistols with a short barrel stroke. For weapons, the automation of which contains a free bolt, a caliber of 7.62 mm is too powerful. For firing such ammunition, the developers of the Leningrad plant No. 181 in Baltiets weighted the bolt shield. Since this gun was created for command personnel, the presence of excess weight and dimensions was a big drawback.
Spring compression training weapon
In 1974, Viktor Khristich, the chief designer of the Central Design Bureau of Technology (Central Design and Technology Bureau), began to develop a wind version of the Baltiets weapon model. The pneumatic gun was ready in 1977. After testing in the city of Klimovsk, the wind model was called “Baltiets” No. 77.
When creating the wind version of the “Baltiets” intended for mass training, the plant workers took into account convenience, simplicity, reliability and safety in operation. Particular attention was paid to the ergonomic features of adolescents.
Device Model 77
In the manufacture of handles, receiver pads, triggers and rear sights, impact-resistant glass-filled plastic was used. The manufacturing process of parts was carried out using the injection molding method. The springs underwent a progressive thermochemical treatment (springs from exhaust parachutes). The barrel is taken from an IZH-22 air gun .
This spirit weapon used the principle characteristic of all spring-compression pneumatic pistols: air was pushed out using a piston, which, in turn, was affected by a compressible-expandable spring.
The design of the “Baltiets” 77 differed from other wind pistols by the presence of a “reverse circuit” in it, which consisted in the fact that during the shot the bullet and piston moved in the opposite directions. As a result, using a piston with a diameter of 2 cm with a short stroke (6 cm), a bullet flying out of the barrel acquired a speed of up to 130 m / s.
Conclusion
Two gift models “Baltiets” No. 77 were assembled, one of which was intended for L. I. Brezhnev.
Work on the creation of the Baltiets combat pistols, begun in 1942, was soon discontinued. The planned production of fifteen units did not take place. When recounting the parts, it was revealed that they were enough to assemble only fourteen pistols. The application of repressive measures to plant employees did not change the current situation: only fourteen copies were collected, and serial production was canceled. One “Baltiets” received as a gift the deputy People’s Commissar of Arms N. Samarin. Weapon models with serial numbers 1, 2, and 5 belonged to Vice Admiral N.K. Smirnov. Today they are deposited by the Central Naval Museum. The fate of the remaining eleven units is unknown.
The Baltiets pistol remained an experienced weapon, which went to high ranks from a narrow circle of command.