The Shpagin’s machine pistol was one of the most common types of firearms in the Red Army. Infantrymen, members of Guards units, paratroopers, as well as partisans, who fought in the territories captured by German troops, used it. A model of a machine pistol is kept in the collection of the Zimovniki Museum of Local History.
The Shpagin’s machine pistol was designed in 1940. The People’s Commissariat of Armament of the USSR commissioned gun designers to invent a weapon that would surpass the Degtyarev submachine gun used at that time in terms of operational characteristics. Moreover, the new gun was supposed to be easy to assemble. To increase the speed of production, it was to be produced at the factories that did not specialize in assembling firearms.
Soon, designers Boris Shpitalny and Georgy Shpagin presented the first experimental arms consignment to the People’s Commissariat, which overall consisted of 25 submachine guns. The new model was 84 centimeters long and weighed about 3.5 kilograms without cartridges. It was quick-firing and could make up to a thousand rounds per minute.
The samples were sent for field tests, for example, more than 30 thousand shots were fired from one of the submachine guns to check its durability. After that, the wear resistance of the material was tested: the weapon was not cleaned or lubricated for five thousand shots. In addition, submachine guns were artificially covered with dust to imitate field combat conditions. The Shpagin’s machine pistol successfully passed all the tests.
The new weapon was in service in the army until the mid-1960s, and then the Kalashnikov machine gun replaced it. Despite this, in some units and divisions, Shpagin’s machine pistols were used until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This type of weapon was supplied to military units in other countries. Soldiers with Shpagin’s machine pistols took part in most of the armed conflicts of the second half of the 20th century around the globe.
Nowadays, the Shpagin’s machine pistol is used in the paramilitary security forces of some CIS countries. It can also be purchased by civilians — for hunting or amateur shooting.
The Shpagin’s machine pistol was designed in 1940. The People’s Commissariat of Armament of the USSR commissioned gun designers to invent a weapon that would surpass the Degtyarev submachine gun used at that time in terms of operational characteristics. Moreover, the new gun was supposed to be easy to assemble. To increase the speed of production, it was to be produced at the factories that did not specialize in assembling firearms.
Soon, designers Boris Shpitalny and Georgy Shpagin presented the first experimental arms consignment to the People’s Commissariat, which overall consisted of 25 submachine guns. The new model was 84 centimeters long and weighed about 3.5 kilograms without cartridges. It was quick-firing and could make up to a thousand rounds per minute.
The samples were sent for field tests, for example, more than 30 thousand shots were fired from one of the submachine guns to check its durability. After that, the wear resistance of the material was tested: the weapon was not cleaned or lubricated for five thousand shots. In addition, submachine guns were artificially covered with dust to imitate field combat conditions. The Shpagin’s machine pistol successfully passed all the tests.
The new weapon was in service in the army until the mid-1960s, and then the Kalashnikov machine gun replaced it. Despite this, in some units and divisions, Shpagin’s machine pistols were used until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This type of weapon was supplied to military units in other countries. Soldiers with Shpagin’s machine pistols took part in most of the armed conflicts of the second half of the 20th century around the globe.
Nowadays, the Shpagin’s machine pistol is used in the paramilitary security forces of some CIS countries. It can also be purchased by civilians — for hunting or amateur shooting.
