OTs-33 Pernach
Encyclopedia
The OTs-33 Pernach is a Russian 9x18 Makarov machine pistol
, derived from the 5.45 mm
OTs-23 Drotik
machine pistol. The Pernach is an automatic pistol designed to replace the Stechkin APS
in various special OMON
units within the Russian police, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
(MVD) and other paramilitary units. The OTs-33 was developed in 1995 by Igor Stechkin at the TsKIB SOO design bureau, and it went into limited production at the KBP Instrument Design Bureau
. It is also known as the SBZ-02, derived from the names of the KBP team responsible for the pistol, namely Stechkin, Balster and Zinchenko.
The designers were tasked with resolving the difficulty of controlling recoil in full-auto mode present in the Stechkin APS
pistol and simplifying it for combat deployment. The new pistol has a "square" shape, which is much easier (and less expensive) to manufacture and has a novel operating principle that increases controllability and reduces recoil.
blowback-operated
weapon firing the 9x18mm Makarov pistol cartridge; it can use both types of 9x18mm ammunition, the standard 57-N-181S and the more powerful 57-N-181SM round. The blowback operation incorporates a feature that separates the slide and barrel as they move to the rear during recoil; there is no positive lock between the slide and barrel as in other conventional designs. As the slide and barrel separate, the spent case is ejected and the slide is then forced back to the barrel by a spring action, chambering a fresh cartridge in the process. The barrel and slide continue to the rear together in recoil for another 5 mm (0.196850393700787 in) before returning to the forward position. This feature improves the automatic fire accuracy, reduces felt recoil, and is responsible for slowing down the cyclic rate of fire, without using a sophisticated rate reducer mechanism such as the one employed in the APS pistol. This method of operation also allows the use of standard and higher power 9x18mm ammunition without using a locked breech action. To further reduce felt recoil and compensate for muzzle rise during firing, some propellant gases are diverted into a ported slide cavity that acts as a muzzle brake and compensator, deflecting the gases upward to stabilize the barrel.
The OTs-33 has a double action trigger mechanism and is hammer fired, with an exposed hammer. The safety/fire selection catch is provided on each side of the pistol at the rear of the slide and has three positions: "safe" (top setting with a single white dot), semi-automatic fire (intermediate position marked with a single red dot) and fully automatic mode (lower setting with three red dots). The safety/fire selection catch is provided on each side of the pistol at the rear of the slide. When the safety/selector lever is placed in the "safe" position, it safely decocks the hammer and then returns to the safe position. An ambidextrous lever is provide inside the trigger guard, in front of the trigger, and is used to disassemble the pistol for maintenance and cleaning. There Pernach also features a loaded chamber indicator.
The weapon is aimed using iron sight
s that consist of an adjustable rear notch and fixed forward blade. The sights have aiming inserts for improved visibility and target acquisition.
Due to the difficult recoil produced by the pistol's lightweight design and high rate of fire, aiming can be severely affected firing in fully automatic mode. This can be alleviated by the attachment of a folding metal shoulder stock screwed on to a location at the base of the pistol grip.
The OTs-33 is fed using double-column magazines with a capacity of 18 (standard) or 27 (optional) rounds. The OTs-33 frame has an integral accessory rail under the barrel for tactical lights or laser
pointers. The pistol can be equipped with a sound suppressor
. The OTs-33 is issued with leather holster that features two separate magazine pouches and a shoulder rig.
Machine pistol
A machine pistol is a handgun-style, often magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and normally chambered for pistol cartridges. The term is a literal translation of Maschinenpistole, the German term for a hand-held automatic weapon...
, derived from the 5.45 mm
5.45x18mm
5.45×18mm MPTs is a Russian pistol cartridge.It is chambered in the PSM pistol and OTs-23 Drotik machine pistol.It was designed in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s by Antonina D. Denisova at the Precision Mechanical Engineering Central Research Institute...
OTs-23 Drotik
OTs-23 DROTIK
The OTs-23 Drotik is a blow-back operated machine pistol developed and used in Russia. The weapon has a three-position select fire switch; safe, semi-automatic, and three-round burst...
machine pistol. The Pernach is an automatic pistol designed to replace the Stechkin APS
Stechkin APS
The Stechkin APS is a Russian selective fire machine pistol. It bears the name of its developer, Igor Stechkin.-Adoption:The Stechkin pistol was originally chambered for 7.62x25mm Tokarev...
in various special OMON
OMON
OMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
units within the Russian police, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
(MVD) and other paramilitary units. The OTs-33 was developed in 1995 by Igor Stechkin at the TsKIB SOO design bureau, and it went into limited production at the KBP Instrument Design Bureau
KBP Instrument Design Bureau
KBP Instrument Design Bureau is a Russian developer and manufacturer of high-precision weapons. It was established in 1927 in Tula, USSR. Arkady Shipunov has been the Designer General since 1962...
. It is also known as the SBZ-02, derived from the names of the KBP team responsible for the pistol, namely Stechkin, Balster and Zinchenko.
The designers were tasked with resolving the difficulty of controlling recoil in full-auto mode present in the Stechkin APS
Stechkin APS
The Stechkin APS is a Russian selective fire machine pistol. It bears the name of its developer, Igor Stechkin.-Adoption:The Stechkin pistol was originally chambered for 7.62x25mm Tokarev...
pistol and simplifying it for combat deployment. The new pistol has a "square" shape, which is much easier (and less expensive) to manufacture and has a novel operating principle that increases controllability and reduces recoil.
Design details
The OTs-33 is a selective fireSelective fire
A selective fire firearm has at least one semi–automatic and one automatic mode, which is activated by means of a selector which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective fire weapons utilize burst fire mechanisms to limit the maximum or total number of shots fired automatically in...
blowback-operated
Blowback (arms)
Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gases created by the ignition of the propellant charge....
weapon firing the 9x18mm Makarov pistol cartridge; it can use both types of 9x18mm ammunition, the standard 57-N-181S and the more powerful 57-N-181SM round. The blowback operation incorporates a feature that separates the slide and barrel as they move to the rear during recoil; there is no positive lock between the slide and barrel as in other conventional designs. As the slide and barrel separate, the spent case is ejected and the slide is then forced back to the barrel by a spring action, chambering a fresh cartridge in the process. The barrel and slide continue to the rear together in recoil for another 5 mm (0.196850393700787 in) before returning to the forward position. This feature improves the automatic fire accuracy, reduces felt recoil, and is responsible for slowing down the cyclic rate of fire, without using a sophisticated rate reducer mechanism such as the one employed in the APS pistol. This method of operation also allows the use of standard and higher power 9x18mm ammunition without using a locked breech action. To further reduce felt recoil and compensate for muzzle rise during firing, some propellant gases are diverted into a ported slide cavity that acts as a muzzle brake and compensator, deflecting the gases upward to stabilize the barrel.
The OTs-33 has a double action trigger mechanism and is hammer fired, with an exposed hammer. The safety/fire selection catch is provided on each side of the pistol at the rear of the slide and has three positions: "safe" (top setting with a single white dot), semi-automatic fire (intermediate position marked with a single red dot) and fully automatic mode (lower setting with three red dots). The safety/fire selection catch is provided on each side of the pistol at the rear of the slide. When the safety/selector lever is placed in the "safe" position, it safely decocks the hammer and then returns to the safe position. An ambidextrous lever is provide inside the trigger guard, in front of the trigger, and is used to disassemble the pistol for maintenance and cleaning. There Pernach also features a loaded chamber indicator.
The weapon is aimed using iron sight
Iron sight
Iron sights are a system of shaped alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm, crossbow, or telescope, and exclude the use of optics as in telescopic sights or reflector sights...
s that consist of an adjustable rear notch and fixed forward blade. The sights have aiming inserts for improved visibility and target acquisition.
Due to the difficult recoil produced by the pistol's lightweight design and high rate of fire, aiming can be severely affected firing in fully automatic mode. This can be alleviated by the attachment of a folding metal shoulder stock screwed on to a location at the base of the pistol grip.
The OTs-33 is fed using double-column magazines with a capacity of 18 (standard) or 27 (optional) rounds. The OTs-33 frame has an integral accessory rail under the barrel for tactical lights or laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
pointers. The pistol can be equipped with a sound suppressor
Suppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
. The OTs-33 is issued with leather holster that features two separate magazine pouches and a shoulder rig.