



PPS Submachine Gun

Country of Origin Russia Type Submachine Gun Caliber 7.620 mm Capacity 35 rounds Length 820.000 mm Barrel Length 243.000 mm Weight 3.040 kg Rate of Fire 600 rounds/min Range 150 m Muzzle Velocity 500 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbase

Sources:

Chris McNab, Soviet Submachine Guns of World War II

Wikipedia.

ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Jul 2008

Weapon designer A. I. Sudaev's PPS () submachine guns were introduced into service in 1942 (as PPS-42) as a response to a Soviet Army requirement for a lightweight weapon (3 kilograms or less) that was shorter in length and more accurate than the PPSh-41 submachine guns. The trials for the new weapon lasted from Feb 1942 to Jul 1942, at the end of which the PPS design defeated Georgy Shpagin's PPSh-2 which was an improved version of the proven PPSh-41. Among the key reason was that a PPS submachine gun required only 2.7 hours of machining using 6.2 kilograms of metal, the latter of which represented half of what a PPSh-41 weapon required. The technique of steel sheet stamping contributed to the efficient manufacturing. The initial design, designated PPS-42, was first manufactured at the Sestroryetsk Arsenal near Leningrad in northern Russia; these weapons were first available for units in the Leningrad area in Dec 1942. 46,572 PPS-42 weapons were made in 1943. In mid-1943, PPS-43 entered production. This new variant featured improved safety mechanism, reduced length, further-angled magazines for ease of reloading, and rubber (rather than wood) grips. PPS-43 was further simplified to further decrease manufacturing time. Between 1943 and 1946, about 2,000,000 PPS-43 weapons were built. Front line troops praised PPS-43 for the hinge (which was similar to PPSh-41) that allowed the weapons to be field-cleaned very easily.After WW2, PPS-43 submachine guns were license-built in Poland (PPs wz. 1943/1952), Communist China (Type 54), Finland (M44), Spain (Dux M51), and Germany (M53).

PPS Timeline

25 Feb 1942 The Soviets began trials for a new submachine gun to succeed the proven PPSh-41 design. 26 Apr 1942 The PPS submachine gun began to be tested. 12 May 1942 The PPS submachine gun's testing completed.

Photographs

Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Facebook

Reddit

Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB: RSS Feeds

Visitor Submitted Comments

Show older comments

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.