The PPSh-41 () is a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgy Shpagin as a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. A common Russian nickname for the weapon is "papasha" (), meaning "daddy", and it was sometimes called the "burp gun" because of its high fire-rate.
The PPSh is a selective-fire submachine gun using an open bolt, blowback action. Made largely of stamped steel, it can be loaded with either a box or drum magazine and fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev pistol round.
The PPSh saw extensive combat use during World War II and the Korean War; in Eastern Bloc countries, monuments celebrating the actions of the Red Army commonly feature a PPSh-41. It became one of the major infantry weapons of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II, with about six million PPSh-41s manufactured in this period, making it the most-produced submachine gun of the war.
History
World War II
The impetus for the development of the PPSh came partly from the Winter War against Finland, where the Finnish Army employed the Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun as a highly effective tool for close-quarter fighting in forests and built-up urban areas. Its 71-round drum magazine was later copied and adopted by the Soviets for their PPD-40 and PPSh-41 submachine guns. The PPD-40 was subsequently rushed into mass production in 1940, but it was expensive to manufacture, both in terms of materials and labor, because it used numerous milled metal parts, particularly its receiver. Georgy Shpagin's main idea for cost reduction was to use metal stamping for the production of most parts. Shpagin created a prototype PPSh in September 1940, which also featured a simple gas compensator designed to prevent the muzzle from rising during bursts; this improved shot grouping by about 70% relative to the PPD.
The new weapon was produced in a network of factories in Moscow, with high-level local Party members made directly responsible for meeting production targets. A few hundred weapons were produced in November 1941 and another 155,000 were made during the next five months. By spring 1942, the PPSh factories were producing roughly 3,069 units a day. Soviet production figures for 1942 indicate that almost 1.5 million units were produced. Its parts (excluding the barrel) could be produced by a relatively unskilled workforce with simple equipment available in an auto repair garage or tin shop, freeing more skilled workers for other tasks. The PPSh-41 uses 87 components compared to 95 for the PPD-40 and the PPSh could be manufactured with an estimated 5.6 machining hours (later revised to 7.3 hours) compared with 13.7 hours for the PPD. Barrel production was often simplified by using barrels for the 7.62mm Mosin–Nagant: the rifle barrel was cut in half and two PPSh barrels were made from it after machining the chamber for the 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge.
After the German Army captured large numbers of the PPSh-41 during World War II, a program was instituted to convert the weapon to the standard German submachine gun cartridge – 9×19mm Parabellum. The Wehrmacht officially adopted the converted PPSh-41 as the "MP41(r)"; unconverted PPSh-41s were designated "MP717(r)" and supplied with 7.63×25mm Mauser ammunition. German-language manuals for the use of captured PPShs were printed and distributed in the Wehrmacht. In addition to barrel replacement, converted PPSh-41s also had a magazine adapter installed, allowing them to use MP 40 magazines. The less powerful 9mm round generally reduces the cyclic rate of fire from 800 to 750 RPM. Modern aftermarket conversion kits based on the original Wehrmacht one also exist using a variety of magazines, including Sten magazines.
As standard, each PPSh-41 came with two factory-fitted drum magazines that were matched to the weapon with marked serial numbers. If drum magazines were mixed and used with different serial numbered PPSh-41, a loose fitting could result in poor retention and failure to feed. Drum magazines were superseded by a simpler PPS-42 box-type magazine holding 35 rounds, although an improved drum magazine made from 1 mm thick steel was also introduced in 1944.
The PPS-43 was later introduced in Soviet service in 1943, which was even more basic in its design than the PPSh, and had a more moderate rate of fire, but it did not replace the PPSh-41 during the war.
The Soviet Union also experimented with the PPSh-41 in a close air support antipersonnel role, mounting 88 of the submachine guns in forward fuselage racks on the Tu-2Sh variant of the Tupolev Tu-2 bomber.