Simonov SPP-1

History

In the late 1960s, Soviet engineers worked on a new type of weapon for special forces in underwater operations. This became the Simonov SPP-1 "Underwater Pistol" introduced in 1971. The design of the SPP-1 fell to Vladimir Simonov, who also used his talents for the upcoming 1975 APS "Underwater Assault Rifle" (detailed elsewhere on this page) ). The cartridge is a joint design approach led by Oleg Kravchenko and Pyotr Sasonov.

This pistol is manufactured by TOZ / Tula Arms Plant, and this pistol may still be in service with Russian special forces today (2015).

The SPP-1 fires a custom 4.5x40mm R 5.7" long cartridge (essentially a small elongated dart that fits the nose of a standard Soviet 7.62x39mm case), starting with a unique arrangement, Start with four barrels (stacked into a 2x2 square). The reload incorporates a disconnect action system that exposes the barrel near the breech of the weapon. The four darts are clipped into a unit for easy reloading. The trigger is a double-action (DA) design, and a smoothbore barrel guides the projectile to at least the muzzle.

From there, it relies on hydrodynamics to keep the fired projectile on target - the effective underwater range is about 55 feet in 16 feet of water. As pressure in deep water changes, range and effectiveness reduction of the barrel does little to help range accuracy - effective range is about 50-60 feet with variable accuracy. Muzzle velocity is rated at 790 to 820 feet per second.

Nonetheless, this is a special forces weapon that needs to be fired under special conditions, and in this role it succeeds.

The weapon is not necessarily compact, measuring 9.6 inches long, 1.5 inches wide, and 5.4 inches high. It weighs about 36 ounces when loaded. The large trigger ring makes the weapon particularly bulky.

The introduction of the "SPP-1M" model made some improvements to the SPP-1 base design, namely the introduction of an additional spring for improved trigger pull and an enlarged trigger ring to make the weapon easier to remove from gloved hands.

Although SPP-1 originated in the 1960s, it was not publicly announced until the 1990s.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes