Today we welcome back Max Popenker of ModernFirearms.net to discuss the Soviet and Russian development of the 9x39mm suppressed rifle cartridge. From the early unsuccessful and sidetracked efforts to replace the PBS suppressor through the AMB-17 currently in development by the Kalashnikov Concern, we will discuss the AS Val, VSS Vintorez, OTS-14 Groze, SR-3, SR-3M, VSK-94, and more!
Accessories
Dead Air PBS-1 Wolverine AK Suppressor
The Soviet Union produced and issued (on a quite limited basis) a suppressor for the AK platform, designated the PBS-1. It had a rather distinctive shape, and used a combination of baffles and wipes. Unfortunately, […]
Light MGs
Construction of Automatic Weapons
From our friend Hrachya, we have a very cool book for you today. Titled Construction of Automatic Weapons, it was printed in Russia in 1933, and consists of line drawings of all the major machine […]
Semiauto Rifles
SVT-40: The Soviet Standard Semiauto from WW2
The Red Army was interested in developing a semiautomatic rifle clear back to the mid 1920s, and they spent about 15 years running trials and development programs to find one. First in 1930 a Degtyarev […]
“(…)OTS-14 Groze(…)”
OTs-14 Groza. Meaning storm or thunderstorm; also phonetically similar to у гроза that is threat or danger or menace or hazard or risk.
If you want to know how did look that sub-sonic cartridge based on 5,45×39 see 1st image from top (click to enlarge): http://www.dogswar.ru/boepripasy/patrony/7702-promejytochnyi-patro.html
Vintorez means “thread-cutter” (machine which cuts threads [in barrel]), this named appeared in 1983, according to data in above link. Obfuscate names are nothing new in military-industry, but this one is far less imaginative, if I could say so, than 1950s British names – like for example GREEN CHEESE anti-shipping missile or PINK HAWK air-to-air missile https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Fireflash
There is a city named Grozny…
The city was named for a ninteenth century Russian fort. There was also a Czar, though his name is usually slightly mistranslated into English as “Ivan the terrible”; I gather from Russian speakers that it would be more correct to say “Ivan the fearsome”, or even “Ivan the redoubtable”.
Colin Wilson (The History of Murder) transliterates it as “Ivan Strozhny“, meaning “Ivan (John) the Awesome” or “the Awe-Inspiring“.
cheers
eon
And as for the Vintorez, maybe it is somehow actually related to Vintovka (rifle in russian) ?
Once again, namesake of Vintorez is machine, maybe photo will explain better:
example of Винторез: http://www.mashinite.com/offers/view/20820
Your link leads to BULGARIAN site, not Russian. Russian language have word “Vintorez” only as a slsng for “rifle”.
https://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/efremova/146874/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7
The link above is Bulgarian, but this person is wrong, and yes, it is a machine or an instrument used for rifling. The word “vintovka” was introduced in 1856 as the term for full-length firearms witch have rifled barrel and stock, but before that it was a slang term dating back as far as late XVIII century. Before 1856 rifles were called винтовальное ружьё (vintoval’noye ruzhyo, rifled gun) or shtutzer (from German Stutzen), and the military decided that the term “vintovka” would be easily understandable to average soldiers who were mainly coming from peasantry and lowest class city folk. On the other hand, smoothbore long guns were (and still are) called “ружьё”(ruzhyo).
As for names, Russian naming system has a bunch of long-standing traditions, in case of VSS, the rifle was probably called Vintorez both because words “vint” and “vintovka” are cognate and VSS itself was designed as a hard-hitting special-purpose weapon, a tool for a specialist which could cut through body armor.
As for other strange names:
-TKB-0027 “Bouquet” experimental submachine gun
-The “D” Device (Dyatel, woodpecker, a word that has some negative connotations in Russian language) noiseless grenade launcher
-GP-25 “Kostyor” (bonfire) underbarrel grenade launcher
-GP-30 “Obuvka” (footwear)
-OTs-21 “Malysh” (little one)
-RPG-22 “Netto” (net, like in net mass)
-Rubber bullet for the 23mm Volna-R cartridge goes by the name “Privet” (hello, or greetings)
The funniest ones are mainly police equipment like the PUS-1 “Argument” baton, “Gentleness” handcuffs and some bulletproof vests: “Poncho”, “Shield” (just a transliterated English word) and so on, but that’s a whole another topic
Is it just me or does Russia have an obsession with silently terrorizing people to death with its special forces? Just kidding!
They sensibly have the attitude of submariners.
As one of my college profs (CPO, diesel boats, PACFLT) put it, the squid philosophy is “ If you saw it coming, we did it wrong.”
cheers
eon
National interest https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-handguns-are-built-only-one-thing-tough-bloody-wars-23570 states that:
Russia’s Handguns Are Only Built for One Thing: Tough and Bloody Wars
I think you would be wrong, if you apply this to other kinds of fire-arms too.
Clearly, the are two mutually independent concepts how to achieve kill at a medium to extended range. One is of course with fast flying low drag bullet and other is with slower but mighty punch. Which one is better? It probably all depends on tactical situation.
The Russians mastered the latter, as it seems. And it started with KGB’s and security, not military’s request. Isn’t that funny?
It also seems to be a good way of borrowing development from a different department. “If better solution is found in roommate’s homework, and we are not explicitly instructed to do assignment solo, can we collaborate?”
Yes, you are correct. And it also shows that on background of complexity of internal events and developments, the U.S. and Russia are not that far apart. It is likely that similar is development in heavy weapons area.
Let’s just watch the current NGSW event. No one will loose. No worry, taxpayer foots the bill as always.