Bill's PPSh-41 Pages 
History of the PPSh-41
Two national catastrophes contributed to
the Soviet enthusiasm for submachine guns. The first was the Winter War with
Finland in 1939-1940 when the Finns used submachine guns with devastating
effect during close combat in the forests, and the second was the German
invasion of 1941 when the Russians lost in the retreats both huge quantities
of small arms and much of their engineering capability. 
There then arose an
urgent demand for a light and simple weapon capable of a high volume of
fire, and the answer to this was the PPSh-41, designed by Georgii Shpagin.
It was much cheaper and quicker to make than the preceeding models and was
finished roughly; the barrel was still chromed, however, and there was never
any doubt about the weapon's effectiveness. Stripping was simplicity itself,
as the receiver hinged open to reveal the bolt and spring. There was no
selector lever on some of the late models, when the gun was capable of only
automatic fire, and the magazine was the proved and tried 71 round Suomi
drum. The rate of fire was high, but a rudimentary compensator helped to
steady the climb of the muzzle. About 5 million PPSh guns had been made by
1945, and the Soviets adapted their infantry tactics to take full advantage
of such huge numbers: often complete units were armed with nothing else.
In Russia, the PPSh went out of service in the late 1950s, but it has been
supplied in enormous quantities to the satellite and pre-Communist
countries, so that it will still be seen for many years. It has been made in
various Communist countries, and in Iran, there are a multitude of variants.
At one time, the German Army converted a few captured guns to 9mm by
changing the barrel and magazine housing.
this is just to take space
Early in 1952, death ended the career of Georgii S. Shpagin. In little more than a decade, he had risen from relative obscurity to the status of chief designer of infantry arms. Designer of the famous PPSh-41 and redesigner of the D/Sh/K-1938, his position in the arms design field is permanently assured.
-web page design & updating by bill berg-
e-mail: