HISTORY:
** Featuring archive and present-day photography and specially commissioned artwork, this is the story of the pistols that armed the forces of the Soviet Union and its allies during and after World War Two. In 1930 the TT, a single-action semi-automatic pistol developed by Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev and firing the 7.62x25 millimeter ammunition, began to supplement the venerable Nagant M1895 revolver in Soviet military service. From 1933 the TT-33, a simplified version, was issued; all three handguns would equip Soviet and proxy forces for decades, seeing action across the globe. In the 1950s a new pistol designed by Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov entered Soviet service, serving alongside Igor Yakovlevich Stechkin’s APS machine pistol. The 9x18mm Makarov round was used in various weapons fielded by Soviet allies. Other specialized versions of the Makarov were developed, including the PB suppressed pistol and the 5.45x18mm PSM, a more compact variant. In this study, noted weaponry expert Leroy Thompson tells the story of the Tokarev, Makarov, Stechkin and other handguns in service with Soviet and other forces around the world, exploring the development, combat use and legacy of these formidable weapons**
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Osprey Publications has released Soviet Pistols - Tokarev, Makarov, Stechkin and others as Number 84 in the Weapon series. It is an 80-page soft cover book. Included with the text are black and white and color photographs, color illustrations, detailed captions, cutaway views and more. It has a 2022 copyright, a publication date of October 25, 2022, and the ISBN is 978-1-4728-5348-6.
THE CONTENTS:
- Introduction
- Development
- The evolution of Soviet handguns
- Use
- Soviet handguns in action
- Impact
- A global legacy
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
THE TEXT:
Author Leroy Thompson provides a well written text detailing the history of several Soviet handguns in use, from their development, production and introduction, throughout their trials and testing, improvements and on through to their issuance and use by the Soviet military and others. A few of the handguns detailed and discussed are the Nagant M1895 revolver, .25 ACP Korovin, Tokarev TT-30, Makarov PM, SSP-1 four-barreled underwater pistol and several others. Leroy Thompson provides an excellent description of the technical specifications of the weapons and accessories in an easy-to-read format which the detailed oriented reader will benefit from. Information about the weapons detailed include such things as manufacturers, numbers produced, types of materials used in manufacturing, years of production, calibers, type of action, number of rounds held, problems encountered and improvements made, and other such detailed information. I personally feel that Leroy Thompson has covered all areas and aspects of the weapons and left no area of the weapons undiscussed and detailed. The text in the book is nicely written and well detailed. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings. I feel that if the text is well written it shows that the author has taken the time to be professional with their writing. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference and history book on Soviet military handguns to their personal library will be pleased with this informative and interesting book.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 15 black and white photographs and 74 color photographs are included in this volume. The photographs are for the most part close-up detailed photographs that are clear and easily viewable. Several of the photographs are of just the weapons and accessories themselves as opposed to photographs that feature the weapons in a broad generalized military photograph that lack focus on the specific weapon and associated equipment, which in my opinion it makes it much easier to study the various weapons and their details. As well as showing the various weapons and their accessories, the photographs also provide excellent details such as the various uniforms being worn. The majority of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few of the black and white period photographs appear to be too dark, while others appear to be too light. This can be typical for the discussed period of history and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author and they do not take anything away from the book. Author Leroy Thompson stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be a wealth of information to anyone interested in historical Soviet pistols due to the details they contain.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are 5 color illustrations with detailed captions included by illustrators Johnny Shumate and Alan Gilliland. The illustrations are very well done, nicely detailed and are of:
Plate A
Rzhev, 1942
– A one-page color action illustration depicting a Soviet T-34 crewmember armed with a TT-33 pistol that has helped a fellow crewmember evacuate their knocked-out tank. Standing guard is a Soviet female partisan armed with a Nagant M1895 revolver.
Plate B
Angola, 1982
- A one-page color action illustration depicting two members of a downed Mi-8 helicopter engaging South African forces. One of the crewmembers is armed with a Makarov PM pistol and the other crewmember standing behind him is armed with a 5.45x39mm AKS-74U assault carbine.
Plate C
Beirut, 1985
– A two-page color action illustration depicting three Soviet KGB Alpha operators, dressed in civilian clothing, taking a hostage to a secure location. One of the KGB members is armed with a Makarov PB integrally suppressed pistol, a second KGB member is armed with a Makarov APB suppressed pistol with a wire stock while a third KGB member is armed with an unsuppressed Makarov APS pistol.
Cut-A-Way Illustrations
Plate A
The Tokarev Revealed
– A one-page color cut-a-away view showing the internal workings of the Soviet 7.62x25mm TT-33. Also provided is a key which details 19 specific items that are pointed out on the weapon.
Plate B
The Makarov Revealed
– A one-page color cut-a-away view showing the internal workings of the Soviet 9x18mm PM. Also provided is a key which details 15 specific items that are pointed out on the weapon.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in great detail eliminating any doubt as to what is shown. The captions go into very specific detail as to the specific weapons shown, manufacturers markings, specific individuals, military units, associated equipment carried and used, specific items of interest, dates and locations and other such pertinent information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Leroy Thompson’s captions will be helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are very brief and lacking in detail.
Osprey Publishing also offers Soviet Pistols - Tokarev, Makarov, Stechkin and others as:
Ebook (Epub & Mobi) ISBN: 978-1-4728-5347-9
and
Ebook (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-4728-5349-3
Osprey Publishing’s, Soviet Pistols - Tokarev, Makarov, Stechkin and others is also available as an electronic Kindle version through Amazon.com.
PRICE:
UK £14.99 / US $22.00 / CAN $29.00
This book was provided to me by Osprey Publishing. Please mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when you make your purchase. Thank you.