The astronaut is a profession, not without reason shrouded in a halo of romance and heroism. Perhaps there was no boy in the USSR who would not have dreamed of becoming one. The work of space workers is fraught with constant danger, and not only in space … The landing of a descent capsule is a poorly predictable business. People can be anywhere, and therefore they may need protection. In the USSR, a specialized protective equipment was created - TP-82.
What it is?
In the early 1980s, a special pistol was created in the Union for self-defense of astronauts. The weapon had three barrels, based on a non-automatic scheme. The new gun was called TP-82. He became part of the SONAZ rescue complex. In appearance, the weapon looks very much like a hybrid of a shotgun with AK shotgun: on top there are two smooth 32-caliber (hunting) barrels, and on the bottom there is a 5.45 caliber barrel.
Background
The legendary Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov first proposed the creation of such weapons. In 1979, he specifically for this purpose visited the Tula Arms Plant. He told gunsmiths about the incident that happened in 1965: then the descent vehicle of the Voskhod-2 ship landed in an unplanned place. More precisely, in the dense forests of the Perm Territory. The astronauts were searched for almost two days, during which people had a hard time.
In the forests of those there are many predators who would clearly be not averse to tasting fresh astronauts. The situation was absurd in that the latter would have absolutely nothing to defend in the event of an attack. Leonov noted that if the astronauts had at least some specialized weapons that could fight off animals, they would feel much calmer. Already in 1981, the position of the man who first went into outer space found widespread official support. In 1982, TP-82 was officially included in the rescue kit of all space expeditions.
The main purpose of weapons
It should be noted that this gun is not only space. It is intended, inter alia, for arming long-range aviation crews that could be in the wild as a result of an unplanned emergency landing. The TP-82 model can be used for defense against predators, unfriendly people, criminal elements, as well as for hunting. Using the same pistol, it is possible to supply light and sound distress signals in case of landing in a poorly populated, empty area.
Weapons were being created in Tula. For the first time the pistol went into space with the crew of the Soyuz T-6 in 1982. Four years later, he was officially included in the equipment of long-range aviation crews. The release was completed in 1987. There is information that the TP-82 pistol was used by Russian astronauts until 2007. By the end of this period, the shelf life of ammunition that had been manufactured in the Union simply ended. Resume their production considered inappropriate.
Key Specifications
As we said, this weapon is a three-barrel non-automatic pistol. The two upper barrels are designed for a more or less ordinary 32nd caliber, while the lower barrel is charged with a special 5.45x40 mm cartridge. Recall that Kalashnikov assault rifles use 5.45x39 mm ammunition. For sighting of the lower barrel, a special sighting device is used, the strength of which is regulated by three bolts.
The evacuation of spent cartridges from the 32nd caliber takes place using an ordinary extractor. To throw out the fired cartridge case 5.45x39, you need to press the special button of the spring extractor, which is located at the bottom of the weapon. Thus, the TP-82 pistol is quite simple, and therefore, when dealing with it, the astronauts, who were mostly military pilots, had no problems.
To reload, the weapon should be broken like a hunting rifle. On the left above the pistol grip there is a latch that holds the entire structure. To break the TP-82 space gun, it is shifted to the left. The hammer mechanism of the hammer type, has no self-cocking. In general, its design is extremely simple, but there are some important features.
Triggers and sights
The peculiarity of the trigger mechanism is that the right trigger is responsible only for the right smooth barrel, while the left one can be switched between the left and lower trunks at any time. Under the trigger guard there is a safety button that locks the trigger. The sights TP-82 space gun has the simplest: mechanical, open type. This is done to even in the most difficult conditions to minimize the probability of shooting down shooting.
Taking advantage of Tokarev’s experience, experts provided for the use of a stock holster. This simple device allows you to significantly increase accuracy. The holster is attached to the bottom of the pistol grip. But this is not the main secret. The fact is that inside the holster, in special hard scabbards, was … a real machete, only of a relatively small size. Moreover, it was recommended to fire precisely when it was inside the holster, since in this case the butt received the necessary stiffness. In a word, the gun of astronauts TP-82 is a very unusual and extremely versatile weapon.
Ammo Characteristics
Its peculiarity is also that for firing it was supposed to use cartridges specially developed in TsNIITOCHMASH. Led the creation of new and unusual ammunition P.F. Sazonov. In total, three types of cartridges were developed. The first is the standard SP-D shotgun, to create which they used the usual hunting 32 caliber. The cartridge 12.5x70 mm is completely similar in its lethal action to the ammunition used in hunting rifles with a barrel length of about 700 mm.
The second variety, SP-P, is a signal. A simple hunting cartridge was also used as its base. Actually, in terms of its structure, it is a special light-smoke bomb with a long burning time.
Finally, the bullet cartridge SP-P. For its equipment, a half-shell bullet of 5.45 mm caliber, compressed in a 40 mm sleeve, is used. The core was made of hardened tool steel, a small hole was drilled in the bullet nose to increase the expansive action. According to the test results, wounds from such ammunition were several times more dangerous than from a standard machine gun cartridge.
About effective firing range
It was reported that when using a bullet cartridge, the effective firing range could reach about 200 meters, in the case of using a fraction, this value was reduced to 40 meters. The ammunition included exactly 40 rounds: ten SP-D and SP-S each. All the rest are bullet. Ammunition fit in a special canvas pouch. The main difference between all these cartridges from their military and hunting prototypes was their maximum reliability, which remained even in conditions of low pressure, high and low temperatures, and humidity.
Hunting use
Throughout the entire period of state testing, the TP-82 pistol, the photo of which you can see in the article, was intensively used as a hunting weapon. It was found that with its help almost all categories of small game, as well as birds, can be obtained without special work, in which TP has proved itself to be especially good in shooting. A rifled trunk could be used in the extraction of wild boars, goats, gazelles and even moose, provided that the weight of the animal reached no more than 200 kilograms.
The testers were so impressed with the capabilities of the weapon that the latter received the apt nickname "poacher's dream." It was reported (unofficially) that using conventional 32-caliber hunting cartridges with an increased weight of gunpowder and coarse shots, it was easy to get an elk weighing significantly more than two centners.
Overall use efficiency
The signal cartridge turned out to be very good. The sound and noise flash that arose during its use gave significant chances that people could be noticed by search squads. In a word, TP-82 is a weapon that could be a great help for astronauts who find themselves in a remote taiga. Even the machete, which was "hiding" in a holster, proved to be excellent.
Alexander German, who served as the head of the training of astronauts for survival, said that in two days (the standard duration of the training), his charges using this blade cut down several cubic meters of wood. So a machete could be useful even when building a temporary house!
What is the TP-82’s overall impression? The astronaut’s weapons look very solid and solid, they are made with high quality. All side parts, such as holster, pouch and machete, have the lowest possible weight. Weapon controls are made according to ergonomic schemes, even a person who has undergone minimal training can easily and simply control them. Fuses ensure complete safety of handling even with loaded weapons, completely eliminating the possibility of firing a random shot. The gunsmiths really liked the soft descent, the stickiness of the handle and the balanced balance of the gun.
There is no strict need to attach a stock for firing, so if necessary it was possible to proceed to defense immediately, without wasting extra time on preparation. It was reported that without a holster it was desirable to fire exclusively with shots at short distances.
Termination of release
Finally, the three-barrel pistol of astronauts TP-82 was put into service in 1986. Soviet cosmonauts always armed themselves with them, including during joint training and missions with Americans and Europeans. The release of weapons was discontinued in the late 80s. The official reason is the accumulation of a sufficient number of pistols. The Tula people themselves say that during the collapse of the state, the Kremlin authorities simply did not want to finance a “stupid” project.
The exact number of collected pistols is still unknown. It is assumed that the volume of output is unlikely to exceed 30-110 units (which is clearly very small). If you want to see this rare pistol with your own eyes, you can visit the artillery museum in St. Petersburg, the cosmonautics museum in Moscow, or go to Tula.
