TOKAREV SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES. PART 1
Active work on selecting a new rifle for the Russian army began in the first decade of the 20th century. In 1908, a special commission was formed to develop an automatic rifle. The commission's task was to develop not only a rifle but also a new cartridge for it.
Testing of the submitted rifles was to take place in three stages. The initial stage was the "commission test," in which the designer had to fire 4,000 rounds from two submitted prototypes. After successfully completing this test, 10 prototypes were ordered for "range testing," with designated shooters firing the rifles without the designer's intervention. Only then were 100-150 rifles ordered for troop testing. Even in this first stage, the requirement was not simply to fire 4,000 rounds "in the right direction." The program was quite complex and included firing cartridges with both reduced and increased propellant loads, firing at high elevation angles, dust, and other "tortures" of what would later be called "shooting in difficult conditions."
Only Fedorov's rifle managed to complete (and withstand) all three stages of testing before the outbreak of World War I. Tokarev's prototype, however, successfully completed only the commission testing stage.
Interestingly, the very first version of Tokarev's design, presented in 1910, was recommended for the second stage. However, in 1912, Tokarev submitted not 10 rifles, but a single example of an improved system, simultaneously requesting to be released from the order for ten. However, the 1912 version did not perform very well and was returned to the designer for revision. Finally, in March 1913, F. Tokarev presented another rifle of his design. The following figures were obtained during testing: 1.31% delays during normal firing, 10.45% under difficult conditions, and 0.67% during manual firing. These results were quite respectable for those times, so the commission concluded that Tokarev's rifle deserved serious consideration and that an urgent order for 12 units was needed for the next stage.
Unfortunately, Tokarev never managed to produce them before the war began. Meanwhile, his rifle, which operated using a sliding barrel and rotating bolt locking, did indeed look quite interesting and promising. Unfortunately, Fyodor Vasilyevich was unable to continue his work. It was only in 1916 that Tokarev, a captain of the 29th Don Cossack Regiment, was recalled from the front to the Sestroretsk Arms Factory. On the other hand, his participation in combat operations gave Tokarev valuable experience in the specifics of the use and operation of small arms in a major war. While all of his previous designs were so-called "reworked" models based on the Mosin rifle, he later began designing carbines and rifles of his own design. As early as 1918, he developed an automatic carbine (referred to in contemporary documents as the "Tokarev assault rifle"). However, Tokarev continued to use a sliding barrel design, believing this design to be the most reliable both in difficult operating conditions and in terms of its omnivorous firepower with ammunition of varying quality.
Beginning in 1921, while working in Tula, Fyodor Vasilyevich designed several variants of automatic (self-loading) rifles and carbines. His main rival during this period was V. Degtyarev. For example, in 1928, rifles designed by these two designers passed a series of tests and were recommended for production of a pilot series for military trials. The Red Army Artillery Committee's decree stated:
"Place an order for the production of 10 self-loading rifles designed by the Kovrov Collective with gas operation and the Tokarev design with a movable barrel, and send them to the troops for testing."
The design was refined to produce an automatic rifle for the 1930 competition. In March, the Tokarev and Degtyarev rifles were sent for testing to the Vystrel rifle range and school. As noted in the documents:
"Based on the test results, the Tokarev system was the best, but since it did not meet the technical requirements approved by the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR for the weapons system, i.e., having a movable barrel, it did not allow for the firing of rifle grenades, Protocol No. 8 of April 28, 1930, of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR recorded the decision to order the industry to manufacture a pilot batch of 5,000 rifles." Degtyarev automatic rifles, subject to the development of an automatic trigger and 10- and 20-round magazines, development of the Tokarev system was discontinued."
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