Kasian
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From the famous Tula factory, best known for producing the Kalashnikov series of rifles, came TOZ-82. This was a triple-barrel space shotgun that was a regular fixture of Soviet and Russian space missions from 1982, issued as NAZ - Soyuz Portable Survival Kit.
Optimized from the start for cosmonaut use, the TP-82 looked like an oversized pistol, but was actually an innovative “convertible” shotgun — or, more accurately, a double-barrel shotgun mated to a short-barrel rifle. Of the three barrels, the upper two were smoothbore and chambered for 12.5x70mm ammunition. The lower, rifled barrel fired 5.45x39mm ammunition, the same round used in the then-Soviet standard AK-74 assault rifle.
pic,. 1, 2
TOZ-81 Mars
A rival to the TP-82 was the TOZ-81 — appropriately named Mars — a space revolver that didn’t make it into large-scale production. Similarly emerging from the small arms factory at Tula, it seems only one example of this weapon was ever completed for use in trials.
Exactly why the TOZ-81 revolver was rejected in favor of the TP-82 is unclear, but it might have been down to the additional complexity of the design, or perhaps the less-popular .410-bore chambering. The TOZ-81 featured a five-shot cylinder and the trigger mechanism was double-action-only.
Pic 3, 4, 5
Unusually, the cylinder was located above the grip, with the gun firing from the bottom chamber. In typical revolvers, the cylinder is further forward and the top chamber in the top position is the one that gets fired with every shot. A different configuration seems to have been selected for the Mars to reduce the overall length of the weapon (useful for space capsule stowage), lower the bore-axis, and to improve balance for accuracy.
The design of the TOZ-81 was actually conceived prior to the start of the physical design process; the weapon design was first sketched by Soviet firearms historian Alexander Zhuk. Zhuk named his original sketch design "Topor" (Russian: То********ор), meaning "ax". When TOZ formed a design team, Zhuk was invited to the team.
A plastic mockup was made to demonstrate and approve the design. One firing prototype, marked with serial number "00001" was developed for testing. This is the only model ever made, and the TP-82 was adopted over the TOZ-81. The prototype was transferred to the Tula State Museum of Weapons.
Optimized from the start for cosmonaut use, the TP-82 looked like an oversized pistol, but was actually an innovative “convertible” shotgun — or, more accurately, a double-barrel shotgun mated to a short-barrel rifle. Of the three barrels, the upper two were smoothbore and chambered for 12.5x70mm ammunition. The lower, rifled barrel fired 5.45x39mm ammunition, the same round used in the then-Soviet standard AK-74 assault rifle.
pic,. 1, 2
TOZ-81 Mars
A rival to the TP-82 was the TOZ-81 — appropriately named Mars — a space revolver that didn’t make it into large-scale production. Similarly emerging from the small arms factory at Tula, it seems only one example of this weapon was ever completed for use in trials.
Exactly why the TOZ-81 revolver was rejected in favor of the TP-82 is unclear, but it might have been down to the additional complexity of the design, or perhaps the less-popular .410-bore chambering. The TOZ-81 featured a five-shot cylinder and the trigger mechanism was double-action-only.
Pic 3, 4, 5
Unusually, the cylinder was located above the grip, with the gun firing from the bottom chamber. In typical revolvers, the cylinder is further forward and the top chamber in the top position is the one that gets fired with every shot. A different configuration seems to have been selected for the Mars to reduce the overall length of the weapon (useful for space capsule stowage), lower the bore-axis, and to improve balance for accuracy.
The design of the TOZ-81 was actually conceived prior to the start of the physical design process; the weapon design was first sketched by Soviet firearms historian Alexander Zhuk. Zhuk named his original sketch design "Topor" (Russian: То********ор), meaning "ax". When TOZ formed a design team, Zhuk was invited to the team.
A plastic mockup was made to demonstrate and approve the design. One firing prototype, marked with serial number "00001" was developed for testing. This is the only model ever made, and the TP-82 was adopted over the TOZ-81. The prototype was transferred to the Tula State Museum of Weapons.
