Until the development of the Tokarev automatic pistol, the side arm used in Russia was the revolver, either the 7.62 mm. Nagant or the Belgian Pieper of the same caliber. These pistols are practically alike. The last Belgian contract expired some time in 1898 or 1899 and manufacture of the Nagant began at Tula in 1900. The Belgian numbering series was continued through 1917, when manufacture was interrupted. When it was resumed in 1921 a new numbering series, starting with No. 1, was instituted; and this continued until about 1935 when a twoletter prefix numbering system was adopted and used until the Tokarev pistol superseded the revolver.

Eventually some 363,200 1922s were built between 1940 and 1945. The.32 ACP Model 1922 we are looking at here, having a serial number in the 20,000-23,000 range and a “WaA613” acceptance stamp. Adding the FN 1922 to their catalog, the pistol, offered in a 9+1 shot 7.65 Browning (that’s 32.ACP on this side of the pond) or a 8+1 shot 9mm Short (.380ACP), won additional contracts in.

The Tokarev pistol was developed in the 1920's by F. V. Tokarev, who had been an officer in the Russian army in World War I and later was employed in the Tula arsenal. The pistol was given the official nomenclature Tokarev 30, from the year of its production. The U.S. Army Model 1911 pistol was of course known in Russia, and it is likely that the developments taking place in France (by Petter at Cholet) and at Neuhausen in Switzerland were also known. It is of course not to their discredit that they took the best features of existing automatics and added to them features and simplifications of their own.

Fn Herstal Serial Numbers

The Tokarev pistol was built for practical service rather than for looks, which is not to say that it is clumsy or unwieldy in appearance. It does not have the beautiful, precise machining and the excellent finishes of the Swiss Neuhausen or the German Walther pistols. Its most outstanding features are its ruggedness, its certainty of action, and its simplicity of construction, which not only make it easy to assemble and disassemble but, most importantly, makes it cheap to produce in quantity. Obviously these are qualities most desirable in a military weapon.

Basically the pistol is a Colt (or Browning), but with many changes and simplifications. Some were made to add strength where it was needed, and others were made for purposes of simplification and economy. The grip safety and mechanical safety on the side were eliminated, the only safety being a half cock safety. The magazine holds 8 cartridges and is unique in construction in that it can be taken apart for repairs. Cartridges are guided into the chamber in a very positive manner not dependent on the lips of the magazine, which in this instance are quite flat. Cartridge jamming consequently is rare. In 1933 the original Mod. 30 was improved, the barrel-locking lugs being replaced with an integral circumferential band, which provided more strength. This also reduced cost as it permits lathe production. The original Mod. 30 had a separate „back strap' or rear frame edge which was replaced by an integral grip frame edge. Neither the original nor the 1933 modification had a grip safety, though photographs of the original model might give that impression. The new model had a slightly different disconnector arrangement. This changed model is often referred to as the Model 33 Tokarev, but it is not believed to be official nomenclature.

The year of manufacture is stamped on the left side of the frame, as is also the serial number, which seems to have started at No. 1 with the original model and continued with the newer version. The earlier pistols, in both versions, have serial numbers without prefix letters. Observed specimens dated as late as 1935 (No. 45,311, for example) do not have them, but it is believed that the two-letter prefix system was started at about that time. Sometime between 1943 and 1947 the pattern of serrations in the finger grips on the slide was changed. Earlier specimens have a pattern consisting of 7 wide and 7 narrow alternating serrations. This was changed to 24 narrow serrations of equal width.

The caliber of 7.62 mm. was no doubt selected because it was a traditional one for Russian arms. The Nagant and Pieper revolvers, machine guns, the infantry rifle and submachine guns used that caliber. Curiously, one of the principal artillery pieces has a caliber of 76.2 mm. The particular cartridge used is almost identical to and interchangeable with the German Mauser 7.63 mm. cartridge, thus simplifying the ammunition problem for whoever captured the other's ammunition dumps! Occasional failures to extract may occur. These can be eliminated by grinding off the inner surface of the extractor hook.

The Tokarev pistol is known to have been in production as late as 1954 and possibly later. While the original Mod. 30 was made only at the „Principal Arsenal' at Tula, the 1933 version was made at other arsenals or shops in Tula and in several other places. Some of these arsenals (or factories) used variant markings during World War II. Rather crude checkered wood grip pieces were used by some, though most of them used serrated black plastic grip pieces, bearing a circled star and the initials CCCP (equivalent to our USSR). One arsenal at Tula used checkered hard rubber grip pieces with a circled triangle containing an arrow with the letters CCCP outside the triangle.

Following World War II the Tokarev pistol has been made in other countries, the earliest of which may well have been China. There it was given the official nomenclature of Shiki 51 (i.e. Type 51). The first specimens contain parts made in Russia. It is not known definitely whether these pistols were assembled in Russia or in China. It is known, however, that equipment was supplied to China so that they were able to make their own pistols, and that they have done so since some time in 1952. One specimen, No. 19,696 (with no letter prefix), dated 1952 and having Chinese characters on the right side has been encountered. This pistol was definitely made in Russia, as it corresponds in all respects with the known Soviet-made pistols, with the exception of the number and Chinese marking. Serial numbering of the Type 51 evidently began with No. 1, with the pistols supplied from Russia, and at last report was well over 100,000 and probably actually much larger. The Chinese-made Tokarev is identical to those made in Russia, with the exception of the grip plates, the lack of prefix letters in the numbering, the arsenal marks (there appear to be two arsenals), and the Chinese characters on the right side.

The Tokarev was also manufactured, and still may be, at the Fabryka Bronn Radom in Radom, Poland. As manufactured there, it has the serrations (7 wide alternating with 7 narrow) used in the earlier Soviet-produced pistol, but otherwise it is the same as the early 1933 version made in Russia. The presence of the earlier serration pattern suggests that the Polish pistols were made on old tools and fixtures supplied from Russia.

The grip pieces are, naturally, different and they reflect the Radom VIS 35 influence. The left grip piece has a large triangular panel containing the letters FB (for Fabryka Bronn), the design being the same as the present on the VIS 35; the right grip piece also has a large triangle, but this contains the overlapping letters WP. The serial numbers appear to start at A-1, and letter prefixes as high as K have been observed. The number of digits in the serial number may run as high as five. If all of the letters from A to K were used (which, of course, is not a known fact) it would appear that a good many Tokarev pistols had been made in Poland. Imagej macro. Unlike the pistols made in Russia and in China, the year of manufacture is not stamped on the pistol.

A slight variant of the Polish-made Tokarev appeared in East Germany, probably made at Radom as it appears identical to the one known to be made there, the only apparent difference being in the use of plain, unmarked, serrated grip pieces.

The Tokarev has also appeared in Hungary, where it is known as the 48 Minta Piztoly (i.e., 48 Model Pistol). It may possibly have been made in Hungary, but it seems more likely that it was furnished from Russia. It is like the Russian-made pistol, except that the grip pieces bear the Hungarian Communist crest, consisting of a symbolized sheaf of wheat.

Since 1950 the Soviet small arms formerly used are being replaced. Two new pistols are now in use. These are the 9 mm. Stechkin (APS) which is of the selective fire type and is provided with a shoulder stock-holster similar to the one furnished by Mauser for their military pistol. The other new pistol is the Makarov (PM), a more compact arm than the Stechkin and having a Waltber-type double action and safety. There has been no opportunity to examine these pistols. It is interesting to note that the Soviets are moving toward larger-caliber pistols while the NATO countries are moving in the opposite direction.

Fn 1922 Pistol Serial Numbers A Prefix Means Unique

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