TP-82
The TP-82 (Russian: ТП-82) is an out-of-service triple-barrelled Soviet combination pistol carried by cosmonauts on space missions. It was intended as a survival aid to be used after landings and before recovery in the Siberian wilderness.
| TP-82 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Combination gun |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1986–2006 |
| Used by | Cosmonauts |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Igor Aleksandrovich Skrylev |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2.4 kg (with stock) |
| Cartridge | 5.45×39mm (below) and 12.5×70 shotgun shells (above) |
| Barrels | 3 |
| Effective firing range | 200 meters |
| Feed system | Break-open |
| Sights | Iron sights |
Features
The pistol can be used for hunting, to defend against predators and for visible and audible distress signals. The detachable buttstock is also a machete equipped with a canvas sheath.
The upper two shotgun barrels use special 12.5×70 mm ammunition (40 gauge), and the lower single rifled barrel uses 5.45×39mm ammunition developed for the AK-74 assault rifle. The TP-82 has a large lever on the left side of the receiver that opens the action, and a small grip safety under the trigger guard that resembles a secondary trigger. According to NASA astronauts, the gun is highly accurate.[1]
History
The TP-82 was the result of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov's concerns after being stranded in the Siberian wilderness when his Voskhod capsule malfunctioned. He feared that the 9 mm Makarov pistol that was provided in his survival kit would be ineffective against the Siberian wildlife, namely bears and wolves.[2]
TP-82s were carried regularly on Soviet and Russian space missions from 1986 to 2006.[3] They were part of the Soyuz Portable Emergency Survival Kit (Носимый аварийный запас, Nosimyi Avariynyi Zapas, NAZ).
In 2007, the media reported that the remaining ammunition for the TP-82 had become unusable and that a regular semi-automatic pistol would be used on future missions.[4]
References
- Oberg, James (2014-11-13). "How I Stopped Cosmonauts From Carrying Guns". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- Simpson, James (2015-02-03). "Soviet Cosmonauts Carried a Shotgun Into Space". War Is Boring. Archived from the original on 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
- Pike, Travis (2022, January 19). TP-82 cosmonaut survival pistol: Russia's Space Gun. Sandboxx. https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/tp-82-cosmonaut-survival-pistol-russias-space-gun/
- "TP-82: Russian space pistol / shotgun / carbine / flare gun no longer being carried into space". The Firearm Blog. 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
External links
- Russia has the corner on guns in space – MSNBC, Feb. 12, 2008
- TP-82 : Russian space pistol / shotgun / carbine / flare gun no longer being carried into space (with photos) – The Firearm Blog
- Soviet cosmonauts carried a shotgun into space
- The TOZ-81 'Mars' Gun Was The Soviet Union's Ultimate Space Revolver, including information on the TP-82