The PB (russian: Пистолет бесшумный , translit= Pistolet besshumnyy, lit= Pistol Silent, English: Silent Pistol;

GRAU The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...

index 6P9) is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

integrally suppressed

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single- chamber handgun (pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actu ...

developed and manufactured by the

Izhevsk Mechanical Plant Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (russian: Ижевский Механический Завод, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in Izhevsk in 1942 for manufacturing small arms. His ...

, based on the

Makarov pistol The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистоле́т Мака́рова, r=Pistolét Makárova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, i ...

; since the merger of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant and the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant to form the

Kalashnikov Concern JSC Kalashnikov Concern (), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (), is a Russian defense manufacturing concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia as well as the capital c ...

in 2013, the Kalashnikov Concern has continued to manufacture the PB. The weapon entered service in 1967.

Design and features

The PB uses an integral

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and muzzle rise when a gun (firearm or air gun) is discharged, ...

, which, unlike most similar systems, consists of two parts. This allows the pistol to be carried and kept concealed without the front section of the suppressor attached, and for the suppressor to be quickly deployed prior to use. The pistol may also be fired safely without the front section attached, which may be important in critical situations. When fired like this, the PB sounds similar to a regular Makarov pistol. The detached suppressor is carried in a special compartment of the

holster A handgun holster is a device used to hold or restrict the undesired movement of a handgun, most commonly in a location where it can be easily withdrawn for immediate use. Holsters are often attached to a belt or waistband, but they may be att ...

, which was designed especially for the PB. The PB's firing mechanism and design is based on that of the Makarov pistol. Because the front part of the

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

is covered by the suppressor, the slide is very short, such that it does not allow placing a return spring into it. For that reason, the spring is in the grip, and acts on the slide by means of a long lever. The

iron sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers (usually made of metallic material) used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons (such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow or even compound bow), or less commonl ...

are fixed. It uses standard 8-round magazines from the Makarov pistol.

Users

* – Used for executions *

Former users

* – Used by the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

, Ministry of Internal Affairs special units (

OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо� ...

) and

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishe ...

groups

References

{{reflist

External links

ПБ 6П9 (video, in Russian)

PB silenced - Modern Firearms

Guns of the Spetsnaz – 9mm PB silenced pistol
by Maxim Popenker Silenced firearms Semi-automatic pistols of the Soviet Union 9×18mm Makarov semi-automatic pistols

Design and features

Users

Former users

See also

References

External links