Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in

Izhevsk Izhevsk or Ijevsk (, ; , or ) is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city in Russia, and the most populous in Udmurtia, with over 600,000 ...

in 1942 for manufacturing

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

. In 2013, it merged with

Izhmash 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 capita ...

to form

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

History

It was one of the primary factories producing

Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, Bolt action, bolt-action, Magazine (firearms), internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891, in Russia and the former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle (, ISO 9: ) and inform ...

and

SVT-40 The SVT-40 () is a Soviet semi-automatic battle rifle that saw widespread service during and after World War II. It was intended to be the new service rifle of the Soviet Red Army, but its production was disrupted by the German invasion in 19 ...

rifles during World War II for standard issue to Soviet troops. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it continued producing firearms, both for military (

Makarov pistol The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистолет Макарова, r=Pistolet Makarova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it beca ...

s) and hunting applications, and later high-tech weapons and civilian machinery. In 1948, the plant began production of Margolin pistols. In 1956, the plant began production of

IZh-56 The IZh-56 «Belka» (ИЖ-56 « Белка») is a Soviet double-barreled combination gun. History IZh-56 was designed in 1956 and it was based on IZhK model. Since 1961, a new varnish with improved characteristics has been used to protect t ...

combination gun A combination gun is a firearm that usually comprises at least one rifled barrel and one smoothbore barrel, that is typically used with shot or some type of shotgun slug. Most have been break-action guns, although there have been other design ...

s. Since 1960, Izhmekh supplied hunting shotguns for export under the trademark "

Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Republic of Buryatia to the southeast. At —slightly larger tha ...

". The first model that began to sell for export was IZh-54 In 1973 plant began production of

PSM pistol The PSM (''Pistolet Samozaryadny Malogabaritny'', Russian for "compact self-loading pistol") was designed by the Tula Design Bureau in 1969 as a self-defense firearm for law enforcement and military officers of the USSR. The pistol entered prod ...

, in 1978 - IZh-35 pistols. In 1982, the plant produced a small number of double barreled shotguns, such as the IZh-41. In 1980s plant began production of IZh-38 and IZh-40

air gun An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contr ...

s, since 1989 - IZh-46

air pistol An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

s. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

the range of civilian products was greatly expanded, but firearms were still its major production. In 1993, Izhmekh began production of the IZh-76 gas pistol (the first model of gas pistol made in Russian Federation), IZh-81 and

IZh-94 The IZh-94 (also known as MP-94) is a Russian double-barreled shotgun. History IZh-94 was designed in 1992 as a successor to the IZh-27. In September 2008, all Izhevsk Mechanical Plant firearms were renamed and IZh-94 got the name MP-94 (Mec ...

shotguns. In 2002, Izhmekh began the production MP-461 pistols, and in 2004 the production of

Makarych The "Makarych" () is a family of Russian non-lethal gas pistols with the ability to fire ammunition with rubber bullets. Design It was developed jointly by the ZAO TSSZ "Kolchuga" and FGUP Izhevsk Mechanical Plant and is based on the Soviet M ...

pistols. In January 2004, a contract was signed between the

Remington Arms Remington Arms Company, LLC, was an American firearms manufacturer, manufacturer of firearms and ammunition. It was formerly owned by the Remington Outdoor Company, which went bankrupt in 2020 with its lines of business sold to several purchase ...

company and the plant; Baikal firearms were bought by Remington and would be sold in USA with different names ( IZh-18MN were sold as Remington SPR 18,

were sold as the Remington SPR94,

IZh-18 The IZh-18 (ИЖ-18) is a single-shot, break-action shotgun. History IZh-18 was designed in 1962-1963 as a successor to the IZhK, since 1964 began its serial production.Отечественные ружья // журнал «Охота и о� ...

were sold as the

Remington Spartan 100 The Remington Spartan 100 is a single-shot, break-action shotgun. It is a variant of a classical Russian IZh-18 shotgun manufactured by Izhevsk Mechanical Plant for export under trademark "Baikal", in Izhevsk, Russia. It was marketed and distri ...

, IZh-43-1S were sold as the Remington Spartan 210, IZh-43 were sold as the Remington Spartan 220,

IZh-27 The MP-27 (МП-27) is a double-barreled shotgun. Multiple-barrel firearms History IZh-27 was designed in the early 1970s as a successor to the IZh-12."''Двуствольное охотничье внутрикурковое ружьё 12 � ...

were sold as the

Remington Spartan 310 The Remington Spartan 310 is a double-barreled shotgun. It is an "over and under" gun, with one barrel above the other. There are several different models, each of them chambered in various gauges. The Spartan 310 is marketed and distributed by ...

and MP-153 were sold as the Remington Spartan 453). In 2008, Izhmekh made 9mm pistols, such as the

MP-443 Grach The MP-443 ''Grach'' () or "PYa", for "''Pistolet Yarygina'' ("Yarygin Pistol"), following traditional Russian naming procedure (), is a Russian 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Development The development was headed by the designer . It was devel ...

and the

MP-446 Viking The MP-446 Viking is an Hammerless, internal hammer firing 9×19mm Parabellum, 9mm Semi-automatic pistol, semi-automatic handgun originating from Russia. Design The MP-446 Viking was created by the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant as the civilian ver ...

, as well as

gas pistol A gas pistol is a non-lethal weapon, non-lethal weapon used for self-defense and other purposes. It is typically a close-to-exact replica or conversion of a traditional handgun made to be able to fire Blank (cartridge), blanks or tear gas cartri ...

signal pistol A flare gun, also known as a Very pistol or signal pistol, is a large-bore handgun that discharges flares, Blank (cartridge), blanks and Smoke grenade, smoke. The flare gun is typically used to produce a distress signal. Types The most commo ...

s, rifles and several models of smoothbore hunting shotguns. In 2010, Izhmekh began production of MP-353 pistols. On August 13, 2013, Izhmash and Izhevsk Mechanical Plant were merged and formally renamed

References

{{Reflist

Literature

* Н. А. Мокшин. Во имя Победы. 2-е изд. Ижевск, 1975.

External links

Air Rifle Scope
Firearm manufacturers of Russia Manufacturing companies established in 1942 Companies based in Izhevsk Kalashnikov Concern 1942 establishments in the Soviet Union Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2013 2013 mergers and acquisitions 2013 disestablishments in Russia