Gurevich silent revolver(Бесшумный револьвер Гуревича)

[Shangri-La]

In 1944, Gurevich developed a new double-action revolver based on the Nagant revolver, using a 7.62mm caliber bullet with a capacity of 5 rounds.

But what makes it different is that it is a silenced revolver

In fact, this pistol is not equipped with a silencer, but through the treatment of ammunition to achieve the purpose of silence.
Actually,at the beginning of WW2,Soviet designers have developed silent ammunition, but because the technology is not mature enough, the effect of silent bullets is not very ideal.But Gurevich skillfully solved this problem by filling the piston and the warhead with liquid.

AMMUNITION


Due to the problem of weapon firing failures caused by low temperatures in some parts of the Soviet Union, Gurevich added some alcohol to the water to reduce the condensation temperature, and this problem was solved.
So the liquid in this bullet also became the wine of the soldiers, which also foreshadowed the dark future of this revolver.
Although the bullet has been improved, the killing distance is still limited (30~40 meters), and most importantly, the revolver will emit the smell of alcohol after shooting, which is undoubtedly a fatal weakness for a special-purpose firearm.
Therefore, the military did not eventually adopt this plan.

The story of Gurevich's silent revolver is over.

 

[Ravinoff]

Captive-piston is one the Russians have used a lot for "special purpose" silent guns over the years. Using a liquid to drive the piston is a new one to me, though. So would the alcohol/water mixture be expelled when fired, or stay in the spent case? And it's a bit strange to work up something this weird when the M1895 Nagant was already one of the few revolvers that could effectively be suppressed.

And as for the alcohol part...I mean, if it works, it works. See also the Tupolev Tu-22 "Supersonic Booze Carrier".

 

[riggerrob]

How tight was the cylinder fitted to the aft end of the barrel?
That cylinder-to-barrel gap is a common "leakage" point in revolvers.
The gap leaks high-pressure combustion gases and interferes with the whole "silenced" concept.

 

[Nik]

That...
That gives a whole new dimension to 'Water Pistol'...

Tangential, I'm reminded that when sharks became too nosy around Cousteau's SCUBA guys, crew 'repurposed' those 'Bang Sticks' devised for the Resistance...

 

[TomS]

How tight was the cylinder fitted to the aft end of the barrel?
That cylinder-to-barrel gap is a common "leakage" point in revolvers.
The gap leaks high-pressure combustion gases and interferes with the whole "silenced" concept.

That's the trick with these -- no gas leaves the cartridge case, so there's no leakage through the cylinder gap.

The US did something similar a couple of times, most famously the Quiet Special-Purpose Revolver used in Vietnam.

 

[iverson]

How tight was the cylinder fitted to the aft end of the barrel?
That cylinder-to-barrel gap is a common "leakage" point in revolvers.
The gap leaks high-pressure combustion gases and interferes with the whole "silenced" concept.

The Nagant could be silenced because the cartridge case extended past the nose of the bullet and the mechanism pushed the cylinder forward, sealing the gap.

 

[publiusr]

The alcohol smell is (hic) perfect…my sh-sterno soaked raincoat…is perfect cover…there’s a cover here? How dry I am..how dry I am…nobody knows….

[pthup]

“What was that?”

I just broke a little wind…

“Drunkle Ted? That doesn’t look like your old service revolver.”

I just got it in a taffy-puller is all…