Inside the PP-19-01 "Vityaz" 9mm Kalashnikov SMG
Gun guru and MVD agent KardeN gets to play with all the best toys – this time, it’s the 9mm Kalashnikov-based submachine gun, the PP-19-01 “Vityaz”. Designed to handle high pressure 9x19mm Russian ammunition, the Vityaz is a more elegant weapon than its predecessor, the PP-19 “Bizon”. In KardeN’s photos below you can see the steel-cased and steel-cored 9x19mm 7N31 ammunition with polymer coated cases. This ammunition is extremely high pressure and powerful, flinging its 63gr armor-piercing bullet to nearly 2,000 ft/s, while the cartridges themselves are about a third lighter than standard 9x19mm ball rounds.
The chief difference between the two weapons lies in the magazine: The Bizon utilized a novel but troublesome helical magazine that doubled as a forend, while the Vityaz utilizes a more conventional stick magazine. This change from high capacity rotary magazine to standard capacity stick magazine echoes a similar change made decades earlier to the PPSh-41 submachine gun that served the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War on the Eastern Front of World War II. Russian engineers, like those worldwide, seek the holy grail of high capacity magazines, but so far it has eluded them.
Be sure to click through the link and take a look at all the pictures KardeN took of the PP-19-01 “Vityaz”, and all the other cool guns he’s photographed!
Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
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Excellent article and interesting technical discussion. The PP-19-01 is, for me, just about the perfect SMG, and is yet another truly compelling reason to repeal the NFA.Thank you for sharing this with us, Nathan. It's always great to hear from Max Popenker and Blake too.
So is this SMG called the "MP5ski" in some circles given its appearance and caliber, just like the Russian R-77 "Vympel" AA missile was named "AMRAAMski" in the west due to its similar capabilities to the AMRAAM AA missile?
And how exactly is the Vityaz "more elegant" than the Bizon? The Vityaz's magazines look more conventional and easier to put into and out of tactical vest pockets, but the Bizon can still use the same 9mm AP ammunition and can carry 53 rounds of 9x19mm, and the ones used by the Vityaz look like 30-round ones.