Type 54 pistol

The Type 54 (simplified Chinese: 54式手枪; traditional Chinese: 54式手槍)^[1] and its variants (Type 51, M20, TU-90 and Model 213 pistols) are Chinese copies of the Soviet type Tokarev TT-33.

Type 54
The export version of Type 54-1.
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	China
Service history
In service	1954–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Sino-Indian War Vietnam War Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 Laotian Civil War Cambodian Civil War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Rhodesian Bush War Sino-Vietnamese War Sri Lankan Civil War Kargil war
Production history
Designer	Norinco
Designed	1954
Manufacturer	Norinco
Produced	1954–present
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	890 g (31 oz)
Length	195 mm (7.7 in)
Barrel length	116 mm (4.6 in)
Height	134 mm (5.3 in)
Cartridge	7.62×25mm .38 Super 9×19mm Parabellum
Action	Short recoil actuated, locked breech, single action, semi-auto
Muzzle velocity	420 m/s (1,378 ft/s)
Effective firing range	50 m
Feed system	7 and 8 -round detachable box magazine, 14-round box magazine (213A/B)
Sights	Front blade, rear notch 156 mm (6.1 in) sight radius

Type 54 pistols are also known colloquially as "Black Star" pistols (Traditional Chinese:黑星手槍, Simplified Chinese: 黑星手枪)^[2] due to the five-pointed star engraved on its all-black grip panel.

Description

The Type 54 is the improved version of the Type 51 (Chinese copy of the TT-33) produced after the Korean War. The Type 51 was first adopted in 1951 and produced in Shenyang's Factory 66 using both Soviet and Chinese-made parts. In 1954, after approximately 250,000 pistols were manufactured, the designation was changed to Type 54 and the pistol used exclusively indigenous components. The Magazine will interchange, as will that of the Russian TT-33. This type of pistol is commonly available in 7.62×25mm caliber, although some variants have been made in 9×19mm Parabellum.

Though the QSZ-92 (Type 92) has supplemented the Type 54 in the Army, the weapon is still in service in some of the Chinese armed forces (such as the People's Armed Police and some People's Liberation Army troops) today.

The Vietnamese used the Type 54 during the Vietnam War, with the designation súng ngắn K-54^[3] (a Vietnamese translation from the Chinese 54式手枪 (type 54 hand gun), with K for Kiểu being type). Type 54 pistols were smuggled into Japan in a significant quantity, often for use by the Yakuza.

Variants

Norinco, the People's Liberation Army's state weapons manufacturer in China, still manufactures a commercial variant of the Tokarev pistol chambered in the more common 9×19mm Parabellum round, known as the Tokarev Model 213, as well as in the original 7.62×25mm caliber. It features a safety catch, which was absent on Soviet-produced TT-33 handguns. Furthermore, the Model 213 features the thin slide grip grooves, as opposed to the original Russian wide-types. The 9×19mm model is featured with a magazine well block mounted in the rear of the magazine well to accept 9×19mm-type magazines without frame modification.

The Norinco model in current production is not available for sale in the United States due to import prohibitions on Chinese firearms, although older handguns of the Model 213 type imported in the 1980s and 1990s are common.

The M20 was a version of the Type 54 made without factory markings to conceal the weapon's origins. Many of these were provided to North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War, which is also called K54. An updated version known as the K14-VN is made by Factory Z111, and has an increased capacity of 13 rounds, with a wider grip to incorporate a double stack magazine, which is based on the Tokarev Model 213. Research and development started in 2001. The K14-VN began to see service with PAVN forces on May 10, 2014.

The TU-90 (also known as the NP-10 or Model 213-B) is an improved Model 213 similar to the Hungarian-designed and manufactured, Egyptian contracted Tokagypt 58 of the 1950s. Construction is primarily of forged and machined steel, with a matte blued finish. The grips are of wrap-around rubber ribbed on the side.

Newer variants like the WQ213B54, 213-A and NT04, with a double stacked magazine, have been developed.

The industry name for the regular K54 and the K14-VN is known as SN7M and the SN7TD.

Operators

•  China^[4]
•  Iraq − Type 51 pistols used^[5]
•  Somaliland^[6]
•  Vietnam − Used by the PAVN and Viet Cong^[7]

Former operators

• Inkatha Freedom Party^[8]

References

1. "中国的54式手枪究竟有多厉害？罪犯听到64式鸣枪并不掩盖其气焰！". Sohu.
2. "黑星手槍前身 二戰時蘇聯紅軍的Tt手槍 - 軍事".
3. "Khám phá nguồn gốc của súng ngắn lừng danh K-54". 23 November 2014.
4. "Type 54 7.62 mm and Series 213 9 mm self-loading pistols (China)". Jane's Infantry Weapons. 2011-01-14. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
5. Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (1998). Iraq Country Handbook (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. A-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2005. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
6. Small Arms Survey (2012). "Between State and Non-state: Somaliland's Emerging Security Order". Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2012.
7. Thompson, Leroy (27 October 2022). Soviet Pistols: Tokarev, Makarov, Stechkin and others. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-1-4728-5349-3.
8. Luthuli, Daluxolo; Bopela, Thula (2005). Umkhonto We Siswe: Fighting for a Divided People. Alberton: Galago Publishing Company. pp. 60, 113. ISBN 978-1919854168.