PP-91 “Kedr” & PP-9 “Klin” submachine guns

August 16, 2008

Early in the 1990s the Interior Ministry desiring to procure the weapon that would have filled the niche between the PM pistol and the shortened AKS-74U assault rifle issued an order to develop small submachine guns. Managers of the weapon design bureau in their turn addressed an appeal to experimental submachine guns developed in the framework of the project «Büket» (on the order of the Defence Ministry) in the early 1970s. Among other developed weapons there were two versions devel¬oped by Evgeny Dragunov, namely, the PP-91 designed «Kedr» and «Klin».
Senior son of Evgeny F. Dragunov, M.E. Dragunov was responsible for updating and finishing these versions at the Mechanical Plant («lzhmech»). The Zlataust Machine-Building Plant (ZMZ) launched the versions in production.

These submachine guns are devel¬oped according to modular design. They are blowback operated. The «Kedr» is chambered for the 9×18 PM cartridge and the «Klin» is chambered for the 9×18 PMM cartridge respectively. Like in the PMM pistol there are in the «Kedr» sub¬machine gun helical grooves in its cham¬ber wall that retard unlocking. Operating handle is arranged to the left, thereby making the weapon for immediate use.
The firing mechanism is of a hammer type with a «slant» of the hammer and a shot from a locked bolt. To the right under a trigger guard is arranged the thumb safety-selector which determines the modes of single fire (middle position) and automatic mode of fire (upper posi¬tion). In the position «safety-lock» the thumb safety locks the trigger and the bolt, meanwhile the thumb safety «looks out» inside the trigger guard. The firing mechanism is assembled in a separate housing that is inserted inside the receiv¬er in the manner it is done in the TT pis¬tol, consequently all this facilitates breaking and assembling the weapon.
The submachine gun features a plas¬tic pistol grip and a light folded in a for¬ward-upper position stock. Sighting aids comprise of an adjusted front sight with a guard and a L-shape rear sight with a notch on one arm and a rear peep (diopter) on the other. When the stock is folded, the rear sight turns in a way to deliver fire through an open sight and when unfolded through a dioptric sight (rear peep) that provides for more pre¬cise aiming. Cartridges are fed from metallic box magazines with a checker-board cartridge arrangement. An open¬ing to insert the magazine enhances reli¬ability of cartridge feeding system and also servers for convenience of holding the submachine gun with the second hand. A button shaped magazine latch and a bolt stop releasing the bolt after insertion of the loaded magazine enhance the speed of reloading. During firing single shots standard cartridges
from the «Klin» submachine gun with unfolded stock with the proper rest against targets at a range of 25 meters bullets hit a circle within of a radius of 68 mm and in automatic mode of fire the radius of the hit will be within 300 mm.

Specifications ……………PP-91 Kedr ……. PP-9 Klin …………. Kedr-B
Caliber, mm …………………..9 ………………….. 9 ………………….. 9
Cartridge …………………..9×18 PM ………. 9×18 PMM, PM …..9×18 PM
Weight w/o cartridges, ..1.54 ……………….. 1.54 ……………….. 2.1
Weapon length, mm:
w/unlolded stock …………………..539 ……………….539 …………..671*
wAdded stock …………………….305 ……………….305 ……………443
Barrel length, mm …………………… 120 ………………. 120 …………… 120
Rate ot fire, rds/min………………..800-850 ………… 1,030-1,200 …………800-850
Bullet muzzle velocity, m/sec……………..310 ……… 425 PMM/310 PM ……………310
Effective rate of fire, rds/min………..up to 40/100 ……………..40/100 ………….40/100
Sighting range, m …………………….50 ………………. 150 …………….50
Magazine capacity, cartridges ………..20 and 30 …………… 20 and 30 ………..20 and 30
• - with P8S (silenser)