In 1997, there was a need to replace the outdated Makarov pistol, which at that time in Ukraine was in service with many law enforcement agencies. Despite its reliability and good working life, it required the use of new technologies and the creation of a more advanced pistol. In addition, the engineers were faced with the task of improving the accuracy and accuracy of fire, as well as increasing the magazine stock.
General information about Fort 12RM
By the end of the twentieth century, huge stocks of 9 mm RA charges were stored in military warehouses of Ukraine. That is why it was decided that the new weapon should “eat” just such ammunition.
Research and production worked on the Fort-12RM project. At the moment, the product of this organization is used in service with the security forces of Ukraine, not inferior in popularity to Makarov.
In 1998, by official government decree, the Fort-12 traumatic pistol, which was equipped with 9 mm RA cartridges, was adopted for service. The weapon store contained 15 charges. This weapon had the following characteristics: “a pistol for a wide range of tasks, which is equipped with both the police and the army.”
Today, the Fort-12RM, for which there is a large selection of holsters, is still produced, receiving small changes every year to “keep up with the times.” In general, the production process consumes a lot of resources, both natural and human, so the cost of its production is high. The pistol is entirely manufactured from high-strength weapon steel using high-precision modern equipment.
Review of the Fort 12 pistol
As already mentioned, the design of the Fort 12 injury rifle was based on the Czech CZ-83 pistol. At this time, the Fort 12 traumatic pistol is available in five design versions:
- Matt gray color with special phosphor coating;
- Chromium-plated;
- Nickel plated;
- With a combined finish;
- With artistic inlaid engraving.
Additionally, the pistol can be equipped with a silencer (“Fort 12 B”), a laser target indicator (“Fort 17”), a flashlight for illuminating the target and a holster. The Fort 12 holster has several options.
The Fort 12 assault rifle also has several modifications for various cartridges:
- “Fort 12 B” – for 9×18 mm PM caliber charges;
- “Fort 12 CURZ” – 9×17 mm K.
One of the variants of “Fort 12” - “Fort 12 R”, manufactured in 1999, which is also intended for arming Ukrainian police, has, unlike the main model, a smooth barrel and a service life of 50,000 rounds.
History of production development of Fort 12
The creators of the Fort-12R took some decisions on the structure of the pistol from the Czech CZ weapon. The first batches of this weapon were produced on old machines from the 70s and 80s, which remained on the territory of Ukraine after the collapse of the USSR. However, the manufacturer quickly realized that high quality could not be achieved with such equipment. That is why, until 2002, equipment along with barrels was delivered from the Czech Republic from the CZ company.
In 2002, Fort purchased its own modern equipment of Ukrainian and Czech production. The transition to innovative equipment has made it possible to significantly reduce the defect rate in pistols, which was high in the first years of production. Nowadays, fifth-generation CNC equipment is used, so the percentage of defects is a couple of fractions of a percent.
The use of accumulated experience in tandem with modern technologies has reduced all complaints from buyers of Fort-12RM weapons to just a few. In the first few years of production of the gun, there were many complaints about frequent breakdowns of the pistol and problems during shooting, which were caused by distortions of the cartridges. At the moment, all design flaws have been eliminated, the pistols have a minimum of defects, as evidenced by their high popularity.
To test each batch, Fort uses its own testing site, which is equipped with modern testing equipment, where unique weapons testing techniques are used.
Fort-12R design
The gun's automation is built according to the blowback recoil pattern familiar to all trauma lovers. The gun barrel is not fastened to the bolt, and the channel is locked during firing by the return spring and under the action of the mass of the bolt.
The automation operation diagram is as follows:
- When the firing process begins, the bolt is pushed through the bottom of the cartridge case with the help of powder gases, pushing it back, and the bullet, having left the case body, begins to move along the barrel;
- When the reverse movement begins, the shutter is pushed by the disconnector, as a result of which the trigger rod and sear are disconnected. The latter is pressed against the trigger by the combat protrusion;
- The trigger, due to the pressure on it from the bolt, engages the sear lug, and is then fixed in the cocked position;
- Continuing to move backward, the bolt, through the extractor, catches the spent cartridge case and, hitting the ejector, throws it through the bolt window;
- After this, the reverse movement of the bolt begins, which is ensured by the return spring. At this stage, the bolt catches a new cartridge and sends it into the chamber, after which the barrel bore is locked by the bolt mirror;
- Once in the extreme forward position, the bolt releases the disconnector, as a result of which all the load is removed from the trigger. After this, the sear and trigger rod are connected.
Fort-12RM, which is very convenient to carry in a holster, is equipped with a double-action trigger mechanism with an open hammer. This makes it possible to fire the first shot with the hammer cocked, which increases shooting accuracy. Subsequent shots are only possible with the hammer cocked. In general, the trigger is made based on the design of the popular Czech-made CZ-75 gun, so such a mechanism in a Ukrainian pistol is of excellent quality.
For the safety of the shooter, this gun uses a flag-type safety, the lever of which is located on the left side of the rear part of the bolt housing. Such a system protects the gun owner from an accidental shot in a trouser pocket or in a holster, as well as when falling to the ground.
Fort-12RM is a convenient weapon. Due to its size and shape, it is convenient to hold not only in one hand, but also in two, which improves the accuracy and accuracy of shooting. The main convenient element that makes shooting as comfortable as possible is the front part of the bracket with external corrugation. The handle was made at the factory to fit the average size of a person’s palm. This allows the Fort-12 traumatic pistol to be used by both people with small and large hands. During shooting, the recoil is practically not felt.
The barrel bore has high strength due to the technology used to manufacture it. Firstly, it is created using a unique barrel steel, which was developed specifically for the Fort-12RM. In addition, the channel has a hexagonal groove consisting of 6 grooves. High quality is confirmed by effective shooting, the performance of which is much higher than that of the Makarov.
Specifications:
- 9 mm PA cartridges are used;
- The length of the pistol is 180 millimeters;
- The barrel length is 95 millimeters;
- The height of the weapon is 131 millimeters;
- The width of the weapon is 32 millimeters;
- The weight of the unloaded pistol is 830 grams;
- The magazine capacity is 15 rounds.
It doesn't take much training to get used to this weapon. A person only needs to shoot 2-3 magazines to easily hit 8s and 9s on a target. A trained person is able to hit a target at impressive distances.
Good accuracy is also ensured by the gun's excellent sighting system. It consists of a wide front sight and rear sight, which have a rectangular shape. Reflective markings allow for good accuracy in low light or twilight conditions.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the Fort 12 injury
"Fort 12" is a fairly convenient weapon both in terms of use and in terms of carrying. It is comfortable to shoot with one or two hands thanks to the comfortably designed grip, modeled to accommodate people with different hand sizes. The shape and size of the injury make it easy to remove it from the holster, and the recoil when firing is almost not felt.
The tactical and technical characteristics of the Fort 12 make it a much higher quality weapon than the Makarov:
- The length, height and width of the weapon are 180x131x32 mm, respectively;
- The barrel is 180 mm long. Its channel has high strength, as it is made of special high-strength barrel steel and has a hexagonal groove (6 grooves), but is susceptible to corrosion due to poor processing;
- The mass of the injury without ammunition is 830 g. This is a rather heavy model, but its weight is further increased due to the fact that 12 to 15 charges can be placed in the magazine;
- The caliber of cartridges used, as mentioned above, is 9 mm RA and 9x18 mm PM, depending on the internal design of the barrel.
If we compare the tactical and technical characteristics of the Fort 12 with the characteristics of the Makarov pistol, then the Fort significantly outperforms the PM in ease of use, shooting accuracy, and accuracy of combat. This is facilitated by the design of the entire injury, taken from the Czech models CZ-75 and CZ-83.
The Fort 12 automatic system operates on the principle of recoil with a free shutter. The barrel of the rifle is not connected to the bolt and when firing, due to the pressure of the bolt mass, the return spring locks the channel.
The trigger, copied from the Czech CZ-75, is of quite high quality and allows you to fire the gun both when the trigger is spontaneous and when it is pre-cocked.
The safety lever is located on the left side behind the bolt casing, which makes the weapon safe when carried in pockets or when dropped.
The Fort 12 traumatic pistol magazine has advantages over the PM:
- Quick reloading of the magazine due to the fact that after the charges are used up, the bolt is held in the rearmost position. The magazine latch is also conveniently located - next to the trigger guard, which also increases the speed of changing the magazine;
- The magazine holds a large number of cartridges - up to 15 pieces.
The sighting system of the pistol is perfectly tuned and has a wide rectangular shape, which allows you to accurately aim when shooting. It is also equipped with round markers that glow in the dark and help you aim more accurately.
The weapon is also notable for the fact that it does not require long training. You can show good shooting results from the Fort 12 after shooting 2-3 magazines.
Conclusion
The Fort-12RM turned out to be an excellent traumatic weapon, which inherited the best qualities and characteristics from its combat ancestor. It can be safely used as the main weapon for reliable civilian self-defense. It has excellent power, good magazine capacity and high reliability, which provides a large supply of working life.
It is worth noting that Fort-12 is suitable not only for good self-defense, but it can also be used for recreational or sports shooting. However, we must not forget that, like any other traumatic weapon, this weapon requires regular cleaning of all its parts, especially those that bear the greatest load when firing.
Disadvantages of the Fort 12 traumatic pistol
It would be strange if weapons only had positive aspects. The Fort 12 injury is no exception. Although it must be said that there are quite a few shortcomings in this injury model.
The first thing to note is that effective shooting is reduced due to the weak cartridges used in this injury.
The high-mounted safety also reduces the ease of operation of the pistol. Another drawback is that the design does not provide for an automatic firing pin safety for the purpose of safely removing the trigger from the firing position.
It should be noted that when disassembling the pistol to separate the bolt from the frame, you must first press on the axis of the bolt stop lever with a ramrod, which complicates and makes disassembly inconvenient.
If we evaluate the combat qualities of the Fort 12, it is worth saying that models manufactured after 2002 are of much higher quality compared to earlier models. All errors in the design were taken into account and, I must say, successfully. It must be said that the 15 years that went into debugging the weapon were not in vain, and “Fort 12” can be considered an excellent example of a traumatic weapon intended for official use.
"Fort 12" can be used not only as a weapon for self-defense or as a service weapon, but also, thanks to its high quality and long working life, as a pistol for sport shooting.
