RSh-12 - assault revolver (photo)

Revolver RSH-12. Background of creation

According to many experts, the pistol is the most powerful combat revolver in the world, which uses a large-caliber cartridge from a sniper rifle.

The origin of the weapon occurred in the 2000s in Tula, where the Exhaust rifle was designed at that time. After all, several decades ago, the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs used the same weapons as the army. For example, if the army’s main combat hand weapon was the AKM, then the special forces also owned the AKM (SL). These machines used the same type of cartridges - 7.62x39 mm.

In the late 80s - early 90s, special forces switched to the 9x39 mm live cartridge and, naturally, to new weapons - the VSS Vintorez and AS Val, and after some time - to the SR-3 Vikhr.

With love from the Russian Federation: the most powerful revolver “Elephant Boy” RSh-12

Russia has always been famous for its craftsmen - gunsmiths. This applies to both complex military equipment and small arms. Tula is rightfully considered the capital of gunsmiths.

All types of civilian, hunting and military weapons are produced here. In 2010, an assault rifle (ASh-12) was developed at the Tula arms factory. The weapon was intended for special forces (the main intelligence department of the Ministry of Defense) of the GRU MO and the FSB of the Russian Federation. After all, the specific nature of the work of these units requires appropriate weapons. It must be powerful and reliable.

The beginning was made, as already described above, with the large-caliber automatic rifle ASh-12.7, the basis for which was the already existing Vykhlop rifle. It was designed for close combat in urban environments. At the same time, several types of cartridges for it were developed.

But for obvious reasons, running around city streets with a machine gun is not always convenient for special forces. And so engineers thought about creating lighter weapons chambered for a cartridge of a similar caliber.

In the early 2000s, development of a large-caliber pistol chambered for the 12.7 mm cartridge began. The new weapon was already considered a pistol - RSh-12. It is rightfully considered one of the heaviest and most massive in the world. Of course, a pistol that fires cartridges from a large-caliber rifle.

Structurally, the weapon is made in the form of a revolver with a drum magazine for five rounds and is called RSh-12 (assault revolver).

Even the most common American Magnum 357 and German Parabellum have a caliber of 9 mm. But foreigners just nervously smoke on the sidelines compared to the RSh-12.

Several types of cartridges were created specifically for the ASh-12 and RSh-12:

1. PS -12A had the lightest bullet and was intended for shooting in the city. It had lethal force at short distances up to 100 meters. And then it lost all its power;

2. PD-12: similar in characteristics to PS-12, but its difference is that two bullets are inserted into the cartridge case. When fired, both flew out simultaneously, which made it possible to increase the compactness of the fire;

3. PS-12: cartridge with a heavy bullet. Its penetrating power is connected with this. The purpose of this cartridge is to penetrate body armor. But even if the protective equipment turns out to be durable, a person in a bulletproof vest simply cannot withstand the force of the blow;

4. PS-12B is an armor-piercing bullet, which is designed to penetrate body armor of the 6th protection class and higher. After such a bullet hits a person, he does not have the slightest chance of survival;

5. And the last sniper cartridge is STs-130. It is mainly used for shooting from the Exhaust rifle and allows precise shooting from a distance of 200 - 300 meters.

With such a powerful weapon, the question arises: what is the recoil of the pistol at the moment of firing and how was it compensated for? But there is no answer, since the weapon is classified. Here you can only rely on the conclusions of experts who came to the conclusion that the weapon designers placed the barrel in the lower part, and not the upper. Thanks to the departure from the traditional upper barrel arrangement, it was possible to slightly reduce the recoil when fired.

According to the same experts, the RSh-12 is rightfully considered the best large-caliber pistol in the world. The length of the pistol is 35.7 cm. In the under-barrel part of the weapon there is a bar for attaching a tactical flashlight. It is possible to install an additional handle, which allows you to hold the gun more steadily with both hands. For targeted shooting, there is a similar rail on the top of the barrel, onto which an optical sight can be mounted.

Vasily Prokhorov

Ammunition for pistol

To understand how much power the described weapon has, you should plunge into the history of the creation of its cartridge. For example, let's take the United States, where revolvers using the .357 Magnum are very famous. This cartridge is approximately equal in size to 9x33 mm. It is much more powerful than the 9x19 mm Parabellum and has a stronger stopping effect and penetrating energy.

Such pistols are used by some armies of NATO countries. Americans also love the .44 Magnum, which corresponds to the 10.9x33 mm caliber. This is an even more powerful cartridge, surpassing even the famous Colt ammunition in its parameters.

Such revolvers with powerful cartridges can be found among the common population and among some American officers who bought them themselves. All this ammunition for pistols and even the 12.7x33 mm caliber cartridge pales in comparison to our 12.7x55 mm sample, which is 1.5 times more powerful than all those described. It was precisely for this cartridge that the RSh-12 pistol (revolver) was developed.

For those who love large calibers. RSH-12!

Probably only lazy people haven’t written about this revolver. And if you still don’t know about it, we’ll fix it now. In general, there is very little open information on this revolver, as well as high-quality photos. As a result, we are forced to be content with 3-dimensional layouts, where there are inaccuracies.

So, RSh-12, Sturmovoy Revolver. A highly effective assault weapon for close combat, providing extremely high stopping power at short distances in a confined space (storming premises, etc.), while reducing the likelihood of hitting third parties due to the rapid drop in bullet energy with increasing range.

And now attention, TA-DAAM, the cartridge used! Caliber 12.7mm - like a large-caliber sniper rifle! A special cartridge is used, and not just one, but a whole range for different combat conditions. The cartridges are loaded with several types of bullets: light, heavy, armor-piercing, and there is also a two-bullet version with a tandem arrangement of bullets.

The muzzle velocity of such a bullet obviously significantly exceeds the speed of sound, but the combination of a low bullet mass with a large caliber leads to the fact that such a bullet quickly loses speed and energy with increasing range. Most likely, the effective firing range of such a bullet will not exceed 50-100 meters, but at short ranges such a bullet will have a very high stopping effect. A heavy bullet most likely has a subsonic speed, which makes it possible to effectively use such cartridges in combination with a removable silencer to ensure stealth use of weapons.

To ensure a small recoil shoulder, and, as a result, reduce barrel toss, the RSh-12 revolver fires not from the upper chamber of the drum, but from the lower chamber. Notice in the pictures and photos how low the barrel is relative to the sights.

It is interesting that, judging by the photo, the designers provided two options for reloading the drum: either tilting it to the side, or opening the revolver body and tilting the barrel down:

And here are the known characteristics:

Most likely, the RSh-12 revolver is equipped with a set of 3 accessories: * removable folding stock; * removable under-barrel handle (most likely from ASh-12); * tactical silencer (most likely from ASh-12).

The revolver looks modern thanks to Picatinny-type rail interface systems above and below the barrel, for installing all kinds of sights, flashlights, laser sights and other devices

Based on materials from the site https://topwar.ru/

Variety of revolver cartridges

Several types of ammunition were created for the RSh-12 and the ASh-12 assault rifle:

1. PS-12A is a very light bullet. This type of cartridge is intended for shooting in a metropolis with civilian inhabitants. After all, such a bullet transfers all its force to the enemy in short areas, often leading to the loss of limbs. However, already at a distance of more than 100 meters it loses its power and is not capable of harming a random passerby.

2. The revolver, a photo of which we see in the article, is also equipped with a PD-12 cartridge, which has the same characteristics as the PS-12A, but has two bullets located in the cartridge case one behind the other. Thus, when firing at the enemy, not one, but two bullets fly at the same time, which increases the compactness of the fire. At the same time, they also lose their destructive power after 100 meters.

3. PS-12 with a heavy bullet. The design of the cartridge is similar to the Magnum, only even more powerful. It has excellent stopping parameters and penetrating power. Its task is to hit body armor, and the force of the blow is such that even if the bullet does not penetrate the armor, its owner may not survive such a hit.

4. Assault revolver 12 is equipped with a PS-12B cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet. Thus, all of the ammunition described above is intended for firing at unarmored targets. Their task is to hit the target and throw it back as far as possible.

The PS-12B, having an armor-piercing bullet, not only has a stopping effect, but can penetrate protection of the 6th class and higher, leaving no chance to any enemy dressed in common models of body armor.

5. The STs-130 sniper cartridge, which is also the main ammunition in the Vykhlop rifle, allows accurate shooting at a distance of up to 200-300 meters.

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I can’t call this material a review, much less an article, since there is very little information on this product: no matter how much I searched, the same description and only a few photographs were everywhere. Here's the first one:

Photo No. 1. Taken from the “war diary of Igor Korotchenko.”

A large revolver lies on the table. Next to it is a printout of the performance characteristics of the RSh-12 product. In the upper left corner of the sheet with performance characteristics you can see the logo of the Tula KBP.

Based on the description of the RSh-12, I had more questions than answers. I will try to describe in my own words the product from photo No. 1 in as much detail as possible, then for comparison I will post photos No. 2 and No. 3 with my comments. And I will ask you, dear readers, to supplement my description with your observations and thoughts, and we will call this publication a survey. From a technical point of view, the RSh-12 revolver complex is a revolver with a solid metal frame and a 5-round drum that flips to the left. I believe that the drum lever (axis boss) RSh-12 has two degrees of freedom.

Mounting unit of the drum to the frame of the RSh-12 revolver.

The first degree of freedom makes it possible to tilt the revolver drum to the side. This is enough to remove cartridges or casings. I think that its capabilities can be used in this way: I threw the drum to the side, raised the weapon with the barrel up - and the cartridges themselves spilled out of the drum. The second degree of freedom makes it possible to load the weapon in the “barrel forward” position, but at the same time the drum chambers are directed downward. He tilted the drum to the left, then it should be turned away from you so that the chambers are positioned vertically, and then the revolver should be loaded with cartridges in a “top to bottom” motion. This solution allowed the developers to combine two fundamentally different schemes for loading and extracting cartridges: 1) opening (“breaking”) the revolver body and tilting the barrel down; 2) tilting the drum to the side.

Two methods for simultaneous extraction of cartridges: opening the case and tilting the drum.

The revolver has a hammer-type trigger with an open trigger arrangement. Like many revolvers chambered for powerful cartridges (Colt Python 6”, Taurus Raging Bull, S&W 929, Mateba Model 6 Unica), the RSh-12 revolver has a reinforced barrel casing, which is equipped with ventilation holes. Picatinny-type rail interface systems are provided above and below the barrel for installing all kinds of sights, flashlights, laser sights, etc.

Close-up of the RSh-12 revolver barrel with ventilation holes. Please note: the barrel is located at the level of the lower chamber.

To ensure a small recoil shoulder and, as a result, reduce barrel toss, the RSh-12 revolver fires not from the upper chamber of the drum, but from the lower one. This solution was used by I. Ya. Stechkin when creating the OTs-38 revolver. From the lower chamber, shooting is carried out in such revolvers as the Rhino AEK-96, Chiappa Rhino 60, Chiappa Rhino 200DS, Mateba Model 6 Unica. The drum release button is located on the left side of the frame, above the handle and behind the drum. If this is really a drum lock button, then the safety is located either on the right side (which I strongly doubt), or it is automatic (I also doubt), or it is not there at all (all the signs are obvious). Remember the design of the TT pistol: it does not have a safety as a separate part, its functions are performed by the safety cocking of the hammer. Maybe something similar is implemented in this revolver. I didn’t notice any signs of an automatic fuse...

Close-up of the cylinder lock button, trigger and rear sight on the RSh-12 revolver. Pay attention to the serial number stamped on the frame, under the drum: 100001. Either one hundred thousand, or the first.

Sights include a front sight and rear sight. Perhaps the rear sight is combinable: an adjustable diopter sight and a fixed sight with a V-shaped slot. It is impossible to determine for sure the type of trigger mechanism from the photograph, although I believe that it should have a double action. It is also impossible to determine how the problem of obturation (the breakthrough of powder gases into the gap between the breech end of the barrel and the front end of the drum) was solved. I doubt that the Pieper scheme, which has proven itself so well in the Nagan system revolver, was used: the shape of the cartridges does not allow it. In the Colt Python, for example, before firing, the chamber is tightly fitted onto the barrel cone, which reduces the leakage of powder gases and helps to increase shooting accuracy and bullet ejection speed. The principle of loading a revolver is unknown: - a quick-release drum, like the “Udar” revolver of the Klimov TsNIITochmash (which is unlikely: if the drum axis really has two degrees of freedom, the assembly turns out to be too complex and unreliable); — cassettes (clips) of the “Speed Loader” type, like the “Udar” revolver of the Tula KBP; - or the old fashioned way: manually, one cartridge at a time. I think that the extraction of cartridges in the RSh-12 revolver occurs simultaneously: using an extractor, and loading - using clips. The R-92 revolver uses just such a scheme: due to the fact that pistol cartridges do not have a protruding rim, flat steel clips are used to speed up loading and simplify unloading, combining all 5 cartridges into one block.

Ammo cassette next to the R-92 revolver

The head of the drum axis rod in the RSh-12 revolver close-up

The handle of the RSh-12 is plastic. Judging by the photo, it passed the strength test. It would not hurt to make its surface corrugated. There are some rectangular holes at the base of the handle. Apparently, thanks to them, the butt is attached to the revolver.

Close-up of the handle of the RSh-12 revolver. Note the holes at the base of the handle. Perhaps the stock fasteners are inserted into them: there seems to be nowhere else

Judging by the inscriptions on the “price tag,” the RSh-12 revolver is equipped with a set of 3 accessories: * removable folding stock; * removable under-barrel handle (most likely from ASh-12); * tactical silencer (most likely from ASh-12).

Performance characteristics of the RSh-12 revolver

The ASh-12 assault rifle in the hands of chief designer Viktor Zelenko. ASh-12 is equipped with a tactical (under-barrel) grip. Perhaps this particular handle was supposed to be equipped with the RSh-12 assault revolver.

ASH-12 assault rifle with a tactical silencer. Perhaps it was they who were supposed to equip the RSh-12 assault revolver

I think the list of accessories could be expanded. The following would be useful: * Holster. * Single-point tactical belt. * The compensator is removable (like S&W 929). * Biped (it was supposed to use the STs-130 sniper cartridge). * Markers (markers) on the sight on the front and rear sights (facilitate quick detection of targets in the daytime and in low light conditions up to complete darkness). * Collimator. * Laser laser: can be removable, or built into the handle of the revolver. * Tactical flashlight. * Bandolier for cartridge clips like this:

Here's a great thing from The North Mountain: Speed Loader Holder

“What was it created for?” - you ask. Apparently, for arming special forces, as a highly effective assault weapon for close combat, providing a high stopping effect at short distances in a limited space (storming premises, etc.), while reducing the likelihood of hitting third parties due to the rapid drop in bullet energy with increasing range. For this machine gun, the KBP developed a number of cartridges with different types of bullets, providing high tactical flexibility when using the RSh-12 assault revolver in various conditions. The basis of the rifle complex, which includes the large-caliber assault revolver RSh-12, is a family of special 12.7 mm caliber cartridges developed at TsKIB SOO. The new cartridge is based on a cylindrical sleeve 55 mm long from the subsonic sniper cartridge 12.7x55 STs-130, created at the same TsKIB SOO for the VSSK Vykhlop silent sniper rifle. Cartridges for an assault rifle are loaded with several types of bullets: light, heavy, armor-piercing, and there is also a two-bullet version with a tandem arrangement of bullets.

PS-12B Automatic cartridge 12.7x55 mm with armor-piercing bullet

PD-12 Automatic cartridge 12.7x55 mm two-bullet

PS-12A Automatic cartridge 12.7x55 mm with a light bullet

PS-12 Automatic cartridge 12.7x55 mm with a heavy bullet

12.7x55 cartridge case (right) compared with .499 LWR, .50 Bushmaster and 7.62x39 cartridges Photo of cartridges: Ilya Kedrov, National Defense magazine

The ballistic characteristics of the cartridges for the RSh-12 revolver have not been published, but it has become known that the light bullet has a hollow aluminum core exposed in the nose, a bimetallic shell and a mass of about 7 grams. The muzzle velocity of such a bullet obviously significantly exceeds the speed of sound, but the combination of a low bullet mass with a large caliber leads to the fact that such a bullet quickly loses speed and energy with increasing range. Most likely, the effective firing range of such a bullet will not exceed 50-100 meters, but at short ranges such a bullet will have a very high stopping effect. A heavy bullet most likely has a subsonic speed, which makes it possible to effectively use such cartridges in combination with a removable silencer to ensure stealth use of weapons.

Photo No. 2 (taken from “Oruzheyka”)

The photo shows a respectable man holding a large revolver in his hand. In the background, another man is looking closely at an ASh-12 assault rifle. In terms of dimensions, the revolver is close to the RSh-12, but a closer comparison of enlarged images reveals significant differences.

Pay attention to some details. * Barrel. The ventilation holes of the barrel casing in the second photo are much larger in size, and there are 3 of them, not 4, as in the first photo. In the second photo, the revolver barrel is equipped with a muzzle attachment (DTK). ** Drum. In the first photo the shape of the drum is rectangular, made in the form of a bar, and in the second photo it is round, in the form of a cylinder. They decided to equip the round drum from the second photo with fullers (longitudinal grooves). As far as I understand, they serve to lighten the design and make it more convenient to rotate the drum: after all, different ammunition can be used in one drum, and it is possible to select them according to the situation. *** Whole. The second photo shows a simple rear sight. **** Trigger. In the second photo the trigger looks smaller. Here is an additional photo of the same massive revolver from the second photo, but from a different angle.

Photo No. 3

Most likely, in these photos we are observing the evolution of the RSh-12 assault revolver. The team of developers of the ASh-12 assault rifle and the RSh-12 revolver consisted of the following specialists: Viktor Zelenko, chief designer of TsKIB SOO for small arms and cannon weapons, V.V. Zlobin, V.V. Kazakova, A. Yu. Karetnikova, R. V. Rusanova. In 2006, the same team for the development of the VKS (Exhaust) complex was awarded the title of laureate of the Tula Region Prize in the field of science and technology named after B.S. Stechkina. In 2009, for the work “12.7-mm sniper complex VKS”, he received a diploma of the laureate of the Prize named after. S.I. Mosin received: V.V. Zlobin, P.V. Akatov, V.D. Gavrishov, V.V. Kazakova, S.V. Trukhachev.

Some of the laureates

Performance characteristics of the RSh-12 assault revolver

Background Usually the background is located at the beginning of the article, but I decided to place it in the “basement”, since it turned out to be quite voluminous. And whoever is curious about where the legs of the RSh-12 and ASh-12 come from and where it all began, let him read on. And it all started with the creation of a new ammunition in accordance with the tactical and technical specifications “Development of a 12.7 mm sniper complex with a low unmasking effect” under the code “Exhaust”. In 2001, the designers of the branch of OJSC KBP - TsKIB SOO began to carry out this task. According to the TTZ, the complex was supposed to consist of a sniper rifle, optical sights (day and night) and two cartridges: a sniper with increased accuracy and a sniper with high penetration. The following took part in the creation of a technical proposal for ammunition and a sniper rifle: G. A. Korobov, B. A. Borzov, L. V. Bondarev, A. B. Adov, Yu. P. Platonov, V. V. Zlobin. The Scientific and Technical Council approved two rifle design options for the technical project: lead designer A. B. Adov and lead designer V. V. Zlobin. V.V. Zlobin’s version remained in further development, since he proposed a more promising rifle cartridge, which allowed the creation of other types of small arms. Soon a fairly wide range of cartridges with special action bullets of the STs-130 series was developed.

Large-caliber sniper cartridges STs-130 PT, STs-139 PT2, STs-130 VPS, STs-130 PU

Later, an assault rifle (ASh-12) and a revolver (RSh-12) were developed. For them, their own range of cartridges was developed based on the STs-130 cartridge case, including a cartridge with light, heavy, armor-piercing bullets, and a two-bullet cartridge. In 2011, TsKIB SOO presented the MTs-558 hunting carbine, designed for the civilian version of the 12.7x55 mm caliber cartridge.

Hunting carbine MTs-558 (civilian version of the “Exhaust”)

In the same year, the ASH-12 assault rifle was adopted by the FSB of the Russian Federation. I was unable to obtain any official information about the further fate of the RSh-12 assault revolver. I read somewhere that the RSh-12 revolver was adopted by the FSB of the Russian Federation, but there is no such information on the official website of the developer. I only found a mention on the website of the parent company (KBP): “Based on the design of the VKS rifle, a 7.62-mm high-precision sniper rifle VSV and a 12.7-mm assault rifle ASh were developed, adopted by the FSB of the Russian Federation.” Maybe the RSh-12 revolver will “grow” into a revolver gun, because this is exactly the fate of the Klimov OTs-20 “Gnome” revolver: on the basis of this large-caliber revolver, revolver-type guns are produced for both military and civilian purposes.

MC 255-12 assault revolver rifle with a folding stock for law enforcement officers chambered for 12/70 and 12/76 cartridges.

Revolving shotguns MC 255-12, MC 255-20 and MC 255-.410 for commercial and amateur hunting in 12, 20 and .410 calibers.

That's all the information on the RSh-12 assault rifle that I managed to find and comprehend. What do you think? Was I right about anything? Is the pistol good? Do you need one? Write and share information! Thank you for your attention! Sources: https://i-korotchenko.livejournal.com https://world.guns.ru https://oruzheika.mybb.ru https://www.yaplakal.com https://popgun.ru https:/ /sniper-weapon.ru https://www.kalibr.ru

Appearance of the pistol

This best revolver in the world has very large shapes. It is about 35.7 cm long. Under the barrel there is a Picatinny rail, on which a laser laser and tactical flashlights are mounted, and a tactical handle can also be mounted to hold the weapon. The same rail is installed above the barrel, most likely for optical sights.

According to some reports, the revolver's magazine consists of a quick-change drum with five rounds.

Design

RSh-12 is designed according to the classic revolver design with an open trigger. Outwardly it looks quite impressive and makes one think of sci-fi action films. The drum holds five rounds. You can equip it by tilting it to the left or by breaking the revolver body to gain access to the chambers.

This is achieved thanks to two degrees of freedom of the drum axis. The shot comes from the lower chamber. Thanks to this, recoil and barrel bounce when firing are reduced, which is very important with such a powerful cartridge. Double action trigger. The reel lock button is conveniently located under the shooter's thumb.

The barrel is rifled with six right-hand rifling and has a reinforced casing with slots for ventilation, increasing the strength of the weapon. Picatinny rails are located at the top and bottom, allowing the installation of additional equipment - a laser pointer, optical sight or flashlight.

The revolver is also equipped with a removable silencer, a tactical grip and a removable butt.

Using a pistol

Thus, this weapon is too heavy and powerful to be used as a secondary weapon. The revolver, reviews of many military experts especially emphasize this, is mainly created for use as the main weapon during the storming of buildings. Its external parameters, no matter how large they are, are still smaller than a carbine or shotgun, but the cartridges are much more powerful, allowing you not to notice walls or body armor when shooting. In addition, the pistol can be equipped with a silencer or butt.

Unfortunately, there is no complete information about this weapon, as it is classified. There is an assumption that the pistol has already entered service with the FSB and GRU special forces.

Additional Information

The revolver, a photo of which we can see in the description, is used during the assault on buildings in close quarters. His bullet, even if it cannot penetrate a high-class body armor, will throw the enemy’s body with severe injury three meters in the opposite direction, which is a plus for close contact, since even a seriously wounded enemy nearby will try to do you harm.

Another advantage of this weapon is that its bullets do not ricochet off a wall or any other surface. Thanks to this, shooting from it is safe for the shooter, unlike the operation of a Kalash.

This revolver pistol is great for knocking out door locks.

Some advantages of weapons

In addition to the main advantages of the pistol, the following advantages of this weapon can be cited:

— RSh-12 is an assault revolver, which is very convenient to use in tight quarters and in hand-to-hand combat, which compares favorably with long-barreled weapons that cannot penetrate body armor.

— This pistol has another important advantage: it does not leave spent cartridges behind. The only thing that forensic scientists can find are soft, deformed bullets that do not have a clear connection with the revolver.

— The revolver is undemanding to gunpowder. Its cartridge can contain either black powder, which is stored for many years, or pyroxylin powder, which has a limited shelf life.

“He’s also not picky about ammunition. It can be loaded with a shot cartridge, a signal, light and noise flare, as well as a rubber bullet, gas or syringe. Moreover, the cartridge itself can be equipped with different volumes of gunpowder for different purposes. For example, for operations to injure and put to sleep - one quantity, and for piercing armor - another.

- You can use thin hard bullets with rings and feathers, which have incredible armor-piercing ability.

Thanks to its technical characteristics and performance, versatility in use and enormous power, the revolver was able to amaze not only domestic users, but foreign military personnel and specialists are talking about it with might and main.