POTD: The Soviet Five Seven – The Soviet PSM Pistol
Sam.S 08.28.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The PSM pistol was cooked up in 1969 by the designers at the Tula bureau as a slim concealed carry piece for Soviet military officers and government VIPs. When it entered production in 1973 at Izhevsk, the PSM packed a new proprietary cartridge – the 5.45x18mm. Though not really meant as an armor piercer, the pointy 5.45 could penetrate soft body armor thanks to its steel core. But with not much stopping power against targets, the “compact self-loading pistol” as its name translates, wasn’t very popular for self-defense use. The PSM was a blowback-operated gun with a double-action trigger and slide-mounted safety. Early versions had ribbed aluminum grip panels that were pretty uncomfortable, so later models switched to plastic. The PSM was built largely from steel and made extremely thin, less than an inch wide! While it found some fans among KGB personnel and senior Party members for its easy concealability, the PSM was mostly appreciated by folks looking for a flat and pocketable status symbol rather than serious firepower.
“Designed in the late 1960s, the PSM was originally conceived as a compact defensive weapon for generals and similar officers. Instead, the pistol found an audience with the law enforcement and intelligence communities, as the PSM was even more compact and concealable than the Makarov, measuring just over 5/8 inch thick at the grips and weighing in at just a hair over one pound. The cartridge, 5.45×18, is a tiny, bottlenecked centerfire round with a high velocity sufficient to penetrated light body armor. According to notes provided by the consignor, this example was presented to Leslie Aspin by an unknown party. A congressman from Wisconsin and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, he was President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Defense from January 1993 to February 1994. During his tenure as Secretary, Aspin was responsible for the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on military homosexuality, canceled a draw-down of American forces in Korea due to North Korean nuclear provocation, and oversaw peacekeeping missions in Europe and Somalia; the latter is believed responsible for ending his career, as preparations prior to the Battle of Mogadishu were seen as incomplete. Fixed sights, with matching serial numbers on the slide and fame, the latter also bearing the Ishevsk Arsenal stamp and dated “87”, The wraparound low-profile grips are lightly serrated, with a hole for a lanyard in the left side of the butt. Two matching numbered magazines are included, as is a hardwood display case.”
Lot 431: Soviet PSM Pistol w-Ex. Mag, Inert Ammo, Case – Very Rare Soviet PSM Semi-Automatic Pocket Pistol with Two Magazines, Inert Ammunition and Case Attributed to a Former U.S. Secretary of Defense. (n.d.-b). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/77/431/soviet-psm-pistol-wex-mag-inert-ammo-case.
