![\"PB\"](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/06\/pb.jpeg?w=620\")
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Developed for Spetsnaz and the KGB Wet Teams, the PB was a Suppressed Pistol with some Serious Design Compromises<\/strong><\/p>\n Developed for Spetsnaz units and the KGB in the mid-1960s, the Soviet PB\u200a\u2014\u200aalso known as the 6P9\u200a\u2014\u200atook the proven Makarov PM<\/a> design and incorporated a two-stage, integral suppressor.<\/p>\n During World War II, the Soviet NKVD had used suppressed weapons, including M1895 Nagant revolvers fitted with clip-on \u201cBramit device\u201d suppressors. As the Cold War escalated, the Soviets began the development of new silent firearms.<\/p>\n The Izhevsk Mechanical Plant introduced the PB, designed by A.A. Deryagin, in 1967. The PB is basically a heavily-adapted Makarov PM with a shortened slide and a repositioned return-spring. The design retains the Makarov\u2019s exposed hammer, double-action trigger and slide-mounted decocker.<\/p>\n The Makarov PM\u2019s standard return-spring was problematic once you added a suppressor to the basic design. The Chinese recognized the problem and positioned their Type 64\u2019s<\/a> return-spring above the breech.<\/p>\n In laying out the PB, by contrast, the Russians placed the return-spring in the pistol\u2019s grip and attached it to a swinging lever located beneath the right-hand-side grip panel.<\/p>\n The weapon\u2019s suppressor is semi-integral, with the rear section encompassing the ported barrel, which is wrapped in steel mesh that acts as a heat sink. The longer second section contains three steel baffles held in place by the suppressor\u2019s frame.<\/p>\n For transport, the front section of the suppressor is detachable. This also allows the firing of the weapon with, or without, its suppressor attached.<\/p>\n Fully assembled, the weapon is 12 inches long and weighs approximately one kilogram. Production of the PB was continuous until the mid-1980s. In the early 2000s, there was a surge in demand that compelled production to resume.<\/p>\n The PB remains in service with Russian special forces and intelligence units.<\/p>\n This story originally appeared at Historical Firearms.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nThe suppressor reduces the pistol\u2019s report to approximately 127 decibels. The PB feeds from an eight-round magazine and chambers the standard Soviet nine-by-18-millimeter cartridge.<\/div>\n