Radom Armory P-64 Pistol
Encyclopedia
For the American
fighter aircraft
, see North American P-64
The P-64 is a Polish
9mm
semi-automatic
pistol
designed to fire the 9x18mm Makarov cartridge. Developed in the late 1950s at the Institute for Artillery Research (Polish
: Zakład Broni Strzeleckiej Centralnego Badawczego Poligonu Artyleryjskiego, which later became the Military Institute of Armament Technology, Polish: Wojskowy Instytut Techniczny Uzbrojenia w Zielonce—WITU) by a team consisting of: W. Czepukajtis, R. Zimny, H. Adamczyk, M. Adamczyk, S. Kaczmarski and J. Pyzel. The pistol is also known as the CZAK (an acronym of the designer's last names with the exception of J. Pyzel, who joined the team after the name had been established).
cartridge and the Model W (Wojskowy), with a longer barrel than the Model M, a 7-round magazine capacity and chambered for the 9x18mm Makarov round.
During the evaluation phase which took place in 1961, both pistols were compared and the Model M was selected over the Model W. It was then rechambered for the Makarov round and improved with a modified slide catch (the external catch button was removed) and better ergonomics. In 1965, the P-64, manufactured at the Łucznik Arms Factory in Radom
, entered service with the army, police and security forces under the official designation 9 mm pistolet wz. 1964 replacing the 7.62mm TT pistol. The P-64 is no longer produced, and is being replaced by the WIST-94
pistol in 9mm NATO caliber. However, the P-64 remains in the inventories of the Polish Armed Forces
and the police services.
-operated pistol. It has a spring extractor contained in the slide. The rotating slide catch, installed inside the pistol's frame has a protrusion that acts as an empty case ejector. The pistol has a trigger mechanism with a disconnector (that ensures semi-automatic-only fire), a double-action trigger (that allows the pistol to be cocked with a pull of the trigger) and a hammer striking mechanism with an exposed hammer. The slide features a loaded chamber indicator (that visually indicates the presence of a round in the chamber) and a manual safety lever that secures the weapon from being accidentally discharged with the hammer either cocked or released, also enabling the weapon to be chambered with the safety engaged or toggled off. In the "safe" position, the firing pin is locked and the trigger bar is disconnected from the hammer's notch. If the hammer is cocked and the safety engaged, the safety will release the hammer. In the 1970s the trigger mechanism was slightly modified and the hammer spur was enlarged.
The P-64 is fed from a single-stack box magazine with a 6-round capacity. After the last round has been fired from the magazine the magazine's follower lifts the slide catch and locks the slide open. The slide is then released by withdrawing the magazine a short distance and pulling the slide back. The weapon has fixed iron sight
s. The rear sight with a square notch is fixed for firing at 50 m. The pistol is manufactured mainly through machine cutting. It comes equipped with a spare magazine, leather holster and cleaning kit. This pistol has a harsh recoil due to its size and the 9x18mm Makarov round.
Despite its similarity to the Walther PP, the P-64 is an original design, holding a Polish patent
, number 54822. The patent applies to the unique disconnecter, shaped like an elongated plate sliding vertically inside the pistol's frame, which provides an internal safety, decocks the hammer when the safety is engaged, interrupts the weapon's cycle after every shot fired and allows the weapon to be reloaded with the safety on.
-welded stamped
steel
. The frame was made from a lightweight alloy. In 1976 another prototype was introduced, designated the P-75, with an itamide synthetic frame, followed by the P-78 in 1978, which features a modular trigger group and a 12-round magazine. Production of the P-78 was abandoned as it lost to the P-83 Wanad
pistol in a bid for a new service sidearm for the Polish Army and police.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, see North American P-64
North American P-64
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War - Fighters . London: MacDonald, 1961.-External links:* *...
The P-64 is a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
9mm
9 mm caliber
This article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the caliber range. The most prevalent of these rounds is the 9x19mm Parabellum.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....
semi-automatic
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
pistol
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
designed to fire the 9x18mm Makarov cartridge. Developed in the late 1950s at the Institute for Artillery Research (Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Zakład Broni Strzeleckiej Centralnego Badawczego Poligonu Artyleryjskiego, which later became the Military Institute of Armament Technology, Polish: Wojskowy Instytut Techniczny Uzbrojenia w Zielonce—WITU) by a team consisting of: W. Czepukajtis, R. Zimny, H. Adamczyk, M. Adamczyk, S. Kaczmarski and J. Pyzel. The pistol is also known as the CZAK (an acronym of the designer's last names with the exception of J. Pyzel, who joined the team after the name had been established).
Development
The P-64 was drawn from a competition for a new service pistol issued in 1958. At the prototype stage, two versions of the CZAK pistol were created: the Model M (Milicyjny), with a magazine capacity of 6 rounds and chambered to use the .380 ACP (9x17mm Short).380 ACP
The .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...
cartridge and the Model W (Wojskowy), with a longer barrel than the Model M, a 7-round magazine capacity and chambered for the 9x18mm Makarov round.
During the evaluation phase which took place in 1961, both pistols were compared and the Model M was selected over the Model W. It was then rechambered for the Makarov round and improved with a modified slide catch (the external catch button was removed) and better ergonomics. In 1965, the P-64, manufactured at the Łucznik Arms Factory in Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
, entered service with the army, police and security forces under the official designation 9 mm pistolet wz. 1964 replacing the 7.62mm TT pistol. The P-64 is no longer produced, and is being replaced by the WIST-94
WIST-94
-Development:WIST-94 was designed at WITU under the code name Piryt. Two prototypes were made in 1992, which differ in the barrel locking system: Model A01 used a rotary-locking system and Model B01 using conventional, Browning type tilting barrel locking...
pistol in 9mm NATO caliber. However, the P-64 remains in the inventories of the Polish Armed Forces
Polish Armed Forces
Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej are the national defense forces of Poland...
and the police services.
Design details
The P-64 is a double-action blowbackBlowback (arms)
Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gases created by the ignition of the propellant charge....
-operated pistol. It has a spring extractor contained in the slide. The rotating slide catch, installed inside the pistol's frame has a protrusion that acts as an empty case ejector. The pistol has a trigger mechanism with a disconnector (that ensures semi-automatic-only fire), a double-action trigger (that allows the pistol to be cocked with a pull of the trigger) and a hammer striking mechanism with an exposed hammer. The slide features a loaded chamber indicator (that visually indicates the presence of a round in the chamber) and a manual safety lever that secures the weapon from being accidentally discharged with the hammer either cocked or released, also enabling the weapon to be chambered with the safety engaged or toggled off. In the "safe" position, the firing pin is locked and the trigger bar is disconnected from the hammer's notch. If the hammer is cocked and the safety engaged, the safety will release the hammer. In the 1970s the trigger mechanism was slightly modified and the hammer spur was enlarged.
The P-64 is fed from a single-stack box magazine with a 6-round capacity. After the last round has been fired from the magazine the magazine's follower lifts the slide catch and locks the slide open. The slide is then released by withdrawing the magazine a short distance and pulling the slide back. The weapon has fixed iron sight
Iron sight
Iron sights are a system of shaped alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm, crossbow, or telescope, and exclude the use of optics as in telescopic sights or reflector sights...
s. The rear sight with a square notch is fixed for firing at 50 m. The pistol is manufactured mainly through machine cutting. It comes equipped with a spare magazine, leather holster and cleaning kit. This pistol has a harsh recoil due to its size and the 9x18mm Makarov round.
Despite its similarity to the Walther PP, the P-64 is an original design, holding a Polish patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
, number 54822. The patent applies to the unique disconnecter, shaped like an elongated plate sliding vertically inside the pistol's frame, which provides an internal safety, decocks the hammer when the safety is engaged, interrupts the weapon's cycle after every shot fired and allows the weapon to be reloaded with the safety on.
Variants
With the introduction of advanced and cost-effective production techniques in the 1970s, a comprehensive redesign of the P-64 was attempted. In 1972, a prototype pistol was developed (called the P-70) with a 14-round magazine capacity and a slide made from copperCopper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-welded stamped
Stamping (metalworking)
Stamping includes a variety of sheet-metal forming manufacturing processes, such as punching using a machine press or stamping press, blanking, embossing, bending, flanging, and coining. This could be a single stage operation where every stroke of the press produce the desired form on the sheet...
steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
. The frame was made from a lightweight alloy. In 1976 another prototype was introduced, designated the P-75, with an itamide synthetic frame, followed by the P-78 in 1978, which features a modular trigger group and a 12-round magazine. Production of the P-78 was abandoned as it lost to the P-83 Wanad
P-83 Wanad
The P-83 Wanad is a 9 mm Polish semi-automatic pistol, chambered for the 9x18mm Makarov cartridge and designed by Ryszard Chełmicki and Marian Gryszkiewicz of the state research institute Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy in Radom...
pistol in a bid for a new service sidearm for the Polish Army and police.