Brief Operational History

With the adopting of the Mosin-Nagant 3-line rifle in 1891 the Russia military turned its attention to the improvement of its sidearm.  They had been using the 4.2-line revolver by Smith & Wesson since the 1870's and needed something that took advantage of the new smokeless powder being used in other European countries.  After looking over many designs, the Russian Army chose the a revolver patented in 1894 by Leon Nagant.  The weapon was to be known as the 1895 Nagant revolver.  Soon they were being made at the rate of 20,000 a year.

Some attribute its success to political intrigues of Nagant and his connections with high placed Russian officials.  Officially, one reason the Nagant was chosen was that the Russians still distrusted the mechanically complex self loading pistols of the time.  The other reason was that the 7.62x38N cartridge had a very high velocity when compared to other revolvers, and it was reasonably accurate too.

It was produced in both Belgium and Russia.  During the First World War the pistol earned a reputation for being reliable in combat.  Its slow reloading time and long trigger pull were cited as two of its major problems though.

The Russian Revolution and Civil War gave the Nagant another chance to prove itself.  Many of the Soviet heroes used this weapon, and their revolvers are preserved in museums in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.  Frunze, Chapayev, Timoshenko, and Voronov were some of these heroes.  In fact, the M-1895 revolver with an Order of the Red Banner emblem on it was a prestigious award in the years from 1918 to 1930.

When in the Soviets began to look for a self-loading pistol in 1928, the Nagant continued to be produced alongside the competing designs by Korovin and Tokarev.  This continued into the Great Patriotic War even though the Tokarev was supposed to replace the M-1895.  It was produced in almost equal numbers up to 1942, but it was discontinued in mid-1943.

The Nagant was exported to few countries after the Great Patriotic War - North Korea being one example.  It was difficult to export, especially as other alternatives became available.  The TT-30 and other 9mm weapons found more success.  It can now only be found occasionally in the service of the rare few Russian police departments who haven't bothered to update them for one reason or another.

Tactical Use and Limitations

The M-1895 Nagant came it two models - double and single action.  In the Soviet era, all were made in double action configuration.  The single action version was issued to non-commissioned officers, while the double action revolver was given to officers.  Armored crewmen found it to be a useful weapon since it could be fired out of the vision ports of tanks.

Limitations of the M-1895 include the very long time it takes to reload and the inferior performance of the 7.62x38N cartridge when compared with the German 9mm Parabellum round that it would face in two world wars.

Method of Operation

The M-1895 pistol is a double or single action revolver.  When the weapon is cocked the cylinder rotates and is pushed forward so that the mouth of the cartridge actually enters the barrel.  When the weapon is fired, the cartridge mouth expands and completely seals any gap for gasses to escape.  In the double action model, the weapon will cock and the cylinder will rotate when the trigger is pulled again.  The single action model must be cocked manually.

Deployment Chronology

Here you can see what weapons the M-1895 pistol replaced and what weapons eventually replaced it.  You can find out more about each weapon by clicking on the links below.

Sources Cited

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you.  We hope you can find them as useful as we have.

• Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, by Ian V. Hogg and John S. Weeks, published by Krause publications 2000

• Soviet Small-Arms and Ammunition, by D.N. Bolotin, published by Finnish Arms Museum Foundation 1995