Zastava M57
| Zastava M57 | |
|---|---|
 The M57 with a loaded 9-round magazine. | |
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | Yugoslavia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1963–1992 (Yugoslavia) |
| Used by | Yugoslav People's Army, Viet Cong, North Vietnamese Army |
| Wars | Vietnam War Persian Gulf War Yugoslav Wars |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Zastava Arms |
| Designed | 1957 |
| Manufacturer | Zastava Arms |
| Produced | 1960–present |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 854 g (30.1 oz) |
| Length | 194 mm (7.6 in) |
| Barrel length | 116 mm (4.6 in) |
| Height | 134 mm (5.3 in) |
| Cartridge | 7.62×25mm Tokarev |
| Action | Short recoil actuated, locked breech, single action |
| Muzzle velocity | 480 m/s (1,575 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 50 m |
| Feed system | 9-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | Front blade, rear notch 156 mm (6.1 in) sight radius |
The Zastava M57 pistol was the standard sidearm of the Yugoslav Army from 1957 to the country's collapse, produced by Zastava Arms. A licensed copy of the Soviet TT pistol, it is a single-action semi-automatic pistol chambered in 7.62×25mm Tokarev. Many surplus M57 handguns were imported for sale in other countries and subsequently modified to fit their import requirements, and have become frequent collector's items due to their low price and historical value.
As of 2022, Zastava still produces modern reproductions of the M57 with updated safety features - the M57A in its original chambering and the M70A in 9mm Parabellum.
History
Adopted in 1957, the M57 was a license-produced copy of the Soviet Tokarev TT pistol. Yugoslavian army surplus M57s were imported to the United States in large numbers by many companies, such as Century International Arms and K-VAR/FIME[citation needed], and have become common collectors items.
Design details
An improved copy of the TT-33 design, most notably including a longer grip and 9-round magazine, and less notably, a larger magazine release button, a captive recoil spring, and an automatic magazine safety. The larger 9-round magazines of the M57 makes it incompatible with standard 8-round Tokarev magazines. Originally, the pistol has no manual safeties except for a half-cock notch on the hammer.
Due to BATFE import restrictions, poor-quality frame or trigger safeties were frequently fitted to surplus models imported to the United States.
Users
Former users
See also
