TP-82: The Gun Cosmonauts Carried On Space Missions

HughPickens.com writes James Simpson has an interesting story about the TP-82 survival pistol that Russian cosmonauts carried into space with them on missions between 1982 and 2006. But calling it a pistol is slightly misleading—the TP-82 was essentially a sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun with a short-barreled rifle added onto it. Having a gun inside a thin-walled spacecraft filled with oxygen sounds crazy, but the Soviets had their reasons. Much of Russia is desolate wilderness. A single mishap during descent could strand cosmonauts in the middle of nowhere. In March 1965, cosmonaut Alexey Leonov landed a mechanically-faulty Voskhod space capsule in the snowy forests of the western Urals 600 miles from his planned landing site. For protection, Leonov had a nine-millimeter pistol. He feared the bears and wolves that prowled the forest—though he never encountered any. But the fear stayed with him. Later in his career, Leonov made sure the Soviet military provided all its cosmonauts with a survival weapon. For the Soviets, the weapon was a case of "better safe than sorry," and from 1986, it was a permanent fixture in the portable survival kits of every Soyuz mission. "Astronauts of all nationalities—including Americans—have trained with the TP-82," writes Simpson. "And still today, before they ride the Soyuz to space, they must complete a Russian survival training course in the Black Sea and the Siberian forest."

Comments

Salyut 3

[Tailhook]

Salyut 3, a Soviet military space station, was launched in '74 equipped with an anti-aircraft cannon. The gun was aimed by orienting the whole station. Far more interesting than some survival gun.

Re:Makes sense

[Immerman]

I've heard that the recommended way to take down a bear with an underpowered handgun is to wait until it attacks and then shove your hand into its mouth and fire. Not something you want to try except as a last resort, but with luck the bullet(s) will puncture the thinner bone in the roof of the mouth. I used to know a lunatic hunter that claimed the maneuver had once saved his life.