Surely everyone has heard that the ammunition of all types of firearms from handguns and pistols to large-caliber howitzers is filled with explosives, most often gunpowder. Such ammunition has two main drawbacks. The first is the high noise level when fired. The second is the smoke that the cartridge creates at the time of the shot. Both of these are in fact a serious problem.
As you might have guessed, a revolver with alcohol cartridges was created in the USSR in order to solve the problem of noise and smoke of a shot. Of course, such ammunition was developed not for mass consumption, but for intelligence needs. Including tactical-level military intelligence. The fact is that the first devices for silent shooting appeared in the USSR back in the 1930s. However, the famous gun silencer "Bramit" of the Mitin brothers could not satisfy the requests of the front-line intelligence of the Red Army. Then, Gurevich, who worked in the design bureau at the NKVD, began to look for new solutions to the problem of noise and smokiness of the shot. By 1943, the designer had already gone through dozens of device options and finally came up with a unique design using water.
However, gunpowder in small quantities in the Gurevich cartridge is still used. In the design of the ammunition, the explosive charge was predictably located at the primer. Next was the wad, and immediately after it there was a large amount of water. At the time of creation, this cartridge design was revolutionary. In fact, Evgeny Samoilovich managed to put into practice the “water pusher” scheme. This design made it possible to fire weapons almost silently and, no less important, smokelessly.
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Of course, there were also disadvantages. The muzzle velocity of the bullet has dropped dramatically. It was 270 m / h. For comparison, in a TT pistol, the initial velocity of a 7.62x25 mm cartridge bullet is 420 m / s. Thus, Gurevich's invention was only suitable for shooting at ultra-short distances. The optimal firing range of a revolver was 20-25 meters. In addition, another shortcoming became clear very quickly. The water in the cartridges quickly froze even in mild frost. The solution was found instantly. H2O in the design of the ammunition was replaced with a solution of alcohol and glycerin in the proportion of 60% and 40%, respectively. Interestingly, in terms of accuracy of fire, Gurevich's revolver was able to surpass even the famous Nagant. However, due to various circumstances, weapons were released in only one batch in the amount of 53 units. They all went to the front.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about Reichsrevolver M 1879: the main revolver of Germany and domestic cinema.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/010622/63155/