APB
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 140 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.02 kg
- Introduced
- 1972
About
What it is, and why it matters
The APB (Avtomaticheskiy Pistolet Besshumnyy, 'Automatic Silenced Pistol') is a Soviet selective-fire, suppressed pistol chambered in 9x18mm Makarov. A covert-operations derivative of the Stechkin APS, it pairs a blowback, hammer-fired action with a removable expansion-chamber suppressor and a detachable wire shoulder stock, allowing aimed automatic fire with greatly reduced muzzle report. It was issued to Soviet special-purpose and intelligence units for reconnaissance and clandestine work.
The APB was created when Soviet special forces needed a compact, controllable suppressed weapon capable of automatic fire. Engineers at TsKIB SOO reworked Igor Stechkin's APS machine pistol, adapting its barrel and adding a wire stock and screw-on suppressor so an operator could deliver quiet aimed bursts from a holster-sized package.
Developed at TsKIB SOO from the Stechkin APS. The ported barrel vents gas into a forward expansion chamber, with a detachable cylindrical suppressor screwed over the muzzle; the magazine and most internals interchange with the standard APS. Overall length is about 246 mm bare and roughly 455 mm with suppressor and wire stock fitted; total mass with silencer and stock is around 1,650 g. Carried official index 6P13 (also referenced under the design index AO-44).
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Izhevsk Mechanical Plant
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- Soviet Union
- Status
- Limited production
- Produced
- 1972
- Variant of
- Suppressed
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 140 mm
- Overall length
- 246 mm
- Height
- 150 mm
- Width
- 27 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.02 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Double action
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Slide
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Steel
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 290 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 257 J
- Effective range
- 50 m
- Rate of fire
- 700 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Removable suppressor
Detachable wire stock
Selective fire
Integral expansion chamber
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,909 pistols | 1.02 kg | 794 g | Heavier than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,911 pistols | 246 mm | 196 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,941 pistols | 140 mm | 102 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,962 pistols | 20 | 8 | Holds more rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the APB
How much does the APB weigh?
The APB weighs 1.02 kg (2.25 lb) empty.
What caliber is the APB?
The APB is chambered in 9x18mm Makarov.
How many rounds does the APB hold?
The APB holds 20 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the APB?
The APB is 246 mm (9.69 in) long overall, with a 140 mm (5.51 in) barrel.
Who makes the APB?
The APB is made by Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (Russia). It was designed by Aleksei Neugodov.
When was the APB introduced?
The APB was introduced in 1972.
How does the APB operate?
The APB uses a blowback action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Soviet Armed Forces
- 1972
- Russian Armed Forces
- Russia
- KGB
- Soviet Union
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/apb' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "apb", "name": "APB", "manufacturer": { "id": "izhevsk-mechanical-plant", "name": "Izhevsk Mechanical Plant", "countryCode": "RU", "foundedYear": 1942, "website": "https://baikalarms.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": true, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "213e51ed0a8d7adb25d4fdcddcd8b7412a586b1d1d88620cf2fe29acb308e3e0" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "SU", "year_introduced": 1972, "barrel_length_mm": 140, "weight_empty_g": 1020, "action_type": "blowback"}