Maxim-Tokarev
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 650 mm
- Weight, empty
- 12.90 kg
- Introduced
- 1925
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Maxim-Tokarev (MT) was the first domestically mass-produced Soviet light machine gun, developed by Fedor Tokarev in 1925 by adapting the water-cooled Maxim M1910 into a lighter, air-cooled, bipod-mounted weapon. Chambered in 7.62x54mmR and fed from a 100-round fabric belt, it retained the Maxim's recoil-operated toggle-lock action but replaced the water jacket with a perforated barrel shroud and added a wooden buttstock and pistol grip. Roughly 2,500 were built before it was superseded by the Degtyaryov DP-27.
The Maxim-Tokarev was essentially a Maxim machine gun put on a diet: Fedor Tokarev stripped off the heavy water jacket and bolted on a wooden stock and bipod to create the Red Army's first home-grown light machine gun, only for it to be rendered obsolete within two years by the lighter DP-27.
Although it filled an urgent gap in Soviet squad firepower in the mid-1920s, the MT was quickly outclassed by the lighter, magazine-fed DP-27. Many surviving examples were exported to Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Tula Arms Plant
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- Soviet Union
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1925 to 1927
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 650 mm
- Overall length
- 1330 mm
- Weight, empty
- 12.90 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 15.50 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 100
- Magazine
- Belt
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 800 m/s
- Effective range
- 800 m
- Rate of fire
- 600 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.
Air cooled barrel
Toggle lock action
Bipod mounted
Wooden buttstock
Pistol grip
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 261 machine guns | 12.90 kg | 10.50 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 260 machine guns | 1330 mm | 1156 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 257 machine guns | 650 mm | 605 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 222 machine guns | 100 | 50 | Holds more rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Maxim-Tokarev
How much does the Maxim-Tokarev weigh?
The Maxim-Tokarev weighs 12.90 kg (28.44 lb) empty and 15.50 kg (34.17 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the Maxim-Tokarev?
The Maxim-Tokarev is chambered in 7.62x54mmR.
How many rounds does the Maxim-Tokarev hold?
The Maxim-Tokarev holds 100 rounds, fed from a belt.
How long is the Maxim-Tokarev?
The Maxim-Tokarev is 1330 mm (52.4 in) long overall, with a 650 mm (25.6 in) barrel.
Who makes the Maxim-Tokarev?
The Maxim-Tokarev is made by Tula Arms Plant (Russia). It was designed by Fedor Tokarev.
When was the Maxim-Tokarev introduced?
The Maxim-Tokarev was introduced in 1925 and discontinued in 1927.
How does the Maxim-Tokarev operate?
The Maxim-Tokarev uses a short recoil 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
- Red Army
- 1925
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
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/maxim-tokarev' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "maxim-tokarev", "name": "Maxim-Tokarev", "manufacturer": { "id": "tula-arms-plant", "name": "Tula Arms Plant", "countryCode": "RU", "foundedYear": 1712, "website": "https://en.tulatoz.ru", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": true, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:38", "version": "592802e23491a27ab089d44b73cd0f97f7cf62eeb752639057d7004eb2b4c252" }, "category": { "id": "machine-gun", "name": "Machine Gun", "description": "Fully automatic firearms for sustained fire" }, "country_of_origin": "SU", "year_introduced": 1925, "barrel_length_mm": 650, "weight_empty_g": 12900, "action_type": "short_recoil"}