Calibre: 5.66mm Dart
Length: 61 / 82 cm
Weight: 3.4 kg
Magazine: 26
The APS is one of the best examples of the secrecy that surrounded the Soviet Union, and to some extent still surrounds Russia, because the rifle has been in active military service for more than 20 years, and until its manufacturer, TsNIITochmash, began advertising it in 1993, was completely unknown in the West, even at classified levels. While the German firm Heckler & Koch produces a specialised underwater pistol, the P11, no known Western manufacturer produces an underwater rifle of any type.The APS was designed by a team headed by Vladimir Simonov, the nephew of Sergei Simonov, designer of the ubiquitous SKS carbine. The design was in response to a requirement in the 1970s from the Soviet military for an underwater weapon that could be used against enemy divers. The APS is a smoothbore weapon. The bullets are actually long, thin rods with a length-to-diameter ratio of approximately 21 to 1. They are stabilised by water flowing along the sides of the long rod/bullet as it passes through the water rather than by spinning.The designers began with the Kalashnikov rifle as the basis for their work, but quickly found that although the AK would work underwater, the bullets had virtually no effective range and suffered from gross inaccuracy. The result of much experimentation and design work was the APS, which was fielded in the mid-1970s. The rifle is gas operated with selective fire and feeds from a detachable box magazine. The odd shape of the magazine is an accommodation for the very long MPS cartridges necessitated by the length of the steel bullets. The APS fires from the open bolt to allow the barrel to fill with water, which is necessary to its reliable operation with the rod-shaped bullets it fires.The range of the APS is dependent on the depth at which it is fired: the deeper, the shorter the effective range. Still, the range and lethality of the APS is greater than any spear gun, regardless of depth. The bullet of the APS does not effectively stabilise in air, so its lethal range out of water is less than 100 meters. Accuracy even at this range is questionable, given that the long bullet is unstable from the moment it leaves the barrel of the rifle.The only operational deployment of the APS that the Russian government has made public is its use during meetings between U.S. President George Bush and Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev at Malta in November 1989. The ships on which the two heads of state met were protected by a 16-man team of divers armed with the APS underwater rifle.It is not known how many, if any, APS rifles have been sold on the international arms market to Western users. The rifle has, however, been in active service with Soviet and Russian special operations units for many years, and it does provide a unique capability. TsNIITochmash has been aggressively marketing the weapon, so it may be assumed the rifle is also in service outside Russia.
Effective range:
- in air 80m (IA=10)
- at 5 m depth 30 m
- at 20 m depth 20 m
- at 40 m depth 11 m
At these ranges the dart will defeat a live target wearing an underwater suit with Porolon warmth-keeping lining and a face mask with 5-mm thick acrylic plastic.
Round Damage
5.66mm Steel Dart 17 Puncture
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-P578pnctU]YouTube - APS underwater assault rifle and SPP-1 (Russia)[/ame]
Length: 61 / 82 cm
Weight: 3.4 kg
Magazine: 26
The APS is one of the best examples of the secrecy that surrounded the Soviet Union, and to some extent still surrounds Russia, because the rifle has been in active military service for more than 20 years, and until its manufacturer, TsNIITochmash, began advertising it in 1993, was completely unknown in the West, even at classified levels. While the German firm Heckler & Koch produces a specialised underwater pistol, the P11, no known Western manufacturer produces an underwater rifle of any type.The APS was designed by a team headed by Vladimir Simonov, the nephew of Sergei Simonov, designer of the ubiquitous SKS carbine. The design was in response to a requirement in the 1970s from the Soviet military for an underwater weapon that could be used against enemy divers. The APS is a smoothbore weapon. The bullets are actually long, thin rods with a length-to-diameter ratio of approximately 21 to 1. They are stabilised by water flowing along the sides of the long rod/bullet as it passes through the water rather than by spinning.The designers began with the Kalashnikov rifle as the basis for their work, but quickly found that although the AK would work underwater, the bullets had virtually no effective range and suffered from gross inaccuracy. The result of much experimentation and design work was the APS, which was fielded in the mid-1970s. The rifle is gas operated with selective fire and feeds from a detachable box magazine. The odd shape of the magazine is an accommodation for the very long MPS cartridges necessitated by the length of the steel bullets. The APS fires from the open bolt to allow the barrel to fill with water, which is necessary to its reliable operation with the rod-shaped bullets it fires.The range of the APS is dependent on the depth at which it is fired: the deeper, the shorter the effective range. Still, the range and lethality of the APS is greater than any spear gun, regardless of depth. The bullet of the APS does not effectively stabilise in air, so its lethal range out of water is less than 100 meters. Accuracy even at this range is questionable, given that the long bullet is unstable from the moment it leaves the barrel of the rifle.The only operational deployment of the APS that the Russian government has made public is its use during meetings between U.S. President George Bush and Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev at Malta in November 1989. The ships on which the two heads of state met were protected by a 16-man team of divers armed with the APS underwater rifle.It is not known how many, if any, APS rifles have been sold on the international arms market to Western users. The rifle has, however, been in active service with Soviet and Russian special operations units for many years, and it does provide a unique capability. TsNIITochmash has been aggressively marketing the weapon, so it may be assumed the rifle is also in service outside Russia.
Effective range:
- in air 80m (IA=10)
- at 5 m depth 30 m
- at 20 m depth 20 m
- at 40 m depth 11 m
At these ranges the dart will defeat a live target wearing an underwater suit with Porolon warmth-keeping lining and a face mask with 5-mm thick acrylic plastic.
Round Damage
5.66mm Steel Dart 17 Puncture
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-P578pnctU]YouTube - APS underwater assault rifle and SPP-1 (Russia)[/ame]