In 1980, the Elisco Tool Company was founded in the province of Bataan to produce the M16 rifle under license from Colt for the Philippine armed forces. The Aquino brothers and Gene Cordero, an engineer, were top civilian employees that worked in the government controlled facility. President Marcos, and his millionaire crony Manuel Elizalde, owned the majority of the shares of the establishment. Both controversial figures fled the country with their accumulated wealth after Cory Aquino and his People’s Power revolution was about to overthrow the dictator who had been in power for over two decades. With Elizalde and Marcos out of the country, the funds that ran the arms plant dried up quickly prompting the closing of the facility in the late 1980’s. Aquino and Cordero remained as overseers of the now vacant facility and were looking for new investors to take over the operation, which was still capable of producing weapons in large scale.

In 1988, there were several parties from the Philippines who contacted this writer through my book publisher, Paladin Press, who had read my “Rim-fire Battle Guns” books published in that same year. One of them was Gene Cordero. Gene expressed his interest in my designs and wanted to produce them in the Philippines if I could find an investor to take over the Bataan facility. A year later, I received a letter from foremost gun designer Gordon Ingram through his close associate Donald Thomas, a noted military arms historian and current Small Arms Review staff archivist, indicating he was looking for offshore vendors to supply parts for his new generation Ingrams – The “Ranchero” rifles. I quickly passed the information on to Cordero. It is my understanding that a brief negotiation took place between Ingram and the Philippine party but nothing came of it. The Bataan facility was offered to manufacture complete weapons but Ingram was only interested for a sub-contractor to make certain components for his guns. To run the massive Elisco complex that originally employed hundreds of workers and operated 24 hours a day in its heyday, was a costly undertaking and something Ingram was not prepared for. Ingram weapons were known to be produced both in the USA and abroad and many were used by police and military forces in South America and the Far East.

I did not hear from the Philippine contact for several years. However, in 1992, a letter from Cordero was received informing me that they had finally sold the Bataan facility, had bought some of Elisco’s machinery and rented a small shop in Blumentritt, a busy business section of Manila and formed a small company called Automatic Weapon System, Inc. The Aquino brothers controlled marketing matters while Cordero supervised shop operations which employed a dozen former Elisco machinists and gunsmiths. AWS’s primary function was geared towards research and development of new weapon concepts for the local police forces that had now been integrated with the military under the new Aquino administration. In addition, the company also produced small quantities of sporting guns and hunting rifles as well as providing gun repairs. Cordero’s letter indicated that AWS was currently looking for a simple double action 9mm semi automatic design which they intended to develop and produce for the local police and security market to compete with Arms Corporation of the Philippines’ Colt style revolvers and 1911 pistol copy. After the fall of Marcos, civilian gun ownership was quickly revived and instantly revitalized both the local manufacture and import market of small arms. Prior to the martial law in 1972, there was only one local manufacturer licensed by the government to produce commercial arms for the local market and export, the Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor). Once the military government was ousted, Armscor was soon joined by smaller companies producing commercial grade imitation revolvers and automatic pistols of various calibers as well as magazine fed pump shotguns and bolt action hunting rifles. Many of these shops were based in Danao, the famous creators of home-made “Paltik” guns. AWS is one of the very few newly founded arms makers to be based in the heart of Manila. I was requested by the company to submit a handgun design along with terms of the contract. A 9mm automatic pistol design meeting AWS specifications was submitted at the end of that year. However, no concrete negotiation took place. The company opted to produce a Colt revolver type and a pump action shotgun instead, which they claimed found more interest in the local police and security market.

In early 1994, another request for a gun design was put forward by AWS. The company indicated that they are working closely with several military and police agencies who expressed interest in a concealable submachine gun smaller than an UZI or an MP5; something that can be employed by undercover operatives and VIP bodyguards. Political warlords maintaining private armies are the biggest clientele of weapon importers in the country. They are equipped with the best assortment of military hardware, made from around the world, which money can buy. AWS’s goal was to tap into this open lucrative market by producing a comparable weapon to the Mini UZI, Beretta 93R and HK VP-70 at a fraction of the cost. The vast availability of the .45 ACP 1911 pistols in the military inventory was considered a viable alternative. It could be redesigned to selective fire to meet the concealability criteria. The original specification called for a simple substitute mechanism that can be readily installed without any modification to the gun so quantities of the military issue 1911 could be instantly transformed to a machine pistol format should a batch urgently be required by a special unit to deal with a specific role. This was a sound idea from an economical stand point, but the 7-shot firepower of the single stack .45 ACP magazine was questionable. AWS came up with a noteworthy “drop in” type mechanism that would permit automatic fire in a 1911. A prototype was build and successfully tested. However, this arm failed to attract any takers due to its very limited firepower and excessive recoil in .45 ACP.

Having failed to gain interest among the local government agencies to adopt their big-bore machine pistol invention, AWS was forced to look for another alternative solution. The major stumbling block was the weapon’s limited firepower and excessive recoil in .45 ACP. The sensational Canadian made Para-Ordnance hi-capacity 1911 pistols were taken into consideration as a primary candidate for the Model-2 machine pistol project. Its 15-shot firepower in .45 ACP and 20-shot capacity in 9mm/.38 Super was ideal along with its all steel construction. This writer was again consulted in this project and was requested to submit a design that would allow a selective fire for a 1911 type pistol that would also function with the new hi-capacity models. The select fire hi-capacity version was designated AWS Model-2. The author’s design only required a single hole to be drilled above and between the sear and hammer pins to the right side of the frame to assemble the fire selector lever pin, which was the same diameter as the sear pin. The selector is retained in position by the slide. A captive 1/8 diameter spring loaded index ball locks the position of the selector to the desired setting. The rest of the required components simply replaced the regular parts such as the hammer, sear and disconnector. In addition to mechanical simplicity requirements, AWS also specified compensators and heavy duty spring actuated buffers for caliber the .45 ACP and .40 S&W versions to counter recoil and muzzle rise in full auto. The buffer system must also prevent slide battering that can result in frame cracks; something experienced with the earlier “full auto only” Model-1. In addition, a detachable folding stock was added for long range application as well as a folding front grip positioned near the muzzle for a more natural two hand hold that would allow maximum control of the weapon in automatic fire with the powerful .45 ACP and .40 S&W calibers.

In December 1995, I submitted a new design to AWS. The company built several prototypes based upon this design using imported Para-Ordnance frame kits, and an assortment of military and commercial slides and small parts. The final prototypes used many after market custom parts and accessories including several types of compensators that were readily available from mail order sources. The final configuration resulted in extraordinary custom 1911 machine pistol fit for the 21st century. According to Cordero, the test guns proved extremely reliable, were controllable with compensators and very accurate with custom grade barrels. The experimental guns were built in various calibers (.45 ACP, .38 Super and 9mm) and were tested by various local agencies in 1997 with favorable result. All weapons functioned extremely well with 1,000 rounds fired on each prototype with very few malfunctions, and those were attributed to locally manufactured ammunition utilizing lead bullets and not the full metal jacket type. The rate of fire was considered too fast in full auto with the .45 ACP in excess of 1,000 rpm; the .38 Super at 1,200+ rpm and the 9mm close to 1,300 rpm. The evaluators were quite impressed with the weapon’s overall configuration and handling characteristics especially with the .38 Super with virtually no felt recoil and minimal muzzle rise in automatic fire. The Super also produced the best in overall accuracy. Interest in the weapon was indicated but wanted a slower rate of fire or a burst limiting device like those employed in the VP-70 or 93R to conserve ammo – something an agency can not overlook when a single .45 ACP round can cost as much as $1 for an imported brand. Locally manufactured ammunition for big-bore autoloaders, such as those made by Armscor, are not reliable when used in automatic pistols because of their soft lubricated lead bullets.

The result of the evaluation test was forwarded to me by AWS requested that a burst limiting device be added to the design feature to make it competitive with other modern machine pistols being offered by Heckler & Koch and Beretta. I briefly went to work on a revised trigger mechanism design but abandoned the idea after AWS failed to keep their part of the bargain. Later, it became apparent that AWS was experiencing financial difficulties during the last stage of the machine pistol project; something not indicated to this writer. The company eventually failed to compete in the local market with their existing products that ultimately led to its final demise in 1997. According to Cordero, whose last contact with me was in 1998, the working specimens were sold to the highest bidder among the political warlords to recoup the cost of the development and prototyping expenses.

1911 type machine pistols were commercially offered in the past such as those produced by the Spanish firm STAR in the 1930’s but failed to gain commercial success due primarily to its lack of compact firepower. There were 15, 25 and 30-shot stick type magazines offered for these early generation service class machine pistols but they are a foot long being of a single stack format. These magazines made the weapon bulky and unwieldy defeating its primary design objective – concealability. Despite the addition of some very clever cyclic rate reducers in the later Star machine pistol models, the company failed to incorporate a muzzle brake device and front grip to aid in control and prevent muzzle rise. Colt also experimented with 1911 machine pistols during World War II to evaluate its military potential. The US military did primary testing for these prototype guns but found them less effective and more expensive to manufacture than a conventional submachine gun like the M3 Grease gun and Sten. Although AWS is now history, its machine pistol program is not considered a total failure. It was in the right direction all along. They had the perfect weapon that is ideally suited to fill special roles with the modern military and law enforcement, not to mention VIP protection. This evidence is even clearer today with the introduction of ultra-modern miniaturized assault weapons such as the FN P-90, H&K PDW and others. The small hi-intensity ammunition used in these new breed of mini-assault weapons, when utilized in a state-of-the art 1911 machine pistol, will certainly find takers among military specialists from around the world. Equipped with a light ultra-compact folding stock (doubles as a holster), front grip and a competition proven compensator, a modern polymer high capacity 1911 machine pistol would finally come to age. It is an old friend in a new guise, trusted in many wars, and given a new image to fill an even greater role for America’s fighting men in the new millennium. The AWS 1911 machine pistol system is the shape of things to come.

The Two-Stage cocking system

The AWS 1911 machine pistol trigger mechanism has been kept to outmost simplicity. There were dozens of patents relating to full auto modifications for this famous combat handgun since the 1920’s but none will come any simpler to this design requiring only a small hole to the right side of the frame to accommodate the fire selector pin. The illustration shows how the two-stage cocking system works during manual loading. (Note: trigger not pulled). The fire selector is set for semi-automatic fire.

The Select Fire Mechanism

The original trigger mechanism employed in the AWS 1911 machine pistol features a simple “drop in” type full auto converter kit. This was designed by Gene Cordero of AWS. The system was later refined by the author in a select fire format to meet the company’s formal request for the improved Model-2 that can be adapted to a high capacity 1911 pistol. In order to assure reliable functioning of the weapon, the required modification to the original mechanism was kept to bare minimum. To complement the simplicity of the design, a simple fire selector mechanism was incorporated to the right side of the frame where the usual right side paddle of an ambi-safety would seat.

Semi Automatic Functioning

To fire the weapon in semi automatic, rotate the selector lever towards the rear in a horizontal position. The notch of the lever pin will face the hammer mounted auto sear. When the trigger is pulled on a cocked hammer, the front end of the auto sear will pass the notch of the selector pin after the regular sear is tripped camming the disconnector downward to separate the connection between the trigger and disconnector in the usual manner. (Note: The top end of the original disconnector was cut off to prevent it from being actuated by the action of the slide.) The sear will bounce back to its normal position under spring tension. During rearward recoil of the slide, the hammer is first held in fully cocked position at the rear shoulder of the frame by the auto sear. As the slide reaches its last 1/8 inch forward closing, the trip will depress the top shoulder of the auto sear, releasing the cocked hammer from its connection with the frame. As the hammer is tripped, the regular sear will intercept the hammer and will hold it in cocked position ready to fire the next round after the trigger pull is released. This sequence of operation is repeated as fast as the operator can pull and release the trigger until the magazine is empty.

Full Auto Functioning

To fire the gun in full auto, rotate the fire selector downward to a vertical position until it rests against the grip. The solid portion of the selector pin will now face the auto sear. Assuming that the weapon is loaded and the hammer is cocked, pulling the trigger will trip the regular sear to fire the gun. On its downward motion, the hammer mounted auto sear’s front end will be deflected away from the disconnector by the solid portion of the selector pin, precluding the usual disconnecting process as described in semi-auto functioning. With the disconnector not being cammed downward as the hammer hits the firing pin, the trigger retained its connection with the regular sear. Maintaining the pull on the trigger in this mode will prevent the regular sear from re-engaging the hammer. During the firing cycle, the auto sear takes over the cocking and firing of the weapon mechanically. This sequence is repeated automatically until there are no more cartridges in the magazine or the operator releases pressure on the trigger. The slide will be held open after the last round is fired.

The Dual Action Spring Actuated Recoil Buffer System

Primary tests conducted by AWS with their Model-1 “full auto” only 1911 machine pistol in .45 ACP resulted with the gun being uncontrollable in automatic fire due to excessive recoil and muzzle rise. The high rate of fire also resulted in frame cracks and heavy peening of slide as a result of metal-to-metal battering during recoil. To solve this serious problem, the writer designed a heavy duty buffer system incorporating dual action springs, which are mounted on both ends of the full length guide rod. The rear mounted spring buffer is actuated at the last 3/4 inch of slide closing. As the slide reaches its last 1/4 inch of forward recoil, the second buffer is brought into action combining the power of the dual springs together to block the remaining impulse of the recoil, which cushions the metal-to-metal contact between the slide and the frame. This part also prevented damage to major components while providing neglible felt recoil with full power .45 ACP and .40 S&W cartridges. The triple-chamber compensator has effectively minimized muzzle rise and is further aided by the use of a front grip. Utilizing the heavy duty buffer system to .38 Super and 9mm has virtually eliminated felt recoil on long burst even without the aid of a compensator device. This advantage provided the operator maximum control of the weapon in any mode of fire being selected.

By David M. Fortier

The cartridge in question is the Soviet 5.45×18 7N7. Originally designed in conjunction with, and for, the Pistolet Samozaryadniy Malogabaritniy. This translates to “Pistol Semi-automatic Miniature” and is known simply by its initials “PSM.” It is interesting to note that whereas the Makarov “PM” and the Stechkin “APS” pistols give credit to their designers in their nomenclature no credit is given to the designers of the PSM. It was designed and developed by a three-man team from 1969 until completed in 1974. Heading up the group was Tikhon Ivanovich Lashnev (1919-1988). Lashnev was born in Tula and entered the Tula Engineering Works Technical School after finishing his secondary schooling. After graduating he was assigned to a design bureau and worked with Fedor Tokarev and Sergey Korovin. After the Great Patriotic War ended he participated in the design of hunting and target guns, the latter being used not only in the Olympics but also in shooting contests around the world. His awards included the “Red Banner Order” and the S.I. Mosin Prize (twice). Also participating in the design of the PSM was Anatoliy Alexeevich Simarin (1936-1991). A graduate of the Tula Mechanical Institute he participated in the design of the first pneumatic pistol made in the USSR. A serious international marksman, he also designed a target pistol for silhouette shooting. His awards included a “VDNKh” bronze medal, and the honorary titles of “Socialist Competition Winner” (1973 and 1980) and “Developer of Virgin Land.” The third member of the design team was Lev Leonidovich Kulikov (1931- ). Kulikov graduated from the S.I. Mosin Tula Mechanical-Technical College. Participating in the design of several sporting weapons he was awarded the title “Best Inventor In The Ministry” in 1982 and has been named “Socialist Competition Winner” on several occasions.

The fruit of these three men’s labors was a small, extremely flat, double-action pistol that resembles a Walther PPK. Operating on the straight blowback principle it sports a fixed barrel. It has a slide-mounted safety that protrudes from the rear of the slide to the left of the hammer. The safety is positioned in an arc between the rear sight and the hammer when applied. This puts it in a position that allows the operator to both disengage the safety and manually cock the hammer in one stroke if he so chooses. The magazine capacity is 8 rounds and a European style magazine release is located on the pistol’s butt. While the weapon’s slide locks back on the last shot there is no external slide release; it must be manually pulled back and released, like a Walther. It has aluminum wrap-around grips and sports the usual chrome-plated bore as is conventional on all Soviet weapons. Size-wise the PSM is almost identical to a Walther PPK except that it is 8.2mm (0.32-inch) thinner. The PSM is manufactured at the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant in Izhevsk, Russia.

However, a significant change from the Walther is the cartridge the PSM chambers. A tiny bottlenecked round, the 5.45×18 is dwarfed even by the 9×17 Kurz. It has a caliber of 5.45mm (.214 inch) and the brass bottlenecked case has a length of 17.8mm (.701 inch). The projectile is a gilding metal clad, steel cored, flat point with an air pocket in the nose. It has a very high sectional density and a weight of 41.4 grains. Muzzle velocity is 1,033 fps. It is interesting to note that the muzzle velocity is identical to that of the standard 9x18mm 57-N-181S ball round out of a Makarov pistol.

The who, why, where, and when of this cartridge is a little more difficult to figure out. It seems as if the Russians themselves are somewhat ambivalent as to who actually designed the cartridge. Three different authoritative Russian reference works give three different designers credit for the cartridge. One gives credit to a woman named Antonina Deniskaya of TsNIITochmash. Another gives credit to a woman named A.D. Denisova. And interestingly, David Naumovich Bolotin in his work “Soviet Small Arms and Ammunition” lists an Aleksandr I. Bochin as the designer. However Bolotin lists the date for the cartridge development as 1979, that’s 5 years after the PSM pistol was designed and adopted! Obviously that cannot be correct (I have found other inaccuracies in Bolotin’s work). So we have a little bit of a mystery here. One must also take into account the fact that Soviet designers worked together in teams on projects. Therefore the cartridge may have been the result of a joint effort. At this time however it is difficult to say exactly who is responsible for the 5.45×18.

The choice of the 5.45mm (.214 inch) projectile diameter seems strange until one takes into account the fact that the AK-74 in 5.45×39 was introduced at approximately the same time. There was a period at the latter part of the 1800’s when it was popular in Europe for a country to have their service rifle and service revolver of the same bore diameter. The most obvious is the French with their 8x50R Lebel rifle and their Model de Ordnance 1892 service revolver in 8mm revolver. The advantage is that barrel-tooling machinery could be shared for both handguns and long arms. Imperial Russia also became enamored by this idea. They adopted the 1895 Nagant revolver in 7.62x38R to go along with their “Three-Line” 7.62x54R M1891 Mosin magazine rifles. The Soviets continued this when they adopted the TT30/TT33 Tokarev pistol in 7.62x25mm and the PPD and PPSh-41 sub-machineguns. During the Great Patriotic War, barrel blanks could be made for Mosin’s, Nagant’s, Tokarev’s, or PPSh-41’s all on the same machinery. This ability was lost with the adoption of the Makarov pistol in 9x18mm and the retirement of the TT-33 and the 7.62x25mm cartridge. The adoption of the AK-74 and PSM in the same bore diameter may be a money saving return to the old days. Theoretically it would be possible to make AK-74 and PSM barrels on the same tooling. However, it should also be kept in mind as to why this idea quickly fell out of favor in Europe. The cartridges these handguns chambered quickly gained reputations for being underpowered. One country that never went down this path was England. This was due to their involvement in numerous colonial actions giving them sufficient combat experience to arrive at the conclusion that a hard-hitting revolver in the .455-.476 caliber range was most desirable.

Popping a 5.45x18mm cartridge open to have a look inside yields one interesting bit of information. The projectile has a very high sectional density. With a projectile length of approximately 14mm it’s almost three times as long as its diameter. This combined with a small diameter, a sharp ogive, and a steel core, are alleged to allow it to penetrate 30-45 layers of Kevlar. During initial testing in the early 1990’s European military and police organizations were so alarmed at its ability to defeat soft body armor that they designated it an “assassination pistol.” While I have not had a chance to test the PSM and its 5.45x18mm cartridge against soft body armor I have no reason to doubt previous test results (although its velocity is a little low). However, I must also add that I am privy to an independent test performed by a noted student of Soviet Small Arms in which a PSM was fired at a 1/4-inch steel plate at 7 yards. After the PSM was fired, a .22 LR pistol of approximately the same barrel length was fired using .22 Stingers. Interestingly enough the .22 Stinger hollow points left noticeably deeper craters in the steel plate than did the 5.45x18mm PSM round with 7N7 steel core ammunition.

As far as wound ballistics potential goes, by Western standards the 5.45×18 doesn’t offer much. With a diameter of only .21 caliber, a weight of 41 grains, an impact velocity of 800 or 900 fps, and a non-expanding projectile, it is fairly simple to predict that this cartridge will be a poor performer. Whether the bullet yaws immediately after impact is not going to alter this, although this might increase its wounding capability somewhat. We can say that without adding a +P+ Uranium Tip the 5.45×18 will probably take a backseat to a common .32 ACP Silvertip hollow point.

While originally called an “assassination pistol,” by Western intelligence agencies, recent Russian press articles on the pistol reveal a more mundane purpose for the weapons design. It seems the PSM was originally intended for very high-ranking staff officers who didn’t need the burden of a pistol the size of a Makarov, yet still might need to defend themselves. With the wide-scale introduction of flack jackets at that time, especially with U.S. forces, it was felt prudent that the weapon have the ability to penetrate them. As Russian criminals began to use soft body armor more extensively the PSM became quite popular with security and police personnel. The ineffectiveness of the 9x18mm against the widespread use of soft body armor can be seen in the Russian’s introduction of the 9x18mm 57-N-181M High Penetration load consisting of an 86-grain steel core projectile at 1,345 fps.

The 5.45x18mm cartridge is currently popular in Russia and we will probably see more small pistols chambered for it in the future. For the American cartridge collector wishing to add some of these scarce rounds to their collection there is both good and bad news. The bad news is, of course, that the Milspec steel core ammunition is not importable into the U.S. The good news is that Sporting Supplies Int. Inc., the importer of Wolf Performance Ammunition, has a small supply of lead core 5.45x18mm ammunition manufactured at Tula and packed in 10-round collector boxes. The quantity is limited and the price is quite reasonable, so don’t wait.

While it created quite a stir when it was first tested in the West the 5.45x18mm round was designed for far less sinister intentions than originally thought. It seems as though American and Russian thinking when it comes to cartridges differs as much as our thinking on politics. While the 5.45x18mm isn’t much of a defensive cartridge by our standards we should remember one thing: hits stopped by a vest don’t count.

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Alan Halla for his help and information.

Reference: SOVIET SMALL ARMS AND AMMUNITION. David N. Bolotin.
Finnish Arms Museum Foundation, Hyvinkaa, Finland. 1995.

SOVIET RUSSIAN POSTWAR MILITARY PISTOLS AND CARTRIDGES 1945-1986 VOLUME 16. Fred A. Datig.
Handgun Press, Glenview, IL. 1988.

THE NEW WORLD OF RUSSIAN SMALL ARMS AND AMMO. Charlie Cutshaw.
Paladin Press, Boulder, CO. 1998.

SOURCES

SPORTING SUPPLIES INT. INC.
WOLF PERFORMANCE
AMMUNITION
2201 E. Winston, Suite K.
Anaheim, CA 92806
1-714-635-4246
(New Production Ammunition From Tula Arsenal)

HANDGUN PRESS
P.O. Box 406
Glenview, Il 60025
1-847-657-6500
(Bolotin’s Must Have Book For The Soviet Collector And Datig’s Work)

PALADIN PRESS
P.O. Box 1307
Boulder, CO 80306
1-800-392-2400
(Charlie Cutshaw’s Work)