General Facts
- TYPE
Pistol - ORIGIN
Poland - NICKNAMES
CZAK (acronym of the designers' last names)
9 mm pistolet wz. 1964 (Polish service) - DESIGNED
1958 - 1961 - DESIGNER
Polish Institute for Artillery Research - PRODUCTION
1964 - 1977 (or 1984?) - PRODUCERS Poland - Lucznik arms factory in Radom
- QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Limited production costs. - CHARACTERISTICS
Limited size and weight
Low production cost
Simple and reliable design
Limited stopping power
Limited magazine capacity
Harsh recoil
Introduction
The P-64 is an early Cold War era pistol of Polish origin. It was developed as a domestic replacement for the World War 2 era Soviet TT-33 pistol. The P-64 is a simple and compact weapon. This comes with the drawbacks of a limited magazine capacity and modest firepower.
Design
The P-64 is a small double action blowback operated pistol. It fires the 9x18mm Makarov round from a single stack magazine. The P-64 has a metal frame and metal slide with fixed iron sights.
Firepower
The P-64 is a semi-automatic pistol that fires the 9x18mm Makarov round from a 6 round detachable box magazine. The maximum effective range is quoted as 25 meters.
Users
The P-64 was adopted as standard issue pistol in Polish military service in 1965. As standard issue it has been replaced by the newer 9x19mm WIST-94. The P-64 was also used in large quantities by Polish law enforcement. During the Vietnam war the P-64 was used by the NVA and the Vietcong.
P-64
P-64: The P-64 pistol is produced in only the baseline model. There are no variants, although during production some minor changes were implemented.
During the development phase and later in the 1970's a number of variants were developed on the P-64 design. None of these left the prototype stage.
At a glance the P-64 is easily mistaken for either a Walther PP or Makarov pistol. Although the characteristics are similar, the P-64 is an original design and not a direct copy.
- Specifications:
- P-64
| Type | Pistol |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 9x18mm Makarov |
| Magazine | 6 round detachable box |
| Operation | Simple blowback, double action |
| Fire selector | 0-1 |
| Rate of fire | Semi-automatic |
| Barrel length | 85 mm |
|---|---|
| Rifling | ? |
| Muzzle velocity | 305 m/s |
| Stock | - |
| Length | 160 mm |
| Width | ? |
| Height | 117 mm |
|---|---|
| Weight | 0.62 kg with empty magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights, blade front and notch rear, non-adjustable, 114 mm sight radius |
| Remarks | - |
Walther PP
Although the P-64 is a separate design effort, the characteristics are similar to the older and iconic Walther PP pistol.
Makarov
The Polish P-64 was adopted as standard issue in Polish service in order to have ammunition commonality with the Makarov that became standard issue in Soviet service.