SPSh Flare Pistol

Soviet SPSh Flare Pistol - 26.5mm. This model is made in 1978.

Soviet SPSh Flare Pistol - 26.5mm.

The SPSh (Signalnyi Pistolet Shpagina, "Signal Pistol of Shpagin") is a Soviet flare pistol designed in 1944 by Georgiy Semyonovich Shpagin (best known for his PPSh-41 submachine gun), and replaced the previous OSSh-42 Flare Pistol (known as SPSh-43 in service). It is commonly referred to as the SPSh-44 (also occasionally as SPSh-2), in order to distinguish it from its predecessor. From 1981, the SPSh-44 was replaced by more compact SP81, although the previously produced pistols continue to be used to this day.

There were also copies of the Polish (wz. 1944, produced in 1944-1978), Czech (produced in 1952-1983 intermittently, under the designations tgf, SiPi 44/67, and SiPI 44/81) and Chinese (Type 57, produced in 1957 - cca. mid-1970s) prodcution.

In Western countries, the SPSh is also known as the Kovrov Arsenal flare pistol.

Specifications

(1944 - 1981)

• Type: Flare pistol
• Country of Origin: USSR
• Caliber: 26.5mm
• Weight: 2 lbs (0.9 kg)
• Length: 8.7 in (22 cm)
• Barrel Length: 5.9 in (15 cm)
• Feed System: Single shot
• Fire Modes: Single action

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The SPSh Flare Pistol and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
At Map Grid 45 (V kvadrate 45)		Chief of flights		1956
The Secret of Two Oceans (Tayna dvukh okeanov)		Circus ringmaster		1957
Two Lives (Dve zhizni)	Lev Polyakov	Nikolay Ignatyev		1961
And All Will Be Quiet (Potem nastapi cisza)	Andrzej Herder	Pvt. Macienga		1966
At War as at War (Na Voyne kak na Voyne)		Soviet officer		1968
The Marathon (Maratón)		Soviet officer		1968
Liberation: The Fire Bulge	Boris Zajdenberg	Capt. Orlov		1969
The Naval Mettle (Morskoy kharakter)	Lyudmila Gladunko	Tatyana		1970
Listen on the Other Side (Daisny tserguudee sonsotsgoo!)		Japanese officer		1971
Sokolovo		Czechoslovak soldier		1975
Chained Drivers (Okovani šoferi)	Vladislav Dvorzhetsky	Walter Holz		1975
Front Without Flanks (Front bez flangov)	Vladimir Zamansky	Nikolai Sergeyevich		1975
The Lost Expedition (Propavshaya ekspeditsiya)		White Army officer		1975
In the Zone of Special Attention (V zone osobogo vnimaniya)		Helicopter pilot		1977
Pirates of the XXth Century (Piraty XX veka)	Viktor Gordeev	Yura Mikosha		1979
	Pavel Remezov	Doctor
	Georgiy Martirosyan	Klyuev
Who Will Pay for the Fortune? (Kto zaplatit za udachu?)		White Army officer		1980
Across the Gobi and the Khingan (Govi Khyangand tulaldsan ni)	uncredited	Kislenko		1981
	Vladimir Ivashov	Maj. Matveev
In Flight are the Night Witches (V nebe 'Nochnye vedmy')		Soviet female pilots		1981
The Right to Shoot (Pravo na vystrel)		A Soviet Border Guard sailor		1981
Battle for Moscow		Soviet Army officer		1985
Who's That Soldier? (Copak je to za vojáka?)		Czechoslovak Army officer	Early Czech copy	1988
The Beast of War	George Dzundza	Commander Daskal		1988
Living Target (Zhivaja mishen)	Aleksandr Fatyushin	Maj. Goryunov		1990
Zdraviya zhelayu! ili Beshenyy dembel	Mikhail Kononov	Capt. Bodrov		1990
	Aleksandr Olkov	Sr. Lieutenant
Joker	Vyacheslav Molokov	Khrushch		1991
The Warrior's Heart		Soviet soldier		1992
An Unforgettable Summer (O vara de neuitat)	Claudiu Bleont	Capt. Petre Dumitriu		1994
Medicopter 117 - Jedes Leben zählt - film	Manfred Stücklschwaiger	Pilot Thomas Wächter		1998
The Big Empty	Sean Bean	Cowboy		2003
Alien vs. Predator	Sanaa Lathan	Alexa Woods		2004
Mercenary for Justice	Langley Kirkwood	Kruger	AL-1 line thrower	2006
		A mercenary
Hannibal Rising		Soviet border guard		2007
Flu Birds	Jonathon Trent	Johnson		2008
	Bill Posley	Derrick
Dnieper Line: Love and War	Evgeni Ivkovitch	NKVD officer		2009
Pillbox (Dot)	David Zimmerschied	Hauptmann von Wuttke		2009
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night	Brandon Routh	Dylan Dog		2011
Devil's Pass	Matt Stokoe	Jensen Day		2013
	Luke Albright	JP
	Ryan Hawley	Andy Thatcher
Black Sea	Jude Law	Robinson		2014
	David Threlfall	Peters
The Last Witch Hunter		seen in the Kaulder's armory		2015
Territory	Vladislav Abashin	Zhora Apryatin		2015
		A driver, a guest on wedding
The Axe. 1943 (Topor. 1943)		A Soviet officer		2021

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
Long Road in the Dunes (Ilgais cels kapas)	Uldis Vazdiks	Martins	Ep.7	1982
	Paul Butkevich	Heinrihs Strautnieks
Eternal Call (Vechnyy zov) - Season 2		A Soviet officer		1983
Front Without Mercy (Front ohne Gnade)	Joachim Schönitz	A Wehrmacht Lt.	Ep.10	1984
Medicopter 117 - Jedes Leben zählt - Season 1	Wolfgang Krewe	Ralf Staller	eighth episode	1998
Medicopter 117 - Jedes Leben zählt - Season 2	Manfred Stücklschwaiger	Thomas Wächter	tenth episode	1999
Medicopter 117 - Jedes Leben zählt - Season 3	Manfred Stücklschwaiger	Thomas Wächter	thirteenth episode	2000
Medicopter 117 - Jedes Leben zählt - Season 4	Manfred Stücklschwaiger	Thomas Wächter	thirdth episode	2001
Brigada	Dmitri Dyuzhev	Kosmos Kholmogorov		2002
Medicopter 117 - Jedes Leben zählt - Season 6	Hans Heller	Jens Köster	first episode	2003
That 70's Show	Ashton Kutcher	Michael Kelso	"Baby Don't You Do It"	2004
Snipers. Love Under the Gun (Snaypery. Lyubov pod pritselom)	Aleksandr Ustyugov	Capt. Subbotin		2013
Days of Honour. Uprising (Czas honoru. Powstanie)		Polish insurgent		2014
Territory	Aleksey Rozin	Murzin	(Ep. 04)	2020
Fortunate Son	Roger LeBlanc	Dennis	"White Rabbit" (S01E06)	2020