The Korean War Chinese Pistol type
51 was modeled after this Soviet weapon.
The only observable difference, the
finger-grip grooves on the slide being narrow and
more numerous than the Soviet models.
During the mid 1920's it was
decided to replace the old Nagant revolver with a more modern
automatic pistol. For one thing, the complicated
firing mechanism of the Nagant revolver was
considered not to be worth the effort.
The Tokarev cartridge is a
modification of the .30 Mauser cartridge
(7.65x25mm), and the Tokarev design is almost a
straight copy of the M1911
Browning. The only significant differences are
the lack of a safety (apart from a half-cock
position), the removable lockwork and that the
magazine guide lips are machined into the pistol
itself, thus protecting them from the common
failure of being chipped, a notable
improvement.
The Tokarev was replaced as the
standard Soviet sidearm in 1951 by the 9mm Makarov
PM pistol, which has fewer moving parts and is more
easily and cheaply manufactured, but still with
good stopping power.