Pistol Zastava M57 Tetejatz

Tokarev TT-33 as a conceptual model of the M57 Zastava

The Zastava's M57 Teteatz pistol is a Yugoslav version of the Soviet TT-33 model with minor modifications. The M57 "Teteatz" was the official weapon of the JNA and the Yugoslav Militia, which is why it will remain a symbol of the SFRY, and it was also used a lot during the wars in the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Due to the speed of the bullet, which can easily pass through the body, it is also known as a gun for wounding and not killing, however, considering that it is primarily a military pistol, it had great penetrating power. It was also used a lot in criminal fights because it easily broke through cars. That is why he was very popular in criminal circles in the 1990s in our area.

Zastava M57 is a semi-automatic pistol modeled on the Soviet model Tokarev TT (Tokarev-Tula) -33, a pistol used by the USSR in World War II, after which it was nicknamed "Teteatz", and the TT-33 itself made in the image of FN Browning 1903.

In 1957, the design team of the factory Red Flag, led by the designer Miloš Ostojić, began work on the production of pistols, and only in 1963 did the mass production of the M57 pistol begin. Although it was a copy of the TT-33, it was much better than it. The main differences are that instead of 8, there were 9 bullets in the frame, which is why it had a longer handle, and the return spring in the M57 was in two parts. The pistol is made of steel construction and works on the principle of a short twitch of the barrel. The M57 is in the 7.62x25mm caliber and later versions of the second caliber are also produced. The Yugoslav version had a so-called automatic brake, ie it could not fire a bullet if the frame was out of handrail. This solution was quite controversial because without a frame, the gun was unusable. On the handle was a star stamp with the letters FNRY and later SFRY. There was an alcove on the lower part of the handle, so the local policemen tied the frame with the handle with a chain so that the frame would not fall out and prevent their use. The sight was of the open type according to the dovetail principle. On the upper side of the retreat was the engraved coat of arms of the SFRY with torches.

Technical characteristics:

Caliber: 7.62 × 25 mm

Pistol length: 200 mm

Pipe length: 116 mm

Length of the aiming line: 158 mm

Height: 130 mm

Weight with frame: about 880 grams

Weight without frame: 780 grams

Frame capacity: 9 bullets

Initial grain speed: 455 m / s

Shooting speed: 30-40 bullets / minute

Effective range: 50m

Maximum grain range: about 1600 m

Later, Red Flag (Zastava) started working on commercial versions for the domestic and US markets, which is why the models had to have an additional mechanical brake.

The successor versions of the M57 are:

The 7.65 mm M70 version looks different with less length and weight

The 9x19mm version of the M70A had an additional mechanical brake on the left side.

M88 caliber 9x19mm

Z10 caliber 10mm car

Later, Teteatz was taken out of official use and replaced with CZ99. Nevertheless, Teteatz had great commercial success and is one of the most widespread and most widely used pistols in this area.

On this video you can see method of disassembling pistol Teteatz: