This TOZ-82/TP-82 is a break action combination gun designed for use by Soviet cosmonauts after they returned from their missions.
The upper two barrels are for 12.5x70 mm (~39 gauge) shotshells for taking small game or to launch signal flares.
The lower, central barrel is for the Soviet 5.45x39 mm round which is also used in the AK-74 and other weapons. This was intended for defense against wolves and other predators and had an effective range of roughly 200 meters.
The cartridge belt issued with the weapon was supplied with five red flares, ten shotshells, and ten 5.45x39 mm rounds. The flares could reach an altitude of 150 meters (just under 500 feet) and would burn for roughly ten seconds. When in the capsule, the unloaded weapon and cartridge belt was stored in a sealed metal case stowed between the couches.
The detachable buttstock was also a ~12-inch long machete, the sheath of which was reinforced to handle the force of firing the weapon.
The weapon has fixed iron sights.
There is a single trigger and two hammers. The right hammer fires the right smoothbore barrel, while the left fires the left smooth barrel or the 5.45 mm barrel. The large lever on the left side of the gun is used to switch which barrel the hammer fires. Pushing the lever under the trigger guard to the left unlocks the barrels, allowing the weapon to hinge open.
The ammunition was produced by TSNII TochMash. The 5.45 mm rounds (bullet mass was 3.6 grams) were specially designed with soft tips for improved terminal performance. The shotshells were brass cased.
The TOZ-82 was designed after the Voskhod 2 (Sunrise 2) mission in March 1965. During the flight, Alexey Leonov became the first man to walk in space. Their return to Earth was complicated by issues with their ship's center of gravity (as both men were wearing full spacesuits), and other technical issues. The result was that they landed 386 kilometers from where was planned, leaving cosmonauts Pavel Belyayev and Alexey Leonov stranded in the Ural Mountains. Though they had a pistol for protection, the threat of dangerous wildlife spurred Leonov to push the creation of the TOZ-82.
The project was only approved in 1981, when Leonov was the second in command of the Soviet cosmonaut training center (the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center). Several designs were submitted, but the Tula design by Vladimir Alexandrovich Paramonov was ultimately selected. Tula began limited production of the gun in 1982 which continued to 1987, and was halted as enough had been made to supply space missions and some aircrews with the TP-82.
It was first issued to the crew of Soyuz T-6 in June 1982 and was supplied to Soviet and later Russian space missions until 2007. That year, the last supplies of ammunition ran out of shelf life, so use has been discontinued.
I have not found an exact production number for the TP-82 though, and other photos that I have found have illegible serial numbers. But they do not seem to have the engraving on the metal or checkering on the wood that the Stafford Museum has.
Specifications:
Length:
With stock: 670 mm (26 inches)
Without: 360 mm (14.2 inches)
Mass:
With stock 2.4 Kg (5.3 lbs)
Without: 1.6 Kg (3.5 lbs)
Barrel length: 300 mm (11 inches)
Cartridge: 5.45x39 mm, 12.5x70 mm
Along with the TP-82 in the case are the letters from Leonov from when he gave the firearm to General Stafford. The letters are in English and Russian, and the English copy is transcribed below.
===
Dear Tom,
I would be infinitely glad if you accepted my modest gift for your museum in Oklahoma - a triple-barrel hand-gun which is an emergency issue for cosmonauts and SU-27, MIG-32 pilots.
The 1982 models of the TP-82 triple-barrel hand-gun was designed by the Tula Arms Plant specialized engineering bureau with my personal participation.
The hand-gun is used in emergency landings for the purposes of personal protection, procuring provisions and sending up flares.
The flare charge is contained in a steel core, continues burning within the interval of 100-900 m and during a fall of not lower than 100 m. The two upper barrels of 32 calibre are used for pellet charges as well as flare launches; and the lower barrel loaded with 5.43 mm fragmentation bullets with the exit velocity of 1147m/sec, thus making a hand-gun effective in hunting for small and medium fowl as well as wolf, bear, wild boar, all types of deer and elk. Flare charges of the upper barrels may be used in hunting wild boar, deer and elk at gun-shot distances with the gun's efficiency higher than that of the Kalashnikov 5.45 calibre machine gun.
Over a two-year period the hand-gun as been in testing in various geographic and climactic and during various seasons at various live targets practice. The hand-gun's characteristics have confirmed in full and it became a standard emergency issue in 1982.
With joy and respect,
your brother
Alexei Leonov
===
Sources:
Informational plaque, General Thomas P. Stafford Air and Space Museum.
TP-82: Russian space pistol/shotgun/carbine/flare gun no longer being carried into space. Steve Johnson. 13 October, 2007. http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/13/tp-82-russian-space-pistol-shotgun-carbine-flare-gun-no-longer-being-carried-into-space/
TP-82 cosmonaut (space men) survival weapon (rifle-shotgun) (USSR/Russia). http://modernfirearms.net/shotgun/rus/tp-2-e.html
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