The PPS-42 was created as a result of a Red Army requirement for a compact and lightweight weapon that would provide similar accuracy (with a reduced rate of fire) using more cost-effective production methods than the standard Soviet 7.62 mm PPSh-41 submachine gun being issued at the time (See FTA 178). During the design phase, emphasis was placed on simplifying the production process and as a result, sheet-steel stamping was chosen to manufacture most of the firearm's assemblies. Prototypes were evaluated successfully in the spring of 1942, after which the firearm was accepted into service later that year as the PPS (Pistolet Pulemyot Sudayeva, An initial preproduction batch was completed that same year during the Siege of Leningrad, however mass production did not commence until early 1943. Towards the middle of 1943 the modernized PPS-43 entered production; once again efforts were made to reduce the amount of machining operations required to produce the weapon. The ventilated hand guard was integrated into the receiver housing and is now a single component, both the barrel and stock were shortened, the stock's locking mechanism was simplified, The weapon was copied in turn by the Chinese who continued manufacture into the 1950s. This example is a chinese copy from 1955.
Marks and Stamps: (Top of receiver) Chinese Characters 1955 Serial no.| Accession Number: 172 | Period of Use: 1942 - present |
| Type: Machine pistol/SMG | War Zones: Second World War; Korea; Hungarian Uprising; Indo-China; Africa |
| Country of Origin: China | Type Date: 1954 |
| Manufacturer: Unknown | Serial Number: 3235111 |
| Manufacture Date: 1955 | Calibre/Ammunition: 7.62 x 25 |
| Weight: 3100g | Length Overall: 831mm |
| Cyclic Rate: 700rpm | Length Barrel: 254mm |
| Deactivation Certificate Number: DA 5506 |