Unlike the PP, it was equipped with a heel magazine release and an external slide stop.
Bulgarian and Russian PMs have 13 slide serrations on each side.
In this posed photo, an East German soldier is armed with a Makarov PM pistol. To collectors, the Makarov was nearly as iconic asthe AK-47.
This is an excellent example of the East German Makarov PM imported into the U.S. It is shown with a holster and spare magazine. Image: Jeff Hallinan
Members of the DDR’s Volkspolizei who are all armed with the StG44 pass in review during a parade in 1955. Image:Bundesarchiv 183-33349-0002
East German border police training with the TT-33 Tokarev semi-automatic pistol in January 1958. Image:Bundesarchiv 183-52584-0002
An East Berliner pleads with members of the East German People’s Police as he tried to cross the closed border between East and West Berlin on August 14, 1961. Image: USIA
Here, East German soldiers train with the Makarov PM. The pistol shown was likely made in Suhl.
An East German Makarov PM that was produced in 1961 by Ernst Thælmann in Suhl, Thuringia. Image: Jeff Hallinan
