Manual

FOREWORD
Political and economic forces brought the once powerful United.
Soviet Sedanst Republic to a dro]noflc. if not dignified. end.
However. in wake of the USSR'spassage. some remarkable things
did happen. to the .world of f&reams. Many firearms once only
known to serious coUectors. or fortunate war veterans. ore now not
uncommon at gun shops and gun shows throughout the United
States. Aficionados should enjoy this relative abundance while it
lasts. The forces of anff-gun politics and limited numbers wm bring
an end to ready and inexpensive avaTIability all too soon.
Copyright 2004 by D.R.&M.T.Morse
pubnsh ed by Rtlng Pin Enterprizes
Printed in the United states of America
No part of this manual may be photocopied. transcribed or
otherwise reproduced without pdor wdtten consent of the author.
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BACKGROUND
Poland has designed and manufactured many tine military weap-
ons. In the area of handguns. the Radom is a famous Polish pistol.
This 9mm sidearm might even be better than the famous Browning
P-35 design pistol, having a less violent recoiJ and Jess wear to mov-
ing parts than the famous Hi-Power. Prior to World War If. Radoms
were of excellent quality. and are sought by collectors today with
much enthusiosm.
World War 11found Poland quickly occupied by German forces. and
weapons production performed by forced labor under Nazi control.
Quality of course suffered. The ending of WWII resulted in Soviet
control of this poorly treated country. Weapons design was influ-
enced by Iron Curtain restrictions.
By the late 1950's, the Polish Army desired a new sidearm. The Rus-
sian Tokarov TT-33 pistol was then the standard issue pistol for the
Polish forces.
Wanting some independence from fhe Soviet Union, they chose not
to simply adopt the USSR Makarov, but desired to develop a
weapon of their own design. A team of Polish army officers gath-
ered to give birth to this new pistol. Initially. the officers were di-
vided upon two variations of a basic design. calfed the CZAK (an
acronym of the designers last names). Prototypes of the two vari-
ants were made for testing. One was dubbed the mOdel
"M" [milicyjny - police modeJ,. the other model "W" (wojskowj-
military model.
These models diHered in external dimensions and magazjne capac-
ity
- the military model had a longer barrer and 7rd magazine ca-
pacity. Testing, evaluation and bureaucracy saw to the final deci~
sion being deJoyed until 196]. when the CZAK Model M was chosen
to replace the Tokarav TI-33 as the standard Potish service pistol for
the military. pOlice and security agencies. By the middle 1960's pro-
duction started on a pistol offidolly designated the" 9mm pistolet
WZ. 1964 ~9mm pistol model 1964).
The P-64 pistol chambered the standard Soviet 9x] 8mm cartridge.
then common to the Soviet Makorov pistol. The Model P-64 pistol
was of blowback operation. with a double action trigger mecha-
nism. Though similar in some ways to the Makarov and the Walther
pp,
and sometimes erroneously described 05 a PP clone, the P-64 is
neither. It was designed by Polish engineers from scratch borrowing
features from both sources. The P-64 is more compad than the PP
and fires a more powerfuJ ~9x 18mm) cartridge than the PP.
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