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18-460: The gun was designed by G. S. Shpagin as a replacement for the previous models of the Red Army signal pistol . In 1943 he made first version of the gun - 26mm SPSh-43 flare (signal) pistol ( 26-мм осветительный (сигнальный) пистолет СПШ-43 ). In January 1944, The second version of this pistol was made - SPSh-2 ( СПШ-2 ). After tests and trials, in 1944 SPSh-2 flare gun was officially adopted as

36-561: A member of the Communist Party . He, in competition with the AS-44 , also created his own prototype assault rifle called the ASh-44, which was operated by a blowback system . However, the ASh-44 design was dropped from trial testing due to it being uncontrollable on full-auto firing, which led to the issuing of a mandate that all future rifle designs be locked breech . From 1946 until 1950, Shpagin

54-777: A second "Hammer and Sickle" medal and bronze busts of the Heroes were to be constructed in their hometowns to mark the occasion. Thrice Heroes of Socialist Labour were to have their busts placed near the planned Palace of the Soviets , but this was never implemented as the Palace of Soviets was never built. Only the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union could deprive a person of this title. The insignia "Hero of Socialist Labour", like

72-463: A similar status to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union , which was awarded for heroic deeds, but differed in that it was not awarded to foreign citizens. The Title "Hero of Socialist Labour" was introduced by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on December 27, 1938. Originally, Heroes of Socialist Labour were awarded the highest decoration of the Soviet Union ,

90-475: A workshop designing weapons in the same area, working with Soviet weapons designers Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov and Vasily Degtyaryov . After nearly a decade and a half of unsuccessful attempts, his workshop released the DShK in 1938. It is still in widespread use as an anti-personnel gun, an anti-aircraft gun, and a light anti-tank weapon. During World War II , about 8,000 units of Shpagin's DShK were produced by

108-548: The Order of Lenin , and a diploma from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In order to distinguish the Heroes of Socialist Labour from other Order of Lenin recipients, the " Hammer and Sickle " gold medal was introduced by decree of the Presidium on 22 May 1940, to accompany the Order of Lenin and diploma. The first recipient of the award was Joseph Stalin, awarded by

126-672: The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on December 20, 1939. The second recipient was machine gun designer Vasily Degtyaryov (2 January 1940). The third (and the last before the onset of Operation Barbarossa ) was issued to nine weapons designers, including Fedor Tokarev , Boris Shpitalniy , Nikolai Polikarpov , Alexander Yakovlev and Vladimir Klimov  [ ru ] . Post-1945 recipients include Mikhail Koshkin , Mikhail Kalashnikov , Nikolai Afanasyev , Emilian Bucov , Alexander Tselikov , Dmitri Shostakovich , Peter Andreevich Tkachev , and Andrei Tupolev . By September 1, 1971, 16,245 people (11,748 men, 4,497 women) had been awarded

144-568: The Soviet Union . In 1940, he came up with his most accredited design: the PPSh-41 , which would go on to become the staple automatic weapon used by the Red Army on the Eastern Front . The PPSh-41 was a favoured design because it was cheap to produce and easy to maintain at a time when the national arms demand was exceptionally high due to Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union . In 1944, Shpagin became

162-484: The "Hero of the Soviet Union" Gold Star Medal, is always worn in full on the left side of the chest and in the presence of other orders and medals, placed above them. If worn with honorific titles of the Russian Federation, the latter have precedence. The title "Hero of Socialist Labour" was designed by the artist A. Pomansky. Its gold hammer and sickle insignia was a five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on

180-457: The Russian Federation ". The Honorific title "Hero of Socialist Labour" was awarded by the Presidium to citizens who made significant contributions to the advancement of Soviet industry , agriculture, transportation, trade, science and technology , or otherwise served as exemplary models of the Soviet worker. Heroes of Socialist Labour who attained further exceptional achievements were awarded

198-519: The combat power of the Red Army " through his acclaimed weapons designs. Additionally, he had received the Order of the Red Star in 1938 and the Order of Suvorov (Second Class) in 1945, in addition to three separate awards of the Order of Lenin (in 1941, 1943, and 1945). In Russia , there are large public monuments dedicated to Shpagin in Kovrov and Vyatka , and there is also a street named after him in

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216-481: The latter city. Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (Russian: Герой Социалистического Труда , romanized:  Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda ) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievements in Soviet industry and culture. It provided

234-574: The new standard Red Army signal pistol. In May 1944 it began mass production as SPSh-44 signal pistol . Later it became the standard flare gun in all Warsaw Pact countries. In the mid-1970s, experimental cartridges for immobilization of wild animals for SPSh-44 signal pistol were made and tested. The SPSh-44 is a single-shot break-action smoothbore flare gun. Georgy Shpagin Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin ( Russian : Георгий Семёнович Шпагин ; 17 April 1897 – 6 February 1952 )

252-410: The obverse, the diameter of the circumscribed star was 33.5 mm. In the centre of the obverse, a relief hammer and sickle respectively of 14 and 13 mm. It weighed 15.25 grams. The reverse was plain and was surrounded by a slightly raised rim. In the centre, the relief inscription "Hero of Socialist Labour" ( Russian : "Герой Социалистического Труда" ) in 2mm high letters, the award serial number

270-448: The title of Hero of Socialist Labour. One hundred and five people (80 men, 25 women) have been awarded multiple "Hammer and Sickle" medals. By 1991, at the dissolution of the Soviet Union , over 20,000 people had been awarded the title. In the history of the USSR, 16 people became Heroes of Socialist Labour three times: In March 2013, Vladimir Putin issued a decree establishing a title considered to be its successor, " Hero of Labour of

288-483: Was a Soviet weapons designer. He is best-known as the creator of the PPSh-41 , a submachine gun that saw widespread use by the Red Army on the Eastern Front . He also worked with fellow Soviet weapons designer Vasily Degtyaryov on the DShK , a heavy machine gun , shortly before the start of World War II . Shpagin was born on 17 April 1897 to a Russian peasant family in Klyushnikovo , close to Kovrovo , in what

306-622: Was a member of the Supreme Soviet , the national legislative body. During this time, he became seriously ill and was diagnosed with stomach cancer . He died of the disease in February 1952 and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in the city of Moscow . Shpagin was awarded the State Stalin Prize (Second Class) in 1941, and received the title " Hero of Socialist Labour " on 16 September 1945 for his "creation of new types of weapons and raising

324-639: Was then the Russian Empire . He attended school for three years before becoming a carpenter at the age of 12 (in 1909). In 1916, Shpagin was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army to fight on the Eastern Front . The following year, he was assigned to repair artillery. After the October Revolution , he joined the Red Army and worked as a gunsmith in Vladimir Oblast . After 1920, he was at

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