OC-14 Groza
Encyclopedia
OC-14-4A "Groza-4" is a Russian selective fire bullpup
assault rifle
chambered for the 9x39mm subsonic round. It was developed in the 1990s at the CKIB SOO (Central Research and Design Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Weapons) in Tula
, Russia
. The weapon is also colloquially known as OC-14 "Groza" or OTs-14 "Groza" ("Thunderstorm
"). The OC-14-4A "Groza-4" has one derivative, the TKB-0239 (ТКБ-0239), also known as OC-14-1A "Groza-1", chambered for the 7.62x39mm
round.
trade show in April 1994 and adopted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) shortly thereafter. The success of the OC-14-4A in the hands of MVD personnel brought it to the attention of the Ministry of Defence (MO), who also had a requirement for such a weapon. After a period of testing, the weapon was adopted for Spetsnaz
forces and some airborne and specialist front-line combat units such as combat engineers. The weapon was originally intended to have used any one of four cartridges: 5.45x39mm, 5.56x45mm, 7.62x39mm
or 9x39mm. That idea was dropped and the assault rifle was originally chambered in 9x39mm to meet the MVD's requirement for a close combat weapon for deployment in Chechnya
.
. It is a selective fire
, air-cooled magazine-fed rifle with a gas-actuated
piston operating system and a rotary bolt
locking mechanism.
The weapon fires from a closed bolt
and has a hammer-type firing mechanism. A fire mode selector is provided which also serves as a manual safety catch. The assault rifle is equipped with iron sight
s contained in the carrying handle that consist of an adjustable rear aperture sight on a tangent leaf with range graduations from 50 to 200 m, and a forward post. The grenade launcher is aimed using a folding leaf sight. The weapon will also accept several optical sights, including the PSO
telescopic sights which mount directly onto the carrying handle or, as on early models, onto a bracket on the left side of the receiver housing
. The OC-14-4A also has a night sight dovetail that will accept all standard night vision optics.
is also included in the standard kit, as is a quick-change short barrel for use with the suppressor or for when maximum compactness is desired.
Bullpup
Bullpups are firearm configurations in which the action is located behind the trigger group and alongside the shooter's face, so there is no wasted space for the buttstock as in conventional designs. This permits a shorter firearm length for the same barrel length for improved maneuverability, and...
assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
chambered for the 9x39mm subsonic round. It was developed in the 1990s at the CKIB SOO (Central Research and Design Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Weapons) in Tula
Tula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The weapon is also colloquially known as OC-14 "Groza" or OTs-14 "Groza" ("Thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
"). The OC-14-4A "Groza-4" has one derivative, the TKB-0239 (ТКБ-0239), also known as OC-14-1A "Groza-1", chambered for the 7.62x39mm
7.62×39mm
The 7.62×39mm round is a rifle cartridge of Soviet origin that was designed during World War II. It was first used in the RPD machine gun. Due to the worldwide proliferation of the SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, the cartridge is utilized by both militaries and civilians alike.The 7.62×39mm...
round.
History
Work on the OC-14-4A project began in December 1992. The weapon's chief designers were Valery Telesh, responsible for the GP-25 and GP-30 under-barrel grenade launchers, and Yuri Lebedev. The team set out to design an integrated system that would incorporate all the best features of a close combat arm into a single weapon using the AKS-74U as a starting platform. Prototypes were ready for testing in less than a year and the weapon was ready for production by early 1994. It was first presented to the public at the MILIPOL MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
trade show in April 1994 and adopted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) shortly thereafter. The success of the OC-14-4A in the hands of MVD personnel brought it to the attention of the Ministry of Defence (MO), who also had a requirement for such a weapon. After a period of testing, the weapon was adopted for Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
forces and some airborne and specialist front-line combat units such as combat engineers. The weapon was originally intended to have used any one of four cartridges: 5.45x39mm, 5.56x45mm, 7.62x39mm
7.62×39mm
The 7.62×39mm round is a rifle cartridge of Soviet origin that was designed during World War II. It was first used in the RPD machine gun. Due to the worldwide proliferation of the SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, the cartridge is utilized by both militaries and civilians alike.The 7.62×39mm...
or 9x39mm. That idea was dropped and the assault rifle was originally chambered in 9x39mm to meet the MVD's requirement for a close combat weapon for deployment in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
.
Operating mechanism
The OC-14-4A is a small arms weapon system based on the 5.45x39mm AKS-74U carbineCarbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
. It is a selective fire
Selective fire
A selective fire firearm has at least one semi–automatic and one automatic mode, which is activated by means of a selector which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective fire weapons utilize burst fire mechanisms to limit the maximum or total number of shots fired automatically in...
, air-cooled magazine-fed rifle with a gas-actuated
Gas-operated reloading
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to extract the spent case and chamber a new cartridge. Energy from the gas is harnessed...
piston operating system and a rotary bolt
Rotating bolt
Rotating bolt is a method of locking originally developed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher and found in his Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 straight-pull bolt-action rifle designed for and issued to the Austro-Hungarian Army...
locking mechanism.
Features
The OC-14-4A shares a 75% component commonality with the AKS-74U. The basic components of the weapon are borrowed directly from the AKS-74U assault rifle and slightly modified, simplifying the design as a whole and making the weapon considerably cheaper. The weapon has modular design allowing for assembly of one of four weapon versions depending on the assigned mission. It is configured in a bullpup layout for increased portability and balance. The grip is displaced forward, making the assault rifle compact, suitable for concealed carrying and so well balanced that it can be fired using just one hand, like a pistol.The weapon fires from a closed bolt
Closed bolt
A semi or full-automatic firearm which is said to fire from a closed bolt is one where, when ready to fire, a round is in the chamber and the bolt and working parts are forward...
and has a hammer-type firing mechanism. A fire mode selector is provided which also serves as a manual safety catch. The assault rifle is equipped with iron sight
Iron sight
Iron sights are a system of shaped alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm, crossbow, or telescope, and exclude the use of optics as in telescopic sights or reflector sights...
s contained in the carrying handle that consist of an adjustable rear aperture sight on a tangent leaf with range graduations from 50 to 200 m, and a forward post. The grenade launcher is aimed using a folding leaf sight. The weapon will also accept several optical sights, including the PSO
PSO-1
The Soviet PSO-1 telescopic sight was at the time of its introduction , the most technically advanced telescopic sight ever designed for a mass-production designated marksman or sniper rifle...
telescopic sights which mount directly onto the carrying handle or, as on early models, onto a bracket on the left side of the receiver housing
Receiver (firearms)
In firearms terminology, the receiver is the part of a firearm that houses the operating parts. The receiver usually contains the bolt carrier group, trigger group, and magazine port. In most handguns, the receiver, or frame, holds the magazine well or rotary magazine as well as the trigger mechanism...
. The OC-14-4A also has a night sight dovetail that will accept all standard night vision optics.
Accessories
It is issued in an aluminum transport case with equipment and accessories for a wide array of tactical situations. Included in the case are two different grip and trigger assemblies, one for use with the modified GP-25/30 grenade launcher and another for use when the launcher is detached. When the grenade launcher is installed, the combined rifle and grenade launcher is operated with a single trigger. A selector switch on left side of the grip near the trigger guard allows the user to select between rifle or grenade barrels. When the grenade launcher is detached, it is replaced by a vertical grip. A suppressorSuppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
is also included in the standard kit, as is a quick-change short barrel for use with the suppressor or for when maximum compactness is desired.
Variants
- OC-14-4A - variant with a grenade launcher
- OC-14-4A-01 - variant with a vertical forward grip
- OC-14-4A-02 - variant without barrel attachments
- OC-14-4A-03 - variant with a suppressor
See also
- 9A-919A-91The 9A-91 is a carbine assault rifle currently in use with Russian police forces.The 9A91 is a gas operated, rotating bolt weapon, which utilizes a long stroke gas piston, located above the barrel, and a rotating bolt with 4 lugs. The receiver is made from steel stampings; the forend and pistol...
- AK-9AK-9AK-9 is a proposed Russian fully automatic assault rifle chambered for the 9 x 39 mm subsonic cartridge. It is one of the latest models of the popular Kalashnikov rifle series...
- ASAS ValThe AS "Val" is a Soviet designed assault rifle featuring an integrated suppressor....
- OC-12
- SR-3SR-3 VikhrThe SR-3 Vikhr is a Russian compact fully automatic assault rifle chambered for the 9x39mm subsonic round. It was developed by CNIITochMash in the early 1990s...
- TKB-022PMTKB-022PMTKB-022PM No. 1 , TKB-022PM No. 2 and TKB-022PM5 No. 1 were Soviet bullpup assault rifles, capable of fully automatic fire, chambered for the 7.62 x 39 mm round and the 5.6 x 39 mm round , developed by the small arms designer German A...
- TKB-059TKB-059TKB-059 was a Soviet three-barrel bullpup assault rifle, capable of fully automatic fire, chambered for the 7.62 x 39 mm round and manufactured by the Tula State Arsenal in 1966. It was based on the Pribor ZB assault rifle . Both weapons were developed by the small arms designer G. A...
- VSK-94VSK-94The VSK-94 is a 9 mm silenced sniper rifle developed by the Russia KBP Instrument Design Bureau as a low-cost alternative to the VSS rifle. The rifle is based on the 9A-91 assault rifle. The VSK-94 was designed to accurately engage unarmored point targets at ranges up to 400 m.The VSK-94 retains...
- VSSVSS VintorezThe VSS , also called the Vintorez , is a silent sniper rifle developed in the late 1980s by TsNIITochMash and manufactured by the Tula Arsenal...
