Origin: Soviet Union
Year: 1943
Type: Submachine gun
Caliber: 7.62x25mm
Weight: 3.04 kg (6.7 lb)
Length: 820 mm (32.3 in)
Barrel length: 243 mm (9.6 in)
Capacity: 35 rds

The PPS-43 is a Soviet submachine gun design developed during World War II. Manufactured largely from metal stampings and using a very simple design, the PPS-43 was developed to be less costly and more easily manufactured alternative to the other major Soviet submachine gun design in production at the time, the PPSh-41. Notable changes include the absence of wooden furniture, the addition of a folding stock, a lower rate of fire, and the replacement of the 71 round drum of the PPSh-41 for a new 35 round stick magazine. Developed by Alexey Sudayev from a prototype design by a Lt. Bezruchko-Vysotsky, the PPS saw its combat debut as the PPS-42 during the Siege of Leningrad where it was manufactured in the city and sent directly to the front lines. Use of the PPS-42 during the siege allowed for improvements to be made to the design, leading to the PPS-43 in time for mass production starting in 1943. Over 2 million PPS-43 submachine guns would be built by the Soviet Union during the war; however, the design's simplicity and effectiveness was not enough to keep the weapon in production as the Soviet Union was already working to move to the assault rifle concept and no longer needed the massive quantities of submachine guns that they had needed during World War II. Soviet production of the design came to an end in 1946, one year before the official adoption of the Kalashnikov rifle. However, production continued in other countries such as China (Type 54) and Poland (wz. 43). Poland would also adapt the design to use a more conventional fixed wooden stock in the form of the wz. 43/52 as well as producing a semi-automatic pistol version in the form of the PPS-43C. Finland would also adopt their own submachine gun design based upon the PPS-43 with the KP M/44, which in turn provided the basis for the Spanish DUX submachine guns.