GR translation: unslinging his Tokarev and firing from the hip

[Mike Jing]

Thanks for responding, János, Jochen, and Jim.

On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 1:11 PM, Jim Frame <jbframe at aol.com> wrote:
> The Tokarev is an automatic pistol almost as ubiquitous as the AK-47.  It
> was developed in the 30s, a copy of the .45 caliber colt pistol used by the
> US Army since 1911.  It was used by the Red Army in World War II, later
> replaced by the Makarov in the late 40s or early 50s.  No sling involved,
> but Pynchon gets these minor details wrong from time to time (like in Lot
> 49, referring to Tsar Nikolai during the US Civil War period, when it was
> actually Tsar Alexander II).
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> To: Pynchon Mailing List <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Wed, Nov 23, 2016 1:02 am
> Subject: GR translation: unslinging his Tokarev and firing from the hip
>
> V503.34-38, P512.9-13 One of the chimps now bites a Soviet corporal
> in the leg. The corporal screams, unslinging his Tokarev and firing
> from the hip, by which time the chimp has leaped for a halyard. A
> dozen more of the critters, many carrying vodka bottles, head en masse
> for the gangplank. “Don’t let them get away,” Haftung hollers.
>
> Weisenburger refers to the Tokarev as a pistol, probably the TT-30. Is
> it common to keep a pistol in a sling in WWII? Or is this more likely
> to be a rifle, perhaps the SVT-38 or SVT-40?
> -
> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l