The PPS-43C (Pistolet-Pulemet Sudaeva, model of 1943 = Sudaev submachine gun) was born as an answer for the need of a weapon that would be more compact and mobile than the PPSh-41, which was in use then by the Soviet Army. The PPSh-41 was somewhat too long to be used by tank crews, mobile recon groups and paratroopers. In late 1941, the Red Army issued a request for a new, more compact SMG. Designer Sudaev initially designed his new SMG in 1942 and it was adopted under the designation of PPS42. Next year he refined the design and this final model was designated as PPS43. This SMG was manufactured in significant numbers, with nearly 2 million PPS43 weapons manufactured between 1943 and 1946. The PPS43 is sometimes referred to as the best SMG of World War II. After WWII, it was widely exported to pro-Soviet regimes around the world and widely copied. The PPS43 was license-produced in Poland starting in 1946.