AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (Russian: Автомат Калашникова, lit. 'Kalashnikov's automatic [rifle]'; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, it is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov (or "AK") family of rifles. After more than eight decades since its creation, the AK-47 model and its variants remain one of the most popular and widely used firearms in the world.
This article is about the weapon. For other uses, see AK-47 (disambiguation).AK-47
1949–1974 (Soviet Union)
1949–present (other countries)
See Users
See Conflicts
1946–1948[1]
Kalashnikov Concern and various others including Norinco
≈ 75 million AK-47s, 100 million Kalashnikov-family weapons.[4][5]
See Variants
715 m/s (2,350 ft/s)[8]
350 m (380 yd)[8]
20-round, 30-round, 50-round detachable box magazine,[8]
40-round, 75-round drum magazines also available
100–800 m adjustable iron sights
Sight radius:
378 mm (14.9 in)[8]
Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials in 1947, and, in 1948, the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service for selected units of the Soviet Army. In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces[9] and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.
The model and its variants owe their global popularity to their reliability under harsh conditions, low production cost (compared to contemporary weapons), availability in virtually every geographic region, and ease of use. The AK has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces and insurgencies throughout the world. As of 2004, "of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s".[4] The model is the basis for the development of many other types of individual, crew-served, and specialized firearms.
History
Origins
During World War II, the Sturmgewehr 44 rifle used by German forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts.[10][11] The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new intermediate cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz, and combined the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle.[12][13] On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR.[14] The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own,[10][11] to replace the PPSh-41 submachine guns and outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army.[15]
The Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, used in[14] the semi-automatic SKS carbine and the RPD light machine gun.[16] Shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 rifle, which quickly replaced the SKS in Soviet service.[17][18] Introduced in 1959, the AKM is a lighter stamped steel version and the most ubiquitous variant of the entire AK series of firearms. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK light machine gun, an AK-type weapon with a stronger receiver, a longer heavy barrel, and a bipod, that eventually replaced the RPD light machine gun.[16]
Concept
Mikhail Kalashnikov began his career as a weapon designer in 1941 while recuperating from a shoulder wound that he received during the Battle of Bryansk.[5][19] Kalashnikov himself stated..."I was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: 'Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men when the Germans have automatics?' So I designed one. I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov—AK—and it carried the year of its first manufacture, 1947."[20]
The AK-47 is best described as a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations. "Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 Garand and the German StG 44."[21] Kalashnikov's team had access to these weapons and did not need to "reinvent the wheel". Kalashnikov himself observed: "A lot of Russian Army soldiers ask me how one can become a constructor, and how new weaponry is designed. These are very difficult questions. Each designer seems to have his own paths, his own successes and failures. But one thing is clear: before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field. I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so."[19]
Some claimed that Kalashnikov copied designs like Bulkin's TKB-415[22] or Simonov's AVS-31.[23]
Early designs
Kalashnikov started work on a submachine gun design in 1942[24] and light machine gun design in 1943.[25][26] Early in 1944, Kalashnikov was given some 7.62×39mm M43 cartridges and informed that other designers were working on weapons for this new Soviet small-arms cartridge. It was suggested that a new weapon might well lead to greater things. He then undertook work on the new rifle.[27] In 1944, he entered a design competition with this new 7.62×39mm, semi-automatic, gas-operated, long-stroke piston carbine, strongly influenced by the American M1 Garand.[28] The new rifle was in the same class as the SKS-45 carbine, with a fixed magazine and gas tube above the barrel.[27] However, the new Kalashnikov design lost out to a Simonov design.[29]
In 1946, a new design competition was initiated to develop a new rifle.[30] Kalashnikov submitted a gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke gas piston above the barrel, a breechblock mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine, and a curved 30-round magazine.[31] Kalashnikov's rifles, the AK-1 (with a milled receiver) and AK-2 (with a stamped receiver) proved to be reliable weapons and were accepted to a second round of competition along with other designs.
These prototypes (also known as the AK-46) had a rotary bolt, a two-part receiver with separate trigger unit housing, dual controls (separate safety and fire selector switches), and a non-reciprocating charging handle located on the left side of the weapon.[31][32] This design had many similarities to the StG 44.[33] In late 1946, as the rifles were being tested, one of Kalashnikov's assistants, Aleksandr Zaitsev, suggested a major redesign to improve reliability. At first, Kalashnikov was reluctant, given that their rifle had already fared better than its competitors. Eventually, however, Zaitsev managed to persuade Kalashnikov.
In November 1947, the new prototypes (AK-47s) were completed. The rifle used a long-stroke gas piston above the barrel. The upper and lower receivers were combined into a single receiver. The selector and safety were combined into a single control lever/dust cover on the right side of the rifle. And, the bolt handle was simply attached to the bolt carrier. This simplified the design and production of the rifle. The first army trial series began in early 1948.[34] The new rifle proved to be reliable under a wide range of conditions and possessed convenient handling characteristics. In 1949, it was adopted by the Soviet Army as the "7.62 mm Kalashnikov rifle (AK)".[9]
Characteristics
Service life
The AK-47 and its variants have been and are made in dozens of countries, with "quality ranging from finely engineered weapons to pieces of questionable workmanship."[70] As a result, the AK-47 has a service/system life of approximately 6,000,[71] to 10,000,[72] to 15,000[73] rounds. The AK-47 was designed to be a cheap, simple, easy-to-manufacture rifle,[74] perfectly matching Soviet military doctrine that treats equipment and weapons as disposable items.[75] As units are often deployed without adequate logistical support and dependent on "battlefield cannibalization" for resupply, it is more cost-effective to replace rather than repair weapons.[75]
The AK-47 has small parts and springs that need to be replaced every few thousand rounds. However, "Every time it is disassembled beyond the field stripping stage, it will take some time for some parts to regain their fit, and some parts may tend to shake loose and fall out when firing the weapon. Some parts of the AK-47 line are riveted together. Repairing these can be quite a hassle since the end of the rivet has to be ground off and a new one set after the part is replaced."[53]
For the further developed AK models, see Kalashnikov rifles.
Accuracy potential
US military method
The AK-47's accuracy is generally sufficient to hit an adult male torso out to about 300 m (328 yd),[99][100] though even experts firing from prone or bench rest positions at this range were observed to have difficulty placing ten consecutive rounds on target.[101] Later designs did not significantly improve the rifle's accuracy.[101] An AK can fire a 10-shot group of 5.9 in (15 cm) at 100 m (109 yd),[102] and 17.5 in (44 cm) at 300 m (328 yd)[101] The newer stamped-steel receiver AKM models, while more rugged and less prone to metal fatigue, are less accurate than the forged/milled receivers of their predecessors: the milled AK-47s are capable of shooting 3 to 5 in (8 to 13 cm) groups at 100 yd (91 m), whereas the stamped AKMs are capable of shooting 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) groups at 100 yd (91 m).[100]
The best shooters can hit a man-sized target at 800 m (875 yd) within five shots (firing from a prone or bench rest position) or ten shots (standing).[103]
The single-shot hit-probability on the NATO E-type Silhouette Target (a human upper body half and head silhouette) of the AK-47 and the later developed AK-74, M16A1, and M16A2 rifles were measured by the US military under ideal proving ground conditions in the 1980s as follows:
The AK-47 has been used in the following conflicts:
An AK-47 Type 1 (top) and 2 (bottom) on display. The Type 1 features a stamped receiver while the Type 2 receiver is milled.
AK-47s of the PAIGC-liberation movement, ready to be transported from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau, 1973
During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, several sources simultaneously armed both sides of the Afghan conflict, filling the country with AK-47s and their derivatives.[175]
![During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, several sources simultaneously armed both sides of the Afghan conflict, filling the country with AK-47s and their derivatives.[175]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Mortar_attack_on_Shigal_Tarna_garrison%2C_Kunar_Province%2C_87.jpg/120px-Mortar_attack_on_Shigal_Tarna_garrison%2C_Kunar_Province%2C_87.jpg)