AK-47

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AK-47
File:Ak-47 Russian.jpg
Type	Assault rifle
Specifications
Mass	4.3 kg
Length	870 mm

The AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947, Template:Lang-ru) is an assault rifle designed in 1947 by Mikhail Kalashnikov, produced by Russian manufacturer IZH, and used in many Eastern bloc nations during the Cold War. Compared to the rifles used in World War II, the AK-47 was lighter and more compact, with a shorter range, a smaller 7.62 × 39 mm cartridge, and was capable of selective fire, thus making it one of the first assault rifles.

Development

The AK-47 was not the first assault rifle but was preceded by earlier Italian, Russian, and German MP 44 assault rifle designs. Mikhail Kalashnikov adamantly denies that it is based on the German model, though they share an external aesthetic. The AK-47 resembles the MP 44 in profile and layout, however the internal mechanisms of the two are totally different. Internally, the AK-47 owes much to the M1 Garand Rifle. The double-locking lugs, unlocking raceway, and trigger mechanism are clearly derivative of the earlier American design. Where the Kalashnikov rifle differs is in its simplification of those contributing designs and adaptation to mass production by relatively unskilled labor.

According to the story, tank sergeant Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov began imagining his weapon while still in the hospital, after being wounded in the battle of Bryansk. He had been informed that a new weapon was required for the 7.62 × 39 mm cartridge derived from the German 7.92 × 33K cartridge by Elisarov and Semin in 1943. Sudayev's PPS43 submachinegun was preferred to Kalashnikov's first attempt, but Kalashnikov redesigned the rifle after examining a German STG 44 in 1946. While this story is possible, it's been suggested that Kalashnikov was chosen to lead a team of designers more for propaganda value due to his war-hero status rather than for his expertise. This choice would follow Soviet patterns in other industries.

There were many difficulties during the first phase of production. Initially, the Soviets were not able to use stamped sheet metal construction (as the Germans had). Instead, they machined the components, a slower and more costly process. The use of machined receivers interestingly accelerated production. Tooling for the earlier Mosin-Nagant rifle's machined receiver was readily adapted until tooling and machinery for stamping became available. Although standardized in 1947, the Soviets were not able to distribute the AK-47 to soldiers until 1956. The first stamped sheet metal version appeared in 1959 and is designated the AKM (M for modernized or upgraded).

In the mid-1970s, the Soviet Union began replacing their AK-47 and AKM rifles with a newer design, the AK-74.

Notable features

The AK-47 is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and very easy to clean and maintain. Its ruggedness and reliability is legendary. The oversized gas piston, generous clearances between moving parts, and tapered cartidge case design allow the gun to endure large amounts of foreign matter and fouling without failing to cycle.

Originally, the AK-47 had a cyclic rate of 600 rounds per minute. Newer variants incorporate a device variably known as a hammer retarder or rate reducer. While it's unclear what the utility of the device is, it may prevent firing before the action is fully closed. The rate-of-fire, however, is not significantly altered.

The notched rear tangent iron sight is calibrated with each numeral denoting hundreds of meters. The front sight is a post adjustable for elevation in the field. Windage adjustment is done by the armory prior to issue. The battle setting places the round within a few centimeters above or below the point of aim out to aproximately 250 meters. This "point-blank range" setting allows the shooter to fire the gun at any close target without adjusting the sights. Longer settings are intended for area suppression. These settings mirror the Mosin-Nagant and SKS rifles which the AK-47 replaced. This eased transition and simplified training.

The bore and chamber, as well as the gas piston and the interior of the gas cylinder, are generally chromium-plated. This plating dramatically increases the life of these parts by resisting corrosion and wear. Chrome plating of critical parts is now common on most modern military weapons.

Ballistics

The standard AK-47 or AKM fires a 7.62 × 39 mm round with a muzzle velocity of 710 m/s. Muzzle energy is 1,990 joules. Cartridge case length is 38.6 mm, weight is 18.21 g. Projectile weight is normally 8 g. The AK-47 and AKM, with the 7.62 × 39 mm cartridge, have an effective range of around 300 metres.

Operation

File:AK-components.jpg

A diagram showing the design of AKM. Includes instructions for disassembly of the gun for maintenance

To fire, insert a loaded magazine, move the selector lever to the lowest position, pull back and release the charging handle, then pull the trigger. In this setting, the gun fires once requiring the trigger be released and depressed again for the next shot until the magazine is exhausted. With the selector in the middle position, the gun continues to fire, automatically cycling fresh rounds into the chamber, until the magazine is exhausted or pressure is released from the trigger.

To field strip, first depress the magazine catch and remove the magazine. Use the charging handle to pull the bolt carrier to the rear and inspect the chamber to verify the gun is unloaded. Press forward on the retainer button at the rear of the receiver cover while simultaneously lifting up on the rear of the cover to remove it. Push the spring assembly forward and lift it from its raceway, withdrawing it out of the bolt carrier and to the rear. Pull the bolt carrier assembly all the way to the rear, lift it and then pull it away. Remove the bolt by pushing it to the rear of the bolt carrier; rotate the bolt so the camming lug clears the raceway on the underside of the bolt carrier and then pull it forward and free. Clean as needed, with special attention to the barrel, bolt face, and gas piston. Oil lightly and reassemble.

Legal Notes

The AK-47 is not an assault weapon as defined in the United States by the now expired Federal assault weapons ban of 1994-2004. A semi-automatic rifle, similar externally to the AK-47 but operably identical to many hunting rifles, was used in a much publicized 1989 shooting in a Stockton, California, schoolyard, and in the 1993 murders outside of the Langley, Virginia, headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (see Mir Amir Kansi). Gun control advocates exploited these tragedies to lobby for strict controls on military-style semi-automatic firearms.

Ironically, the AK-47 has never been legal to own in the United States without heavy regulation under the National Firearms Act of 1934. The Gun Control Act of 1968 ceased import of foreign manufactured fully automatic firearms for civilian sales and possession effectively halting further importation of civilian accessible AK-47 rifles. In late 1986, a amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act stopped all future domestic manufacture of fully automatic weapons for civilian use. However, machine guns manufactured domestically prior to 1986 and imported prior to 1968 may be transferred between civilians in accordance with federal and state law. Several Soviet and Chinese rifles made it into the US during the mid-1960s when returning Vietnam Veterans brought them home after capture from enemy troops. Many of these were properly registered during the 1968 NFA amnesty.

Cultural influence

The AK-47 and its derivatives are favored by many non-Western powers because of their ease of use, robustness, simplicity, and manufacturing cost effectiveness. During most of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and China followed a military assistance program, supplying their arms and technical knowledge to numerous countries. In addition, another policy saw the supply, free of charge, of weapons to pro-communist fighters such as the Sandinistas and Viet-Cong. This policy was mirrored in the West, with the United States providing arms to such groups as the Afghan Mujahideen. This proliferation spread the AK-47 around the globe, with estimates of the total number of units produced being 100 million or more.

The broad proliferation of this weapon is reflected by more than just its numbers. The AK-47 is included in the Mozambique coat of arms (formerly also in Burkina Faso coat of arms), and the Hizballah flag. "Kalash", a shortened form of "Kalashnikov", is used as a name for boys in some African countries. Moreover, movie makers who arm cinema terrorists, gang members, and "bad guys" in general with AK-47s, add much to the weapon's cultural mystique. The sheer ubiquity of the AK-47, its iconography, the fact that it possesses easily the most distinguishable weapon outline, and it's nefarious association with crime and terrorism, will ensure a significant and conspicuous impact on society.

The culture of action movies depicting gratuitous full-automatic gunfire and murder by popular actors may have led to a confusion which prejudiced the American public against legal semi-automatic guns which resembled fully-automatic firearms. (see section under Federal assault weapons ban)

Versions

Kalashnikov variants include:

• AK-47 1948–51, 7.62 × 39 mm. The very earliest models had a stamped sheet metal receiver. Now rare.
• AK-47 1952, 7.62 × 39 mm: has a milled receiver and wooden buttstock and hand-guard. Barrel and chamber are chrome-plated to resist corrosion. Rifle weight 4.2 kg.
• AKS-47 × Featured an upward-folding metal stock as opposed to the fixed wood stock of the AK-47.
• RPK 7.62 × 39 mm: squad automatic rifle version with longer barrel and bipod.
• AKM 7.62 × 39 mm: a simplified, lighter version of the AK-47; receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet-metal. A slanted muzzle device was added to counter climb in automatic fire. Rifle weight 3.61 kg.
• AKMS 7.62 × 39 mm: folding stock version of the AKM intended for airborne troops.

Other versions

The AK-47 and its descendants are or have been manufactured in the following countries: Egypt, China, North Korea, East Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia, Romania, Iraq, and Bulgaria. Certainly more have been produced elsewhere, but the above were major producers. The AKM design is still in production in Russia, now in a modernized form. The basic design of the AK-47 has been used as the basis for other successful designs such as the Finnish Valmet 62/76, the Israeli Galil, and the Indian INSAS. Several bullpup designs have surfaced although none has been produced in quantity.

See also

• List of modern armament manufacturers
• AK-74

References

• Fackler et al. (1984). "Wounding potential of the Russian AK-74 assult rifle", Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care. 24, 263-6.
• Ezell, Edward Clinton (1986). The AK-47 Story: Evolution of the Kalashnikov Weapons. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0811709167. (Ezell is the curator of military history at the Smithsonian Museum.)
• Guinness World Records 2005. ISBN 1892051222.

External links

• manufacturer site
• Buddy Hinton Collection / AK
• AK Site — Kalashnikov Home Page
• AK-47 Assault Rifle
• AK-47@Everything2.com
• Automat Kalaschnikow film documented the man and his machine
• [1] AK47S self-loading carbine (USA)
• [2] Home of the AK-47 on the Internet.
• AK-47 Assault rifle (SovietArmy.com)
• Fackler AK74 terminal ballistics study
• Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide