AK 47 GEN DATA a Type 2 AK-47, the First Machined Receiver Variation
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AK 47 GEN DATA A Type 2 AK47, the first machined receiver variation Type Assault rifle Place of origin Soviet Union Service history In service 1949–present Used by See Users Production history Designer Mikhail Kalashnikov Designed 1944–1947 Manufacturer Izhmash Produced 1949–1959[2] Number built approximately 75 million AK47 100 million AKtype rifles[3][4] Variants See Variants Specifications Weight 4.78 kg (10.5 lb) with a loaded magazine,[5] AKM weight with unloaded ma gazine 3.1 Kg.[6] Length 880 mm (35 in) fixed wooden stock[6] 875 mm (34.4 in) folding stock extended 645 mm (25.4 in) stock folded Barrel length 415 mm (16.3 in)[6] Cartridge 7.62×39mm M43/M67[6] Action Gasoperated, rotating bolt Rate of fire Cyclic rate of fire is 600 rounds/min[6] Semiauto rate of fire is 40 rounds/min[6] Fullauto burst rate of fire is 100 rounds/min[6] Muzzle velocity 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s)[6][7] Effective range 350 metres (380 yd)[6] Feed system Standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds.[6] There are also 10, 2 0, 40, 75, or 100round detachable box and drum style magazines. Sights Adjustable iron sights with a 378 mm (14.9 in) sight radius:[6] AK47 has 100–800 meter adjustments AKM has 100–1000 meter adjustments [6] HISTORY The AK47 is a selectivefire, gasoperated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first develop ed in the USSR by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashn ikova (Russian: Аа алаа). It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russia Design work on the AK47 began in the last year of World War II (1945). After th e war in 1946, the AK46 was presented for official military trials. In 1947 the fixedstock version was introduced into active service with selected units of t he Soviet Army. An early development of the design was the AKS (S—Skladnoy or "fol ding"), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock. In 1949, t he AK47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majo rity of the member states of the Warsaw Pact. The original AK47 was one of the first true "assault rifles" to be manufactured , after the original Sturmgewehr 44.[8][9] Even after six decades the model and its variants remain the most widely used and popular assault rifles in the world because of their durability, low production cost, and ease of use. It has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces worldwide. The AK47 was the basis for developing many other t ypes of individual and crewserved firearms. More AKtype rifles have been produ ced than all other assault rifles combined Design The Germans were the first to pioneer the assault rifle concept, during World Wa r II, based upon research that showed that most firefights happen within 400 met ers and that contemporary rifles were overpowered for most smallarms combat.[10 ][11][12][13] The Germans sought to develop a selectfire intermediate powered r ifle combining the firepower of a submachine gun with the accuracy and range of a rifle.[10][11][12][13] This was done by shortening the standard 7.92×57mm cartri dge to 7.92×33mm and giving it a lighter 125 grain bullet, that limited range but allowed for more controllable automatic fire.[10][11][12][13] The result was the Sturmgewehr 44.[10][11][12][13] Like the Germans, the Soviets were influenced by experience showing most combat happens within 400 meters and that their soldiers were consistently outgunned by heavily armed German troops, especially those armed with the Sturmgewehr 44 ass ault rifles.[14][15] The Soviets were so impressed with the Sturmgewehr 44, that after World War II, they held a design competition to develop an assault rifle of their own.[16][17] The winner was the AK47.[12] Mikhail Kalashnikov began his career as a weapon designer while in a hospital af ter he was shot in the shoulder during the Battle of Bryansk.[18] After tinkerin g with a submachine gun design, he entered a competition for a new weapon that w ould chamber the 7.62x41mm cartridge developed by Elisarov and Semin in 1943 (th e 7.62x41mm cartridge predated the current 7.62×39mm M1943). A particular requirem ent of the competition was the reliability of the firearm in the muddy, wet, and frozen conditions of the Soviet front line. Kalashnikov designed a carbine, str ongly influenced by the American M1 Garand, that lost out to the Simonov design (scaled down PTRS41), that later became the SKS semiautomatic carbine. At the same time, the Soviet Army was interested in developing a true assault rifle emp loying a shortened M1943 round. The first such weapon was presented by Sudayev i n 1944, but trials found it to be too heavy.[19] A new design competition was he ld two years later where Kalashnikov and his design team submitted an entry. It was a gasoperated rifle which had a breechblock mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine, and a curved 30round magazine. Kalashnikov's rifles (codenamed AK1 and −2) proved to be reliable and the weapon was accepted to second round of competition along with designs by A.A Demetev an d F. Bulkin. In late 1946, as the rifles were being tested, one of Kalashnikov's assistants, Aleksandr Zaytsev, suggested a major redesign of AK 1, particularly to improve reliability. At first, Kalashnikov was reluctant, given that their r ifle had already fared better than its competitors. Eventually, however, Zaytsev managed to persuade Kalashnikov. The new rifle was produced for a second round of firing tests and field trials. There, Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1947 pr oved to be simple and reliable under a wide range of conditions with convenient handling characteristics. Production began on 6 July 1947,[20] and in 1949 it wa s adopted by the Soviet Army as "7.62mm Kalashnikov assault rifle (AK)".[21] The AK 47 is best described as a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations : the trigger, double locking lugs and unlocking raceway of the M1 Garand/M1 car bine,[22] the safety mechanism of the John Browning designed Remington Model 8 r ifle,[23] and the gas system and layout of the Sturmgewehr 44. Kalashnikov's tea m had access to all of these weapons and had no need to "reinvent the wheel",[24 ][25] though he denied that his design was based on the German Sturmgewehr 44 as sault rifle.[26] Kalashnikov himself observed: "A lot of Russian Army soldiers a sk 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 som ething new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already e xists in this field. I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so ."[27] There are claims about Kalashnikov copying other designs, like Bulgina's Tkb 415 [28] or Simonov's AVS 31[29] In a History Channel special about the AK 47, an in terviewer asked Mikhail Kalashnikov if he had been influenced by the Sturmgewehr 44 design at all. Kalashnikov became very irate and angrily refuted the idea th at the Sturmgewehr 44 design had been an influence on him in any way whatsoever; however, it is known that Kalashnikov's team had direct access to examples of t he Sturmgewehr 4 Receiver development AKMS on a Type 4B receiver (top), with a Type 2A There were many difficulties during the initial phase of production. The first p roduction models had stamped sheet metal receivers. Difficulties were encountere d in welding the guide and ejector rails, causing high rejection rates.[30] Inst ead of halting production, a heavy machined receiver was substituted for the she et metal receiver. This was a more costly process, but the use of machined recei vers accelerated production as tooling and labor for the earlier Mosin Nagant ri fle's machined receiver were easily adapted. Partly because of these problems, t he Soviets were not able to distribute large numbers of the new rifle to soldier s until 1956. During this time, production of the interim SKS rifle continued.[3 1] Once manufacturing difficulties had been overcome, a redesigned version designat ed the AKM (M for "modernized" or "upgraded" (in Russian: Аа алаа Ма ed in 1959.[32] This new model used a stamped sheet metal receiver and featured a slanted muzzle brake on the end of the barrel to compensate for muzzle rise un der recoil. In addition, a hammer retarder was added to prevent the weapon from firing out of battery (without the bolt being fully closed), during rapid or aut omatic fire.[33] This is also sometimes referred to as a "cyclic rate reducer", or simply "rate reducer", as it also has the effect of reducing the number of ro unds fired per minute during automatic fire. It was also roughly onethird light er than the previous model.[32] Both licensed and unlicensed production of the K alashnikov weapons abroad were almost exclusively of the AKM variant, partially due to the much easier production of the stamped receiver. This model is the mos t commonly encountered, having been produced in much greater quantities. All rif les based on the Kalashnikov design are frequently referred to as AK47s in the West, although this is only correct when applied to rifles based on the original three receiver types.[34] In most former Eastern Bloc countries, the weapon is known simply as the "Kalashnikov" or "AK".