Manion’s Collector’s Guide

to

The Soviet Russian AK-47 Automatic Rifle

By Frank Harper

There are many legendary military firearms, from the German Mauser to the Krag-Jorgenson, from the “Brown Bess” to the M1 Garand. One weapon in particular that decidedly stands-out among collectors and gun enthusiasts alike is the Soviet Russian AK-47, or “Kalishnikov.”

I. The Assault Rifle: Early Prototypes

The birth of the automatic (or self-loading) rifle is clouded in lore and legend. Despite many claims to the contrary, the first real automatic rifle was developed by the Dutch Government in 1896: The Madsen. However, the Madsen was only used by the Dutch Navy – not the Army – and thus did not garnish much international attention. A few years later -- just before World War I -- the Swiss, under contract by the Mexican Government, built yet another early automatic, the Mondragon Modelo 1908 (The Mexican Revolution forced the abandonment of the project; the several thousand weapons that were produced ended-up being used, without much success, by the German Army). Another early automatic weapon was the French RSC Modele 1917, but it also only saw limited use. In 1918, the United States developed the famous Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), but because of its weight, this weapon was treated as a light machine gun.

Indeed, the United States pioneered the adoption of the automatic rifle. In the 1920’s, weapons engineer John Pedersen introduced his T1, a delayed-blowback toggle-lock rifle. Despite initial success during testing, the US Army eventually favored the M1 “Garand.” Garand’s design was adopted by the late 1930’s, making the US military the only army before WWII with an automatic weapon. One of the central components of the automatic was utilizing the force produced by the fired round to re-load the weapon.

II. The Impact of the Second World War

In the 1930’s, the German military reasoned that since most infantry combat occurred over ranges of 400-500 yards (based on experience in 1914-1918), the long, single-shot bolt action rifles used by most of the world’s modern armies were no longer practical. What was needed, Berlin contended, was a smaller, lighter, more easily-managed weapon that could fire rounds with great rapidity -- a portable weapon with a high-capacity magazine and fully-automatic capability that could be effectively employed within an effective range of 300 yards. As a result, the Germans developed the Sturmgewehr, or Assault Rifle. The Germans produced the first, effective assault weapons to be used -- in large numbers -- in combat.

Among the more successful assault rifles developed by the Germans during World War II was the famous Fallschirmjagergewehr 42 (‘paratroop rifle’). The “FG-42” became one of the true antecedents of the modern assault rifle: Central to its design was the stock alignment: On traditional firearms, the butt rested at an angle from the horizontal position of the barrel. Such traditional design proved impractical for an assault rifle because the multiple bursts would produce ‘climb,’ i.e. physically lift the weapon, thus creating less accuracy. The FG-42, on the other hand, possessed an innovative stock alignment, whereby the butt remained on the very same plane as the barrel. The ‘straight-line’ stock not only reduced lift, it increased the shooter’s accuracy. The FG 42 was expensive to manufacture, however, and produced only in limited numbers due to the small size of the Luftwaffe paratroop wing.

Another German assault rifle which proved highly influential was the Sturmgewehr 44 (or StG 44). Considered the first, real progenitor of the modern assault rifle, it gave the weapon both its name and characteristic form. In truth, the Germans actually began designing the StG 44 back in 1940. The weapon originally was called a Maschinen Pistole 43, but subsequently renamed. The Sturmgewehr 44, as it is popularly known, was used in the last two years of the war -- particularly on the Eastern Front.

German assault weapon design had an enormous influence on the future of assault weapons design. Though the inventor of the AK-47, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has long denied it, the design and style of the AK-47 clearly reflects German influence -- not only of the Sturmgewehr 44, but also the American M1 Garand: The AK-47’s double-locking lugs, unlocking raceway, and trigger mechanism were clearly borrowed from the US rifle. It is perhaps fair to say that the AK-47 incorporated the best features of both the German StG 44 and the US M1.

III. The Birth of the AK-47

The weapon that became known as the AK-47 was first developed in 1946. One of the central problems with the new weapon, however, is that the Soviet Government did not possess adequate technology to produce a machined receiver. As a result, the receiver on the original prototypes was constructed of stamped sheet metal. A total of five trial models ‘Avtomaty sistemy Kalishnikova’ were developed.

Later, the slightly modified ‘1947 Number 1’ AKs were so successful in trials that the Soviet Government officially adopted the AK -- in 1949. The AK took on many guises in the coming years, but its appearance and mechanical aspects remained fundamentally unchanged: It used a 7.62 “intermediate” sized cartridge, was gas-operated, and measured 34.2 inches overall. Weighing less than ten pounds loaded, the AK possessed a 16.3 inch barrel, a detachable, 30-round magazine, and could fire at a rate of approximately 775 rounds per minute. The AK officially replaced the famous WWII icons of the Red Army, the PPSh M1941 and PPS M1943 (Technically, the latter two were submachine guns because they fired pistol ammunition).

The AK was easy to produce and required little material to manufacture. Furthermore, because its ammunition was shorter and lighter, soldiers could carry more. The AK earned a reputation for being simple to operate and easy to maintain. Furthermore, the AK developed a reputation for being ‘rugged’ in battle because the weapon had relatively large gaps between moving parts, thus ensuring high tolerance for foreign matter. The AK did possess one curious feature: The AK was not the world’s most accurate automatic rifle: Contemporary Soviet military doctrine was based on the principle of massed, concentrated, close-range fire.

In just the first ten years of official production alone (1949-1959), the Soviets produced at least 5 million AKs. Who was the man responsible for the development of this weapon?

IV. Mikhail Kalashnikov

The inventor of the AK, Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (1919-), began his career as a worker in a railroad depot. In 1938, he was drafted into the Red Army. At the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa, Kalashnikov served as a tank commander. In October, 1941, Kalashnikov was badly wounded. Eventually, Kalashnikov recovered, and was transferred to the workshop of the Moscow Aviation Institute. There, Kalashnikov not only worked on early conceptions of his weapon but developed a mechanism that allowed armored crewmen to know how many shots they had fired. Eventually, Kalashnikov was promoted to Chief Engineer (According to his wife, Kalashnikov was reputedly inspired to invent the AK-47 by the mechanism of the American-made Singer sewing machine!). For his accomplishments, Kalashnikov eventually received one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian awards, the Hero of Soviet Labor – twice – holding the official title of Doctor of Technical Sciences.

V. THE AKM and the AK-74

In the 1950’s, the AK underwent additional changes. While the earlier pieces contained many stamped, welded, and pressed-metal parts, the AK did not utilize predominantly machined parts until 1951. Progress continued, and modified metalworking techniques led to a revised AK, the AKM.

Between 1959-1975, the AKM, or “AK Modernized” (Avtomata Kalshnikova Modificatsionniya in Russian), was produced by the Izhevsk ordnance factory. The AKM measured 34.5 inches in length and weighed 8.4 pounds with a loaded magazine. The charging handle, grip, and (eventually) the magazine were made of plastic. The AKM was approximately 30% lighter than the original AK.

The AKM is immediately distinguishable from the older AK by the ribbed surface of the receiver. Among the other changes on the AKM included the addition of a ‘rate reducer’ within the trigger system (for added safety) to prevent the weapon from ‘firing out-of-battery’ (i.e. with the bolt not entirely closed during bursts). Consequently, the AKM possessed a lower cyclic rate of automatic fire, but it also proved more accurate. Adaptations for an infra-red scope, a grenade launcher, and a bayonet also became available, while a shock-resilient butt plate was added. Later configurations of the AKM included the AKMS (An AKM with a folding butt), an AKM with a silencer, and the AKMS-U, a compact version of the AKM (introduced in 1975).

The AKM was easier to produce than the original AK. As a result, more were made -- both in the former Soviet Union and throughout the world. In fact, the AKM is the most commonly encountered version of the AK. Approximately 10 million AKMs were manufactured.

In the 1970s, the AK underwent additional modifications. The AK-74 was introduced into the Soviet Army in 1978. Some of the changes included a new 5.45 mm cartridge (inspired by the US M-16), an enlarged muzzle brake to reduce climb, and longitudinal grooves carved on the butt so as to provide tactile recognition of caliber. Between 1975 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an estimated five million AK-74s were produced.

VI. The AK: Legal Issues

Legal regulations surrounding the ownership of the AK-47 are very stringent. In the United States, the private ownership of fully-automatic weapons is tightly regulated by the National Firearms Act (1934) and the Gun Control Act (1968) – the latter forbidding the importation of such weapons. In 1986, an amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act prohibited the domestic manufacture of fully-automatic weapons for civilian use. Thus, any machine guns manufactured domestically before 1986 – or imported prior to 1968 – may be bought and sold, but only in accordance with both federal and state law.

Outside the United States, however, Federal regulations mean very little. The AK is among one of the frequently used firearms in the world today: Not only has it been officially adopted by the military establishments of at least 55 countries, but it has long been the standard firearms of insurgents, guerrillas, and terrorist groups. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and China supplied large quantities of AKs to such places as (North) Vietnam and the Sandinista guerrillas in Nicaragua. Large numbers of AKs exist in countries either recently or presently at war: Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Mozambique are just a few of the countries where the weapons are in large supply – and often for sale to anyone with the cash: An AK can be purchased in any of the aforementioned countries for less than US $100.

VII. The AK-47 in Popular Culture

The AK has, for better or worse, assumed the status of a legend and icon For example, the national flag of Mozambique contains a picture of the AK. Even the word "Kalash" -- an abbreviated form of the word “Kalashnikov,” is used as a name for boys in a number of African countries.

And to take the fame of the AK-47 to even new heights, the elderly Mikhail Kalashnikov himself has recently introduced a line of vodka (kalashnikovvodka.com). The beverage, which is 41% alcohol, is sold in a bottle in the shape of the famous assault rifle. “I’ve always wanted to improve and expand on the good name of my weaponry doing good things,” Kalashnikov stated

Despite the fact that an estimated 50-70 million AKs in worldwide circulation (Some estimates are as high as 100 million), Kalashnikov himself received no financial proceeds -- only a meager state pension. Expressing regret that the weapon was used by terrorists, Kalashnikov remarked that he wished he had invented the lawnmower instead…

SUGGESTED READINGS

Mikhail Kalashnikov and Elena Joly, The Gun That Changed the World (Polity Press, 2006)

Larry Kanaher, AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War (Wiley, 2006)

Joe Poyer, The AK-47 and the AK-74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations

(North Cape Publications, 2004)