AK-47

History of the AK-47

One of the most iconic and influential inventions of the 20th century, the Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 has stood the test of time and has been used in countless conflicts around the world. The AK-47 was developed in secret by the Soviet Union during the cold war. The firearms influence has since grown across the planet so that today it is estimated that one in every five guns in the world is based off the AK platform.

Mikail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov was conscripted to the red army in 1938. Before his service, he worked as a tractor mechanic, so he was assigned a position as a tank mechanic in the 108th armored division. Injured in battle in 1941 he spent six months in a hospital where he heard other soldiers talking about the new weapons the Germans were using on the eastern front. Wanting to improve the capabilities of his comrades, he began designing firearms. He designed an SMG and an LMG for the standard 7.62x25 and 7.62x54R cartridges that were used by the army, but they were not adopted.

In 1945 Russia introduced the intermediate caliber 7.62x39 and wanted weapon trials to determine a firearm for this new cartridge. Mikail took that opportunity, taking inspiration from the M1 Garands locking rotating bolt he designed the AK-46 with a short stroke gas piston and two separate selector switches for safe, fire and full-automatic, semi-automatic. This design failed the trial, but he was able to convince some members of the trial commission to allow him to continue development for the next round of trials.

Mikail started over from scratch in 1947 with the express intention of minimizing design to keep the cost of manufacturing down and simplify function for the operators. The redesign used a long stroke gas piston as part of the charging handle and bolt carrier, a single selector switch, and as many stamped metal parts as possible to minimize cost. He also shortened the barrel to meet the weight requirements, this was a violation of what was requested but the improved handling and decreased cost outweighed the loss of muzzle velocity.

The trials concluded and with suggestions for further improvements, the AK-47 was approved for limited production for field trials. By June 1947, the rifle was delivered to different units located around the Soviet Union. And field trials were conducted in a variety of climates and tactical scenarios. Finally getting approved as the new standard for their army in 1949.

Once the rifle went into mass production, they realized they were having difficulty manufacturing the stamped receiver in bulk to the proper tolerances, so they redesigned it to have a milled receiver, this model was dubbed Type II. Later in 1955 a redesign had some changes including a better connection to the stock dubbed Type III. Finally in 1959, they figured out a better process for making the stamped receiver, this model is dubbed the AKM (Modernized Avtomat Kalashnikova). This is the model known worldwide today.