AK-47

Origins During World War II, the Sturmgewehr 44 rifle used by German forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts. 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."(though StG 44 had closed tilting bolt). 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 attached to the bolt carrier. This simplified the design and production of the rifle. The first army trial series began in early 1948. 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)". Further development There were many difficulties during the initial phase of production. The first production models had stamped sheet metal receivers with a milled trunnion and butt stock insert and a stamped body. Difficulties were encountered in welding the guide and ejector rails, causing high rejection rates. Instead of halting production, a heavy machined receiver was substituted for the sheet metal receiver. Even though production of these milled rifles started in 1951, they were officially referred to as AK-49, based on the date their development started, but they are widely known in the collectors' and current commercial market as "Type 2 AK-47". This was a more costly process, but the use of machined receivers accelerated production as tooling and labor for the earlier Mosin–Nagant rifle's machined receiver were easily adapted. Partly because of these problems, the Soviets were not able to distribute large numbers of the new rifles to soldiers until 1956. During this time, production of the interim SKS rifle continued. Once the manufacturing difficulties of non-milled receivers had been overcome, a redesigned version designated the AKM (M for "modernized" or "upgraded"; in Russian: []) was introduced in 1959. 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 under 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 fully automatic fire. 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 rounds fired per minute during fully automatic fire. The rifle was also roughly one-third lighter than the previous model. Most licensed and unlicensed productions of the Kalashnikov assault rifle abroad were of the AKM variant, partially due to the much easier production of the stamped receiver. This model is the most commonly encountered, having been produced in much greater quantities. All rifles based on the Kalashnikov design are often colloquially referred to as "AK-47s" in the West and some parts of Asia, although this is only correct when applied to rifles based on the original three receiver types. In most former Eastern Bloc countries, the weapon is known simply as the "Kalashnikov" or "AK". The differences between the milled and stamped receivers includes the use of rivets rather than welds on the stamped receiver, as well as the placement of a small dimple above the magazine well for stabilization of the magazine. Replacement In 1974, the Soviets began replacing their AK-47 and AKM rifles with a newer design, the AK-74, which uses 5.45×39mm ammunition. This new rifle and cartridge had only started to be manufactured in Eastern European nations when the Soviet Union collapsed, drastically slowing the production of the AK-74 and other weapons of the former Soviet bloc. == Design ==

The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable fully automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of the art in the Soviet Union during the late 1940s. AKS and AKMS models featured a downward-folding metal butt-stock similar to that of the German MP40 submachine-gun, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops. All 100 series AKs use plastic furniture with side-folding stocks. Magazines arsenal mark on the bottom right. The other magazine has a "star" Tula arsenal mark on the bottom right The standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds. There are also 10-, 20-, and 40-round box magazines, as well as 75-round drum magazines. The AK-47's standard 30-round magazines have a pronounced curve that allows them to smoothly feed ammunition into the chamber. Their heavy steel construction combined with "feed-lips" (the surfaces at the top of the magazine that control the angle at which the cartridge enters the chamber) machined from a single steel billet makes them highly resistant to damage. These magazines are so strong that "Soldiers have been known to use their mags as hammers, and even bottle openers". As a replacement, steel-reinforced 30-round plastic 7.62×39mm box magazines were introduced. These rust-colored magazines weigh empty and are often mistakenly identified as being made of Bakelite (a phenolic resin), but were fabricated from two parts of AG-S4 molding compound (a glass-reinforced phenol-formaldehyde binder impregnated composite), assembled using an epoxy resin adhesive. Accessories Accessories supplied with the rifle include a long 6H3 bayonet featuring a long spear point blade. The AK-47 bayonet is installed by slipping the diameter muzzle ring around the muzzle and latching the handle down on the bayonet lug under the front sight base. All current model AKM rifles can mount under-barrel 40 mm grenade launchers such as the GP-25 and its variants, which can fire up to 20 rounds per minute and have an effective range of up to 400 meters. The main grenade is the VOG-25 (VOG-25M) fragmentation grenade which has a 6 m (9 m) (20 ft (30 ft)) lethality radius. The VOG-25P/VOG-25PM ("jumping") variant explodes above the ground. The AK-47 can also mount a (rarely used) cup-type grenade launcher, the Kalashnikov grenade launcher that fires standard RGD-5 Soviet hand grenades. The maximum effective range is approximately 150 meters. This launcher can also be used to launch tear gas and riot control grenades. All current AKs (100 series) and some older models have side rails for mounting a variety of scopes and sighting devices, such as the PSO-1 Optical Sniper Sight. The side rails allow for the removal and remounting of optical accessories without interfering with the zeroing of the optic. However, the 100 series side folding stocks cannot be folded with the optics mounted. == 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." As a result, the AK-47 has a service/system life of approximately 6,000 to 15,000 rounds. The AK-47 was designed to be a cheap, simple, easy-to-manufacture rifle, perfectly matching Soviet military doctrine that treats equipment and weapons as disposable items. 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. 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." == Variants ==

Early (7.62×39mm) • Issue of 1948/49: Type 1: The very earliest models, stamped sheet metal receivers, are now very rare. • Issue of 1951: Type 2: Has a milled receiver. The barrel and chamber are chrome-plated to resist corrosion. • Issue of 1954/55: Type 3: Lightened, milled receiver variant. Rifle weight is . • AKS (AKS-47): Type 1, 2, or 3 receivers: Featured a downward under folding metal stock similar to that of the MP 40, for use in the restricted space of the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as for airborne troops. • AKN (AKSN): Night sight rail. Modernised (7.62×39mm) • AKM: A simplified, lighter version of the AK-47; the Type 4 receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal. A slanted muzzle device was added to reduce muzzle rise in automatic fire. The rifle weight is due to the lighter receiver. This is the most ubiquitous variant of the AK-47. • AKMS: Under-folding stock version of the AKM intended for airborne troops. • AKMN (AKMSN): Night scope rail. • AKML (AKMSL): Slotted flash suppressor and night scope rail. • RPK: Hand-held machine gun version with longer barrel and bipod. The variants—RPKS, RPKN (RPKSN), RPKL (RPKSL)—mirror AKM variants. The "S" variants have a side-folding wooden stock. Foreign (7.62×39mm) According to the Kalashnikov Concern company (formerly Izhmash), most foreign-made AK-type rifles are unlicensed. ==Accuracy potential==

US military method The AK-47's accuracy is generally sufficient to hit an adult male torso out to about , 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: Under worst field exercise circumstances, the hit probabilities for all the tested rifles were drastically reduced, from 34% at 50m down to 3–4% at 600m with no significant differences between weapons at each range. Russian method The following table represents the Russian circular error probable method for determining accuracy, which involves drawing two circles on the target, one for the maximum vertical dispersion of hits and one for the maximum horizontal dispersion of hits. They then disregard the hits on the outer part of the target and only count half of the hits (50% or R50) on the inner part of the circles. This significantly reduces the overall diameter of the groups. They then use both the vertical and horizontal measurements of the reduced groups to measure accuracy. When the R50 results are doubled, the hit probability increases to 93.7%. • R50 means the closest 50 percent of the shot group will all be within a circle of the mentioned diameter. The vertical and horizontal mean (R50) deviations with service ammunition at for AK platforms are. == Users ==

Current • • • • • • − EKAM: The counter-terrorist unit of the Hellenic Police • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • − Type 58 variant • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • − Used by Thahan Phran • • • • • • • • • FARC dissidents • • • − Captured from the Syrian Army • Karen National Defence Organisation • Karen National Liberation Army • Kurdistan Workers Party • National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad • New People's Army • • Ta'ang National Liberation Army Former • − MPi-K (AK-47) and MPi-KM (AKM) • • − Passed on to the unified Vietnamese state • − Used by the Panama Defense Forces • − Limited use of captured rifles • • − Captured rifles were issued to ARVN irregular units Non-state former • Afghan mujahideen − CIA supplied Egyptian and Chinese variants • • Contras • • Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front • Iraqi insurgents • Khmer Rouge • Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam • • Syrian opposition • Viet Cong • Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors Illicit trade , photographed in Manege Military Museum. The stocks are missing on the top three AKs. Throughout the world, the AK and its variants are commonly used by governments, revolutionaries, terrorists, criminals, and civilians alike. In some countries, such as Somalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Congo, and Tanzania, black market prices for AKs are between $30 and $125 per weapon and prices have fallen in the last few decades due to mass counterfeiting. In Kenya, "an AK-47 fetches five head of cattle (about 10,000 Kenya shillings or 100 US dollars) when offered for barter, but costs almost half that price when cash is paid". There are places around the world where AK-type weapons can be purchased on the black market "for as little as $6, or traded for a chicken or a sack of grain". The AK-47 has also spawned a cottage industry of sorts and has been copied and manufactured (one gun at a time) in small shops around the world (see Khyber Pass Copy). The estimated numbers of AK-type weapons vary greatly. The Small Arms Survey suggests that "between 70 and 100 million of these weapons have been produced since 1947". The World Bank estimates that out of the 500 million total firearms available worldwide, 100 million are of the Kalashnikov family, and 75 million are AK-47s. Because AK-type weapons have been made in many countries, often illicitly, it is impossible to know how many exist. == Conflicts ==

The AK-47 has been used in the following conflicts: ;1940s • Malayan Emergency (1948−1960) ;1950s • Hungarian Revolution (1956) • Vietnam War (1955–1975) • Laotian Civil War (1959–1975) ;1960s • Congo Crisis (1960–1965) • Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974) • Rhodesian Bush War (1964–1979) • The Troubles (late 1960s–1998) • Communist insurgency in Thailand (1965–1983) • South African Border War (1966–1990) • India-China clashes (1967) • Cambodian Civil War (1968–1975) • Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989) • Moro conflict (1968−2019) ;1970s • Yom Kippur War (1973) • Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991) • Western Sahara War (1975–1991) • Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1978–1989) • Chadian–Libyan War (1978–1987) • Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989) ;1980s • 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran • Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) • Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir (1988–present) • Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) • South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) • Lord's Resistance Army insurgency (1987–present) • United States invasion of Panama (1989) • Insurgency in Punjab (1978-1995) • Gulf War (1990–1991) • Somali Civil War (1991–present) • Yugoslav Wars (1991–2001) • Burundian Civil War (1993–2005) • First Chechen War (1994−1996) • Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–1999) • Kargil War (1999) ;2000s • War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) • Iraq War (2003–2011) • South Thailand insurgency (2004–present) • Mexican drug war (2006–present) ;2010s • Libyan Civil War (2011) • Syrian civil war (2011–2024) • Mali War (2012–present) • Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present) • Western Iran clashes (2016–present) ;2020s • Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020) • Tigray War (2020–2022) • Myanmar civil war (2021–present) • Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present) • September–October 2022 attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan • Gaza war (2023–present) == Cultural influence and impact ==

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, as well as United States and other NATO nations supplied arms and technical knowledge to numerous countries and rebel forces around the world. During this time the Western countries used relatively expensive automatic rifles, such as the FN FAL, the HK G3, the M14, and the M16. In contrast, the Russians and Chinese used the AK-47; its low production cost and ease of manufacture allow them to make AKs in vast numbers. In the pro-communist states, the AK-47 became a symbol of the Third World revolution. They were utilized in the Cambodian Civil War and the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. During the 1980s, the Soviet Union became the principal arms dealer to countries embargoed by Western nations, including Middle Eastern nations such as Libya and Syria, which welcomed Soviet Union backing against Israel. After the fall of the Soviet Union, AK-47s were sold both openly and on the black market to any group with cash, including drug cartels and dictatorial states, and more recently they have been seen in the hands of Islamist groups such as Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Iraq, and communist and socialist groups such as the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and FARC and Ejército de Liberación Nacional guerrillas in Colombia. The proliferation of this weapon is reflected by more than just numbers. The AK-47 is included on the flag of Mozambique and its emblem, an acknowledgment that the country gained its independence in large part through the effective use of their AK-47s. In 2013, a decommissioned AK-47 was included in the A History of Ireland in 100 Objects collection. The AK-47 made an appearance in US popular culture as a recurring focus in the Nicolas Cage film Lord of War (2005). Numerous monologues in the movie focus on the weapon, and its effects on global conflict and the gun running market. In 2006, the Colombian musician and peace activist César López devised the escopetarra, an AK converted into a guitar. One sold for US$17,000 in a fundraiser held to benefit the victims of anti-personnel mines, while another was exhibited at the United Nations' Conference on Disarmament. In Mexico, the AK-47 is known as "Cuerno de Chivo" (literally "Goat's Horn") because of its curved magazine design. It is one of the weapons of choice of Mexican drug cartels. It is sometimes mentioned in Mexican folk music lyrics. ==Gallery==

File:AK 1 and 2 model.jpg|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. File:MP Inspects Captured AK-47 Vietnam.jpg|A US Army MP inspects a Chinese Type 56 (an AK-47 derivative) recovered in Vietnam, 1968 File:ASC Leiden - Coutinho Collection - G 24 - Life in Ziguinchor, Senegal - Carrying weapons to Hermangono, Guinea-Bissau - 1973.tif|AK-47s of the PAIGC-liberation movement, ready to be transported from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau, 1973 File:Evstafiev-spetsnaz-prepare-for-mission.jpg|A Soviet Spetsnaz (special operations) group prepares for a mission in Afghanistan, 1988 File:Mortar attack on Shigal Tarna garrison, Kunar Province, 87.jpg|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. == See also ==