The Kalashnikov
Who hasn’t heard of the famous AK47. Actually there isn’t an AK47 shown here. OK let me bore you with the story behind the Kalashnikov, adopted in 1947 as the AK47 by the Russian military. Designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov the AK47 was revolutionary for its time. It fired the intermediate 7.62x39 cartridge with an effective range of 300 meters, it was capable of single shots or automatic fire from a detachable 30 round magazine. The rifle was short albeit very heavy due to the milled steel receiver and utterly reliable. The AK47 was replaced in general service in 1959 by the AKM (Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernized) Generally the same rifle with a new stamped steel receiver, laminated wood, a synthetic grip, and a new muzzle break.
The weight of the rifle was greatly reduced without sacrificing durability or effectiveness. All of the 7.62 Kalashnikovs shown here are AKM variants. The Kalashnikov has also been the most widely produced military arm in history with over 100 million copies being produced by 11 nations. Kind of like the McDonalds sign. The AKM was replaced as a general issue weapon in 1974 by the AK74 (two examples are pictured here). The rifle platform remained the same, the major difference was the change to the smaller 5.45 cartridge. Why the sudden change still brings much speculation among western analyst. In interviews Kalashnikov himself was dead against the change. Balistically the new cartridge is far more lethal than the 7.62 and 30% lighter which means the soldier can carry almost twice the amount of ammo. The AK74 remains the standard issue combat rifle of the former Soviet Union. Pictured below are the following: pics #1 & #2 Are the East German AKM, notice the side folding wire stock and the synthetic handguards unique to this variant. Pics #3 & #4 are examples of the AK74 these rifles are Romanian versions with the fixed wood buttstock, Russian examples have a side folding plastic butt. Pics #5 & #6 are the Romanian AKM, these rifles are identical to the Russian version besides the black pistol grip in place of brown.
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