@historicalfirearms / www.historicalfirearms.info
This week interesting footage of an improvised weapon was shared online. social media quickly described it as the 'Ukrainian Minigun' but the anti-drone weapon consists of 6 AK-74s on a static anti-aircraft mount, seemingly designed to combat small, low flying drones.
In this video we take another look at Malta's small military and their interesting choice of service rifle - the AK!
Since the late 70s Malta has used a succession of AK-pattern rifles including Chinese Type 56/IIs.
During the Cold War the British Army on the Rhine was deployed in West German. In anticipation of a conflict with the Soviet Union detailed recognition guides were written for British troops to identify and familiarise themselves with enemy weapons and equipment. A substantial series of these were written covering everything from small arms to artillery to vehicles and aircraft.
In this video and article we will examine ‘Recognition Handbook Foreign Weapons and Equipment (USSR) Group III Infantry Weapons’ originally published in August 1966. It covers pistols, carbines, rifles, light, medium and heavy machine guns, grenades and some infantry anti-tank weapons like the RPG-2.
Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video at www.armourersbench.com
The Sa 81 Krása (meaning ‘beauty’) was developed in the late 1970s by Jiří Čermák, a Czechoslovakian Army engineer and designer. The Czechoslovakian Army requested that the Brno Research and Development Institute of the General Mechanical Engineering Works develop the weapon for use by troops who didn’t require a full-length rifle, including officers, artillery, logistics and armoured vehicle troops.
The resulting personal defence weapon was based around the standard issue 7.62x39mm rifle round. It was just 31.5cm or 12.4in with its side-folding stock folded. This was 17cm or 7.1in shorter than the Soviet AKS-74u. Unloaded the weapon weighed in at 2.1kg or 4.6lbs, which in turn is 1.4lbs lighter than its Soviet counterpart. The Sa 81 fed from a 20-round magazine (the one pictured with the gun above appears to be proprietary) and had a hinged top cover, a side-folding wire stock and a short, fat flash-hider.
It had a magazine well which protruded from the receiver, esquing the AK-pattern rifle’s rock to lock system. Interestingly the magazine well and release are reminiscent of those seen on the M16. It had a safety selector with positions for single, safe and fully automatic. While not ambidextrous the selector was marked on both sides of the receiver. The charging handle was positioned on the left side of the weapon with a folding, spring-loaded dust cover covering the ejection port. The prototype’s furniture appears to be wooden and of a blocky profile.
The Sa 81′s interesting gas-piston and bolt assembly (source)
Historically, Czechoslovakia was not afraid to forge an independent path from Soviet small arms doctrine having adopted the vz. 58 rather than the AKM. So the development of a local carbine was not surprising. The most interesting element of the SA 81 was its bolt. In order to keep the weapon short Čermák opted for a bolt which moved up and down. Rounds were pulled from the magazine and lifted up to the breech as the bolt moved forwards again. The Sa 81 was driven by a gas-piston with the breech locked by locking wedges.
The weapon was ready for testing by the end of 1980 and was refined over two years with efforts to chamber it in the new Soviet 5.45x39mm round, as the Sa 83. By the mid-1980s, however, the project have been abandoned.
Zbrojovka BRNO (ZB) donated a prototype, Sa 81-6955, to the Military History Institute in Prague in 1991. The Military History Institute (or Vojensky Historicky Ustav) has a short, but detailed, article which gives us the bulk of what we know about the weapon.
Sources:
Trial submachine gun Sa 81, Vojensky Historicky Ustav, (source)
Kalashnikov Concern, the Russian small arms manufacturer which formed from the former Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, as part of an ongoing series looking at rare and interesting Russian firearms have released a video showing off a rare example of Mikhail Kalashnikov’s automatic pistol developed in the late 1940s.
Kalashnikov developed the pistol in response to a request made by the Red Army for a new automatic pistol to issue as a personal defence weapon. Kalashnikov’s pistol was later beaten by Igor Stechkin’s entry into the trials, the APS.
In the late 1940s the Red Army began a programme to adopt two new pistols: a compact officers sidearm and a larger automatic pistol for personal defence. The larger pistol would be issued to artillery and mortar crews as well as tank, vehicle and aircraft personnel where carrying an SKS or a new AK-47 would have been a hindrance.
Both of the new pistols were to fire the new Soviet 9x18mm pistol cartridge. A design by Nikolay Makarov was selected as the new compact pistol while several designs were tested for the larger automatic pistol. Both Kalashnikov and Stechkin submitted pistols with Stechkin’s eventually winning out.
Solider with an APS - Avtomaticheskiy Pistolet Stechkina (source)
Kalashnikov Concern’s video shows off an APK marked serial number #1. Like the APS, the pistol has a wooden holster stock. Initial prototypes fed from an 18-round magazine but in 1951, improvements were made to the pistol adding a new rear sight and increasing the magazine capacity to 20 rounds. Kalashnikov is said to have developed the pistol just after the AK was selected and did not have enough time to refine the new sidearm.
Unloaded the APK weighed 1.25kg (2.75lb) and 1.7kg (3.7lb) with its wooden holster – only slightly heavier than the APS. Kalashnikov’s pistol used a blowback action with a fixed barrel. It had a single action trigger had a three position selector with: safe/decocked, semi-automatic and full-automatic. It had an extremely high rate of fire and unlike the APS did not have a rate of fire reducer. Only a few prototype APKs were made and Stechkin’s APS was adopted in 1951.
The APS and the suppressed variant, the APB, were both used during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. While Kalashnikov’s pistol design was unsuccessful he continued development of the AK as well as other Russian smalls arms such as the RPK and the PK.
Sources:
Images: 1 2 3 4 5
The History of Weapons: Automatic Pistol Kalashnikov 1950, Kalashnikov Concern, (source)
Since the last recap we’ve covered everything from the French MAS-38 submachine gun to the XM148 grenade launcher! We’ve also looked at several cool diagrams of the AKM and BAR, as well as an in-depth breakdown of the new Call of Duty trailer. There have also been posts covering the HK 53 and the Longmoor Military Railway. Check out all the links below!
Oh and don’t forget to take a look at this month’s HF Patreon Wallpaper featuring the Colt XM148 Grenade Launcher.
Thanks again for following, reading and supporting HF. If you enjoy the content please consider supporting Historical Firearms through Patreon! You can also help spread the word about HF and the content I cover by sharing links with friends and sharing on social media, don’t forget you can also follow HF on facebook. As always if you have any questions, suggestions feel free to send me a message here.
Thanks guys, ~Matt
Heckler & Koch HK53
New Weapons for the Next War
118 ‘Brussels’ & the Longmoor Military Railway
May HF Patreon Wallpaper - Colt XM148 Grenade Launcher
Call of Duty: WWII Trailer Breakdown
Cutaway of The Day: M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle
Colt XM148 Grenade Launcher
Carl Gustav m/45 - ‘Swedish K’
MAS-38
Video: Musketry of 1914, Pt.2
Cutaway of the Day: AKM
In Action: Short Magazine Lee-Enfield
Quotes of the Day
For more content check out the Historical Firearms facebook page which has some additional pictures and other content.
The Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy – Automatic Kalashnikov Modernized – was adopted in 1959. It took Mikhail Kalashnikov and his design team to finish their improvement program who optimise the rifle for mass production. They lightened the AK-47 and introduced a new stamped, rather than milled, receiver.
Production began in 1960 with the first rifles reaching troops in a year later. Between 1960 and 1977 the plants at Tula and Izhevsk produced over 10 million AKMs. They were widely produced under license by Soviet satellite states and allies including East Germany, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and China.
Despite being replaced in Soviet frontline service in the mid-1970s the AKM remains in service with dozens of militaries around the world and has been used in countless conflicts around the world.
Sources:
Images: 1 2
In the mid 1960s the Chinese military began to seek a replacement for their assortment of Soviet-licensed small arms including the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle (SKS), the Type 56 assault rifle (AK-47) and the Type 56 light machine gun (RPD). The result was the Type 63, first issued in 1968, which combined characteristics of both the SKS and AK-47. The Type 63, however, failed to meet accuracy expectations and the Chinese military found it unsatisfactory.
In 1979, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army came up against the Vietnamese Army during the First Sino-Vietnamese War and found themselves at a distinct disadvantage. The PLA was predominantly still armed with the semi-automatic Type 56 carbine. Only officers, NCOs and specialist troops carried the Type 56 assault rifle. The Vietnamese, in contrast, were almost entirely armed with AK-pattern weapons. The Chinese resumed their search for a replacement rifle, appointing small arms designer Wang Zi Jun to develop a more reliable infantry rifle and light machine gun.
China’s earlier Type 63 (source)
The Chinese military wanted the new rifle to have an improved service life, use existing AK and SKS pattern tooling to speed up production and have improved reliability and accuracy comparable to the AK. The result was the Type 81 which used a short stroke gas operated action with a two-lug rotating bolt. The rifle chambered 7.62×39mm and fed from 20 or 30 round box magazines. The rifle initially had a wooden buttstock, however, this was replaced with a folding stock similar to that used in the Type 56. The Type 81 beat a rival rifle during trials and the Chinese military adopted the rifle in 1982, with early production models tested in combat during the Second Sino-Vietnamese War, full production began in 1986.
The Type 81 Squad Automatic Weapon variant features a heavier profile barrel, bipod, additional carrying handle and a fixed butt stock with a profile similar to the Soviet RPD. It was designed to fulfil a role similar to the Soviet RPK and fires from a closed bolt (see image #5). The Type 81 light machine gun can feed from either standard Type 81 rifle magazines or a 75 round drum magazine.
The Type 81′s longer receiver improves the weapon's recoil characteristics, accuracy and controllability when compared to the AK-pattern Type 56. The Type 81 also abandoned the AK’s large safety/selector lever for a small selector switch on the left side of the rifle. The Type 81 has a detachable rather than integral bayonet and is also able to fire rifle grenades.
Bangladeshi soldier with a BD 08 (source)
The Type 81 entered production at the Heilongjiang Province state arsenal while the arsenal in Yunnan Province built the light machine gun variant. Bangladesh’s Ordnance Factory began production a licensed copy of the Type 81, designated the BD-08, in 2008. It is also in service with the Sri Lanka military and elements of the Pakistani Army. The Type 81 remains in Chinese service but has been largely replaced by the more modern bullpup QBZ-95 and QBZ-03 - a modernised traditional configuration rifle that uses a derivative of the Type 81′s action, both rifles chamber China’s 5.8x42mm cartridge.
Sources:
Image Sources: 1 2 3 4 5
The Chinese Type 81, Guns & Ammo, T. Yan, (2007) [source]
Indigenous Machine Guns of China, Small Arms Defense Journal, M. Popenker, (source)
Type 81 Assault Rifle, World Guns, (source)
The above photographs were kindly supplied by my friend Vic Tuff who attended an Israel Military Industries (IMI) armourer’s course in 1984, with Colin Greenwood then editor of the UK magazine Guns Review who took the photographs. They show Yisrael Galili firing both a Galil ARM light machine gun and an Uzi submachine gun - two weapons Galili was fundamental in developing. In the first photograph Galili fires the Galil ARM light machine gun from the hip, while in the second he appears to be firing an Uzi one-handed, tucked into his shoulder.
Galili, along with Yaacov Lior, developed his rifle from the Finnish RK-62, rechambered to fire 5.56x45mm. The Galil entered service in the mid 1970s with four major variants issued. Depending on their role these variants were chambered both 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm. The four variants included: a standard rifle (the AR), a carbine (the SAR), a light machine gun (the ARM) and the later MAR introduced in the mid-1990s. The Galil first saw action during the 1978 South Lebanon conflict and later during the 1982 Lebanon War, it served as the Israeli Defence Force’s primary service rifle into the 1990s. Yisrael Galili continued his work with IMI for many year and died in Tel Aviv, at the age of 72, in 1992.
Sources:
Images: 1&2 courtesy of Vic Tuff, 3
Obituary: Yisrael Galili, Weapons Inventor, The New York Times (source)
IMI Video of variants of the Galil family in action, c.1990s (source)
Developed by the OKB-16 design bureau in Tula in 1967 the AGS-17 ‘Plamya’ (flame) was the first automatic grenade launcher adopted by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union developed the AGS-17 (Avtomaticheskiy Granatomyot Stankovyi) as a close to medium range support weapon capable of engaging unarmoured vehicles, infantry and light defensive positions. They acted as the base of fire for Soviet rifle companies during fire and manoeuvre advances.
The Red Army tested the first prototypes 1969 and full scale production began in 1971. The AGS-17 fires a 30x29mm high explosive fragmentation grenade, feeding from a 29-round belt held in a drum. The AGS-17 fires from an open bolt and uses a blowback action and is capable of up to 400 rounds per minute. The gun and tripod together weigh 31kg. The AGS-17 can be used in both direct and indirect fire roles and was also frequently mounted on vehicles. An airborne version, the AG-17A, was also developed and mounted in Soviet helicopters.
The photograph above shows the AGS-17 in action during an exercise, Soviet mechanised infantry, armed with AK74s, deploy forward while in the background a BTR armoured personnel carrier and BMP infantry fighting vehicle can be seen. The AGS-17 saw extensive service during the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s. In the second image shows Soviet troops in Afghanistan with an AGS-17 in a defensive position.
The AGS-17 later saw action during the Chechen Wars and numerous other Russian military operations and remains in service although it is being superseded by the improved AGS-30.
Sources:
Images: 1 2 3
AGS-17 Automatic Grenade Launcher, World.Guns.ru, (source)
Janes Infantry Weapons 1983-84, (ed.) I.V. Hogg
In the late 1950s the Danish Madsen company (Dansk Industrie Sindikat [DISA]), famous for their early light machine gun, developed a new lightweight automatic rifle. Development began in 1957 with an initial prototype chambered in the Soviet 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge designed for Finnish military trials in 1958 (see image #4).
Madsen developed the select-fire LAR to be versatile; capable of mounting optics and bipods for various roles. The rifles were long-stroke gas piston operated and used a rotating bolt, similar to the AK-47s. For some reason the designers opted for a proprietary magazine rather than using the standard AK pattern magazine. While the rifle apparently performed well during Finnish trials it was eventually rejected in 1960. The m/62 LAR chambered in NATO’s 7.62x51mm round appeared in 1962, the same year the Finns adopted the Valmet M62 AK-clone.
The Madsen LAR prototypes used high-tensile aluminium alloys to form the receivers while the barrel and gas piston tube were chromium lined to prevent fouling. They also used in-line stocks to improve controllability in automatic fire. The later prototypes had free floating barrels to maximise accuracy. The LAR’s in both calibre fed from proprietary magazines, with the later m/62 NATO models holding 20-rounds.
Madsen developed the rifle in a number of configurations with fixed wooden and metal stocks as well as a telescopic stock. Compared to its contemporaries the m/62 weighed 10.32lb (4.7kg) while the FN FAL weighed 9.81lb (4.45kg) and the Heckler & Koch G3 weighed 9.05lb (4.1kg). The some of the LAR prototypes had folding carrying handles, while drum aperture sights ranging out to 600m were used in all models.
The Madsen Light Automatic Rifle was without doubt a promising design, well thought out and well made. However, by 1962, the market for battle rifles chambered in 7.62x51mm was dominated by the FN FAL and increasingly the HK G3. These rival rifles were cheaper and easier to manufacture and Madsen abandoned attempts to market the LAR in 1965. Following the failure of the Madsen M47 lightweight bolt action rifle and the moderate success of Madsen’s post-war submachine guns the company moved away for small arms following the failure of the LAR.
Sources:
Images: 1 2 3 4 5
Two examples of the LAR are held by the Tøjhusmuseet Danish Defence Museum: 1 2
Rifles of the World, J. Walter (2006) [source]
Madsen LAR M/62, weapon.ge, (source)
Madsen light automatic rifle LAR M/62, world.guns.ru, (source)
Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, I.V. Hogg & J. Weeks, (1985)
As always it’s been a couple of months since the last recap, I’ve covered a lot of interesting and relatively unknown firearms. Everything from unusual magazine systems like the Hill Submachine Gun to the Kottas magazine. To 18th century breech loading systems such as the Sartoris and Crespi. Other more modern weapons covered include the R5 STEN gun clone, the DSM 1934 training rifle and Smith & Wesson’s first automatic pistols.
Other non firearms-related posts have looked at Cold War civil defence in the US and UK, the ends of the Western Front during WWI and the battle of Dien Bien Phu.
Historical Firearms also now has a Patreon page where you can support the blog if you enjoy the content. In return you’ll receive a monthly hi-res desktop background featuring cutaway diagrams and photographs of historic firearms. Find out more here.
Thanks again for following and reading the blog. Thanks for your support, much more to come in the new year and some new projects in the offing! if you have any questions, suggestions feel free to send me a message here.
Firearms:
Cutaway of the Day: AK-47
The First .45 ACP Pistol: Colt 1905 Military Model
Direct Impingement
The Kottas Magazine System
Mayall’s Patent Bolt-Action Breech Loader
Smith & Wesson’s First Semi-Auto Pistol
Fusil Automatique Modele 1917
Hill Submachine Gun
Deutsches Sportmodell (DSM) 1934
Gnome et Rhône R5 (STEN clone)
Carabine Mitrailleuse 1918
Smith & Wesson .32 Auto Pistol
The Crespi Breech-loading System
The Sartoris Breech-loading System
Historical Trivia:
Korean War Winter Uniforms (video)
Conelrad Civil Defence Recordings
John Garand & The Springfield Armory (video)
Miscellaneous History:
End of the Line: Where the Western Front Met the Mountains & the Sea
Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Ia Drang Valley (video)
How Should Historically Important Firearms Be Presented?
Sound An Alarm - Civil Defence Command & Control During a Nuclear War (video)
By the early 1960s the AK47 and subsequently the AKM had been in Soviet service for nearly 15 years. Approximately 10 million rifles had been made and the designs had been shared with half a dozen allies including China, the East German Republic, Hungary and Egypt.
However, during the early 1960s Soviet small arms konstruktors were at work on another rifle which was quite unlike the AK. The team of konstructors was lead by German A. Korobov (see image one) a designer who had also entered the same contest Mikhail Kalashnikov entered and won with his Avtomat Kalashnikova in the mid-late 1940s. Korobov, a designer at the Tula arms plant, entered the competition with one of the world’s first practical bullpup assault rifle designs, the TKB-408 (see image two), the design lost out to Kalashnikov’s and while Korobov was disenchanted with the bullpup configuration he did not fully abandon the concept.
With the development of a new phase of mobile warfare in the 1960s which saw troops travelling less on foot and more onboard helicopters and inside armoured personnel carriers the Red Army decided to look into the development of a shorter rifle. Korobov and his team again entered the state sponsored competition. In 1962 Korobov designed the TKB-022, another bullpup (see image three). The TKB prefix is an initialism for ‘Tulskoe Konstructorskoe Buro’ which translates as the ’Tula Design Bureau’. The TKB-022 looked unlike any other contemporary military rifle, its trigger group was located beneath the rifle’s barrel and just in front of an integrated magazine/pistol grip - a configuration similar to the Uzi’s. It also featured another advanced design feature, a moulded plastic stock which fitted around the receiver.
While Korobov’s initial design was rejected he continued developing and between 1962 and 1968 he built several more variants of the TKB-022. The first was the TKB-022P No. 2 (see image four) which featured a standard AK trigger and pistol grip with the magazine no longer integral and set back further along the stock. The TKB-022PM No.1 (see image five) saw the weapon’s configuration alter significantly with the magazine and chamber being moved to the rear of the rifle while the trigger group moved to the front of the weapon (a stock shape not unlike FN’s recent P-90 and F-2000). The last variant, the TKB-022PM5 No.1 (see image six) had a more evolved and ergonomic plastic stock and was chambered in the new Soviet 5.6x39mm experimental cartridge.
The TKB had an overall length of just over 20 inches, significantly shorter than the AKM’s 32 inch length. With the unusual positioning of the rifle’s trigger and magazine it had an unconventional vertically moving bolt - rather than the standard horizontal orientation. This also meant that the bolt could not extract a spent round and instead Korobov designed a U-shaped extractor which pulled with empty casing from the chamber and then pushed forward the next round.
The TKB-022 was never adopted by the Soviet Union, possibly because of the rifle’s unconventional configuration (which would not see widespread adoption until the 1980s), possibly because of the untested nature of the plastic stocks it is likely that there were concerns regarding its hardiness in extreme temperatures. It is also possible the TKB’s unconventional bolt raised concerns among senior Soviet konstruktors. Regardless of the reason the TKB-022 in all its configurations and variants was undoubtedly a rifle well ahead of its time.
Sources:
Image One Source
Image Two Source
Image Three - Six Source
While not a cutaway this astounding image of an 'exploded' AK-47 is in fact a photograph not a computer render. Taken by the photographer Johanna Parkin, it won the The Association of Photographers' Award in 2011.
The photograph depicts an original Soviet AK-47 stripped and fully disassembled along with its magazine. The oblique angle gives it a sense of motion and really captures the simplicity Mikhail Kalashnikov’s iconic rifle.
Type III AK-47 (source)
The rifle is the Type III pattern AK-47 manufactured between 1954 and 1959 with the milled receiver and various improvements over the Type II and the original stamped Type I. The initial three types were replaced in 1959 by the Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy or AKM which again had an improved stamped receiver.
Image Source
Are you surprised that there are actually helical magazines for AK-74 assault rifles in North Korea?
The new helical magazines seen recently appearing in North Korea’s propaganda photos are pretty interesting. They adapt the standard Type 88 indigenous AK-clone to fire from large capacity helical magazines which look to be about 75+ rounds. I’ve seen it noted that they started to appear in photographs as early as 2010.
Kim Jong-Un’s bodyguard armed with the new helical mag Type 88s (source)
They’ve mostly been seen in photographs of Kim Jong-Un and his bodyguard (whom obviously receive all of the newest kit). It doesn’t surprise me that they have them, but its interesting to note they’re one of only a handful of countries that appear to use/experiment with them. Notably China (North Korea’s main ally) has experimented with helical magazines in the Chang Feng submachine gun and Russia developed the Bizon submachine gun in the mid-1990s.
Russian Bizon SMG (source)
While its unclear how exactly the North Korean magazine works as their are no diagrams of its internals it is probably not too radically different from the one shown in the diagram of the Calico submachine gun below. This has ammunition arranged in a spiral which is pushed forward by a follower.
Calico helical magazine diagram (source)
The key advantage to helical magazines are that they offer expanded magazine capacity and also remove a part of the weapon which may snag (on exiting vehicles etc) or make prone shooting difficult. However, they can be cumbersome and change the weapon’s centre of gravity as they are emptied. They’re unlikely to become a general issue magazine but for special-purpose teams like Kim Jong-Un’s bodyguard they serve a means to an end.
Thanks for the question, sorry it took me a little while to getting round to answering it.
Mikhail Kalashnikov, arguably the 20th century's most influential firearms designer, died last year at the age of 94. Born into a farming family in Kurya, Kazakhstan in 1919, who were later denounced a 'kulaks' when they resisted collectivisation. Kalashnikov would go on to design the world's most recognisable weapon. With millions manufactured, dozens of clones and copies made and inspiring many more the AK-47 is a truly iconic rifle. Its rugged construction, reliability and ease of use made it a people's weapon, used in every corner of the globe.
Kalashnikov's career as a 'Konstruktor' or Soviet weapons designer began when he was wounded during World War Two and was invalided home to convalesce. He began work on several submachine gun designs which, while not adopted, proved his promise. By mid 1943, the Soviet military had captured a number of German prototype MKb.42(H) machine carbines during fighting around the Cholm Pocket. The MKb.42(H) later became the StG-44. They deemed the intermediate cartridge to be ideal for the types of combat they found their troops involved in. In 1943 Kalashnikov designed a rival design to Simonov's SKS, he also began work on a new automatic rifle also chambering the new Soviet M1943 cartridge. This new intermediate round influenced by the German 7.92 Kurz was smaller, at 7.62x39mm, and more controllable under fully automatic fire than the standard 7.62×54mmR round.
Kalashnikov's submachine gun chambered in 7.65x25mm, c.1942 (source)
Over the next three years Kalashnikov and his design team worked on what would become the Avtomat Kalashnikova. The first practical prototype the AK-46 was substantially different from what would become the finished product. The initial design was found to be too complicated with numerous moving parts. The profile of the receiver was much lower, with the gas piston sitting closer to the barrel. The selector and safety were separate and much smaller on the left side of the receiver. (see image #2) But even with all these differences the rifle is undeniably an AK, the profile of the gas piston housing, front sight post, iconic curved magazine and pistol grip are instantly recognisable.
Kalashnikov explaining his designs to senior officers (source)
He refined the design with the assistance of Vasily Lyuty (who was overseeing the new rifle test programme), Vladimir Deikin and possibly Hugo Schmeisser the designer of the MKb.42(H)/StG-44, who was forced to assist the Soviets between 1945 and 1952. The new rifle was tested against several rival designs but final testing of the rifle (then designated the KBP-580) was completed in January 1947 and the Avtomat Kalashnikova was selected.
The rifle was officially adopted in 1948 and for the first decade of its service life was shrouded in secrecy. Production of the rifle was initially slow and widespread issuing of the AK-47 did not begin until 1956 with specialist units receiving them first. During this time the SKS acted as the Soviet Army's primary weapon. It was first publicly seen in action during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. In the first decade of production three types were made with improvements in each. The first used a stamped receiver which was found to have issues with warping, the second and third types moved to a more conventional receiver. Small elements of the design were continually revised during early production and in 1959 the Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy or AKM was introduced. The AKM improved production rates and had a redesigned and stronger stamped steel receiver which improved the weapon's accuracy, reliability and made it substantially lighter.
AKM (source)
With the introduction of the smaller 5.45x39mm round in the 1960s the Russian army sought a new rifle. A revised AK design developed by А. D. Kryakushin with Kalashnikov's guidance as selected as it allowed for minimal production changes and retained existing troop familiarity This rifle was adopted as the AK-74. Kalashnikov also developed the PK series of general purpose machine guns while the RPK is also based on his original design.
By the 1980s the AK had become the world's most produced firearm with millions made and many countries producing their own clones. Its ruggedness and reliability made the rifle ideal for poorly trained conscripts and guerillas and became extremely popular across Africa and Asia. During the 1960s and 70s it became forever associated with the Viet Cong and the Vietnam War. In the 1980s it again appeared in the hands of the Afghan Mujahideen and later the Taliban. During the 1990s it was seen regularly during news reports from the disintegrating Communist Bloc and conflicts of Central Africa. It has been called the People's gun, the anti-imperialist's gun or simply the 'Kalash'. By the 21st century the weapon had gained its own cultural and social meanings appearing on flags, in computer games, on tv and in films, in the hands of African child soldiers and propped up next to Osama Bin Laden in his infamous videos.
AK-74 (source)
In his later years Kalashnikov was frequently asked how he felt about his rifle and whether he regretted designing it. For many years he replied that it was merely a tool but in a 2012 he wrote a penitent letter to the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church admitting that the use of his rifle by criminals and terrorists and the deaths it had caused plagued him. He wrote: "My spiritual pain is unbearable. I keep asking the same insoluble question. If my rifle deprived people of life then can it be that I… a Christian and an orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?" The Patriarch replied absolving him of any blame, saying: "The church has a very definite position: when weapons serve to protect the Fatherland, the Church supports both its creators and the soldiers who use it."
The rifle is instantly recognisable, even for people who know nothing of firearms. Its legendary reputation for ruggedness and reliability is unparalleled and it has served as the Russian army's service rifle for almost sixty years with over 100 million AK pattern rifles and machine guns being made since the 1950s. Kalashnikov continued to hold the title of chief designer at Izhevsk and was awarded dozens of prizes including the Stalin Prize, Hero of Socialist Labour, Hero of the Russian Federation and Izhevsk State Technical University was named in his honour. He died in 2013, at the age of 94 from a gastric hemorrhage.
Sources:
Image One Source
Image Two Source
Image Three Source
Image Four Source
E.C Ezell, The AK47 Story, (1986)
C.J. Chivers, The Gun (2010)
G. L Rottman, The AK-47: Kalashnikov-series assault rifles (2011)
The Czechoslovakian Vz. 58
Development of the Vz.58 began in 1956 when the Czech army called for a replacement of its uninspired Vz. 52 semi-automatic infantry rifle. Originally the new rifle was to be chambered in the 7.62×45mm Vz.52 round which had recently been standardised by the Czech army. However, the USSR, much like NATO, called for ammunition standardisation within the greater Communist Bloc in the late 1950s and as such the new Czech rifle was rechambered for the AK-47’s M48 intermediate cartridge.
Officially designated the ‘7.62 mm Samopal vzor 58' or 7.62mm submachine gun model 1958. The rifle is often understandably mistaken for being a member of the Kalashnikov family however, the two rifles could not be more different. The receiver is milled from a solid block of steel, rather than stamped as in the AK, while this made the weapon slower to produce it does make the weapon substantially lighter than the AK. The AK-47 weighs roughly 7.7lbs unloaded while the Vz.58 weighs 6.8lbs - similar to a later AKM.
The stock furniture rather interestingly was made from a wood-chip impregnated resin which proved extremely durable. The Vz.58’s internal workings differ radically as it fires from a tilting block with separate gas piston and bolt carrier and unlike the hammer fired AK, the Vz. 58 is striker fired. Another interesting difference between the two is that unlike with AK rifles the Vz.58's bolt will lock back once the weapon is empty (see image #4).
The Vz. 58 proved to be a handy, robust rifle, arguably more refined in appearance and operation than the AK. Following the partition of Warsaw Pact member, Czechoslovakia in 1993 the Vz. 58 has remained the standard issue infantry rifle for both Slovakia and the Czech Republic and as such has seen deployments around the world as a part of NATO, and although the Czech Army has begun the process of adopting the new CZ 805 the Vz. 58 is set to remain in service for at least another decade.
Image One Source
Image Two Source
Images Three & Four
Military Small Arms, I. Hogg & J. Weeks, (1985)
As requested by @rider96ci
