- Also called:
- Kalashnikov Model 1947
- Related Topics:
- assault rifle
- rifle
- automatic rifle
AK-47
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What is the AK-47?
The AK-47, whose initials stand for Avtomat Kalashnikova, is a Soviet-designed assault rifle designed by Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov in 1947. Adopted by the Soviet military in 1949, it is known for its simple operation, ruggedness, reliability, and suitability for mass production.
Chambered for a 7.62-mm round, it features a 30-round curved box magazine and a gas-return tube. It is capable of both semiautomatic and automatic fire, with a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute. The AK-47 has been manufactured with both a wooden stock and a folding metal stock.
The AK-47 is one of the most widely used shoulder weapons in the world. It remains the standard weapon for armies that once had ties to the Soviet Union and is favored by guerrilla and nationalist movements. It is estimated that approximately 100 million AKs have been produced.
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Who invented the AK-47 and when was it created?
The AK-47, or Avtomat Kalashnikova, is a Soviet assault rifle designed by Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov. The accepted version of the weapon was designed in 1947, and in 1949, it was officially adopted by the Soviet military.
The AK-47 is known for its simple operation, ruggedness, reliability, and suitability for mass production. It fires a 7.62-mm round at a rate of 600 rounds per minute and can be switched between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. By the end of the 20th century, approximately 100 million AK-47s had been produced worldwide.
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Why was the AK-47 designed for the Soviet Army?
The AK-47, whose initials stand for Avtomat Kalashnikova, was designed by Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov and officially adopted by the Soviet military in 1949. The motivation behind its design was the Soviet search for a rifle that could fire their 7.62-mm intermediate cartridge.
The AK-47 was built to be simple to operate, rugged, reliable, and amenable to mass production. It could switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire, delivering a high volume of fire with reasonable accuracy.
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How does the AK-47 work?
The AK-47 is a gas-operated assault rifle designed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947. "AK" stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova, which is Russian for "automatic Kalashnikov".
When fired, propellant gases divert into a cylinder above the barrel, driving a piston that forces the bolt back against its spring, which cocks the hammer for the next round. A selector switch lets the user switch between semi-automatic and fully automatic fire at 600 rounds per minute. Cartridges are fed into the gun from a curved magazine that holds 30 rounds. The AK-47 is known for being simple to use, reliable in harsh conditions, and easy to mass produce.
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What makes the AK-47 different from other rifles?
The AK-47 stands out due to its design for mass production, dependability, and ease of use. Formally adopted by the Soviet military in 1949, it is chambered for a 7.62-mm round and is capable of both semi-automatic and automatic fire with a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute.
Other assault rifles, such as the German Sturmgewehr, influenced the design of the AK-47. However, the AK-47's simple operation, reliability in harsh conditions, and suitability for mass production set it apart. Its global impact is evident, with an estimated 100 million AK-47s produced, and it remains a standard weapon in many countries.
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How has the AK-47 influenced the world since it was introduced?
The AK-47, designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947, is possibly the most widely used shoulder weapon in the world. Adopted by the Soviet military in 1949, its simple operation, ruggedness, reliability, and suitability for mass production were quickly recognized.
The AK-47 has become the basic weapon for armies that once had ties to the Soviet Union, as well as for guerrilla and nationalist movements. Its symbolic value is evident from its presence on the coats of arms of numerous countries and on the flag of Mozambique. It is estimated that approximately 100 million AKs have been produced, with about half of them being manufactured outside of Russia. The AK-47 is viewed by some as the defining military hardware of the 20th century.
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AK-47, Soviet assault rifle, possibly the most widely used shoulder weapon in the world. The initials AK represent Avtomat Kalashnikova, Russian for “automatic Kalashnikov,” for its designer, Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov, who designed the accepted version of the weapon in 1947.
Almost from the moment of its official adoption by the Soviet military in 1949, the AK-47 was recognized as being simple to operate, rugged, reliable under trying conditions, and amenable to mass production. Built around a 7.62-mm round with a muzzle velocity of some 700 metres per second, it had a cyclic firing rate of 600 rounds per minute and was capable of both semiautomatic and automatic fire. A long curved box magazine held 30 rounds, and a separate gas-return tube above the barrel held a piston that was forced back upon firing to activate the mechanisms that ejected the spent cartridge and cocked the hammer for the next round. The AK-47 was manufactured in two basic designs, one with a wooden stock and the other, designated the AKS, with a folding metal stock. Beginning in 1959, the AK-47 was replaced in first-line Soviet service by the AKM, a modernized version fitted with longer-range sights and cheaper mass-produced parts, including a stamped sheet-metal receiver and a plywood buttstock and forward grip.
Despite their obvious advantages, the AK-47 and the AKM were considered by the Soviet military to have problems with accuracy, mainly because of recoil forces generated by the powerful 7.62-mm round and other forces known as blowback that were generated by the weapons’ heavy internal mechanisms. Those problems were partly addressed during the 1970s, when the AKM was replaced by the AK-74, which adapted the basic Kalashnikov design to a smaller 5.45-mm round with a higher muzzle velocity of 900 metres per second. A later version of the AK-74, the AK-74M, was the main infantry weapon of the Russian army into the 21st century.
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After the 1970s, research continued into possible successors to the AK-47/74 series, most of them involving some means of reducing the effects of recoil and blowback. One candidate, the AN-94, allowed two rounds to be fired in rapid succession before recoil forces were generated. Other candidates, the AK-107 and AEK-971, introduced mechanical parts whose movements balanced those of the blowback-generating mechanisms. None of these weapons was accepted for standard issue to the Russian army, however. In 2018 the Russian military began introducing a pair of new rifles from the AK family—the AK-12 and the AK-15—as eventual replacements for the AK-74M. The AK-12 retained the 5.45-mm calibre that had been introduced with the AK-74, but the AK-15 reverted to the Soviet-era 7.62-mm round. Both weapons featured a modernized chassis that allowed for the mounting of scopes, forward grips, and other tactical accessories.
Kalashnikov assault rifles remain the basic shoulder weapons of many armies that once had political and military ties to the Soviet Union, and they have long been the favoured weapon for many guerrilla and nationalist movements throughout the world. The symbolic value of the AK-47 to such movements is demonstrated by its presence on the coats of arms of numerous countries as well as on the flag of Mozambique. It has been estimated that some 100 million AKs have been produced—fully half of them outside Russia, and many of those under expired Soviet-era licenses or no license at all. A full range of weapons that can trace their design history back to the AK-47 are produced by the Izhmash armaments company in Izhevsk, Russia.