Just about everyone on planet earth knows about or has at least heard of the AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova) or one of its descendants. It's a selective fire, gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the 1940s. Now Kalashnikov claims that the AK-47 was not influenced by the German STG-44, but I just can't see how that's possible. In fact, here are some pics to illustrate that point.
According to the Wikipedia entry, "Design work on the AK began in 1944. In 1946 a version of the rifle, the AK-46, was presented for official military trials, and a year later the fixed stock version was introduced into service with select units of the Red Army. The AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1949."
The Wikipedia entry contains some very interesting information on the development of the AK-47, which is worth the read. While reading up on the development of this truly amazing rifle, I came across a really interesting photo history of the design work that lead up to what we now know as the AK-47. Here's the link from world.guns.ru (http://world.guns.ru/assault/as01-e.htm)and a couple of pics to show some of the various stages of development of the AK-47. I've also posted the clip from Lord of War, where Nicolas Cage's character Yuri Orlov, talks about the history of the AK-47 rifle. Enjoy!
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ReplyDeleteYeah I'm pretty late on this but the AK doesn't owe much to the STG44 if anything at all. The concept of the assault rifle- that is to say a lightweight select-fire carbine firing a medium-powered cartridge- dates back to 1890 with the Italian Cei-Rigotti. After that the Russians made the next assault rifle in 1916, the Fedorov Avautomat, firing the Japanese 6.5x50mm cartridge. During WWII the US modified the M1 Carbine with select-fire capabilities and 30 round magazines, creating the M2 carbine with the STG44 coming after that.
ReplyDeleteThe only similarities between the STG44 and the AK are a rough cosmetic resemblance and general concept. They fire different cartridges and use very different bolt lockup and gas systems. The STG-44 did go on to inspire other guns, though, with the Czech Vz.58 inheriting it's basic bolt design and the CETME/G3 line of rifles being very similar in overall construction.
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