There's always something in this world that people can't linger on. But in the world of firearms, nothing is so obsessive than the akkashnikov submachine gun that there is always endless talk about it. From 1947 to the present, ak has spread all over the world, it has been held by militants in various regions, participated in many conflicts, served in the armed forces of various countries, private collections, and the popular culture derived from it.
Interesting connections and reverie
Sometimes it's interesting to recall historical events, with some kind of hint or coincidence. In 1841, a Russian official, Ivan Timofievich Kalashnikov, manager of the office of the medical department of the city of St. Petersburg, wrote a famous novel called Автомат (automatic). The fiction recounts the hard life of a Siberian official, Yevgeny Subin. In the final episode, the protagonist of the novel becomes ill, and the devil seduces and pesters him (referring to man's bestiality). He had a dream in his delirium that no individual was a machine to the enemies of mankind. The modern translation means a robot driven by the lower senses.
This is an automatic machine in fictional fiction created more than a hundred years before the birth of Ak-47, and the author is also called Kalashnikov. This kalashnikov "automatic machine" first appeared in the fictional novel in 1841, and 100 years later, in 1947, the truly frightening Kalashnikov automatic machine, the ak rifle, was born.
Kalashnikov automatic rifle in Russian is Автомат Калашникова, abbreviated "АК", which is actually transliterated as "Aka" in the Russian pronunciation, so the English pronunciation of aak is inaccurate.
Fictional novel Автомат (automatic)
ak – A weapon designed for specific ammunition.
On July 15, 1943, the People's Technical Equipment Committee of the USSR organized a discussion on the development of Soviet intermediate guns. The work was carried out by the chief soviet designer n. Khrushchev. Led by M. Elizarov, assisted by Pv Ryazanov, Bv Semin and It Melnikov. They developed the Soviet version of the 7.62× 39 mm m43 intermediate ammunition in a short period of time. This bullet is more powerful than a pistol bullet, but it is not as powerful as a rifle bullet, and it is not as powerful as a rifle bullet. It has been tested well in the temperature range of -50 to 50 °C (-58 to 122 °f), reinforcing its practicality.
A year later, vasily Teggarev, a famous Soviet weapons designer and hero of socialist labor, developed the RD-44 machine gun (later known as the RRPD-44) and fired this intermediate ammunition. In 1945, the automatically loaded Simonov carbine sks-45 also used intermediate ammunition and began to equip the Red Army. In 1949, the AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle also used this ammunition. In the mid-1960s, the RPD-44 began to be replaced by the new Kalashnikov Light Machine Gun (PKK), which worked on the same principle as the machine gun.
From left to right: 7.62×54mmr, 7.62×39mm and 7.62×25mm Tokarev.
The fourth 7.62×39mm from left compares to other ammunition
Was Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov a poet, a tank mechanic designer, or a weapons designer?
At a very young age, Mr. Kalashnikov dreamed of becoming a poet, he wrote six books of poetry and has been writing them all along. Later, he found a job as a mechanic at a tractor station in his hometown of Kurya and developed a keen interest in weaponry. In 1938 he joined the Red Army. In the summer of 1940, Second Class Kalashnikov worked as a tank pilot at the tank training camp of the Kiev Special Military District. At that time, inside the Red Army, Mikhail Timofievich designed an inertia counter to calculate the actual number of cannon shots, which made it impossible to cheat in a formal shot. Prior to this, Kalashnikov also designed an engine idle and load counter that allowed for more accurate calculation of engine service life and repair time.
In addition, the young inventor also invented a device that could fire a tt pistol inside a tank turret. Soon the tank was quickly sent to Kiev, where he personally reported his invention to General Zhukov. General Zhukov also personally awarded him a watch. Subsequently, Kalashnikov was sent to the 174th laboratory in Leningrad, Moscow, where he was introduced to the chief designer of the factory, S. a. ginzburg "Ginsburg". If it were not for the war, kalashnikov might have stayed in the factory and become a tank designer, who was later recalled to the tank unit. When they broke up, Ginsburg told him:
"Fight well, young friend, and never give up the confidence of the people who stay here in you. We will definitely bring your equipment after defeating the enemy..."
The gun bearer was Kalashnikov
Before the advent of the AK-47, Kalashnikov also invented two other types of light weapons. The first was the Kalashnikov submachine gun, made in 1942. After recovering from injuries at the front, Sergeant Kalashnikov took 6 months' leave. The tank soldier decided to make good use of the time, and instead of going to Tomsk's mother or Altai's family, he went to the Kazakh village of Matai, where he had worked in the railway workshop before he was drafted.
A local locksmith helped him make the first prototype of a light weapon. Kalashnikov took it to the representative of the Military Administration in Almaty so that he could perfect his weapons in the laboratory of the Institute of The Moscow Aeronautical Institute, which had just been evacuated to the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. Kalashnikov showed his weapons to the experts of the Main Artillery Bureau of the Red Army, but they rejected the prototype. However, the young designer was discovered and transferred to the Central Center for Small Arms Science research in Kolomna.
Kalashnikov submachine gun of the 1942 model.
In 1944, he designed an aerodynamic carbine for the new 7.62×39 mm M43 ammunition. Influenced by the M1 Garand rifle, the weapon was lost to the new Simonov carbine (the sks that were eventually adopted), but this time it laid the groundwork for his participation in the assault rifle competition in 1946.
Kalashnikov automatically loads the carbine.
Kalashnikov liked to repeat a phrase that later became a famous quote: "I served, and I always remember that a scholar soldier never ends." In 1941, the future designer was fighting on the front line and rushed out of the encirclement, so he experienced first-hand what it was like to be a soldier, and as a soldier he understood the reliability of weapons. Before being put into use, ak successfully passed the following tests:
Soak in the swamp for a while before firing;
Bury the rifle in the sand to "bathe";
Thrown from high in different locations onto the cement floor;
Freeze before firing.
There aren't as many machine guns in the world that can come out of the water like the ak and shoot immediately.
In 1949, the AK-47 became the standard assault rifle of the Soviet army, and M.T. Kalashnikov received the Stalin Prize and the Order of the Red Star with a prize of 150,000 rubles. In 1953 this money could be purchased for the following items:
White bread and baked goods 3/kg (unit price) - 50 tons;
1/kg of brown bread - 150 tons;
Beef 12.5/kg - 12 tons;
2.24/L milk - 67 tons;
Vodka – 7,000 bottles;
Barracuda 7.1/kg - 21 tons;
Moskvich sedan 9000 / car - 16.7 cars.
AK-47 serves many national and regional armies, local armed forces, gangs, etc., as well as ak pop culture.
After the AK-47 was adopted by soviet troops in 1949, it spread rapidly around the world. On May 20, 1949, the Izhevsk plant produced the first batch of 150,000 automatic rifles. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union transferred production licenses for ak to 18 allies, and another 12 countries manufactured it without a license. To this day, the number of countries producing the AK series of weapons cannot be estimated. Although all authorized licenses have expired, production continues in many countries around the world.
The most active ak sellers on the world market are the Polish company Bumar-labedy and the Bulgarian Ordnance Company. In January 2015, the Russian Arms Company of the United States announced its intention to produce the AK-47 in the United States. Today, the ak series is manufactured in almost every part of the world except Australia and Antarctica. More than 50 countries have officially adopted the AK series of weapons.
AK is very inexpensive to manufacture, and most of its parts are stamped. This processing method is low cost and large scale. In addition, a large proportion of components are replaced by wear-resistant composites. An AK made in the United States, Russia or Bulgaria costs $450-600, while a handmade AK in Pakistan costs $70-150, but no one can guarantee that it won't have problems after a hundred shots. In Afghanistan, the same handmade ak can be bought for $10.
On December 26, 2013, Pakistan's Dawn online network dawn published an article titled "Years of Guns: The Political History of Pakistan's AK-47." Almost all activities in Pakistan are inseparable from the influence of ak.
In the Soviet Union, any elementary school student in the initial military training course had to pass the ak disassembly/assembled exam. The standard for excellent student performance is: disassembly the complete ak rifle within 18 seconds, and then fully assemble it within 30 seconds; in the army, the soldier must disassemble it within 13 seconds and assemble it within 23 seconds.
Many armies in the territories of former European colonies chose AK as their primary weapon of war. It can train thousands of African farmers quickly and cheaply. In some African countries, newborns are named Kalash.
Anyone can have an ak
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a lover of gilded aks, and a set of gilded ak weapons he specially customized is preserved in the Cairo Weapons Museum. Including many South American tycoons are also fanatics of gold ak.
In Afghanistan and other Islamic countries, ak is woven on carpets. In 2007, New Zealand minted two New Zealand dollar coins in the image of Ak and its designers.
AK-47 stands out in American pop culture as a recurring focal point in the film King of War (2005) starring Nicolas Cage.
American hip-hop artist Jean Wyclef toured everywhere with his ak-47 guitar.
American hip-hop artist Jean Wyclef
Counter-Strike
ak is a must-have in the popular computer shooter counter-strike.
Russian alcohol lovers are not far behind in promoting the legendary AK weapon. The bottle in the winery gift version in the Russian city of glazov (udmurtia) is in the shape of an ak rifle.
Kalashnikov vodka
A foreign reporter once asked Mikhail Timofievich Kalashnikov: "Are you sleeping peacefully and people are being killed by weapons you have made?" Kalashnikov replied:
"I slept well because I always made weapons to protect myself. This argument of using it to kill people cannot be agreed. If politicians can reach their own consensus, a world without weapons is possible. ”