AK-47

All 7.62-mm Kalashnikov assault rifles are very dependable weapons. They produce a high volume of fire and are simple to maintain and produce.

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History

The ""Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 g."" or AK-47 is a gun designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov and produced by LZh, widely used by the USSR armed forces from the 1950s through the 1980s. It is classified as an assault rifle, a mid-caliber rifle (7.62 mm, which is approximately equal to .30 caliber) that can be fired semi-automatically, or in fully-automatic bursts. It is intentionally smaller and shorter-ranged than WWII battle rifles.

The AK47 was cheap, light to carry, and easy to clean and repair in the field. It was mostly reliable but the ejector pin sometimes broke. Derivative designs replaced the AK-47 during the 1980s.

It was favoured by non-Western powers because of its ease of use, robustness, and simplicity of manufacture. Copies were made by many factories in other countries including Israel, Finland, Hungary, China and Poland, where they remain in production today.

AK47 and AKM have been extensively modified and improved upon since their first designs. Standard Kalashnikovs include:

AK-47 1948-51, 7.62x39mm. The very earliest models had a stamped sheet metal receiver. Now rare.

AK-47 1952, 7.62x39mm: with a milled receiver and wooden buttstock and hand-guard. Barrel and chamber are chrome-plated to resist corrosion. Rifle weight 4.2Kg.

AKM 7.62x39mm: a revised, lower-cost version of the AK-47; receiver is precision-stamped sheet-metal. Rifle weight 3.61Kg.

AKS-74 5.45x39mm; note the new, much smaller ammunition.

AK-74M 5.45x39mm folding stock (for motorised infantry)

AKSU 5.45x39mm, tanker's self-defense weapon, folding stock, short barrel, altered sight and gas mechanism.
Later designations:

AK-101 5.56x45 mm round (NATO round)

AK-102 short stock 101

AK-103 7.62x39mm round

AK-104 short stock 103

AK-105 5.45x39mm round (short stock)

Description

General Characteristics, AK-47 Rifle