{"id":158,"date":"2023-01-20T23:31:58","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T22:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewoodfordspider.com\/?p=158"},"modified":"2023-10-25T12:08:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T10:08:00","slug":"you-dont-know-what-an-ak-47-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewoodfordspider.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/20\/you-dont-know-what-an-ak-47-is\/","title":{"rendered":"You don\u00b4t know what an AK-47 is"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pierce Brosnan with an AKS-74U rifle in GoldenEye (1995)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The AK-47 is widely known in pop culture as the most produced firearm of all time, and a staple of films, video games and even adorns Mozambique\u00b4s flag. Estimates of Kalashnikov-style rifle production numbers range from 40 million to 150 million. Everyone has seen an AK-47. Everyone knows what an AK-47 is. Or do they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Flag of Mozambique<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Origins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mikhail Kalashnikov was a tank commander who became a weapons designer after being wounded during the Second World War. He says he got the idea to design a new rifle after hearing the woes of his fellow soldiers having so few rifles to go around, while the Wehrmacht had select fire weapons. Kalashnikov looked at the most successful weapons of the war for inspiration, specifically the American M1 Garand rifle and the German Stg44. The intent was to design a select fire intermediate cartridge rifle that could be produced easily and cheaply while remaining reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prototypes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After WW2, the Soviets began trials to replace their infantry arsenal, and it is in one such trial that the AK finds its origin. In 1946 Kalashnikov submits his bid for a select fire rifle. It excelled, and he was allowed to continue working on the prototype. This first prototype was named the AK-46 Number 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AK-46 (dissasembled) and AKS-46 (assembled)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The response to the prototypes based on this design (the AK1 and AK2) were however negative, and the Red Army considered looking elsewhere. In a bid to remain in the running, Kalashnikov and his team submitted a second redesign of the rifle, the AK-47 Number 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first use of the term AK-47 for an AK pattern rifle. So how many of the AK-47 did Kalashnikov make? 4 in total. The AK-47 Number 1 was followed by Number 2 and Number 3 and a Number 4 with an under-folding stock. These prototypes were accepted by the Red Army and adopted for production with the official designation AK (for the fixed wooden stock versions) and the AKS (with the under-folding stock). Never again is an AK pattern rifle referred to as the AK-47 outside these 4 trial rifles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An actual AK-47 (Number 1) from the Artillery Museum in St Petersburg, Russia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But it\u00b4s based on the AK-47?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The AK type III<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now could one make the argument that the AK rifle, being the AK-47 just in production makes the terminology accurate? Not really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prototypes adopted from the AK-47 Number 2 and 4 were called AK type Is, and faced an immediate issue. They used stamped recievers, and the factory tasked to produce them could not mass produce this receiver. A redesign followed, replacing the receiver with a stamped one the factory could create, called the AK type II. Unfortunately this proved to be a mistake, as the stamped receiver became a weak-point prone to failures and so a third redesign was made in 1953 introducing the AK Type III. Since none of these three rifles are just renamed AK-47 prototypes it is not accurate to call them that either. And even if you were to do so, the AK series of rifles are only produced up to 1959 when it becomes replaced with the AKM. Around 10 million of the AKM rifles were made by the soviets, compared to only the 1.5 million made of the AK rifle. Adding into the mix the huge variety of derivatives such as the Chinese Type-56 or the polish pmK, the AK rifle itself becomes but a tiny drop in the bucket of AK variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Soviet AKM Rifle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Chinese Type-56<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To finish off, the AK-47 is a specific term referring to one of 4 prototype rifles. When you have seen a rifle referred to as an AK-47 it is likely an AK rifle, or more likely an AKM. Is this all just a pedantic nerd writing on the internet? Maybe. Yes. But stop calling things AK-47s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not an AK-47, this is an AKM (Counter Strike: Global Offensive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.worldpress.org\/cover5.htm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gun That Changed The World, Mikhail Kalashnikov, 2006 – https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Gun-that-Changed-World\/dp\/0745636926<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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