The problem was that AS-44 was overly heavy (more than 5 kg empty), and trials commission ordered next round of development and trials, which started early in 1946.Įnter Mikhail Kalashnikov, the young sergeant of Soviet tank forces, who, after being wounded in combat in 1942, designed a prototype submachine gun while on medical leave. Troops generally liked the AS-44, as it has longer effective range compared to PPSh-41 submachine gun, and provided better accuracy in semi-automatic fire. Some AS-44 rifles were manufactured in spring of 1945, and these were evaluated by troops in summer of 1945, just after the Victory in Europe.
In mid-1944, trials commission selected the AS-44 assault rifle, designed by Sudayev, as the overall best, and ordered a limited production run for troops trials. By the spring of 1944, there were at least ten designs of automatic weapons in the works (not counting semi-automatic carbines that resulted in adoption of SKS and bolt-action carbines that went nowhere). By November 1943 technical specifications for the 7.62x41mm cartridge, having bottle-necked, rimless case and firing 8-gram pointed bullet, were sent out to all Soviet small arms design bureaus and organizations. The task of initial development of new ammunition was accomplished in rather short time. By mid-1943 the MKb.42(H) along with US-supplied M1 carbine were evaluated by Soviet experts, and it was decided on top level that similar weapons, firing the intermediate power cartridge, must be developed for Soviet army as soon as possible. The true story of AK began late in 1942, when Soviet troops captured several specimen of the very new German MKb.42(H)machine carbine (assault rifle), along with some 7.92 Kurz ammunition. There never was any significant demand for good ergonomics or superb accuracy, though.
The effectiveness, however, depends on the criteria used to measure it, and the key criteria for any and every Soviet and Russian military arm are: Reliability, Simplicity of operation and maintenance, Suitability for mass production. The AK is an amalgam of previously known features and solutions, combined in the most effective way. It is used not only as a military weapon, but also as a platform for numerous sporting civilian rifles and shotguns (see Saiga semiautomatic shotguns, for example). This is a true legendary weapon, known for its extreme ruggedness, simplicity of operation and maintenance, and unsurpassed reliability even in worst conditions possible.
The total number of the AK-type rifles made worldwide during the last 60 years is estimated at 90+ millions. It had been and still is (in more or less modified form) manufactured in dozens of countries, and used in hundreds of countries and conflicts since its introduction. The Kalashnikov assault rifle, also known to the West as the AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova - 47, Kalashnikov automatic rifle, model of 1947), and its derivatives, also known under the common name of AK, is the most prolific small arm of the 2nd half of the XX century.
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