TTX AK-47 (Kalashnikov assault rifle): device, purpose, caliber

AK-47 (Kalashnikov assault rifle of the 1947th model) is a combined-arms weapon that was delivered to the Soviet military in 1949. It was designed in 1947 by Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov, in honor of which he received his name.

Brief information about the machine

Combat AK-47 (as well as its modifications, created all over the world in various designs) is by far the most widespread and popular in a huge number of states. To the type of AK-47 (that is, to himself, as well as to similar structures) is one-fifth of all small arms on our planet. Almost sixty years have passed since the creation of the machine, and he has already read over seventy million copies in various designs.

At present, about fifty foreign armies use the Kalashnikov assault rifle of the 1947th model as an official combined-arms weapon. The competition is made only by the assault rifle of the American production under the name M16. Nevertheless, it was produced on a relatively modest scale: only eight million copies. And only 27 armies of the world use this weapon.

Many experts agree that the AK-47 is the standard of how easy it is to serve small arms, as well as an indication of how reliable it should be in combat. TTX AK-47 can tell you that as ammunition used cartridges of caliber 7.62, currently used, for example, in sniper rifle Dragunov. The Kalashnikov assault rifle of the model of 1947 was the basis for the development of such modifications as AKM (modernized) and AK-74 (the 1974 model year). Also the device of work was put in a basis of a Kalashnikov machine-gun and smooth-bore guns of "Saiga" type.

How it all began

In 1943, on July 15, a meeting was held on the initiative of representatives of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was also attended by representatives of the Technical Council, which was part of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union. Then the leading experts for the first time talked about the need to create new small arms based on a certain base. She was presented with a captured German automatic weapon, which became the prototype of StG-44. Also into consideration was a light self-loading carbine of American production M1. Both guns used caliber cartridges 7.92 and 7.62 respectively. Thus, the engineers were tasked with developing a weapon that would become a real counterpart to a German competitor, but would use a reduced caliber.

First samples

They were created in a rather short time. Then only one month passed since the meeting. The experimental production of the machine was only established in March 1944. There were some prerequisites that contributed to the construction of the AK-47 TTX. We can not fail to mention them.

It is about the events of 1943-year. Then the first drawings appeared, which were planned to be realized in connection with the use of an intermediate cartridge of 7.62 caliber. They were carried out jointly by engineers Semin and Elizarov. They were sent beforehand to organizations that participated in the development of a new type of weapons. Then it was only about the caliber of 7.62 for 41. Nevertheless, during the corresponding operations it was changed by 7.62 to 39, which also affected the TTX AK-47.

Self-loading Simonov carbine and Kalashnikov assault rifle

Under the intermediate cartridge in those days, engineers tried to create not only automatic small arms. The development package included a self-loading and non-self-loading carbine, as well as a manual machine gun. Then it was calculated that the TTX AK-47 should have provided the ability to suppress enemy forces at a distance of at least four hundred meters. Such characteristics were characteristic of weapons that used rifle ammunition. But it turned out to be unnecessarily powerful, heavy, and, as a consequence, expensive. At the same time, such indicators exceeded the corresponding parameters of almost all submachine guns, and in this, first of all, there was a favorable difference.

As a result, it turned out that the development of new small arms made it possible to re-equip the entire army, to change (completely!) The individual arsenal of each soldier. Up to this point he also included such tools as Shpagin's submachine gun, Mosin's rifle, Tokarev's self-loading rifle. There were also machine guns, built on the design of various systems, including foreign ones.

Problems in the development and termination of the process

As stated earlier, certain efforts were made to develop a magazine carbine. However, in a relatively short time this process was terminated. The reason for this was the obvious obsolescence of this concept, its replacement by a new one, which corresponded to the realities and needs of the relevant period. Not for long continued, by the way, and the production of a self-loading carbine Simonov. More precisely, at the beginning of the fifties of the last century the works on its creation were stopped at the plants, and the production forces were redistributed. The reasons were simple: manufacturability was low. At least, much less than the newly developed machine. Below were and fighting qualities. We can follow a similar situation in the case of Degtyarev's machine gun. In 1961, its production was stopped, and the conveyors switched to the creation of a Kalashnikov machine gun. It was a widely unified model.

Competitions and choice of model

TTX AK-47 became one of the most important parameters that influenced the choice of this type of small arms. But what were the alternatives and what instrument did you almost manage to occupy a historical place instead of developing Mikhail Timofeevich?

The results of the tests, presented in 1944, showed that the most optimal is the machine under the name AS-44. It was designed by the gunsmith Sudaev. Later, when the model was finalized, it was decided to release the small arms with a small limited series. In the spring and summer of the following year, military tests were conducted at the testing grounds, which revealed some shortcomings. In general, no claims to the gun as a means of defeating enemy forces were brought. But the army leadership considered that the soldier needs a reduced mass of the machine for greater mobility, so the engineers were forced to look for solutions in this direction. However, Sudayev died suddenly.

Tests of AK-47

The search for solutions for the AS-44 was halted, and in 1946 the command of the army units announced the holding of another round of tests. This time, the legendary gunsmith Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov participated in them, who by that time had already succeeded in the corresponding direction. He managed to create several quite interesting weapons designs. More specifically, Kalashnikov developed two submachine guns. One of these weapons was constructed using a gate braking system. The self-made carbine, created by Mikhail Timofeevich, was fed with cartridges. By the way, he was the closest rival of Simonov's carbine, but in the competition he still lost to him.

Assembly, disassembly and basic characteristics

The incomplete disassembly of AK-47 has the following sequence. To start, the store is disconnected. The ramrod is removed, the pencil case is from the butt. It is necessary to tighten the bolt and make a control shot. After that, the bolt box is removed, the return spring, the bolt mechanism and the shutter itself are removed. The last step is to detach the gas vent. The order of assembly is reverse.

Characteristics AK-47 can tell you that the machine is designed to fire at targets at different distances. The aiming range is 800 meters. The maximum range of the bullet is 3 kilometers. The caliber of the AK-47 is 7.62 millimeters. The initial speed of the munitions flight was 715 meters per second. Characteristic AK-47 can show that the machine in the equipped version had a mass of 4.8 kilograms. The source of supply was a box-type magazine, designed for 30 cartridges.

How much does AK-47 cost?

We must understand that this question is incorrectly posed. To buy a firearm version of the machine, of course, it is possible, but the user should understand that this case is criminally punishable. However, if you are interested in how much an AK-47 is of a non-combat type, it's quite another matter. In fact, the exact models of these weapons are currently sold in souvenir shops for a couple or three thousand. You can also buy a pneumatic AK-47. It will cost a bit more - 7-10 thousand rubles. However, the pneumatic AK-47 can be used for firing at targets in a shooting range, and also for playing airsoft.