AK47 - GUN OF THE WEEK

January 03, 2015
                                                                                                         
Автомат Калашников АК-47.jpg
Ak-47 with magazines and ammunition
Type Assault rifle
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1949–present
1949–1980s (USSR)
Used by See Users
Production history
Designer Mikhail Kalashnikov
Designed 1946–1948[1]
Manufacturer Izhmash and various others including Norinco
Produced 1949–1959[2]
Number built ≈ 75 million AK-47s, 100 million Kalashnikov-family weapons[3][4]
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Weight With loaded magazine:
4.78 kg (10.5 lb)[5][6]
Length Fixed wooden stock:
880 mm (35 in)[7]
Barrel length Overall length:
415 mm (16.3 in)[7]
Rifled bore length:
369 mm (14.5 in)[7]
Cartridge 7.62×39mm
Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire Cyclic rate of fire:
600 rds/min[7]
Practical rate of fire:
Semi-auto 40 rds/min[7]
Full-auto 100 rds/min[7]
Muzzle velocity 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s)[7]
Effective firing range 350 m (380 yd)[7]
Feed system Detachable box magazine
Capacity: 30 rounds[7]
Sights Adjustable iron sights
Sight radius:
378 mm (14.9 in)[7]		 

The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known in the Soviet documentation as Avtomat Kalashnikova (Russian: Автомат Калашникова). It is also known as Kalashnikov, AK, or in Russian slang, Kalash.
Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year of World War II (1945). After the war in 1946, the AK-47 was presented for official military trials. In 1948, the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army. An early development of the design was the AKS (S—Skladnoy or "folding"), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock. In 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces[8] and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.
Even after six decades the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used assault rifles in the world because of their substantial reliability even under harsh conditions, low production costs compared to contemporary Western weapons, availability in virtually every geographic region and ease of use. The AK-47 has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces worldwide, and was the basis for developing many other types of individual and crew-served firearms. More AK-type rifles have been produced than all other assault rifles combined


Features

The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of the art in the Soviet Union during the late 1940s.[33] The large gas piston, generous clearances between moving parts, and tapered cartridge case design allow the gun to endure large amounts of foreign matter and fouling without failing to cycle. This reliability comes at the expense of accuracy, as the looser tolerances do not allow for precision and consistency

Magazines

Plastic AK-47 magazines
The standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds. There are also 10, 20 and 40-round box magazines, as well as 75-round drum magazines.
The AK-47's 30-round magazines have a pronounced curve that allows them to smoothly feed ammunition into the chamber. Their heavy steel construction combined with "feed-lips" (the surfaces at the top of the magazine that control the angle at which the cartridge enters the chamber) machined from a single steel billet makes them highly resistant to damage. These magazines are so strong that "Soldiers have been known to use their mags as hammers, and even bottle openers."[59][60] This makes the AK-47 magazine more reliable, although heavier than U.S. and NATO magazines. The early slab-sided steel AK-47 magazines weigh .43 kg (0.95 lb) empty.[61] The later steel AKM magazines had lighter sheet-metal bodies with prominent reinforcing ribs weighing .33 kg (0.73 lb) empty.[61][62] The current issue steel-reinforced plastic magazines are even lighter, weighing .25 kg (0.55 lb) empty.[7] Early steel AK-47 magazines are 9.75 inches long, and the later ribbed steel AKM and newer plastic magazines are about an inch shorter.[6][63]
Most Yugoslavian and some East German AK magazines were made with cartridge followers that hold the bolt open when empty; however, most AK magazine followers allow the bolt to close when the magazine is empty.


Variants

1955 AK-47 Type 3
Early variants (7.62×39mm)
  • Issue of 1948/49 – Type 1: The very earliest models, stamped sheet metal receiver, are now very rare.
  • Issue of 1951 – Type 2: Has a milled receiver. Barrel and chamber are chrome plated to resist corrosion.
  • Issue of 1954/55 – Type 3: Lightened, milled receiver variant. Rifle weight is 3.47 kg (7.7 lb).[77]
  • AKS (AKS-47) – Type 1, 2, or 3 receiver: Featured a downward-folding metal stock similar to that of the German MP40, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops.
  • AKN (AKSN) – Night scope rail.[78]
AK-47 cartridges from Russia, China and Pakistan
Modernized (7.62×39mm)
  • AKM – A simplified, lighter version of the AK-47; Type 4 receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal. A slanted muzzle device was added to counter climb in automatic fire. Rifle weight is 3.1 kg (6.8 lb)[7] due to the lighter receiver. This is the most ubiquitous variant of the AK-47.
    • AKMS – Under-folding stock version of the AKM intended for airborne troops.
    • AKMN (AKMSN) – Night scope rail.
    • AKML (AKMSL) – Slotted flash suppressor and night scope rail.[79]
  • RPK – Hand-held machine gun version with longer barrel and bipod. The variants – RPKS, RPKN (RPKSN), RPKL (RPKSL) – mirror AKM variants. The "S" variants have a side-folding wooden stock.
Low-impulse variants (5.45×39mm)
AK-74 and RPK-74
  • AK-74 – Assault rifle.
    • AKS-74 – Side-folding stock.
    • AK-74N (AKS-74N) – Night scope rail.
  • AKS-74U – Compact carbine.
    • AKS-74UN – Night scope rail.
  • RPK-74 – Light machine gun.
    • RPKS-74 – Side-folding stock.
    • RPK-74N (RPKS-74N) – Night scope rail.
The 100 Series
5.45×39mm / 5.56×45mm / 7.62×39mm
Other weapons
AK-12
AK-12 series
  • AK-12 – The AK-12 uses the same gas-operated long-stroke piston system of previous Kalashnikov rifles, with many modern features that are radically different from other guns in its family. However, in late September 2013, the AK-12 was passed over by the Russian military.[81]


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