Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 9,001
Birth Of A Legend
In the Soviet "Ischmasch" plant at Ischewsk (= "Ischewskij Mashinostroitelij Zavod")...
... the mass production of the famous assault rifle "AK 47" (=Awtomat Kalashnikov Model 1947 goda") begins on February 20, 1948.
The founding of the factory dates back to 1807.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Tsar Alexander I ordered the establishment of an iron foundry on the Isch River.
Later, anchors for Russian ships and cannons were cast there. Since then, along with Tula, Izhevsk has been a center for the manufacture of infantry weapons.
Millions of Mosin-Nagant type rifles were manufactured here during both world wars – here the type
91/30…
In addition to weapons, the Izhevsk plant also built vehicles:
After the Second World War, for example, the DKW production facilities dismantled in Zschopau were set up there and a DKW NZ350...
... identical motorcycle called "Izh-350" produced...:
From 1987 to 1998 they even built a car - the Ish 2126 "Orbit"...
... a "Lada/Fiat" derivative.
But back to the AK 47 assault rifle:
About its developer, Mikhail Timojejewitsch Kalashnikov (1919 - 2030)...
... I've already written here elsewhere, the man is just as much a legend as the weapon he created!
In 1959 the AK was revised and given the name "AKM", (=Awtomat Kalashnikova Modernisirowanny" ("modernized")...:
The receiver was now manufactured using sheet metal stamping, which made the weapon even more robust and resulted in a weight reduction of 1.16 kg.
However, the Ischewsk had to contend with huge problems before they really got the sheet metal stamping technology under control: In the first eight months, more than 50 percent of the housings produced were rejects!
The "AKM" received a compensator instead of the simple muzzle nut; the muzzle nut is slightly longer on the lower left (seen from the shooter) so that the powder gases escaping the barrel push the firing weapon down to the left and thus reduce wandering during sustained fire.
The variant with a metal buttstock that could be folded down, the "AKMS", was introduced in 1960. The weapon is about 0.2 kg lighter than the AKM..:
In 1974, a new assault rifle known as the "AK-74" was introduced.
The main innovation was the switch to the 5.45×39mm caliber. It was introduced after the US Army's conversion to the 5.56×45 cartridge. The small-calibre, lightweight bullet developed a higher muzzle velocity than the old 7.62×39mm cartridge.
Thanks to the flatter bullet trajectory, the effective range increased by about 100 meters and the accuracy increased. Due to the lower weight of the new cartridge, the shooter can carry a larger amount of ammunition or is relieved with the same amount of ammunition.
The most striking features of the "AK-74" are the effective muzzle brake, which also acts as a flash damper, the plastic pistol grip and the brown plastic magazine.
There is a special AK weapon for pretty much every special purpose, such as this "AKS-74U" developed for fighting in confined spaces (e.g. urban combat)...:
Incidentally, the "AKS-74U" was the favorite weapon of senior terrorist Osama bin Laden, who liked to be photographed with it...:
Here is an overview of the different AK types…:
In the 1990s the "AK-100" series was developed..:
The AK-100 series was not very successful. Aside from some exports, only some Russian security forces have adopted the weapon, while the Russian military has not.
Several of the notorious "Green Men", the soldiers without badges who occupied Crimea in 2015, were equipped with the "AK 100" - which suggests that they were "Spetsnas" units and not members of the army!
**continued next post**
In the Soviet "Ischmasch" plant at Ischewsk (= "Ischewskij Mashinostroitelij Zavod")...
... the mass production of the famous assault rifle "AK 47" (=Awtomat Kalashnikov Model 1947 goda") begins on February 20, 1948.
The founding of the factory dates back to 1807.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Tsar Alexander I ordered the establishment of an iron foundry on the Isch River.
Later, anchors for Russian ships and cannons were cast there. Since then, along with Tula, Izhevsk has been a center for the manufacture of infantry weapons.
Millions of Mosin-Nagant type rifles were manufactured here during both world wars – here the type
91/30…
In addition to weapons, the Izhevsk plant also built vehicles:
After the Second World War, for example, the DKW production facilities dismantled in Zschopau were set up there and a DKW NZ350...
... identical motorcycle called "Izh-350" produced...:
From 1987 to 1998 they even built a car - the Ish 2126 "Orbit"...
... a "Lada/Fiat" derivative.
But back to the AK 47 assault rifle:
About its developer, Mikhail Timojejewitsch Kalashnikov (1919 - 2030)...
... I've already written here elsewhere, the man is just as much a legend as the weapon he created!
In 1959 the AK was revised and given the name "AKM", (=Awtomat Kalashnikova Modernisirowanny" ("modernized")...:
The receiver was now manufactured using sheet metal stamping, which made the weapon even more robust and resulted in a weight reduction of 1.16 kg.
However, the Ischewsk had to contend with huge problems before they really got the sheet metal stamping technology under control: In the first eight months, more than 50 percent of the housings produced were rejects!
The "AKM" received a compensator instead of the simple muzzle nut; the muzzle nut is slightly longer on the lower left (seen from the shooter) so that the powder gases escaping the barrel push the firing weapon down to the left and thus reduce wandering during sustained fire.
The variant with a metal buttstock that could be folded down, the "AKMS", was introduced in 1960. The weapon is about 0.2 kg lighter than the AKM..:
In 1974, a new assault rifle known as the "AK-74" was introduced.
The main innovation was the switch to the 5.45×39mm caliber. It was introduced after the US Army's conversion to the 5.56×45 cartridge. The small-calibre, lightweight bullet developed a higher muzzle velocity than the old 7.62×39mm cartridge.
Thanks to the flatter bullet trajectory, the effective range increased by about 100 meters and the accuracy increased. Due to the lower weight of the new cartridge, the shooter can carry a larger amount of ammunition or is relieved with the same amount of ammunition.
The most striking features of the "AK-74" are the effective muzzle brake, which also acts as a flash damper, the plastic pistol grip and the brown plastic magazine.
There is a special AK weapon for pretty much every special purpose, such as this "AKS-74U" developed for fighting in confined spaces (e.g. urban combat)...:
Incidentally, the "AKS-74U" was the favorite weapon of senior terrorist Osama bin Laden, who liked to be photographed with it...:
Here is an overview of the different AK types…:
In the 1990s the "AK-100" series was developed..:
The AK-100 series was not very successful. Aside from some exports, only some Russian security forces have adopted the weapon, while the Russian military has not.
Several of the notorious "Green Men", the soldiers without badges who occupied Crimea in 2015, were equipped with the "AK 100" - which suggests that they were "Spetsnas" units and not members of the army!
**continued next post**
