Post: #1

Mother Russia is mourning. Comrade Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the iconic AK-47 assault rifle, has died at the age of 94. His ingenuity earned him widespread admiration, but his legacy became more controversial when his weapons were used in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts.
If you want to know a little bit about the fearsome AK-47, check out the video below:

Post: #2

There are so many useful tool makers in the world, why'd you single this one out?

Post: #3

A great inventor, a great innovator. He has a lot in common with Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, who took an existing design and mass produced it. And both he and Whitney made very little money from their inventions.

The Soviets took the basic design and workings of the AK-47 from the German MP-44, which was the world's first assault rifle. But he simplified this design for mass production.

Soviet design philosophy in everything was to keep things simple, tough, and reliable. They adhered to this philosophy in tanks, mortars, and all conventional small arms.

Post: #4

I've heard pretty cool stories of these (AK47s) being dug up from jungle swamps and the like, years after whatever civil war they were being used in, and being in perfect working order.

Post: #5

Legendary invention. The AK-47 has killed more people than any other weapon.

Post: #6

(12-23-2013 02:15 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  Legendary invention. The AK-47 has killed more people than any other weapon.

___________

That's a good point, Hen. It is easy to overlook the bottom line that, ultimately, the weapon was used for sanguinary purposes.

Just like Whitney's cotton gin, which was also used for sinister purposes.

Post: #7

I saw him on a few of those cable TV shows. He always seemed pretty proud of what he'd done, and a happy old man.

The story is, he was an ordinary soldier when he came up with the idea for the operating mechanism for the AK-47, got access to an army machinery shop and made a prototype.

It's not like he invented the hydrogen bomb or something, though. It was a marginal improvement on existing technology.

Post: #8

You can't fully appreciate Mr. Kalashnikov until you've rocked a Tabuk AK-74 on full auto.

Post: #9

I'm gonna hate and state that Comrade Mike was a PR stunt and did'nt have much to do with the development of the now legendary weaponry. I knew i should've kept the magazine with the article.

   

Post: #10

I was at a shoot organized by some local manufacturers and dealers. We shot a full auto AK-47 - full auto 7.62x39 sounds like the wrath of God compared to full auto 5.56. Still, I'd never trade my AR for an AK.

Post: #11

Mikhail Kalashnikov was to the world of guns what Quentin Tarantino to film-making, maybe he is guilty of plagiarism of the German STG44 but he was able to reach a wider audience and make his own work more popular than any other.

Post: #12

Not sure why everyone compares the AK47 to the MP44, sure they kind of look the same, but mechanically they're completely different. The MP44 was stamped, the first Ak's were milled, rotary lock vs receiver block, blah blah blah. It's kind of like saying the M16 is a copy of the Ljungman rifle. AK is just a simple gun that works, nothing more nothing less.

Anyways, wow, 94, nice long life, hope it was comfortable. At least his son carried on his legacy somewhat.

Post: #13

(12-23-2013 12:49 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  A great inventor, a great innovator. He has a lot in common with Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, who took an existing design and mass produced it. And both he and Whitney made very little money from their inventions.

The Soviets took the basic design and workings of the AK-47 from the German MP-44, which was the world's first assault rifle. But he simplified this design for mass production.

Soviet design philosophy in everything was to keep things simple, tough, and reliable. They adhered to this philosophy in tanks, mortars, and all conventional small arms.

And that is one of the reasons the Krauts lost. They just couldn't control themselves and over engineered about every damn thing they had on the battlefield which slowed production, ballooned costs, and hurt reliability.

For example, German tanks were a tour de force and the finest machines on the battlefield.

When they ran....

Meanwhile Russia built about 10 T34's for every Tiger and Panther the German's rolled out.

"This the AK47 assault rifle. The preferred weapon of your enemy"

Post: #14

Undoubtedly the greatest rifle of all time. One thing somebody said about it that I'll never forget:

Quote:If I was going to Mars and could only carry one weapon, it would be an AK-47.

It would be the same with me.

Post: #15

Post: #16

(12-23-2013 04:01 PM)Kingsley Davis Wrote:  I'm gonna hate and state that Comrade Mike was a PR stunt and did'nt have much to do with the development of the now legendary weaponry. I knew i should've kept the magazine with the article.

I believe this is documented in the recent AK47 book, there was an entire design team behind him some who never spoke to him afterwards after he was given, and accepted sole credit from the Soviet regime.

I don't consider him on the same level of talent as Eugene Stoner.

Post: #17

Great gun. The most popular assault rifle in the world.

Also, love the sound of a full auto AK-47 being fired.

Post: #18

Rest in Peace, que descanse en paz.

Post: #19

Leftist Slate piece on Kalashnikov:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2013/12..._died.html

"As C.J. Chivers wrote in his book The Gun, the AK-47 “was repression’s chosen gun, the rifle of the occupier and the police state.” The gun was put into service in Prague, in East Germany, at Tiananmen Square: “almost any place where a government resorted to shooting citizens to try to keep citizens in check. It would be used by Baathists to execute Kurds in the holes that served as their mass graves. It would shoot the men and boys who were herded to execution in Srebrenica in 1995.”"

I'd bet the author never thought this through - that the state will always have the means to kill its citizenry, AK-47 or not, and that the best defense against this is to have an armed citizenry. Further, I'd bet this Slate author thinks AK-47's and AR-15's should be banned from private ownership . . . which would leave these weapons in the hands of only the state and the criminals, leading to exactly the kind of repression he describes as being carried out using AK-47's.

Post: #20

I don't think I would survive up to age 94 while seeing my invention used for monstruosities on TV every day.

Post: #21

(12-23-2013 05:37 PM)commiejoe Wrote:  Not sure why everyone compares the AK47 to the MP44, sure they kind of look the same, but mechanically they're completely different. The MP44 was stamped, the first Ak's were milled, rotary lock vs receiver block, blah blah blah. It's kind of like saying the M16 is a copy of the Ljungman rifle. AK is just a simple gun that works, nothing more nothing less.

Anyways, wow, 94, nice long life, hope it was comfortable. At least his son carried on his legacy somewhat.

They look nearly the same because the AK47 was based on the StG44. While there are physical differences, such as the trigger mechanism, the double locking lugs and unlocking raceway, and the safety mechanism, the gas system was taken from the StG44 and the whole concept of the an assault rifle was taken from the StG44.

[AK-47 design]

Kalashnikov Wrote:A lot of Russian Army soldiers ask me how one can become a constructor, and how new weaponry is designed. These are very difficult questions. Each designer seems to have his own paths, his own successes and failures. But one thing is clear: before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field. I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so.

As for the comment about the Ljungman rifle - there is more similarity between the StG44, the AK47, and the M16, than there is between the M16 and the Ljungman rifle (which was more similar to the G41).

Wald

Post: #22

Post: #23

I heard that the AK-47 was the only product that the Soviet Union managed to produce which was better than what the west could come up with.

Post: #24

(12-24-2013 10:23 AM)cardguy Wrote:  I heard that the AK-47 was the only product that the Soviet Union managed to prodcue which was better than what the West could come up with.

I wouldn't say it's better. Just different. Kalashnikov's gas piston design results in less fouling of the action than Stoner's direct gas impingement design (AR-15/M16), and the AK's looser tolerances allows it to function with less maintenance.

But the AK is inherently less accurate than the AR, especially at greater range, less customizable (AR-15 is often referred to as Barbie for men - the customizability options are endless), and the ammo (7.62x39) weighs more than the AR's 5.56, which means you can carry less (plus the AK itself weighs more).

Post: #25

Fast forward to ~8:30, the barrel is so hot, the handguard is smoking, and he dumps it into a mud puddle to put it out.

Makes me want to buy an AK, just to have one.