Kalashnikov rifle: How superior German firearms during World War 2 started the legacy of AK family

New Delhi: When the United States bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, it killed nearly 2 lakh people as per estimates. It could be perceived as the most deadly weapon, which could actually be true. But, since several conventions and treaties stop countries from using it, it is not so deadliest. Another weapon that has killed millions of people since its inception is an assault rifle the ‘automatic Kalashnikov-47‘ or ‘AK-47′. Here ’47’ is the year 1947 in which it was first produced. It was originally a secret development project for the Soviet Army but now the world has over 100 million AK-47s and their other variants to date.

From militaries to guerilla forces and even terrorists use the AK-47 and other rifles of the AK family.

The invention of Kalashnikov rifles

During the Second World War, a tank mechanic in the Soviet military, Mikhail Kalashnikov, got injured in the German invasion of the USSR in 1941. Having witnessed the combat advantage of Germany’s superior weapons, Kalashnikov started developing a better weapon.

His initial designs were not approved and were defeated by competitors but he eventually produced the first Avtomat Kalashnikova in 1947.

Two years later, the AK-47 was introduced in the Soviet Army. It was a famous weapon and showed its efficiency in harsh conditions. Ready to use in any weather condition with a brilliant body, AK-47 became a go-to weapon. Many countries adopted the rifle after the Warsaw Pact. Since then, the weapon rapidly spread across the world.

The rifle was so prominent that in some countries such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe, it became a symbol of revolution and still the gun figures on the flags of these countries.

Why was the AK-47 preferable rifle?

At the time, AK-47 was short, lighter, easy to use with comparatively cheaper to produce. It had little recoil. It could be used in harsh conditions from waterlogged forests to extreme cold and heat to sandstorms.

With relatively low maintenance, due to its large gas piston with wide clearance between moving parts to avoid jamming, the rifle was superior in class.

Mikhail Kalashnikov boasted about the rifle and in an interview in 2007, he said, “During the Vietnam War, American soldiers would grab AK-47s and bullets from the slain Vietnamese soldiers and throw away their own M-16s.”

 

AK-47 (above) and AK-74, are two prominent assault rifles of the Kalashnikov family. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

“I hear that American soldiers use it quite often in Iraq,” he had added.

This rifle had been illegally smuggled and abundantly used by the crime world and terrorists. For instance, the kidnappers of the Israeli team during the Munich Olympics in 1972 used Kalashnikovs.

The rifles have a service life of 20-40 years.

The AK family

Since the inception of its first AK-47 rifles, Mikhail Kalashnikov upgraded the gun and produces several variants. In 1959, the production of AKM started which made the rifle even more inexpensive than the AK-47s.

He also developed the cartridge-fed PK machine gun. Modified AK-47s are still in production in countries around the world. Many countries produce rifles from the AK family and recently India also joined the camp.

In 2019, the preparatory work had been completed to produce around 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles with a budget of over Rs 5,000 crore at Korwa in Amethi. It will be produced via a joint venture named Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd (IRRPL).

Today, there are over 20 base variants of the AK rifles with AK-47, AKM, AK-74, AK-101, 102, 103, 104, and AK-203 are prominent.