The World Famous AK-47 Rifle
The Ak-47 is a selective fire, gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle which was developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the 1940s.
While spending time in a Russian hospital after being injured during the Battle of Bryansk, Kalashnikov began playing around with a sub-machine gun design and entered his new design in a competition for weapons that chambered the 7.62x41mm cartridge.
Kalashnikov’s rifle passed the first round of tests and was submitted to the next round of testing which began in 1946. After making a few changes at the suggestion of his assistant, Kalashnikov’s rifle model 1947 proved to be simple, reliable and able to operate under a number of harsh conditions. Due to its simplicity, compact size and ability to be mass produced, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1949.
The AK-47 was one of the first true assault rifles and now, more than six decades later, the AK-47 and its many variants remain the most widely used assault rifles in the world. In fact, the AK-47 and its variants have been produced more than all other assault rifles combined and are used by many military and Special Forces units around the world.