AK-47

The AK-47 is an select-fire assault rifle designed in the Soviet Union and produced in 1949. Perhaps one of the most infamous, most well-known, and most reliable assault rifles ever made, its construction is made for cheap mass production to allow the armament of even the poorest countries. By the 21st century, there are about 75 million AK-47s and its derivatives in the arms market. It is chambered in 7.62x39mm, which gives this assault rifle enough control over recoil, yet a large stopping power and penetration potential. The AK-47 and its derivatives are used in 100+ countries

History
During World War II, the Soviets faced advanced Nazi German automatic weapons that they were not able to field. While the Red Army were equipped with automatic weapons as well, these weapons are PPSH-41s, submachine guns that lack range in exchange for pure, close-quarter, automatic fire for 50 to 100 meters; range farther than 100 meters had to be relied on rifles, which are slower-firing and too long for close quarters. Germany however, filled this gap between rifles and submachine guns with their Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle, which uses a shortened rifle cartridge to lessen recoil for controlled automatic fire, yet keep a long effective range of about 400 meters.

With a few samples of this firearm, the Soviets began researching on a similar assault rifle as well. A round similar to the German's in their Sturmgewehr 44, was developed as the 7.62z39mm that then chambered the SKS carbine and the RPD machine gun. After World War II, Soviets began the adoption of an automatic assault rifle to equip the army. The assault rifle must be tolerable and reliable to all conditions due to the harsh weather of Russia, and be simple to use by anyone due to the different nationalities in the Soviet Union that may not understand Russian instructions.

A firearm engineer, Mikhail Kalashnikov, produced the assault rifle after winning the Soviet competition and meeting all the requirements. The rifle was initially the "Avtomat Kalashnikova" (Automatic Kalashnikov), or the AK. Unlike its popular name, the AK rifle was never called the AK-47 in the Soviet Union, only as the AK, Kalashnikov, or Kalash; the term "AK-47" is believed to be the United States classification of the rifle to separate its variant by the year it was designed.

The AK-47 rifle then served with the Soviet Army from 1949 to 1959, where its first few years were kept in utmost secrecy, and is only revealed to the world during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. In 1950s, a modernization program was put into the AK-47 and produced the AKM in 1959. The AKM then became the standard rifle for the Soviet Army due to its improved features from the AK-47. Then in 1974, the AKM is replaced from Soviet arms with the AK-74 rifle.

The popularity of the AK rifle spawned many derivatives and variants of the design, adapting it to shotguns, carbines, machine guns, and submachine guns. With up to 100 million of the AKs and its derivatives in the world, the AK has made a mark in history with its simplicity and ruggedness.

AKS
The AKS features an under-folding stock to allow for a more compact firearm when transporting. The stock extended gives AKS the length of 875 mm while 645 mm when folded.

AKN
The AKN is an AK-47 with a night scope rail on the side of the receiver to allow attachment of a night vision sight.

AKM
The AKM is a modernized variant of the AK-47, featuring designs made from advances in technology. It is simplified, lighter, and has a slanted muzzle brake to resist against the recoil. Rifle weight is 6.8 lb. compared to the AK-47. This is actually the most widely seen variant of the AK-47, unlike popular beliefs, due to the ease of production and modernized features that the AK-47 does not have. Variants of the AKM come as the AKMS and AKMN, which has the same functions as the AK-47's versions.

Derivatives
Due to the popularity of the design, the AK-47's mechanism has been used in many different firearms than its own.

RPK
A machine gun derivative of the AK rifle. Developed in the 1950s and produced in 1961, it serves as the light machine gun of the Soviet Army. Its operating system runs exactly identical to the AK system, the RPK differs by having a heavier longer barrel for sustained fire, a folding bipod, and a modified wood stock for comfortable firing in prone position. The RPK could use a normal 30-round magazine made for the AK-47, or use a special 40-round magazine or a 75-round drum magazine.

AK-74
A derivative of the AK-47 operating system to accommodate the new 5.45x39mm round developed for the Soviet Army. Other than being chambered for a different ammo and with a unique flash hider in front for recoil compensation, it is identical to the AK-47's operating mechanism.

Saiga Sporters
The AK system is used in sporting firearms in a family called Saiga. Two of the most popular sporting firearms is the Saiga-12 shotgun and semi-automatic rifle chambered in various calbers and cartridges.

Bizon Submachine Gun
A 9mm submachinegun variant of the AK created by the sons of Mikhail Kalashnikov and Alexei Dragunov. It was made for counter-terrorist and law enforcement units. The weapon was accepted into service in December 28, 1996. Its most unique feature is its helical magazine that holds 64 rounds of 9x18mm Makarov rounds or 53 rounds of 9x19mm Parabellum rounds

Aleto Use
The mass quantity of AK rifles and its derivatives has led to its widespread adoption on poorer or Eastern-bloc areas. With certain accessories, the AK can become just as customizable as the venerable M4 Carbine also widely used by Aletos.

Notable Users
Felix Schmidt: Uses the AKMS variant.