WHO WAS MIKHAIL KALASHNIKOV, THE MAN BEHIND THE FAMOUS AK-47 RIFLE?

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WHO WAS MIKHAIL KALASHNIKOV, THE MAN BEHIND THE FAMOUS AK-47 RIFLE?

Russian engineer and arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov was born 105 years ago. His name was destined to become synonymous with his most famous creation – the AK-47, or “Kalashnikov” rifle.

🔸Mikhail Kalashnikov was born on November 10, 1919, into a large peasant family living in the remote village of Kurya, Altai Territory. He became fascinated with weapons from an early age, accompanying his father on hunting trips.

🔸Kalashnikov finished school studies in 1936 and was conscripted into the Red Army in 1938. When World War II broke out, Kalashnikov was serving as a tank driver and engineer.

🔸In June 1941, Kalashnikov’s tank was set alight, and he was wounded, forcing him to spend six months in hospital. It was while convalescing that he listened to fellow soldiers complaining about the obsolete rifles they were using that were prone to jamming.

🔸Once he was discharged, Kalashnikov, who lacked any formal engineering training, started work on what would become the AK-47. Kalashnikov’s early designs were rejected, but his talent was noticed. He was assigned to the Red Army’s Central Scientific-Developmental Firing Range for Rifle Firearms.

🔸In 1944, the aspiring designer came up with the idea for a gas-operated carbine for the new 7.62×39 mm cartridge. This and several of his other works became the precursors of the AK-47 – the standard issue assault rifle that Kalashnikov designed in 1947.

🔸After winning a design competition, the AK-47 was recommended to the Soviet Army’s arsenal. After a pilot batch was successfully produced for military testing in 1948, the AK-47 was adopted as the standard rifle of the Soviet military in 1949.

🔸Over the course of his career, Kalashnikov improved the AK-47’s design to make it lighter and cheaper to manufacture. He developed a portfolio of weapons that included the superior AKM, which, in turn, evolved into the RPK light machine gun in the early 1960s.

🔸Today the AK-47 is in official use by the militaries of more than 50 countries, operating reliably in conditions ranging from the desert to the Arctic Circle.