Who invented the AK-47?
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:00 pm
WARNING: Trick question - it's not who you think!
Chas.
Chas.
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Probably not. That’s too easy so I’m sure I blew it
Commandant Klink? Granted, that was Stalag 13, not 47.
Mikhail Kalashnikov admitted later in life that he borrowed heavily from the STG-44 and was helped by Hugo Schmeisser in coming up with AK47 design.
We have a winner! Mikhail Kalashnikov was picked for propaganda purposes so the rifle would have a "face." The story about him designing it while in the hospital was false. The Soviet Union wanted a new rifle and charged several teams with the job of designing a gun for competitive testing. However, all teams were allowed to take/steal designs and features from other teams. Aleksandr Zaitsev (not sniper Vasily Zaitsev) actually contributed some of the criteria that make the rifle so reliable. He was Kalashnikov's assistant and he was never given any credit for his contribution to the AK.
I wonder why SKS bolt action did not migrate to the AK. One guess, the fear to lose one part of the bolt in the field was a critical concern.Charles L. Cotton wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:32 pmWe have a winner! Mikhail Kalashnikov was picked for propaganda purposes so the rifle would have a "face." The story about him designing it while in the hospital was false. The Soviet Union wanted a new rifle and charged several teams with the job of designing a gun for competitive testing. However, all teams were allowed to take/steal designs and features from other teams. Aleksandr Zaitsev (not sniper Vasily Zaitsev) actually contributed some of the criteria that make the rifle so reliable. He was Kalashnikov's assistant and he was never given any credit for his contribution to the AK.
So the meeting between Mikhail Kalashnikov and Eugene Stoner was NOT the meeting of the two men who invented the two most prolific battle rifles in the world. Stoner was, Kalashnikov was a Russian propaganda figure.
Chas.