Ballistic data akm. 62 mm assault rifles akmn, akml, akmn1, akmn2, akmnz

The AKM Kalashnikov assault rifle is automatic weapons with automatic gas engine, store-fed and barrel air-cooled.

The basis of automation is a gas engine with a long stroke of the gas piston. The leading link of automation is a massive bolt carrier, to which the gas piston rod is rigidly attached. The gas chamber is located above the barrel, the gas piston moves inside a removable gas tube with a handguard. The bolt frame moves inside the receiver along two side rails, and the design provides for significant gaps between the moving parts of the automation and the fixed elements of the receiver, which ensures reliable operation even with heavy internal contamination of the weapon. Another aspect that contributes to the reliable operation of automation in difficult conditions is obviously excessive power under normal conditions. gas engine. This allows you to abandon the gas regulator, and thereby simplify the design of the weapon and its operation. The price of such a solution is increased recoil and vibration of the weapon when firing, which reduces the accuracy and accuracy of fire. The barrel bore is locked by a rotary bolt on two massive lugs engaged with the elements of the receiver. The rotation of the shutter is ensured by the interaction of the protrusion on its body with a curly groove on the inner surface of the shutter frame. The return spring with the guide rod and its base are made in the form of a single assembly. The base of the recoil spring also serves as a latch for the receiver cover. The cocking handle is made integral with the bolt carrier, is located on the weapon on the right and moves when firing.

The AKM receiver is stamped from a steel sheet, with a riveted milled insert in its front part. In early AK assault rifles, the receiver was a combination of stamped and milled elements, in serial AK-47s it was completely milled. At first glance, a milled receiver and a stamped one can be easily distinguished from each other by the shape of the notches above the magazine socket. On the AK-47 with a milled box, these are rather long milled rectangular recesses, on the AKM, these are small oval stampings.

The trigger mechanism (USM) AKM - trigger, provides single and automatic fire. The choice of fire modes and the inclusion of the fuse are carried out by a long stamped lever on the right side of the receiver. In the upper position - "Fuse" - it closes the slot in the receiver, protecting the mechanism from dirt and dust, blocks the movement of the bolt frame back, and also locks the trigger. In the middle position, it blocks the sear of a single fire, providing automatic fire. In the lower position, the single fire sear is released, providing fire with single shots. In USM AKM, unlike the AK-47, a trigger retarder has been introduced, which, during automatic fire, delays the trigger release after the self-timer has been triggered for a few milliseconds. This allows the bolt carrier to stabilize in its forwardmost position after it has come forward and possibly rebounded. This delay has practically no effect on the rate of fire, but it improves the stability of the weapon.

The machine guns are fed from box magazines with a two-row arrangement of cartridges. The standard capacity of the magazines is 30 rounds, the early magazines were stamped from steel, with flat walls. Later, steel stamped magazines appeared with vertical curved undercuts on the sidewalls to increase rigidity. Then, plastic magazines of a characteristic dirty orange color appeared in the troops. If necessary, 40-cartridge horns and 75-cartridge discs from light machine gun RPK.

On early assault rifles, the handguard, pistol grip and buttstock are wooden, the buttstock has a steel butt plate with a lid that covers the compartment for accessories for cleaning and maintaining weapons. On the AKM, the stock comb was raised up to reduce the toss of the weapon when firing. On some machine guns, the pistol grip is made of plywood or plastic. AK and AKM are equipped with a bayonet-knife in a sheath and a gun belt. Modifications of the AKS and AKMS assault rifles, specially designed for the Airborne Forces, had folding butts made of stamped steel. Such butts folded down and forward, under the receiver, accessories for such machine guns were worn separately.

AKM - Modernized Kalashnikov assault rifle, model 1959, with a stamped receiver.

AKMS - AKM with folding stock

AKM with a 40mm grenade launcher GP-25

7.62mm modernized machine Kalashnikov(AKM, GRAU Index - 6P1) - an assault rifle that replaced the AK in service with the Soviet army in 1959 and is its further development.

Execution options:

AKMS(GRAU index - 6P4) is a variant of the AKM with a folding stock. The butt mounting system was changed relative to the AKS (it folded down and forward, under the receiver). The modification is designed specifically for paratroopers.
AKMSU- a shortened version of the AKM with a folding butt, designed for special forces and airborne troops. It was released in very small quantities and did not receive wide distribution among the troops. It did not officially enter service.
AKMN (6P1N) - a variant with a night sight.
- AKMSN (6P4N) - modification of AKMN with a folding metal butt.
AK-103- Changes were made, run-in during the production of AK-74M. The machine is made with a folding butt. Used in the design modern materials. The butt, magazine, handguard, handguard and pistol grip are made of plastic and have high impact resistance and resistance to external influences. The machines have a side rail for mounting optical and night sights. The AK103 has slots for attaching a 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher or bayonet-knife. The muzzle brake provides high accuracy of automatic firing by reducing the withdrawal of the machine gun from the aiming point and reducing the recoil energy when fired.

Tactical and technical characteristics:

After initial military trials in 1949, the Kalashnikov assault rifle was officially accepted into service as the "7.62mm Kalashnikov assault rifle, model 1947", or simply AK (sometimes also referred to as AK-47). In its original form, the AK-47 had a receiver of a combined design, assembled by riveting from stamped and milled elements, but this design was not rigid enough, and the AK-47 went into mass production with a fully milled receiver. By 1959, the AK was modified according to operating experience, and in 1959 the AKM assault rifle was adopted - a modernized Kalashnikov assault rifle, distinguished primarily by a one-piece stamped receiver of a smaller mass, a raised butt and a modified trigger mechanism, in the design of which a retarder was introduced trigger actuation (sometimes erroneously referred to as a rate of fire retarder). Together with the AKM, a new bayonet-knife was adopted, which had a hole in the blade. which allowed it to be used in conjunction with a scabbard as wire cutters. Another improvement that appeared in the AKM was the introduction of a muzzle compensator screwed onto the threads on the muzzle of the barrel. Instead of a compensator, a PBS-1 silencer can be installed on the barrel, requiring the use of special cartridges with a subsonic bullet speed. The AKM can be equipped with a 40mm GP-25 grenade launcher. The AKM sights were marked up to 1000 meters instead of 800 meters on the AK-47 (in any case, firing from AK / AKM at a distance of over 400 meters is almost a waste of ammunition).

The main differences between AKM and its predecessor:

increased effective firing range (from 800 m to 1000 m);
new stamped receiver, which reduced the weight of the machine;
raised butt, which brought the point of emphasis closer to the line of fire;
a trigger retarder has been added, which allows the bolt frame to stabilize in the extreme forward position before the next shot to increase the stability of the machine gun and increase the accuracy of the battle;
increased stability in the horizontal plane due to the transfer of the point of impact of the bolt carrier in the forward position from the right side to the left.
muzzle compensator, which increased the accuracy of shooting from unstable positions (on the move, standing, kneeling). Instead, a PBS or a nozzle for firing blank cartridges can be installed on the thread;
a short (blade 150 mm) detachable bayonet-knife was introduced, which had more household than combat mission. Instead of a second blade, he received a saw, and in combination with a scabbard, he could be used to cut barbed wire obstacles.

In 1974, into service Soviet army a 5.45mm rifle complex is accepted, consisting of an AK-74 assault rifle and an RPK-74 light machine gun. However, a significant number of 7.62mm AKM assault rifles are still in service with various branches of the military. Russian army. A considerable number of 7.62mm assault rifles are in service with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian police.

The advantages of AK are known to all. This is exceptional reliability even in the most difficult operating conditions, unpretentious maintenance, ease of use and maintenance, low cost. Disadvantages, however. are also well known. It,. first of all, the poor ergonomics of all weapons - especially a lot of well-deserved criticism is caused by the fuse translator, which is inconvenient to use and makes a loud characteristic click when switching. Quite rough sights with a short sighting line, they also do not contribute to shooting accuracy, especially single ones. At the same time, all these shortcomings could be easily eliminated, if not in the AKM, then certainly in the AK-74, but the conservatism of military officials, and manufacturers, turned out to be, unfortunately, impenetrable.

Technical description of the AKM assault rifle

The AKM Kalashnikov assault rifle is an automatic weapon with an automatic gas engine, magazine-fed and air-cooled barrel.

The basis of automation is a gas engine with a long stroke of the gas piston. The leading link of automation is a massive bolt carrier, to which the gas piston rod is rigidly attached. The gas chamber is located above the barrel, the gas piston moves inside a removable gas tube with a handguard. The bolt frame moves inside the receiver along two side rails, and the design provides for significant gaps between the moving parts of the automation and the fixed elements of the receiver, which ensures reliable operation even with heavy internal contamination of the weapon. Another aspect that contributes to the reliable operation of automation in difficult conditions is the obviously excessive power of the gas engine under normal conditions. This allows you to abandon the gas regulator, and thereby simplify the design of the weapon and its operation. The price of such a decision is increased recoil and vibration of the weapon when firing, which reduces the accuracy and accuracy of fire, and also reduces the resource of the receiver, in the rear wall of which hits a massive bolt carrier. The barrel bore is locked by a rotary bolt on two radial lugs engaged with the elements of the receiver insert. The rotation of the shutter is ensured by the interaction of the protrusion on its body with a curly groove on the inner surface of the shutter frame. The return spring with the guide rod and its base are made in the form of a single assembly. The base of the recoil spring also serves as a latch for the receiver cover. The cocking handle is made integral with the bolt carrier, is located on the weapon on the right and moves when firing.

The AKM receiver is stamped from a steel sheet, with a riveted milled insert in its front part. In early AK assault rifles, the receiver was a combination of stamped and milled elements, in serial AKs it was completely milled. At first glance, a milled receiver and a stamped one can be easily distinguished from each other by the shape of the notches above the magazine socket. On AK with a milled box, these are rather long milled rectangular recesses, on AKM, these are small oval stampings.

Trigger mechanism (USM) AKM - trigger, provides single and automatic fire. The choice of fire modes and the inclusion of the fuse are carried out by a long stamped lever on the right side of the receiver. In the upper position - "Fuse" - it closes the slot in the receiver, protecting the mechanism from dirt and dust, blocks the movement of the bolt frame back, and also locks the trigger. In the middle position, it blocks the sear of a single fire, providing automatic fire. In the lower position, the single fire sear is released, providing fire with single shots. In USM AKM, unlike AK, an additional trigger retarder has been introduced, which, during automatic fire, delays the release of the trigger after the self-timer has been triggered for a few milliseconds. This allows the bolt carrier to stabilize in its forwardmost position after it has come forward and possibly rebounded. This delay has practically no effect on the rate of fire, but it improves the stability of the weapon.

The muzzle of the barrel of the weapon has a thread, on which a nozzle for firing blank cartridges was originally placed, and in its absence, a protective sleeve. On AKM assault rifles, from the beginning of the sixties, a compensator began to be installed on this thread, which reduces the toss and pull towards the barrel during automatic firing by using the pressure of the powder gases escaping from the barrel on the lower ledge of the compensator. In addition, a special silencer (a device for silent and flameless firing) PBS or PBS-1, used in special operations, can be installed on the same thread.

The machine guns are fed from box magazines with a two-row arrangement of cartridges. The standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds. Early magazines were stamped steel with flat sides. Later, steel stamped magazines appeared with vertical curved forgings on the sidewalls to increase rigidity, as well as lightweight aluminum magazines. Then, plastic magazines of a characteristic dirty orange color appeared in the troops. If necessary, 40-cartridge horns and 75-cartridge discs from the RPK light machine gun can be used in the AKM.

On early assault rifles, the handguard, pistol grip and buttstock are wooden, the buttstock has a steel butt plate with a cover covering the compartment for accessories for cleaning and maintaining weapons. On the AKM, the stock comb was raised up to reduce the toss of the weapon when firing. On some machine guns, the pistol grip is made of plywood or plastic. AK and AKM are equipped with a bayonet-knife in a sheath and a gun belt. Modifications of the AKS and AKMS assault rifles, specially designed for the Airborne Forces, had folding butts made of stamped steel. Such butts folded down and forward, under the receiver, accessories for such machine guns were worn separately.

The sights of the machine gun consist of an adjustable (for sighting) front sight in the front sight and an adjustable rear sight marked in range up to 800 (AK) or 1000 (AKM) meters. A variant of the AKMN assault rifle had a special bar on the left side of the receiver for attaching the night sight bracket.

The first Soviet submachine gun chambered for an intermediate cartridge of the 1943 model (7.62x41) was the Sudayev AS-44 submachine gun, which underwent military trials in the spring and summer of 1945.

Caliber 7.62×39mm
Length: 870 mm
Barrel length: 415 mm
Weight with empty magazine: AK: 4.3 kg, AKM: 3.14 kg
Magazine capacity 30 rounds
rate of fire 600 shots/min

The history of the birth of the Kalashnikov assault rifle began at the end of 1942, when Soviet troops captured the first samples of German automatic carbines (automatic rifles) MKb.42 (H) chambered for the intermediate cartridge 7.92x33 on the Volkhov front. In the summer of 1943, at a meeting in the NPO, based on the results of studying the captured MKb.42 (H) machine gun and the American carbine, it was decided that it was necessary to urgently develop its weapon system for an intermediate cartridge, which provided the infantry with the opportunity effective management fire at ranges of about 400 meters (beyond the capabilities of submachine guns). The development of the new complex began, of course, with the creation of a new cartridge, and already in November 1943, all organizations involved in the development small arms, drawings and specifications of a new cartridge developed by designers Semin and Elizarov were sent out. This cartridge had a bottle sleeve 41 mm long and was loaded with a pointed bullet of 7.62 mm caliber and 8 grams weight with a lead core. The development of weapons for the new cartridge was launched in several areas - an automatic rifle, a self-loading carbine and a carbine with manual reloading. In the middle of 1944, the testing commission selected for further development an automatic machine designed by Sudayev, which received the AS-44 index. Based on the results of its revision, it was decided to release a small series and conduct military tests, which took place in the spring and summer of 1945 both in the group of Soviet troops in Germany and in a number of units on the territory of the USSR. The overall test experience was positive, but the troops made a firm demand to reduce the weight of the machine. As a result, it was decided to conduct another round of tests at the beginning of 1946.

This is where Sergeant Kalashnikov enters the scene. After being wounded in 1942, during the course of treatment, he developed a submachine gun of an original design, and as a result, he was sent to continue his service at the Scientific Testing Range for Small Arms and Mortar Weapons (NIPSMVO) in the town of Shchurovo, not far from Moscow. Here, in 1944, Kalashnikov developed a self-loading carbine, in the design of which there was a clear influence american rifle M1Garand, and with the announcement of the competition for the Kalashnikov assault rifle, he joined it. In November 1946, the Kalashnikov project was, among some others, approved for the manufacture of prototypes, and Kalashnikov was seconded to Kovrov, to plant No. 2 for the direct manufacture of experimental assault rifles. The first Kalashnikov assault rifle, known as the AK-46, had a short-stroke gas piston located above the barrel and a Garandovsky-type butterfly valve. The machine also had a split receiver design, and a separate fuse and fire mode selector on the left side of the weapon. In December 1946, the AK-46 Kalashnikov assault rifle entered the test, where its main competitors were the Tula Bulkin AB-46 assault rifles and the Dementiev AD assault rifle. This was followed by the second round of tests, after which the AK-46 was recognized by the commission as unsuitable for further development. Despite this decision, Kalashnikov (with the support of a number of members of the commission, consisting of NIPSMVO officers with whom he had served at the training ground since 1943) obtained a review of the decision and received approval for further fine-tuning of his machine gun.

Returning to Kovrov, Kalashnikov decided to radically rework his design, in which he was actively assisted by an experienced designer of the Kovrov plant, Zaitsev. As a result to next round test was actually created new machine, which had the most minimal resemblance to the AK-46, but on the other hand received a significant resemblance to one of the main competitors - the Bulkin assault rifle (this includes a bolt frame with a rigidly attached gas piston, the layout of the receiver and its cover, the placement of a return spring with a guide and the use of a ledge on return spring guide for locking the receiver cover). In general, all the key design solutions of the new machine were borrowed from other systems - for example, the trigger mechanism was borrowed with minimal improvements from the Czech Holek self-loading rifle, the safety lever, which was also a dust cover for the shutter handle window, was "peeped" from the Remington self-loading rifle 8 Browning designs, "hanging" the bolt group inside the receiver with minimum areas friction and large gaps - at the Sudayev machine gun.

It should be specially noted here that during this period, copying and borrowing other people's constructive solutions(including those of direct competitors) was not only not forbidden, but was directly welcomed by both the testing commission and higher organizations. After all, all intellectual property (in today's sense) was then considered common in the USSR, i. belonged not to one inventor, but to the whole people (or state), and, accordingly, could be used for the benefit of the people and the state by anyone. It should also be noted that the use of the sum of already proven and successful solutions by itself does not guarantee the success of the resulting sample - this requires significant engineering and design work, which was done by Kalashnikov and Zaitsev in the shortest possible time.
As a result, three assault rifles entered the next round of tests, which were carried out in December 1946 - January 1947 - slightly finished samples of Dementiev and Bulkin and, in fact, a new Kalashnikov and Zaitsev assault rifle.

According to the test results, not a single sample fully met the tactical and technical requirements - the Kalashnikov assault rifle, being the most reliable of all three, showed insufficient accuracy of fire, and the only machine gun that fully met the accuracy requirements - TKB-415 of the Bulkin system, had problems with reliability and survivability of a number of details. At a meeting of the testing commission, based on the results of the next stage of the competition, in the end, it was decided to recommend the Kalashnikov assault rifle for military testing as the most reliable, and bringing it to the TTT requirements for accuracy of fire was postponed indefinitely. This decision can be considered justified from the point of view that in the current situation at that time, the Soviet army would be much more useful for a reliable, but not very accurate machine gun in the near future than a reliable and accurate machine gun who knows when.

It was decided to establish the production of new assault rifles at a plant in Izhevsk, where Kalashnikov was sent from Kovrov at the end of 1947. The first batches of new assault rifles were assembled in Izhevsk in the middle of 1948, and at the end of 1949, according to the results of military tests, the new assault rifle was adopted by the Soviet army in two versions under the designations "7.62mm Kalashnikov assault rifle AK" and "7.62mm Kalashnikov assault rifle with a folding AKS butt" (for airborne troops).

Serial production of new machines unfolded in Izhevsk with big problems. The main problem was the receiver, which was assembled from a stamped steel case and a massive milled liner in the front with rivets. The imperfection of the technology led to distortions in the shape and size of the receiver and other problems, which, in turn, caused a large percentage of defects. After analyzing the problems, the designers of the plant made a seemingly paradoxical decision - the transition to the "outdated" technology of milling the receiver from a solid forging instead of stamping and riveting will be economically justified due to sharp decline the number of defects and returns of machine guns from military acceptance. A new receiver was developed in the department of the chief designer of the Izhevsk plant, and since 1951, AK and AKS assault rifles began to be produced with a milled receiver. At the same time, in the course of production, numerous improvements were made to the design and technology of the production of automatic machines.

The appearance in the first half of the fifties of the experimental Korobov assault rifle, which surpassed the AK in terms of accuracy of fire, as well as being lighter and cheaper to manufacture, led to the appearance in 1955 of new TTTs for a lightweight assault rifle. In the future, these requirements were supplemented by requirements for the creation of a light machine gun as unified as possible with an automatic machine gun - a squad-level support weapon. Competitive tests of new systems took place in 1957-58 and included a fairly large range of samples from different design bureaus. For these tests, the Kalashnikov group presented an improved version of the AK with a new stamped receiver, as well as a light machine gun based on it. According to the results of tests in 1959, the "7.62mm Kalashnikov assault rifle modernized AKM" was adopted by the Soviet army, as it demonstrated high reliability, acceptable characteristics in terms of accuracy and accuracy of fire and was "familiar" to both industry and troops.

In 1974, the 5.45 mm rifle complex, consisting of the AK-74 assault rifle and the RPK-74 light machine gun, was adopted by the Soviet Army, and the production of AKM assault rifles in the USSR was curtailed. Nevertheless, a significant number of 7.62mm AKM assault rifles are still in service with various branches of the Russian army - while serving in the Russian Air Defense Forces in 1997-1998, I myself had to shoot from standard 7.62mm assault rifles produced in the late 1960s - early 1970s . A considerable number of 7.62mm assault rifles are in service with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian police.

AK and subsequently AKM were widely supplied to countries and regimes friendly to the USSR, both in the form of finished weapons and in the form of licenses for production, coupled with all the necessary documentation and technical assistance. 7.62mm assault rifles were produced in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Egypt, Iraq, China, Romania, North Korea, Finland, and were delivered to even more countries. As a matter of fact, such a wide distribution of Kalashnikov assault rifles in the world (as a rule, the number of AK-type assault rifles produced around the world is estimated at about 90 million pieces) is primarily determined by the policy of the USSR, which generously distributed automatic weapons and their production technologies to everyone who declared their readiness to follow the socialist way or at least fight against world imperialism and colonialism. As a result of such generosity in the past, Russia has now lost a significant part of the market for assault rifles, since now only the lazy in the countries of the former socialist bloc does not produce one or another version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle. There is no need to talk about any infringement of patent rights here, since even without taking into account the non-original design, its age exceeds all the maximum terms of patent protection, and the patent for the Kalashnikov assault rifle received in 1997 (world patent WO9905467 dated February 4, 1999) actually protects only individual solutions embodied in the AK-74M series assault rifles, but not the earlier AK and AKM.

Civilian semi-automatic versions of the AK are quite popular both in Russia (carbines and shotguns of the Saiga series) and abroad, especially in the USA (mainly due to the popularity of the Kalashnikov brand, unpretentiousness in cartridges and low price).

One of the myths associated with the AK says that Kalashnikov "copied" the AK from german machine gun MP-43, also known as Stg.44, also indicating that, according to some sources, Schmeiser worked in Izhevsk from 1947 to 1950. Indeed, at first glance, the external layout of the AK and MP-43 is similar, as is the concept of automatic weapons chambered for an intermediate cartridge. Similar outlines of the barrel, front sight and gas outlet tube are due to the use of a similar gas outlet engine (invented long before Schmeisser and Kalashnikov). The disassembly of the AK and MP-43 differs fundamentally: for the AK, the receiver cover is removed, for the MP-43, the trigger box is folded down on the pin along with the fire control handle. The device for locking the barrel is also different (a rotary shutter for AKs against a skewed shutter for the MP-43) and trigger mechanisms. It is likely that Kalashnikov knew about the MP-43, but it is obvious that when creating his assault rifle, he was more guided by other well-known models and systems (see above). The main merit of Kalashnikov (or rather, of his entire team involved in the development and debugging of the machine gun) is precisely the optimal layout of already known and proven solutions into a single sample that meets the set requirements.

The advantages of AK are known to all. These are high reliability even in the most difficult operating conditions, unpretentious maintenance, ease of use and maintenance, low cost in mass production. Disadvantages, however. are also well known. First of all, this is not the most successful ergonomics of all weapons - especially a lot of well-deserved criticism is caused by a fuse translator, which is inconvenient to use, as well as the shape and size of the butt. Sufficiently coarse sights with a short aiming line also do not contribute to the accuracy of shooting, especially with single shots. At the same time, all these shortcomings could be easily eliminated, if not in the AKM, then certainly in the AK-74, but the conservatism of military officials, and manufacturers, turned out to be, unfortunately, impenetrable. In general, AK can be described as an ideal weapon for the long-past Second (and never came, thank God, Third) World War, which is not surprising - it was created on the basis of a fresh and very harsh experience of this war. For modern conditions of reference local wars and conflicts, the entire AK / AKM / AK-74 family is somewhat outdated, but no serious replacement is foreseen yet - the Nikonov AN-94 assault rifle will obviously not replace the AK-74 in the troops. However, in defense of the AKM and AK-74, it should be said that in the existing Russian conscription army, the introduction of a potentially more effective machine gun is unlikely to have any significant effect, since in order to realize its potential, it will be necessary to radically change (and most importantly, increase) the level of rifle soldier training.

Technical description of the AKM assault rifle

The AKM Kalashnikov assault rifle is an automatic weapon with an automatic gas engine, magazine-fed and air-cooled barrel.

The basis of automation is a gas engine with a long stroke of the gas piston. The leading link of automation is a massive bolt carrier, to which the gas piston rod is rigidly attached. The gas chamber is located above the barrel, the gas piston moves inside a removable gas tube with a handguard. The bolt frame moves inside the receiver along two side rails, and the design provides for significant gaps between the moving parts of the automation and the fixed elements of the receiver, which ensures reliable operation even with heavy internal contamination of the weapon. Another aspect that contributes to the reliable operation of automation in difficult conditions is the obviously excessive power of the gas engine under normal conditions. This allows you to abandon the gas regulator, and thereby simplify the design of the weapon and its operation. The price of such a decision is increased recoil and vibration of the weapon when firing, which reduces the accuracy and accuracy of fire, and also reduces the resource of the receiver, in the rear wall of which hits a massive bolt carrier. The barrel bore is locked by a rotary bolt on two radial lugs engaged with the elements of the receiver insert. The rotation of the shutter is ensured by the interaction of the protrusion on its body with a curly groove on the inner surface of the shutter frame. The return spring with the guide rod and its base are made in the form of a single assembly. The base of the recoil spring also serves as a latch for the receiver cover. The cocking handle is made integral with the bolt carrier, is located on the weapon on the right and moves when firing.

The AKM receiver is stamped from a steel sheet, with a riveted milled insert in its front part. In early AK assault rifles, the receiver was a combination of stamped and milled elements, in serial AKs it was completely milled. At first glance, a milled receiver and a stamped one can be easily distinguished from each other by the shape of the notches above the magazine socket. On AK with a milled box, these are rather long milled rectangular recesses, on AKM, these are small oval stampings.

The table above shows data on the basic modification of the AKM assault rifle with a fixed wooden butt without a bayonet and with an attached empty magazine.

Modernized automatic carbine (automatic) of the Kalashnikov system - AKM.

In fact, the weapon under the name AKM is a deep alteration of the flawed design of the original AK47. The work of automation and the main elements of the layout do not differ from the same AK47, you can read about this in our catalog article describing the AK47.

The legendary reliability of Kalashnikov assault rifles is due to very large assembly tolerances and, accordingly, wide gaps between the moving parts of the weapon. But the same moment is one of the reasons why the assault rifle has a low accuracy of combat, although the modified AKM is significantly superior to the AK47 in this parameter. It is immediately worth noting the fact that you should not confuse the Soviet-made AK47 with the AK-47 produced in American arms factories and factories in other countries. Here we will talk about Soviet machine guns AKM model 1959.

Much has been said in the article about the AK47, so we will not repeat ourselves, read about the operation of automation and some other points that have remained unchanged in the description of the AK47.

Separately, it is worth considering the shutter of the machine. The bolt is located in the bolt carrier and rotates through interaction with the bevel of the frame, which, when the bolt carrier moves back and forth, causes the bolt to rotate in one direction and the other. When locking the bore, the bolt rotates clockwise and enters the two lugs located in its front part into the corresponding grooves of the receiver located in front of the chamber (lugs), after which the barrel is securely locked. When the bolt frame moves back, after a shot or when the bolt is manually jerked, the bolt rotates in the opposite direction, and the lugs come out of the grooves, as a result of which the barrel is unlocked and the bolt moves back together with the bolt carrier. This principle of a rotary bolt, locking the bore on two lugs, was borrowed by Kalashnikov from the American M1 Garand rifle. Actually, most of the positive design decisions of the AK were borrowed, and the main feature of Kalashnikov - a bolt frame rigidly coupled to a gas piston, was borrowed from the Bulkin assault rifle, which was a competitor to the AK in tests. From the same Bulkin machine, such a decision was borrowed as a protrusion on the back of the return spring guide as a latch for the receiver cover, as well as the very location of this guide and the principle of locking the receiver cover. In addition, a number of design solutions were borrowed from other weapons systems, and there is nothing reprehensible in this, because the result was quite reliable machine. Another issue is authorship, but there was no such thing as copyright in the USSR at that time.

From 1949 to 1959, the AK47 production process underwent a lot of changes and the machine itself became completely different, both in terms of its combat characteristics and manufacturability. These changes were changes in better side. And in 1959, after passing the tests, the modernized Kalashnikov assault rifle, the famous AKM, was adopted for service. A decade of hard work of the best personnel in the country was not in vain, the machine became lighter, the accuracy of the battle increased significantly, the total cost of production decreased, all operational characteristics became better.

Significantly increased the efficiency of firing bursts from the AKM compared to the AK47. One of the main reasons for this was the modernization of the firing mechanism. A trigger retarder was introduced into the USM. In the automatic fire mode, after locking the barrel with the shutter, the self-timer immediately worked in the AK47. The retarder in the USM AKM delayed the self-timer for a fraction of a second, which allowed the bolt group to stabilize after the shot and more reliably return to its original position before re-release of the trigger, that is, in fact, the self-timer was delayed. The result was a significant increase in the accuracy of firing bursts. The improvement also affected the reduction in the mass of weapons. Many parts began to be made by stamping, the pistol grip became plastic, plastic magazines appeared. In the early sixties, the AKM began to be equipped with a muzzle brake-compensator, which is a cylinder cut at an angle, which significantly reduced the muzzle rise, which also had a positive effect on the efficiency of automatic fire, especially the vertical dispersion of bullets decreased.

Muzzle brake-compensator on the AKM barrel.

For better stability of the machine gun when firing in bursts, the AKM stock comb was raised closer to the barrel axis, which also had a positive effect on the accuracy of automatic fire. A new bayonet-knife was developed for AKM, which became more functional, for example, it became possible to turn the bayonet-knife into barbed wire cutters, a file appeared on the butt of the knife.

AKM with an attached bayonet-knife of the first years of production.

Scheme of the AKM assault rifle.

There were samples of the machine for solving different problems and for different departments.

The AKMS assault rifle with a folding butt was originally intended for the Airborne Forces, for the crews of combat vehicles and for other units where the compactness of the weapon is important.

The AKMS photo shows that muzzle brake-compensator, which was mentioned above, from a different angle.

A variant of the assault rifle with a dovetail rail for mounting the night vision sight bracket on the left side of the receiver - AKMN with a night sight installed.

There is also an AKMSN variant, which combines a folding stock, like on AKMS, and a side rail for installing an additional sight, like on AKMN.

All modifications of the AKM assault rifle can be mounted underbarrel grenade launchers GP-25 "Bonfire" caliber 40 mm. If the assault rifle is equipped with a grenade launcher, a special latch of the receiver cover with a guide rod for the return spring is also installed on the AKM, otherwise there is a risk of the cover breaking off when fired from the GP-25. In addition, the kit comes with a removable rubber butt pad-shock absorber, since a shot from an underbarrel grenade launcher gives a strong return.

AKM with a GP-25 underbarrel grenade launcher and a rubber recoil pad put on the butt, commonly called "galosh".

Assault rifles of the AK47 / AKM family have become widespread throughout the world, according to the most conservative estimates, more than 100 million units were produced. Many countries on their territories have produced and are producing their own versions of this machine, and some of them, according to experts, surpass the Soviet models in all respects. On the basis of the AKM design, many different models of weapons were created on all inhabited continents.

Soldiers of the Egyptian army with their domestic Misr submachine guns (similar to AKMS, but the stock folds sideways to the right side).

The main positive distinctive features of the AKM assault rifle is unpretentiousness and exceptional reliability in any conditions, all this glorified the Kalashnikov brand throughout the planet. It was the AKM that became the iconic weapon. But the accuracy of fire from the AKM, although it was much better than the similar parameter of the AK47, still lay at the lowest limit, in comparison with other models of automatic small arms in the world. Even when firing single shots, effective fire could be conducted at relatively short distances for this class of weapon, but as a means of suppressing fire, the AKM is an excellent machine gun. Moreover, with certain skills, it can confidently hit the enemy at a distance of up to 300 meters in automatic fire mode, in short bursts. In addition to standard 30-round magazines, which were made from light alloys and high-strength polymers, the AKM, like its predecessor AK47, can be loaded with 40-round Kalashnikov light machine gun (RPK) magazines.

Based on the results of tests and competition in 1959, the newest brainchild of the Kalashnikov design bureau, the AKM, was adopted by the Soviet army, which demonstrated high reliability, accuracy and accuracy when firing. At the same time, a significant role was played by the fact that the Kalashnikov assault rifle of the previous modification had already been sufficiently mastered by industry, security forces and military personnel.

What's left of AK

Automation;
bore locking system;
return mechanism;
USM AKM with automatic and single fire, as well as a flag non-automatic sector of the translator-fuse;
All systems and mechanisms fit into the receiver.

It should be noted that in both products the moving parts of the automation have significant gaps. This ensures reliability in its operation, including operation in conditions of significant pollution, which increase the load on the gas chamber, so the holes for the emission of powder gases in the AKM were made in the gas chamber.

Design improvements in AKM

The AKM receiver was made by stamping, welding and riveting. This made it possible to reduce the weight of the box and reduce metal consumption in the production process by 80%. The strength of the lightweight receiver cover was reinforced with transverse stiffeners.

Improved accuracy of fire:

The introduction of a mechanical trigger retarder;
Increasing stability in the horizontal plane during firing.

The duration of the automatic cycle was slightly increased, but the accuracy was increased. Improved or to some extent changed the details of the trigger mechanism, while maintaining its overall design.

The increased accuracy made it possible to increase effective range up to a thousand meters. True, in a real combat situation, fire is more often conducted on short distances. For shooting at dusk, luminescent devices were added, worn both on the rear sight and on the front sight.

The reduction in the mass of weapons was achieved due to changes in technology. Using not steel sheets, but aluminum-based light alloys, they reduced the mass of AKM magazines. The cases of lightweight stores were reinforced with stampings.

Previously used wood parts, or rather birch blanks, were replaced. AKM butts began to be made from plywood tiles, handguards - from glued veneer. Pistol grips were made using plastic. Although already in the 1960s, AKMs with plastic stocks (made of fiberglass), handguards and handguards began to be supplied to the troops. Plastics are also used today in the manufacture of AKM magazine cases.

Bladed bayonets were replaced with a universal AKM bayonet-knife equipped with a sheath with rubber lining. AK assault rifles along with self-loading carbines SCS in the Soviet Army were completely replaced by AKM assault rifles.

Who mastered the main production of AKM

The position of the general manufacturer of AKM in the country was assigned to the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant. The production of the machine went hand in hand with a continuous process of process improvement in order to minimize costs and improve quality.

The widespread introduction of advanced technologies has begun. For example, parts with precision castings were made from investment models. A phosphate-lacquer coating of parts was produced instead of the previous one with chemical oxidation. Powder metallurgy was used, plastics were more often used. The barrel channels were formed in the AKM assault rifles, however, as in the AK, with the help of dorning.

In the early 1970s, rotational forging began to be used in the production of barrels. As a result, automata without changing the basic schemes developed and changed both structurally, and materials, and technologies. Not without reason, at the very beginning, when mastering the mass production of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, experts noted the great potential for improvement of the system.

Features of the Kalashnikov brand

The weapon is well thought out, distinguished by relative simplicity and a peculiar elegance of the scheme. Multifunctional parts are widely used, almost perfect alignment ensures the highest reliability of the weapon in any circumstances. AKM continues to fire bursts of bursts when clogged with sand, after swimming in a swamp, and also smeared with mud.

The superbly developed metallurgy of that period, high-quality weapon steel provided and highest quality the weapon itself. Also important is the ease of assembly, disassembly and maintenance of Kalashnikov assault rifles, in this respect they have formed a kind of global brand, a standard.

World popularity of AKM

Both machines are very popular all over the planet. They were adopted by the armies of more than fifty-five states. These are mainly Asian, African, Middle Eastern, as well as Latin American countries. In addition, Kalashnikov assault rifles are used by armed forces and police forces in more than a hundred countries, and a dozen states independently produce their own versions of Kalashnikov assault rifles.

7.62mm cartridge for AKM

The 7.62mm cartridge of the 1943 model (7.62 × 39) was developed in collaboration with such designers as: N. M. Elizarov, P. V. Ryazanov, B. V. Semin and A. E. Ryabova. In a standard cartridge equipped with a PS jacketed bullet, there was a steel core. Cartridges can be blank and training. They also have tracer, armor-piercing tracer, incendiary variants. The 7.62-mm cartridge of the 1943 model is still produced by dozens of companies all over the planet today.

7.62 mm assault rifles AKMN, AKML, AKMN1, AKMN2, AKMNZ

AKMN assault rifle

AKM assault rifles improved for night fire have a special dovetail bar on the left side of the receiver in order to install illuminated and non-illuminated night sights:

AKMN, which has an illuminated sight NSP-2 (“with a night rifle scope of the second sample”) and an infrared illuminator;
AKML - has a NSP-3 sightless sight ("with a night shooting sight of the third sample");
AKMN1 has an NSPU non-sight sight (“with a night shooting universal sight”);
AKMN2, which has a non-illuminated universal night sight NSPUM;
AKMNZ has an NSPU-3 universal night sight.

7.62mm AKMS folding stock submachine gun

In parallel with the AKM assault rifle in 1959, the troops adopted its modification AKMS. It was intended for the weapons of the Airborne Forces, as well as units and subunits of special forces. His hallmark was the presence of a folding metal butt, the same as that of the AKS.

The folding buttstock consists of two stamped rods and a folding shoulder rest, as well as a buttstock retainer, mounted on the left side of the sleeve. In the stowed position, the stops are placed under the forearm. This position does not prevent the holding of weapons and the conduct of aimed fire. All accessories for caring for the assault rifle, unlike the AKM, are worn separately.

The ballistic characteristics of AKMS are similar to those of AKM.

Wooden pistol grips lasted longer on the AKMS than on the AKM. This happened because at first, plastic handles that were not protected from mechanical stress when the butts were folded could not be matched with materials that could have sufficient strength characteristics.

TTX AKM

Caliber - 7.62x39mm.

Length - 880 mm.

Barrel length - 415 mm.

without magazine 2.93 kg;
with loaded magazine 3.60 kg.

Shop - 30 rounds.

The initial speed of the bullet is 715 m / s.

Sighting range - 500 m.

Rate of fire - 600 rds / min.

Combat rate of fire - 100 rds / min.

Instead of a conclusion

The design of the proven and highly reliable AKM submachine gun provided this weapon with a long demand and worldwide fame. AKM was and remains one of the best examples of small arms on the planet.

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