So a tip of the hat to Hugo Schmeisser, one of the most accomplished firearms designers in history, who was released by the Soviets in 1952 and who died on September 12, 1953.
He was always overrated. His verson won a design trial, after Hugo Schmeisser, a ‘member of his design team’ changed it extensively from what Kalashnikov designed. The one thing Schmeisser didn’t touch was the receiver, which had problems with cracking after less than 10,000 rounds. The Kalashnikov stamped receiver was quickly replaced with a machined receiver designed by someone else. Later they went back to a stamped receiver, but one designed by someone else.
Kalashnikov was the politically correct face for the team. For that he deserves full credit.
Your statement is interesting. Was Schmeisser captured by the Russkies at the end of the war and brought back to Mother Russia?
The milled and forged receiver Bulgarian model is the best. Next best is a Yugo/Serbian model with the 1.5 mm (vs. 1.0 mm) receiver.
So a tip of the hat to Hugo Schmeisser, one of the most accomplished firearms designers in history, who was released by the Soviets in 1952 and who died on September 12, 1953.
Kalashnikovs still have stamped receivers. Also, Schmeisser was noted at the time to not contribute much by Dragunov, as he was ill most of the time.
From what I heard, none of Schmesser’s works bear any resemblance with the AK action. And what about Kalshnikov’s 1944 carbine prototype a la M1 Carbine or Garand, on which AK action is based and fact that among lots of late 3rd Reich small arms ideas (roller bolt, gas retarded blowback etc) there is nothing like reworked and improved rotating bolt (like M1 Carbine or Garand) action.
“after Hugo Schmeisser, a ‘member of his design team’ changed it extensively from what Kalashnikov designed.”
Actually, from what I heard, the AK-47 borrowed a good deal from a rival design by Bulkin. Still, nothing indicates that Hugo Schmeisser had anything to do with AK. It’s development history is easily traceable. It starts with Kalashnikov’s own semi auto carbine prototype of 1944, then there are two AK-46s, being derived from the prototype. Then there is AK-47, which was combination of Kalashnikov’s bolt - bolt carrier cooperation (clearly inspired by American weapons, like the Garand and M1 Carbine) and main features taken from Bulkin’s AB-46 assault rifle, including some virtually identical parts, like mainspring guide and receiver cover (Kalashnikov had support of influential group in military-industrial complex and had access to competitiors work...). On of three AK-48 subvariants was what was adopted as AK and AK-49 was prototype of later AK with milled receiver.
So perhaps Schmeisser designed Bulkin’s gun...?
Did Schmeisser Design the Kalashnikov?
If Kalashnikov was a real gun designer, how come in his long career he never invented anything that wasn't based on his "original" system.http://www.guns.com/2012/09/05/hugo-schmeisser-assault-rifle/After WWII, as General Designer of small arms for the Soviet Army, his design subordinates included the Germans Hugo Schmeisser, designer of the StG-44, and Werner Grüner (of MG 42 fame) who was a pioneer in sheet metal embossing technology in the 1950s.
Most Americans, to say nothing of firearms aficionados, are familiar with well-known gun makers such as John Moses Browning and Samuel Colt, yet few gun nuts know the role that Hugo Schmeisser had in firearms development. To put it in perspective, Hugo was to battle carbines and submachine guns, what John Browning was to handguns and machine guns.[snip]
The StG44
By 1942, the German Army, armed largely with bolt-action Mauser rifles, was neck deep in alligators fighting against US troops with semiautomatic M1 Garands and Soviet troops with semiautomatic SVT-40s. This led to a push to go to the next level in firearms development.
The German Army did a study in their recent combat actions and discovered that the majority of firefights they were encountering were in the 50-200 meter range. For this, 9mm submachine guns were inadequate and 8mm Mauser bolt action rifles both too slow, squandering the effectiveness of the long range round. The answer was a rapid-fire weapon that used an Ak-47 vs StG44.intermediate-sized round. Thus began development of the StG44.
If Hugo Schmeisser is thought of as an artist who, instead of paints or clay, molded his artwork from steel, wood, and plastic, then his masterpiece was the StG-44. This design, perfected over two years and numerous prototypes, used metal stampings for ease in mass production. Firing from a 16.5-inch barrel (similar in size to today’s M4), the rifle was only 37-inches long overall. Its 7.92x33mm round is ballistically similar to today’s 7.62x39mm AK round. Being fully automatic, the rifle would fire some 500 rounds per minute at a controllable rate that made short bursts possible for trained soldiers. Once adopted, it was christened the Sturmgewehr (Storm-rifle) and over 400,000 were handed out to German troops in the final days of World War II. Today it is generally thought of as the first successful assault rifle.