A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK ME HOW I SLEEP - AK-47 Designer Mikhail Kalashnikov

Detroit Free Press ^ | November 19, 2003 | Mark McDonald

[BenLurkin]

Many, indeed most, of those who wielded this weapon were evil. The firearm itself, however has a certain virtue to it. IMHO he can be proud of its design.

[oyez]

The Kalashnikov name will be famous for his time while the national leaders of his time will be forgoten. I salute you Mr. Kalashnikov.

But it's not the designer's fault or the weapon's fault when terrible things happen; it's the politicians',"

A wise man, too. Sleep well.

[UnklGene]

Old Mikhail did better than John Garand (M1), Congress was asked to give Garand $ for his famous rifle design and it's accomplishments. Congress said: "Drop dead!"

[BCrago66]

Had no idea the man was still alive. Interesting stuff.

[joesnuffy]

During the Vietnam War, many U.S. soldiers admired the enemy's lighter guns. They almost never jammed, even in wet, muddy or sandy conditions. They were easier to carry, clean and shoot.

Less accurate, heavier,quality control issues,lousy optics platform,...but robust...

Dont know who the author talked to...but I prefer the ARs to the AKs for weight,accuracy, and optics..

I will give them robustness and the ability to shoot crappy ammo,and to fire when full of crap

[Tunehead54]

Bang.

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I think that's how you do it? ;-)

[FreedomPoster]

There's an interesting picture around somewhere of the meeting between Stoner and Kalashnikov.

[joesnuffy]

Aks are not easier to carry clean or shoot compared to the AR family....BTW

[FreedomPoster]

Here:

[Semper Paratus]

I'd sleep like a baby if I had his invention nearby.

[onedoug]

The AK-47 had a distinctive "crack" in its report, that you were lucky to hear in Vietnam, since it meant you were still alive.

[Snake65]

Bio

Mikhail Kalashnikov was born on November 10, 1919, in the village of Kurya, Altai Territory, to a peasant family. Mikhail was the seventeenth child of Timofel and Alexandra Kalashnikov. On finishing the 9th form of a secondary school, Kalashnikov went to work in the Matai depot as an apprentice and was subsequently a technical clerk in the employ of a Turkistan-Sibenan railway department.

In 1938, Kalashnikov was called up for military service, served in the Kiev special military district and graduated from a school of tank drivers. During his service, Kalashnikov showed his worth in invention. He devised an inertia revolution counter to register the number of actual shots from a tank gun, made a special appliance for the TT pistol to enhance fire effectiveness through tank turret slits and designed a tank running time meter.

In June I94I, Mikhail Kalashnikov, as an inventor, was sent by military district commander General of the Army G.K. Zhukov to Leningrad to implement his recent invention. From the outset of the Great Patriotic War senior sergeant Mikhail Kalashnikov fought against fascist invaders as a tank commander. In October 1941 he was seriously wounded in the violent battle of Bryansk.

While in hospital, Kalashnikov conceived the idea of a submachine gun. Later, while on a six-month sick leave, he came to the Matai depot and, assisted by the depot personnel, realized his invention is the depot shops. With the submachine gun he left for Alma-Ata. Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan Kaishingulov sent the inventor to the Ordzhonikidze Moscow Aviation Institute which had been evacuated to Alma-Ata. A second model of Kalashnikov's submachine gun was devised and made in the shops of the Institute aviation ordnance department. In June 1942 the model was sent for reference to the Dzerzhinsky Ordnance Academy located in Samarkand.

A.A Blagonravov, an outstanding Soviet small arms specialist, displayed interest in senior sergeant Kalashnikov's submachine gun, Although the submachine gun was not recommended for service, the talent, efforts and original design approaches of the self-taught designer were highly appreciated. In 1942 Kalashnikov was assigned to the Central Research Small Arms Range of the Main Ordnance Directorate of the Red Army.

In 1944 Mikhail Kalashnikov devised a prototype of the self-loading carbine; its main assemblies were used as a basis for an assault rifle made in 1946. In 1947, Kalashnikov's updated assault rifle displayed high reliability and fire effectiveness during arduous competitive tests and was found best. In 1949, after modifications, the assault rifle, designated "Kalashnikov 7.62mm assault rifle, make 1947 (AK)," became operational in the Soviet Army and Mikhail Kalashnikov received the Stalin Prize First Class.

Since 1949 Mikhail Kalashnikov has been living and working in Izhevsk. He worked his way up from soldier to General Designer of small arms in the Soviet Army.

[TEXASPROUD]

That is a great shot of Kalashnikov and Eugene Stoner.

[Joe Brower]

[Hegemony Cricket]

'A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK ME HOW I SLEEP'

Select Comfort?

[ArrogantBustard]

Notice who's holding what in that shot.

[StatesEnemy]

I will give them robustness and the ability to shoot crappy ammo,and to fire when full of crap

Well... given that in most battlefield situations, your not carefully "aiming" as much as you are laying down cover fire - I think I'd prefer robustness, and to fire when full of crap.

[The Duke]

Was the old Soviet Union really any more of a police state than we are quickly evolving into today?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

"AK 47, the very best they is. When you absolutely positively got to kill every muthaf***a in the room, accept no substitute....."