Man, this article is full of tripe... Only 9 parts in an AK-47? Let's see... we have the receiver, barrel, barrel trunnion, rear trunnion, hammer, trigger, disconnector, disconnector spring, auto sear, appropriate pins for all (total 3), bolt carrier and gas piston assembly, bolt, firing pin, extractor, retention pin and spring... then we have the front sight, with the two pins holding it, the muzzle brake, the accessory retention pin and spring, the gas tube and upper handguard, the lower handguard and the rear sight. Let's also not forget the stock and stock components as well as the trigger guard, the magazine catch and the pistol grip. I think we've established the BBC's credibility if they claim the AK-47 has 9 parts.
Also, Kalishnakov never felt bad about the design. He was honored to have been able to assist his homeland in such a great way.
I think I'll skip the obviously misleading and unresearched program on the BBC...
Mike
They probably counted field strip, not detail strip. Bolt cover, bolt, piston, recoil spring, gas cylinder, forend, magazine, cleaning rod, and then the rest of it counted as one piece.
The BBC is only off by a factor of 10, which isn't too bad for mass media.
I think they are talking about if you field strip it.