Weapon Of Mass Destruction (The AK-47)

Washington Post ^ | 11/26/2006 | Larry Kahaner

[HoldFast]

By Larry Kahaner Sunday, November 26, 2006; B01

In the grand narrative of World War II, the Battle of Bryansk is a minor conflict, barely deserving of a footnote. But Bryansk has another place in history. It was there that a then-unknown tank commander named Mikhail Kalashnikov decided that his Russian comrades would never again be defeated. In the years following the Great Patriotic War, as Soviet propagandists dubbed it, he was to conceive and fabricate a weapon so simple, and yet so revolutionary, that it would change the way wars were fought and won. It was the AK-47 assault rifle.

The AK-47 has become the world's most prolific and effective combat weapon, a device so cheap and simple that it can be bought in many countries for less than the cost of a live chicken. Depicted on the flag and currency of several countries, waved by guerrillas and rebels everywhere, the AK is responsible for about a quarter-million deaths every year. It is the firearm of choice for at least 50 legitimate standing armies and countless fighting forces from Africa and the Middle East to Central America and Los Angeles. It has become a cultural icon, its signature form -- that banana-shaped magazine -- defining in our consciousness the contours of a deadly weapon.

[Grut]

What is a 'BUF'?

Acronym for the B-52; stands for "Big Ugly Fornicator," more or less.

[kiriath_jearim]

About a year ago the BBC also did a series of articles on the AK-47. Kalashnikovs seem to frighten many people.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

I think it was Stephen Hunter who described the AK-47 as the spatha of guerrilla warfare. (The spatha was the Roman soldier's short sword that helped carry the eagles of Rome from Mesopotamia to Britannia.)

[AdamSelene235]

Any recommendations for a really high quality, accurate AK-47? The standard stuff is okay, but is there a really good one?

An Israeli made Galil

Ergonomics still suck, but a 7.62x51 AK has some appeal.

[TexanToTheCore]

Personally, I prefer a nice 45-70.

[wku man]

Is Claire a woman? I heard it was a man using a female pseudonym. Either way, he or she has a very poigniant wit and wisdon.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[skepsel]

Saiga and Vepr aren't bad and they come in .308 as well as 7.62 and 5.54, 700-900 clams depending on caliber, stock type, dealer mark up, amount of bells and whistles added on.

[archy]

The Ak 47 is no more deadly than the person who is using it, and there desire to use it.

A friend of mine who had the good fortune to be introduced to MikTim Kalishnikov exchanged the usual courtesies and formalities, and then thanked him for *his unique contribution to individual freedom.* Somewhat puzzled, Mr Kalishnikov requested an explanation.

He was told *Why, with one of your rifles, a free man is no longer subject to a policeman or bureaucrat armed with a handgun. You have helped make thousands, millions of people free men...*

Kalishnikov grinned and admitted he'd notconsidered it in that way before, but that it was a nice thought.

[archy]

I think it was Stephen Hunter who described the AK-47 as the spatha of guerrilla warfare. (The spatha was the Roman soldier's short sword that helped carry the eagles of Rome from Mesopotamia to Britannia.)

AKA the Gladius Iberius, or gladius Hispaniensis. But Hunter was less fond of the shorty tank crewmans' version of the AK, the AKS-74U, known to Russian tankisti as the suchka.

Hunter's original WP article Dressed to Kill, from Kabul to Kandahar, it's not what you wear, but what you shoot was the subject of a FReeppost *here*, but the original article posting atr WP seems to have fallen down their *memory hole.* I've not yet found it elsewhere on the web, but it may turn up again.

[archy]

Just wondering why the SKS was kept in concurrent production?

Anyone?

The Siminova design was still useful for Workers Militia and police, and for transfer to other nations or *fraternal internationalist organizations* where the limited range of the AK47/AKM might be problematical.

Remember that the Kalishnikov design was meant for mech infantry, airborne and assault troops who'd be fully supported by other land combat arms, artillery and armor in particular. For the humble insurgent peasant hiding in the weeds until he can ambush a small patrol or messanger, the better accuracy of the CKC/ SKS still has a lot going for it.

[investigateworld]

Makes sense, thanks.