W.W.II ends, the Cold War beginsThe Kalashnikov rifle was Russia's first serious venture into the true "assault rifle" arena, and went through many improvements before it was type-accepted by the Soviet forces in 1947. It reflects many of the lessons learned in W.W.II, namely placing the gas reloading system on top of the barrel, and raising the sights to reduce heat "shimmer" from a hot barrel. Also, most of the parts are made by press-forming or "stamping", greatly reducing assembly time and cost. It gives this rifle a cheap "feel", but is sturdy nonetheless. The cartridge is a true reduced-power rifle cartridge designated the 7.62mmx39, having roughly 2/3 the power level of the old Russian 7.62mmx54R service cartridge it replaced. The reduced power level allows reasonable controllability in automatic fire while still retaining adequate power for general infantry use. During the Cold War years (approximately 1946 — 1990) the Soviet Union and China traded, sold or gave away countless millions of Kalashnikov rifles to nearly any nation that desired them. Other Communist Bloc nations like Romania, Hungary and Poland made their own rifles. Kalashnikovs are the most common rifle found in war zones all over the globe, and because of this they are an icon of combat itself. No one knows how many Kalashnikov rifles exist on the earth, best estimates are in excess of 100 million.
US Forces first encountered the Kalashnikov in the Viet Nam conflict, and the Kalashnikov was a prized battlefield pickup. It was sturdy, required little maintenance, simple and could operate under extremely poor conditions. Thus, the Kalashnikov was well-suited to uneducated peasant armies. Part of the secret to the Kalashnikov's reliability are increased internal clearances. The Kalashnikov rifle has almost a "klunky" feel from what appear to be loose fitting parts, the bolt and bolt carrier in particular. This extra room makes it very resistant to stoppages, but also decreases accuracy. This means Kalashnikov users must get closer to targets than soldiers using Western rifles. More to follow on this detail. Several other details make this rifle almost 100 percent reliable: steep cartridge draft angle, forward-mounted gas piston (keeps powder residue in the moving parts to a minimum) and the fewest possible moving parts with loose tolerances. Parts placement is one of the subtlest features. Mounting the gas recoil & reloading system on top of the barrel makes it necessary to raise the sights to see over top these parts; it also minimizes the effect of heat "shimmer" caused by hot air rising off of the barrel. Locating the gas port further back on the barrel creates a longer power impulse on the bolt carrier, alowing a smaller pressure bleed effect along with a longer power impulse. This greatly enhances reliability.
Because the Kalashnikov was almost always present in the hands of adversaries, or at least fighting factions, it quickly became associated with hostile forces or at least strife. Interestingly, the Kalashnikov was never used in warfare in the western hemisphere with one exception in 1990. Oka, a small Canadian town experienced a controversial gunfight with Mohawk indians in the summer of 1990. The dispute centered around the construction of a golf course on revered burial grounds, one Mohawk was pictured with a Kalashnikov during the standoff. Unfortunately three people died before the Canadian government overcame the Mohawks. |
Russia changed the Kalashnikov design in 1973 by following the US example towards a smaller, high velocity bullet. The re-chambered was type-accepted in 1974, and thus is known as the "AK-74". The Russian cartridge fires a long 5.45mm (22 caliber, or just under a quarter of an inch diameter) bullet that's just barely balanced upon firing. The center of gravity in the bullet is set to the rear, making it unstable on impact. The lethality of this new small bullet remains controversial. Some reports credit this with enhanced tumbling or "see-saw" effect on impact. Coupled with the high velocity, it produces large, cratering wounds that were initially thought to be explosive bullets. Another report downplays the wounding potential of the 5.45mm cartridge. Despite this controversy, the ballistic performance is very similar to the US AR-15, M16 and Kalashnikov AK-101. The Kalashnikov AK-74 saw service during the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan (1979-1989), and many AK-74s remained in Afghanistan after the Soviets left. The Russians have what they perceive as a viable replacement for the Kalashnikov, but high production cost and complexity prevent the AN-94 "Akaban" (more) rifle from widespread deployment. So, the AK-74 is the standard front line service rifle in Russia and a few other Eastern European nations.
U.S. Post W.W.II DevelopmentsAfter the end of World War II, the US military took a detailed look at the M-1 Garand rifle's stengths and weaknesses. Soldiers reported three details that immediately got the attention of the review team:
There were other details, too many to cover in the scope of this article, but the Garand rifle was about to become a worldbeater. One of the lessons of small arms design from World War II was reducing the power of infantry cartridges, this seemed to be subject to interpretation. The Russians copied the German model almost verbatim, while the US interpretation was making a cartridge with less powder but almost exactly the same power level. The new cartridge, designated "T-65" (it would later be redesignated 7.62mmx51, or somtimes incorrectly ".308 Winchester"), was to be the new standard issue round for all US infantry rifles and light machine guns. The 7.62x51's recoil defeated the concept of easy control when firing in full-automatic mode, a lesson that continued to evade the US military until the Viet Nam conflict. By virtue of the NATO treaty, the US forced most of the allied nations to subsequently adopt the 7.62x51 cartridge. The fate of the intermediate cartridge was sealed until well into the 1960s. Sniping & SharpshootingThe quest for increased accuracy has continued unabated for over 200 years, resulting in rifles with impressive performance. In the early part of the Cold War, sharpshooters rifles were leftovers from W.W.II. By the late 1950s - early 1960s a new generation of precision rifles began to emerge. The US developed the M21, an accurized version of the already-accurate M14 rifle, the former Soviets introduced the SVD rifle in 1963.
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