Mikhail Kalashnikov says his rifle was not based on the German StG44 assault rifle. It gave me my first insight into the principles of developing automatic firearms, and put me straight on the positive and negative aspects of each class of firearms." The book by Vladimir Federov proved to be invaluable. Kalashnikov later wrote: "That was my lucky day. Fedorov's basic weapons textbook, Evolution of Small Arms. While in the hospital, recovering, Kalashnikov began to dream of a new Soviet firearm, which would match or even improve on the German weapons.
This experience deeply influenced both Kalashnikov as an individual, and Soviet military doctrine in the post-war years. ("Sturmgewehr" was the origination of the term "Assault Rifle.") Towards the end of the war, they fielded the weapon against the Soviets. The Germans, however, were the first to produce and field sufficient numbers of this assault rifle to properly evaluate its combat utility. The resultant rifle, the German Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44) was not the first with these features its predecessors were the Italian Cei-Rigotti and the Russian Fedorov Avtomat design rifles. As a result, armies sought a cartridge and rifle combining high capacity magazines, automatic fire and an intermediate-power cartridge. The rifle cartridges in use at the time were larger and heavier that what was really needed for most battles. In September, during the battle for Bryansk, his vehicle was struck by an explosive round, and Kalashnikov was badly wounded in the shoulder, and was hospitalized.ĭuring World War II, the Germans had developed the assault rifle, based upon research that showed that most fire-fights happened within a range of less than 300 yards. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union on Jhe became a Red Army Senior Sergeant, and went to the front lines, where he served as a tank commander. Zhukov to oversee production of his fuel gauge and track assemblies. Kalashnikov was promoted to sergeant in 1939, and sent to Leningrad by his commander-in-chief General G.K. He also designed an improved track assembly for tanks, and an inertia revolution counter to register the number of shots from a tank gun, as well as other tank related inventions. While he was there, he designed and built a device to measure the tank's fuel consumption. As a result, Kalashnikov attended the training school for tank drivers. His commanding officer recognized an eager and inventive intelligence, and recommended Kalashnikov for a technical course that would qualify him as an armorer once he had completed his basic training. During his early months in the army, he became interested in small arms. Kalashnikov was a natural born tinkerer and inventor. He began his military service in Kiev in the tank corp. In 1938 He was drafted to serve his country in the Red Army.
When seven years old he entered the normal Soviet "Ten Year School." After finishing school, young Mikhail became an apprentice and soon after a technical secretary in the Turkistan-Siberian railway department. Mikhail was the seventeenth child of Timofel and Alexandra Kalashnikov. He was born on November 10, 1919, in the village of Kurya, in Alma-Ata, in Kazakhstan, to a large peasant family. Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov is the most famous living gun designer in the world, and his machine gun, the AK-47, is the most famous gun in the world. At the end of this page you will find internet links to a variety of informative AK-47 web sites. If one of these photos is yours, and you want your name on it, or if you want it removed, please E-mail. It is still a "work in progress." I have freely borrowed photos from all over the web, as well as using my own. This web page presents information and photographs I have compiled and edited from various sources. Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov and the AK-47 Here are the two I mentioned, the second being the m66 no dash all cleaned, polished and ready to shoot.AK-47 Kalashnikov Information and Pictures So bottom line, you have a GREAT DEAL! On top of that one of the smoothest double action. I found both on GB so the prices don't include the usual $50-$60 associated cost which you won't have. and ended up selling it after I found a m66 no dash 4" for $480. I have been looking for a piece in the 90-95% range and first found a nice M66-3 4" for $500. I have also been looking for m66's the past 6 months, primarily on GB. He is asking $450 and from what I've seen on the internet this is an excellent price for this revolver. 357 and he said he had just gotten this one in trade for services rendered. I mentioned to a friend at church that I was looking for a. Was considering buying a Taurus or Ruger, but this one just fell in my lap. I have been researching revolvers online for a couple of months. This is an excellent condition revolver and the price is right.