Question by Patrick: How many varieties of AK-47 exist and which is most popular?
So the AK-47, arguably the most influential weapon ever created, has been redesigned for years. I’ve personally fired or held four different types, some with very different appearance and operation than the others. I’m wondering if anyone knows how many different varieties there are, why it’s been so varied (I mean, does someone still own the copyright on these things? Can anyone make and sell an AK?) and I you can throw in a little history that would be cool as well.
Thanks.
Answers and Views:
Answer by lana_sands
It was never PATENTED, thus Mr. kalashnikov has never made any riches off his design. If he did, he would be the richest man in Russia. Instead they made him a General & gave him a pension. It’s so varied because they gave or sold to the whole 3rd world & communist world. They all build in house versions. Thus you have East German, Chinese, Yugo, & iraqi versions. They are something like 60 million around. You can find a ak-47 in Africa easier than toilet paper.
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Kasey C says
1) There are too many different versions of the AK.
Just from Russia itself you have the AK-47, the AKS (carbine), the RPK / RPD (LMG), the AK-74 (rechambered for 5.54), the carbine version of THAT, and so on.
Each country then customize it based on THEIR needs. The Finns make very good AK variants.
I believe Saiga even made an automatic shotgun based on the AK action design.
2) As the other guy said, AK was never copyrighted or patented. It is from, after all, a COMMUNIST country. 😀 They don't believe in such things.
it is believed to be derived at least somewhat from the German StG-44 and its successor (never deployed) StG-45.
Historically, Russians have deployed a LOT of submachine guns by the WW2's end, when the industrial capability and mass production finally caught up with demand. SMGs were first developed by Germans as counters to shotguns used in WW1 by American expeditionary forces for trench clearing, and was happily copied and improved upon by the Russians. Remember, Russians and Germans have cooperated before onset of WW2.
When Russians got their hands on the prototype StG45, Kalishnikov was inspired to make a bigger SMG combining elements of the StG45, SMG, and battle rifle to create the AK-47, optimized for war production by having mostly stamped parts with loose tolerances.
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Kasey C, PC guru since Apple II days
I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.
clayjar_azn says
Well there are countless varieties. They even have the AK-74designed in 1974.
Since the USSR shipped them by the millions, many countries like China reversed engineered them and made their own versions.
I am not sure if there was such a thing as copyright in a communist country. The company that Kalashnikov worked for has the license, but many of the earlier versions are public domain. Most others made the AK-47 illegally.
The Russians found the German Sturmgewehr 44, which was one of the first assault rifles, during WWII. They wanted to emulate it so Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Russian army officer, designed it.
The model was ready and introduced into service in 1947 and called Avtomat Kalashnikov-47 or AK-47.