WHY KALASHNIKOV
Meanwhile in Moscow…
The roots of the AK rifle as a functioning infantry weapon can be traced to the end of 1942, when Soviet troops on the Volkhov Front captured the first samples of German MP-43 automatic carbines that were chambered for the new intermediate 7.92x33mm or 7.92mm Kurtz cartridge. Note that, at that time, the new German rifle was not called an assault rifle. It was classified as “Maschinenpistole,” or machine pistol. In fact, the first new rifle had been supplied to German troops in secret, or rather without Hitler’s knowledge. German designers and military brass had to convince the Fuhrer that the new gun was an effective infantry weapon and had several advantages over Hitler’s beloved K98 Mauser. In the summer of 1943, at the same meeting in the Commissariat of Armament where urgent development of the new intermediate cartridge was sprung, it was also decided that, apart of from the new ammunition, the whole new firearm complex or family of weapons would be developed. The new guns were supposed to provide the troops with ability to effectively engage the enemy at the ranges up to 400 meters, which exceeded the capability of the machine pistols that were in service with Soviet infantry.
In November of 1943, the new cartridge design drawings and specifications were distributed to all firearm development organizations. Cartridges developed by ammunition designers Semin and Elizarov, with a rimless 41mm long “bottle”-shaped casing and pointed lead core bullet 8 grams (123.5 grain) in weight, were to become the standard cartridge for the new family of small arms for the Red Army. This spurred the development of an automatic rifle (carbine) or Avtomat, self-loading (semi-automatic) carbine and manual action carbine.
Six months later, in the middle of 1944 to be more precise, the Armament Directorate started to receive first submissions. The
