7.62x39 mm - AK 47 "KALASHNIKOV"
The AK-47, officially known as the Kalashnikov’s, is a gas-operated, 7.62 × 39mm assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov circa WWII. It is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle (or “AK”) family. The number 47 refers to the year it was finished.
Product details
Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials the following year, and in 1948 the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army. An early development of the design was the AKS (Skladnoy, or 'folding'), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock. In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.
Even after more than seven decades, the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used rifles in the world because of: their reliability under harsh conditions, low production cost compared to contemporary Western weapons, availability in virtually every geographic region, and ease of use. The AK has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces and insurgencies worldwide. The model was the basis for developing many other types of individual, crew-served and specialized firearms. As of 2004, " f the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s".
The technical characteristics may have minor differences according to the different manufacturers of the given product. The manufacturers reserve the right to make changes to the specified parameters.