AK 47. A Cold War Classic, and Still in Use Worldwide.
The undeniable star weapon of the Cold
War, AK47 has endured as one of the most
successful assault rifles of all time. Designed by Soviet arms
specialist Mikhail Kalishnikov from 1944-1946, it has stood the test
time for its reliability and durability. While American troops had to
go up against the AK47 in the Vietnam
War, they can hardly deny that it was a very good design.
The Vietnam War remains a difficult and
controversial subject. It left nearly 60,000 American military
personnel dead, many others
that were missing in action, and many thousands with
disabilities. It was an unpopular war that pitted
U.S. soldiers who served in it against protesters stateside.
Even some who fought in it eventually became
protesters.
All of this culminated with the Fall of Saigon in 1975, and
the resulting rise of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, initiating a
bloodbath
that killed as many as 2 million in Cambodia and South Vietnam. Most
will agree that the Viet Nam was not the United States' finest hour.
Far too many American casualties in Vietnam were
caused by equipment
failure in the field. The M16 assault rifles issued to
American troops in the Vietnam War quickly gained a reputation
for jamming in
the heat of battle--a problem the North Vietnamese regulars, armed with
AK47 assault rifles, didn't have.
At least the American troops could rely
upon their M1911A Colt Government .45 automatic
sidearms. The trusty .45 was the official
sidearm of all American military forces from 1911 through the
Viet Nam War. It was and is a highly reliable weapon that
certainly earned more respect and affection from the troops than the
ineffectual M16.
The Communist-manufactured AK47 assault rifles used
by North
Vietnamese regulars proved themselves reliable and highly effective in
jungle warfare. Developed during the twilight years
of Josef Stalin's reign of terror before his death in 1953, the AK47
became a definitive symbol of the Cold War
that endured into Vietnam and
beyond. Though there were also AK47s of
Chinese manufacture, it was the Russian version that
was exported to Communist Bloc nations worldwide. The
design was so successful that a great many AK47s are
still in use today, worldwide. Though this rugged assault
weapon has undergone numerous modifications over the years, it has
remain largely unchanged, owing to its legendary reliability.
The streamlined design of the Russian-made Avtomat
Kalishnikova 1947
(or AK47) allowed for fast, easy stripping and cleaning, ease of use,
and strong, durable construction. It was a very
cost-effective small arm for mass production and known for rapid, fully
automatic delivery of 7.62mm cartridges in a tumbling
trajectory that made it a very effective close-range assault
rifle. As is true with all assault rifles, minimum skill is
required for effective use. Even when its parts were
fouled with mud or sand, it remained operational, and
could withstand moderately severe overheating of the
barrel and receiver during heavy firing, without jamming.
The fall of Saigon was
the culmination of a
lot of
factors--not the
least of which were undue interference in the war's combat
operations by inept civilian politicians and ultimately the
American people's loathing for an apparently unwinnable
conflict that seemed likely to drag on for years to come, at
a horrendous cost in human lives. And while it
certainly can't be said uncategorically that the outcome of the
conflict in Vietnam hinged on the effectiveness of the combatant's
respective assault rifles, it's interesting to
speculate: What if positions had been reversed, and
the American forces had been using the
AK47, while the North Vietnamese had the
temperamental and jam-prone M16s? Would the outcome have been any
different for the United States in Vietnam?
Very likely not, given all the other factors that prevailed, but at
least the American military learned from sorry performance of
the M16, and one thing can be stated with certainty: U.S.
small arms developed since the Viet Nam era have been far more
effective and reliable.
While not always used by the "good guys", the AK47 is a very good and reliable design, and remainss in use to this day. You can clearly see on the news that many of them are still in widespread use in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Firearm Type:
Fully Automatic (selective
fire) Gas-Operated, Rotating Bolt
Nation Of Manufacture: Soviet Union,
China,
Albania, Many others
Military Service Dates : 1949-Present
Variations: AK47, AKS, AKMS, RPK, AKM, and
others
Ammunition: 7.62mm Center-fire Cartridge
Wars: Korean War, Vietnam War, countless
others, still in use worldwide
Recent Prices at Auction for Originals: US
$300-$2,000
Interested in an authentic replica AK 47? We have non-firing replicas of the full wooden stock, folding stock and stockless versions of the AK 47.
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