AK-47 inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov has died at 94: Russian official

I guess that I don’t understand the mentality of those that are bashing Kaslashnikov in the media and on the internet. A simple search will tell them that the intention of Kaslashnikov was to “invent a tool to be used for the protection of the home land”. Kaslashnikov loved his country. Even though people may disagree with many of the things the politicians of his country have done / are doing, it’s difficult to fault him for love of country. I love my country, even though I disagree with much of what politicians here do. If I were smart enough, I’d invent a weapon to be used for the protection of the home land. How it got used in the hands of evil people are not the fault of the inventor.
 
Mikhail Kalashnikov was a great man, and a true patriot of his country. And through it all, he remained a respectable person, unlike so many who let pride and fame go to their heads. He saw a need, when fighting the Germans, and built a rifle to fulfill it. That this rifle would still be relevant nearly 70 years later is a testament to his genius. Indeed, new versions of it are still being developed, externally different and with new firing modes, but fundamentally unchanged.

Interesting tidbit, Izhmash, the company that makes AK's, was last year renamed to Kalashnikov Concern. His name lives on in the company he worked for, where his rifle is still made.
 
Ford

Blaming Klashnikov for terrorism and warfare is about like blaming Henry Ford for traffic deaths and the wreck I myself had last week.

Rugged design, easily manufactured,.......I think that the Russians overall grasped the concept of the intermediate cartridge from the Germans and the 8mm Kurtz, quickly, quicker than the US did for sure. Klashikov certainly would have been aware of the StG, Heck the safety looks like it came of a Rem 8/81!

Doesn't matter, his rifle survived, the StG, the Model 8, are gone. I read somewhere that Stoner and Klashnikov had met and considered themselves friends.
 
According to this web site, the STG44 is a gas operated locked breech operation.

http://www.militaryfactory.com/small...mallarms_id=51

Or is that site wrong?
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Whoops. Upon further checking, it seems you're right. I always had the idea from somewhere that the STG was a roller delayed action and the G3 was pretty much the descendant of that. So disregard my nonsense.

But the rest of my comment still stands. The AK-47 is an entirely different design.

As for US GIs using AKs. I'm sure Special Ops likely used it to degree. But regular frontline troops. Nope. Using it was specifically forbidden in Vietnam same as it is now. Largely because it's distinctive sound would draw friendly fire on your position.
 
People should note that he designed many things, not just the AK. It was just the AK that he was most known for. He held a doctorate of engineering science and achieved the rank of Lt. General. In the U.S, That is a highly successful man. In the U.S. also, had he obtained a pantent for his designs and made royalties off of each one sold as is done here, he would have been a very, very wealthy man and thought of right up there with John Browning himself, but he was not a money hungry man. That kind of greed was not part of his character. That imo makes him a great man and he was telling the truth when he said that the politicians were to blame for everything, they are. Its sad to me that most of what ive read reguarding his life and death has been about the wrongdoing and bloodshed that hes been labeled with. People need to stop talking about this great man.
 
One gun does not a John Moses Browning make.
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True but he designed about 150 models of small weapons, most of them based on the AK design or at least the most popular were. Theres to you Mikhail Kalashnikov and Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov for making two of my favorite rifles.
 
I could swear I saw Kalashnikov and Stoner together on a History channel show some years back. One hell of a weapon design, it has definately stood the test of time.
 
Africans using those rifles haven't done mankind any good, not the rifles themselves, and I would have to respectfully disagree with a previous post quote
One gun does not a John Moses Browning make.
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John Browning had many successful designs amongst them the Ma Deuce and many other game changing military arms, but he is most well know for the 1911. Without the 1911 Browning would not be held in the reguard he is today by so many. One gun a John Moses Browning practicaly did make in that aspect and it was his 1911. Kalashnikovs most famous was his AK, although he designed many other things much of which is not so well known. He is the Russian Browning.
 
In Africa, young men are referred to as Kalash, short for Kalashnikov

I remember a few years back I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel or the Military Channel( Can't remember which ), it showed a young boy in Africa that had found an AK, that had been ran over by a tank. The Boys proceeded to beat the barrel straight with a rock and after a short while the barrel was relatively straight, so the boy held his "new" ak proudly in the air and emptied a 30 round mag.

I tip my hat and respect, for once sworn enemy.

Boomer
 
I don't think there really needs to be a competition made between Browning and Kalashnikov.
Different men, different vision, different era in firearms design. Both brought a lot to the evolution of firearms. Mikhail was more inclined towards military rifles and machine guns, whereas John's designs spanned more types and uses.

Interesting how some like to malign Kalashnikov for designing the AK (and others) because of the damage inflicted with his designs. But the same criticism is rarely aimed at Mr. Browning. Must depend on what side of the Iron Curtain you lived on.
 
cant compare browning and kalishnakov.

browning was a business man making new ways to make money.

kalishnikov was the opposite. he answered his countries call for a new weapon that would make no one want to try to invade the mother land again. he did the job.
 
One gun does not a John Moses Browning make.
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Ah, but when you make the AK47, you don't need to make more.

I don't even like AK47s, but they have been a virtual small arms powerhouse around the world for over half a century.

he did the job.
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And there is genius in that.

Kalashnikov was no Browning, but Browning was no Kalashnikov either.

Browning made a lot of really good guns, but didn't change the world. Kalashnikov made one really good gun that did. Hmmm.
 
Kalashnikov designed more than one gun. Admittedly many were based on the AK system, but he has credit to many guns along with other less insidious inventions such as agricultural equipment and machinery
 
Double Naught Spy said:
Browning made a lot of really good guns, but didn't change the world. Kalashnikov made one really good gun that did. Hmmm.
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That could be argued. Browning designed arms that were used by the most powerful military in the history of the world to win the largest, most horrible war in the history of the world. We still use some them today. The M2s were game changers in the the air war.

Rest in peace, Comrade Kalashnikov!
 
Brownings designs did indeed change history, I wouldn't say they didn't for sure. His Ma deuce, the 1911 and for sure the aircraft guns mounted to our fighter planes. Kalashnikovs did also. I wouldn't debate on which one did more so. I would say Browning will always be KING of that, but one thing is also fact to me and that is Kalashnikovs, though probably on a somewhat smaller scale are at least as reliable, at least as good overall as comparable arms made by Browning.
 
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