AK-46 prototype disassembled

Post-1951 production Kalashnikov AK rifle with milled receiver and bayonet attached, right side

 Kalashnikov AKMN rifle (Modernized, with Night sight mounting bracket on the left side of receiver), with muzzle compensator installed

The Long Road to the AK-47

Victor Davis Hanson

No firearm in history has enjoyed the fame or popularity of the assault rifle known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. Created by a Soviet weapons designer at the dawn of the Cold War, it was mass-produced and distributed worldwide in the millions, leading to its canonization in the revolutionary Third World of the 1950s and 1960s. Indeed, far beyond its utility, the AK-47 became a Cold War icon, appearing on revolutionary flags, in songs and poems, and in televised insurgencies as proof of communist fervor and supposed martial superiority. And it continues to play a major role in warfare today, most visibly in guerrilla conflicts ...

Standard production Challenger.

Late production Challenger; note the splash plate protecting the turret ring. This was a retrospective modification added as a result of trials.

Tiger I and Challenger.

BRITISH reverses in the great tank engagements against the Afrika Korps in the Western Desert in 1941 led the British General Staff to ask the Tank Board to investigate the feasibility of mounting a heavy high velocity gun (able to knock out any known German AFV) in British infantry and cruiser tanks. For the infantry tank requirement it was proposed to fit a 3in AA gun in a limited traverse mount in the Churchill chassis, though ultimately this idea was abandoned (see Churchill history). The 17pdr gun was then .in the development stage, and for the cruiser tank requirement the possibility of mounting this weapon in the A27 series (qv) was considered. However, the A27 chassis was too narrow to take ...

Since the German aircraft industry could just barely meet the Luftwaffe's needs in developmental work and aircraft production, it was obvious from the start that it would be impossible to develop and build special models of carrier planes, as the needed numbers, even including plentiful spares, were small enough and thus did not seem very attractive to the manufacturers. Thus the Luftwaffe worked with those types already in series production that could be rebuilt for their future use. These changes mainly concerned the (now folding) wings, the installation of hooks for the arrester gear, and certain reinforcements of the frame and the landing gear. A total of up to 43 aircraft were to be carried, including fighters, dive bombers and multipurpose planes. A first experiment to create a carrier fighter was made with an "Arado 197" biplane, a direct derivative of the available "Arado 68." This version went through ...

SHARPSHOOTING RIFLE

The most accurate firearm of the day, rifles were used by rangers and sharpshooters in both armies; the rifle was loaded with a measure of black powder poured into the barrel, followed by a lead ball pushed in with a wooden starter and forced all the way down with a ramrod.

A rifle differed from a musket in that a rifle (also called a rifled musket) had grooves cut in a spiral configuration down the length of its barrel that, when the weapon was discharged, imparted spin to the projectile. This spin was enough to stabilize the projectile’s flight and give it both a longer range and greater accuracy. The barrels of muskets, by contrast, were smooth (hence the term ‘‘smooth-bore’’) and, when the weapon was fired, imparted no spin to the projectile. Where a musket might have some accuracy out to about sixty yards (although they ...

REBEL GUN CREW

A well-trained crew could swiftly load, aim, and fire; these artillerymen swab their gun’s hot muzzle with a damp sponge to eliminate sparks before reloading

Gunpowder was invented in China and in widespread use in Europe by the end of the fourteenth century. It was used almost exclusively to provide the explosive force that enabled large, heavy, and cumbersome artillery pieces to propel large projectiles—initially stone, later cast iron—over relatively short distances. It took many improvements in the strength of metals and the explosive force of gunpowder to make it practical to field smaller and more mobile projectile weapons, the most important of which were crew-served small artillery pieces and the personal firearms of the foot and horse soldiers. A notable advance in artillery occurred in the first decade of the seventeenth century, when gun founders working for the Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus (1594 ...

Top: Handy-sized Mediterranean boats, then-strong 'Adua' class were named after places in Italian North Africa. Boats of the class were modified to SLC carriers.

Bottom: A more powerful 'Adua 7 'Perla ' with reduced tower, Acciaio was lead boa t of a class of 13. She was sunk by HM Submarine Unruly on 13 July 1943.

Dating from a period of great expansion for the Italian navy's submarine arm, the 12 'Sirena' class submarines were known also as the '600' class boats. This figure was indicative of their standard surface displacement and, though the final design exceeded it by a considerable margin, they proved very handy boats for the constricted conditions of the Mediterranean. Their detail design was greatly influenced by that of the preceding 'Argonauta' class, but, as they were laid down before the latter's entry into service, they did not benefit from working experience. Simple and robust ...

Heavy wheeled armoured personnel carrier

The Sd Kfz 247 was developed as an armoured staff car for commanders of reconnaissance detachments. Ten of an early Sd Kfz 247 series designed on a Krupp L2H143 6 x 4 chassis had been produced in 1937 and 1938. Although the weight was 5.2 tons it was slightly smaller all round. The Krupp M305 57PS motor gave a speed of 70km/hr and a range of 350km.

The Sd Kfz 247 consisted of an armoured body mounted on a 4 x 4 heavy passenger car chassis. The engine was mounted in the front, with cooling air supplied through armoured louvres. No radio or armament was provided for the crew of six who rode in this open-topped vehicle.

One issued to the commander of each Aufklarungs battalion of the Panzer and other motorized divisions.

Ausf. A

Krupp built ten Ausf. A models on the ...

As the war ground on, successive new models were introduced to keep the five-year-old design solvent. The F model was aerodynamically refined, with rounder wings and tail surfaces, as well as a bigger engine. It was the best-handling variant, but in 1942 the most numerous version, the Bf 109G, made its appearance. It featured a stronger engine and heavier armament but sacrificed the sweet handling characteristics of earlier versions. Worse yet, German war planners failed to provide for new designs, so the Bf 109G remained in production long after its growth potential ceased. Late-model H and K versions tried interjecting better high-altitude performance into the old workhorse with some success, but they never became available in quantity. Nonetheless, leading German ace Eric Hartmann scored all 352 victories in his beloved Messerschmitt. By war’s end, no less than 33,000 Bf 109s had been produced.

Powered by a 1,475-hp ...

MARK ROLFE

Full-scale development of the LaG-5, as the aircraft was now designated, began, and simultaneously problems arose concerning the initiation of the production process. Especially difficult to build were the first ten aircraft, assembled early in June 1942, which were manufactured in dreadful haste, with numerous errors. While it is normal practice to make parts from drawings, this time, on the contrary, final drawings were sometimes made from the parts. At the same time the tooling was being prepared and the process of producing new components was being mastered.

Aircraft Plant No.21 handled the task well. The transition to the modified fighter was effected almost without any reduction in the delivery rate to the air force. Following delivery of the first fully operational LaG-5 on 20th June 1942, the Gorkii workers turned out 37 more by the end of the month. In August the plant surpassed the production ...