Bulkinās prototype assault rifle received the TKB-415 production index, and has been developed since 1945. Immediately after creation, the weapon participated in the competition of the GAU of the USSR Armed Forces, competing on equal terms with other similar instances. A few years later, the model in question lost in some parameters variations KB-P-580, later known to the broad masses as AK-47.
A little bit about the constructor
Despite the fact that Bulkinās machine gun did not find wide application, its development made a significant contribution to the development of Soviet small arms. Little is known about the constructor itself. In the pre-war years, he worked at the KB NIPSVO. In 1942-43 Together with I.I. Rakov, the design of an automatic rifle and an machine gun was carried out. In 1943 , the machine gun tests created by this engineer were tested. In addition, he developed the TKB-32 carbine with an automatic locking mechanism.
In 1944, the Bulkin AB-44 prototype assault rifle was introduced, and in 1948 the designer took part in the creation of high-speed aircraft guns. The work was carried out in collaboration with Afanasyev N. M and Berezin M. E. The further fate of the weapons master is unknown. For unknown reasons, the personal file and all biographical data of the engineer were lost, and close living relatives were also not found.
History of creation
The General Directorate announced a competition for the creation of a new automatic weapon in 1943. To some extent, this decision was facilitated by the introduction of the German people's commissariat MK-42 technical council with standard charges. The Soviet analog cartridge of caliber 7.62 with a sleeve length of 4.1 cm was created by engineers Semin and Elizarov in an extremely short time. Subsequently, the sleeve became shorter by 2 mm.
Participants in the competition developed machines exclusively for the new domestic cartridge. At the first show, the victory was awarded to engineer Sudaev, who introduced the S-44 automatic carbine, weighing 5.3 kg. Among the minuses, representatives noted the excessive weight of the weapon and recommended the designer to work on reducing it.
Second competition
In 1945, on the initiative of the GAU, the second competition begins. At this stage, among the participants for the first time presented the machine gun AB-46 of designer Bulkin. Sudaev presents an improved modification of the AC-44. However, this time the carbine does not show the same results as before. The weapon of designer Bulkin, after a number of improvements, continues to participate in the competition. Sudden death of Sudaev crosses out the future of the AC-44, which was the main leader.
The remaining participants continue to compete for the championship among domestic automatic weapons. The GAU Commission, taking into account the new circumstances, presents the tactical and technical requirements to the contestants, taking into account the preliminary design of each model before showing the prototype. As a result, only five projects are allowed for the final round. For more than two years, Bulkinās machine gun was in the lead during the tests and by the beginning of 1948 was the only instance corresponding to accuracy when firing in short bursts specified in the requirements of the commission.
Test Results
According to other selection criteria, the weapon in question also proved to be quite good. Ease of maintenance, ease of disassembly were at their best and not inferior to competitors. However, Bulkin could not solve the problem of survivability and reliability of his "brainchild." This ultimately brought to naught all the efforts of the designer. To pass the field tests, the commission selected a sample of the Kalashnikovās assault rifle.
Bulkinās automatic AB-46 did not fit the requirements of the GAU and did not pass the final tests. Despite the fact that the AK-47 was adopted for service in 1949, the modification in question made a significant contribution to the development of this machine, since many of the mechanisms and parts of the competitors are almost identical.
Design
The designer created a sample according to the principle of automatic gas removal, the node of which is located above the barrel. A rotary principle was used to constipate the stem canal. The gas exhaust device does not have a regulator, and the locking unit consists of a stem and a rod ending with a gas piston. The bolt stem is equipped with an opening for the combat rotary larva with a pair of stops.
When moving the stalk of the shutter of the Bulkin assault rifle, the combat larva first rotates, then two stops are removed from the coupling with the breech supports. The subsequent movement of the stem is carried out with a picked up combat larva. The direction of movement is set by the bends of the stamped shutter box. They have an extremely low touch surface, which provides low susceptibility to contamination. The supply of charges is made from the store for 30 ammunition. The cartridges are staggered, have a two-row feed. The holder is made of thin steel alloy by stamping and welding.
Operating principle
Bulkinās AB-44 assault rifle, like its upgraded version, is equipped with a trigger mechanism with a trigger. This node is a simple device that does not have a device separating the hook and the sear. The bolt of the opening type cockes the trigger, when the trigger is lowered, it intercepts the ledge of the whisper. The descent mechanism provides firing in single shots or bursts.
The fire mode regulator of the flag type is located on the right side of the barrel, above the trigger. Some variations of the weapon in question had a barrel shortened by 100 millimeters. A safety lock is mounted on the left side of the machine, which provides the convenience of translating its modes with the thumb of the right hand. An adjustable front sight with ring protection and a sector rear sight are responsible for the sight.
Technical plan specifications
At the competitive tests, two samples of the AB-46 assault rifle were presented:
- A variant with a wooden butt for equipping general military units.
- Model with a folding butt, designed for use in special squads and airborne groups.
Below are the main technical parameters of the machine in question:
- Full weight - 4.5 kg.
- Length - 0.94 m.
- Barrel - 0.51 m.
- Sighting range - 0.8 km.
- Starting charge flight speed - 750 meters per second.
- Rate of fire - 600 rounds per minute.
- The number of ammunition in the clip is 30 rounds.
Interesting Facts
In Soviet times, contests were not particularly democratic. As a rule, the one who had more influence and connections pushed his weapons. In addition, the event often played a significant role in the end result. For example, Simonovās excellent rifle was discontinued in favor of the not-fully-developed analogue of the Tokarev SVT-38 name. Such a decision is associated with frequent breakdowns of the striker of the ABC-36. However, the problem was not in the design, but in the fact that steel was not tempered at the plant inappropriately. Already in 1942, the production of SVT was significantly reduced, since the rifle did not take root in combat conditions. It was removed from service even before the Mosin rifle.
After Kalashnikov presented his first model, the verdict of the commission in the person of Lieutenant Pchelintsev was unambiguous: the weapon is not perfect and cannot be finalized. So it was. However, then strange things began to happen.
Kalashnikov appeals for help to his boss by the name of Lyuty. That, in turn, falsifies the inspection report and recommends the machine for revision, realizing that it will have to redo everything from scratch. He personally makes about two dozen changes to the design of weapons. In addition to him, engineer V. Deikin participated in updating the sample. It was this instance that was presented in the competition with the TKB-415 Bulkin assault rifle.
What ended the confrontation between AK and AB?
As the biographers of Kalashnikov, the young designer Bulkin, a lieutenant without special education, noted, they managed to cancel the decision to drop out of the competition. In fact, some dignitaries promoted the AK project, while observing the features of the Bulkin model. As a result, work on the AK continues at the Kovrov plant under the guidance of an experienced engineer Zaitsev, but already taking into account the design features of the battery. Not the least role in this production was again played by Fierce, a respected person in NIPSMVO.
As a result, the machine received more than 400 changes and was created almost anew. This was a gross violation of the rules of the competition, according to which developers could make only minor improvements to their prototypes. It is worth noting that the barrel length was reduced to 35 centimeters, although later it increased to 41.4 cm.
In conclusion
During the competition, one of the commission members saw a significant discrepancy between the AK-46 and the declared project. However, his mouth was quickly closed, because the decisive word was for the Kolomna testers, who pretended not to notice such cardinal transformations. Despite this, the AK-46 still lost the 1946 Bulkin assault rifle and the Dementiev gun. The saving straw for the project was the fact that none of the presented models reached the required tactical and technical parameters.
Bulkin's assault rifle was the only one of three that demonstrated accuracy at the level of GAU requirements. He also exceeded AK in ergonomic indicators, had a frame folding butt, which Kalashnikov appeared only a few decades later. The decision to introduce a pair of flag switches may rightfully cause controversy, but it would not be difficult to improve the existing mechanism. By and large, the designer was let down by poor-quality knot production, as in the story with Simonovās rifle. Despite the current situation, the Bulkin automatic rifle left a bright mark in the history of domestic weapons, since it had a rather interesting design and good prospects.