Baryshev assault rifle: specifications (photo)

The worldwide fame of Kalash remained undeniable for many decades. By the totality of its combat and technological qualities, this model of small arms is unparalleled among all the analogues produced on our planet. However, there was a designer-gunsmith who managed to create something so outstanding that the opinion of the indisputable superiority of AK became controversial. This inventor is also Russian, his last name is Baryshev. The machine gun designed by him shoots more accurately, more closely and further. A story will be told about the master and his creation.

20th Century Rapid Fire and Its Weapons Legends

It is believed that the twentieth century became the era of the legendary gunsmiths. Perhaps this is so, although they owe most of the glory to two sad circumstances. The first of them consists in increased informative saturation, the appearance of such types of means of mass warning (and fooling too), such as radio, television and the worldwide computer network. But this factor cannot explain the popularity of the name “Kalashnikov” in different countries, including those where most of the population cannot read. And of course, this does not mean Lermontov’s character, a merchant, but his quick-fire namesake. The circulation of AK exceeds the number of printed copies of any book. Of course, much less than Kalashnikov, Baryshev is known, the machine of his design is not yet mass produced. The reasons for the lack of worldwide fame have nothing to do with shooting and technological characteristics. The popularity of this model is yet to come, perhaps its design just ahead of its time.

The beginning of the career of the inventor

This gunsmith is often called self-taught, having, obviously, in mind his lack of a diploma of higher education. Yes, indeed, Anatoly Baryshev did not graduate from an institute or university. He created his automaton, however, relying not on natural ingenuity or folk instinct. A designer was born in Istra near Moscow, in 1931, then graduated from the Kaliningrad Technical School, where, obviously, the level of knowledge was given no worse than in modern universities (at least in special subjects). Work at arms enterprises, whose main specialists were AM Lyulka and V. G. Grabin, contributed to gaining experience that a real specialist could not do without. Already passing military service from 1951 to 1954, the young man made rational proposals in the design of shooting simulators, invented and created. In 1952, a twenty-year-old soldier realized that his goal was an automatic machine of his own design. It was already impossible to stop Baryshev.

main idea

The main enemy of the accuracy of rapid-fire weapons is associated with its main advantage. When firing bursts, each fighter knows that at best, the first bullet hits the target, the rest fly at random. The reason is the recoil that throws the trunk up and down, left and right. If this negative factor is somehow leveled, the shooting will immediately become more accurate. Anatoly Baryshev's assault rifle is characterized by extremely low (threefold) returns. The designer made the main invention of his whole life a long time ago, but its implementation in practice took a long time. In 1962, Baryshev himself, without a task “from above”, in the order of personal initiative, began work on a special mechanism for locking the barrel channel. The path was long, there were a lot of ill-wishers, including among specialists who realized that this author’s system could become revolutionary if successful. Not for everyone, such a result was desirable. Once it came to the point that all the development of the prospector was ordered to be destroyed within two days. Fortunately, this order remained unfulfilled.

The essence of the invention

Recoil comes about for two reasons. First of all, from school, Newton’s famous third law, which, as applied to weapons, states that acceleration of a bullet causes an opposite reaction of a gun, carbine or assault rifle. The bullet is much lighter, but it flies out quickly. The second reason is the operation of a mechanism that instantly responds to a shot and performs its work in a short period of time. If nothing can be done with fundamental natural laws, something needs to be invented with locking the bore, the designer decided. The Baryshev assault rifle differs from other systems not precisely in a rigid, but in a smooth, “extended” working cycle in time. To achieve this goal, the elements of the locking unit are connected in series, and in each of them there is a partial damping of the recoil pulse. Such depreciation leads to stabilization of the barrel and a significant improvement in accuracy, that is, exactly the result that each shooter dreams of.

Further development of the concept

If the return is less, then this means that the weapon can fundamentally shoot heavier ammunition, which creates the conditions for the use of large calibers and even grenades. The first design presented to the high commissions was a Baryshev 7.62 54-mm machine gun (cartridge length), then the complex with a single plan was replenished with a rifle of the same caliber and a bicaliber system, including a 12.7-mm machine gun and AGB-30, an automatic grenade launcher firing 30 mm grenades. Individual weapons acquired firepower previously uncharacteristic of this class.

The invention needed a documentary confirmation of priority, however, departmental friction and other sad realities of late Soviet society did not allow the author to become the owner of the certificate. In 1992, a patent was nevertheless obtained (No. 2002195), but an outstanding achievement remained unclaimed.

Foreign saga

Today, Baryshev's machine gun is patented in a dozen countries (China, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Italy, India, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Austria and even Ukraine). But the picture was not always so pastoral. The Czech private arms company, with which the author concluded a cooperation agreement (the difficult 90s were going on), decided, taking advantage of a difficult legal situation, to simply deceive him. At the IDET international exhibition in 1995, she presented Baryshev’s machine gun as her own exhibit, a photo of the sample adorned an advertising booklet, and the inventor’s name was not even mentioned in these printing materials. The contract was terminated.

Another company, roughly the same Czech company (Czech Weapons), did as early as 2014, passing off the 62-caliber AB Baryshev assault rifle for its own CZW-762. It remains to be surprised at such naive attempts. However, it is quite possible that a manufacturer from the Czech Republic nevertheless reached some agreements with the author of the design.

In Russia

It would seem that such an interesting weapon, and even its own national author, should find application in the homeland. In addition, in terms of technology, it is as excellent as the familiar AK-47. Moreover, 60% of Kalashnikov’s details make up, with the complete uniqueness of the kinematic scheme and a completely different main idea, the design of the AB. This also showed the genius of the author, as well as his concern for the Russian economy and minimizing the cost of retooling production. Nevertheless, the Baryshev assault rifle has not yet been launched into production, although those test participants who were fortunate enough to hold the weapon in their hands did not hold back positive emotions. Especially flattering reviews came from special forces soldiers who used prototypes in real operations. By the way, back in the 80s, close attention to the brainchild of Baryshev was shown by employees and experts from the GRU and the KGB.

Tactical and technical data

The quality of the weapon is objectively evaluated by digital indicators, although it is not always possible to describe all the features and advantages of the sample with them. Nevertheless, here they are presented for convenience in the form of a table:

disadvantages

In the presence of such an important advantage as a low level of return in combination with the relative and simplicity of the device, due to the lack of a gas outlet in the design, it is impossible to objectively evaluate the Baryshev machine without mentioning its shortcomings. The bolt group turned out to be too massive with a general “flimsy” (according to one of the testers) impression of the sample. It is difficult to predict how the impacts of this unit on the receiver will affect. An insufficient level of reliability was noted by the participants in early tests, but it is quite possible that today this deficiency has already been eliminated.

Some complaints were caused by the delay between pressing the trigger and the first shot, but there is nothing to be done, this is a matter of principle, and the low recoil is due to just some slowness in the operation of the entire locking mechanism.

Perspective sample

Undoubtedly, this machine has advantages and advantages that determine its future prospects. Low returns, high accuracy and accuracy of shooting, technological simplicity and a large degree of unification with the main model of small arms of the Russian and many other armies of the world can become a motive for the deployment of mass production of AB. However, there are also constraints, including the need for a serious investment. The budgetary costs needed to introduce a new model are currently not priority for ensuring the country's defense, much more important today is the improvement of the nuclear shield and air defense systems, which directly provide security on a global strategic scale.

Most likely, Baryshev's assault rifles will be manufactured primarily to equip special units with them, at least in the first stage. They are lighter than the Kalashnikovs and meet all the requirements for such weapons (even the butt was originally made folding).

Mass re-equipment with new types of rifle models in the Soviet army took place in the post-war years, when PPSh assault rifles, issued by the industry in the amount of six million, were gradually replaced by AKs.