An assault rifle is a weapon without which it is now impossible to imagine the work of any power structure, and not only in the vastness of our vast Motherland. It is an integral part of the equipment of infantry fighters and air forces. Such a widespread distribution of machines was facilitated by their ease and productivity in use. But before becoming one of the most versatile types of weapons, these products have come a long and difficult way. Such a chain of inventions, upgrades and improvements originates during the First World War, when the very first machine gun appeared. The history of this weapon in Russia consists of two main chapters: samples of Tsarist Russia and models of Soviet Russia. In order to understand what the difference between the weapons of these eras is, you need to find out what is called an assault rifle today.
What it is?
Next, we consider who invented the first machine gun - a hand weapon capable of firing single shots or firing fast bursts with a high density of fire. It recharges itself and continues firing if you hold the trigger in the depressed state. Distinctive features of modern models are: the use of an intermediate cartridge, a large capacity removable magazine, the ability to fire bursts, as well as comparative lightness and compactness.
History of terminology. The first machine in the world
If you pronounce the word "automatic" in Europe, in most cases it will be misunderstood, since this concept is used to refer to a variety of weapons only in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Similar weapons in foreign countries can be understood as "automatic carbine" or "assault rifle", based on the length of the barrel.
When did the first assault rifle appear? For the first time in history, this term was used for a rifle, which was developed by Vladimir Fedorov in 1916. The name was proposed by Nikolai Filatov four years after the creation of the weapon itself. Back in 1916, the first machine gun in the world was known as a submachine gun, and adopted as a 2.5-line Fedorov rifle. In the Soviet Union, machine-guns began to be called that, and in 1943, after the creation of the intermediate cartridge of the Soviet model, the name was assigned to the weapon that we know by the word "automatic" today.
Automata of the Russian Empire. Prerequisites for their creation
The military of the early 20th century understood the need for the production and introduction of a new type of weapon. It was obvious that it was the future of automatic samples that is why the first firearms began to be developed during this period. A clear advantage of such a weapon was its speed: reloading was not required, which means that the shooter did not have to break away from the target. The task was to create a relatively light weapon, individual for each fighter, which would not use such powerful cartridges as in rifles.
With the outbreak of World War I, the issue of armament arose especially sharply. Everyone understood that weapons with rifle cartridges (with a bullet range of up to 3,500 meters) were used mainly for close attacks, spending extra gunpowder and metal, and also reducing the ammunition of the military. The development of the first machines was carried out around the world, Russia was no exception. One of the developers who participated in such experiments was Vladimir G. Fedorov.
Start of development
The first Fedorov assault rifles were created at the time when the First World War was in full swing, but Fedorov was engaged in his development of new weapons back in 1906. Before the war, the state stubbornly refused to recognize the need to create new weapons, so gunsmiths in Russia had to act independently, without any support. The first attempt was to modernize the famous three-line Mosin rifle and turn it into a new, automatic one. Fedorov understood that it would be very difficult to adapt this weapon, but a huge number of rifles in service played their role.
The developed project of the first Russian assault rifle over time showed how unpromising this idea was - the Mosin rifle was simply not suitable for alterations. After the first failure, Fedorov, together with Degtyarev, plunges into the development of a completely new original design. In 1912, automatic rifles appeared using a standard-type cartridge of 1889, that is, 7.62 mm caliber, and a year later they developed weapons for a new, specially created 6.5 mm caliber cartridge.
New cartridge of Vladimir Grigoryevich Fedorov
It was the idea of creating a cartridge of lower power that served as the first step to the appearance of an intermediate cartridge, which is used in modern times in automatic weapons. Why is there such an urgent need for the introduction of new ammunition, if traditionally weapons are designed under the cartridge, put into service? Extreme cases require extreme measures. The Russian army needed a machine gun.
Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov sees that the shortcomings of the three-line cartridge - the rim and excessive power - hang dead weight, hampering development. Cartridges made for rifles cannot be used in machine guns because of their strength. Their excessive power provokes strong returns and prevents accurate fire, creating an unacceptably large spread of bullets. In addition, the machine itself has to constantly work at maximum loads for it, which leads to the rapid failure of weapons.
To solve the problems, it was decided to develop a completely new cartridge, lightweight, but providing sufficient power. The ammunition on which the gunsmiths stopped was a pointed bullet of a caliber of 6.5 mm and a sleeve without a protruding rim. The new cartridge weighed 8.5 grams, had an initial bullet speed of 850 m / s and a muzzle energy reduced by 20-25% relative to the rifle. According to modern parameters, such a cartridge could not yet be called intermediate, since it had too much energy. Rather, it is a modified rifle cartridge with a smaller caliber and a reduced degree of recoil. The cartridge of Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov successfully passed all the tests, but was not released into mass production - the war prevented it.
World War I weapon
Russia was confident that its weapons reserves would be enough for any war, but with the outbreak of the First World War the state clearly realized how acute the issue of developing and introducing a new type of weapon was. Unfortunately, all the weapons factories were overflowing with orders, so any opportunity to establish a fundamentally new production was completely ruled out.
To reduce the acute need for weapons, Russia began to purchase Japanese Arisaka rifles, which were supplied with 6.5 mm cartridges. Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov urgently begins to remake his invention under the new Japanese cartridges, to which there was access, and as a result, presents his already full automatic machine to the commission.
World War I machines are very different from modern ones. Technically, they did not use intermediate cartridges. Therefore, they do not fit the modern term “automatic machine”. But from this moment, with the invention of the first Russian assault rifle by Fedorov, one of the most widespread weapons in the world begins its history. In 1916, after successfully passing all the tests, Russia adopted this model.
The first use of the new device in hostilities was made on the Romanian front, where companies of machine gunners were purposefully formed, as well as in a special team of the 189th Izmail Regiment. The decision to form an order for the release of twenty-five thousand assault rifles to supply the army was made at the end of 1916. The first obstacle in the way was a mistake when choosing an artist for this important order. It was given to a private company, which did not start its implementation, since the economic war within the country was already gaining strength.
By the time the order for the release of a batch of Fedorov assault rifles was transferred to the Sestroretsk plant, a revolution began in Russia. With the collapse of Tsarist Russia, this enterprise found itself on the border with Finland, which did not seek to maintain friendly relations with Soviet Russia, and therefore, the question arose of transferring arms production from Sestroretsk to Kovrov, which also did not contribute to accelerating the execution of the order. As a result, the output of the machine into serial production was pushed back to 1919, and by 1924 the development of machine guns began to be carried out, unified with the invention of Fedorov.
The Red Army used the machine gun of Vladimir Grigoryevich until 1928. During this period, the military put forward new requirements for infantry weapons - the possibility of defeating armored vehicles. A 6.5 mm bullet was inferior to a rifle, stocks of cartridges purchased in Japan during the First World War were drawing to a close, the creation of our own production seemed uneconomical. These factors overlapped, and it was decided to remove the Fedorov assault rifle from production. Despite the fact that this weapon was almost forgotten over time, Vladimir Grigoryevich forever went down in history as the man who invented the first machine gun.
Assault rifles of the Soviet Union
Only the USSR, when the salvos of the Second World War were destroyed, could carry out the plan of Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov, which was to reduce the power of the cartridge. Post-war automatic weapons developed in two directions: rifles (automatic and self-loading) and submachine guns. In the forties, the West had already developed the first weapon that allowed the use of cartridges of reduced power, the Soviet Union did not want to lag behind in anything. As the current European models in the hands of the Union was the German MKb.42 and the American self-loading carbine M1.
The authorities decide to immediately develop a lightweight intermediate cartridge and the latest weapons capable of making the most of such ammunition.
Intermediate cartridge
Intermediate is called a cartridge used in firearms. The power of such ammunition is less than that of a rifle, but more than that of a pistol. The intermediate cartridge is much lighter and more compact than a rifle cartridge, which allows to increase the soldier’s portable ammunition, as well as significantly save gunpowder and metal in production. The Soviet Union began the development of a new weapons complex, focused on the use of an intermediate cartridge. The main goal was to provide the infantry with weapons, allowing them to attack the enemy at distances exceeding the performance of submachine guns.
In view of the set goals, the designers began to develop new varieties of cartridges. At the end of autumn 1943, information was sent to all organizations specializing in the development of small arms according to the drawings and specifications of the new model of the cartridge Semin and Elizarov. Such ammunition weighed 8 grams and consisted of a pointed bullet (7.62 mm), a bottle sleeve (41 mm) and a lead core.
Project Election
The use of the new cartridge was planned not only for machine guns, but also for self-loading carbines or weapons with manual reloading. The first design that attracted universal attention was the invention of Sudaev - AU. This machine gun went through a refinement stage, after which a limited series was released and military tests of new weapons were conducted. According to their results, a verdict was issued on the need to reduce the mass of the sample.
After making adjustments to the main list of requirements, the development competition was repeated. Now a young sergeant Kalashnikov participated in it with his project. In total, sixteen preliminary designs of automatic machines were announced in the competition, among which the commission selected ten for subsequent improvements. Only six were allowed to make prototypes, and only five models were produced in the metal. Among the selected, there was not one that could fully meet the set requirements. The first Kalashnikov assault rifle did not meet the accuracy requirements for firing, so the development continued.
The invention of Kalashnikov
By May 1947, Mikhail Timofeevich presented an already modified version of his product - AK-46№2. The first Kalashnikov assault rifle had many differences from what we used to call AK today: the arrangement of automation parts, a reload handle, a fuse, a fire translator. This sample was presented in two versions: Ak-46№2 with a permanent wooden butt, intended for use in infantry, and AK-46№3 with a folding metal butt - version for paratroopers.
Kalashnikov assault rifles at this stage of the competition took only third place, losing to the models designed by Bulkin and Dementiev. The Commission again recommended the completion of weapons, and the next phase of testing was scheduled for August 1947. The designers of the machine - Mikhail Kalashnikov and Alexander Zaitsev - decided not to modify, but completely redesign the weapons. This step paid off. The AK-47 left the competition behind and was recommended for mass production.
The Kalashnikov assault rifle passed military tests and was accepted for serial production, despite the fact that complaints about the accuracy of fire were still relevant. The solution was this: fix the problem in parallel without delaying the release of the series. In 1949, on June 18, the first machine gun of the USSR, developed by Kalashnikov, was adopted by order of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Its release was carried out simultaneously in two versions: with a wooden and folding mechanical butt. Thus, the weapon was suitable for use in both the infantry and the landing forces.
Since 1949, the Kalashnikov assault rifle has undergone more than one modernization in order to come to the way we know it today. The fact that the emergence of new types of weapons did not force him to give up his position clearly demonstrates how great this invention was. Many countries appreciated it.