AK47: the open-source weapon that took the world by storm

[Chris Albon]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/03/ak_47_60_years/

Sixty years ago, a former tank sergeant named Mikhail Kalashnikov submitted an assault-rifle design to the Red Army for trials. It was selected as the new personal weapon for most Soviet soldiers, and designated Automat Kalashnikova 1947 – AK47 for short. That designation went out of official use in 1959, but to this day “AK47” is probably the world's most widely-known gun name. Just as open-source Linux - the "communist" software, according to Steve Ballmer - has made Linus Torvalds famous, the genuinely communist open-source AK has given Mikhail Kalashnikov a profile at least as high. The AK47 and its successor designs are the most widely-used firearms on the face of the planet.

[Culpeper]

I saw a documentary once that had the inventor of the M16 and the inventor of the AK47 sitting together discussing their different designs. Each have their own strengths and flaws that sort of balance out the differences. Except for couple of things without going into details. The average moron with an AK47 shoots too high. The average highly skilled warrior with an AK47 can ruin your day. To stick to the topic, the AK47 armed the rest of the world. These weapons can sit around forever just waiting to be used with little or no maintenance whatsoever. Though not as accurate, the caliber used in conjunction with the loose machining and stamping of the weapon make it ideal for the long term headache of the West.

[walrus]

"Noisy" safety catch though.

[Granite_State]

http://www.amazon.com/AK-47-Weapon-t...6284869&sr=8-1

Solid book, quick read, on the AK-47 from its origins to the present. The guy's not a fantastic writer, but it gives some good insights into the scope of the weapon's impact, militarily, politically and culturally. Worth a weekend read I felt. Has a brief bit on Stoner and the M-16 controversy too, which I hadn't known much about before.

[Chris Albon]

These weapons can sit around forever just waiting to be used with little or no maintenance whatsoever.

Hence why the it is the bane of anti small arms proliferation.

[Dominique R. Poirier]

Sixty years ago, a former tank sergeant named Mikhail Kalashnikov submitted an assault-rifle design to the Red Army for trials. It was selected as the new personal weapon for most Soviet soldiers, and designated Automat Kalashnikova 1947 – AK47 for short. That designation went out of official use in 1959, but to this day “AK47” is probably the world's most widely-known gun name. Just as open-source Linux - the "communist" software, according to Steve Ballmer - has made Linus Torvalds famous, the genuinely communist open-source AK has given Mikhail Kalashnikov a profile at least as high. The AK47 and its successor designs are the most widely-used firearms on the face of the planet.

By the way; if Mikhail Kalashnikov couldn’t but be perfectly aware that he worked for the communists, in his time, then I wouldn’t be surprised if I learned some day that Linus Torvalds didn’t know he did too!