Russo-Ukrainian War: The Avtomat Kalashnikova 47

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

     Somewhere within Ukraine, a soldier of the 93rd. Mechanized Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar” trains with his Avtomat Kalashnikova 47 (AK-47) assault rifle. Development of the AK-47 commenced in 1945 with the first prototypes trialed starting in 1947 and in 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted for service in the Soviet Army. Production of the AK-47 began in 1948 and it remains in production to this day. Over 100 million AK-47 rifles, of all variants, have been built and the AK-47 has seen combat around the world in just about every conflict...large or small.

     The AK-47 shown here appears to be a Maschinenpistole MPi-K, the designation of the AK-47 in the military of the former Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR; better known as East Germany). This observation is based solely on the shape of the safety lever and the dust cover as the rest of the rifle has been modified. That such a weapon would be in the hands of a Ukrainian soldier is because Germany provided the Ukrainian Army with a small number of AK-47 rifles (73 in all) and it is a possibility these were former DDR weapons that had been kept around in storage.

     Now, the MPi-K utilized plastic handguards, pistol grips, and stocks which were prone to cracking and given the relative age of these weapons, there is a good chance that the reason this soldier's AK-47 has a replacement stock and handguards is because the rifles had been received from Germany with broken hardware which needed replacement.

     The stock looks to be a Czech manufactured FAB Defense GLR-16 CP fixed telescopic stock with adjustable cheek piece. By fixed, it means the stock cannot fold to shorten the length of the weapon. Made of black polymer plastic, the stock's cheek piece can be fully removed if not needed. The original handguards have been replaced with what appears to be a TDI Arms LHV47S handguard set which includes upper and lower handguards equipped with Picatinny (and Weaver compatible) rails. Like the stock, the handguards are high-density polymer materials for strength as well as heat resistance. On the bottom rail of the lower handguard is a folding front pistol grip.

     The typical AK-47 is chambered for the 7.62x39mm cartridge and the rounds are fed into the AK-47 via a 20-, 30-, or 50-round box magazine. A 30-round magazine is in use here. In addition, a 40- or 75-round drum magazine can be used. The action consists of a gas-operated, long-stroke piston, closed rotating bolt. Cyclic rate of fire is a maximum of 600 rounds per minute with a practical rate of fire being 40 rounds per minute if using semi-automatic fire. Burst fire is around 100 rounds per minute. Sighting is done using iron sights that are adjustable between 100 to 800 meters. Effective range is 350 meters. Without a magazine, the AK-47 weights 7.7 pounds though this soldier's modified weapon is probably lighter. Length, with the regular stock, is 2.9 feet and without a stock, the length is 2.1 feet long.