1947
AK-47
Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919–2013)
The evolution of weapons began tens of thousands of years ago with the bow and arrow. The AK-47 is both a horrific weapon, responsible for millions of deaths since its introduction in the Soviet Union in 1947, and an engineering marvel.
Any machine gun is a bit like a reciprocating engine. The energy generated when firing a bullet is enough to prepare the mechanism for the next shot. There is a hole drilled in the top of the barrel about halfway down its length. As the bullet passes this hole, expanding gases rush up the hole into the gas tube, blowing a piston backwards.
The piston is connected to the bolt carrier. As it slides backwards, the carrier extracts the spent shell, ejects it, pushes the hammer back, and cocks it. When pressure inside the barrel drops, a spring starts pushing the bolt carrier forward. In the process it strips the next shell off the magazine, loads it, and closes the bolt behind it. In automatic mode, the hammer immediately releases to fire the new shell, and the process repeats.
Three engineering goals are expressed in Mikhail Kalashnikov’s design of the AK-47: It must be inexpensive, difficult to jam, and easy to clean. Therefore the number of parts is kept to a minimum and the receiver—the main body of the mechanism that holds everything together—is a stamped piece of steel. No fancy machining, no casting or forging. Take a piece of metal, stamp holes in it, and bend it.
To prevent jamming, the clearances between all the parts are large and there are very few moving parts. The gas tube is larger to prevent clogging. The hammer is a huge, blunt piece of metal.
Cleaning is a breeze. Push one button to release the top cover. The bolt carrier, its spring, and piston all come out easily. The trigger, hammer, bolt, chamber, firing pin, etc., are now all easily accessible for cleaning.
The engineering here is brutally elegant, designed for low cost and reliability in the worst conditions. That’s why there are millions of AK-47s all over the world.
SEE ALSO Bow and Arrow (30,000 BCE), Catapult (1300), Trinity Nuclear Bomb (1945), Ivy Mike Hydrogen Bomb (1952), Cluster Munition (1965).
This example of an AK-47 was made in the Soviet Union in 1954.