The AKS-47 / AKMS Assault Rifle
(Avtomat Kalashnikova)

 

  

AKS-47 / AKMS Technical Data

Designer: Mikhail Kalashnikov

Designation:

Avtomat Kalashnikova, Skladnoy, 1947
(Kalashnikov Automatic, Folding, 1947)

Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy Skladnoy, 1947
(Kalashnikov Automatic, Modified, Folding, 1947)

Manufacturer:

Tula and Izhmash Arsenals

Year Adopted:
     AKS-47 (Type 1):
     AKS-47 (Type 2):
     AKS-47 (Type 3):
     AKMS:
 
1949
1951
1955
1959

Operational Status (1998):

Russia - Production Complete, Used by militia and reserve units.

License Production: Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia

Other Users (over 55 nations): China, East Germany,  Yugoslavia, North Korea, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guina, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bisseau, Guyana, Indonesia, Laos, Sao Tome et Princepe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Yemen, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and other nations...

Ammunition:

7.62x39 M1943 Cartridge

30 round detachable box magazine*

*also available in various other capacities, most common military sizes are 20 round box (early Warsaw Pact vehicle crews), 40 round box (RPK), and 75 round drum (RPK).

Method of Operation:

Gas operated, selective fire rifle

Selector:

Automatic, Semiautomatic, and Safe

Unloaded Weight:
3.55 kg (7 pounds, 13 oz)
Combat Range:
          Effective:
          Maximum:
 
350 meters (383 yards)
800 meters (875 yards)
Length:
          (Full):
          (Stock Folded):
   

89.5 cm

 (35.24 inches)

69.9 cm

(25.51 inches)
Sights: Hooded post front sight, tangent rear sight

Maximum Sight Range:

800 meters (1000 meters for AKM)

Rate of Fire
          Single Shots:
          Short Bursts:
          Cyclic Rate:
 
40 rounds per minute
100 rounds per minute
600 rounds per minute

Rifling Grooves:

4, right hand twist
1 turn in 235 mm long

Muzzle velocity:

710 meters/second
(2330 feet / second)

 

 

The AKS-47 / AKMS in Pictures

Development, History, and Use

Return to Weapons
of the Iron Curtain

Ammunition The Designer

 

 

Sources Cited

(1) Jane's Infantry Weapons 1997-98, Terry J Gander (ed), Jane's Information Group: Surry, UK, 1997. Print.