BY Herschel Smith
10 years, 11 months ago
The man credited with the design of the AK-47, Michail Kalashnokov, is dead at 94. The boys at reddit/guns are in mourning and shock. But it’s Soviet propaganda that makes him the sole designer of the weapon.
Exactly how the winning design was created remains murky, but contrary to Soviet propaganda, it is clear that Kalashnikov got plenty of help — not only from other Russian konstruktors but (more embarrassing) from a captured German arms designer, Hugo Schmeisser, who during World War II had created an early assault rifle (the Sturmgewehr) that bore an uncanny resemblance to what became the AK-47. But even though the AK-47 was the product of considerable collaboration, it was Kalashnikov who got the glory. He was twice named a Hero of Socialist Labor and acquired sufficient riches to buy a refrigerator, vacuum cleaner and automobile — all scarce commodities in postwar Russia. Eventually he would become a lieutenant general and a world-famous symbol of the Soviet arms industry.
I will always be a fan and advocate of the Stoner design, and as an engineer I like and appreciate the tight tolerances on my AR-15. It’s a precise and well functioning weapon, and I don’t like the feel of the clanking and rattling of the AK-47.
Around my house we speak the name of Eugene Stoner with hushed reverence. However, there is no questioning the fact that the name Kalashnikov is significant around the world, and the weapon named after him has been an important feature of modern world history – just as has the Stoner design.
