Who invented the AK-47?

[Charles L. Cotton]

WARNING: Trick question - it's not who you think!

Chas.

[parabelum]

Mikhail Kalashnikov?

[Take Down Sicko]

was it Mikhail Kalashnikov?

[parabelum]

was it Mikhail Kalashnikov?

Probably not. That’s too easy so I’m sure I blew it

[Beiruty]

Design was lifted from many other designs.

[aero10]

[philip964]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Aquila_(AK-47)

An old friend served on an AK class Navy supply ship during WW2. So I knew there might be an AK-47 Navy ship and there was.

[Paladin]

ze Germans

[chasfm11]

SW 44

[cheezit]

The k in ak tells it all.

[aero10]

ze Germans

The k in ak tells it all.

Commandant Klink? Granted, that was Stalag 13, not 47.

[SpringerFan]

Not this guy?

[The Annoyed Man]

ze Germans

The k in ak tells it all.

Commandant Klink? Granted, that was Stalag 13, not 47.

Mikhail Kalashnikov admitted later in life that he borrowed heavily from the STG-44 and was helped by Hugo Schmeisser in coming up with AK47 design.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Design was lifted from many other designs.

We have a winner! Mikhail Kalashnikov was picked for propaganda purposes so the rifle would have a "face." The story about him designing it while in the hospital was false. The Soviet Union wanted a new rifle and charged several teams with the job of designing a gun for competitive testing. However, all teams were allowed to take/steal designs and features from other teams. Aleksandr Zaitsev (not sniper Vasily Zaitsev) actually contributed some of the criteria that make the rifle so reliable. He was Kalashnikov's assistant and he was never given any credit for his contribution to the AK.

So the meeting between Mikhail Kalashnikov and Eugene Stoner was NOT the meeting of the two men who invented the two most prolific battle rifles in the world. Stoner was, Kalashnikov was a Russian propaganda figure.

Chas.

[Beiruty]

Design was lifted from many other designs.

We have a winner! Mikhail Kalashnikov was picked for propaganda purposes so the rifle would have a "face." The story about him designing it while in the hospital was false. The Soviet Union wanted a new rifle and charged several teams with the job of designing a gun for competitive testing. However, all teams were allowed to take/steal designs and features from other teams. Aleksandr Zaitsev (not sniper Vasily Zaitsev) actually contributed some of the criteria that make the rifle so reliable. He was Kalashnikov's assistant and he was never given any credit for his contribution to the AK.

So the meeting between Mikhail Kalashnikov and Eugene Stoner was NOT the meeting of the two men who invented the two most prolific battle rifles in the world. Stoner was, Kalashnikov was a Russian propaganda figure.

Chas.

I wonder why SKS bolt action did not migrate to the AK. One guess, the fear to lose one part of the bolt in the field was a critical concern.