AKM 7.62x39mm automatic rifle
| 01. Original name | AKM (модернизи́рованный Автома́т Кала́шникова / modernizírovanny Avtomát Kaláshnikova = “Modernized Kalashnikov Automatic Rifle”) | |
| 02. Other official names | AKM 7.62x39mm automatic rifle (USSR post-WW2) | |
| 03. Popular names | “Kalashnikov”, “AK”. | |
| 04. Chamberings | 7.62 x 39mm | |
| 05. Designed by | Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Михаи́л Тимофе́евич Кала́шников) | |
| 06. Design date | (AK-47: 1944) | |
| 07. In service date(s) | 1959 | |
| 08. Adopted by | USSR, Afghanistan, Albania, Chile, Congo, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Vietnam, Yeman, inter alia. (In excess of 100 countries.) | |
| 09. Production quantities | 100+ million Kalashnikov variants, of which ~75 million AK-47/AKM. | |
| 10. Mechanism | Long-stroke gas-operated | |
| 11. Weight | 3.15 Kg (6.9 lb) with empty magazine [AK-47: 3.9 Kg (8.6 lb)] | |
| 12. Mountings | ||
| 13. Practicality in action | Highly practicable, short, relatively light, highly resistant to abuse and dirt. Easy to train and maintain (chromed bore). Almost universal availability worldwide | |
| 14. Comments / Other information | The most widely used post-WW2 military rifle. Improved version of the Kalashnikov AK-47, with a Type 4 receiver of pressed steel (AK-47: Type 1 pressed steel, Types 2 & 3 milled) Cyclic rate 600 rpm (in-built limiter [not in AK-47]. 30-round box magazine; also 5/10/20/40, and 75 & 100 round (drum). Can be fitted with GP-25 grenade launcher. Main variant, AKMS, with folding stock (used in e.g. armoured vehicles), plus numerous others. 7.62mm Automatic Rifle (“Assault Rifle”) (USSR) (Post-WW2) Introduced circa 1959 – essentially the Kalashnikov AK47 with the body formed from pressed steel rather that a machined forging; chambered for the 7.62x39mm round; cyclic rate about 600 rpm; 30-round box magazine; weight unloaded 6.9lb. Probably the most widely used post-WW2 military rifle. |