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74-668: The AK-47 , officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (Russian: Автомат Калашникова , lit. 'Kalashnikov's automatic [rifle]'; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK ), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov , it is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov (or "AK") family of rifles . After more than seven decades since its creation,

148-412: A dust cover and prevents the charging handle from being pulled fully to the rear when it is on safe. It is operated by the shooter's right fore-fingers and has three settings: safe (up), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (down). The reason for this is that a soldier under stress will push the selector lever down with considerable force, bypassing the full-auto stage and setting the rifle to semi-auto. To set

222-638: A human, professional translator. Douglas Hofstadter gave an example of a failure of machine translation: the English sentence "In their house, everything comes in pairs. There's his car and her car, his towels and her towels, and his library and hers." might be translated into French as " Dans leur maison, tout vient en paires. Il y a sa voiture et sa voiture, ses serviettes et ses serviettes, sa bibliothèque et les siennes. " That does not make sense because it does not distinguish between "his" car and "hers". Often, first-generation immigrants create something of

296-661: A hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations. "Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 Garand and the German StG 44 ." Kalashnikov's team had access to these weapons and did not need to "reinvent the wheel". Kalashnikov himself observed: "A lot of Russian Army soldiers ask me how one can become a constructor, and how new weaponry is designed. These are very difficult questions. Each designer seems to have his own paths, his own successes and failures. But one thing

370-820: A lightweight magazine with an aluminum body with a prominent reinforcing waffle rib pattern weighing 0.19 kg (0.42 lb) empty was developed for the AKM that proved to be too fragile, and the small issued amount of these magazines were quickly withdrawn from service. As a replacement steel-reinforced 30-round plastic 7.62×39mm box magazines were introduced. These rust-colored magazines weigh 0.24 kg (0.53 lb) empty and are often mistakenly identified as being made of Bakelite (a phenolic resin ), but were fabricated from two parts of AG-S4 molding compound (a glass-reinforced phenol- formaldehyde binder impregnated composite), assembled using an epoxy resin adhesive. Noted for their durability, these magazines did however compromise

444-460: A literal translation in how they speak their parents' native language. This results in a mix of the two languages that is something of a pidgin . Many such mixes have specific names, e.g., Spanglish or Denglisch . For example, American children of German immigrants are heard using "rockingstool" from the German word Schaukelstuhl instead of "rocking chair". Literal translation of idioms

518-623: A newer design, the AK-74 , which uses 5.45×39mm ammunition. This new rifle and cartridge had only started to be manufactured in Eastern European nations when the Soviet Union collapsed , drastically slowing the production of the AK-74 and other weapons of the former Soviet bloc. The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable fully automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of

592-421: A notched rear tangent iron sight calibrated in 100 m (109 yd) increments from 100 to 800 m (109 to 875 yd). The front sight is a post adjustable for elevation in the field. Horizontal adjustment requires a special drift tool and is done by the armory before the issue or if the need arises by an armorer after the issue. The sight line elements are approximately 48.5  mm (1.9  in ) over

666-457: A pronounced curve that allows them to smoothly feed ammunition into the chamber. Their heavy steel construction combined with "feed-lips" (the surfaces at the top of the magazine that control the angle at which the cartridge enters the chamber) machined from a single steel billet makes them highly resistant to damage. These magazines are so strong that "Soldiers have been known to use their mags as hammers, and even bottle openers". This contributes to

740-467: A redesigned version designated the AKM (M for "modernized" or "upgraded"; in Russian: Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный [ Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy ]) was introduced in 1959. This new model used a stamped sheet metal receiver and featured a slanted muzzle brake on the end of the barrel to compensate for muzzle rise under recoil. In addition, a hammer retarder was added to prevent

814-628: A result, the AK-47 has a service/system life of approximately 6,000, to 10,000, to 15,000 rounds. The AK-47 was designed to be a cheap, simple, easy-to-manufacture rifle, perfectly matching Soviet military doctrine that treats equipment and weapons as disposable items. As units are often deployed without adequate logistical support and dependent on "battlefield cannibalization" for resupply, it is more cost-effective to replace rather than repair weapons. The AK-47 has small parts and springs that need to be replaced every few thousand rounds. However, "Every time it

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888-469: A significant weight reduction and allows a soldier to carry more ammunition for the same weight. All 7.62×39mm AK magazines are backward compatible with older AK variants. 10.12 kg (22.3 lb) is the maximum amount of ammo that the average soldier can comfortably carry. It also allows for the best comparison of the three most common 7.62×39mm AK magazines. Most Yugoslavian and some East German AK magazines were made with cartridge followers that hold

962-460: A translation that represents the precise meaning of the original text but does not attempt to convey its style, beauty, or poetry. There is, however, a great deal of difference between a literal translation of a poetic work and a prose translation. A literal translation of poetry may be in prose rather than verse but also be error-free. Charles Singleton's 1975 translation of the Divine Comedy

1036-471: A wide range of conditions and possessed convenient handling characteristics. In 1949, it was adopted by the Soviet Army as the "7.62 mm Kalashnikov rifle (AK)". There were many difficulties during the initial phase of production. The first production models had stamped sheet metal receivers with a milled trunnion and butt stock insert and a stamped body. Difficulties were encountered in welding

1110-654: Is 16.3 g (0.6 oz), and the projectile weight is 7.9 g (122 gr). The original Soviet M43 bullets are 123-grain boat-tail bullets with a copper-plated steel jacket, a large steel core, and some lead between the core and the jacket. The AK has excellent penetration when shooting through heavy foliage, walls, or a common vehicle's metal body and into an opponent attempting to use these things as cover. The 7.62×39mm M43 projectile does not generally fragment when striking an opponent and has an unusual tendency to remain intact even after making contact with bone. The 7.62×39mm round produces significant wounding in cases where

1184-591: Is a source of translators' jokes. One such joke, often told about machine translation , translates "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (an allusion to Mark 14:38 ) into Russian and then back into English, getting "The vodka is good, but the meat is rotten". This is not an actual machine-translation error, but rather a joke which dates back to 1956 or 1958. Another joke in the genre transforms "out of sight, out of mind" to "blind idiot" or "invisible idiot". TKB-415 The Bulkin AB-46 / TKB-415 assault rifle

1258-516: Is broken. The AK-47 does not have a gas valve; excess gases are ventilated through a series of radial ports in the gas cylinder. Unlike many other rifle platforms, such as the AR-15 platform, the Kalashnikov platform bolt locking lugs are chamfered allowing for primary extraction upon bolt rotation which aids reliable feeding and extraction, albeit not with that much force due to the short distance

1332-557: Is calibrated at 50 m (55 yd), for improved night fighting. The AK-47 was originally equipped with a buttstock, handguard, and an upper heat guard made from solid wood. With the introduction of the Type 3 receiver the buttstock, lower handguard, and upper heat guard were manufactured from birch plywood laminates . Such engineered woods are stronger and resist warping better than the conventional one-piece patterns, do not require lengthy maturing, and are cheaper. The wooden furniture

1406-426: Is clear: before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field. I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so." Some claimed that Kalashnikov copied designs like Bulkin's TKB-415 or Simonov's AVS-31 . Kalashnikov started work on a submachine gun design in 1942 and a light machine gun design in 1943. Early in 1944, Kalashnikov

1480-526: Is clearly not a phrase that would generally be used in English, even though its meaning might be clear. Literal translations in which individual components within words or compounds are translated to create new lexical items in the target language (a process also known as "loan translation") are called calques , e.g., beer garden from German Biergarten . The literal translation of the Italian sentence, " So che questo non va bene " ("I know that this

1554-609: Is disassembled beyond the field stripping stage, it will take some time for some parts to regain their fit, and some parts may tend to shake loose and fall out when firing the weapon. Some parts of the AK-47 line are riveted together. Repairing these can be quite a hassle since the end of the rivet has to be ground off and a new one set after the part is replaced." For the further developed AK models, see Kalashnikov rifles . Manufacturing countries of AK-47 and its variants in alphabetical order. A private company Kalashnikov Concern (formerly Izhmash) from Russia has repeatedly claimed that

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1628-424: Is not good"), produces "(I) know that this not (it) goes well", which has English words and Italian grammar . Early machine translations (as of 1962 at least) were notorious for this type of translation, as they simply employed a database of words and their translations. Later attempts utilized common phrases , which resulted in better grammatical structure and the capture of idioms, but with many words left in

1702-457: Is regarded as a prose translation. The term literal translation implies that it is probably full of errors, since the translator has made no effort to (or is unable to) convey correct idioms or shades of meaning, for example, but it can also be a useful way of seeing how words are used to convey meaning in the source language. A literal English translation of the German phrase " Ich habe Hunger " would be "I have hunger" in English, but this

1776-533: Is similar to the second generation, but is darker colored and has a matte non-reflective surface finish. The current issue is a steel-reinforced matte true black non- reflective surface finished 7.62×39mm 30-round magazine, fabricated from ABS plastic weighing 0.25 kg (0.55 lb) empty. Early steel AK-47 magazines are 9.75 in (248 mm) long; the later ribbed steel AKM and newer plastic 7.62×39mm magazines are about 1 in (25 mm) shorter. The transition from steel to mainly plastic magazines yields

1850-739: The PPSh-41 submachine guns and outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army. The Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge , used in the semi-automatic SKS carbine and the RPD light machine gun . Shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 rifle, which quickly replaced the SKS in Soviet service. Introduced in 1959, the AKM is a lighter stamped steel version and

1924-496: The PSO-1 Optical Sniper Sight . The side rails allow for the removal and remounting of optical accessories without interfering with the zeroing of the optic. However, the 100 series side folding stocks cannot be folded with the optics mounted. The AK-47 and its variants have been and are made in dozens of countries, with "quality ranging from finely engineered weapons to pieces of questionable workmanship." As

1998-513: The AK-1 (with a milled receiver ) and AK-2 (with a stamped receiver) proved to be reliable weapons and were accepted to a second round of competition along with other designs. These prototypes (also known as the AK-46) had a rotary bolt, a two-part receiver with separate trigger unit housing, dual controls (separate safety and fire selector switches), and a non-reciprocating charging handle located on

2072-426: The AK-47 magazine being more reliable but makes it heavier than U.S. and NATO magazines. The early slab-sided steel AK-47 30-round detachable box magazines had 1 mm (0.039 in) sheet-metal bodies and weighed 0.43 kg (0.95 lb) empty. The later steel AKM 30-round magazines had lighter sheet-metal bodies with prominent reinforcing ribs weighing 0.33 kg (0.73 lb) empty. To further reduce weight,

2146-579: The AK-47 model and its variants remain one of the most popular and widely used firearms in the world. Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials in 1947, and, in 1948, the fixed- stock version was introduced into active service for selected units of the Soviet Army . In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by

2220-523: The AK-47 to full-auto requires the deliberate action of centering the selector lever. To operate the fire selector lever, right-handed shooters have to briefly remove their right hand from the pistol grip, which is ergonomically sub-optimal. Some AK-type rifles also have a more traditional selector lever on the left side of the receiver, just above the pistol grip. This lever is operated by the shooter's right thumb and has three settings: safe (forward), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (backward). The AK-47 uses

2294-507: The Bulkin assault rifle was equivalent to the Kalashnikov assault rifle. However, the AB-46 / TKB-415 assault rifle failed to solve the problem of reliability in weapon parts, which determined its loss in the competition. At the final, ten-day testing in January 1948, the AK received first place. The Bulkin AB-46 / TKB-415 assault rifle is a gas-operated weapon with a gas outlet located above

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2368-463: The Kalashnikov assault rifle abroad were of the AKM variant, partially due to the much easier production of the stamped receiver. This model is the most commonly encountered, having been produced in much greater quantities. All rifles based on the Kalashnikov design are often colloquially referred to as "AK-47s" in the West and some parts of Asia, although this is only correct when applied to rifles based on

2442-403: The R 50 results are doubled, the hit probability increases to 93.7%. The vertical and horizontal mean (R 50 ) deviations with service ammunition at 800 m (875 yd) for AK platforms are. Literal translation Literal translation , direct translation , or word-for-word translation is a translation of a text done by translating each word separately without looking at how

2516-532: The art in the Soviet Union during the late 1940s. The AK-47 uses a long-stroke gas system generally associated with high reliability in adverse conditions. The large gas piston, generous clearance between moving parts, and tapered cartridge case design allow the gun to endure large amounts of foreign matter and fouling without failing to cycle. The AK fires the 7.62×39mm cartridge with a muzzle velocity of 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s). The cartridge weight

2590-404: The barrel, a long stroke of the gas piston and rigid locking of the barrel bore with a rotating bolt. The barrel is locked by turning the bolt onto two lugs. The gas outlet device does not have a gas regulator. In the hole of the bolt stem there is a rotating combat cylinder with two lugs. On the initial path of the bolt stem rollback, he turns the combat cylinder until its two lugs disengage with

2664-584: The bayonet lug under the front sight base. All current model AKM rifles can mount under-barrel 40 mm grenade launchers such as the GP-25 and its variants, which can fire up to 20 rounds per minute and have an effective range of up to 400 meters. The main grenade is the VOG-25 (VOG-25M) fragmentation grenade which has a 6 m (9 m) (20 ft (30 ft)) lethality radius. The VOG-25P/VOG-25PM ("jumping") variant explodes 0.5–1 metre (1.6–3.3 ft) above

2738-407: The bolt carrier rail guide, rotates the bolt approximately 35° and unlocks it from the barrel extension via a camming pin on the bolt. The moving assembly has about 5.5 mm (0.2 in) of free travel, which creates a delay between the initial recoil impulse of the piston and the bolt unlocking sequence, allowing gas pressures to drop to a safe level before the seal between the chamber and the bolt

2812-413: The bolt carrier travels before acting on the locking lug. The Kalashnikov platform then uses an extractor claw along with a fin shaped ejector to eject the spent cartridge case. The rifle received a barrel with a chrome-lined bore and four right-hand grooves at a 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in) or 31.5 calibers rifling twist rate . The gas block contains a gas channel that is installed at a slanted angle with

2886-415: The bolt open when empty; however, most AK magazine followers allow the bolt to close when the magazine is empty. Accessories supplied with the rifle include a 387 mm (15.2 in) long 6H3 bayonet featuring a 200 mm (7.9 in) long spear point blade. The AK-47 bayonet is installed by slipping the 17.7 mm (0.70 in) diameter muzzle ring around the muzzle and latching the handle down on

2960-527: The bore axis. The " point-blank range " battle zero setting " П " standing for постоянная (constant) on the 7.62×39mm AK-47 rear tangent sight element corresponds to a 300 m (328 yd) zero. These settings mirror the Mosin–Nagant and SKS rifles, which the AK-47 replaced. For the AK-47 combined with service cartridges, the 300 m battle zero setting limits the apparent "bullet rise" within approximately −5 to +31 cm (−2.0 to 12.2 in) relative to

3034-399: The bore axis. The muzzle is threaded for the installation of various muzzle devices such as a muzzle brake or a blank-firing adaptor . The gas block of the AK-47 features a cleaning rod capture or sling loop. Gas relief ports that alleviate gas pressure are placed horizontally in a row on the gas cylinder. The fire selector is a large lever located on the right side of the rifle; it acts as

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3108-413: The bullet itself makes, especially when the bullet yaws. To fire, the operator inserts a loaded magazine, pulls back and releases the charging handle, and then pulls the trigger . In semi-automatic, the firearm fires only once, requiring the trigger to be released and depressed again for the next shot. In fully automatic, the rifle continues to fire automatically cycling fresh rounds into the chamber until

3182-458: The bullet tumbles (yaws) in tissue, but produces relatively minor wounds in cases where the bullet exits before beginning to yaw. In the absence of yaw, the M43 round can pencil through tissue with relatively little injury. Most, if not all, of the 7.62×39mm ammunition found today is of the upgraded M67 variety. This variety deleted the steel insert, shifting the center of gravity rearward, and allowing

3256-403: The fact that it does not have a device that disconnects the trigger from the sear when firing in single shot. The trigger, cocked by the rolling bolt stem, in the cocked position is captured by a spring-loaded stop on the trigger, and when the trigger is released, the trigger is intercepted by the sear protrusion of the trigger. The flag-type fire mode switch safety is located on the right side of

3330-436: The ground. The AK-47 can also mount a (rarely used) cup-type grenade launcher , the Kalashnikov grenade launcher that fires standard RGD-5 Soviet hand grenades. The maximum effective range is approximately 150 meters. This launcher can also be used to launch tear gas and riot control grenades. All current AKs (100 series) and some older models have side rails for mounting a variety of scopes and sighting devices, such as

3404-411: The guide and ejector rails, causing high rejection rates. Instead of halting production, a heavy machined receiver was substituted for the sheet metal receiver. Even though production of these milled rifles started in 1951, they were officially referred to as AK-49, based on the date their development started, but they are widely known in the collectors' and current commercial market as "Type 2 AK-47". This

3478-609: The later developed AK-74, M16A1, and M16A2 rifles were measured by the US military under ideal proving ground conditions in the 1980s as follows: Under worst field exercise circumstances, the hit probabilities for all the tested rifles were drastically reduced, from 34% at 50m down to 3–4% at 600m with no significant differences between weapons at each range. The following table represents the Russian circular error probable method for determining accuracy, which involves drawing two circles on

3552-465: The left side of the weapon. This design had many similarities to the StG 44. In late 1946, as the rifles were being tested, one of Kalashnikov's assistants, Aleksandr Zaitsev, suggested a major redesign to improve reliability. At first, Kalashnikov was reluctant, given that their rifle had already fared better than its competitors. Eventually, however, Zaitsev managed to persuade Kalashnikov. In November 1947,

3626-413: The line of sight. Soldiers are instructed to fire at any target within this range by simply placing the sights on the center of mass (the belt buckle, according to Russian and former Soviet doctrine) of the enemy target. Any errors in range estimation are tactically irrelevant, as a well-aimed shot will hit the torso of the enemy soldier. Some AK-type rifles have a front sight with a flip-up luminous dot that

3700-440: The magazine is exhausted or pressure is released from the trigger. After ignition of the cartridge primer and propellant, rapidly expanding propellant gases are diverted into the gas cylinder above the barrel through a vent near the muzzle. The build-up of gases inside the gas cylinder drives the long-stroke piston and bolt carrier rearward and a cam guide machined into the underside of the bolt carrier, along with an ejector spur on

3774-402: The majority of foreign manufacturers are producing AK-type rifles without proper licensing . The AK-47's accuracy is generally sufficient to hit an adult male torso out to about 300 m (328 yd), though even experts firing from prone or bench rest positions at this range were observed to have difficulty placing ten consecutive rounds on target. Later designs did not significantly improve

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3848-486: The majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact . The model and its variants owe their global popularity to their reliability under harsh conditions, low production cost (compared to contemporary weapons), availability in virtually every geographic region, and ease of use. The AK has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces and insurgencies throughout

3922-603: The most ubiquitous variant of the entire AK series of firearms. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK light machine gun, an AK-type weapon with a stronger receiver, a longer heavy barrel, and a bipod, that eventually replaced the RPD light machine gun. Mikhail Kalashnikov began his career as a weapon designer in 1941 while recuperating from a shoulder wound that he received during the Battle of Bryansk . Kalashnikov himself stated..."I

3996-478: The new prototypes (AK-47s) were completed. The rifle used a long-stroke gas piston above the barrel. The upper and lower receivers were combined into a single receiver. The selector and safety were combined into a single control lever/dust cover on the right side of the rifle and the bolt handle was attached to the bolt carrier. This simplified the design and production of the rifle. The first army trial series began in early 1948. The new rifle proved to be reliable under

4070-413: The original language. For translating synthetic languages , a morphosyntactic analyzer and synthesizer are required. The best systems today use a combination of the above technologies and apply algorithms to correct the "natural" sound of the translation. In the end, though, professional translation firms that employ machine translation use it as a tool to create a rough translation that is then tweaked by

4144-430: The original three receiver types. In most former Eastern Bloc countries, the weapon is known simply as the "Kalashnikov" or "AK". The differences between the milled and stamped receivers includes the use of rivets rather than welds on the stamped receiver, as well as the placement of a small dimple above the magazine well for stabilization of the magazine. In 1974, the Soviets began replacing their AK-47 and AKM rifles with

4218-405: The projectile to destabilize (or yaw) at about 3.3 in (8.4 cm), nearly 6.7 in (17 cm) earlier in tissue than the M43 round. This change also reduces penetration in ballistic gelatin to ~25 in (64 cm) for the newer M67 round versus ~29 in (74 cm) for the older M43 round. However, the wounding potential of M67 is mostly limited to the small permanent wound channel

4292-455: The rifle's accuracy. An AK can fire a 10-shot group of 5.9 in (15 cm) at 100 m (109 yd), and 17.5 in (44 cm) at 300 m (328 yd) The newer stamped-steel receiver AKM models, while more rugged and less prone to metal fatigue, are less accurate than the forged/milled receivers of their predecessors: the milled AK-47s are capable of shooting 3 to 5 in (8 to 13 cm) groups at 100 yd (91 m), whereas

4366-458: The rifle's camouflage and lacked the small horizontal reinforcing ribs running down both sides of the magazine body near the front that were added on all later plastic magazine generations. A second-generation steel-reinforced dark-brown (color shades vary from maroon to plum to near black ) 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine was introduced in the early 1980s, fabricated from ABS plastic. The third generation steel-reinforced 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine

4440-490: The stamped AKMs are capable of shooting 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) groups at 100 yd (91 m). The best shooters can hit a man-sized target at 800 m (875 yd) within five shots (firing from a prone or bench rest position) or ten shots (standing). The single-shot hit-probability on the NATO E-type Silhouette Target (a human upper body half and head silhouette) of the AK-47 and

4514-425: The supporting surfaces of the breech, after which the rolling stem picks up the larva and moves with it. The stem guides are the bends of a stamped bolt box with a minimum contact area, which makes the moving system insensitive to contamination. The hammer-type trigger mechanism, with interception of the trigger, allows firing in single shots and in bursts. This is a unique mechanism, characterized by simplicity due to

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4588-429: The target, one for the maximum vertical dispersion of hits and one for the maximum horizontal dispersion of hits. They then disregard the hits on the outer part of the target and only count half of the hits (50% or R 50 ) on the inner part of the circles. This significantly reduces the overall diameter of the groups. They then use both the vertical and horizontal measurements of the reduced groups to measure accuracy. When

4662-613: The titles of 19th-century English translations of the classical Bible and other texts. Word-for-word translations ("cribs", "ponies", or "trots") are sometimes prepared for writers who are translating a work written in a language they do not know. For example, Robert Pinsky is reported to have used a literal translation in preparing his translation of Dante 's Inferno (1994), as he does not know Italian. Similarly, Richard Pevear worked from literal translations provided by his wife, Larissa Volokhonsky, in their translations of several Russian novels. Literal translation can also denote

4736-424: The weapon from firing out of battery (without the bolt being fully closed), during rapid or fully automatic fire. This is also sometimes referred to as a "cyclic rate reducer", or simply "rate reducer", as it also has the effect of reducing the number of rounds fired per minute during fully automatic fire. The rifle was also roughly one-third lighter than the previous model. Most licensed and unlicensed productions of

4810-415: The weapon on the fire control handle, in front of the trigger. On the latest samples, the barrel was shortened by 100 mm, and the safety switch was moved to the left side of the weapon in a position more convenient for operating it with the thumb of the right hand. Sights consist of an adjustable front sight, protected by a front sight, and a sector sight. The cartridges are fed from a sector magazine with

4884-460: The words are used together in a phrase or sentence. In translation theory , another term for literal translation is metaphrase (as opposed to paraphrase for an analogous translation). It is to be distinguished from an interpretation (done, for example, by an interpreter ). Literal translation leads to mistranslation of idioms , which can be a serious problem for machine translation . The term "literal translation" often appeared in

4958-498: The world. As of 2004, "of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s". The model is the basis for the development of many other types of individual, crew-served, and specialized firearms. During World War II , the Sturmgewehr 44 rifle used by German forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts. The select-fire rifle

5032-456: Was a more costly process, but the use of machined receivers accelerated production as tooling and labor for the earlier Mosin–Nagant rifle's machined receiver were easily adapted. Partly because of these problems, the Soviets were not able to distribute large numbers of the new rifles to soldiers until 1956. During this time, production of the interim SKS rifle continued. Once the manufacturing difficulties of non-milled receivers had been overcome,

5106-600: Was chambered for a new intermediate cartridge , the 7.92×33mm Kurz , and combined the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle. On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR . The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own, to replace

5180-636: Was finished with the Russian amber shellac finishing process. AKS and AKMS models featured a downward-folding metal butt-stock similar to that of the German MP40 submachine-gun , for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle , as well as by paratroops. All 100 series AKs use plastic furniture with side-folding stocks. The standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds. There are also 10-, 20-, and 40-round box magazines, as well as 75-round drum magazines. The AK-47's standard 30-round magazines have

5254-504: Was given some 7.62×39mm M43 cartridges and informed that other designers were working on weapons for this new Soviet small-arms cartridge. It was suggested that a new weapon might well lead to greater things. He then undertook work on the new rifle. In 1944, he entered a design competition with this new 7.62×39mm, semi-automatic, gas-operated, long-stroke piston carbine, strongly influenced by the American M1 Garand. The new rifle

5328-468: Was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: 'Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men when the Germans have automatics?' So I designed one. I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov—AK—and it carried the year of its first manufacture, 1947." The AK-47 is best described as

5402-632: Was in the lead until the end of December 1947. In January 1948, the tests were completed. Only the Bulkin AB-46 / TKB-415 assault rifle, when firing in short bursts from a rest under the forend, showed accuracy that satisfied the TTT, and also together with A. A. Dementyev's KB-P-410 rifle, as in previous tests, consistently showed slightly better results in accuracy of fire with automatic fire from unstable positions. In terms of simplicity of design, ease of disassembly and assembly, and maintenance during firing,

5476-493: Was in the same class as the SKS-45 carbine, with a fixed magazine and gas tube above the barrel. However, the new Kalashnikov design lost out to a Simonov design. In 1946, a new design competition was initiated to develop a new rifle. Kalashnikov submitted a gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke gas piston above the barrel, a breechblock mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine, and a curved 30-round magazine. Kalashnikov's rifles,

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