132-510: JSC Kalashnikov Concern (Russian: Конце́рн Кала́шников , romanized : Kontsérn Kaláshnikov , IPA: [kɐnˈt͡sɛrn kɐˈɫaʂnʲɪkəf] ; Udmurt : Сюлмаськон Калашников ), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (Russian: Иже́вский машинострои́тельный Заво́д (ИЖМАШ) , romanized : Izhévsky mashinostroítelny Zavod (IZhMASh) ; Udmurt : Ижкар машиналэсьтонъя завод (ИЖМАШ) ),
264-515: A design bureau was established in the IGSF. After the formation of the Soviet Union in 1922, large changes came to the IGSF. The state's first hunting gun factory was opened on the enterprise's premises in the same year. The IGSF required more highly trained personnel in order to accommodate new production and to work on newer machines. Thus, by 1929, IGSF-bound personnel had to be trained at
396-442: A native Russian keyboard layout ( JCUKEN ). In the latter case, they would type using a system of transliteration fitted for their keyboard layout , such as for English QWERTY keyboards, and then use an automated tool to convert the text into Cyrillic. There are a number of distinct and competing standards for the romanization of Russian Cyrillic , with none of them having received much popularity, and, in reality, transliteration
528-473: A smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus , capable of penetrating plate armour . By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually disappeared as the use of heavy armour declined, but musket continued as the generic term for smoothbore long guns until the mid-19th century. In turn, this style of musket was retired in the 19th century when rifled muskets (simply called rifles in modern terminology) using
660-677: A 1,400-strong Qing-Joseon force and were defeated again by Joseon musketeers. Under the Three Branch System, similar to the Spanish Tercio , Joseon organized their army under firearm troops (artillery and musketeers), archers, and pikemen or swordsmen. The percentage of firearms in the Joseon army rose dramatically as a result of the shorter training period for firearms. In addition, the sulphur mines discovered in Jinsan reduced
792-587: A 40% record yearly increase in weapons production for domestic needs and for export and also completed one licensed production agreement. The Concern reported in May 2023 that it had achieved a 10-year record in weapons deliveries during the first quarter of the year and that it has established a drone production unit. It was reported in late August 2023 that the production of 9K121 Vikhr , Strela and Kitolov missiles rose almost 1.5 fold. The company said in January 2024 that
924-575: A Latin alphabet for the Russian language was discussed in 1929–30 during the campaign of latinisation of the languages of the USSR , when a special commission was created to propose a latinisation system for Russian. The letters of the Latin script are named in Russian as following (and are borrowed from French and/or German ): Muskets A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as
1056-510: A century of peace and the people not being familiar with warfare that this happened, it was really because the Japanese had the use of muskets that could reach beyond several hundred paces, that always pierced what they struck, that came like the wind and the hail, and with which bows and arrows could not compare. Arquebuses were imported by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) at an uncertain point, but
1188-463: A century. The musketeers were the first infantry to give up armour entirely. Musketeers began to take cover behind walls or in sunken lanes and sometimes acted as skirmishers to take advantage of their ranged weapons. In England, the musket barrel was cut down from 4 ft (1.2 m) to 3 ft (0.91 m) around 1630. The number of musketeers relative to pikemen increased partly because they were now more mobile than pikemen. Muskets of
1320-720: A decline in demand and competition with overseas firearm manufacturers. As a result, Izhmash created the Saiga semi-automatic rifle , and started producing the Tigr , a civilian version of the SVD which was created back in the 1970s, in batches. Izhmash also expanded to the Western market, which was extremely successful, especially with the Saiga. Izhmash also created two new sniper rifles, the SV-98 and
1452-419: A far longer range, while preserving the musket's comparatively faster reloading rate. Their use led to a decline in the use of massed attacking formations, as these formations were too vulnerable to the accurate, long-range fire a rifle could produce. In particular, attacking troops were within range of the defenders for a longer period of time, and the defenders could also fire at them more quickly than before. As
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#17327799038791584-535: A gun designer. In 1947, Kalashnikov created his assault rifle , the 7.62×39mm AK-47 . The AK-47 became the standard rifle of the Soviet Army in the same year, and later grew popular around the world. The AK-47 gave the plant fame and newer potential in the arms industry . The plant also created newer hunting weapons based out of the Mosin–Nagant rifle as well as sporting weapons. These sporting weapons helped
1716-475: A leading global small arms manufacturer. Izhmash was later reestablished through assets consolidation by 2012. As a result, there was a threefold increase in profits and a 10% cut in costs. In 2011, Izhmash increased the utilization rate of modern multipurpose equipment from 20% to 70%. The effect from the efforts to enhance production performance amounts to ₽ 100 million. On 13 August 2013, Izhmash and Izhmekh (formerly Izhevsk Mechanical Plant) merged , with
1848-445: A multi-level management system, high overheads and doubled up functions. The combined liability of Izhmash in early 2011 was ₽ 19 billion. The use of the existing modern equipment hardly exceeded 20%. As a result, Rostec took control of Izhmash and started restructuring and consolidating the company in 2011. According to Rostec, one of the objectives was to retain its research, industrial and human resources and turn Izhmash into
1980-468: A name change. Trigger guards began appearing in 1575. Bayonets were attached to muskets in several parts of the world from the late 16th to 17th centuries. Locks came in many different varieties. Early matchlock and wheel lock mechanisms were replaced by later flintlock mechanisms and finally percussion locks . In some parts of the world, such as China and Japan, the flintlock mechanism never caught on and they continued using matchlocks until
2112-452: A random direction from the aiming point. The practice of rifling, putting grooves in the barrel of a weapon, causing the projectile to spin on the same axis as the line of flight, prevented this veering off from the aiming point. Rifles already existed in Europe by the late 15th century, but they were primarily used as sporting weapons and had little presence in warfare. The problem with rifles
2244-599: A rapid pace for the Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars , mainly in the French invasion of Russia , even though construction of the armory had not been finished yet. During the first four years, the factory produced 2,000 long guns. In 1814, the output grew up to 10,000 guns and almost 2,500 backswords. By 1830, the armory achieved the desired annual output of 25,000 long guns and 5,000 backswords. Starting in
2376-529: A report presented to the Council of Ten on 24 September 1572, observed: They used for arms, swords, lances, arquebuses, which all the soldiers carry and use; their arms are also superior and better tempered than those of any other nation. The barrels of the arquebuses are generally six spans long and carry a ball little less than three ounces in weight. They use them with such facility that it does not hinder them drawing their bows nor handling their swords, keeping
2508-418: A result, while 18th-century attackers would only be within range of the defenders' weapons for the time it would take to fire a few shots, late-19th-century attackers might suffer dozens of volleys before they drew close to the defenders, with correspondingly high casualty rates. However, the use of massed attacks on fortified positions were not immediately replaced with new tactics, and as a result, major wars of
2640-403: A round ball, Nessler ball or Minié ball all wrapped up in paper. Cartridges would then be placed in a cartridge box, which would typically be worn on the musketeer's belt during a battle. Unlike a modern cartridge, this paper cartridge was not simply loaded into the weapon and fired. Instead, the musketeer would tear open the paper (usually with his teeth), pour some of the powder into the pan and
2772-489: A shot, and only then are they allowed to give fire. Each time the trumpet gives a blast, they fire one time, spread out in battle array according to the drilling patterns. If the trumpet keeps blasting without stopping, then they are allowed to fire all together until their fire is exhausted, and it's not necessary [in this case] to divide into layers. Frederick Lewis Taylor claims that a kneeling volley fire may have been employed by Prospero Colonna 's arquebusiers as early as
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#17327799038792904-418: A small piece of cloth for cleaning. A variation on the worm called the "screw and wiper" combined the typical design of a worm with a ball puller's screw. The heavy arquebus known as the musket appeared in Europe by 1521. In response to firearms, thicker armour was produced, from 15 kg (33 lb 1 oz) in the 15th century to 25 kg (55 lb 2 oz) in the late 16th century. Armour that
3036-591: A successful military operation in Korea during the Japanese invasions of Korea . Korean chief state councillor Ryu Seong-ryong noted the clear superiority of the Japanese musketeers over the Korean archers: In the 1592 invasion, everything was swept away. Within a fortnight or a month the cities and fortresses were lost, and everything in the eight directions had crumbled. Although it was [partly] due to there having been
3168-587: A wide range of other precision weapons including remote controlled weapon stations , unmanned vehicles and military robots . The Kalashnikov Concern produces about 95% of all small arms in Russia and supplies to more than 27 countries around the world, making it the largest firearm manufacturer in Russia. Notable products include the Kalashnikov (AK) assault rifle series , the RPK light machine gun series,
3300-498: Is a Russian defense manufacturing concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia as well as the capital city of Moscow. The concern designs and produces a wide range of civilian and military weapons including assault rifles , sniper rifles , designated marksman rifles , machine guns , squad automatic weapons , hunting rifles , shotguns , guided artillery projectiles, and
3432-413: Is a diminutive of mosca , a fly. The first recorded usage of the term "musket" or moschetti appeared in Europe in the year 1499. Evidence of the musket as a type of firearm does not appear until 1521 when it was used to describe a heavy arquebus capable of penetrating heavy armour. This version of the musket fell out of use after the mid-16th century with the decline of heavy armour; however,
3564-597: Is often carried out without any consistent standards. Scientific transliteration, also known as the International Scholarly System , is a system that has been used in linguistics since the 19th century. It is based on the Czech alphabet and formed the basis of the GOST and ISO systems. OST 8483 was the first Soviet standard on romanization of Russian, introduced on 16 October 1935. Developed by
3696-485: Is sounded, at which the musketeers fire in concert, either all at once or in five volleys (齊放一次盡擧或分五擧)." This training method proved to be quite formidable in the 1619 Battle of Sarhu , in which 10,000 Korean musketeers managed to kill many Manchus before their allies surrendered. While Korea went on to lose both wars against the Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636 , their musketeers were well respected by Manchu leaders. It
3828-706: Is the main system of the Oxford University Press, and a variation was used by the British Library to catalogue publications acquired up to 1975. The Library of Congress system (ALA-LC) is used for newer acquisitions. The BGN/PCGN system is relatively intuitive for Anglophones to read and pronounce. In many publications, a simplified form of the system is used to render English versions of Russian names, typically converting ë to yo , simplifying -iy and -yy endings to -y , and omitting apostrophes for ъ and ь . It can be rendered using only
3960-520: The Battle of Bicocca (1522). However, this has been called into question by Tonio Andrade who believes this is an over interpretation as well as mis-citation of a passage by Charles Oman suggesting that the Spanish arquebusiers kneeled to reload, when in fact Oman never made such a claim. This is contested by Idan Sherer, who quotes Paolo Giovio saying that the arquebusiers kneeled to reload so that
4092-751: The Berezin UB aircraft machine gun armament, the 37mm Shpitalny Sh-37 and Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 aircraft guns, and sniper rifles with optic sights, along with the TT pistol and the Nagant M1895 revolver . A total of 11,450,000 rifles and carbines were produced in the plant, exceeding all the combined German firearm manufacturers' outputs of 10.3 million. Besides firearms, the plant also produced over 15,000 aircraft guns and over 130,000 anti-tank weapons . On 20 July 1942, Plant No. 622 separated itself from Plant No. 74, using equipment transferred from
Kalashnikov Concern - Misplaced Pages Continue
4224-713: The Dragunov SVD semi-automatic sniper rifle , the SKS semi-automatic carbine , the Makarov PM pistol , the Saiga-12 shotgun , and the submachine guns Vityaz-SN and PP-19 Bizon . These firearms, except for the SVD, SKS and the PM, were based on the famous AK series, due to its reliability to endure harsh conditions, low production costs, availability in nearly every geographical region, and ease of use. As of 2018, 26% of
4356-557: The Khamovniki District in the capital city of Moscow. JSC "Kalashnikov Concern" is composed of the two largest firearm manufacturers in Izhevsk : JSC "Kalashnikov Concern" divides its firearm products into three brands. JSC "Kalashnikov Concern" has four subsidiaries : Vladimir Grodetsky, who headed Izhmash NPO since 1996 as general director left the bureau in 2011. He was later replaced by Maxim Kuzyuk , who left
4488-468: The Minié ball (invented by Claude-Étienne Minié in 1849) became common. The development of breech-loading firearms using self-contained cartridges (introduced by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1835) and the first reliable repeating rifles produced by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1860 also led to their demise. By the time that repeating rifles became common, they were known as simply "rifles", ending
4620-602: The Musket Wars period in New Zealand, between 1805 and 1843, at least 500 conflicts took place between various Māori tribes—often using trade muskets in addition to traditional Māori weapons. The muskets were initially cheap Birmingham muskets designed for the use of coarse grain black powder. Maori favoured the shorter barrel versions. Some tribes took advantage of runaway sailors and escaped convicts to expand their understanding of muskets. Early missionaries—one of whom
4752-478: The Napoleonic Wars , especially during the French invasion of Russia , firearms were quickly produced for the Russian army, even though the arsenal had not been finished yet. In the first four years, the factory produced 2,000 long-barreled guns; in 1814, production increased to 10,000 guns and 2,500 swords; by 1830, desired annual output was 25,000 long-barreled guns and 5,000 backswords. Between 1811 and 1816, ten stone factory buildings, several wooden buildings and
4884-568: The Russian language (the transliteration of Russian text from the Cyrillic script into the Latin script ), aside from its primary use for including Russian names and words in text written in a Latin alphabet, is also essential for computer users to input Russian text who either do not have a keyboard or word processor set up for inputting Cyrillic, or else are not capable of typing rapidly using
5016-457: The SVT-38 self-loading rifle and the TT pistol , made by Fedor Tokorev . This gave rise to a flow line method of production. In 1938, the conveyor belt was implemented into the assembly of gun barrels and other parts, greatly increasing the production rate of firearms for the Soviet Army . In 1933, a New Design Bureau, "BNK", was established at the factory to develop and modify firearms. Today,
5148-829: The Soviet Union 's team to win shooting competitions in European championships and the Summer Olympic Games numerous times. Kalashnikov later designed newer firearms: the AKM and the AK-74 assault rifle, the RPK light machine gun , and the PK belt-fed machine gun. These firearms helped contribute to greater firepower for the Soviet Army as well as numerous nations that had imported them. Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant gun designer Yevgeny Dragunov also help contribute to
5280-538: The caplock mechanism for its products in 1845. During the Crimean War , Izhevsk supplied the Russian Imperial Army with 130,000 rifles, with a third of them grooved. By 1857, 50 years after the creation of the armory, over 670,000 flintlock firearms, over 220,000 percussion firearms, over 58 thousand rifles , as well as a plentiful number of swords and lances were produced. In 1867, the armory
5412-472: The caplock mechanism for its products in 1845. During the Crimean War , Izhevsk supplied the Russian Imperial Army with 130,000 rifles, with a third of them grooved. By 1857, 50 years after the creation of the armory, over 670,000 flintlock firearms, over 220,000 percussion firearms, over 58 thousand rifles , as well as a plentiful number of swords and lances were produced. When the methods of high-quality steel production were well mastered, Izhevsk became
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5544-463: The 16th to 19th centuries were accurate enough to hit a target of 50 cm (20 in) in diameter at a distance of 100 m (330 ft). At the same distance, musket bullets could penetrate a steel bib about 4 mm (0.16 in) thick, or a wooden shield about 130 mm (5.1 in) thick. The maximum range of the bullet was 1,100 m (1,200 yd). The speed of the bullets was between 305 and 540 m/s (1,000 and 1,770 ft/s), and
5676-452: The 1800s. The differences between the arquebus and musket post-16th century are therefore not entirely clear, and the two have been used interchangeably on several occasions. Flintlocks are not usually associated with arquebuses. A variation of the musket known as the caliver , a standardized "calibre" (spelled "caliber" in the US), appeared in Europe around 1567–9. According to Jacob de Gheyn,
5808-567: The 1830s, the armory started manufacturing "Gartung" short rifles, "Phalis" breech-loading rifles, and boarding guns for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy . In 1835, the armory transferred cold steel production of swords and lances to Zlatoust , focusing mainly on firearm production. In 1844, the armory started upgrading current guns into more rapid firing percussion muskets. The armory also started using
5940-435: The 1830s, the armory started manufacturing "Gartung" short rifles, "Phalis" breech-loading rifles, and boarding guns for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy . In 1835, the armory transferred cold steel production of swords and lances to Zlatoust , focusing mainly on firearm production. In 1844, the armory started upgrading current guns into more rapid firing percussion muskets. The armory also started using
6072-405: The 19th century when percussion locks were introduced. In the latter half of the 18th century, several improvements were added to the musket. In 1750, a detent was added to prevent the sear from catching in the half-cock notch. A roller bearing was introduced in 1770 to reduce friction and increase sparks. In 1780, waterproof pans were added. The phrase "lock, stock, and barrel" refers to
6204-456: The British Library since 1975. The formal, unambiguous version of the system for bibliographic cataloguing requires some diacritics, two-letter tie characters , and prime marks. The standard is also often adapted as a "simplified" or "modified Library of Congress system" for use in text for a non-specialized audience, omitting the special characters and diacritics, simplifying endings, and modifying iotated initials. British Standard 2979:1958
6336-537: The Concern's shares belong to Rostec , while 74% of the company belongs to private investors ( Alexey Krivoruchko and Andrei Bokarev). The Concern contains three firearm brands: "Kalashnikov" (combat and civilian weapons), "Baikal" (hunting and civilian guns), and "Izhmash" (sporting rifles). The concern is developing new business lines that include remote weapon stations, unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, and multi-functional special-purpose boats. On 10 June 1807 by
6468-476: The European industrial empires' level of armaments. By 1870, production rate at the armory exceeded both the armories of Tula and Sestroretsk . Later, when the methods of high-quality steel production were well mastered, Izhevsk became the source of gun barrels and barrel receivers for Russian plants. For example, armory enterprises in Tula used annually up to 360,000 barrels from the armory at Izhevsk . In 1884,
6600-538: The Great , recruited in 1744 from a Jäger unit of game-keepers and foresters, but the rifle's slow rate of fire still restricted their usage. The invention of the Minié ball in 1849 solved both major problems of muzzle-loading rifles. Rifled muskets of the mid-19th century, like the Springfield Model 1861 which dealt heavy casualties at the Battle of Four Lakes , were significantly more accurate, with
6732-744: The Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant, or simply, Izhmash. During World War II , Engineering Plant No. 74 served as the main firearm manufacturer for the Soviet Armed Forces . Since Operation Barbarossa left the Soviet Union in a very desperate position, the plant produced as many firearms as it was physically capable of, more firearms than its lifespan for 92 years prior. From 1941 to 1942, the plant set up mass production of Vasily Degtyarev 's PTRD anti-tank rifle , Sergei Simonov 's PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle,
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#17327799038796864-528: The Izhevsk Technical School. In 1930, a new open-hearth furnace was put into operation and in-house production of machines at the factory was launched. More re-organization took place in the 1930s, including the conversion of the IGSF into a Chief Designer Bureau, as well as the adoption and production of several new models of firearms: a modified Mosin–Nagant rifle design of 1891/1930, the battle rifle AVS-36 , made by Sergei Simonov , and
6996-542: The Latin Alphabet is an adoption of ISO 9:1995 . It is the official standard of both Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). GOST 52535.1-2006 Identification cards. Machine readable travel documents. Part 1. Machine readable passports is an adoption of an ICAO standard for travel documents. It was used in Russian passports for a short period during 2010–2013 ( see below ). The standard
7128-525: The Ming only began fielding matchlocks in 1548. The Chinese used the term "bird-gun" to refer to arquebuses and Turkish arquebuses may have reached China before Portuguese ones. In Zhao Shizhen's book of 1598 AD, the Shenqipu , there were illustrations of Ottoman Turkish musketeers with detailed illustrations of their muskets, alongside European musketeers with detailed illustrations of their muskets. There
7260-685: The National Administration for Geodesy and Cartography at the USSR Council of Ministers , GOST 16876-71 has been in service since 1973. Replaced by GOST 7.79-2000. This standard is an equivalent of GOST 16876-71 and was adopted as an official standard of the COMECON . GOST 7.79-2000 System of Standards on Information, Librarianship, and Publishing–Rules for Transliteration of the Cyrillic Characters Using
7392-545: The Russian Imperial Army, notably the "Krnk" and " Berdan " type rifles. The Berdan rifle, designed by American firearm expert and inventor Hiram Berdan , became the standard-issue rifle of the Imperial Russian Army in 1870. The Berdan rifle was the most produced firearm of the plant at the time as well, allowing Russia to approach the European industrial empires' level of armaments. In 1884,
7524-666: The Russian military. Thanks to the IGSF, Izhevsk became a large industrial center in Russia. During the First World War , IGSF supplied the Imperial Russian Army with over 1.4 million new rifles and approximately 188,000 remelted shoulder weapons. Prior to the Russian Revolution , the IGSF took leading positions of the Russian defense industry in terms of manufacturing and manpower capacity. By 1917, about 34,000 people worked at IGSF. In 1918,
7656-552: The SV-99, which had a more enhanced fire precision than the regular SVD, for special units of the Russian Armed Forces . Despite the success, by 2008, Izhmash was composed of numerous enterprises that were on the verge of bankruptcy. The Russian state corporation , Rostekhnologii (Russian Technologies, now Rostec), revealed the poor state Izhmash was in by 2010. Only 32 companies of Izhmash were actually operating with
7788-605: The Sri Lankan soldiers to the point where, according to the Portuguese chronicler, Queirós, they could "fire at night to put out a match" and "by day at 60 paces would sever a knife with four or five bullets" and "send as many on the same spot in the target." Despite initial reluctance, the Safavid Empire of Persia rapidly acquired the art of making and using handguns. A Venetian envoy, Vincenzo di Alessandri, in
7920-619: The Stena special vehicles begun in July 2024. On 22 July 2024, the company claimed that production of military and civilian goods has increased by 50% during the first half of the year. On 3 October 2024, the company reported that it is ramping up the production of aircraft guns because of a multiple growth of order volumes. On 22 November 2024, the company stated that it had completed the 2024 state order for small arms ahead of schedule. JSC "Kalashnikov Concern" has its headquarters in city of Izhevsk and
8052-577: The Wokou pirates in Zhejiang Province. Qi Jiguang trained troops in their use for several years until they [muskets] became one of the skills of the Chinese, who subsequently used them to defeat the Japanese." By 1607 Korean musketeers had been trained in the fashion which Qi Jiguang prescribed, and a drill manual had been produced based on the Chinese leader's Jixiao Xinshu . Of the volley fire,
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#17327799038798184-461: The ability to hit a man-sized target at a distance of 500 yards (460 m) or more. The smoothbore musket generally allowed no more than 300 yards (270 m) with any accuracy. The Crimean War (1853–1856) saw the first widespread use of the rifled musket for the common infantryman and by the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865) most infantry were equipped with the rifled musket. These were far more accurate than smoothbore muskets and had
8316-401: The appointment of Alexei Krivoruchko, its new shareholder, as CEO of the Kalashnikov Concern, replacing Konstantin Busygin. He took up his duties on 31 January 2014. According to the interlocutor of the agency, since 2011, this is the fourth change of the general director at the enterprise. In August 2021 Vladimir Lepin was appointed Kalashnikov Concern CEO in place of Dmitry Tarasov. Although
8448-527: The arsenal produced seven long guns , five pistols and six backswords . The first weapons developed by the armory were the No. 15 17.7mm muskets , produced in the autumn of 1807. In 1808, the musket was later mass-produced for infantry equipping. The plant supplied the Imperial Russian Army with over 6,000 of the No. 15 17.7mm muskets. In 1809, the arsenal produced rifles , muskets , carbines , and flint explosives for cavalry units. It also produced pistols and gun parts and remelted trophy weapons. During
8580-487: The arsenal was under construction in 1807, production of weapons immediately started: mainly long guns , pistols , and backswords . One notable long gun the arsenal made was the No. 15 17.7mm muskets, of which 6,000 of them were supplied to the Imperial Russian Army . The arsenal later manufactured rifles, muskets , carbines , and flint blunderbusses for cavalry in 1809. The venture also produced pistols and gun parts and remelted trophy weapons. Firearms were produced at
8712-521: The back. The second rank, either marching forward or standing still, [will next] fire together [and] then march to the back. After that, the third and following ranks will do the same. Thus before the last ranks have fired, the first will have reloaded. In the 18th century, regular light infantry began to emerge. In contrast to the front-line infantry, they fought in the loose formation, used natural shelters and terrain folds. In addition, they were better prepared to target single targets. This type of troops
8844-427: The basic letters and punctuation found on English-language keyboards: no diacritics or unusual letters are required, although the interpunct character (·) may be used to avoid ambiguity. This particular standard is part of the BGN/PCGN romanization system which was developed by the United States Board on Geographic Names and by the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use . The portion of
8976-401: The bureau in June 2012. Alexander Kosov was later appointed as a temporary general director of the bureau from June to December. In December 2012, Konstantin Busygin was appointed general director of Izhmash. Busygin was later responsible for transformation of Izhmash and Izhmekh into the JSC "Kalashnikov" Concern, of which he became CEO. On 30 January 2014, Rostec 's supervisory board approved
9108-477: The bureau is named the "Armory Design Center" (KOC). In the bureau's lifetime, about 300 models of small-arms, air ordnance, sport, hunting weapons, and other types of equipment were developed, most of which was in series production at the plant. In 1939, the main plant of the IGSF, Plant No. 180,was split into two independent enterprises: Metallurgical Plant No. 71 and Engineering Plant No. 74, which manufactured weapons. Engineering Plant No. 74 would later be renamed
9240-601: The caliver was a smaller musket that did not require a fork rest. Benerson Little described it as a "light musket". Matchlock firearms were used in India by 1500, in Đại Việt by 1516, and in Southeast Asia by 1540. According to a Burmese source from the late 15th century, King Minkhaung II would not dare attack the besieged town of Prome due to the defenders' use of cannon and small arms that were described as muskets, although these were probably early matchlock arquebuses or wall guns . The Portuguese may have introduced muskets to Sri Lanka during their conquest of
9372-426: The civilian production output by 50% and the firearms production by 9% at comparison with the same period of 2023 and also raised revenues by 37% and started to supply upgraded AK-12 assault rifles of the 2023 model. In the next month, the Concern reportedly started supplies of the civilian electrically-powered and VTOL Legionnaire drone which is used for cargo delivery, terrain sensing and video monitoring. Supplies of
9504-573: The coastline and lowlands in 1505, as they regularly used short barrelled matchlocks during combat. However, P. E. P. Deraniyagala points out that the Sinhalese term for gun, 'bondikula', matches the Arabic term for gun, 'bunduk'. Also, certain technical aspects of the early Sri Lankan matchlock were similar to the matchlocks used in the Middle East, thus forming the generally accepted theory that
9636-406: The concern's civilian firearms , the concern was forced to rethink its marketing strategy. The concern opened five new markets and started selling its civilian firearms to ten new foreign countries, which helped the concern make up for its losses. In the same year, Kalashnikov Concern has presented "Strategy 2020", which includes technical re-equipment and production modernization. When implemented,
9768-461: The decree of the Emperor of All Russias Alexander I a firearms factory was established in the city of Izhevsk , the construction and operation of which was headed by the chief mining engineer of the city ironworks Andrey Deryabin. Architects, Semyon Yemelyanovich Dudin and Andrey Deryabin developed a long-term master plan for further comprehensive development of the arsenal. Due to the proximity of
9900-414: The double-barrel shot gun ( Tuparra – two barrel) during fighting often using women to reload the weapons when fighting from a Pā (fortified village or hillfort). They often resorted to using nails, stones or anything convenient as "shot". From the 1850s, Māori were able to obtain superior military style muskets with greater range. One of the authors was a Pakeha (European) who lived among Māori, spoke
10032-500: The enemy with either fire or bayonet. This allowed the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic infantry a much greater degree of mobility compared to their Ancien Régime opponents, and also allowed much closer cooperation of infantry with cavalry and artillery, which were free to move in between the infantry columns of the former rather than being trapped in between the linear formation of the latter. The colonne d'attaque
10164-637: The entire infantry. In the 19th century, a new tactic was devised by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars . This was the ' colonne d'attaque' , or attack column, consisting of one regiment up to two brigades of infantry. Instead of advancing slowly all across the battlefield in line formations, the French infantry were brought forward in such columns, preceded by masses of skirmishers to cover and mask their advance. The column would then normally deploy into line right before engaging
10296-533: The era of the musket. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, firearms were often named after animals, and the word musket derived from the French word mousquette , which is a male sparrowhawk . An alternative theory is that derives from the 16th-century French mousquet, -ette , from the Italian moschetti, -etta , meaning the bolt of a crossbow . The Italian moschetti
10428-618: The evacuated mechanical plants at Tula and Podolsk . During the war, the plant manufactured more than 1 million pistols and 200,000 anti-tank rifles. Plant No. 622 would later be renamed as the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant , or simply, Izhmekh. After World War II , the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant later recovered the production of its civilian arms and transportation. The plant also hired war veteran and ex-tank driver and mechanic, Mikhail T. Kalashnikov , after noticing his submachine gun design that gave him distinction as
10560-665: The expense of producing gunpowder. Under the reign of Sukjong of Joseon (1700s), 76.4% of the local standing army in Chungcheong were musketeers. Under the reign of King Yeongjo , Yoon Pil-Un, Commander of the Sua-chung, improved on firearms with the Chunbochong (천보총), which had a greater range of fire than the existing ones. Its usage is thought to have been similar to the Afghan jezail or American long rifle . During
10692-591: The first file has finished shooting they make space for the next (which is coming up to shoot) without turning face, countermarching [contrapassando] to the left but showing the enemy only the side of their bodies, which is the narrowest of the body, and [taking their place at the rear] about one to three steps behind, with five or six pellets in their mouths, and two lighted matchlock fuses ... and they load [their pieces] promptly ... and return to shoot when it's their turn again." Most historians, including Geoffrey Parker , have ignored Eguiluz, and have erroneously attributed
10824-468: The government contracts for sniper rifles had increased by 8 times in the past year. It was also said that the production of "special equipment" increased by 45% in 2023 and the production of combat pistols by 5 times. The company reported in February 2024 that the production of drones has increased by 60% since 2022. Kalashnikov reported in May 2024 that during the first quarter of the year it had increased
10956-414: The guns (銃裝不及), and frequently this mismanagement costs the lives of many people. Thus, whenever the enemy gets to within a hundred paces' distance, they [the musketeers] are to wait until they hear a blast on the bamboo flute, at which they deploy themselves in front of the troops, with each platoon (哨) putting in front one team (隊). They [the musketeer team members] wait until they hear their own leader fire
11088-496: The introduction of a dedicated Latin alphabet for writing the Russian language. Such an alphabet would not necessarily bind closely to the traditional Cyrillic orthography. The transition from Cyrillic to Latin has been proposed several times throughout history (especially during the Soviet era), but was never conducted on a large scale, except for informal romanizations in the computer era. The most serious possibility of adoption of
11220-542: The invention of the countermarch to Maurice of Nassau , although the publication of the Milicia, Discurso y Regla Militar antedates Maurice's first letter on the subject by two years. Regardless, it is clear that the concept of volley fire had existed in Europe for quite some time during the 16th century, but it was in the Netherlands during the 1590s that the musketry volley really took off. The key to this development
11352-566: The ironworks, the armory was supposed to be built on the bank of the Izh River , which immediately solved the problem of raw material supply. Deryabin employed Russian and Udmurtian agricultural workers living in the city. At that time, agricultural workers had to settle in the arsenal and work there. Neighboring settlements were exempt from this rule, but they had to provide the arsenal with carts, horses and harnesses. Deryabin also hired foreign arsenal experts to train Russian craftsmen; in 1807
11484-485: The kinetic energy was 1,600–4,000 J (1,200–3,000 ft⋅lbf). The heavy musket went out of favour around the same time the snaphance flintlock was invented in Europe, in 1550. The snaphance was followed by the "true" flintlock in the late 17th century. While the heavy variant of the arquebus died out due to the decline of heavy armour, the term "musket" itself stuck around as a general term for 'shoulder arms' fireweapons, replacing "arquebus," and remained until
11616-416: The language fluently, had a Māori wife and took part in many intertribal conflicts as a warrior. The musket was a smoothbore firearm and lacked rifling grooves that would have spun the bullet in such a way as to increase its accuracy. The last contact with the musket barrel gives the ball a spin around an axis at right angles to the direction of flight. The aerodynamics result in the ball veering off in
11748-459: The late 19th century and early 20th century tended to produce very high casualty figures. Many soldiers preferred to reduce the standard musket reloading procedures to increase the speed of fire. This statement is from Thomas Anburey who served as a lieutenant in Burgoyne's army: "Here I cannot help observing to you, whether it proceeded from an idea of self-preservation, or natural instinct, but
11880-573: The latter hung at their saddle bows till occasion requires them. The arquebus is then put away behind the back so that one weapon does not impede the use of the other. During the Sengoku period of Japan, arquebuses were introduced by Portuguese merchantmen from the region of Alentejo in 1543 and by the 1560s were being mass-produced locally. By the end of the 16th century, the production of firearms in Japan reached enormous proportions, which allowed for
12012-400: The main tower-like building of the arsenal were constructed. In 1817, the construction of the main arsenal building was completed. This four-story building was one of the first multi-storey industrial buildings in Russia. The production process was multi-layered, starting with rough preparatory work (on the lower floors) and ending with the assembly of weapons (on the upper floors). Starting in
12144-434: The manual says that "every musketeer squad should either divide into two musketeers per layer or one and deliver fire in five volleys or in ten." Another Korean manual produced in 1649 describes a similar process: "When the enemy approaches to within a hundred paces, a signal gun is fired and a conch is blown, at which the soldiers stand. Then a gong is sounded, the conch stops blowing, and the heavenly swan [a double-reed horn]
12276-489: The mid-19th century. The Minié ball was small enough in diameter that it could be loaded as quickly as a round ball, even with a barrel that had been fouled with black powder residue after firing many shots, and the expanding skirt of the Minié ball meant that it would still form a tight fit with the barrel and impart a good spin into the round when fired. This gave the rifled musket an effective range of several hundred yards, which
12408-509: The military. The volley fire technique transformed soldiers carrying firearms into organized firing squads with each row of soldiers firing in turn and reloading in a systematic fashion. Volley fire was implemented with cannons as early as 1388 by Ming artillerists, but volley fire with matchlocks was not implemented until 1526 when the Ottoman Janissaries used it during the Battle of Mohács . The matchlock volley fire technique
12540-496: The more common attachments was a ball screw or ball puller, which was a screw that could be screwed into the lead ball to remove it if it had become jammed in the barrel, similar to the way that a corkscrew is used to remove a wine cork. Another attachment was called a worm, which was used to clear debris from the barrel, such as paper wadding that had not been expelled. Some worm designs were sturdy enough that they could be used to remove stuck ammunition. The worm could also be used with
12672-648: The most produced rifles in mass-produced military bolt-action rifles in history, the Nagant is also used in every war from the time it was developed to the modern day. The rifle was produced from both the Imperial period and the Soviet era , with military production concluded in 1965, but production for civilian use is continued to the modern day. In addition to the Mosin–Nagant rifle, Belgian industrialist Léon Nagant , who
12804-457: The musket was not entirely new to the island by the time the Portuguese came. In any case, soon native Sri Lankan kingdoms, most notably the Kingdom of Sitawaka and the Kingdom of Kandy , manufactured hundreds of Lankan muskets, with a unique bifurcated stock, longer barrel and smaller calibre, which made it more efficient in directing and using the energy of the gunpowder. These were mastered by
12936-587: The new concern named Kalashnikov Concern. Thanks to the merger, Kalashnikov Concern is Russia's largest and most important arms manufacturer . In July 2014, Kalashnikov Concern was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union as a result of the Russian annexation of Crimea and Russian military intervention in Ukraine . Since Europe and the United States were the largest customers of
13068-484: The new system and the old one, citizens who wanted to retain the old version of a name's transliteration, especially one that had been in the old pre-2010 passport, could apply to the local migration office before they acquired a new passport. The standard was abandoned in 2013. In 2013, Order No. 320 of the Federal Migration Service of Russia came into force. It states that all personal names in
13200-509: The passports must be transliterated by using the ICAO system , which is published in Doc 9303 " Machine Readable Travel Documents, Part 3 ". The system differs from the GOST R 52535.1-2006 system in two things: ц is transliterated into ts (as in pre-2010 systems), ъ is transliterated into ie (a novelty). In a second sense, the romanization or Latinization of Russian may also indicate
13332-431: The plant was later returned to the state and became Izhevsk Gun and Steel Factories (IGSF). In 1885, IGSF started manufacturing hunting weapons and tools. In 1891, IGSF started mass-producing the Mosin–Nagant rifle. The IGSF also started using DC generators to produce electricity to illuminate the plant as well as to power the machines. The IGSF was the only Russian enterprise that produced firearms for all branches of
13464-424: The plant was returned to the state and became Izhevsk Gun and Steel Factories (IGSF). In 1885, IGSF started manufacturing hunting weapons and tools. In 1891, IGSF started mass-producing the Mosin–Nagant bolt-action military rifle in a development of nine years, based on the design of the 1898 Mauser rifle (Gewehr 98) with new unique features such as a push feed recessed bolt head. In addition to being one of
13596-508: The plant's fame by creating his SVD sniper rifle . Designed in 1963 and based out of sporting rifles, the SVD became the squad support weapon for the Soviet Army in the same year as well as starting a new trend of semi-automatic sniper rifles . In 1975, the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant changed its name to the Izhmash Industrial Association. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Izhmash struggled with
13728-422: The project will qualitatively improve production technology and greatly reduce running costs and energy consumption while also improving working conditions and overall productivity. On 9 February 2017, Rostec's management board gave permission to transfer Kalashnikov Concern to private investors. As of now, Rostec owns 26% of the concern while private investors own 74%. In 2022, the Concern had reportedly achieved
13860-507: The rest into the barrel, follow it with the ammunition (and the paper as wadding if not using a Minié ball), then use the ramrod as normal to push it all into the barrel. While not as fast as loading a modern cartridge, this method did significantly speed up the loading process since the pre-measured charges meant that the musketeer did not have to carefully measure out the black powder with every shot. Some ramrods were equipped with threaded ends, allowing different attachments to be used. One of
13992-515: The second line of arquebusiers could fire without endangering those in front of them. European gunners might have implemented countermarch to some extent since at least 1579 when the Englishman Thomas Digges suggested that musketeers should, "after the old Romane manner make three or four several fronts, with convenient spaces for the first to retire and unite himselfe with the second, and both these if occasion so require, with
14124-404: The slow reloading time became an increasing problem. The difficulty of reloading—and thus the time needed to do it—was diminished by making the musket ball much smaller than the internal diameter of the barrel, so as the interior of the barrel became dirty from soot from previously fired rounds, the musket ball from the next shot could still be easily rammed. To keep the ball in place once the weapon
14256-401: The soldiers greatly improved the mode they were taught in, as to expedition. For as soon as they had primed their pieces and put the cartridge into the barrel, instead of ramming it down with their rods, they struck the butt end of the piece upon the ground, and bringing it to the present, fired it off". This practice was known as 'tap-loading'. As muskets became the default weapon of armies,
14388-449: The source of gun barrels and barrel receivers for Russian plants. For example, armory enterprises in Tula used annually up to 360,000 barrels from the armory at Izhevsk . In 1867, the armory was reorganized into a lease and a private commercial enterprise. At this time, the armory were renovated and it was equipped with steam-engines, new machines, and an open-hearth furnace. This allowed the armory to produce more breech-loading weapons for
14520-502: The system pertaining to the Russian language was adopted by BGN in 1944 and by PCGN in 1947. In Soviet international passports , transliteration was based on French rules but without diacritics and so all names were transliterated in a French-style system . In 1997, with the introduction of new Russian passports , a diacritic-free English-oriented system was established by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs , but
14652-447: The system was also abandoned in 2010. In 2006, GOST R 52535.1-2006 was adopted, which defines technical requirements and standards for Russian international passports and introduces its own system of transliteration. In 2010, the Federal Migration Service of Russia approved Order No. 26, stating that all personal names in the passports issued after 2010 must be transliterated using GOST R 52535.1-2006. Because of some differences between
14784-418: The term itself stuck around as a general descriptor for "shoulder arms" fire weapons into the 19th century. The differences between the arquebus and musket post-16th century are therefore not entirely clear, and the two have been used interchangeably on several occasions. According to historian David A. Parrot, the concept of the musket as a legitimate innovation is uncertain and may consist of nothing more than
14916-504: The third; the shot [musketeers] having their convenient lanes continually during the fight to discharge their peces." The Spanish too displayed some awareness of the volley technique. Martín de Eguiluz described it in the military manual, Milicia, Discurso y Regla Militar , dating to 1586: "Start with three files of five soldiers each, separated one from the other by fifteen paces, and they should comport themselves not with fury but with calm skillfulness [con reposo diestramente] such that when
15048-439: The three main parts of a musket. Sixteenth- and 17th-century musketeers used bandoliers which held their pre-measured charges and lead balls. The Minié ball , which despite its name was actually bullet-shaped and not ball-shaped, was developed in the 1840s. The Minié ball had an expanding skirt which was intended to be used with rifled barrels, leading to what was called the rifled musket , which came into widespread use in
15180-517: The time. In Korea, the Joseon dynasty underwent a devastating war with the newly unified Japan that lasted from 1592 to 1598. The shock of this encounter spurred the court to undergo a process of military strengthening. One of the core elements of military strengthening was to adopt the musket. According to reformers, "In recent times in China they did not have muskets; they first learned about them from
15312-671: The use of diacritics) that faithfully represents the original and allows for reverse transliteration for Cyrillic text in any contemporary language. The UNGEGN , a Working Group of the United Nations , in 1987 recommended a romanization system for geographical names, which was based on the 1983 version of GOST 16876-71 . It may be found in some international cartographic products. American Library Association and Library of Congress (ALA-LC) romanization tables for Slavic alphabets are used in North American libraries and in
15444-411: Was William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg who in 1594 described the technique in a letter to his cousin: I have discovered ... a method of getting the musketeers and soldiers armed with arquebuses not only to keep firing very well but to do it effectively in battle order ... in the following manner: as soon as the first rank has fired together, then by the drill [they have learned] they will march to
15576-441: Was 2 mm (0.079 in) thick required nearly three times as much energy to penetrate as did armour that was only 1 mm (0.039 in) thick. During the siege of Parma in 1521, many Spanish soldiers reportedly used an "arquebus with rest", a weapon much larger and more powerful than the regular arquebus. However, at this point, long-barrelled, musket-calibre weapons had been in use as wall-defence weapons in Europe for almost
15708-472: Was a co-inventor of, developed the Nagant M1895 revolver . The revolver has a unique "gas-seal" system that provides a boost to muzzle velocity as well as make the weapon suppressed . The sidearm, like the Nagant rifle, was produced in the Soviet era as well, and was mass-produced and used widespread. On 23 August 2018, Kalashnikov Concern introduced a new electric car prototype, the CV-1. Its exterior design
15840-501: Was a significant improvement over the smooth bore musket. For example, combat ranges of 300 yd (270 m) were achievable using the rifled muskets during the American Civil War . Musketeers often used paper cartridges, which served a purpose similar to that of modern metallic cartridges in combining bullet and powder charge. A musket cartridge consisted of a pre-measured amount of black powder and ammunition such as
15972-404: Was a trained gunsmith—refused to help Māori repair muskets. Later, common practice was to enlarge the percussion hole and to hold progressively smaller lead balls between the fingers so that muskets could fire several shots without having to remove fouling. Likewise, Māori resorted to thumping the butt of the musket on the ground to settle the ball instead of using a ramrod. Māori favoured the use of
16104-525: Was also illustration and description of how the Chinese had adopted the Ottoman kneeling position in firing while using European-made muskets, though Zhao Shizhen described the Turkish muskets as being superior to the European muskets. The Wu Pei Chih (1621) later described Turkish muskets that used a rack and pinion mechanism, which was not known to have been used in any European or Chinese firearms at
16236-777: Was based on the rare 1970s Soviet large family car IZh 2125 "Kombi". The range on one charge was claimed to be 350 km. Alongside the reveal of the CV-1, Kalashnikov also showed a prototype for the UV-4 4-door electric quadricycle , with a taxi variant being revealed in August 2019. The UV-4 was shown again in patent images later in November 2021, this time along with a 3-wheel, 2-door vehicle based on it. Kalashnikov USA 56°50′15″N 53°10′57″E / 56.83750°N 53.18250°E / 56.83750; 53.18250 Romanization of Russian The romanization of
16368-402: Was designed to fight against irregular enemy troops, such as militia, guerrillas and natives. At the beginning of the 19th century, the number of light infantry increased dramatically. In the French army, light infantry accounted for 25% of the infantry. In the Russian Army, 50 light infantry regiments and one company in each battalion were formed, which accounted for about 40% of light infantry in
16500-415: Was henceforth adopted by all European armies during and after the Napoleonic Wars . While some British historians, such as Sir Charles Oman , have postulated that it was the standard French tactic to charge enemy lines of infantry head on with their columns, relying on the morale effect of the huge column, and hence were often beaten off by the devastating firepower of the redcoats, more current research into
16632-528: Was loaded, it would be partially wrapped in a small piece of cloth. However, the smaller ball could move within the barrel as the musket was fired, decreasing the accuracy of musket fire (it was complained that it took a man's weight in lead musket balls to kill him). The development of volley fire —by the Ottomans, the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Dutch—made muskets more feasible for widespread adoption by
16764-485: Was next seen in mid-16th-century China as pioneered by Qi Jiguang and in late-16th-century Japan. Qi Jiguang elaborates on his countermarch volley fire technique in the Jixiao Xinshu : All the musketeers, when they get near the enemy are not allowed to fire early, and they're not allowed to just fire everything off in one go, [because] whenever the enemy then approaches close, there won't be enough time to load
16896-453: Was reorganized into a lease and a private commercial enterprise. At this time, the armory was retrofitted and equipped with steam-engines, new machines, and an open-hearth furnace. This allowed the armory to produce more breech-loading weapons for the Russian Imperial Army, notably the "Krnk" and " Berdan " type rifles. The Berdan rifle was the most widely produced firearm at the plant during the time as well, indirectly allowing Russia to approach
17028-458: Was substituted in 2013 by GOST R ISO/ IEC 7501-1-2013, which does not contain romanization, but directly refers to the ICAO romanization ( see below ). Names on street and road signs in the Soviet Union were romanized according to GOST 10807-78 (tables 17, 18), which was amended by newer Russian GOST R 52290-2004 (tables Г.4, Г.5), the romanizations in both the standards are practically identical. ISO/R 9, established in 1954 and updated in 1968,
17160-570: Was the adoption of the scientific transliteration by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It covers Russian and seven other Slavic languages. ISO 9:1995 is the current transliteration standard from ISO. It is based on its predecessor ISO/R 9:1968, which it deprecates; for Russian, the two are the same except in the treatment of five modern letters. ISO 9:1995 is the first language-independent, univocal system of one character for one character equivalents (by
17292-600: Was the first Qing emperor Hong Taiji who wrote: "The Koreans are incapable on horseback but do not transgress the principles of the military arts. They excel at infantry fighting, especially in musketeer tactics." Afterwards, the Qing dynasty requested Joseon to aid in their border conflict with Russia. In 1654, 370 Russians engaged a 1,000-man Qing-Joseon force at the mouth of the Songhua River and were defeated by Joseon musketeers. In 1658, five hundred Russians engaged
17424-463: Was the tendency for powder fouling to accumulate in the rifling, making the piece more difficult to load with each shot. Eventually, the weapon could not be loaded until the bore was wiped clean. For this reason, smoothbore muskets remained the primary firearm of most armies until the mid-19th century. It was not until 1611 that rifles started seeing some limited usage in warfare by Denmark. Around 1750, rifles began to be used by skirmishers of Frederick
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