It is interesting how we get so used to using some words that we don’t know the meaning and one of such is AK-47 Gun.
In this article, I shall briefly let you know the real meaning of what you have been calling AK-47.
Firstly, the Gun AK-47 is of Russian origin. It is a gas-operated, 7.62×39mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Mikhail Kalashnikov was a Russian Soldier who began his career as a weapon designer in 1941, while recuperating from a shoulder wound which he received during the Battle of Bryansk.
Mikhail Kalashnikov himself stated…”I 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.
Therefore, the name AK-47 was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova which means the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov—AK. Note that the word ‘Avtomat’ in Russia means Automatic.
While the number 47 was derived from the year of its first manufacture, 1947.
So, all together we have the name AK-47 which means Avtomat Kalashnikova – 47 stating that the Automatic weapon of Kalashnikova was developed in 1947.
As a matter of fact, the Gun popularly known as AK-47 is best described as a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations. It is an invention which evolved from a combination of previous other technologies.
It is stated that Mikhail Kalashnikov designed an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 and the German StG 44.
Finally, now you know the full meaning of AK-47, I hope you don’t keep on guessing again.
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