Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

In later generations, the inextricable relationship between the German MP44 and the Soviet AK47 in World War II is one of the topics that military fans talk about.

The German MP44 is the originator of modern assault rifles. It laid the basic elements of modern assault rifles, such as intermediate-power rifle ammunition system, piston gas action, 30-round curved magazine, etc...

These undoubtedly greatly inspired Kalashnikov. However, these are only influences on the design concept and product positioning, and do not mean that AK47 imitates MP44 in terms of specific implementation.

The biggest similarity between MP44 and AK47 is that both are long-stroke piston gas-guided actions. The piston and piston connecting rod are above the barrel. High-pressure gunpowder gas is transmitted through a guide hole. The gunpowder gas pushes the piston and piston connecting rod to the The final movement completes a cycle consisting of unlocking, shell extraction, re-advance, push and ejection, and locking.

In addition, the specific implementation is almost completely different.

However, the installation methods of the two guns are different: the firing mechanism of the AK47 is fixed in the receiver, the trigger guard is installed at the bottom of the receiver, and the grip is only a wooden piece screwed to the receiver. Without it, it will not affect the performance of the gun. Function; the MP44's firing mechanism, transmitter base, and grip are one component, connected to the rear of the magazine slot with a pin, and there is a pin at the back to connect the grip, butt and the open rear of the receiver.

The biggest difference is the locking principle; the MP44 uses a bolt-offset locking mechanism that was popular at the time, while the AK47 uses a bolt-turn locking mechanism (this was not invented by Kalashnikov, as early as the 1890s The rotary locking mechanism of the bolt appeared in the 1980s); the two are completely different.

Although both have their own advantages and disadvantages, the offset lock is generally inferior to the rotary lock in terms of reliability and lifespan; even the G36 rifles designed by German HK in later generations abandoned this lock method in favor of the rotary lock. mechanism.

The basic structure of the MP44 is more complex. The empty gun weighs 62 kilograms and weighs 12 kilograms with the magazine loaded, which is much heavier than the US military's M1 Garand rifle. Therefore, although the Allied forces were shocked by its firepower at that time, after receiving the actual object and analyzing it, they felt that it was too bulky.

Moreover, the MP44 has many parts and can easily malfunction if hit or bumped. Its reliability is far inferior to bolt-action or semi-automatic rifles. This is also scorned by the US military, because reliability is the lifeblood of weapons.

Therefore, although the Americans also developed M1/M2 carbines during World War II, using intermediate-power ammunition with semi-automatic/fully automatic modes, they did not regard them as the main weapons of soldiers.

In comparison, the AK47 is lighter in weight, lower in cost, and more durable. It was not until the Vietnam War that U.S. soldiers fought in the jungle with bulky M14s. After being taught by the Vietnamese to use AK47s, they suddenly realized how naive they were and missed a magical weapon.

Giving up an excellent weapon because of reliability under certain extreme circumstances, or reducing the basic performance of the weapon for reliability under certain conditions will result in falling behind in the overall situation.

After the Americans realized their shortcomings, they quickly sent the newly developed and still hot M16 to Vietnam, and kicked off the development of small-caliber weapons. But this has little to do with MP44.

After noticing these problems, Yannick decided to replace the MP44. Fortunately, the MP44 at this time was not equipped with large-scale equipment for the troops. There was only one in each squad, and there were only two at most. The factory production scale was not large, and replacement would not be possible. Too much trouble.

Seeing the redesigned finished product, Yannick couldn't help but feel happy. Isn't this the AK47, but it uses 7×43mm bullets.

Yannick put forward several improvement requirements and completely transformed it into an AKM assault rifle.

Compared with the AK-47, the AKM is lighter (about 1 kilogram lighter), has higher shooting accuracy and reliability. AKM further uses metal stamping, welding processes and synthetic materials in its design, which can reduce weight, production time and costs, facilitate mass production, and make its failure rate lower than that of AK-47.

The paratroopers use an improved version of the AKMS, which is slightly shorter in length and lighter in weight. The total length of the unfolded stock is 920mm, and the total length of the folded stock is 655mm. The total gun weight of the P44 is 6kg lighter.

Yannick picked up the AKMS in front of him and pulled the bolt a few times. "Are the soldiers satisfied with the gun?"

Student also knew Yannick’s character and did not like to blindly flatter people, so he reported truthfully. "Soldiers said that except for the fact that this gun is not as accurate as the MP44 in bursts, it is acceptable in other aspects, especially the weight is significantly lighter than the MP44."

"That's good." Yannick nodded with satisfaction and put down the AKMS. Next to it was the RPK, a light machine gun developed based on the AKM (also using 7×43mm ammunition). The basic structure of the two guns is exactly the same, and most parts are interchangeable. This has obvious advantages on the battlefield and is very beneficial to actual combat needs. It can be said that it has the same origin as AK. It has the advantages of AKM, but it is better than AKM in some aspects.

Later generations set off the development trend of "gun clanization", and the AK-47/AKM, which uses the M-43 type 62×39 mm intermediate bullet, has excellent performance. It is not only reliable in action, has a low failure rate, and can be used under various harsh conditions. It is easy to use, and the weapon is easy to operate and has strong firepower when fired in succession. Therefore, a squad light machine gun was developed based on the AKM assault rifle, which was the prototype of the later world-famous RPK light machine gun. In 1959, the Soviet army officially adopted this gun to replace the RPD as a squad machine gun.

Its structure is simple and convenient for mass production. The firearm is highly reliable and can adapt to various harsh environments. It is said that it has fired 20,000 rounds of ammunition and the moving parts are still intact. In addition, many parts between the two are compatible. When the RPK's special 75-round magazine is used up, it can also be used with the AKM box magazine, which reduces logistical pressure and improves its battlefield applicability.

However, RPK is different from AKM in many places. Although it uses AKM's riveted receiver, the proportion of stamped parts has been increased, and the riveting process of many parts has been changed to welding process; it uses an extended heavy barrel and is equipped with two foldable A tripod is used to improve shooting accuracy and facilitate shooting from a prone position. The effective range and muzzle velocity are higher than those of the AK-47. In addition, it can be fed by 40-round magazines or 75-round drum magazines. It maintains its firepower advantage by increasing the magazine capacity. The magazine is also made of light alloy, which can be used interchangeably with the original steel magazine. Later, it also developed A fiberglass plastic molded magazine that can be used universally, easing logistical pressure.

Another problem with the RPK light machine gun is that the barrel cannot be replaced, which further limits its rate of fire, because once the barrel overheats, it will directly affect its effectiveness. Therefore, when using RPK to shoot, you need to deliberately control the rate of fire, and you cannot shoot continuously for a long time. But overall, the RPK is still an excellent light machine gun, mainly reflected in its good reliability.