Today, global prices often run in the hundreds of dollars, but some AK-47s can be had for as little as US$50. With a service life of 20 to 40 years, AKs are easily relocated and repurposed. military has acted as a distributor of the weapon in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. have used semi-automatic versions of the weapon in killings in Stockton, California, and Dallas. The hostage-takers who stormed the Olympic Village in Munich in 1972 were armed with Kalashnikovs, and mass shooters in the U.S. The world’s most abundant firearm is also well suited to crime and terrorism. And I hear American soldiers in Iraq use it quite often.” “During the Vietnam War,” he said in a 2007 interview, “American soldiers would throw away their M-16s to grab AK-47s and bullets for it from dead Vietnamese soldiers. Kalashnikov liked to boast about the rifle’s superiority to the American military’s M-16 rifle. A Cambodian soldier carries his AK-47 rifle in 1970. The AKM Type I bayonet was produced by East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Russia (shown above).AP. A truly revolutionary design that continues to influence bayonet design to the present day. A retention strap was also included, for extra grip when using as a combat knife. The belt hanger was a clip-on affair that was cheap and easy to replace. The scabbard body had a rubber insulator, making it safe to cut electrified wire. The steel scabbard body had a lug at the point that engaged a window cut into the blade, so that bayonet and scabbard could be combined as a wirecutter. The unfullered clip-point blade had sawteeth along the spine. The one-piece molded plastic grip & pommel and stainless steel blade made the bayonet impervious to rust and rot. It incorporated a number of features, making for an incredibly versatile bayonet. It was as groundbreaking as the Kalashnikov itself. However, the new bayonet design, what we refer to as the AKM Type I, was far from conventional. The inclusion of a bayonet lug allowed for a more conventional bayonet. Much easier and cheaper to manufacture than the AK47, production and use of the AKM went worldwide. Among other things, the updated AK47 variant included a bayonet lug. The AK47 bayonet was produced by: Bulgaria, China, East Germany, Indonesia, North Korea, Poland, and Russia (shown above). Although adequate, the dual muzzle-ring arrangement made the AK47 bayonet awkward, at best, for any other use. Both the AK47 bayonet and scabbard were patterned after Russia's first knife bayonet, the M1940 bayonet used with the 7.62 mm. The AK47 bayonet hilt borrows heavily from the Swedish M1914 bayonet, another example where the bayonet was added as an afterthought. When the child approached the soldier with the knife, the soldiers acted accordingly which freighted the child and made him cry. We were told this bayonet was sold to a US soldier on patrol by a child. Having a change of mind, in 1955, the Russians opted for a bayonet. Up for sale is an original Iraqi war / desert storm AK47 Bayonet bringback. The AK47 was Russia's entry in this debate, being designed without the intent that it mount a bayonet. Without a single exception, every one was redesigned to accept a bayonet or or replaced with a rifle that did within a few years of its introduction. In the decade following the outbreak of the Second World War, most of the major powers produced an infantry rifle without the ability to mount a bayonet. The AK47 assault rifle was introduced during a period in history when the bayonet's future was in debate. Most AK bayonets conform to four basic types: The AK47 Bayonet Bayonet 6X2, 6X3, 6X4 and 6X5 for Kalashnikov assault rifles, by Konstantin Podgornov, has clarified many of the details concerning Russia's development and production of AK bayonets. This page is by no means exhaustive, but covers 53 different AK bayonets from 15 countries, including some unique and less common examples.Ī 2018 article entitled, Bayonet evolution.
This page provides a type-specific approach for identifying AK47, AKM, and AK74 bayonets, as an alternative to the country-specific index. Some are unique, but most differ in only minor details. A bewildering number of variations exist. Many countries manufactured the Kalashnikov and produced bayonets.
As FN's superb FAL assault rifle became "the free world's right arm," the Kalashnikov AK47 and AKM became "the third world's favorite arm." Its use expanded far beyond the Soviet Union, from where it originated.