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Kalashnikov Acceptance

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"Order of the Red Banner Scientific Research Small Arms and Mortar Proving Grounds of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Armed Forces (NIPSMVO GAU VS)

January 15th, 1948
Shurovo, Moscow oblast

Report #374
On the issue of: trials of 7.62 mm assault rifles using the mod. 1943 cartridge designed by: Kalashnikov, Bulkin (TsKB-14) and KB-2-MV.

Annotations: The 7.62 mm assault rifles designed by Kalashnikov, Bulkin, and KB-2 (Dementyev) to use the mod. 1943 round were built according to specifications #3131 issued in 1945 and were presented for proving grounds trials a second time, after improvements recommended by the GAU NIPSMVO and GAU USV, based on the results of the first trials (see NIPSMVO report #232-1947).

The overall view of the assault rifles can be seen in the photos.


Kalashnikov assault rifle #2. Seen from the right.

Bulkin's assault rifle. Seen from the right.

KB-2 assault rifle #6. Seen from the right.

The rest of the scans repeat the excerpts I posted before, but there's more in the summary text. According to the inspection of the prototypes, Kalashnikov did more to improve his design than his competition. Out of all the drawbacks noted by the commission, all but three were corrected. Bulkin left 5 uncorrected drawbacks, and Dementyev left 10.

Firing in single shot, all prototypes satisfied the requirements. In short bursts from a bench, the Kalashnikov and Dementyev designs were equivalent in precision to the PPSh, and only Bulkin's design was superior. Firing while unsupported, all prototypes were superior to the PPSh in single shot and inferior to it in burst fire.

Kalashnikov's design, however, was much more reliable. After firing 15,000 rounds, the two AK prototypes had 0.06% misfires and two breakdowns between them, while both of Bulkin's prototypes had to be taken off trials due to 6-7 broken parts per rifle after only 6000 rounds, with 0.39% and 0.7% misfires. Dementyev's rifles also failed to meet the requirements, breaking down after 12,000-14,000 rounds fired with 0.25%-0.33% misfires and 7-10 broken parts per rifle.


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