AKM
Izhevsk-built AKM
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1959-present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Vietnam War, Soviet war in Afghanistan, Iran Iraq War, Chechen War, various others
Production history
Designer	Mikhail Kalashnikov
Designed	1959
Variants	AKMS, AKMP, AKML, AKMLP, AKMSP, AKMSN, AKMSNP
Specifications
Weight	3.1 kg (6.83 lb) (AKM) 3.80 kg (8.38 lb) (AKML) 3.3 kg (7.28 lb) (AKMS) 3.77 kg (8.31 lb) (AKMSN)
Length	880 mm (34.6 in) (AKM, AKML) 902 mm (35.5 in) stock extended / 655 mm (25.8 in) stock folded
Barrel length	415 mm (16.3 in)
Cartridge	7.62x39mm
Action	Gas operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	715 m/s (2,346 ft/s)
Effective range	100 to 1,000 m sight adjustments
Feed system	30-round box magazine
Sights	Rear sight notch on sliding tangent, front post, 378 mm (14.9 in) sight radius

The AKM (Russian: Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный; Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy or "Kalashnikov automatic rifle modernized") is a 7.62 mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, it is an upgraded version of the 7.62 mm AK-47 rifle with a fixed stock developed in the 1950s. Introduced into service with the Red Army in 1959, it is the most ubiquitous variant of the entire AK series and it found widespread use with most members states of the former Warsaw Pact and its many African and Asian allies. Production of Soviet rifles was carried out at both the Tula Arsenal and Izhevsk Mechanical Works. The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Belligerents DRA USSR Mujahideen of Afghanistan al-Qaeda supported by[1] United States United Kingdom Pakistan Saudi Arabia Commanders Soviet forces: Sergei Sokolov Valentin Varennikov Boris Gromov DRA: Babrak Karmal Mohammad Najibullah Abdul Rashid Dostum Abdul Haq Jalaluddin Haqqani Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Ismail Khan Ahmad Shah Massoud Strength Soviet forces: 80... Combatants Iran Iraq Commanders Strength Casualties Est. ... There have been two Chechen Wars: First Chechen War (1994–1996) Second Chechen War (1999–) 1991-1994 In September, 1991, militants of Nationally Congress of Chechen People (NCChP) have taken control over Chechnya (they have seized republics parliament and killed chief of the PCUS of Grozny, Vitali Kutsenko). ... Mikhail Kalashnikov, circa 2000 Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Russian: , Mihail Timofeevič KalaÅ¡nikov) (born November 10, 1919) is a famous Russian gun designer, most famous for his AK-47, frequently called the Kalashnikov. ... Kg redirects here. ... Look up pound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Kg redirects here. ... Look up pound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Kg redirects here. ... Look up pound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Kg redirects here. ... Look up pound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section should include material from Soviet M1943 The Soviet 7. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... Gas-operated firearm. ... Rotating bolt of a Sig 550 rifle. ... (for paintball markers also)Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... Metre per second (U.S. spelling: meter per second) is an SI derived unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector), defined by distance in metres divided by time in seconds. ... Feet per second is a unit of speed; it expressses the number of feet traveled in one second. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A 30-round STANAG magazine. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... There are many cartridges which use 7. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... Mikhail Kalashnikov, circa 2000 Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Russian: , Mihail Timofeevič KalaÅ¡nikov) (born November 10, 1919) is a famous Russian gun designer, most famous for his AK-47, frequently called the Kalashnikov. ... This article or section should include material from Soviet M1943 The Soviet 7. ... Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 g. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement about airlines financial liability and the Treaty of Warsaw (1970) between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Izhevsk Arsenal be merged into this article or section. ...

Design details

A Romanian soldier with a locally-built version of the AKM.

Compared to the AK-47, the AKM features enhancements that optimized the rifle for mass production, some parts and assemblies were also conceived using simplified manufacturing methods. As a result of these modifications, the AKM’s weight was reduced by approx. 1 kg, the accuracy was increased and several reliability issues were addressed. Kg redirects here. ...

The AKM’s receiver, compared to the AK-47, has a stamped sheet metal housing to which a rear stock trunnion and forward barrel trunnion are fastened using rivets. The receiver housing also features a rigid tubular cross-section support that adds structural strength. Guide rails that assist the bolt carrier’s movement are installed inside the receiver through spot welding. Sheets of stainless steel cover the Chrysler Building Thin sheets of gold leaf Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. ... A miller spot welder Spot welding is a type of resistance welding used to weld various sheet metals. ...

The forward barrel trunnion has a non-threaded socket where the barrel is embedded and a hole for a pin that secures the barrel in place. The rear trunnion has two extended mounting arms on both sides that support the buttstock. A stock or buttstock is present in many firearms and some crossbows to transfer the recoil from firing the weapon into the shooters shoulder. ...

The stamped dust cover contains both longitudinal and latitudinal reinforcing ribs for increased durability. The term, longitudinal means front-to-back or top-to-bottom as opposed to transverse which means side-to-side. In automotive engineering, the term, longitudinal refers to an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, front to back. ... Look up transverse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The AKM’s barrel is installed in the forward trunnion and pinned (as opposed to the AK-47, which has a threaded trunnion and a barrel that is screwed-in). Additionally the barrel has horizontal guide slots that help align and secure the handguards in place. To increase the weapon’s accuracy during rapid fire, the AKM was fitted with a spoon-shaped compensator that helps redirect expanding propellant gases upward during firing. The compensator is screwed on to the threaded muzzle end of the barrel.

The AKM also has a modified trigger assembly, equipped with a hammer-release delaying device (installed on the same axis pin together with the trigger and semi-automatic sear). This device reduces the weapon’s rate of fire, which also reduces the dispersion of bullets when firing in fully-automatic mode and prevents the weapon from firing out of battery (without the bolt being fully closed). The hammer was also changed and equipped with a protrusion that engages the rate reducer and the trigger has only one notched hammer release arm (compared to two parallel arms in the AK-47).

A Moroccan soldier trains with a Romanian-built variant of the AKM alongside U.S. Marines.

The gas block in the AKM does not have a cleaning rod capture or sling loop but is instead fitted with an integrated bayonet support collar that has a cleaning rod guide hole. The forward sling loop was relocated to the front handguard retainer cap, the handguard retainer also has notches that determine the position of the handguards on the barrel. The AKM’s laminated wood handguards have lateral grooves that help securely grip the rifle. The Kingdom of Morocco is a country in northwest Africa. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... For other uses, see bayonet (disambiguation). ...

Gas relief ports that alleviate gas pressure in the piston cylinder (placed horizontally in a row on the gas cylinder in the AK-47) were moved forward to the gas block and installed in a radial arrangement.

The AKM’s bolt carrier is slightly lighter in weight and despite some minor differences in its shape – it can be used interchangeably with the AK-47’s bolt carrier and bolt.

The wooden stock used in the AKM is further hollowed in order to reduce weight and is different in shape to a small degree.

The AKM uses a modified return spring mechanism, which replaces the single recoil spring guide rod with a dual “U”-shaped wire guide.

The AKM’s rear sight consists of a drop-arm with a range scale marked from 100 to 1,000 m (graduated every 100 m), as compared to that of the original AK-47, which was graduated to 800 meters. The rear sight leaf’s position teeth that secure the sliding adjustable notch were transferred over from the right to the left edge of the drop arm. The front sight post also has a slightly different shape and its bottom portion is more narrow. This article is about the unit of length. ...

The AKM comes supplied with a different accessory kit that contains an M1959 6H4 or 6H3-type bayonet (that forms a wire-cutting device when coupled with its scabbard) and comes with synthetic or alloy magazines. The kit also comes with a punch used to drive out various pins and a device that aids in assembling the rate retarding mechanism.

The AKM uses the same ammunition as the AK-47, the 7.62x39mm M43 intermediate rifle cartridge. The arrangement of mechanisms and parts in the AKM and their interaction during loading and firing is practically identical to AK-47, the only difference being the trigger assembly (during the return stage of the bolt carrier on fully automatic mode) as a result of incorporating the rate reducer device. This article or section should include material from Soviet M1943 The Soviet 7. ...

Variants

The main variant of the AKM is the AKMS (S – So skladnym prikladom), which was equipped with an under-folding metal shoulder stock in place of the fixed wooden stock. The metal stock of the AKMS is somewhat different from the folding stock of the previous AK-47 model as it has a modified locking mechanism, which locks both support arms of the AKMS stock instead of just one (left arm) as in the AK-47 folding model.

The AKM was produced in the following versions: AKMP, AKML and AKMLP, whereas the AKMS led to the following models – AKMSN, AKMSP and AKMSNP.

An AKMS (top) compared to a standard Soviet AK-47 (bottom).

The AKMP rifle uses subdued tritium-illuminated aiming points integrated into the front and rear sight. These sights enable targets to be engaged in low-level light conditions, i.e. when the battlefield is illuminated with flares, fires or muzzle flashes or when the target is visible as a shadow against an illuminated background. The sliding notch on the sight arm is then moved to the “S” setting (which corresponds to the “3” setting in the AKM). The sight itself is guided on the sliding scale and has a socket, which contains a tritium gas-filled capsule directly beneath the day-time notch. The tritium front post installs into the front sight base using a detent and spring. Tritium (symbol T or ³H) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. ...

The AKML comes equipped with a side-rail used to attach a night vision device. The mount is comprised of a flat plate riveted to the left wall of the receiver housing and a support bracket fixed to the mounting base with screws. To shield the light-sensitive photo detector plate of the night vision sight, the weapon uses a slotted flash suppressor, which replaces the standard recoil compensator. The AKML can also be deployed in the prone position with a detachable barrel-mounted bipod that helps stabilize the weapon and reduces operator fatigue during prolonged periods of observation. The bipod is supplied as an accessory and is carried in a holster attached to the duty belt. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Image intensifier. ... Close-up of the flash suppressor on a Sig 550. ... A bipod is a support device that is similar to a tripod or monopod, but with only two legs. ...

The AKMLP is a version of the AKML with tritium sights (as in the AMKP).

The AKMSP rifle is fitted with tritium night sights, just like the AMKP.

The AKMSN model is derived from the AKMS and features an accessory rail used to mount a night vision sensor as seen on the AKML and additionally a flash hider and bipod. The left arm of the AKMSN’s folding stock is bent outwards in order to avoid the sight mount bracket during folding and the sling loop was moved further to the rear.

A version of the AKMSN additionally supplied with factory tritium night sights is called the AKMSNP.

A version of the AKM with a modified lower handguard designed to accept the 40 mm wz. 1974 Pallad grenade launcher was developed in Poland and designated the karabinek-granatnik wz. 1974. A grenade launcher is weapon that fires or launches a grenade to longer distances than a soldier could throw by hand. ...

Users

An AKMS in the hands of a Polish soldier. Seen here fitted with a training device.

•  Afghanistan
•  Algeria
•  Belarus
•  Bulgaria
•  Cambodia
•  China - Manufactured by Norinco as the Type 56.
•  East Germany - Manufactured by the state arsenal as the MPi-KM (fixed stock) and MPi-KMS-72 (AKMS).
•  Egypt - MISR, manufactured under license at the Maadi Company for Engineering Industries in Cairo.
•  Finland - Holds stocks of imported AKM clones for reserve service (the Chinese Type 56 known as the RK 56 TP [1] and the East German MPi-KM as the RK 72 [2]) along with locally designed AK derivatives (the RK 62 and the RK 95 TP) for its active units.
•  Hungary - Known as the AMD-63 (Hungarian: Automata Módosított Deszantfegyver or "Automatic Modified Descent weapon"), which has a modified handguard. A model with a side-folding stock was also made as the AMD-65. A rare carbine variant with a proprietary side-rail optic mount was also introduced, designated AMP-69. Produced at the state manufacturing plant FÉG.
•  Moldova
•  North Korea - Type 68.
•  Poland - Accepted into service with the Polish Armed Forces in 1956 as the karabinek AKM. Produced locally at the Łucznik Arms Factory since 1966.
•  Romania - Built locally as the AIM. Almost identical to the Soviet AKM with the exception of the handguard, which features a vertical forward grip. A version of the AKMS is known as the AIMS.
•  Philippines
•  Russia
•  Soviet Union
•  Ukraine
•  Vietnam
•  Yugoslavia - Several variants based on the AKM built by Zastava Arms factory, most notably the M70 and M70B. [3]

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Algeria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belarus. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bulgaria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Cambodia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47, which has been manufactured since 1956. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_East_Germany. ... This article is about the state which existed from 1949 to 1990. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Egypt. ... For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47, which has been manufactured since 1956. ... The Rk 62 (also 7. ... Sako M95 The Rk 95 TP (Rynnäkkökivääri 95 Taittoperä, Assault rifle 95, Folding stock) is an assault rifle that was produced by the Sako company based in Finland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary. ... AMD-65 (Hungarian: Automata Módosított Deszant[fegyver] 1965; Automatic Modified Descent [weapon] ) is the name given to a variant of the venerable AKM rifle, and was manufactured in Hungary for use by that nations armored infantry and even by paratrooper/descent units. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Moldova. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_North_Korea. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Wojsko Polskie (WP, Polish Army) is the name applied to the military forces of Poland. ... Łucznik Arms Factory (Polish: , also known as Fabryka Broni Radom or Zakłady Mechaniczne Łucznik) is a Polish enterprise from Radom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Romania. ... The AIM is a Romanian-produced version of the Soviet-Designed AKM assault rifle. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Philippines. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ukraine. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Vietnam. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_SFR_Yugoslavia. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Zastava Arms is a subsidiary of Zastava, and is the sole producer of military firearms in Serbia. ... The M-70 is a modern military assault rifle developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms of Kragujevac, Republic of Serbia. ... The Zastava M70B (automatska puška vzor 70B) is the Yugoslavian designation for a AKM based rifle. ...

See also

• AK-74
• RPK