Anyone who read about the history of an ak, heard the theory of german involvement. The twoway the designer of the ak47, who died last month, reportedly wrote a 2012 letter to the head of the russian orthodox church. Kalashnikov suffered remorse over rifle he invented. Was the gunsmith hugo schmeisser by the creator of the. And so mikhail kalashnikov invented what was to become the worlds most prolific killing machine. The gun that changed the world by mikhail kalashnikov 2006. The day a crime writer met the inventor of the ak47 the. German engineer hugo schmeisser participated in the construction of the ak47. Oct 09, 2003 shamed by his parents exile, he was determined to do his bit for the soviet cause. Mark keefe remarks on the news of mikhail kalashnikov s death.
Therefore, in the absence of any real evidence, and the presence of significant evidence to the contrary, we can only conclude the allegations that hugo schmeisser is the true designer of the ak47 are simply untrue. Idk if its true, just red it in comments and curious. Mikhail kalashnikov, inventor of the ak47 dead at 94. Hugo schmeisser did, except of course his original customer was hitlers army rather than stalins. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over.
Kalashnikov statue changed because of german weapon. The life and work of hugo schmeisser mostly took place in the weapons manufacturing city of suhl, thuringia. The stg44 sturmgewehr 44 was invented by hugo schmeisser and first. Kalashnikov conspiracy theories and how to refute them. The most popular rifle in the world ak47 kalashnikov. Mikhail kalashnikovs assault rifle bridged the gap between the slow but accurate rifle and the fast but inaccurate submachine gun, and thus brought us in the 1940s to the point where armies still stand today. I considered it one of those mild, everyday ironies that the man who invented one of the killing machines of the 20 th century, the ak47, was now, himself, dead. Inventor of iconic ak47 assault rifle mikhail kalashnikov. Eugene stoner, mikhail kalashnikov, hugo schmeisser, assault rifle. Readers of this delightful book will wonder why he ever bothered. Jul 23, 2009 kalashnikov s tank came under artillery fire and mikhail fled with a wounded shoulder, eventually reaching a friendly hospital after a terrifying twoday walk filled with visions of what the. Is there any credence to this or is it some sort of conspiracy theory. Join facebook to connect with mikhail kalashnikov and others you may know. Dec 23, 20 the inventor of the iconic ak47 assault rifle, mikhail kalashnikov has died at the age of 94.
There, under the krinkov, is a german stg44 in exploded view as it originally appeared, which would probably be ok on any monument except that of mikhail kalashnikov in moscow. In 2009, kalashnikov allegedly admitted that schmeisser helped. As evidence, the author claims that kalashnikov and schmeisser worked together in izhevsk in 194652, and that the ak is visually similar to the stg 44. Moscow unveils monument to kalashnikov, designer of ak47. Elena joly went to russia to interview mikhail kalashnikov who.
His father was deported in 1930, that is, most of his family was. Beyond mikhail kalashnikov s 2009 admission that schmeisser helped design the famous ak47, which strongly resembles schmeisser s stg44, little is known of his life during this period, until 1952 when he and other german specialists returned home to germany. Wolf had the good fortune to meet with mikhail kalashnikov, inventor of the ak47, before he died in 20. Actually, kalashnikov did design the ak47, he just had help from a team of designers and engineers who helped turn the prototype into a final design, and schmeisser was likely one of them. If mikhail kalashnikov was such a talented designer, why didnt he ever design anything besides the ak. Mikhail kalashnikovs monument was opened this week to great. But father hugo was one of the most famous european gunsmiths louis schmeisser designed and made the machine guns even before the first world war. The mp18 was designed by louis and hugo schmeisser, 10,000 were issued to the end of wwi, more after that. Venezuelan president hugo chavez, who styles himself as. The gun that changed the world by mikhail kalashnikov 2006 1027 mikhail kalashnikov on. The kalashnikov isnt by kalashnikov alexander boot. Jan 14, 2014 ak47 designer, mikhail kalashnikov, dead at 94 moscow in a regretful letter penned a few months before his death, mikhail kalashnikov, the designer of the ak47 assault rifle, asked the head of.
With short notice, his stay in the soviet union was extended beyond that of the other. Sep 19, 2017 a mikhail kalashnikov statue brandishing his signature ak47 assault rifle has risen in moscow, commemorating what the associated press said was one of russias most renowned and reviled inventions. Mikhail kalashnikov is the author of the gun that changed the world 3. How did the theory that a kalashnikov rifle was invented. Home ak47 moscow unveils monument to kalashnikov, designer of ak47 a new monument to russian firearm designer mikhail kalashnikov is unveiled during an official ceremony in moscow, russia, tuesday, sept. Book of the ak47 is designed to educate you about the world of kalashnikovs, past, present and future as well as everything combloc related. Mikhail kalashnikov got the stalin state reward first class for his invention. In his hunger to chronicle the evolution of automatic riflery, chivers has written more than one book. Kalashnikov statue altered after sculptors monumental error world. Ak47 designer kalashnikov wrote penitent letter cbs news. Schmeisser s work while in izhevsk 19461952 is shrouded in darkness. His gun, one of the first successful assault rifles, was made from a simple sheet of stamped steel, coupled to a trunnion and a collection of parts. The following is an article that was originally written in russian by tfb contributor maxim popenker, and andrey ulanov, and translated to english by peter samsonov.
Hugo schmeisser 24 september 1884 12 september 1953 was a german developer of. Today news sad news has arrived that mikhail kalashnikov has died after a lengthy illness, said the. Produced in 1919, mikhail kalashnikov grew up in a big peasant family. Dec 24, 20 mikhail kalashnikov, the former red army sergeant behind one of the worlds most omnipresent weapons the ak47 and its variants and copies, used by national armies, terrorists, drug gangs. Diamond company alrosa extracted 29 december 1995 gem diamonds weighing 50. Kalashnikov was born in kurya, kuryinsky district, altai krai, russia.
Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Kalashnikov was born on 10 november 1919 in kurya, altai krai, russia, one of nineteen children to timofey aleksandrovich kalashnikov 18831930 and aleksandra frolovna kalashnikova 18841957. Aug 11, 2015 today im honored to host journalist and crime writer bj wolf, author of the forthcoming karen yellowtail books dont miss it. Schmeisser died in 1953 and never spoke about his time in russia. According to the publications in russian internet the famous ak47 was in fact designed not by kalashnikov, but by schmeisser and his german colleagues. Kalashnikov is still generally credited as the designer of the ak47, though he did admit in 2009 in an interview given on the occasion of his 90 th birthday that he might have been helped by hugo schmeisser and his team. Mikhail kalashnikov simple english wikipedia, the free. As his surname would imply, his invention was the kalashnikov assault rifle, the ak47.
Mikhail kalashnikov s assault rifle bridged the gap between the slow but accurate rifle and the fast but inaccurate submachine gun, and thus brought us in the 1940s to the point where armies still stand today. Mikhail kalashnikov wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre. Also i red that kalashnikov was stupid person who didnt know anything about building wepons. Hugo schmeisser was a german developer of infantry weapons in the 20th century. There is much in common between this biography of ak47 by the new york times journalist cj chivers and rob and edwin lewis the supersonic secrets. Schmeisser, however, broke even in popular perception by being credited with the german mp40 machine pistol, such a ubiquitous star in war films. Technical education hugo schmeisser as his soviet rival mikhail kalashnikov, was not. For the development of the light machine gun kalashnikov was awarded the title of the hero of socialist labour. Is there any solid evidence that mikhail kalashnikov is not the primary designer of the ak47. The new kalashnikov encyclopaedia consists of 3 books namely.
The gun that changed the world by mikhail kalashnikov. Is there any solid evidence that mikhail kalashnikov is. I had an overall negative feeling about mikhail kalashnikov when i first heard that he died. Kalashnikov was a tank mechanic, while stoner served in the united states marines corps. Timofey kalashnikov was deported when mikhail was still a boy. Back in the late 1940s, soviet weapons engineer mikhail kalashnikov with a good bit of assistance from guest worker hugo schmeisser, came up with a neat rifle. Justice demands that hugo schmeisser be acknowledged as the designer of the worlds most popular infantry weapon, while mikhail kalashnikov be known for what he was. Son siberian fist mikhail kalashnikov before the war, managed to finish only seven years. Firearm discussion and resources from ar15, ak47, handguns and more. Mikhail kalashnikov biography famous people biographies. How did the theory that a kalashnikov rifle was invented by. Travelogue with several unique photographes of martin velthuizen who visited dr. More than 1,000,000 mp40 were issued during wwii, developed at erma by heinrich vollmer from earlier designs that schmeisser. Hugo schmeisser was a german and soviet developer of infantry weapons in the 20th century.
From start to finish, the life of mikhail kalashnikov is the stuff of soviet peasantbringsglorytomotherrussia legend. Kalashnikov, the arms designer credited by the soviet union with creating the ak47, the first in a series of rifles and machine guns that would indelibly associate his name. Hugo schmeisser did, except of course his original customer was hitlers rather than stalins army. General mikhail kalashnikov in january 20 to hand over the first edition of the kalashnikov encyclopaedia. In his youth, kalashnikov wrote poetry, and his dream was to become a poet. After ww2 altogether with 16 other german engineers was held in captivity for 6 years 19461952 where around their inventions was organised russian soviet.
In his public interviews kalashnikov, who died last month at the age of 94, insisted that he created the ak47 assault rifle and dozens of other firearms as a means to protect his country, and rejected responsibility for killings perpetrated by militants and terrorists using his weapons. The most of historical documents of the period are still classified. Kalashnikov statue changed because of german weapon bbc. Prior to world war ii, automatic rifles were already in service, and semiautomatic rifles as well, but none were fairly lightweight and highly controllable in full automatic fire. Mikhail kalashnikov inventor of the ak47 home facebook. That said, i do not believe that mikhail kalashnikov was as involved in the development of the ak47 as the soviets led the world to believe. Lieutenantgeneral mikhail timofeyevich kalashnikov roushie. Hugo schmeisser the reader wiki, reader view of wikipedia. Thus the ak47 emerged as the model t of assault rifles. Mikhail timofeyevich kalashnikov born 10 november 1919 is a russian small arms designer, most famous for developing the ak47, akm, and ak74 assault rifles. This article is filed under the categorys firearms,guns and was published december 23rd, 20 by herschel smith. His father, louis schmeisser 18481917, was one of the bestknown weapons designers in europe.
After the second world war, hugo schmeisser, the designer of stg44 also known as mp44, found himself in russian izhevsk, and few years later. Hugo schmeisser of germany invented the first assault rifle in 1942, the stg 44. Mikhail timofeyevich kalashnikov soviet military designer. Mikhail kalashnikov edit lieutenant general mikhail timofeyevich kalashnikov russian. Kalashnikov statue changed because of german weapon bbc news. Mikhail kalashnikov books and biography waterstones. Hugo schmeisser 24 september 1884 12 september 1953 was a german developer of 20th century infantry weapons schmeisser was born in jena, thuringia.
Delve deep into the world of not only mikhail kalashnikov s famous ak47, but everything combloc related with our new book of the ak47. Mar 27, 2014 i red in comments in some article about kalashnikov that after the ww2 russians forced hugo schmeisser with some other german technicians to help recreat mp43 to ak47 and then they spread a propaganda that kalashnikov created ak47. Usually, the theory presented is that the ak47 is a conversion of the german sturmgewehr 44 rifle, designed by hugo schmeisser. Meet the new kalashnikov ak12 laststandonzombieisland. With as many as 100 million copies in circulation no one knows the exact figure, it is the bestselling gun of all time. The kalashnikov rifle is a symbol of the creative genius of our people, russian president vladimir putin said. Russias famous small arms designer published monday, july 14, 2014 was the recently deceased mikhail kalashnikov, known as the creator of the worlds most popular infantry weapon, a genius and a hero, or a false soviet idol. Kalashnikov was born on 10 november 1919 in kuriya, altai krai, russian sfsr. Proceedings of the 8th international seminar held in uzhgorod, ussr lecture notes in mathematics by kalashnikov, v. Jul 06, 2007 mikhail kalashnikov blames politicians for millions of deaths involving his assault rifle. It is a wellresearched and brilliantly written book. So long, mikhail kalashnikov i saw this today on the daily caller and just thought it appropriate to share with all forum members and guests. Kalashnikov became the laureate of state reward again. Hugo schmeisser was captured by the soviets around the haenel factory, and taken to the east to work at factory number 74 in the izmash arsenal.
Please provide a confirmation on this accusation, and that hugo at all stayed in ussr. Mikhail timofeyevich kalashnikov, russian weapons designer born nov. From his hospital bed, he began work on an automatic rifle layout. In addition, a number of german laborers were enlisted or coerced to work in the ussr under the technical designer. Explore books by mikhail kalashnikov with our selection at. Kalashnikov simply was a fraud to not giving credit to the person who was responsible for the ak47. Sergeant mikhail timofeyevich kalashnikov is widely credited with having invented the rifle that. Kalashnikov statue brandishing ak47 arises in moscow. Book 1 albania israel book 2 italy russia book 3 serbia vietnam. He is probably most universally known for the maschinenpistole 40, a weapon he did not design, he simply held the patent of the mp40s box magazine. German gun scrubbed from kalashnikov monument in moscow.
Kalashnikov won a weapon layout competition, which resulted in the creation of his ak47 rifle. Dec 23, 20 mikhail kalashnikov, who designed the assault rifle that has killed more people than any other firearm in the world, died monday at the age of 94 kalashnikov, who was in his 20s when he created the ak47 just after world war ii, died in his home city of izhevsk, near the ural mountains, where his gun is still made, a spokesman for the provinces president said. And what role, if any, did hugo schmeisser play in the invention. This article will cause controversy and upset a few people, so if you believe that mikhail kalashnikov is on the same level as john browning when it comes to firearms design, you may want to stop reading now. Mikhail kalashnikov biography of mikhail kalashnikov. Gruner mg 42, a pioneer in the area of the sheet metal embossing technology, worked into the 1950s. Mikhail kalashnikov born 1919 received not only the soviet unions highest. Mikhail kalashnikov union of soviet socialist republics. How the father of the ak47 became an unlikely soviet hero. In his design engineering department, hugo schmeisser and dr. Hugo schmeisser left the designer of the stg44, and mikhail kalashnikov right, designer of the ak47. Allegedly, german engineer hugo schmeiser, who worked in izhevsk after ww2 really developed an ak and kalashnikov had nothing to do with it. He was declared a hero of socialist labour twice and was promoted to the rank of general in the red army.
His claim was that hugo schmeisser was the lead designer and the story of a sergeant tank commander designing the ak is propaganda. Dec 23, 20 mikhail kalashnikov, the former red army sergeant behind one of the worlds most omnipresent weapons the ak47 and its variants and copies, used by national armies, terrorists, drug gangs. The ak47 was the creation of mikhail kalashnikov 191920, while the ar15 was the brainchild of eugene morrison stoner 19221997. Each man had a reputation for tinkering and each began designing firearms. Interestingly, kalashnikov is also a poet who published six books. Mikhail timofeyevich kalashnikov 10 november 1919 23 december 20 was a russian designer who is known for designing the ak47, akm, and ak74 assault rifles when he served in the soviet army during world war ii.
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