The iconic AK-47 is 60 years old, many happy returns - especially those missing ones in Iraq.

"General Kalashnikov was 28 when he invented the AK-47 - it stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova, whilst the 47 refers to the year it was designed.

He was motivated to create the weapon by his experiences in World War II - as a young tank commander he was wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Bryansk.

Whilst recovering he decided to make a revolutionary gun that would protect the Motherland from another German invasion.

The war ended before his plan was completed, but the AK-47 would nonetheless change modern warfare forever."

Skynews

It's kinda perverse but I reckon it's a worthwhile tribute - if you took it purely from a design point of view.

What Sky's report doesn't get over is the fact that the AK-47 is a very simple and incredibly reliable bit of kit which makes it soldier proof which is where K's motivation came from. Weapons of his time had various design and reliability flaws and while weapons are supposed to be able to kill people but what you don't want is to get killed because you're own weapon fails you or has other limitations which you had cases of when the SA-80 was introduced which had a number of design flaws and weaknesses. The SA-80 was a nice weapon to use in good conditions but when I was using one in the early 90s you did lack confidence in it if you were in an area with adverse conditions such as the desert.

So the AK-47 is the weapon of choice because it is simple, robust and brutally effective and few weapons have matched that over the years.

It's still the case though that guns don't kill people rappers do - no wait that's the Goldie Lookin' Chain



Well it's a nice respite to come here rather than the feveredly sanctimonious keyboard twitchers unloading on the McCanns elsewhere...if they're normal, then i hope i'm not...

When Kalashnikov saw the SA-80 his comment was "Hmmm... you must have very clever soldiers".

I don't think he was impressed and rightly so

Zooloo,

What's with the PAGAN acronym?

Uberman wrote:
Zooloo,

What's with the PAGAN acronym?
I heard it and thought it was funny. There is no other reason than that.

I think it's from a Dan Akroyd movie when he plays an FBI agent, but it might not be.

It will go soon, they all do

Both of you should go see the Parque de la Paz in Managua, Nicaragua.

centaur wrote:
Both of you should go see the Parque de la Paz in Managua, Nicaragua.
That's an interesting point you've raised.

The AK-47 is a triumph of design, unfortunately it's function is to kill people. So should we shun a thing because of negative associations? I'm not sure.

I very much admire Barnes Wallace, an incredible designer who need must put him in a position where his designs were machines of war. Does that diminish his ability or his worth, I don't think so.

It would be better if people like Hiram Maxim had never embarked on the course they took but they did and that cannot be changed.

I wouldn't condemn Henry Ford for deaths on the road and I don't blame Kalashnikov, Wallace or Maxim for the world we live in.

That their talents have been perverted is not their responsibility but a reflection of us all, living and dead.

I see your point of view, here you can see mine

When the revolution was finished, truckloads of AK-47 were brought to the site of the park and stacked. Then the cement mixers with their load came in order to secure the AKs would not be used again.. I prefer the design with cement (you should see the tank) and it

ooopps I missed your point a bit there sorry, my Google exploits referred to an obelisk I didn't find that pic

An AK-47 chair

That picture above sums up a scene from the film with Nicholas Cage "Lord of War", in which they give all the illegal arms away to avoid prosecution to people that don`t actually did not need arming.