Global AK prevalence question

The AK's "market dominance" and prevalence in the 3rd World is primarily a result of the political dimensions you noted.

AKs are rugged and workable weapons, but I just don't see it having done nearly as well in a more open market kind of environment (though I'm also sure it would have had some contracts and sales).

Don't forget the AK is very mass-producable and very cheap to make. It is a very cost-effective gun to distribute to the masses.

I'd say if Winchester had came up with the AK in 1850, it would have spread like wildfire thoughout the world. However in the mid 20th century it probably wouldn't have the popularity it has now, but that also has a lot to do with the market that the Russians supplied.

+1 with horsesoldier.

The AKM, the AK without the milled receiver is very mass-producable.

Related:
The Russians would provide the country that was joining their "CCCP country club" with equipment and even entire factories, and sometimes that equipment would make the country rely on Russia.

Russia did this to Ethiopia, they gave them Ural trucks that ran on gasoline, every other truck in Ethiopia ran on Diesel, that way the Russians would be able to control the Gasoline going into Ethiopia, leverage if you will.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopians just used Toyota and US diesel trucks, this made the Russian advisers go ballistic.

I think it would have spread around quite a bit in any case, due to the simplicity of manufacture. Knock-offs from an original patented model would be easy, no great skill is needed to build them, and even the machining can be crude (and is) in many of its parts.

Still, Soviet influence can't be ignored; I'm sure they loved the thought of having a rifle in the hands of every loyal, indoctrinated Party follower.

I'd say if Winchester had came up with the AK in 1850, it would have spread like wildfire thoughout the world.

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Not with black powder & copper wound cases it wouldn't.

They would have had to wait at least 40 - 50 more years for the ammo & powder to catch up with a gas-operated automatic!

Yes, even an AK!

rc

Slightly off topic, but there's an interesting book called "Guns of the South," which explores the "what if" scenario of Gen. Robert E. Lee being visited in 1864 by people from the future who want to help the Confederacy win the Civil War. That help comes in the form of AK-47 rifles, from South Africa I believe. It's a bit of a silly prospect, something you might call "historical science fiction." Still, it's entertaining if you're into that sort of thing.

http://www.amazon.com/Guns-South-Ha...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233257679&sr=8-1

something you might call "historical science fiction."

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It's a great read, gets very good reviews, and is one of my favorite "alternate history" novels. [/QUIBBLE MODE OFF]

Read it too.

Frankly, the AK is a good design. There's nothing really wrong with it. Sure, some people may not like some aspects of its design, but it's still a very good rifle overall. If produced in a low-end factory, it's not very accurate but highly reliable, and still provides a lot of firepower. If produced in a high-end factory, it can be quite accurate while still being extremely reliable.

It's therefore a design that scales well. A low-end AK may shoot minute-of-man, but a high-end one may shoot 2 MOA. Yet both rifles can take the same magazines and have interchangeable internal parts. And both are extremely simple to work on. The manual of arms is the same regardless. In this regard, the AK is very attractive: as your country advances, your rifles can also improve, to the point of being more than acceptable on a modern battlefield without having to retrain your soldiers.

You can mass produce a milled receiver AK-47 just as quickly and efficiently as a forged and milled receiver M16.

The Soviets also knew you could quickly produce a stamped receiver weapon and the cost would be half the amount of a forged & milled receiver rifle, about $16.00 in US funds.

They could make these rifles for so little cost that they literally gave hundreds and hundreds of thousands of the rifles away, along with their accessory packages, as parts of aid packages.

If the weapons were not needed then receiving countries would sell the rifles for cash profit on the international black market.

Next step, proliferation.

During the Golden Age of Winchester Firearms Company, this firm never gave anything away, every single rifle was sold for profit, it is the American way.
Still they were able to sell hundreds of thousands of their rifle designs to countries desperately in need of repeating firearms at a reasonable cost.
Remember that in those days, the US dollar did not hold the value it does today and the US could sell on the global market for what were, at that time, amazingly low prices.

well, considering how long it took before people started making their own M16-like guns, I'd say that someone would have simply changed a few minor things, introduced it to countries under the noted political dimensions, and voila.