rc135
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"SPRAY AND PRAY" IS GOING AWAY (www.StrategyPage.com) November 30, 2007: The AK-47, on full automatic, is increasingly being seen as a liability by its many users. Originally designed to allow poorly trained troops to deliver automatic fire, the AK-47 10-pound (loaded with a 30 round magazine) AK-47 didn't have to be cleaned frequently, and could still fire even if covered with mud, sand or any other crud commonly encountered on the battlefield. But the AK-47 has flaws. The same design that makes it relatively jam proof also delivers relatively poor accuracy. The shabby sights on the AK don't help much either. The design also trades reliability for the ability to quickly change magazines, or even operate the safety. But the main reason over 50 million AK-47s were built was because it did what it was designed to do very well. The AK-47 was the ultimate "spray and pray" weapon.
Equipping infantry with assault rifles began during World War I. In doing that, the Germans also took the lead in developing submachine guns, like the MP-18, a weapon that would eventually evolve into the modern ‘assault rifle.’ By the end of WWI, about 30,000 MP-18s were in use. They demonstrated the devastating effect of automatic weapons in the hands of infantry. The MP-18 fired the standard 9mm pistol round and used a 32-round drum magazine that fired 6-7 bullets/second. The basic need was for a compact weapon that could quickly fire a lot of bullets. This gave the MP-18 user a big edge in combat. The Germans kept developing this type of weapon and by WWII they had the MP-38 and MP-40. The short range (50-100 meters) of the 9mm pistol round prevented the Germans from attempting to rearm all their infantry with this weapon, who often had to hits targets farther away.
It wasn't until they saw the Russians used similar weapons on a mass scale during WWII that the Germans realized that the short range of the 9mm pistol round was not as great a shortcoming as they thought. The Russians understood that, for an attack, arming all the troops with submachine guns gave you so much firepower that the enemy had a hard time shooting back at your attacking troops. This was particularly useful in urban or trench warfare, where there were a lot of small scale (a dozen or fewer attacking troops) operations at short ranges. Russia produced over five million of their eight-pound PPSh submachine guns. They used either a 35-lb. box magazine or a four-lb. drum holding 71 rounds. That was 7-8 seconds worth of firing. The bullet used was a 7.62mm pistol round that moved at only about 1,600 fps. Catch one of these in the head, and you were dead. Anywhere else, and you would probably live. But with so many of these bullets flying around, multiple hits were more likely.
One thing the 7.62/25 PPSh round didn't have was penetration. You needed that in urban areas to fire through doors, floors and walls. The Germans overcame this by developing the StG-44 in 1943, which used a more powerful, 7.92mm, bullet. This weapon looks a lot like the Russian AK-47, and heavily influenced Kalashnikov’s design of the AK-47. The StG-44, like the AK-47, used a shorter (than the standards rifle), and about 20% lighter, bullet that could still fire through walls and doors. The Russians combined the best features of the StG-44 and PPSh to produce the AK-47 after WWII. It was cheap, rugged, used a larger, more powerful bullet, and enabled green troops to generate a lot of firepower on the battlefield.
But war has changed. Better trained troops, with more accurate weapons (like the M-4/M-16) are more likely to prevail. Even the Russians have long since abandoned the AK-47 for weapons similar to the M-16. But all those AK-47s out there still appeal to the ill-trained, impoverished and trigger happy young men eager to make their point with a hail of bullets.
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” -- Sir Isaac Newton
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes.” -- Princess Leia Organa
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.” -- Han Solo
“War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil.” -- George Orwell
“If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.” -- P.J. O’Rourke
Equipping infantry with assault rifles began during World War I. In doing that, the Germans also took the lead in developing submachine guns, like the MP-18, a weapon that would eventually evolve into the modern ‘assault rifle.’ By the end of WWI, about 30,000 MP-18s were in use. They demonstrated the devastating effect of automatic weapons in the hands of infantry. The MP-18 fired the standard 9mm pistol round and used a 32-round drum magazine that fired 6-7 bullets/second. The basic need was for a compact weapon that could quickly fire a lot of bullets. This gave the MP-18 user a big edge in combat. The Germans kept developing this type of weapon and by WWII they had the MP-38 and MP-40. The short range (50-100 meters) of the 9mm pistol round prevented the Germans from attempting to rearm all their infantry with this weapon, who often had to hits targets farther away.
It wasn't until they saw the Russians used similar weapons on a mass scale during WWII that the Germans realized that the short range of the 9mm pistol round was not as great a shortcoming as they thought. The Russians understood that, for an attack, arming all the troops with submachine guns gave you so much firepower that the enemy had a hard time shooting back at your attacking troops. This was particularly useful in urban or trench warfare, where there were a lot of small scale (a dozen or fewer attacking troops) operations at short ranges. Russia produced over five million of their eight-pound PPSh submachine guns. They used either a 35-lb. box magazine or a four-lb. drum holding 71 rounds. That was 7-8 seconds worth of firing. The bullet used was a 7.62mm pistol round that moved at only about 1,600 fps. Catch one of these in the head, and you were dead. Anywhere else, and you would probably live. But with so many of these bullets flying around, multiple hits were more likely.
One thing the 7.62/25 PPSh round didn't have was penetration. You needed that in urban areas to fire through doors, floors and walls. The Germans overcame this by developing the StG-44 in 1943, which used a more powerful, 7.92mm, bullet. This weapon looks a lot like the Russian AK-47, and heavily influenced Kalashnikov’s design of the AK-47. The StG-44, like the AK-47, used a shorter (than the standards rifle), and about 20% lighter, bullet that could still fire through walls and doors. The Russians combined the best features of the StG-44 and PPSh to produce the AK-47 after WWII. It was cheap, rugged, used a larger, more powerful bullet, and enabled green troops to generate a lot of firepower on the battlefield.
But war has changed. Better trained troops, with more accurate weapons (like the M-4/M-16) are more likely to prevail. Even the Russians have long since abandoned the AK-47 for weapons similar to the M-16. But all those AK-47s out there still appeal to the ill-trained, impoverished and trigger happy young men eager to make their point with a hail of bullets.
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” -- Sir Isaac Newton
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes.” -- Princess Leia Organa
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.” -- Han Solo
“War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil.” -- George Orwell
“If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.” -- P.J. O’Rourke
