I parroted that Hugo Schmisser might have had a hand in the development of the AK.
I was roundly informed that Soviet Records indicated that to not be the case.
You mean the SEALED TOP SECRET Soviet Records? You couldn't mean those, since they are well... unavailable. If you claim to have read them, we have a term for that... Please extinguish your slacks.
What that really means is nobody knows for certain.
Considering that the USSR routinely lied about things, it makes it easy to believe that it's an Avtomat Schmisser model of 1947.
There's solid enough evidence about the state of the art of Soviet engineering at the time that it could honestly be entirely home grown.
That the Soviets effectively abducted several prominent German gun designers coupled with a long history of lying to make themselves look more capable than they were lends weight to the argument that they didn't do the designing.
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Wow, I'd forgotten this.
ReplyDeleteNo, I've probably read much the same open-source stuff as you have. Apparently came to a different conclusion.
Why do you think the Soviets suddenly forgot teh SECRET UFO TECHNOLOGY of gas-operated self-loading weapons that they, you know, kinda pioneered? ;)
Now, mind you, I'm pretty persuaded by arguments that someone or -ones were involved in cleaning up and finalizing the design and for whatever reason it was considered politically expedient that Kalashnikov gets credit, but IIRC there are a bunch of contenders for being that unsung contributor(s), and I think Hugo's far from the strongest.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I parroted the conclusion. I think Kalashnikov's designs show he was working in the direction that heads to an AK, so I think he was definitely involved and leading the team. Team. The idea that he did it all unaided just doesn't sit right considering how quickly the gun went from tool-room conceptual test to finished product. His lack of formal education meant he couldn't be aware of all manner of methods and techniques available to get to a finished mass-production machine. But this expertise was certainly on-hand at Izhevsk.
DeleteI think Hugo's fingerprints are on the magazine and getting the production rationalized. Making smooth production lines was a forte of his and something the Soviets were haphazard about. His known mastery of sheet metal and the failure of the first stamped receiver AKs kind make it obvious he wasn't the lead engineer.
But I am sick of people citing records that they can't have seen because they are not available to anyone who can post about them; which was supposed to be my point. Good thing nobody's paying me for this! I'd get fired!
The Soviet and Russian mania for secrecy is what keeps the kernel of doubt nurtured and alive. As far as I can see, they've no motive to set the record straight really.