One of the most potent symbols of the post World War II era is the “Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947” or in short Ak-47. The weapon became the chosen rifle for a revolutionary age. Who exactly that created and invented such wonderful weapon technology yet can kill other’s life? His name is Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov ; the man who came up with the idea for the world’s most recognisable firearm. He once said that things that are complex are not useful but things that are useful are simple. Generally speaking, there is no doubt that he did implemented this quotation of simplicity and usefulness in his invention of the Automatic Kalashnikov-1947 or well known as AK-47.

             The key to the AK-47’s ubiquity remain in two basic areas. As well as his inventor noted, the weapon is pretty much easy to navigate or handled. That means it can be disassembled, cleaned, mended, upgraded and modified without putting a lot of effort to do it. Another added advantage to it is it was designed to use some of the readily available ammunition around 7.62 by 39-milimetre cartridge. Churned out in the enormous amount by the Russians, Chinese and Amaricans, those bullets are pretty easy to find, cheap in it prices,  simple to pack onto the AK-47’s magazine and quite devastating if it is being used in approximately close range battle.

                The next advantages of the usage of AK-47 is it does not use springs and complex mechanics to put the cartridge in the right place for firing like other machineguns, but the AK-47 uses gas pressure instead. Next the gun’s curved megazine and rotating block ensure that the cartridge does not slip into the firearm’s breech straight but it has to rotate slightly which means if there is grit, water, mud or a sliver of brass from the last round inside the breech, the gun will still work. Much of the soldiers that uses this weapon satisfied with it’s design, unlike many other sophisticated weapons which require hygienic cleanliness to guarantee reliable operation.

                Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov’s ideas of using a gas piston instead of springs or a manual lever to eject the spent cartridge and reload was an incredible spark of brilliance and intelligence. As each of the bullet is blown down the barrel, a tiny hole allows some of the explosive gases to enter the tube above the barrel where they push back on the piston. The piston is then shifts back under pressure, pushing the bolt carrier backwards ejecting the spent round and making space for a new one from the magazine. If the gas piston is dirty or worn out, quickly disassembled it and give a coat of oil or grease then it is good to go.

                The other achievement that Kalashnikov brought to the AK-47 and changed the weapon design was the use of a pressed steel chassis. This did not only kept costs down but it also enabled the precision machined parts such as the barrel, gas piston and other mechanism to be fitted into the whole easily and yet the weapon still able to work as usual. The barrel and chamber were plated with chrome on the inside to ensure long reliable life than a plain high-carbon steel alternative. In a nutshell, Kalashnikov had seen many of the light and devastating guns used by the Germans during the Nazi invasion, hence he knew where to spend his money for.