Tuesday 31 December 2013
Thursday 26 December 2013
Sunday 8 December 2013
BELATED BIRTHDAY GREETINGS GENERAL
KALASHNIKOV!
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| Photograph Courtesy:
www.kremlin.ru.
|
If we ask a soldier from anywhere in
this world, “In the battlefield which of yours you want to be trustworthy?”
then he will say, “My Rifle!”
For a soldier who faces death at
each second, his first and foremost concern is that his rifle should fire when
he wants it to. A battle will not be fought in arenas or stadiums. It may be
fought in dust, dirt, desert, snow, mud, swamps, ravines and what not? – Just
name it!
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| Photograph Courtesy: http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/ |
General Kalashnikov’s AK-47 will
work in all of the terrains mentioned above - That too without malfunction!
Gen. Kalashnikov was a tank commander during ‘The Great Patriotic War (World
War – II).’ Before becoming a tank commander he was a tank mechanic. Being
injured in the battle, he had to be hospitalized for almost six months. There
he determined to develop a firearm for the Soviet Union .
He developed a submachine gun with his local resources. Though that submachine
gun was not accepted, it should have taken aback the Soviet authorities as, “A
submachine gun from a tank mechanic!” His so far latent talent in designing
firearms should have impressed them. Resultant of this, Kalashnikov was
assigned to the Central
Scientific-developmental Firing Range
His
tireless efforts resulted in the one of the greatest weapon that mankind ever developed
– the Avtomat Kalashnikova – 47 (Automatic Kalashnikov rifle -1947) or simply
AK-47. The design’s simplicity and ruggedness helps soldiers and terrorists fight
with equal fervour in difficult terrains. There are records that even American
soldiers throwing their new M-16 assault rifles and using the AK-47 grabbed
from the dead Vietnamese soldiers.
AK-47 is a benchmark for a weapon
system or any system. It is a lesson for the scientists and designers all over
the world - “If the system is capable to be used effectively by a lay man, then
that designed system will remain in one form or the other for eternity.” Though
AK-47 gave way to AKM and AK-74 (Kalashnikov’s own designs), the essence of
AK-47 – its simplicity – was not compromised.
Later firearms AK-101 / AK-102, AK-103
/ AK-104, AK-105, AK-12, RPK / RPK-74, PK / PKM / PKP, Saiga semi-automatic
rifle (all had Kalashnikov’s inputs) have the Kalashnikov imprint on it. Especially
the ‘Saiga-12’ - a 12-gauge shotgun - is an example that even a shotgun can
have the design of an assault rifle.
Not only Russian firearms followed
AK-47 design, many have followed. Wikipedia gives an elaborate list here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_weapons_influenced_by_the_Kalashnikov_design
(I am not sure of correctness of the list!).
General Kalashnikov blames the Nazis
for having forced him to enter rifle designing profession and for having
designed the most proliferated rifle numbering to around 100 million copies worldwide.
Many of these have been produced in local factories illicitly. Gen Kalashnikov
saying, “I would have preferred to design agricultural machines rather than
rifles,” shows the greatness of man who also writes poems and having written
books for the Russian youth.
Gen Kalashnikov is an inspiration
that “GREAT TALENTS CAN EMERGE FROM ANYWHERE.” Indian policy makers and
authorities must also keep this in mind and look for talents with a broad mind.
Miltechstran belatedly (terribly
belated of course!) wishes Gen Kalashnikov – a man who loves machines - “A
Happy Birthday General!”
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