AKS-74U - 5, 45-mm Kalashnikov assault rifle folding shortened (GRAU index - 6P26) - a shortened version of the widespread model AK-74. This version of the machine was developed in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s. First of all, the shortened version was intended for arming the crews of various combat vehicles, calculations of artillery guns, as well as paratroopers. In addition to the army, the machine gun is actively used in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and various security structures, which value weapons for their small size.
The need for such a weapon in the army has existed for many years, so its appearance was greeted by the military with enthusiasm. This is easily explainable, given the fact that after the end of World War II and the transition of the Soviet army to the AK family of small arms, not a single serial model of a submachine gun was adopted in the country, despite the fact that the need for such a weapon was sharp enough. Kalashnikov assault rifles and their descendants could not replace submachine guns due to their size. The USSR returned to the creation of a weapon that would occupy this niche only with the adoption of an intermediate cartridge 5, 45x39 mm.
The AKS-74U assault rifle was created as part of the Modern competition, in which gunsmiths from Izhevsk, Tula and Kovrov took part. The problem of creating a small-sized machine gun in the Soviet Union was addressed following the designation of a global trend for the creation of such weapons. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, designers from the USA, Great Britain, Belgium, Hungary and other countries tried to develop a small-sized assault rifle, but only the Germans from the Heckler und Koch company achieved success. In 1975, they began production of the HK53 assault rifle, the total length of which with the stock folded was only 563 mm. The Soviet AKS-74U assault rifle, created within the framework of the Modern Competition, managed to surpass its German counterpart in this indicator.
AKS-74U
Work on a new machine gun began in Tula, Kovrov and Izhevsk, but, naturally, in the capital of Udmurtia, work went faster and more successfully. Here they created a small-sized model based on the main machine. The design of the AKM, worked out to the smallest detail and the project of its 5, 45-mm successor machine under the code A-3, swept aside the need to start all work from scratch. Izhevsk designers shortened the barrel of a standard machine gun to 255 mm, carried back the gas outlet and the base of the front sight (respectively, reducing the length of the gas piston rod), for complete combustion of the powder when fired, a volumetric cylindrical muzzle (conical flame arrester) was introduced into the structure. The sector sight of the Kalashnikov assault rifle was replaced with a simple L-shaped throw-over sight, located on the cover of the receiver, now permanently attached to the machine and hinged upward when disassembling the weapon. The metal wire stock with a swivel butt pad, like that of the Stechkin assault rifle, folded upward, reducing the overall length of the model to 475 mm.
Later, in the development process, the machine was continuously changed and improved. So in 1973, the mini-version of the Kalashnikov was slightly improved. The barrel of the machine gun was shortened by another 35 mm. The stock was borrowed from the AKMS (AKM with a folding stock). The design of the muzzle and the gas outlet unit has undergone minor changes. The prototype of the 1976 assault rifle had an even shorter barrel - 206, 5 mm, a butt folding to the right in the form of a tubular figured shoulder rest and a reduced weight - up to 2.4 kg. The final version of the small-caliber Kalashnikov was maximally unified with the already adopted AKS-74 assault rifles (the butt also folded to the left). The AKS-74 assault rifle was a classic AK-74 equipped with a left-folding frame metal butt, this model was created specifically for the Airborne Forces.
Ultimately, the winner of the "Modern" competition was precisely the shortened machine gun of the Izhevsk gunsmiths, which was distinguished by a high standardization of production and operation in relation to the AKS-74 machine gun, which was well mastered by the Soviet industry. The layout of controls, mechanisms and general structure of the small-sized AKS-74U machine gun were similar to those of the AKS-74, which not only led to a reduction in the cost of mass production, but also facilitated the repair and maintenance of the new model of firearms. Also, an important role was played by the simplification of personnel training for the operation of the AKS-74U assault rifle. In 1979, a new machine gun was put into service, and already in 1980, under the designation AKS-74U (6P26), began to enter the army.
At the same time, the small-sized AKS-74U, which was sometimes affectionately called "shortening" or "Ksenia", had its own obvious drawbacks. Twice the shortened barrel in comparison with the full-size AK model could not but affect the ballistics. As expected, this led to a decrease in the initial speed of the bullet to 735 m / s and a decrease in the aimed firing range (along with the effective one). True, at the same time there was no need for a complex sighting device, a simple rear sight was used for two positions - 350 and 500 meters.
Initially, the AKS-74U assault rifle was equipped with a plastic pistol grip, but the barrel pad and forend were made of wood.
Around 1991, on this model, as well as on other representatives of the AK-74 family, all wooden elements were replaced with impact-resistant glass-filled polyamide. The use of plastic parts made it possible to reduce the weight of the product and somewhat increase its wear resistance.
The main differences between AKS-74U and AKS-74:
- trunk shortened by half;
- shortened gas piston rod;
- the receiver cover is attached to the receiver in front of it with a hinge;
- the rear sight is set at 350 and 500 meters;
- no retarder of the rate of fire;
- there is a special muzzle, which serves as an expansion chamber and a flame arrester.
- the length of the rifling stroke has been reduced from 200 to 160 mm, this is done to better stabilize the bullet in flight when using a short barrel.
At the same time, from the point of view of mechanisms, the small-sized AKS-74U machine gun was completely identical to the AK-74 / AKS-74 models, with the exception of the trigger stop, which was installed instead of the rate of fire retarder.
Shooting from the AKS-74U machine gun is carried out in two types of cartridges with ordinary and tracer bullets. A bullet with a steel core of a 5, 45-mm cartridge, when fired from this machine, provides the following penetrating action: penetration of steel sheets with a 50% probability at an encounter angle of 90 degrees: 3 mm at a distance of 500 meters and 5 mm at a distance of 210 meters. Penetration of a steel helmet with 100% probability is ensured at a distance of up to 500 meters; breaking through a bulletproof vest with a probability of 50% - at a distance of 320 meters; penetration with a probability of 50% of a wall of dry pine beams 20 cm thick at a distance of 400 meters; penetration into the parapet from compacted loamy soil by 15-20 cm - at a distance of 400 meters; penetration into brickwork by 6-8 cm - at a distance of 100 meters. The lethal effect of the bullet fired from the AKS-74U is maintained at a distance of up to 1100 meters, the maximum range of the bullet is 2900 meters, the muzzle energy is 902 J.
There were requirements for normal combat for the small-sized machine gun AKS-74U: four bullet holes had to lie in a circle with a diameter of 15 cm when firing from a prone position at a target located at a distance of 100 meters. At the same time, one should not forget that the purpose of the shortened model of the machine gun was to fight at minimum distances, but in reality the shooter could not always take a lying position for firing.
The AK-105 assault rifle, which was created in 1994 on the basis of the AK-74M model, was considered as a replacement for the honorary veteran in the Russian army and law enforcement agencies. The intermediate barrel length between the AK-74M and AKS-74U models made it possible to reduce the size of the assault rifle, leaving the gas chamber in the same place relative to the breech section of the barrel as the AK-74M model, and not transfer it back, as happened with the AKS-74U. At the same time, the new modification with a folded stock is 94 mm longer than the AKS-74U, but the extra 94 mm of the barrel made it possible to improve the ballistic characteristics of the model and somewhat reduced the heating of the barrel due to its greater mass. Compared to the full-size AK-74M, the AK-105, developed in the 1990s, is shorter by 119 mm (with the stock extended).
AK-105
The AK-105 assault rifle was equipped with a modified (compared to conventional AKs of the hundredth series) aiming bar with markings up to 500 meters. And the stock and forend of the model are made of impact-resistant black plastic. It is known that the AK-105 was not purchased by the army of the Russian Federation, but was adopted by the FSSP of the Russian Federation, private security and the FSUE "Okhrana" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the AKS-74U remains the main machine gun in service with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, since the department has large stocks of machine guns of this model that have not yet expired.
The performance characteristics of the AKS-74U:
Caliber - 5.45 mm.
Cartridge - 5, 45x39 mm.
Length - 730 mm (490 mm - with the stock folded).
Barrel length - 206.5 mm.
Weight - 2, 7 kg (without cartridges), 3.0 kg (equipped).
Rate of fire - 650-700 rds / min.
Combat rate of fire - up to 100 rds / min (bursts), 40 shots (single).
Bullet muzzle velocity - 735 m / s.
Sighting range - 500 m.
Effective firing range - 300 m.
The magazine is a box magazine for 30 rounds.
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