After equipping the Armed Forces of the USSR in 1974 with the approved party leadership of the country and the high command of the USSR Ministry of Defense, the 5, 45-mm AK-74 assault rifle ended another period of development of small arms in the USSR.
The basic concept of the development of small arms for the 70-80 years. XX century
The main result is the introduction of a relatively powerful unitary cartridge. 5.45x39 mm. small impulse. But in the course of the combat use of the new machine gun, some serious defects were identified. They should be attributed to the low accuracy of automatic fire, when only the first two ammunition from the machine gun was directed towards the target, and the rest went beyond the dispersion ellipse. Modern high-tech combat put forward new requirements for the tactics of actions of the main units of the USSR Armed Forces, which changed in the direction of complication. To carry out tactical maneuvers, the submachine gunner had to confidently use small arms from various positions, including non-standard and inconvenient ones, which put forward new requirements for the quality of small arms. In this regard, at the direction of the upper echelons of the Soviet and party power, the Abakan program was launched to develop a new constructive model of an assault rifle of the same caliber, chambered for the same cartridge, which would have better fire characteristics.
Development of the Korobov machine gun TKB-0111
The Central Scientific Research Institute of Precision Engineering was responsible for the development and implementation of the product, and under his general supervision the employees of the laboratories of Tula, Izhevsk and Kovrov took up the implementation of the Abakan program, the practical results of which were already visible in the summer of 1984. One of the contenders for approval was the TKB-0111 submachine gun, which was created by the genius designer of the "socialist era" in Russia G. A. Korobov.
In 1967, this Tula rifle master designed the TKB-072 assault rifle, which could conduct automatic fire in two modes: with a rate of fire of 500 and 2200 rounds per minute. In addition, the machine was given the function of conducting dosed automatic fire with three bullets in turn. In the early 70s of the XX century, on the basis of the previously made TKB-072, Korobov prepared a model of a 2-mode machine TKB-0111. When performing test shooting tasks in 1973, TKB-0111 demonstrated better accuracy of combat than a Kalashnikov assault rifle, especially when firing from a standing position at a high rate of fire. When producing fire from other positions, the results were shown to be quite confident. Let us recall that it was precisely the accuracy of automatic fire from the positions "standing from the hand" and "lying from the support" that was the determining factor of the "Abakan" program.
Machine device
5, 45-mm assault rifle Korobov TKB-0111 - a product made according to the "classics" - the functionality of the automatic mode is based on the venting effect of powder gases, the barrel bore was blocked by a shutter vertically. The gas piston rod was supplied with a spring to cushion the impact.
USM was designed for 3 options for firing: single, burst and metered (3 shots). The rate of fire with a metered form of fire is 1700 rds / min, in a burst - 500 rds / min.
The barrel of the product is equipped with an impressive gas-dynamic expansion joint.
The components of the firing mechanisms are represented by a loading lever and a safety-flag, which are located to the right of the barrel box. The ammunition supply was carried out by feeding cartridges from a clip for 30 rounds.
Weapons submitted for adoption under the Abakan program
The main rivals of the 5, 45-mm assault rifle Korobov TKB-0111 were the presented products AS and ASM Nikonov, AKB and AKB-L V. M. Kalashnikov, TKB-0146 Stechkina, TKB-0136-3M Afanasyev, AEK-971 Koksharova. By 1987, according to field and test samples and shootings, Nikonov and Stechkin's products were selected for full military examination tests, and the Korobov TKB-0111 assault rifle received an incomprehensible characteristic - "recommended in an optional (optional) order." As a result, Nikonov's product won, which received the letter-number AN-94, and Korobov's product remained as a museum exhibit.
