I think it will not be a discovery for anyone that over the entire period of the existence of the Soviet Union, a huge amount of the most diverse small arms was created. Something has gained worldwide fame and is being used now, but something has remained behind the scenes. However, the fact that this or that model did not go into production does not mean at all that it was bad or unusable. Of course, many of the models really lost in something to those that were put into service, but there were also those that exceeded the existing models in their parameters, but were rejected due to the complexity of production or for some other reason. In this article, I propose to get acquainted with the samples of assault rifles by German Alexandrovich Korobov, which participated in competitions for an assault rifle for the Soviet Army and, as we know, lost to AK, and at the end of the Academy of Sciences.
Perhaps it's worth starting with the fact that for me personally, German Aleksandrovich Korobov is, so to speak, an example of a domestic gunsmith. Of course, in the opinion of the majority, this is Kalashnikov, but for some reason I am closer not to the one who constantly won in all competitions, but to the one who fought in each of them, never tired of improving his weapons, despite the failures or the oblique views from colleagues. Agree that when your designs are rejected at every competition, and many of them reach the final, but do not win because production needs to be reequipped for them, it really hurts the desire to do something else. Nevertheless, from the first to the last competition held for new assault rifles for the army, German Aleksandrovich Korobov participated, and the fact that his weapons constantly "flew" only pushed the gunsmith to improve designs and search for new solutions. In other words, for me German Aleksandrovich Korobov is an example of what a person should be.
I want to say right away that this article will not mention how and who made their way "up", there will be only bare facts about weapons, so I hope that I will not offend anyone with this article, although I already have a definite opinion about the "contests" developed and it is not the most positive. In general, let's go.
TKB-408-2 "Bychok" assault rifle
In 1943, GAU formed the first requirements for a competition for a new machine gun for the army, from that moment Korobov got involved in work on his machine gun. In 1945, these requirements were adjusted, and the future winner Kalashnikov entered the arena. Unfortunately, the Korobov assault rifle dropped out of the competition, since it did not meet the conditions for the accuracy of the battle and withstood a shot of only 5 thousand shots. But "the first pancake is lumpy," let's try to figure out what kind of person it was.
This assault rifle is especially noteworthy, since it is not made in the classic layout, but in the bullpup layout, which, you must agree, is quite bold for the first competition for a submachine gun for the Soviet Army. However, this is far from the first example of a weapon in a similar arrangement, before it there were also similar models, even in the Soviet Union, for example, the Korovin assault rifle. Actually, the whole calculation was on the unusual design, it was assumed that one single sample in such an arrangement would attract attention with its small dimensions and in fact attracted. But he attracted, unfortunately, not by its size, but by a bunch of nuances that are inherent in weapons in such an arrangement. So, it was noted that this machine has negative qualities in the form of an inconvenient change of the weapon magazine, a close distance from the shooter's face for ejecting spent cartridges, which led to irritation of the mucous membrane with powder gases and completely excluded the possibility of firing from the left shoulder.
The automatics of the Korobov assault rifle was built according to a scheme with the removal of powder gases from the bore, the gas piston was located above the barrel of the weapon. The barrel bore was locked when the bolt was skewed in the vertical plane, the return spring was also located above the weapon barrel. An insignificant, but very interesting point was that the lid covered the window for ejection of spent cartridges. The shutter handle was on the left side. It was also interesting that in comparison with the first "golden" Kalashnikov assault rifles, the receiver of which was made by milling, the Korobov assault rifle was much cheaper in production, since virtually all of its parts were made by stamping. It was also noteworthy that the fuse and the translator of the fire mode were blown apart. So the fire mode switch was located on the left, and the fuse switch was located in front of the trigger. The sights were, of course, open, the rear sight was mounted on the receiver, and the front sight was on the gas tube. This machine was fed from detachable box magazines with a capacity of 30 rounds, the magazines themselves were fixed by the pistol grip of the weapon. The length of the weapon was 790 millimeters, while the weight of the assault rifle was 4.3 kilograms.
Of course, this sample cannot even pretend to get to the final of the competition due to its low survivability. Nevertheless, one should not forget that such an event was held for the first time, and there was practically no experience in creating such a weapon, so it is worth making a discount on the fact that this is the first sample of an assault rifle from Korobov. It will be more interesting further.
TKB-454
Despite the complete failure of the "Goby" in the competition in 46-47 years, German Aleksandrovich Korobov did not abandon the idea of creating a new machine gun that would be cheaper, simpler and better than the Kalashnikov assault rifle that was in service at that time. Already at the end of 1947, a new TKB-454-43 assault rifle was created, which was the first assault rifle in the world to implement a free-slide gas braking system, and this was when using cartridges 7, 62x39. Korobov came to the conclusion that after the launch of the Kalashnikov assault rifle into production, it is too late to offer something to replace it, the only exception can be a really very simple and at the same time reliable design, which will cost several times cheaper than the production of AK. All this turned out to be implemented in TKB-454-43, in addition, the weapon automation system made it possible to almost halve the recoil when firing, which only had a positive effect on the accuracy and convenience of controlling the weapon during firing. This attracted the attention of the Ministry of Defense, which decided to test the weapon on an unscheduled basis. Despite the fact that it was possible to bring this system to the ideal, Korobov himself decided to abandon it, preferring lever braking of the shutter, so the TKB-454-5 appeared, which turned out to be no less interesting than the previous sample.
The automatics of the new version of the assault rifle was built on a semi-free bolt, with lever support, the barrel bore was locked through the retarder lever with the mass of the bolt stem. Korobov perfected this principle of operation in models 6 and 7A. In 1951, a new sample was introduced. However, it was never fully tested. The reason for this was the barrel clutch, which, again, could not withstand the long shot from the weapon. Only in 52 was it possible to create a more or less working model. So its main positive aspects were an increase in the accuracy of fire depending on the level of training of the shooter by 1, 3-1, 9 times, a decrease in the cost of production by 2 times, a decrease in weight by half a kilogram in comparison with the Kalashnikov assault rifle then in service. In addition, there were negative aspects that related to the survivability of individual parts, which, in principle, is not surprising, given what loads they experienced. There was also a slight decrease in bullet speed, an uneven rate of fire, an increase in muzzle flame.
In order to more accurately compare the capabilities of the Korobov assault rifle and the Kalashnikov assault rifle, about 20 weapons were ordered, during the comparison, Korobov naturally lost, since his sample was less reliable, which was not even covered by its cheapness and ease of production. However, at the same time, it cannot be said that the gunsmith wasted time on development. Fortunately, arms business is such a field of activity, where even from mistakes there is sometimes even more benefit than from positive experience. Thanks to the work that Korobov did, the knowledge base of other gunsmiths was replenished, and they already took this experience into account. If you look at this issue from the practical side, then Korobov's developments were useful to him already in another model, the TKB-517 machine gun, but more about it below.
TKB-517
It was in this weapon that the character of German Alexandrovich Korobov manifested itself. Despite the fact that the development of an assault rifle based on a semi-free shutter was deemed impractical, the gunsmith did not stop and nevertheless finalized his assault rifle, just in time for a new competition. And these efforts almost paid off. This model of the assault rifle became the main competitor of the AKM, in addition to this, the Korobov light machine gun was also presented. Having corrected all the weak points of his weapon, Korobov demonstrated a reliable and cheaper model to manufacture, which, at the same time, had an accuracy almost twice as high as a competitor. In other words, the Korobov assault rifle "tore" the AKM like a hot water bottle, exactly until the weapon was sent for revision. They began to "lick" the Kalashnikov assault rifle with all the forces that they found, but with the Korobov assault rifle everything was completely different, as a result, he did not even get to the proving grounds, since there was no point in sending the weapon, which simply no one had modified. As a result, later, when the question of revising the TKB-517 was raised, there was a refusal with the wording that the Korobov assault rifle could not surpass the Kalashnikov assault rifle already mastered in production. In general, since the Inquisition said that the sun revolves around the earth, it is better to agree with this. Thus, we can assume that this wording buried the domestic FAMAS, which was also 15 years ahead of its time.
The machine gun turned out to be 930 millimeters long, fed from detachable magazines with a capacity of 30 rounds. The weight of the weapon was equal to 2.78 kilograms. There was also an option with a folding stock instead of a non-removable one. In my opinion, the fact that this machine did not win the competition is precisely the most offensive loss of Korobov's weapon, since here, in fact, they openly said that you don't have to try, in all competitions the winner is Kalashnikov. Although from a financial point of view, maybe they were right.
TKB-022
After the refusal of TKB-517 was received, anyone would have lost heart, but not with German Aleksandrovich Korobov, who again returned to the idea of creating a weapon in a bullpup layout. Naturally, there was anger for the refusal and he took it out in a rather peculiar way - he created a whole family of weapons of a rather futuristic look. Naturally, it’s easy to spend the state. Nobody would have allowed money to Korobov, and the conscience would hardly be glad of all this. Therefore, in addition to the unusual appearance, the weapon also had no less unusual characteristics. In other words, German Aleksandrovich Korobov continued to create quite good samples of weapons, however, the wrapping of these samples was, well, very specific. Actually, it is pointless to say something, it is enough just to look at the photo of this "disgrace".
We will not dwell on the detailed characteristics of this weapon, since these are 9 assault rifles, it is only necessary to note that these samples were either close in their parameters to the AKM, or they were superior, and this with less weight and dimensions. Nevertheless, the samples turned out to be only experimental, since in addition to combat characteristics there are other evaluation criteria, for example, durability, and since all models were made with widespread use of polymers, there was no question of durability, after all, the plastic of that time was somewhat different from the modern, used in weapons.
Again, it can be noted that German Aleksandrovich Korobov looked into the future with his ideas. Naturally, such plastic assault rifles were not suitable for use everywhere in the army, but they would be more convenient for performing certain special tasks. In addition, 20-25 years remained before the widespread use of plastic in weapons.
TKB-072
Not everyone liked the transition to the new ammunition 5, 45, however, be that as it may, the transition took place and you need to work with the new cartridge. This is what German Alexandrovich Korobov did. It was he who first got acquainted with the requirements that were issued for new weapons under the cartridge 5, 45x39 and came to the conclusion that he could not only meet these requirements, but even surpass them. The fact is that Korobov carried out quite an interesting work to find out the dependence of the accuracy of fire on the rate of fire of the weapon and the position of the shooter. In the course of this work, Korobov found that the best performance when the shooter is in an awkward position for firing is obtained when firing with a rate of fire of 2000 rounds per minute. When shooting prone, the optimal rate was 500 rounds per minute. Thus, it turned out that the weapon must have two rates of fire, in order not only to meet, but also to exceed the requirements. At the same time, Korobov was developing a balanced automation system. In other words, the gunsmith decided to combine all this that was at hand in one weapon. So the TKB-072 turned out to be a two-speed automatic machine with balanced automation and amazing characteristics at that time. It seemed that he was that moment of triumph, when there is an ideal weapon and production in any case will have to be rebuilt for a new weapon under a new cartridge, but no, this time there was also a mistake.
The whole bummer was the next "request" to remove one of the modes of fire. They motivated this by the fact that it would be difficult for a soldier and had no time to switch weapons from one mode to another in a battle. Having put in front of the gunsmith the choice of which hand to cut off the right or left, all attention was turned to the Kalashnikov assault rifle. Korobov's assault rifle, although it stood out among all the contestants in that it was created with balanced automation, but it lost its main advantage - a two-rate mode of firing. They left him the opportunity to shoot at a speed of 500 rounds per minute, apparently to play it safe in case of claims for too fast ammunition consumption. Naturally, with one rate of fire, the machine gun could not win this competition. Nevertheless, we will briefly get acquainted with what kind of weapon it could have been, well, and let's figure out whether the victory once again went to the AK, or whether the fact that this is the most famous Soviet gunsmith, the Kalashnikov assault rifle itself, played a role. a kind of brand and so on.
The automatics of the Korobov TKB-072 assault rifle are built according to a shockless scheme, with balanced automatics. This means that the moving mechanisms in the weapon have a minimal effect on the accuracy of the fire. Initially, Korobov, in addition to two rates of fire, also wanted to add the possibility of cutting off 3 rounds each, but just before the competition he changed his mind and deprived the weapon of such a function, which, in my opinion, is completely justified, since you can even teach a monkey to shoot in fixed bursts. An interesting feature of the TKB-072 submachine gun is the neck of the magazine receiver, which is clearly difficult not to get into, although if the weapon is in the hands of domestic football players … On the right side there is a fire mode switch and a fuse switch, otherwise this machine does not stand out.
It can be assumed that German Aleksandrovich had a time machine lying around in the closet, since TKB-072 is more like a weapon that was created for the requirements of a completely different future competition "Abakan", but if the possibility of firing in fixed bursts was left, then there is definitely no doubt would not have been.
TKB-0111
After the adoption of the AK-74, a number of shortcomings were identified, both the weapon itself and the ammunition that it uses. In particular, quite a few questions arose about the accuracy of the battle when firing a burst, since only the first bullets (bullet) hit the target, the rest flew away to chase the crows. Thus, a new weapon was required, ideally capable of hitting a bullet in a bullet, which would also have a positive effect when firing at enemy personnel protected by personal protective equipment. Despite the fact that during the competition, Korobov was asked to remove one of the firing modes, when problems with a new weapon arose, they remembered the two-speed automatic rifle and laid down its characteristics in the requirements for a new weapon. It would seem that for Korobov, finally, the finest hour has come, all that remained was to take the old machine gun, bring its commissions and the trick was in the bag, because the requirements for the competition were written off from this weapon, but not everything is so simple. Firstly, other designers also do not stand still, and secondly, even that design had a lot to improve and simplify, so German Aleksandrovich Korobov again took up work, running ahead and with not the most successful ending.
The new machine gun was named TKB-0111, it was already built according to the scheme with percussion automatics, had two rates of firing, but this time no one asked to remove anything. The thing is that at a higher rate of fire, Korobov set a cutoff of three rounds, that is, it was simply impossible to fire a long burst at a high rate. The rate of fire was also slightly changed due to the presence of a three-round cutoff. So, the low rate remained 500 rounds per minute, but the high rate dropped to 1,700 rounds. By itself, the Korobov TKB-0111 assault rifle is a completely modern weapon, even by today's standards. The length of the machine is 930 millimeters, while the weight is 3.69 kilograms. The butt, unfortunately, is not brought into the line of fire, but in this case it may even be not bad, since the shooter can remain in cover for most of his face, in addition, the shock "korobovskaya" automatics behave almost as balanced, which also plays important role. Generally speaking, in this model, German Aleksandrovich Korobov was able to fit all his experience that he had accumulated over almost half a century of designing weapons, but this was not appreciated, which, in principle, is not surprising.
The entire competition was clearly traced by three finalists: the Nikonov assault rifle, the Stechkin assault rifle and the Korobov assault rifle. At the same time, Korobov was clearly in the lead. But in the end, they decided to leave only those samples that had a movable barrel, due to which the recoil from several shots was summed up. As a result, the Korobov assault rifle got to the finals marked "optional", but, apparently, no one got to the weapon that had to be considered out of competition. In general, if we focus specifically on the accuracy of shooting in fixed bursts, then the Nikonov and Stechkin assault rifles were really better in this than the Korobov assault rifle, which is not surprising, because the weapon for such firing was designed with all the resulting nuances in the design. However, the commission did not take into account the complexity of the production, maintenance of these samples in comparison with the Korobov assault rifle. So, once again, Korobov did not win the competition, this time already his last. By the way, pay attention to the fact that the Korobov assault rifle has bypassed the AEKs that are quite popular at the moment, but very crude at the time of the competition, and as a result they received at least minimal distribution, while TKB-0111 did not.
Of course, this is far from all the weapons that were designed by German Alexandrovich Korobov, not even all the machines, the author of which he is, are represented here. Korobov had models of weapons that really became armament and proved to be good, however, not among machine guns. Despite all his efforts, Korobov never managed to defeat the AK. Good or bad is difficult to say, if people have not yet learned to predict the future, then, all the more, it is useless to try to predict a possible future. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that German Aleksandrovich Korobov has repeatedly created promising weapons, which for some reason, I will not specify which one, were bypassed. It is not difficult to guess that this can be safely equated with treason, since, in fact, where there could be a breakthrough for 10-15 years ahead, everything remained in place. At the same time, money was spent on the very possible "breakthrough", but there was no return.
In fact, it is a pity that the work of German Alexandrovich Korobov remained unclaimed, in the end, the developments that other gunsmiths use is one thing, and the weapon that the whole army uses is completely different. I would like to see that at least someone took one of the designer's works, at least even his latest TKB-0111 and brought it to modern standards, because the idea itself is really unique in its kind, and after a week of training, anyone will automatically switch the pace shooting depending on its position. A semi-free shutter machine was also not a bad idea. Moreover, recently the question of replacing cartridge 5, 45 with a cartridge of a larger caliber from 6 to 7 millimeters has already ripened, so it's time to think about both the cartridge and the new / old weapon. In the end, everything has already been invented long before us, it remains only to take it, adapt it to modern requirements and put it into production.
