On This Day in History: November 13

The invention of the AK-47

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The world’s deadliest invention is the nuclear bomb, potentially. Tomorrow, those devices could kill billions. Except they haven’t. Yet. Hopefully they won’t. But when it comes to the single military invention that has killed more people than any other, that was created by a Soviet tank mechanic shortly after the end of World War II.

--On This Day in History Shit Went Down: November 13, 1947--

Born in the small town of Kurya in southern Russia, Mikhail Kalashnikov was the 17th of 19 chil—oh my god his poor mother. Mikhail was a sickly boy who enjoyed working with machinery, but also a poet who would author six books.

He was drafted into the Red Army in 1938, and because of his small size and mechanical skills they made him a tank mechanic, and later a tank commander. He was wounded in October 1941 in a tank battle with German forces, and while in hospital heard fellow soldiers complain about how shitty their rifles were and that they jammed all the time.

He got to work and came up with several designs, but on November 13, 1947 he completed what he would name the Avtomat Kalashnikova Model 1947. AKA the AK-47. Within two years it became the standard-issue assault rifle for the Soviet Army.

The design was so effective, everyone wanted one. Approximately 100 million AK-47s and its variants have been manufactured in ensuing years. It became a symbol of revolution in countries around the world, including Vietnam, Afghanistan, and nations throughout Africa and Latin America. But it’s also popular in the U.S.; in 2012, Americans bought as many AKs as the Russian military and police.

Why is this weapon so popular? It’s inexpensive to produce, short, light, simple to use, the recoil isn’t bad, it works well in a variety of harsh conditions, doesn’t require much maintenance, and it rarely jams. For his invention, the Russians awarded Kalashnikov just about every medal they had to give.

How many people have been killed by bullets fired from AK-47s? Many millions. Kalashnikov, who died in 2013 at the age of 94, said we should blame the Nazis for his becoming a gun designer; he had wanted to design agricultural equipment. He also blamed politicians for how his weapon was used, saying, “I sleep well.” However, in his final year the lifelong atheist wrote a letter to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church that proclaimed, “The pain in my soul is unbearable.”

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