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The AKM (Russian: Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный; Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy) or "Kalashnikov automatic rifle modernized" is a 7.62 mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the 7.62 mm AK-47 rifle. Developed in the early 1950s and introduced into service with the Red Army in 1959, it is the most ubiquitous variant of the entire AK series of firearms and it has found widespread use with most member states of former Warsaw Pact and its many African and Asian allies. Production of AKM was carried out at both the Tula Arsenal and Izhevsk Mechanical Works.
[AKMS] The main variant of the AKM is the AKMS (S – So skladnym prikladom), which was equipped with an under-folding metal shoulder stock in place of the fixed wooden stock. The metal stock of the AKMS is somewhat different from the folding stock of the previous AK-47 model as it has a modified locking mechanism, which locks both support arms of the AKMS stock instead of just one (left arm) as in the AK-47 folding model. |
