In 1942, the future world-famous arms designer and then tank sergeant Mikhail Kalashnikov was wounded and hospitalized, after which he was unable to return to frontline action against Nazi Germany.
Lying in his hospital bed, Kalashnikov began working on first weapon, which he believed the Soviet army needed — a new compact submachine gun for tank crews.
Kalashnikov submachine gun
The young engineer took his sketches and blueprints to an arms factory in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he was able to develop the first prototype of a small-sized weapon with folding buttstock, similar to the German MP38-40 submachine gun.
Kalashnikov’s weapon borrowed the small-capacity 25-round magazine from the most widely used pistol at that time, the Degtyarev light machine gun, and was given a front handle to improve its ergonomics.
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