For page 2 about the AK-47, go here.
Easily recognised with its high front sights, large selector/safety switch on the right side and the long, curved banana magazine, this is the Soviet version with a conventional wooden buttstock. The AK-47 is a gas-operated, magazine-fed rifle which has a semiautomatic ROF of 40 rounds (effective range about 400 meters), increasing to 100 rounds on fully automatic (effective range about 300 meters). It has a 30 round detachable box magazine. Renowned for it's durability, the AK-47 is shorter and heavier than the M-16 but with a lower ROF and muzzle velocity
The AK-47 in
this picture is of course the folding stock version (ChiCom type 56) which was
popular because it was lighter and could be shortened by folding the stock under
and making it easier to slip through the bush. It fired the 7.62x39 mm assault
rifle cartridge. The Magazine held 30 rounds. It was capable of automatic and
semi-automatic fire. The selector switch was located on the right side of the
receiver and the positions were safe (all the way to the top, full auto (middle
position) and semi (bottom position). While an AK was noted for its distinct
sound and reliability, it had two major drawbacks: first, one hand had to be
awkwardly moved off the weapon to move the selector switch and second the bolt
did not remain to the rear when the last round was fired. In the heat of
battle, the hammer fell on an empty chamber reminding the firer to change
magazines. When the empty magazine was removed and a full one inserted, the
firer had to pull the operating rod to the rear and let go to chamber a round.
All this took precious time. Also the weapon had to be carried either with no
round in the chamber or on safe again slowing the reaction time of the enemy.
AK's were made by almost every Warsaw Pact country, but the best quality
were East German, Bulgarian and Soviet. Chicoms were the poorest quality.
Czechoslovakia made an AK look alike called a VZ-58 which had aluminum 30 round
mags and an M-16 style selector switch which overcame both drawbacks mentioned
above. The bolt stayed to the rear when the last round was fired. Bob Suchke
Bob Suchke with AK, while serving
with D Troop, 2/17 Cavalry. On the right is
1Lt Tom Chenault who was KIA on the Ranger Team Cubs rescue
mission in April 1971. (at the time of the photo he was 2nd Platoon Leader, D
Troop 2/17th Cav). This was the mission that James Champion went MIA on.
This is a picture of Thanh. He was my KCS when I had 3rd Platoon D Troop. He was really great in the field and saved our butts several times by alerting us to NVA presence. He would just point and say, "Boucoup V.C." and it nearly always meant there were NVA present. I used helicopter gunships to include OH-6 little bird's minigun to take care of the thgreat before we moved on. We racked up a few NVA like that to the credit of the Cav Birds and Thanh. We called Thanh, "baby san" because he wasn't but about 17 years old. A former NVA soldier, we liked to dress him up as an NVA. He didn't seem to mind, but I wonder what he really thought... He was very loyal to me and the platoon and I remember one morning we got an early alert and he had not made it back from an overnight stay in town. We were on the Hueys at Scabbard pad and he noticed us as the truck he caught a ride on passed by. He hurriedly ran to his hooch, grabbed his gear and sprinted to join us before liftoff. He made it just in time, jumping on the helicopter with me saying with sincere enthusiasm, "Go field number one." If I could have adopted him and taken him back to the world, I would have. I'll always wonder what happened to Thanh and the other KCS's that converted to our side and then were left to fend for themselves after April 1975, when the South fell. He was a good soldier.
Bob Suchke
Size comparison of M-16 and AK-47.
Mitch Costner photo.