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Posted: 7/25/2006 5:18:02 AM EDT
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A friend of mine who served in Afghanistan sent me these pictures. These are his unit's back up patrol weapons, extremely rare, almost sixty year old Kalashnikov rifles. He and his men used these weapons on patrol and used them under fire on several occasions. The first weapon is dated 1947, Type I Russian Underfolder, serial number 78 now approaching nearly sixty years in combat use among the most rugged terrain on the planet. The second is a Type II Russian Fixed Stock approaching nearly 55 years in use. They kept these AK's primarily because they knew not only the rarity of these items but also these weapons have proven themselves for over half a century in countless wars before them. My friend said his Type I never failed him during his tour as he kept it by his side always at the ready. Upon leaving, he passed it down to those whom replaced him, as others had done for now over a half century of combat. These two old soldiers, now approaching sixty years in age, Kalashnikov variants, performed their duties flawlessly as they have done for decades before. The outside of the weapons have been stripped of almost all their finish, having been dragged across sand, and rock through countless battles being passed from one generation to the next, without leave for sixty harsh years. The weapons may show their age, pocked with rust, dings, signs perhaps of the battles they endured- yet still they stand ready without end in their tiring duty for perhaps another half century of future unknown wars. These two old soldiers have seen combat long after those whom carried them into battle have come home, as now both weapons are approaching nearly sixty years of combat, true veterans that stand as a testament to their design. Rifles perhaps created in the hands of Kalashnikov himself, yet still carry on even as their creator sees the twilight of his years. Creeper     
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I wouldn't say it's low rent, these two rifles if legal stateside would be in the $70K category to a collector. Over there, well they didn't get the respect they should have been given but did serve the men well. JL hopefully will chime in soon to tell us of his experience with the weapons. He did mention he shot the underfolder Type 1 out to 400 meters and used it to take out engines of cars because the M4 didn't have the punch. He can tell you guys all about it, he is back in town safely and active on this board. |
The low renters think it's cool.  I bought a low rent AK for over $1,100.00 once.  I only shoot if I have my orange life preserver on though.
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No shit... +1 |
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I know |
It's an AK, they don't break, except very rarely- these two are really nothing more than representatives of the quality of the design. Sure they are among the first produced and obviously weren't cared for any special way. Again the M16 just visits these combat zones, the AK lives in them.
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My guess on the history of those rifles would be more on the lines of several years in combat, many decades in storage. The probably came to Afghanistan in the hands of Soviet reserve troops in the eighties. Before being issued to those troops they likely spent nearly forty years in storage. Since being captured by Mujahudien in teh eighties they have probably been in and out of service as the wars in that area have ebbed and flowed. This is certainly no more remarkable than the goo-gobs of Garands that are sold by the CMP everyday. I am not saying that AK47 number 78, dated 1947 isn't historically significant, it is. It is also cool as hell that such a piece of history has found its way into the hands of our fighting men. The only Viet Nam vet I know who has a story about using an AK in combat was a gentleman who was awarded a Bronze Star for carrying the copilot of the helicopter he was crew chiefing (the PIC died in the crash) nearly twenty miles behind enemy lines. As soon as the aircraft was on the ground and stopped he checked on the pilots (there was nobody else on the AC), found one dead, and the other with two broken legs. He pulled the live one out and before he could get back to the wreck to retrieve the body of the PIC and his M16, it was in flames. Without hesitating he moved the injured officer from the crashsite, then went back and waited to see who showed up. Within minutes he was joined by two Viet Cong from the local village, equipped with AKs and no radios. According to the orders accompanying his medal he drew the .38 from his survival vest and killed both VC, taking an AK47 rifle and several magazines, as well as loose ammunition. He attempted to use the emergency radio in his vest, but could not reach any friendly forces. So he, without a map or compass, returned to the injured pilot and headed south. During the next four days, he was hunted and had to fight his way out of countless near captures, often with the injured officer literally over his shoulder as he ran. Finally he reached an ARVN (South Vietnamese Army) base, and was returned to an American Medical Unit. That same guy went to flight school after Viet Nam, and retired after thirty years on active duty, most of that time as a test pilot on AH1's then AH64's, at Ft. Campbell Ky. I never had the guts to ask him if he preferred the AK, or if he would have rather had his M16. I think this also firmly answers the question of whether or not the stamped recievers hold up over time as well. |
| Lightning_P38, I saw a cool show, I think on History Channel(?), about "Strike Force Alabama", part of MAC V SOG, these guys got inserted in the middle of about 30,000 VC on accident, they quwickly ran out of ammo, three helos were shot down trying to rescue them, they accually stacked up dead VC bodys to hide behind and were shooting the AKs and SKSs, then the fighting got so close that they were picking up the grenades being thrown by VC and throwing them back. |
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