Wednesday 9 January 2019

Kalashnikov's Contributions

"Award Order
  1. Name: Kalashnikov, Mikhail Timofeevich
  2. Rank: none
  3. Position: Veteran of the Patriotic War
    is nominated for the Order of the Red Star.
  4. Year of birth: 1919
  5. Nationality: Russian
  6. Party affiliation: none
  7. Participation in the Civil War and subsequent actions in defense of the USSR (where, when): Bryansk Front from June to November of 1941
  8. Wounds or contusions in the Patriotic War: wounded in action
  9. In the Red Army since: 1939
  10. Previous awards: none
Brief and specific description of personal heroism or achievements: 

The nominee is a participant in the Patriotic War. He proposed the following inventions: a submachinegun and a machinegun. Their originality made a valuable contribution to the field of small arms design. 

On the orders of the GAU, the nominee solved a series of problems during the modernization of the Goryunov machinegun and designed his own carbine for the intermediate round.

The nominee earned the state award of the Order of the Red Star through his participation in the Patriotic War and resilient labour in the design of weapons.

Deputy Chair of the GAU Artillery Committee, Lieutenant General of the Engineering-Artillery Service, Berkalov
Chief of the Artillery Committee Department of Inventions, Engineer Lieutenant-Colonel Popkov

[illegible] October 1945."

4 comments:

  1. I have a question- in some sources I found information that Kalashnikov, before small arms designig, invent some devices which was used in tanks (Kalashnikov was a tanker). I hear about a device which was provided for shooting from tank interior from semiautomatic pistol (firing ports in Soviet tanks was good enought for revolver, but to small for TT pistol) and I hear about... device which was described in one my book as "counter of shots from tank". But this book was extremly bad translated (as example, Garand rifle was described as shotgun). Maybe this second device was a odometer?

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    Replies
    1. There were two tank devices he invented, one measured the time the engine spent running, the other, as your book said, measured the number of times the gun was fired. Both are important for performing preventative maintenance.

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    2. Thank you! If I understand you- this Kalashnikov tank devices was really introduced into production? BTW- do you have information about Kalashnikov device for firing ports usage by TT shooter?

      BTW2- does T-34 have typical odometer which show mileage? Maybe T-34 have only this Kalashnikov device which show engine time running (in Poland we use term "motohours")? In my eyes that can be truth, because in many Polish discussions about T-34 tank reliability I see data in "motohours", not in mileage.

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    3. Engine lifespan was measures in hours, like you said, lifespan of suspension/tracks/wheels/etc is measured in kilometers, so it's important to have both.

      I don't have information about Kalashnikov's inventions, sorry.

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