AKM
1959 modernization of the AK-47: stamped sheet-metal receiver, reduced weight and slanted muzzle compensator.
AKM
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Partially verified
- Sources
- The Russian Way of War (Kalashnikov family and RPK; authors’ study, 2016)Army University Press / Foreign Military Studies Office · Accessed
- Last reviewed
Identity
- Designation
- AKM
- Alias
- Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy
- Manufacturer
- Izhmash
- Country
- Russia
- Year
- 1959
- Category
- Assault rifle
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- 7.62×39 mm
- Muzzle velocity
- 715 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~600 rpm
- Effective range
- 350 m
- Maximum range
- 800 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 415 mm
- Overall length
- 880 mm
- Empty weight
- 3.1 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Gas-operated, long-stroke piston
- Bolt / action
- Rotating bolt
Feed
- System
- Curved double-stack magazine
- Standard capacity
- 30 rounds
Fire modes
Historical profile
Development
In the late 1950s the USSR sought to streamline production of the AK-47, whose milled receiver was expensive and slow to machine. Kalashnikov's team at Izhevsk developed a new 1 mm stamped sheet-metal receiver with riveted reinforcements.
The rifle was formally adopted in 1959 as the AKM ("Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy", modernized Kalashnikov).
Design
Beyond the new receiver, the AKM introduced a lighter bolt carrier, a lever-delayed hammer (rate reducer) that stabilizes the cyclic rate in bursts, and the slanted muzzle compensator that reduces lateral drift during automatic fire.
The rifle weighs 3.1 kg versus 4.3 kg for the milled AK-47, while retaining the same 7.62×39 mm cartridge and magazine interface.
Proliferation
The AKM became by far the most produced variant of the AK family: it was license-built in China (Type 56), East Germany (MPi-KM), Poland (PMK/kbk AKM), Hungary (AKM-63 and AMD-65), Romania (PM md. 63) and many other countries.
The AKMS variant uses the AKS folding metal stock; the AKMN version adds a side rail for night-vision sights.
Variants
Main users
USSR · Patto di Varsavia · China · over 80 countries
Key components
- ●Stock — Fixed buttstock of the standard AKM; the under-folding stock belongs to the separate AKMS variant.
- ●Receiver — Stamped sheet-metal receiver of the 1959 modernised Kalashnikov, replacing the heavier milled AK-47 receiver.
- ●Grip — Pistol grip mounted below the stamped AKM receiver, separate from the fixed buttstock.
- ●Magazine — Detachable curved box magazine feeding the AKM’s 7.62×39 mm cartridge.
- ●Barrel — Barrel of the 7.62×39 mm AKM, associated with its long-stroke gas-piston action.
