How to find best Infantry weapons

[Crni vuk]

Originally Posted by FM_Von_Manstein

The AK-47 is a complete copy. They look very similar, and the inventor of the STG-44 was in Russia when the AK-47 was designed.

Dunno, there is not much to say to that then simply. No. It has a similarity. But that was it. The AK47 is neither a straight copy nor is it a real revolutionary new design. Its a improved weapon and combination of several known designs with a few new concepts adapted to russian needs. They learned from the SVT40 just as they did from US and German designs. The SVT while it had a good idea (more firepower for the indidivual infantry) had much issues with reliability and needed trained personal. This was not the case anymore with the AK47 (or AKM) which has a lot of tolerances to make sure its working even under the worst conditions. It includes principles from the M1 Garant just as it does from several other weapons. The similarity in look with the Stgw44 can be simply from the fact that its a functional look. I mean how many assault weapons today include a curved magazine ?

Originally Posted by FM_Von_Manstein

While they look different the concept is the same. They both fire a similar looking warhead, and are very different from other AT weapons like the bazooka. As the explosive shell is inside the tube not at the head.

The RPG is based on the concept of the Panzerfaust / Schreck and using the shaped charge as principle which also meany weapons did before the invention of the Panzerfaust as well, see British, French and German tests regarding the shaped charge.

During and before a war it happend always that certain ideas, designs or some technology was captured, studied and eventualy copied (letz better say reverse engineered its usualy never just a simple copy). Thats quite normal. The Germans did it just like the US and Russians. Its no coninsidence that after the second world war certain technologies have been seen in some way again in US or Soviet designs. I think the first soviet jet fighters have been based loosely on German Me designs. And the famous T34 and BT tank series have used Christie suspension developed by US engineers which also saw much use in British tanks. The Famous WW1 machine gun 0815 was based on the American-British Maxim MG. German scientists helped a lot (Werner von Braun) in the moon landing missions and even the Manhatten project which started around the early 40s reads like a european Namelist (Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi and more) with famous scientists working on it born or emigrated to the US from Germany, Italy, Ukraine and who knows how many other nations.

It is interesting to note as well for example that the German panzerschreck was a improved design of the US Bazooka captured in Africa where it saw one of its first use. They emidiately seen the potential of a portable infantry weapon against tanks and developed on that concept a own design with improvements like for example a shield for the gunner to protect him from any heat and blast at the front of the tupe and also a increase of the warhead from 60 mm to 88mm (designs of 45 even with 100m) which improved range and penetration power of the charge. The Bazooka which was in 45 somewhat outdated later ironicaly used the Panzerschreck for future improvemnts again to increase size and warehead ...