I'm a little embarrassed to be responding to this thread, but I urge those who feel the AK is a derivative of the Sturmgewehr to do some modest
reading on the subject.
Kalashnikov's assault rifle was a copy of nothing else in the world. It's fire control group and locking mechanism were inspired more heavily by
Garand's rifle than anything else, and resemblances to the German rifle are cosmetic or coincidental. Furthermore, the M1943 cartridge itself was not
based off the 7.92mm Kurz; the history of the intermediate cartridge is convoluted and fascinating, and worth some personal research.
edit on
29-8-2011 by kalahari because: (no reason given)