Editing AK-47 (section)

===Origins===

During [[World War II]], the [[StG 44|Sturmgewehr 44]] [[rifle]] used by [[Nazi Germany|German]] forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts.<ref name="Hallock" /><ref name="Gun Book Review" /> The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new [[intermediate cartridge]], the [[7.92×33mm Kurz]], and combined the firepower of a [[submachine gun]] with the range and accuracy of a rifle.<ref name="Machine Carbine Promoted" />{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=9}} On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the [[People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR]].<ref name="english.pravda.ru" /> The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own,<ref name="Hallock" /><ref name="Gun Book Review" /> to replace the [[PPSh-41]] submachine guns and outdated [[Mosin–Nagant]] bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army.<ref name="Field &amp; Stream" />

The Soviets soon developed the [[7.62×39mm|7.62×39mm M43 cartridge]], used in<ref name="english.pravda.ru" /> the semi-automatic [[SKS|SKS carbine]] and the [[RPD machine gun|RPD light machine gun]].<ref name="virginia1774.org" /> Shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 rifle, which quickly replaced the SKS in Soviet service.<ref name="nickpatonwalsh" /><ref name="Rossiyskaya Gazeta" /> Introduced in 1959, the [[AKM]] is a lighter stamped steel version and the most ubiquitous variant of the entire AK series of firearms. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the [[RPK]] light machine gun, an AK-type weapon with a stronger receiver, a longer heavy barrel, and a bipod, that eventually replaced the RPD light machine gun.<ref name="virginia1774.org" />