Tkachev AO-46 machine gun
The Tkachev AO-46 machine gun, an experimental copy of which was released in the 1969 year, is almost the only development that was created not by the order of the USSR Government, allied ministries and departments, but on the personal initiative of the designer - gunsmith, employee of the Tkachev Central Precision Engineering Research Institute. P.A.
It is a lightweight automatic small-sized standard caliber 5,45 mm, ammunition which was supposed to be a unified shot 5,45 x 39 mm, which had a slight impulse. The developed model received a literal and digital designation AO-46.
It was intended to be used as a personal weapons those subunits and units whose servicemen are not directly involved in the firing contact with the enemy. The main requirements for this type of weapon are the immediate commencement of fire contact when targets are located at a distance of 200 meters with appropriate portable dimensions and light weight. Also important here is the factor of quickly setting in position for shooting and ease of carrying weapons.
Technical solutions applied by Tkachev
During the preliminary calculations and the creation of the project, the scientist determined that when shortening the barrel of an automaton from 415 mm to 210 mm, the initial speed of the shot is reduced by only 16%. This is numerically expressed as a decrease in the initial velocity from 880 to 735 m / s. Such speed indicators more than overlap the required target range, and allow us to count on a range of effective fire more than sufficient for this type of weapon. But with automatic fire from short-barreled systems, the unmasking symptom is a flame appearing from the muzzle, and excessive pressure on the walls of the trunk injures the organs of hearing of the machine gunner. These shortcomings were taken into account when creating a unique receiver nozzle with a volumetric expansion chamber for the output of powder gases. To give simplicity to the design of the weapon, the powder gases were removed directly from the receiver nozzle, which also played the role of a flame arrester.
Another ingenious engineering move was the placement of the store in the handle of the machine. To give a smaller overall size to the product, the ammunition is located at a large angle, but the action of mechanical forces in this case prevents the supply of a large number of cartridges. Reliability using this technical solution was achieved with an optimal magazine capacity - 15 cartridges.
The work of parts and mechanisms of the machine
Barrel channel closes on the hard type, using a rotating bolting system with two tides. In the machine gun Tkachev AO-46 applied trigger with a long drummer, which is designed to maintain both single shots and firing bursts. The stroke length of the impactor itself provides the necessary time for the mobile parts of the structure to be in the frontal position, which reduced the ellipse of ammunition dispersion when fired and increased the rate of fire of the product.
The three-position flag - the fire transfer mode safety lock is located above the trigger guard on the right side.
The sight is represented by the front sight and two-position entirely.
Metal stop for shoulder folding, located on the upper plane of the product, fixed by a stopper in the stowed position
The hands of the machine gunner are protected from burns when firing with wood overlays.
The Tkachev AO-46 machine gun for its time was a constructive novelty, which with honor passed all the test tests, including under extreme conditions. The reasons for not launching the product in the series are unknown. However, in 1973, during the implementation of the program called Modern, the main purpose of which was to adopt oversized weapons for SA, the government commission chose AKS-74U produced by the Kalashnikov bureau.
Tactical and technical data of the machine Tkachev AO-46
Product Caliber - 5,45-mm
Ammunition - 5,45 × 39 mm
Weight without magazine, kg 1,95
Length in shooting position with shoulder rest, mm 655
Length in the stowed position, mm 458
Barrel length, mm 245
Rate of fire, shots / min 700
Initial shot speed, m / s 715
Range (sighting), m 200.
Information