Pic.4-7
Pic.4-8 AVS (automatic rifle of Simonov), M1 Garand, and MP-40.
Pic.4-9 The Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44, MP 44/43) and MP 40
Pic.4-10 PPS43 submachinegun (pistolet-pulemet Sudayeva, 1943)Take a look on this showcase - it features some small arms of 1940s. For example, M1 Garand rifle adopted by US Army, AVS (automatic rifle of Simonov), and so called Schmeisser - that is mp-38/mp-40 submachine gun adopted by Wehrmacht (Nazi Germany armed forces).
In fact, Schmeisser it is not - renowned gun designer Hugo Schmeisser did not took participation in the mp-38 project, but he designed a less known assault rifle, also featured in this showcase - The Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44, MP 44/43) (Sturmgewehr stands for "Assault Rifle" in German). StGw44 was adopted by Nazi SS forces and armor forces in late 1944.
Of interest is the fact that American also relied on a self taught inventor, John Garand who developed the M1 30 caliber semi-automatic rifle used by U.S. Troops in World War II and Korea.
Another similarity with AK-47 is M1 legendary reliability. As Korea vets admit: "As for the durability of the original M1's, they not only survived but functioned without failure in conditions ranging from 120 degree, high humidity jungles all the way down to minus 20 degrees at the Chosin Reservoir, Korea. You could almost run over an M1 rifle with an M1 tank and have it keep working. Damn things are tough as nails".
At Shurovskoy Kalashnikov submitted a design for consideration, but Artillery Commission turned it down, and in 1943 PPS43 submachinegun (pistolet-pulemet Sudayeva, 1943) was adopted by Red Army.
One of its main advantages was simplicity - it could be produced in any metal shops. More to this - by the end of WWII Germany, due to its ongoing hardships, completely copied the PPS43 design and adopted it for its own troops.
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