The rod is supposed to be delivered today. But I have not seen the little white truck coming yet....
Bought a copy of Chivers' book "THE GUN". He had a colorful description on 1947 AK trial in Russia:
At NIPSMVO, the loaded rifles were submerged for long periods in swamp water, then expected to fire. Then came the "sand bath", with each rifle dragged through ash, broken bricks, and fine sand -- first by the barrel, then by the stock -- until the rifles were filthy and every opening in the weapon was clogged. "After that, without any sort of cleaning.... they were fired," Kalashnikov said. Again uncertainties stalked the designer. "Despite myself, I began to doubt that further shooting would proceed without failures," he wrote. Zaitsev consoled him. The prototype fired almost flawlessly. "Look, look," Zaitsev said, during one course of fire. "The sand is flying in all directions, like a dog shaking off water -- look".....
Tests continued until January 11, 1948. The result were presented to a thirteen-member technical and scientific commission, which decided Kalashnikov's avtomat most closely fulfilled the requirements of the 1945 order. Mikhail Kalashnikov's submission had won. It was not without flaws, and needed much follow-on work, which would be assigned to other engineers. But it was an acceptable descendant of the sturmgewehr.
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