In April 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency received its first report of what would become the most recognized weapon of the 20th century: the AK-47 assault rifle. Within twenty years, the mysterious “submachine gun” sighted on the outskirts of Leningrad would spread worldwide, carried by soldiers, guerrillas, and terrorists from East Germany to Angola.

The CIA report (PDF), dated April 29, 1953 was originally discovered by Kalashnikov Media and picked up by The Firearm Blog. The report was made by a CIA agent who had unusually good access to the previously unknown weapon, particularly given the level of secrecy around it. The agent’s identity and other information were redacted from the report before the CIA opened its archives January 2017 to the public.

Mikhail T. Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47, with his namesake in 2007. Getty Images

According to the agent, the new gun was spotted in the hands of soldiers belonging to the Red Army’s Krasnoselskiy Guards of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment (today part of the Russian Army’s famous 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division). The rifle was being carried by more experienced soldiers, while newer soldiers and conscripts were still issued the wartime PPSh submachine guns.

The new Soviet gun was described as fitted with a 30-round magazine, a “wooden” or “wire” folding stock, and a “handle grip.” The agent also describes the AK-47’s gas piston operating system, describing a “gas returning metal tube” that caused the bolt to recoil and eject a spent cartridge. Overall, the new weapon was described as “very similar to the German World War II submachine gun,” probably meaning the German StG-44 assault rifle. The new submachine gun round is described as “somewhat longer than for the PPSh (submachine gun) and the top of the projectile is more pointed.”

The new weapon was treated with excessive secrecy considering it was just an infantry weapon, with new recruits “forbidden to come close” to the new weapons. The AK-47 was reportedly issued in the Leningrad and Far Eastern military districts, but only to units away from populated areas.

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The AK-47 was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1947, and for years was considered a state secret. The agent’s drawing clearly shows the weapon’s most defining features, including the pistol grip, shoulder stock (the angle is slightly off), raised and hooded front sight, and thirty round banana magazine. The drawing and description of the ammunition was similarly accurate. The 7.62x39 round was longer than a submachine gun bullet but shorter than a regular infantry rifles. This was true to the assault rifle’s purpose, which was to provide a mass-produced infantry weapon that could deliver submachine gun rates of fire.

The other weapon in the CIA report, described as a carbine, is the SKS semi-automatic carbine.

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