7.62×39 mm
| 7.62×39mm | ||||||||||||||||
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Lateral view of a steel-cased 7.62×39mm FMJ cartridge.
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| Type | Rifle | |||||||||||||||
| Place of origin | Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||
| Service history | ||||||||||||||||
| In service | 1944–present | |||||||||||||||
| Used by | Soviet Union, former Warsaw Pact, People's Republic of China, Egypt, Cambodia, North Korea, Vietnam, Finland, Venezuela, many others | |||||||||||||||
| Production history | ||||||||||||||||
| Designed | 1944 | |||||||||||||||
| Produced | 1944–present | |||||||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||||||
| Case type | Rimless, bottleneck | |||||||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | 7.92 mm (0.312 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Neck diameter | 8.60 mm (0.339 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Shoulder diameter | 10.07 mm (0.396 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Base diameter | 11.35 mm (0.447 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Rim diameter | 11.35 mm (0.447 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Rim thickness | 1.50 mm (0.059 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Case length | 38.70 mm (1.524 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Overall length | 56.00 mm (2.205 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Case capacity | 2.31 cm3 (35.6 gr H2O) | |||||||||||||||
| Rifling twist | 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Primer type | Boxer Large Rifle (brass) Berdan (steel case) |
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| Maximum pressure (C.I.P.) | 355.0 MPa (51,490 psi) | |||||||||||||||
| Maximum pressure (SAAMI) | 310.3 MPa (45,010 psi) | |||||||||||||||
| Filling | SSNF 50 powder | |||||||||||||||
| Filling weight | 1.605 – 1.63 gm | |||||||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||
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Test barrel length: 415 mm (16.3 in.) Source(s): Wolf Ammo Sellier & Bellot |
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The 7.62×39mm round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin that was designed during World War II. Due to the worldwide proliferation of RPD and RPK light machine guns and SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, the cartridge is used by both militaries and civilians alike. 7.62×39mm ammunition is purportedly tested to function well in temperatures ranging from −50 to 50 °C (−58 to 122 °F) cementing its usefulness in cold polar or hot desert conditions.
The 7.62×39mm cartridge was influenced by a variety of foreign developments, including the German Mkb 42(H) and the U.S. M1 carbine.
Shortly after the war, the world's most widespread military-pattern rifle was designed for this cartridge: the AK-47. The cartridge remained the Soviet standard until the 1970s. It was largely replaced in Russian service by the 5.45×39mm cartridge, which is used by the current-issue AK-74M service rifle and its variants. In the 21st century the 7.62×39mm remains a common service rifle chambering, including for newly developed rifles.
On July 15, 1943, the Technical Council of the People's Commissariat for Armaments (Russian: Техсовет Наркомата Вооружения) met to discuss the introduction of a Soviet intermediate cartridge. The Soviet planners also decided at this meeting that their new cartridge be used in a whole range of infantry weapons, including a semi-automatic carbine, a selective fire (assault) rifle, and a light machine gun. The job of designing the Soviet intermediate cartridge was assigned to a committee led by chief designer NM Elizarov (Н.М. Елизаров), assisted by PV Ryazanov (П.В. Рязанов), BV Semin (Б.В. Семин) and IT Melnikov (И.Т. Мельников). Elizarov collaborated closely with some leading weapons designers, including Fedorov, Tokarev, Simonov, and Shpagin. About 314 cartridge designs were considered theoretically, before narrowing the selection down to 8 models that were physically constructed and tested. Most of the development work on the new cartridge took place at OKB-44, which was soon thereafter renamed as NII-44, and which in 1949 was merged with NII-61, itself merged with in 1966.
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