AVS-36

AVS-36
AVS-36 Rifle, without magazine
Type	Battle rifle
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1936–1945
Wars	Soviet-Japanese Border Wars World War II Winter War
Production history
Designer	Sergei Simonov
Designed	1936
No. built	33,000 – 34,500
Specifications
Weight	4.3 kg (9.5 lb)
Length	1.23 m (48 in)
Barrel length	612 mm (24 in)
Cartridge	7.62×54mmR
Action	Gas-operated, tilting bolt
Rate of fire	800 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	840 m/s (2,756 ft/s)
Effective firing range	600 m
Feed system	15-round magazine
Sights	1500 m

The AVS-36 (from Avtomaticheskaya Vintovka Simonova 1936 model; Russian: Автоматическая винтовка Симонова образца 1936 года (АВС-36)) was a Soviet automatic rifle which saw service in the early years of World War II. It was among the early selective fire infantry rifles (capable of both single and full-automatic fire) formally adopted for military service.

The designer, Sergei Simonov, began his work with a gas-operated self-loading rifle in 1930. The first prototype was ready in 1931 and appeared promising, and three years later a trial batch of an improved design was made. In 1935, a competition between Simonov's design and a rifle made by Fedor Tokarev was held. The Simonov rifle emerged as a winner and was accepted into service as the AVS-36. The AVS-36 was a gas-operated rifle with a short piston stroke and vertical sliding locking block. It was capable of both automatic and semi-automatic fire. The barrel was equipped with a large muzzle brake to reduce recoil. Ammunition was in a detachable magazine holding 15 rounds. A knife bayonet was issued with the rifle. A sniper version was produced in small amounts with a PE scope. The AVS-36 was first seen in public in the 1938 May Day parade in Moscow, when it was displayed by the marching 1st Rifle Division. The American public became aware when it was covered in an August 1942 issue of the American Infantry Journal, in an article by John Garrett Underhill, Jr.

Once in service, it quickly became apparent that the AVS was not a satisfactory design; the operating mechanism was overcomplicated, and the problem was made worse by the rifle's construction which let dirt get inside the weapon. The rifle was also particular about ammunition quality. The muzzle brake design proved to be a failure — the rifle was nearly uncontrollable in automatic fire. Some of the problems were traced to the magazine, which was deemed too long. Production of the AVS-36 was terminated in 1938, and a new design competition was held to which Simonov and Tokarev submitted their improved designs.