Automaton Bulkin AB-46: a review, features and interesting facts

The experienced automaton Bulkin received the production index TKB-415, developed since 1945. Immediately after the creation, the weapons participated in the competition of the State Military Academy of the USSR Armed Forces, competing on an equal footing with other similar specimens. After several years, the model in question lost by some parameters the variation of KB-P-580, later known to the broad masses as AK-47.

A little about the designer

Despite the fact that Bulkin's machine gun was not widely used, its development made a significant contribution to the development of Soviet small arms. Little is known about the designer himself. In the pre-war years, he worked in the KB NIPSVO. In 1942-43 years. Together with I. I. Rakov, the automatic rifle and machine gun was designed. In 1943, they tested the machine gun created by this engineer. In addition, he developed a carbine TKB-32 with an automatic locking mechanism.

In 1944, an experienced submachine gun of Bulkin AB-44 was introduced, and in 1948 the designer took part in the creation of high-speed aircraft guns. The works were conducted in co-authorship with N. Afanasyev and M. Berezin. The further fate of the weapons master is unknown. For unknown reasons, the personal file and all the biographical information of the engineer were lost, close relatives could not be found.

History of creation

The Main Directorate announced a tender for the creation of a new automatic weapon in 1943. To some extent this decision was facilitated by the presentation to the technical council of the People's Commissariat of the German model MK-42 with standard charges. The Soviet analog cartridge of caliber 7,62 with a sleeve length of 4.1 cm was created by engineers Semin and Elizarov in record time. Later the sleeve became shorter by 2 mm.

Participants of the contest developed automatic machines exclusively for a new domestic cartridge. At the first review, the victory was awarded to engineer Sudayev, who introduced an automatic carbine C-44, weighing 5.3 kg. Among the minuses representatives noted the excessive weight of the weapon and recommended the designer to work on its reduction.

The second contest

In 1945, on the initiative of GAU, the second contest begins. At this stage, the AB-46 submachine gun designed by Bulkin was first introduced to the participants. Sudayev presents an improved modification of the AS-44. However, this time the carbine does not show such results as before. Weapon designer Bulkin after a number of improvements continues to participate in the competition. The sudden death of Sudayev crosses out the future of the AS-44, which was the main leader.

The remaining participants continue to compete for the primacy among domestic automatic weapons. The GAC Commission, taking into account the newly developed circumstances, presents the contestants with tactical and technical requirements, taking into account the preliminary design of each model before the demonstration of the prototype. As a result, only five projects are allowed to the final round. Bulkin's machine was more than two years in the lead during the tests and by the beginning of 1948 was the only one that corresponded to accuracy in short bursts, as specified in the commission's requirements.

Test results

On the other qualifying criteria, the weapons in question also showed themselves well. Simplicity of service, convenience of disassembly were at the height and not inferior to competitors. However, Bulkin could not solve the problem of vitality and reliability of his "brainchild". This in the end and brought to nothing all the efforts of the designer. For the field tests, the commission selected a sample of the Kalashnikov development machine.

The Bulkin automatic machine AB-46 did not fit the requirements of the GAU and did not pass the final tests. In spite of the fact that in 1949 the AK-47 was adopted, the considered modification made a significant contribution to the development of this machine, as many of the mechanisms and details of the competitors are almost identical.

Design

The designer created a sample on the principle of automatic gas removal, the node of which is located above the barrel. For the constriction of the stem channel, the rotational principle was applied. The device for evacuation of gases does not have a regulator, and the block of locking consists of a stem and a rod ending with a gas piston. The shutter stem is equipped with a hole for the combat rotary larva with a pair of stops.

When moving the stem of the bolt of the Bulkin machine, the combat larva is rotated first, then two stops are pushed out of the hitch with the breech support. The subsequent movement of the stem is carried out with the picked up combat larva. The direction of motion is set by the bends of the shutter box of the stamped type. They have an extremely low contact surface, which provides a weak susceptibility to contamination. Delivery of charges is made from the store for 30 munitions. The cartridges are staggered, they have a two-row feed. The clip is made of a thin steel alloy by punching and welding.

Operating principle

The Bulkin automatic machine AB-44, like its modernized version, is equipped with a shock-trigger mechanism with interception of the trigger. This node is a simple device that does not have a device that disconnects the hook and whisper. The shutter stem of the opening type cock cock, when the trigger is lowered, it intercepts the ledge of the sear. The trigger mechanism ensures that fire is fired by single shots or bursts.

The regulator of fire modes of flag type is located on the right side of the barrel, above the trigger. Some variations of the weapons in question had a barrel shortened by 100 millimeters. The flashing fuse is mounted on the left side of the machine, which makes it convenient to transfer its modes with the thumb of the right hand. Behind the sight is an adjustable fly with ring protection and a sectoral sight.

Characteristics of the technical plan

Two models of the automatic machine AB-46 were presented for the competitive tests:

1. Option with a wooden butt to equip common military units.
2. A model with a folding butt, designed for use in special units and airborne groups.

Below are the main technical parameters of the machine under consideration:

• Weight full - 4.5 kg.
• The length is 0.94 m.
• The trunk is 0.51 m.
• Sighting range of the shot is 0.8 km.
• The starting flight speed of the charge is 750 meters per second.
• The rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute.
• The number of ammunition in the cage is 30 cartridges.

Interesting Facts

In Soviet times, the contests were not very democratic. As a rule, one who had more influence and connections pushed his weapon models. In addition, the event often played an important role in the end result. For example, an excellent Simonov rifle was withdrawn from production in favor of an improperly modified analogue Tokarev SVT-38. Associate this decision with frequent breakage of the striker from ABC-36. However, the problem was not in the design, but in the fact that steel was hardened at the combine in an unsuitable way. Already in 1942 the release of SVT is considerably reduced, since the rifle did not take root in combat conditions. She was removed from the arsenal even before Mosin's rifle.

After Kalashnikov presented his first sample, the verdict of the commission in the person of Lieutenant Pchelintsev was unequivocal: the weapons are not perfect and can not be finalized. So it was. But then strange things began to happen.

Kalashnikov seeks help from his boss named Lyuty. He, in turn, falsifies the inspection report and recommends the machine for completion, knowing full well that it will have to be reworked from scratch. He himself personally makes about two dozen changes in the design of weapons. In addition to him, engineer V.Deykin participated in updating the sample. It was this specimen that was presented in the competition with the Bulkin TKB-415.

What ended the confrontation between AK and AB?

As noted by Kalashnikov biographers, the young designer Bulkin, a lieutenant without special education, managed to achieve the cancellation of the decision to retire from the competition. In fact, some dignitaries promoted the AK project, while observing the peculiarities of the Bulkin model. As a result, work on the AK continues at the Kovrov combine under the guidance of the experienced engineer Zaitsev, however, taking into account the structural features of the AB. Not the least role in this production was again played by the Fierce, respected person in NIPSMVO.

As a result, the machine received more than 400 changes and was created almost from scratch. This was a gross violation of the rules of the competition, according to which the developers could only make minor modifications to their prototypes. It is worth noting that the length of the trunk was reduced to 35 centimeters, although later it increased to 41.4 cm.

In conclusion

During the competition, one of the commission's members saw a significant inconsistency between the AK-46 and the announced project. However, he quickly closed his mouth, as the decisive word was for the Kolomna testers, who pretended not to notice such radical changes. Despite this, the AK-46 still lost the machine gun of Bulkin in 1946 and Dementiev's gun. The saving straw for the project was the fact that none of the presented models did not reach the required tactical and technical parameters.

The Bulkin automatic machine was the only one of the three that showed consistency at the level of the requirements of the GAU. He was also superior to the AK on ergonomic indicators, had a frame folding butt, which the "Kalashnikov" appeared only a few decades later. The decision to implement a pair of checkboxes may have rightfully caused controversy, but it would not be difficult to improve the existing mechanism. By and large, the designer brought a substandard fabrication of knots, as in the story with the Simonov rifle. Despite the current situation, Bulkin's machine gun left a bright mark in the history of domestic weapons, as it had a rather interesting design and good prospects.