The SKS is a Russian semi-automatic carbine, designed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov,. It is formally known as the Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova), 1945 Self-loading Carbine, Simonov's system, 1945), or SKS 45. It was originally planned to serve as the new standard issue weapon for the Soviet military forces, alongside Mikhail Kalashnikov's new AK-47 design, to replace the Mosin-Nagant series of bolt-action rifles and carbines that had been in service since 1891, chambered for the expensive 7.62 x 54 mm R. As mass production of AK-pattern rifles increased, the SKS carbine was soon phased out of service. The carbine was quickly replaced entirely by the AK-47, but it remained in second-line service for decades afterwards, and remains a ceremonial arm today. It was widely exported and produced by the former Eastern Bloc nations, as well as China, where it was designated the "Type 56" (and, in modified form, the "Type 68"), East Germany as the "Karabiner S" and in North Korea as the "Type 63" It is today popular on the civilian surplus market in many countries.
The carbine was chambered for the then-new 7.62 x 39 mm M1943 round, an intermediate cartridge which went on to is used in the Kalashnikov-series weapons.
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Type Carbine
Place of origin
Soviet Union
Production history
Designer Sergei
Gavrilovich Simonov
Designed 1945
Variants Chinese
SKS; Yugoslavian PAP; Romanian SKS; Albanian SKS; East German
SKS; (North) Vietnamese SKS; North Korean SKS
Specifications
Weight 3.85 kg (8 lb
8 oz)
Length 1,021 mm
(40.2 in)
Barrel length 521 mm
(20.5 in)
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Cartridge 7.62 x 39
mm
Action Short stroke
gas piston, tilting bolt, self-loading
Rate of fire
Semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity 735
m/s (2,410 ft/s)
Effective range 400
m (433 yd)
Feed system 10 round
internal box magazine, 10-round stripper clip-fed or individual
round loading
Sights Hooded post
front sight, tangent notch rear sight to 1,000 meters
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Technical
Specifications
The SKS has
a conventional carbine layout, with a wooden stock and no pistol
grip. Most versions are fitted with an integral folding bayonet
which hinges down from the end of the barrel, and some versions,
such as the Yugoslavian-made M59/66 variant are equipped with a
grenade launching attachment. As with the American M1 Carbine,
the SKS is shorter and less powerful than the semi-automatic
rifles which preceded it - most notably, the Soviet SVT series
and the American M1 Garand. Contrary to popular belief it is not
a modern assault rifle. This is because it does not meet all of
the criteria of a true assault rifle (though there are some
variants that fall closer to the definition). It does not
possess the capability for selective fire, and the basic design
does not possess a removable magazine. Some selective-fire
variants were produced in the PRC; however, the basic design of
the SKS is semi-automatic in nature. The carbine's ten-round box
magazine is fed from a stripper clip (see below), and rounds
stored in the magazine can be removed by depressing a magazine
catch (thus opening the "floor" of the magazine and allowing the
rounds to fall out) located forward of the trigger guard.
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