|
|
|
|
During the 1960's the Soviet military made the decision to convert their assault weapons from 7.62mm to a reduced caliber of higher velocity. This was based in part on studies of the American made M-16 during the Vietnam conflict. They felt that the United States may know something they didn't and decided to follow their example. This did not sit well with Mikhail Kalashnikov who felt that the M-43 7.62x39 cartridge was sufficient for all modern battlefield needs. Even so he began work on a new weapon to chamber the smaller cartridge.
The task of designing the cartridge fell to a group led by Viktor Sabelnikov. Other prominent designers on the team were Lidiya Bulavskaya, Boris Semin, Mikhail Fedorov, Petr Sazonov, and Petr Korolev. Their task was to develop a 5.45mm low impulse cartridge that would be more accurate than the cartridge currently used in the AKM assault rifles.
The result was a small caliber bullet of very high velocity. The bullet also has good sectional density and a fairly flat trajectory. Despite being lighter in weight than its predecessor, the 5.45mm cartridge retained the same lethality as the older round. It can penetrate a 5mm steel sheet at 350 meters, not bad for a 53 grain bullet.
Another feature that contributes to the lethality of the cartridge is that it becomes unstable when it strikes an object. This means that although it flies perfectly well through the air, it tumbles violently after striking a target - creating a larger wound channel when compared to a normal bullet. This was accomplished by leaving a hollow space at the front of the bullet which makes the round imbalanced on impact with flesh or wood.
A tracer version of the 5.45mm cartridge was also made. Like all Russian tracers it burns green. They are used by RPK-74 gunners and others to help guide their rounds onto their target at night.
| Round Type | Picture/Color | Bullet Weight | Comments |
| PS Standard Ball |
 Unmarked |
53 grains | Common standard ball round in use with all Russian 5.45mm weapons. |
| Tracer | Coming Soon!! Green Tip |
59 grains | Green tracer variant of the 5.45mm cartridge. |
| Inert Training Aid | Unmarked, Crimped Case |
53 grains | Empty crimped cartridge case and bullet used for training purposes. |
|
To return to the weapon you were viewing click the link below: |
|
|